Keep Your Eyes on the Prize and Be Patient

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Many of us who were born before the 70s, we grew up without internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Viber and all what you find out there today. We didn't have phones back then and the only way we could talk to people (meaning our parents) was by using public phones or communicate via letters.

So, life was very simple back then and actually very peaceful and relatively pure. With the advent of cell phones, you couldn't even have a peaceful dinner with your family, at home or restaurants, because people couldn't just go to their dinner tables without their cell phones. When you think that was bad, here comes the social media. It is the state of our affairs, people love social media. You can't take it away from them, even from the adults, forget the kids--they will hold grudges against you. They love it so much, that when they are together with their families or friends, at any moment, someone (rather all of them) is checking Facebook, Twitter, etc. It’s the norm, and frankly, it’s stupid.

Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, etc have changed the way that we interact with the world. There’s no doubt that we owe so much to internet and social media, but it’s consuming our life.

Plain and simple, it’s a distraction. we are constantly devouring information, whether it’s what so-and-so is having for lunch or an interesting such-and-such video on how to cut onions (seriously?) or more serious issues like global warming, police brutality, family court injustices, political campaigns and lobbying, Islamophobia, fighting terrorism, natural disasters, bombings, and so on. People become an information addict. Sure there's something to know but it all comes back to being a chronic consumer, and not a producer. You are too busy with I don't know what- simply put, you are just not creating enough value in your life.

This is the concern of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) have for us. He was shown everything that will be until the end of time. Some of that he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) informed the Companions. He mentioned concerning, what some scholars believe, to be the period we find ourselves in. We find so many things to turn people away from the proper religion and from Allah. There are so many things to busy people with other than the religious scriptures (Qur'an, Hadiths and other religious texts).

Even in their innocuous usage, the internet and the cell phones take people's time. Those distractions weren't there before so we were more productive and less troublesome to our parents. We also didn't have an organized atheism movement constantly trying to destroy people's faith. We didn't have an aggressive homosexual movement.

All these things people are facing today didn't exist before. It is very challenging for people to hold on to the faith. That's why you see many people falling by the wayside, and unfortunately a lot of them are Muslims. Families are falling apart, children are becoming more and more self-centered and turning away from their parents. Recently I received a news article about two young Muslim brothers booked as suspects in the murder of their parents. May Allah have mercy on the boys, the parents and their community. It is heartbreaking to hear horrible things like that could happen in our Muslim communities, but it is frightening to see that our youth are losing it and we are losing our children.

At the end of time, just negotiating and talking with people, including your own children, takes a tremendous amount of patience.

So our Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) tell us that the one who continues to forge on, to be strong and do what we have been asked to do by our Lord through the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) will have the reward of fifty Companions. And this is from the mercy of our Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) for us and it is out of his concern for us.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) told his Companions:

“Ahead of you there lie days of patience, during which being patient will be like grasping a hot coal. The one who does good deeds then will have a reward like that of fifty men who do such deeds. – And someone else added – They said: O Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of them? He said: “The reward of fifty of you.”

Narrated by Abu Dawood (4341); al-Tirmidhi (3085) and he said: it is a hasan hadeeth. It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (494). In some reports of the hadeeth it says: “They are the ones who will revive my Sunnah and teach it to the people.”

Allah, Exalted is He, tells us,

وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتْ سُورَ‌ةٌ نَّظَرَ‌ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ هَلْ يَرَ‌ىٰكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ ٱنصَرَ‌فُوا۟ ۚ صَرَ‌فَ ٱللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُم بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ ﴿١٢٧

There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful. (128)

[Qur'an, At-Tawba 9:128]

He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is deeply troubled and burdened by what we have to endure. So, never look at the magnitude of the obstacles but look at the magnitude, the greatness of the reward for surmounting the obstacles. Because if you just look at the obstacles you might be discouraged to even try to overcome it but if you look at the magnitude of reward that accrues to the one who overcomes it, then we have the incentive to just keep overcoming the obstacles that are in our path.

So, don't look at the world, look beyond the world. There is so much to make us burden down with the world. It's always in our face. Because our face is constantly on the screen. That is hard sometimes to look beyond it. We are not living for this world. We are in this world but we are living for what is beyond this world. We are living for the hawd, the pool of our Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), we are living for the drink that we will take from it that will spare us from experiencing thirst for the rest of eternity. We are living for the greeting with the prophets, the martyrs, the siddiqin, the soliheen. Those people like Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, Ali, Khadijah, Aisha, Fatimah Zahra', Bilal, Sumayyah and so many great companions (radhiaAllahu anhum). We are living to see them. It is a beautiful thing because we can imagine their beauty but when we see them it will be beyond our imagination. The beautiful of all is be in Jannah gazing at our Lord.

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿٢٢﴾ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّهَا نَاظِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿٢٣

[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, (22) Looking at their Lord. (23)

[Qur'an, Al-Qiyamah 75:22-23]

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

“Allah said: ‘I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, nor has it occurred to the human heart.’” Thus recite if you wish (words are those of Abu Hurayrah): “And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden (Qur’an Chapter 32 Verse 17).”

[al-Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah]

May Allah bless us to be amongst those who hold on to His religion and bless us to keep our eyes on the Prize and grant us patience. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Count Your Blessings

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

When was the last time you show your gratitude to Allah Almighty?

Allah Almighty says,

وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ ٱلشَّكُورُ‌ ﴿١٣..

...And few of My servants are grateful. (13)

[Qur'an, Saba 30:13]

Most people neglect to give thanks to Allah for the blessings He bestows upon them however the first word they utter when others give them a present is "thanks." Whereas we enjoy Allah's blessings in every moment of our lives, some we ask Allah for-- you ask for success for yourself, for a good spouse, righteous children, good health, well being, halal income, knowledge, wisdom, etc, but for most things, we don't even think to ask. Allah just handed them to us without asking.

Did we ask for the sun, the moon, the stars, the ocean, the trees, our mother, our father, our siblings? No. But those are the great bounties of Allah upon us. We need them to continue our lives, at least at one point or some point in our lives. Can you imagine if one day the sun didn't rise? Or the oceans dry up? Or no more birds flying? Or the gravity goes away? Or your entire family disappear?

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ‌ۭ رَّ‌حِيمٌ ﴿١٨

And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (18)

[Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:18]

Shukr (gratitude) is to recognize the bounties of Allah. And then respond to it appropriately.

Allah opens Surah Al-Kahf with Alhamdulillah (ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ)and reminds us of one of the greatest blessings that He bestowed upon us for all humankind, the Qur'an.

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ ﴿١

[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. (1)

[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:1]

The Qur'an is full of ultimate wisdom, showing the straight path and illuminating minds and soul to live a prosperous and content life. It explains the very purpose of our lives in a very eloquent manner. Allah Almighty revealed the Qur'an to His last and most beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace). It is the most influential help book for us all. Providing solutions to our problems; this Book builds and strengthens our relationship with the Supreme Creator.

We are all in need of Allah. Our lives, the breath we take, our still and our movements are all in control of Allah and they all happen by the Will of Allah. Giving thanks to Allah in every moment of our lives is one of the most important characteristics of a true believer. There is a secret in being grateful to Allah.

Allah Almighty says,

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَ‌بُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْ‌تُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْ‌تُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ ﴿٧

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.' "

(7)[Qur'an, Ibrahim 14:7]

Being thankful is a sign of the believers' love of Allah. Those who are grateful have the insight and capability to see the beauties and blessings that Allah creates. Those who disbelieves or ungrateful to Allah only see the imperfections and faults. And because of that they are always unhappy and discontented.

Whereas believers never forget that Allah creates everything with good and even if the things don’t go the way they want they still are thankful to Allah. In every situation they turn to Allah with sincerity and and they are always thankful. Under the hardest conditions they trust Allah and know there is good in every circumstance.

In order to be grateful to your Lord for the blessings that He has bestowed upon you, you must acknowledge in your heart that the giver of these blessings and the Bestower is Allah, Exalted is He, so you venerate Him, attribute it to Him, and you acknowledge that with your tongue, so you give thanks to Him after waking from sleep for having given new life, and after eating and drinking for having provided you with them and bestowed them upon you, and so on with every blessing that you see in your life.

You give thanks with your limbs and physical faculties by not letting them see or hear any sin or evil, such as singing or gossip; you do not walk with your feet to haram places; you do not use your hands to commit evil, such as haram writing in a relationship with non-mahram women (one whom you can marry according to Islamic law), or writing haram contracts, or making or doing anything haram. Giving thanks with the physical faculties for blessings also includes using them to obey Allah and perform deeds that are pleasing to Allah-- such as reading Qur'an and books of knowledge, listening to beneficial and useful things, and so on with all the faculties which you should use in various kinds of obedience and worship.

Remember that gratitude for blessings is a blessing which needs to be given thanks for, so that you will continue to enjoy the blessings of your Lord, thanking your Lord for those blessings and praising Him for helping you to be among those who give thanks.

We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to help us do that which He loves and which pleases Him. We ask Allah to fill our hearts with contentment and make us of those who are grateful. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and Allah alone grant success.

Wassalaam

Marriage is a Means, not an End

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The myth that we inherit from the media and love stories is that we get married for the purpose of this other person completing us as a human being and to make us happy. This is very dangerous idea because that is expecting something from a human being which another human being cannot do for you. If you expect another person to make you happy, then you will never find consistent happiness and fulfillment. Happiness can't come from the creation. Happiness can only come from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala (Glorious and Exalted). The One who can fix you is Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and the only thing that can fulfill and complete you is your relationship with Allah Mighty and Majestic.

The ultimate objective in a relationship is beyond fulfilling one self. It has a greater objective which is to bring you closer to Allah and the ultimate objective which is Jannah and His Noble Countenance.

"When a person gets married he has completed half of his religion, so let him fear Allah with regard to the other half." [Baihaqi]

Marriage is a training ground for that half of your deen. The idea is that rather than being a place for you to be fulfilled, it is a place for your character development. If you think about the type of attributes and character traits (such as patience, generosity, appreciation, tactfulness, thoughtfulness, decisiveness, humility, attentiveness, cooperation, compassion, mercifulness, truthfulness, persuasiveness, loyalty, mercy, courtesy) actually there is no better way than marriage to build those character traits but it is very easy to bring the worst out of you if there is no fear of Allah.

Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family. [At-Tirmidhi]

It is very easy to be polite to your neighbor once in a while or the person at the grocery store because you really don't have to interact with them that much. It is very easy to be polite to your boss because he gives you your paycheck. Family is always going to be there and it is very easy to take them for granted and you can get away with more with your family. So, the person who is going to be the best is the one who is the best even when it is not easy to be the best.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said about good character:

"The best among you are the best in character (having good manners)." [Bukhari]

"There is nothing heavier than good character put in the Scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection." [Sunan Abu Dawood]

"The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners." [Bukhari]

"I was sent to perfect noble character."

He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was the most famous of humanity for high moral conduct and virtue. He appeared in the heart of a desert which was almost the most uncivilized part of the then inhabited world and where people were immersed in the worst kinds of immorality. Then, who do you think brought him up as the most virtuous one with the highest morality and best conduct? He had lost his father while he was yet in the womb of his mother. When his mother died, he was only six years old. It was impossible for his grandfather and uncle to bring him up as the most virtuous of all times, as they themselves did not have all of the good moral qualities the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had and in the same degree as he had. His teacher was Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, as he himself said: My Lord educated me and taught me good manners, and how well He educated me and how beautifully He taught me good manners.

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said the Prophet's character is the Qur'an.

Marriage is a great opportunity to develop your good character and bring you closer to Allah. But what we have done, as a community, is that we have taken marriage as an end itself rather than as a means to an end. Allah is our end, not the marriage. If your end is being in Jannah with Allah, then everything else in your life should be facilitating you in that journey. If it is not facilitating you in that journey then you look for something else to do that.

If you want to get married for the sake of your nafs, then you are going to choose your spouse very differently than if you would if your reason is to bring you closer to Allah.

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Whomever Allah blesses with a righteous wife, He has helped him with half of his religion, so let him fear Allah with regard to the other half.” [Al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak]

When choosing a spouse, righteousness should be on top of your list because a righteous spouse will save you a lot of headaches and will help you worship and obey your Lord. Bear in mind that a righteous spouse is more than someone who prays or goes to the masjid or having a beard or wearing a hijab/niqab. He or she must also have the good character traits.

Allah tells us what marriage is in the Qur'an,

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَ‌حْمَةً ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُ‌ونَ ﴿٢١

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. (21)

[Qur'an, Ar-Rum 30:21]

It is really interesting that people focus on that "love" and "mercy" but notice how Allah begins with the verse- "And of the signs (وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ)" When you see a sign you are not suppose to get lost in the sign. The sign is pointing you to where you are supposed to be going, where to focus on. Even that love, even that mercy, is not for its own sake, it is a pointer to Allah, it is a pointer to the Love and Mercy of Allah, to the Power of Allah, and the Oneness (Tauheed) of Allah. We cannot get lost in that romantic love and make it the goal of our existence. But it is the pointer to the actual end, which is Allah- that He created all these, the same way He points us to other signs in the universe,

إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ‌ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْ‌ضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ‌ لَءَايَـٰتٍ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ ﴿١٩٠

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. (190)

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:190]

People of understanding look at these signs and they see Allah behind it. The same way as the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, this love and mercy is a sign of Allah's greatness. It is not a pointer to the nafs. One can sit and appreciate the sunset and if you appreciate the sunset and realize how beautiful it is without realizing the One who created that sunset, without realizing the point of the sunset and the Creator of the sunset, then you have completely missed the point. The idea here is that there is a message in this sign of Allah.

Because marriage is a means to take you closer to Allah, getting married should not be made difficult and complicated. Halal should be made easy and haram should be made difficult and not the other way around. Simplicity in wedding is the way of the Sunnah and we should follow that.

The wedding is a just a means to get married but a lot of times there is so much focus on the wedding itself. You find in many instances, people somehow wind up getting upset over it. Some even fight over this and that during the wedding plans. The amount of drama that comes as result is unbelievable. Once the wedding is over, it really doesn't matter how the invitation card looked, how many people you invited, what the door gifts were, what color the flowers were, what color the family wore to match the bride's and the groom's, etc. SubhanAllah, such is the human condition-- we lose focus on the sign. At the end of the day the wedding is only a few insignificant hours of your life. What is going to matter is the marriage itself-- is this marriage going to take you closer to Allah or farther from Allah.

Marriage, like everything else will have to go through a test of time. If you came into the marriage with improper expectations, you will quickly be disillusioned and disappointed. The easiest way to avoid disappointments is to manage your expectations.

How about separation? When you see marriage as an end itself, you will always see any type of separation as necessarily bad. But you must always have to remind yourself that ultimately I are marrying you because it is half of my deen and this another way to get me closer to my Creator. If you remember your marriage is a means to an end, then when this means is not doing its job, rather it is harming you and harming your path to Allah, then you will see the opposite.

For example, if the marriage prevents you from maintaining a good relationship with your parents or caused you to break ties with your family, whereas we are commanded to give excellent treatment to our parents and keep ties with our family, then this means is not doing its job for you and separation is not necessarily bad. If your is marriage preventing you from seeking knowledge or causing you to quit your studies, whereas we are commanded to seek knowledge because there is no valid practice of His religion without knowledge, then this marriage is not doing its job and separation is not necessarily bad.

When there is abuse in the marriage, whether physical or mental/emotional, then clearly the means is not doing its job. Allah does not approve of injustice or oppression (any form of wrong doing is oppression) and neither should we approve of oppression on our own self or on those around us. It is not more holy to allow yourself or people around you to be oppressed and say that I am being patient. We don't get closer to Allah by oppressing our own self or enabling an oppressor to oppress and allowing ourselves to be oppressed.

Allah does not want us to tolerate injustice in any level. In fact when we tolerate injustice, we are harming our own selves as well in terms our relationship with Allah. Because the person who is being abused begins to fear the abuser. The idea is that when I am so afraid of the other person, I am thinking of the other person and that person is occupying my mind and the fear I should have for Allah is with the abuser instead. We should know that the only one we should be sitting up at night and thinking about what they are going to do to us is Allah. May Allah give us the ability to break out of any type of unhealthy relationship at any level.

We have to keep in mind when something is taking us away from Allah, in terms of our own ibadah or any sort of obedience to Him, it can no longer good for us. When something is no longer good for you, you have to make a change, even it means separation. When something that should be for Allah get transferred to another person, fear or love, then that is hindering your relationship with Allah and your worship of Allah because your mind is being consumed by that fear or love of His creation.

We ask Allah to purify our hearts and make us of people of sound understanding.

رَ‌بَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَ‌ٰجِنَا وَذُرِّ‌يَّـٰتِنَا قُرَّ‌ةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

Our Lord, grant us from among our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.

Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

How to Respond to Hardships and Calamities?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

We want what pleases us and we dislike what displeases us. We don't want hardships. We don't want pain. We don't want sadness. We want bliss and happiness. But bliss and happiness must be earned. How do we earn it? This is what this life is for.

This life is a place of trials and tribulations, a place where we as humans will necessarily have to go through difficulties at many points of our lives



Anybody can say "I believe", but are you telling the truth? When that hardship comes, are you going to break?

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَ‌كُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿٣

Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (2) But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. (3)

[Qur'an, al-Ankabut 29:2-3]

Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, who among the people are most sorely tested? He said: “The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A man will be tested according to his level of religious commitment. If his religious commitment is solid, his test will be more severe, but if there is any weakness in his religious commitment, he will be tested according to his level of religious commitment. And calamity will continue to befall a person until he walks on the earth with no sin on him.”

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2398) who said: (It is) hasan saheeh.

One day the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked his Companions, "Do you see what I see?" They replied, "No". He said, "Verily I see fitan (trials) falling on your homes like rain."

Trials will continue to surge like the waves of the sea.

Calamities will keep befalling us every single day of our lives, both individually or collectively as an Ummah (a nation). However, the greatest test of the faith, wisdom and fortitude of a Muslim is how one handles this calamity or misfortune.

How then do we respond to these calamities as Muslims who profess to have believed in Allah, Exalted be He?

Say, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return)

The immediate response is to remember who your Lord is-- Allah, and realize where you be returning-- Allah.

الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ ﴿١٥٦

Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." (156)

[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:156]

Repentance

Then turn to your Lord, Exalted be He, in repentance. Why? Because Allah says,

وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ‌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْ‌جِعُونَ ﴿٢١

And we will surely let them taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment that perhaps they will repent. (21)

[Qur'an, As-Sajdah 32:21]

So when a calamity befalls us, it just might be that we are committing some sin that Allah, Exalted be He, wishes to jolt us into refraining from, so He sends a calamity our way.

Patience (Sabr)

Allah Almighty says,

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَ‌اتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ‌ الصَّابِرِ‌ينَ ﴿١٥٥

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, (155)

[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:155]

"Be patient, for no time will come except that the one after it shall be worse than it until you meet your Lord." (hadith)

Our response to calamity should be sabr. If your response is anger and resentment towards Allah, then it is a sign that the calamity is a punishment for you rather than good for you.

Having sabr does not contradict the feeling of sadness or pain. We know in the stories of the Prophets, for example, Prophet Ya'qub alayhissalaam, when he lost his son, Yusuf, and how much he cried about this until he went blind. Obviously he had sabr and it doesn't mean he didn't feel sadness at the loss of his son.

Even if it is difficult to be patient, we are to strive to have patience. Sabr is a gift from Allah and the way to have it is to strive to have patience. When you strive to have patience, then Allah will give you patience. When we respond to calamity with sabr, our reward is that Allah removes our sins.

Any time any hardship a believer encounters, even from a prick of a thorn, his sins are removed like leaves falling from the tree.

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Nothing befalls a believer, a (prick of a) thorn or more than that, but Allah will raise him one degree in status thereby, or erase a bad deed.” [Bukhari 5641 and Muslim 2573]

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I entered upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was suffering from fever. I said, “O Messenger of Allah, you are suffering from a strong fever.” The Prophet said, “Yes. I suffer from fever as much as two men among you.” I said, “Is that because you will have a double reward?” The Prophet said, “Yes it is so. There is no Muslim who is afflicted with pain as much as the prick of a thorn or more except that Allah will expiate his sins just as leaves fall from a tree. [Bukhari 5324, Muslim 2571]

Al-Fadl ibn Sahl said: “There is a blessing in calamity that the wise man should not ignore, for it erases sins, gives one the opportunity to attain the reward for patience, dispels negligence, reminds one of blessings at the time of health, calls one to repent and encourages one to give charity.

However, in order for that calamity to have that effect we have to respond with sabr.

"...have patience until you meet me at the Pool." (hadith)

(where you will have a drink from after which you will never be thirsty again, followed by eternal bliss in Paradise.)

Contentment (Redha)

Beyond sabr, is the level of contentment (redha), which is not only that I feel patient, I am patient at what Allah brings me and I am actually content with what Allah gives to me. This is the highest level of response to calamity.

When we respond with sabr, our reward is that Allah removes our sins. With redha, it is beyond than just removal of the sin. When you respond with redha, it elevates your station in nearness to Allah. Redha is a level that we all should aspire for. It is not expected from everyone. Allah does not ask more than we can bear. But it should be the goal. But the very minimum our response is to restrain ourselves from complaining about Allah. People who respond with redha, their complain is not about Allah, but they complain to Allah in a way you go to a friend and you confide your weaknesses and pain. We should go to Allah and complain about our weaknesses and pain. And this does not contradict to sabr.

If you think someone in your life who you absolutely love and that person gives you a gift, which ordinarily is not something people will get excited about, and someone who you don't necessarily love and that person gives you a precious gift, which one has more value to you? Obviously, the gift that came from the person you love. If we really love Allah, then we would love anything He gives us. Redha can only come out from love, a high station of love of Allah. The idea is that because I love the source of this gift, I love the gift.

Redha is the most lofty response, the response by which the servant of Allah get higher to Allah. In every single moment that we live there is at least three options we can choose from-there is 1) a commandment from Allah that we need to obey, 2) a prohibition that we need to avoid, or 3) a decision of Allah (qadr of Allah) that we need to be patient about or at a higher level, be pleased or content with.

So, when you look at your life is constant worship of Allah. Allah says,

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴿٥٦

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (56)

[Qur'an, adh-Dhariyyat 51:56]

If this is our purpose, that means it is something we could do in every moment of our lives. If it is just restricted to once a year, once in a lifetime, then it would not be the purpose of our existence as Allah intended it to be. Worship (ibadah) is not just a few religious rituals but ibadah must be something that we are in constant of, something that we can do throughout our lives, every moment of our lives.

If we look at these three options, the one we tend to fall short the most in is the third one, qadr of Allah. When Allah gave us some problems we don't even have patience for it.

Allah is the Lord of the worlds. He knows what He is doing. And we should take it like the dead person being washed--obedience to washer of his body. When we look at our relationship with Allah, do we really know Him? Do we really understand that He is Al-Hakim (the Most Wise), Al-Alim (the Most knowledgeable), that He has power to do anything and everything? He is Al-Wakeel, the ultimate Trustee, that no one is looking out for us and have our best interest more than Him.

The more we understand who Allah is and who we are, the easier it is for us to have patience and have redha with His decree. We can reach this station if we love Allah. The only way to love Allah is to know Him. When we truly love Allah, we will find that what befalls us is beautiful and good.

Remember the words of the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace): “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999).

Remember,

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّـهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ

Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned...

[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:286]

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ‌ يُسْرً‌ا ﴿٥﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ‌ يُسْرً‌ا ﴿٦﴾ فَإِذَا فَرَ‌غْتَ فَانصَبْ ﴿٧﴾ وَإِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ فَارْ‌غَب ﴿٨

For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (5) Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (6) So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. (7) And to your Lord direct [your] longing. (8)

[Qur'an, Al-Bayyinah 94:5-8]

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ النَّارِ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْقَبْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْغِنَى، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْفَقْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ

O Allah! I seek refuge with You from the affliction of the Fire and from the punishment in the Fire, and seek refuge with You from the affliction of the grave, and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of wealth, and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of poverty, and seek refuge with You from the affliction of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal.

Ameen

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

Love, Marriage and Addiction

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Love is not a mental illness nor addiction. If love is looking like a mental illness, then it is not love. Love is not supposed to make you like drug addicts. If what you love has made you unable to function, if it has taken off your sanity and you are willing to sacrifice anything for it, then it is not love. It is more like addiction, it is more like slavery.

What many people call love is actually not love. It is hawa (desires) as Allah describe in the Qur'an:

أَفَرَ‌أَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَـٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّـهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَىٰ بَصَرِ‌هِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّـهِ ۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُ‌ونَ ﴿٢٣

Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded? (23)

[Qur'an, Al-Jathiya 45:23]

There is a group of people that Allah describes that they take their "hawa" as their "ilah" (god(. What that means is that anything their desires tell them to do, they obey. This is the person, regardless of morality, regardless of right or wrong, they would do anything what their desire tell them to do even doing so is displeasing Allah. That is why it is described as a form of worship. These are the people who obey whatever their desires command. The culture we live in actually commands us to obey what we desire.

As Muslims we say "la ilaha illallah" (there is no god worthy of worship except God) many times a day during our salah. An ilah is something we worship, something we obey. It is something our entire existence revolves around.

When people take their desires as "ilah", then when you love someone, you are willing to displease Allah for the sake of that person.

Allah warns us even in the thing that is halal, we cannot love it more than Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and striving in His cause,

قُلْ إِن كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللَّـهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّـهُ بِأَمْرِهِ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ

Say: 'If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, your possessions that you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love -- if these are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and to struggle in His way, then wait till Allah brings His command; Allah guides not the rebellious.'

(Qur'an, At-Tawba 9:24)

This Ayah is something we do need to pay attention to. Everything that is listed in this Ayah (your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, your possessions that you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love) is actually halal to love. But the warning here is that if any of these things you love more than Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and striving in His cause, that is going to be a big problem-- the consequence is torment in this life before the next.

Nobody would say that they love their spouse more than Allah, but their actions are showing exactly what they are doing. Because when they are facing between what is pleasing to their spouse and what is pleasing to Allah, they end up pleasing their spouse. What happen here is that they are putting the love of a person above the love of Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace). In that way they completely turn things around.

What exactly is marriage? One of the problems is that we have taken marriage as if it is the purpose of life, as if it is the end. It is as if I am living this life and the story ends at Prince Charming coming saving Cinderella and live happily ever after. This is completely wrong because the marriage itself is just a vehicle to take you to your end. What's our end? We hope that our end is Allah. We hope that everything that we do will bring us near to Allah.

Allah tells us about marriage in this Ayah,

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَ‌حْمَةً ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُ‌ونَ ﴿٢١

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. (21)

[Qur'an, Ar-Rum 30:21]

But what people don't pay attention to is the beginning of the Ayah before we go further. It begins with "And of His signs.." What is a sign? A sign is a pointer to something, it guides you to your destination. Allah is saying that the relationship between the spouses is a sign. It means that it is a sign of Allah. If that relationship is actually taking you away from Allah, is it the correct type, is it fulfilling its purpose as a sign of Allah? If it is actually acting as a barrier between you and Allah then it is not fulfilling the purpose.

wa min ayaati وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ...it is a sign of Allah...it is intended to bring you closer to Allah when you get married, not father away. So, that is the way to know if this love good for you or bad for you. A true love is supposed to bring you closer to Allah.

litaskunu ilayha لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا...that you may find tranquillity in them...
How about the type of love that is found in Romeo and Juliet, does that look like tranquility to you? No, that looks like a drug addiction and craziness. Don't think for a moment that people only get addicted to drugs. People can get addicted to other people. We can be in a very unhealthy relationship which is more like addiction. It has all the same characteristic. They go through withdrawal symptoms if they are not with the other person for a while, they can't function, they can't think about anything else, they can't talk about anything else, they can't sleep and they can't eat. This is what happen to a person who is addicted to another person. It is an unhealthy attachment and so when you don't have it for a while, it is like having a fit. You can't be with that person.

When that person doesn't work out, it causes devastation because you have allowed yourself to get attached to a person in a very unhealthy way. It becomes like taking a drug from an addict. In order to get over that type of attachment, it is very similar to getting over a drug addiction. You have to totally cut off from that drug and you will have to go through withdrawal symptoms until it stays out your system completely.

How do you tell between an unhealthy addiction and marriage in the way that Allah intends it to be? These are some fundamental questions you should asked yourself.

Does being with this person bring me closer to Allah or farther from Allah?
What do you think about all day?
what is the first thing you think about in the morning?
What is last thing you think about before you go to sleep?
What keeps you at night?
What makes you most happy, sad, and angry?
If the answer is the other person, that is the most likely an indication that you have an unhealthy attachment with the other person.

When you say "Allahu Akbar" and all you think about is that person, you have to know you have a problems, even if that person is your spouse. When you say 'Allahu Akbar" and you start to pray
you are not just saying Allah is great, but you are saying Allah is greater. Greater than what? Everything. Every movements you are making in salah, you are reminding yourself that Allah is greater-- Allah is greater than the other person, Allah is greater than whatever you are thinking about. The whole concept that Allah is greater is that there is nothing else is greater than Allah.

The first thing we should think about is "la illaha illallah" (There is nothing worthy of our worship except Allah)

The last thing we should think about before we sleep is Allah and the last thing you say before you sleep is:

اللهم أسلمت نفسي إليك، ووجهت وجهي إليك، وفوضت أمري إليك، وألجأت ظهري إليك، رغبة ورهبة إليك، لا ملجأ ولا منجى منك إلا إليك‏.‏ آمنت بكتابك الذي أنزلت ‏.‏ ونبيك الذي أرسلت

Allahumma aslamtu nafsi ilaika, wa wajjahtu wajhi ilaika, wa fawwadtu amri ilaika, wa 'alja'tu zahri ilaika, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika, la malja'a wa la manja illa ilaika. Amantu bikitabikal-ladhi anzalta, wa nabiyyikal-ladhi arsalta

O Allah! I have submitted myself to You, I have turned my face to You, committed my affairs to You, and depend on You for protection out of desire for You and out of fear of You (expecting Your reward and fearing Your punishment). There is no refuge and no place of safety from You but with You. I believed in the Book You have revealed, and in the Prophet You have sent (i.e., Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace)

You are making this du'a that everything is towards Allah, not towards another person.

If what is filling your heart is the love of Allah, then what comes out of that is that you will begin to love everything that Allah loves, you begin to hate everything that Allah does not love, and you would not want something that is displeasing to Allah.

Even for love, do not forget Allah. Because if you forget Allah in this life, He will forget you in the Hour that matters.

May Allah make Him our only love and increase our love for His beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and grant us sound understanding of His Religion. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

Coming Home with a Sound Heart

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

All the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, all the joy and sadness in our lives, all the difficulties and comforts of this life, all the anger and hate that manifest, all the love and beauty we cherish, at the end of the day, what is important is that we meet Allah with a sound heart

يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ ﴿٨٨﴾ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّـهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children (88) But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart. (89)

[Qur'an, Ash-Shu'ara 26:88-89]

Narrated by Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Verily Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts." And he pointed towards the heart with his fingers.

[Sahih Muslim]

The key to a sound heart is knowledge. The heart is nourished by knowledge. We are naturally lovers of knowledge. When the heart is sound, you want to learn. Human beings who do not love knowledge, and they are many of us, we can say that their hearts are sick. If you fill your heart with anger and appetites (passion and desires), it won't have room for knowledge. Anger and appetites are created in us but they have their proper places. If they are placed where they are supposed to be, all kinds of manifestation of goodness will appear from your heart-- dignity, self esteem, courage, etc. But if they are allowed to spin out of control, then they will destroy the heart.

The key to knowledge is practice. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "There is no valid practice without knowledge and there is no knowledge without practice."

He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said, "Whoever puts into practice what he knows Allah will give him as inheritance the knowledge of what he did not know."

"All speech comes out of the heart bearing the drape of the heart from which it came". [ibn Ata'ila]

When you learn and practice what you know, your speech comes out as a beautiful drapery and that drapery is what dazzles the people, not words. Some people may say beautiful words but there is no drapery. Wrong actions, oppressive actions or abusive actions destroy the heart because they don't leave any room for beauty.

So, seek knowledge, keep learning and learning, practice what you know. Your time is your capital. Use your time to develop your heart so we come home with a sound heart inshaa Allah.

وَٱلْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ﴿٣

By time, (1) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (2) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and exhort each other to truth and exhort each other to patience. (3)

[Qur'an, Al-Asr 103:1-3]

May Allah protect us from talking about matters we do not practice, and help us come to Him with a sound heart. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

We Hear and We Obey

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَ‌انَكَ رَ‌بَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ‌ ﴿٢٨٥ ...

... And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination." (285)

[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:285]

Remember Hajar (Allah be pleased with her), the wife of Prophet Ibrahim alayhissalaam, being left alone with her infant son, Ismael alayhissalaam, in an uncultivated valley of the desert in the Arabian Peninsula having no fruit, no trees, no food, no water. The valley had no sign of life.

She asked her husband, “To whom are you leaving us?” And in certain al-Bukhari narrations, she repeated this question or plea over and over again, yet throughout, he did not turn around to answer her; finally, she said, “Did Allah order you to do this?” Ibrahim alayhissalaam said, “Yes.” She said, “Then He will not allow us to waste away (or perish).” In another narration, she said, “I am pleased with Allah (i.e., with His decree and with being placed in His care).” She did not, however, say, “There are priorities. Instead of leaving us in this barren desert, you should take us with you, for we can then help you in calling others to the way of Allah.” She did not know what Allah had hidden for her but she obeyed and remain patient.

If we know that a command is from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, we must only do as the mother of Ismael did: answer and obey. Being pleased with Allāh’s decree, she began to move briskly from al-Safa to al-Marwa, now hoping to find water, and now fearing for her son who was on the verge of dying.

Some who have weak faith might say, “This was the calamity of near death for the child. What did this experience benefit him, his father, or his mother.” Such people do not appreciate the struggle and patience and sacrifices of Ibrahim alayhissalaam and his family; instead, such people uphold a purely worldly view – the very view that has effectively struck down our ummah.

From a realistic and sensible point of view, let us ask, what were the fruits of Ibrahim’s and his wife’s obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala? They are fruits that were reaped not just by Ibrahim alayhissalaam, his wife, and his child; rather they are fruits that every Islamic Monotheist on the face of the earth has reaped and will continue to reap until the coming of the Hour.

Muslims come to Makkah in throngs from both the east and the west. They are happy and contented because they are making circuits between al-Safa and al-Marwa, in the same place that the mother of Ismael performed the same circuits. They come from far-off lands in order to train themselves to obey Allah’s commandments. As they move briskly between the two said mountains, they reflect on how the mother of Ismael raced back and forth in a state of pain and sadness, placing obedience to her Lord before all else.

Then, by the permission of Allah, the water of Zamzam gushed forth, water that contains a cure to diseases and sickness and that is blessed and excellent. To this very day, Muslims are eager to drink as much as they can from that very same water and to transport it to their homelands, no matter the distance and the hardships involved.

And Ibrahim alayhi salam built the Inviolable House. The rewards of praying there are many times greater than the rewards of praying elsewhere. People also achieve the rewards of performing tawaf around the Ka’bah, and their supplications are answered. These are the benefits that extend beyond those who obeyed to those that came after them.

These are but only a few things that were hidden from Hajar that we know now. We cannot imagine the reward she is getting in Paradise for her obedience and patience.

Then let us too be obedient to our Lord, even if doing so apparently involves some fatigue, hardship, losing popularity, friends, spouse and so on. Let us forbid ourselves from disobedience and transgression.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱصْبِرُوا۟ وَصَابِرُوا۟ وَرَابِطُوا۟ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّـهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٢٠٠

O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful. (200)

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:200]

وَٱصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿١١٥

And be patient, for indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good. (115)

[Qur'an, Hud 11:115]

May Allah make us His obedient servants and make us among the patient ones. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Don't Be Deluded

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Don't be too confident that your works are going to be on the Scale of good deeds in the hereafter. What distinguishes the 'best in deed' is your heart, your intention for the sake of Allah. Sincere intention is indispensable prerequisite for the acceptance of a good deed.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, “Deeds are according to their intentions and every person will receive according to what he/she intended…” (Bukhari)

A sincere person (mukhlis) sets himself at the disposal of Allah, seeking only His pleasure, and in doing so, he attains honor and nobility.

Anyone who strives in the way of Allah will be guided by Allah toward His path.

وَٱلَّذِينَ جَـٰهَدُوا۟ فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ لَمَعَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿٦٩

And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good. (69)

[Qur'an, Al-Ankabut 26:69]

Materialism, or the love of 'adornments of the world,' can make even acts of worship to be done for worldly gains -- recognition, respect, power, prestige, money, etc. Someone who put in a lot of effort in some deeds for some worldly gain, with Allah their efforts is ruined and their deed, wasted.

Allah Almighty says in verse 103 and 104 of Surah Kahf,

قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم بِالْأَخْسَرِ‌ينَ أَعْمَالًا ﴿١٠٣﴾ الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا ﴿١٠٤

Say, [O Muhammad], "Shall we [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? (103) [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work." (104)

[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:103-104]

Al-Qurtubi said that this situation is caused due to two things-- Corruption in belief or hypocrisy. It means that a person whose very belief and faith is not correct - no matter how good he is in his deeds and how painstaking in his effort - will find all this useless and wasted in the Hereafter. Similarly, the deed of anyone who acts for the pleasure of the created by way of hypocrisy, that deed too will remain deprived of reward.

The one with a purpose, who has a vision and understands their mission, the outlook in this world changes. This dunya (temporal world) becomes a place of opportunities and a place to accumulate wealth, in the form of good deeds, for the Hereafter. Every trial they come across in this world becomes an opportunity to be patient and content. Every blessing they are given and witness around them becomes a means of being thankful and humble. Every temptation they struggle against they see it for what it is--a mirage to entrap the soul. They strive to keep the dunya in their hands and not their hearts. They have a mission and know the trust they are carrying—for they are living for His sake now.

Make your deeds purely for His sake alone and He will extend His mercy to you. Follow His religion, and He will extend His bounty to you. Follow the Sunnah of His beloved Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and He will extend His love to you.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا ﴿١٠٧﴾ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا ﴿١٠٨

Verily! those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, shall have the Gardens of Al-Firdaus (the Paradise) for their entertainment. (107) "Wherein they shall dwell (forever). No desire will they have for removal therefrom." (108)

[Qur'an Al-Kahf 18:107-108]

Look forward to your meeting with Allah. It is very soon, sooner than you think. Start making preparations for this meeting.

Get rid of the love of this world from your heart; free it from everything other than the Lord of Truth. Don't buy this paltry world and pay with the Hereafter as a price. Don't sell your Hereafter to acquire this perishing world. And rush to good deeds.

قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا ﴿١١٠

Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." (110)

[Qur'an Al-Kahf 18:110]

May Allah protect us from being losers, grant us true sincerity, accept our deeds and make our meeting with Him the best of meetings. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam


َ

Knowledge is Better Than Money

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Knowledge is better than money, since you have to protect money, while knowledge protects you. And money is depleted from spending, while knowledge grows when you spend it. And knowledge makes rulings, while money is ruled over. People who hoard money have died while they are still living, while the scholars live on through the ages. Their souls may have passed away, but their effects remain present in the hearts of people. [‘Ali radi Allahu ‘anhu]

اَللَّهُمَّ انْفَعْنِي بِمَا عَلَّمْتَنِي وَعَلِّمْنِي مَا يَنْفَعُنِي وَارْزُقْنِي عِلْمًا تَنْفَعُنِي بِهِ

O Allah! Benefit me with the knowledge You have given me and teach me that which will benefit me and bestow me with knowledge You will benefit me with

Allahumma Zid-Nee 'iL-Maa

O Allah, increase me in Knowledge

Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

In Pursuit of Allah's Pleasure

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Who are you trying to please in your life? Whose approval are you trying to get by the things that you do in your life-- the way you live your life, the habits, the tendencies, the way you act, etc. Who are you trying to impress?

The Izza (honor, dignity) of a Muslim is Islam. If you are trying to gain dignity from any other source, you will not get it and you will go astray.

Allah's beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) stated in a hadith that Allah's Pleasure must always be held above people's pleasure:

Whoever seeks Allah's Pleasure at the expense of people's displeasure, will win Allah's Pleasure and Allah will cause people to be pleased with him. And whoever seeks to please people at the expense of Allah's Displeasure, will win the Displeasure of Allah and Allah will cause people to be displeased with him.

(Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Saheeh)

The greatest honor and gratification people can ever attain is Allah's good pleasure. Allah makes His servants pleased with Him through the multitude of blessings He bestows on them. In a verse of the Qur'an, the reward for believers who are pleased with Allah, and with whom Allah is pleased, is related as follows:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّـهِ رَ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٦٢

Their reward with Allah will be gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them and they with Him. That is for whoever has feared his Lord. (8)

[Qur'an, al-Bayyinah 98:8]

قُلْ إِنِّي أُمِرْ‌تُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ اللَّـهَ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ الدِّينَ ﴿١١﴾ وَأُمِرْ‌تُ لِأَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿١٢﴾ قُلْ إِنِّي أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَ‌بِّي عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿١٣﴾ قُلِ اللَّـهَ أَعْبُدُ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ دِينِي ﴿١٤

Say, [O Muhammad], "Indeed, I have been commanded to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion. (11) And I have been commanded to be the first [among you] of the Muslims." (12) Say, "Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day." (13) Say, "Allah [alone] do I worship, sincere to Him in my religion, (14)

[Qur'an, az-Zumar 39:11]

Once having grasped the extent of Allah's infinite might, to forget His existence and remain heedless is merely to delude oneself. What Allah demands from human beings is that they seek to earn His good pleasure as their sole priority in life.

Since it is Allah Who created man, provided him his sustenance and all other such blessings, and Who promised him eternal life, it would be an act of ingratitude fora person to seek the pleasure of others, or the gratification of his own self, as his primary aim. The punishment for such ungratefulness is eternal Hellfire.

There are two choices a person can make; he can either find his life on Allah's good pleasure, and thus earn the reward of His Paradise, or choose the path that leads to Hell. A third option is not available for him. This is clearly expressed in the following verse:

أَفَمَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَىٰ تَقْوَىٰ مِنَ اللَّـهِ وَرِ‌ضْوَانٍ خَيْرٌ‌ أَم مَّنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَىٰ شَفَا جُرُ‌فٍ هَارٍ‌ فَانْهَارَ‌ بِهِ فِي نَارِ‌ جَهَنَّمَ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿١٠٩﴾

Then is one who laid the foundation of his building on righteousness [with fear] from Allah and [seeking] His approval better or one who laid the foundation of his building on the edge of a bank about to collapse, so it collapsed with him into the fire of Hell? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. (109)

[Qur'an, at-Tawba 9:109]

Those values praised in the Qur'an are those founded on purely that which achieves Allah's pleasure.

Allah's good pleasure is not only earned solely by performing certain acts of worship at definite times. Allah's good pleasure is also earned by conducting oneself correctly throughout one's lifetime. The following verse informs us that a believer's entire life must be oriented towards a single goal:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّـهِ رَ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٦٢

Say: "My prayer and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds."

[Qur'an, al-An'am 6:162]

Allah has told us everything we need to know in order to please Him and earn Paradise in the Qur'an. All we need to do is follow the teachings of the Qur'an and its explanations and manifestations in the Prophetic Sunnah.

هَـٰذَا بَيَانٌ لِّلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةٌ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿١٣٨﴾ وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ﴿١٣٩

This [Qur'an] is a clear statement to [all] the people and a guidance and instruction for those conscious of Allah. (138) So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers. (139)

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:138-139]

Among the many things which we can do to please Allah, there are some which He especially highlights as things He loves and things He doesn’t love. One of the most powerful ways of earning Allah’s pleasure is to do the things He loves and avoid at all costs the things He hates. Therefore let us look at some of these things.

Things Allah Loves

1- Gratitude

To Allah

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ اشْكُرْ‌ لِلَّـهِ ۚ وَمَن يَشْكُرْ‌ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ‌ لِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ‌ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ ﴿١٢

..."Be grateful to Allah." And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] - then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy. (12)

{Qur'an, Luqman 31:12]

To Your Parents and Excellent Treatment Towards Them

وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ وَفِصَالُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ أَنِ اشْكُرْ‌ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ‌ ﴿١٤

And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination.

[Qur'an, Luqman 31:14]

وَقَضَىٰ رَ‌بُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَ‌ٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ‌ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْ‌هُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِ‌يمًا ﴿٢٣

And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, excellent treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word. (23)

[Qur'an, Al-Isra' 17:23]

Be extremely careful not to do anything to cause your parents to be angry towards you or make them weep because of you.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik, that Prophet (Alla bless him and grant him peace) says, "Whoever has pleased his parents, he has pleased Allah and whoever has angered his parents, he has angered Allah."

2- Patience

وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

And Allah loves as-Sâbirun (the patient).

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:146]

Patience is a quality needed in every aspect of our lives. It is needed in obeying Allah’s commands and staying away from evil when we’re most tempted. It is needed in adversity, and it is needed in prosperity – in order to control ourselves from indulging in excesses. Therefore, it is a highly praiseworthy quality and one that Allah Himself says that He loves.

3- Self-sacrifice

It is valid only if the person does not expect anything for it in return, but rather only to attain Allah's good pleasure. It is related in the Qur'an that believers conduct themselves correctly only to seek Allah's Noble countenance.

وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرً‌ا ﴿٨﴾ إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّـهِ لَا نُرِ‌يدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورً‌ا ﴿٩

And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, (8) [Saying], "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. (9)

[Qur'an, Al-Insan: 8-9)

4- Justice

ا ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ

For Allah loves those who are fair (and just).

[Qur'an, Al-Hujurat 49:9]

Allah Himself is The Just, and He loves those who do justice towards others.

5- Tawakkul

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

Certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:159]

One of Allah’s names is Al Wakeel, and we acknowledge that by putting our trust in Him.

6- Gentleness

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَفِيقٌ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ وَيُعْطِي عَلَيْهِ مَا لاَ يُعْطِي عَلَى الْعُنْفِ

Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness, and He grants reward for it that He does not grant for harshness.

[ibn Majah]

7- Repentance

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٲبِينَ

Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto him in repentance.

[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:222]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,

If you were not to commit sins, Allah would have swept you out of existence and would have replaced you by another people who have committed sin, and then asked forgiveness from Allah, and He would have granted them pardon.

[Sahih Muslim]

8- Prayer at its proper time

Narrated Al-Walid bin ‘Aizar:

I heard Abi `Amr ‘Ash-Shaibani saying, “The owner of this house.” he pointed to `Abdullah’s house, “said, I asked the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) ‘Which deed is loved most by Allah?” He replied, ‘To offer prayers at their early (very first) stated times.’ ” `Abdullah asked, “What is the next (in goodness)?” The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “To be good and dutiful to one’s parents,” `Abdullah asked, “What is the next (in goodness)?” The Prophet said, To participate in Jihad for Allah’s Cause.” [Bukhari]

Things Allah Doesn’t Love

1- Extravagance/Wasteful

Islam encourages moderation in every matter. Allah said,

ۚ كُلُوا مِن ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ ۖ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ

. . . Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.

[Qur'an, An-Aam 6:141]

2- Pride and Arrogance

إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِ‌ينَ ﴿٢٣ ...

... Indeed, He loves not the arrogant (proud).

[Qur'an, Al Nahl 16:23]

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ‌ ﴿١٨ ...

...Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful. (18) [Qur'an, Luqman 31:18]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘No one who has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will enter the Garden.’ [Sahih Muslim]

Allah Himself is Al Mutakabbir. Istikbar in human beings is akin to competing with Allah in His attribute. That’s why Allah said in a hadith Qudsi: Pride is my cloak and majesty is my lower garment, and I shall throw him who view with me regarding one of them into Hell. [Abu Dawud]

3- Transgression

Transgressing the boundaries which Allah has set for us is harmful for ourselves and others around us.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ

O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.

[Qur'an, Al_Ma'idah 5:87]

4- Dhulm (Oppresion)

Dhulm can be done to other people or to our own selves. Transgressing the limits set by Allah amounts to oppressing ourselves.

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ

But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will give them in full their rewards, and Allah does not like the wrongdoers.

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:57]

5- Obscenity

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,

إِنَّ اَللَّهَ يُبْغِضُ اَلْفَاحِشَ اَلْبَذِيءَ

Allah hates the profligate and the obscene.

[Tirmidhi]

This is manifested in the life of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)– he never for once used any kind of obscene language or behavior in his whole life.

6- Khiyanah (Treachery)

Allah said in the Quran:

وَلَا تُجَادِلْ عَنِ الَّذِينَ يَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ خَوَّانًا أَثِيمًا

And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver.

[Qur'an, An-Nisaa 4:107]

Also,

وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِن قَوْمٍ خِيَانَةً فَانبِذْ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَىٰ سَوَاءٍ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْخَائِنِينَ

If you [have reason to] fear from a people betrayal, throw [their treaty] back to them, [putting you] on equal terms. Indeed, Allah does not like traitors.

[Qur'an, Al-Anfal 8:58]

If you look closely at the above examples of things which Allah loves and doesn’t like, you will notice that all of them are things which are of benefit to us, and harmful to us, respectively. Allah loves the best for us and doesn’t like it that we harm ourselves. Thus it is manifest how much Allah loves us.

May Allah grant us deeds that are pleasing to Him and protect us from those deeds that cause Him displeasure. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

A Father's Advice to His Son

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Ibn al-Jawzī authored the following as an advice to his son, Abu’l-Qasim Badr al-Dīn ‘Alī al-Nasikh.¹

You should know, my son, may Allāh guide you to what is right, that man has been distinguished by intellect only so that he would act according to it. Bring it to the fore, use it in contemplation and spend time alone with yourself. You will conclude that you are a created being who has responsibilities and obligations and that the two angels are counting your every word and glance. Every breath is a step closer to death. The time we spend in this world is short, the time we are held in our graves is long, and the punishment for following our base desires is calamitous.

Where is the delight of yesterday? It has departed leaving only regret in its wake. Where is the soul’s desire? How many has it brought low, how many has it caused to slip and falter? People have only attained happiness by going against their lusts and desires. People have only become wretched by giving preference to the life of this world. Learn from the lives of kings and ascetics: where is the delights of the kings and where is the weariness of the ascetics? The only thing left is the abundant reward and beautiful mention for the pious, and the malicious words and calamitous punishment for the disobedient. It is as if those who starved never starved and those who ate to their fill never did so. Laziness in virtuous deeds is an evil companion indeed, and love of comfort causes regret greater than any enjoyment. So take heed and tire yourself for your self.

Know, that performing the obligatory and avoiding the forbidden is a must; whenever a person transgresses the limits let him beware of the Fire. Then know that aspiring to virtuous deeds is the highest goal of those who strive yet virtuous deeds vary in status and ranks; some people consider them to mean abstaining from worldly vanities and others think they stand for dedicating oneself for worship. The truth, however, is that complete virtue is nothing but joining knowledge with action. When these two are combined they raise a person to the level of truly knowing the Creator, Exalted and Most High, causing him to love, fear and yearn for Him. This is the true goal. People also vary in determination: not everybody who wants is wanted and not everybody who seeks finds what he is looking for. Still, everyone must strive to reach their goals because “everyone is eased towards what he is created for.”²

Allah is the source of all help.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.


Footnotes:

1. He used to mistreat his father who was not pleased with his ways and finally abandoned him for years. He died in 630.

2. The wording of this sentence is a sahīh hadīth of the Prophet salAllāhu ’alayhi wasallam from ‘Alī ibn Abī Talib (al-Bukhārī: Kitab al-Jana’iz, 1362, Chapter: Preaching by the while one’s companions are sitting around oneself , 1362, Muslim: Kitab al-Qadr, Chapter: How man was created, 2467, 6)

Healing and Journeying through Life with Spiritual Resilience

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Allah Subḥanahu wa Ta'ala (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴿٥٦

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (56)

(Qur'an, Adh-Dhariyyat 51:56)

A worshiper of Allah may fall into one of these three categories:

1) The one who only worships Allah when he is in difficulty

It takes a colossal tragedy, a serious illness, or loss of resources for this person to set aside her pride and ask Allah for relief. Allah describes this type of person in the Qur'an (interpretation of meaning):

“It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when you are in ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from everywhere and they assume that they are surrounded, supplicating Allah, sincere to Him in religion, 'If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful.' But when He saves them, at once they commit injustice upon the earth without right…” (Qur'an, Yunus 10:22-23)

He witnesses Allah's miracles and help when he desperately calls on Him. Even then, once his problems are over, he goes back to thinking he doesn't really need Allah.

2) The one who only worships Allah when he is blessed with happiness and plenty

This is the kind of person who falls apart when something difficult comes his way. He throws his hands up and utters those two dangerous words: “why me?” He questions Allah's motives, thinking and perhaps even saying why is Allah doing this to me?

Allah describes this person in the Qur'an (interpretation of meaning):

“And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.” (Qur'an, Al-Hajj 22:11)

This person believes he is inherently entitled to ease. Any difficulty he experiences makes him question his belief in Allah.

3) The one who worships Allah in both times of hardship and in times of ease

Regardless of ease or hardship, this type of worshiper doesn't allow his faith to waver. Hardships make him turn inward, seeking comfort and help from the Most Merciful. Blessings make him become grateful, sharing his resources with others and continuously praising his Lord for His bounties.

Prophet Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” (Muslim)

Every believer's goal should be to worship Allah in this manner. Regardless of his circumstances or emotional state, a believer finds a way to turn himself fully to the worship of Allah.

Allah Almighty says (interpretation of meaning),

"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, (155) Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." (156) Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided. (157) (Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:155-157)

Whether you have faced the loss of your loved ones, your wealth, your safety, or your sense of self worth, there are certain things you need to keep in mind in order to create an atmosphere of resilience, strength and patience.

The following are five key components to creating an environment and state of mind that supports spiritual resilience.

1. Accepting your humanness

We are not emotionless beings. We experience very intense emotional states. We have the potential to accomplish great things and to reach high states of faith, but we are also susceptible to pain, sadness, and anger. We have to accept that feeling these things isn't a form of weakness; it's just the reality of how we were created.

One of the best examples of this is the story of Maryam (peace be upon her) when she was in labor with Isa (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty says (interpretation of meaning):

“And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten.” (Qur'an, Maryam 19:23)

Allah didn't respond to her cries by harshly saying, “Do not wish for death!” or “Be more patient!” Rather, it was said to her out of a great and wonderful mercy:

“…Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and be contented.” (Qur'an, Maryam 19:24-26)

How merciful Allah is to have shown us such a human and authentic example of a woman who was in so much pain that she uttered her wish that she had died. And keep in mind, this was not just any woman: it was Maryam (peace be upon him), the best and most righteous of all the believing women in history. Allah demonstrates to us how He responded with assurance, mercy, and love: “Do not grieve.”

Allah created us and understands that we have great weaknesses and that we are flawed and imperfect. Even the greatest men and women were human; they grieved just as we do, they felt with just as much intensity as we feel. And yes, they did and said things they regretted in times of pain.

So even if you say or do something you regret, Allah is the Forgiving. As long as you're alive, you still have the chance to redeem yourself. You still have the chance to reclaim the patience and constancy that you thought were lost to you.

Accept that you are human and you will make mistakes, and you will sometimes feel low. Only when you accept this can you really work towards bettering yourself.

2. Using the intensity of your emotion to worship Allah better

Once you accept your humanness and stop pushing away your emotions as though they're poisonous, you can begin to understand that the intensity of your emotions can be used to worship Allah in a deeper and more fulfilling way.

When you're experiencing sadness and grief, complain of your sadness to Allah, like Ya'qub (peace be upon him) did when he was devastated at the years he spent apart from his son Yusuf (peace be upon him). He said, as recorded in the Qur'an (interpretation of meaning):

“I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah.” (Qur'an, Yusuf 12:86)

When you feel frustrated and hopeless, and it seems that all the doors of opportunity are closing in your face, turn to Allah, Al-Fattah, to open the doors for you. When the Prophet Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam and his people were being persecuted in Makkah, he went to the city of Ta'if to try to find some allies. Instead of finding allies, he was rejected and violently expelled from the city. On top of all that, it was in the same year that he lost his beloved wife Khadijah, and his uncle Abu Talib who was protecting him. In that moment, it seemed that all the doors were closing…so he turned to Allah using a very powerful supplication:

“O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You.”

Even when you're happy, fulfilled, and blessed with abundance, use that state to fervently thank Allah for His favors upon you and give generously to others who don't have access to the same resources. Prophet Sulayman (peace be upon him) was blessed with a kingdom that was unsurpassed. He not only ruled a kingdom of humans, he also ruled the kingdom of animals and jinn. His gratitude is recorded in the Qur'an as a beautiful du'a:

“My Lord! Inspire and bestow upon me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favors which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You, and admit me by Your Mercy among Your righteous slaves.” (Qur'an, An-Naml 27:19)

Throughout our rich history, we see examples of prophets and righteous people in all kinds of emotional states – but what made them beloved to Allah is that they always used their particular circumstances to worship Him in a more holistic and meaningful way.

Every state that we find ourselves in – whether happy, sad, angry or excited – can be used to worship Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) better. But in order for this to work, we have to consciously be checked-in to our emotions. We have to understand what we're feeling and why. Only when we have this kind of self-awareness, can we turn our hearts fully towards our Creator.

3. Connecting with the Qur'an

Allah says:

“…Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (Qur'an, Ar-Ra'd 13:28)

and

“O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.” (Qur'an, Yunus 10:57)

Many of us turn to the people in our closest circles to help heal our wounds, comfort us in times of distress, and celebrate our victories. To us, the Qur'an is a theoretical source of guidance, but not a part of our daily lives.

In order to build spiritual and emotional resilience, the Qur'an needs to be an integral part of our lives. The joy that comes from truly connecting to the words of Allah is unlike any other fleeting pleasure. Only those who have taken the Qur'an with them as a companion on this path understand the constancy of happiness and relief it brings.

4. Counting your blessings

Regardless of how difficult your circumstances may be, you are blessed. If you have lost your wealth, perhaps your family is still with you. If you have lost your health, perhaps your faith is as strong as ever. If you have lost your loved ones, perhaps Allah has blessed you with the material resources and means to help others.

Sometimes it's difficult to see the glass half full, or to see the silver lining. But if you look closely enough, you'll find that, even in your darkest and most difficult moments, Allah has blessed you with so much. Even a difficulty that you hate can actually turn out to be a blessing. It's just as Allah says in the Qur'an:

“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:216)

It's incredibly important for your state of mind, to take the time to consciously and thoroughly remember everything that Allah has blessed you with. Write it down in a gratitude journal every day. Make it a part of your routine to reflect on both the big and small blessings you have in your life. This will not only put a difficult situation into perspective, it will also do the following:

Your overall happiness will increase. Research has shown that the more actively grateful you are, the happier you are.

You are rewarded by Allah for your gratitude to Him. Acknowledging His favors and blessings is a form of worship. One sincere, truthful “Alhamdulillah” is worth more than a mountain of gold in the sight of Allah.

The more grateful you are, the more Allah will give you. As He says in the Qur'an:

“And remember! your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): 'If you are grateful, I will add more (favors) for you'.” (Qur'an, Ibrahim 14:7)

To sum up: gratitude makes you happy. Allah grants you good deeds for your gratitude. Gratitude causes Allah to increase His favors upon you.

5. Seeking help

Sometimes we think patience means keeping all our difficulties to ourselves. But Allah hasn't created us in a vacuum, He has created us as members of a family, a community. Your mind and body are a trust given to you by Allah. So knowing when to seek help to take care of yourself is a way of honoring that trust from Him.

Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam

The Best Outcome is for the Righteous

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Allah has promised Jannah (Paradise) for those who didn't seek status in this world. We live for the status and reward of the hereafter, not for the status and reward in this world because what this world has to offer us cannot satisfy what Allah has put inside of us-- that is the desire for His Pleasure and Jannah.

تِلْكَ الدَّارُ‌ الْآخِرَ‌ةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِ‌يدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا ۚ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٨٣﴾ مَن جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ‌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى الَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٨٤

That home of the Hereafter We assign to those who do not desire exaltedness upon the earth or corruption. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous. (83) Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have better than it; and whoever comes with an evil deed - then those who did evil deeds will not be recompensed except [as much as] what they used to do. (84))

[Qur'an, Al-Qasas 28:83-84]

May Allah make us of those who seek the glory of the Hereafter and forgive us for all our sins and shortcomings and grant us an excellent ending. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaaam

Dangers of Lying and Virtues of Telling the Truth

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

“Indeed, truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to Paradise, and a truthful person continues to speak the truth until he becomes the most truthful person. Lies lead to evil and evil leads to Hell, and a liar continues to lie until he is listed as a high ranking liar before Allah." [Al-Bukhari]

Lying is a widespread problem and is a root of other problems that occur on an individual and public level. Lies are spoken and written in the media and in politics, in business and in personal dealings, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, although the degree, magnitude and frequency may vary.

What Qur'an says about lying...

1. We are not to lie, even if this might win us an advantage.

And do not be like she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong [by] taking your oaths as [means of] deceit between you because one community is more plentiful [in number or wealth] than another community. Allah only tries you thereby. And He will surely make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that over which you used to differ. [Quran, 16:92]

2. We’re not only to avoid lying ourselves, we’re also to avoid supporting liars in their sin.

And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver. [Quran, 4:107]

3. When we lie, we lie first and foremost to ourselves— which puts us on a slippery slope to Hellfire.

They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not. [Quran, 2:9]

4. Lying is a disease of the heart that only gets worse if left uncorrected.

In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie. [Quran, 2:10]

So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they will meet Him – because they failed Allah in what they promised Him and because they [habitually] used to lie. [Quran, 9:77]

5. Lying--especially lying about Allah-- is a symptom of injustice and results in extreme humiliation.

And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, ‘It has been inspired to me,’ while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, ‘I will reveal [something] like what Allah revealed.’ And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], ‘Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.’ [Quran, 6:93]

The worst form of lying is to do so upon Allah and His Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) which is to falsely attribute things to them. Allah Almighty Says in the Quran (what means): "And if he [i.e., Muhammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings, We would have seized by the right hand; then We would have cut from him the aorta " [Quran 69:44-46]

And (what means): "…And do not conceal testimony, for whoever conceals it – his heart is indeed sinful…." [Quran 2:283]

And (what means): "And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]." [Quran 2:42]

6. How do we tell liars from truthtellers? Allah doesn’t guide liars.

"…Indeed Allah does not guide one who is a transgressor and a liar." [Quran 40:28]

"…Indeed, Allah does not guide he who is a liar and [confirmed] disbeliever." [Quran 39:3]

"…The curse of Allah be upon him if he should be among the liars." [Quran 24:7]

7. Hypocrites are liars too, because they lie to themselves.

Allah Says about them (what means): "In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie." [Quran 2:10]

Allah also addressed His Messenger Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam Saying (what means): "…Allah knows that you are His Messenger, and Allah testifies that the hypocrites are liars." [Quran 63:1]

8. We don’t need to worry about guarding ourselves against deception; Allah is ever ready to protect us.

But if they intend to deceive you – then sufficient for you is Allah. It is He who supported you with His help and with the believers. [Quran, 8:62]

9. No one can ever get away with lying; in the end it will be clear who was truthful and who was not.

But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. [Quran, 29:3]

10. The truthful have a wondrous reward

Truthfulness is commanded by Allah as a part of faith and is an indispensable quality of the believers. It is mentioned in various places in the Qur'an. Some examples are when Allah Almighty Says (what means):

"Allah will say, 'This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness.' For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment." (119) [Quran, 5:119]

"That Allah may reward the truthful for their truth..." [Quran 33:24]

"O you who have believed! Fear Allah and be with those who are true." [Quran 9:119]

"O you who have believed! Fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice." [Quran 33:70]

"The patient, the true, the obedient, those who spend [in the way of Allah], and those who seek forgiveness before dawn." [Quran 3:17]

"The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is those who are the truthful." [Quran 49:15]

May Allah make us of those who are truthful and protect us against lies. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Wassalaam