Allah Will Treat You Like You Treat Other People

Bismillah

 

Something to ponder before Ramadhan.

 

How bad do we want Allah to make things easy for us in this life and in the next life?

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said,

مَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلَى مُعْسِرٍ يَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ

"Whoever facilitates or makes something easy for the one who is in hardship, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter." [Ibn Majaah]

 

Allah's Messenger sallalahu alayhi wasallam said, "Allah said, 'O son of Adam! Spend, and I shall spend on you." [Bukhari]

 

“Whoever conceals the (hidden) fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever exposes the fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will expose his faults, until (so that) He shames him, due to it, in his (own) house.” [Ibn Majaah]

 

How much are you willing to conceal other's fault and how badly do you want Allah to conceal your faults and your flaws on the Day of Judgment? 

 

"Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the need of a needy person, Allah will alleviate his needs in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever shields [or hides the misdeeds of] a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah will aid His slave so long as he aids his brother..." [40 Hadith Nawawi #36]

To what extent will you seek to alleviate the hardship of another and to what extent will you want Allah to alleviate your own hardship on the Day of Judgment?

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,

أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

...Let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. [Quran, An-Noor 24:22]

How badly do you want to come on the Day of Judgment and see that your major transgressions are forgiven? How badly do you want Allah to not make mention your sins? Are you holding others to that standard?

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said,

“The one who severs the ties of kinship will not enter Paradise.”

"Whoever sever the ties of kinship, Allah cuts him off."

Every 3 days, Mondays and Thursdays our deeds are presented to Allah. Think about this -- Why do you put silly things as barriers between you and your family -- brother, sister, mother, etc, that would cost you your Ramadhan, Hajj and all of your good deeds. Why? Because of your ego. Reconcile with those who you quarrel with before you enter this Ramadhan. Don't you want Allah to treat you the same way?

So why not pardon and overlook?

Among the Ramadhan preparations that the scholars of Islam have encouraged is preparing our hearts for Allah's gaze. Baihaqi relates, “When it is the first night of the month of Ramadhan, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, gazes to them and the one to whom Allah looks, He does not punish him, ever.” The place to which Allah looks is the heart. So what will Allah see in our hearts, if He were to look to us on the first night of Ramadan?

One of the qualities that would prevent us from this blessed gaze (and from many other opportunities for forgiveness) is malice. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam taught us of the Night of Power and the Half Night of Sha’ban that those who harbor rancor, mistreat parents, severe bonds of kinship or drink are prevented from Allah’s merciful gaze. Do we want Allah to look to His servants on the first night of Ramadan and overlook us because we are bearing ill will against each other? Is whatever anyone has done to hurt us so important that we can not overlook it in exchange for an opportunity for eternal salvation from Allah's punishment? What about all of those whom we have wronged? Do we not need Allah's pardon as well as theirs?

Allah said,

.. فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُۥ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ

"The one who pardons and reconciles his reward is upon Allah;" [Quran, Ash-Shura 42:40]

Tabarani relates that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "A caller will call [on the Day of Rising], ‘Let him stand whose reward is upon Allah and let him enter paradise’ Then he will call a second time, ‘Let him stand whose reward is upon Allah and let him enter paradise’ It will be said, ‘Who is the one whose reward is upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic?’ He will say, ‘Those who pardon people.’ Then he will call a third time, ‘Let him stand whose reward is upon Allah and let him enter paradise.’ Then so and so many thousand will stand and enter paradise without reckoning." Imagine being among that fortunate group and having all of our many sins forgiven and receiving our reward directly from Allah.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "The merciful are treated mercifully by the Merciful. Be merciful to those on earth so that Allah will be Merciful to you in the heavens."

Allah will treat you exactly as you treat other people. Allah will hold you to the standards that you hold other people. If you want that mercy from Allah, how much of it are you willing to manifest as a human being? How much of it are you willing to give to others?

May Allah purify our hearts, pardon our sins and enable us to pardon others and use all His blessings in the manner pleasing to Him. Aameen.

Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala aalihi wasahbihi wasallam

Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Gaining The Love of Allah

Bismillah

 

One of the sunnahs of Friday is to read Surah Al Kahf. Following this sunnah will gain the love of Allah in shaa Allah. Let's read Surah Kahf today and every Friday, and work towards understanding of the meaning. There are many lessons we can derive from the Surah that will guide us in our everyday lives.

 

Every true believers wish and hope to gain the love of Allah. There are many hadiths that tell us how to earn the love of Allah.

 

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ‎﴿٣١﴾‏

 

Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [Quran, AleImran 3:31]

 

We all love Allah but love is meaningful when it is mutual. So follow the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam by believing in Him and by following as many sunnah as you can. 

 

In a hadith Qudsi, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Verily Allah ta’ala has said: ‘Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him. And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (supererogatory) deeds until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.’ ” [Al-Bukhari]

 

Perform the recommended and optional prayers (like the rawatibs -- prayers before and after obligatory prayers, witr, dhuha, etc), optional fasts (mondays, thurdays, white days, etc), charity. The more we do that regularly and consistently, the more the possibility of gaining Allah's love.

 

There are also three things relating to character that are mentioned in a hadith on how we can gain the love of Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam

 

1) Being truthful -- Tell the truth even it is against youself or your loved ones. Lying is a major sin. Some people lie so much that they started to believe in the lies. Truthful in everything we do and every aspect of our lives -- truthful in business (buying and selling), in our dealings with our prents, children, spouse, Muslims or non-Muslims, etc. 

 

"...Truthfulness leads to righteousness (birr) and righteousness (birr) leads to Paradise. It will be said of the truthful person: 'He spoke the truth and was righteous', and it will be said of the liar, 'He told lies and was immoral.' "For a person continues to tell lies until he is recorded with Allah as a liar." [Ibn Majah]

 

2) Being trustworthy -- fulfill our trusts not just in material things but also with secrets and confidential matters. Someone confided in you, the matter is now a secret and it is your amanah. If someone told you not to tell anyone, it means noone including your spouse. This is an amanah.

 

3) Be good towards your neighbor -- many of us don't know our neighbors even their names. There is no relationship whatsoever. We need to change that. Greet your neighbors with a lovely smile when you see them outside. Show your generosity to your neighbors even if they are not Muslims. Be a good Muslim to your neighbors. 

 

Narrated Abu Shuraih:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!" It was said, "Who is that, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He said, "That person whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evil." [Bukhari]

 

If we constantly practice truthfulness, fulfill our amanah and good towards our neighbors, avoid sins and we do our obligatory worship, we will gain the love of Allah. 

 

What does it mean when Allah loves you? When Allah loves you, He will announce His love to Jibril alayhissalaam. Then Jibril loves you and he announces it to the angels and the angels love you. Then the people love you. SubhanaAllah!

 

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

 

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah loves a slave, calls out Jibril and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him'. Then Jibril loves him. After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allah loves so- and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him".

[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Another narration of Muslim is: Messenger of Allah, (ﷺ) said: "When Allah loves a slave, He calls Jibril (Gabriel) and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him.' And then Jibril loves him. Then he (Jibril) announces in the heavens saying: Allah loves so-and-so; so love him; then the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him; and then people on earth love him. And when Allah hates a slave, He calls Jibril and says: 'I hate so- and-so, so hate him.' Then Jibril also hates him. He (Jibril) then announces amongst the inhabitants of heavens: 'Verily, Allah hates so- and-so, so you also hate him.' Thus they also start to hate him. Then he becomes the object of hatred on the earth also".

[Muslim].

 

May Allah grant His love and the love of those who love Him, and the deeds that He love, and make our last deeds the best of deeds and our last words la ilaha illallah. Aameen.

 

Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala aalihi wasahbihi wasallam

The Best Muslim

Bismillah

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "The best of people, the best of you, goodness is hoped from him. And people feel secure from his harm."

 

When you walk past people, do people believe that you can only benefit them and that you wouldn't harm them? If that's the case, you are one of the best people. Your expression says a lot. Even if you have a long beard or a niqab, your lovely smile will melt even the hardest hearts. The moment you break into a smile, you reach out to help, you try to communicate or you greet, it changes the perception of people because that is who you are supposed to be -- the ambassador of the religion (deen), Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam. We are the vicegerent of Allah on this earth and we are supposed to do what Allah wants. 

 

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً

 

And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority."  [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:30]

 

Allah puts with us on this earth with a whole lot of people, a whole kind of people, and our interaction with people determines who we are. So, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says, "The best of people, the best of you, goodness is hoped from him. And people feel secure from his harm." He also said that the best of people is a person who has a heart that is "makhmum" مخموم", a tongue that is "saadiq صادق"  (truthful tongue). Having a truthful tongue is you don't say abusive or bad words, you don't tell lies, you don't deceive, you don't give false witness, etc. A makhmum heart is the heart that is conscious of Allah AlMighty, free from sin, transgression and jealousy. If you are free from jealousy, you have arrived at a level that is very high. Work hard at it! If you see someone who has something better than you, thank Allah for what you have. You are supposed to be looking at those who don't have what you have but the problem with many people is that they are quick to look at what others have that they don't have. We don't realize that they are wowing themselves at you and you are wowing yourself at someone else!

May Allah make it easy for us to please Him and make us of those who appreciate His favors upon us. Aameen.

Being Avid For Prayers and Reward

Bismillah

There is a lot of virtues for being avid for prayers.

Abu Hurayrah r.a relates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "If people knew what there is in the call to prayer and the first row, and then had no recourse but to draw lots for them, they would draw lots. If they knew what is there in going early to Friday prayer, they would race each other for it. And if they knew what is in the Night Payer and Morning Prayer, they would come to it,ceven if they had to do so crawling.

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنْ سُمَىٍّ، مَوْلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ السَّمَّانِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ لَوْ يَعْلَمُ النَّاسُ مَا فِي النِّدَاءِ وَالصَّفِّ الأَوَّلِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَجِدُوا إِلاَّ أَنْ يَسْتَهِمُوا عَلَيْهِ لاَسْتَهَمُوا وَلَوْ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا فِي التَّهْجِيرِ لاَسْتَبَقُوا إِلَيْهِ وَلَوْ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا فِي الْعَتَمَةِ وَالصُّبْحِ لأَتَوْهُمَا وَلَوْ حَبْوًا ‏"‏ ‏.‏

(Related in Muslim)

Reward is what Allah has promised for our good actions by His Fadl (grace and mercy) in the Hereafter. In this hadith, special emphasis is given to getting early to Friday prayer, the first row in congregational prayer, the night and dawn prayer. 

We cannot imagine the greatness of the reward because it is outside human frames of reference. Our frames of reference are the dunya (worldly life). The dunya is limited, fleeting, perishing and even what you get for something is not entirely satisfying because it comes with problems and responsibilities. It's honor is abasement. 

All that is in the call to prayer (adhan) is affirming meanings. And there is no meaning higher than in the meanings in the adhan. 

Reflect on the adhan

Allahu Akbar....

It is Allah telling us where to find Allah. Attainment of Allah's good pleasure is righteousness. 

May Allah accept our prayers and be pleased with us and build for us near Him a house in Jannah. Aameen.

Be Among the Righteous -- Characteristics of The Righteous Servants of Allah

Bismillah

 

In Surah Furqan of the Quran, Allah lists the characteristics of His righteous servants (ibadurrahman). If you want to be among the ibadurrahman, this is the list you have to have in your mind, understand them and try to achieve them. 

 

1. "And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, (63)"

 

The defining characteristic of a servant of Allah is the lack of arrogance. They have humility and they are humble.They are not people who are known for abrasiveness, callous and harsh manners. They are interacting with people and they are not hermits. They are involved in society and active with their communities. As they are involved with people, their akhlaq (character) have to be always be the best. 

 

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said a believer who interacts with another believer and is patient at the negative interaction is better than the believer who cuts off from society and remains at home. 

 

When some person confronts them or want to start an argument, they don't even get involve in the argument. When someone slanders you, says not nice things to you, wants to drag you down, it is difficult not to say something back but you have to be above that and you don't argue back. Not only that, you say Peace (salaam) and move on. This is the akhlaq we should have as believers. They might think they win in that moment but the people of akhlaq win in the long run. 

 

2. "And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer] (64)"

 

The second defining characteristic of a believer is private rituals and the queen of private rituals is the tahajjud (night vigil prayer). It is a ritual when people people are asleep and nobdy is watching them standing, bowing and prostrating in prayers. They are the only ones who pray tahajjud. There is no ritual in a private life that best demonstrates the righteousness of the person other than tahajjud.

Note: Allah begins the list about interaction with people, which illustrates the importance of interacting with people, not just private rituals.

 

3. "And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering; (65) Indeed, it is evil as a settlement and residence. (66)"

 

The righteous believers constantly making du'a to Allah to save themselves from jahannam. It illustrates your ihsan (excellence that Allah is watching you. You are constantly monitoring the concept of taking oneself into account (muhasabah). 

 

4. "And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate (67)"

 

When they give charity (it is understood they are constantly giving). Allah describes the quality of their giving. They are generous in a healthy manner, not excessively and not sparingly. They give to their families as well. 

 

5. "And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. (68) Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated -  (69) Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (70) And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance. (71)"

 

Allah wants us to know that the righteous servants of Allah do not commit major sins, the three worst sins are shirk, murder (hurting other people), zina (done in private life). Ibadurrahman do not have any major sins. There is a threat of punishment for those sins.

 

Allah says even those who have committed major sin, you still can become ibadurrahman. If you have committed a major sin, and you truly repent, you renew your iman and you follow with good deeds, then Allah will allow you to reach the ranks of ibadurrahman. This is one of the most optimistic verses in the Quran -- a true repentance brings about a conversion of the sin into a good deed and be rewarded.

 

6. "And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity. (72)"

 

They don't give false testimony. Their tongues are always speaking the truth. They have integrity and honesty. When they pass gatherings of lahw (anything that is waste of time, anything that is undignified) they pass by them with dignity. They dont get involve in that which they have no business in. Every society and culture have something that people do which waste time, get together and do nothing of use. If nothing haram is happening there, ibadurrahman do not get irritated, they pass by with dignity.

 

7. "And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind. (73)"

 

They are receptive to nasihah (advice) and to be corrected, love to attend and associated with circles of knowledge, love to listen to the Quarn and Sunnah, and want to be righteous.

 

8. "And those who say, 'Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.' (74) "

 

They want righteous families. They ask Allah to make their spouses and offspring righteous as well. You cannot be ibadurrahman and your family has nothing to do with ibadah of ibadurrahman. You have to be involved with them, constantly make du'a for them. You ask Allah to make you and family the imam for the righteous. The meaning of imam here is not prayer leader but it means role model. We desire to be role models for the believers. We desitre to be so pious and so righteous not for them but so that Allah makes us role models for other righteous people. The righteous will look at us as being a person who has sabr, iman, generous, and other good characteristics. We do so not for our ego, but for sadaqa jariah. We want their piety to be sadaqa jari'ah for us. We want to be the best of the best. We dont make that the direct goal but indirect goal. If we reach that and if we are able to do that, we are the people who get the highest. 

 

"Those will be awarded the Chamber for what they patiently endured, and they will be received therein with greetings and [words of] peace. (75) Abiding eternally therein. Good is the settlement and residence. (76)"

 

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا ‎

 

May Allah enable us to understand this list and implement them in our lives. Aameen.

 

Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa alai aalihi wasahbii wassalaam.

Trials of Evil and Good

Bismillah 

 

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says in the Quran,

 

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۗ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِٱلشَّرِّ وَٱلْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً ۖ وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ ‎﴿٣٥﴾‏

 

Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned. [Quran, Al-Anbiya' 21:35)

 

The word fitnah فِتْنَةً is a stern tribulation or test. It is generally used in a negative way. The stern test can be with the bad and it can be with the good.

 

A fitnah is a test that is deeply testing that many are likely to either fail or fall short. Fitnah could be something good. 

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,

 

وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَآ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَٰدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عِندَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ ‎﴿٢٨﴾‏

 

And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward. [Quran, Al Anfal 8:28]

 

Allah says wealth and offspring are ftnah. This is a warning to take exceeding care. The fitnah of the good is more testing than the fitnah of evil. Your excessive attachment to them can cause grave harm. If a faithful believer committed a sin, he repents and broken hearted. But the ftnah of apparent good in one's life can turn one away from Allah -- you succeeded in life, you passed your college exam, got a good job, you accomplished what you want to do, got engaged, got married, have a kid -- in those situations did you turn to Allah or turn away from Allah? Did you have gratitude or you ascribe them to yourself. 

 

People's fitnah is the tests in their families, their wealth, their children, their neigbors. The test is to remain within the limits of Allah with respect to them. How? Fufilling their rights, what is rightfully your spouse's and you child's. Secondly, not doing wrong either by not fulfilling their rigths or fulfilling their rights but in a bad way or by demanding from them what is more than what is rightfully due to you.

 

From the fitnah with one's spouse is ingratitude. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "You are ungrateful for your spouse's companionship."

 

There is another aspect of them being the fitnah that these matters become for dunya, and it is busying one away from Allah, which is a grave harm. One might fulfill the rights with excellence, but there is a little of breaking of law, nepotism, corruption, etc. Going against the commands of Allah, busying one away from Allah are all from the fitnah. 

 

Imam Ghazali cautions that one of the great potential harms of marriage is that it can turn people away from the path to Allah, putting Allah and the Hereafter first goes away from people's lived priorities and in their wealth by earning it in the halal, spending it in the halal, spending on those you are obligated to spend on, giving zakat, and performing fard kifayah.

 

The beginning of fulfilling the rights of others is to do them no wrong. This is the foundation of adab (good manners) is that you don't inconvenient or harm anybody, and then you try to do good to them. Honor your guests and respect your neighbors, and to be patient with their annoyance. 

 

One's shortcomings with respect to one's own famly, wealth, neighbors, are expiated by the prayers because the prayers are consistent good deeds. Good deeds wipe out bad deeds. Hwever, actual wrong doing is a major sin and requires repentance and not fulfilling rights requires redress. 

 

One of the key things to change one state and to cover over one shortcomings is first to recognize Allah has rights over you and people have rights over you and the righteous believers is the one who fulfills the right of Allah and Allah's creations as best they can and strive for exellence therein. 

 

May Allah grant us the prayer, the reverence, and the adab of those close to Him. Aameen.

 

Allahumma salli ala Muhamad wa ala aalihi wasahbihi wassalaam

Prepare For The Upcoming Tests

Bismillah

This life has consequences. There are opportunities for good and there are also dangers that lie before us. The dangers are not just worldly dangers, but there are dangers in the future. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came as a giver of good tidings (mubasyirin) and warners (mundhirin).

 

Human being are created heedless and propensity to heedlessness and immediacy. Prophets warned about  upcoming tests. There is the test in the grave and the intense test of the Dajjal (false messiah). Dajjal is coming in the future and you don't know if you will be around when he comes, but you know you will face the grave. 

 

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is someone who received revelation from Allah regarding the unseen and what he tells us is the Truth. The nature of the Prophet's knowledge (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is revelation. This is distinct from our knowledge which is merely acquisitional. The role of the Prophet is reminding, encouraging and warning. 

 

The testing of the grave is a reality. We will be questioned in the grave and the answer is not through one's intelligence or some tricks but the clarity and ease of the answering the questions is in accordance to the strength of faith or the degree of certitude (yaqeen). 

 

How do one cultivate faith? Faith increases with all that increases one's state of obedience to Allah and its diminishment is by its diminishment of one's good deeds. Faith has a strength and that fluctuates in accordance with what one's state of outward and inward obedience to Allah is. Outward obedience is outwardly obeying Allah, and inward obedience is such matters like how is one's hope, fear, gratitude of Allah, reliance and trust upon Allah, good opinion of Allah, and steadfastness.

 

The reality that there is a testing in the grave, it should give us urgency especially given that we don't know when we will end up in the grave. People like to talk about "is this the end of time", "when is Dajjal coming", etc. You should have fear of that, but you have an end of time, which is the moment you die. And you have a dajjal that isn't far from you, which is the shaytan. If you feel free from the shaytan then you are probably sufficiently affected by the shaytan for that to be a grave concern. A lot of people live in implicit denial of their death and the grave. 

 

Dajjal will lie, deceive and mix Truth with falsehood. He will claim the status of lordship and makes it appears as if God is doing it, but the one who has faith has clarity, for nothing done through originated means, even if subtle, could be the action of God. Allah does not create by means. He is not dependent on any means. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam gave us keys to be protected from the fitnah (trials) of Dajjal. The most important is to take care of one's faith. Keep the company of the learned and the righteous and to have good companionship from the people of taqwa. The only safety is strength of faith and strength of practice upon the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. In testing time, it is critical to be more guided by the people of knowledge, to look up to the righteous, to have companions from the people of taqwa. When tested, the shaytan, likewise the dajjal, is closer to one alone and further from two. 

 

May Allah enable us to follow on the footsteps of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and save us from the trials and tribulations of this life and the next. Aameen.

Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala aalihi wasahbihi wassallaam.

Who Is A Righteous Person?

Bismillah

A righteous person is someone who fulfills the rights of Allah and the rights of Allah's creation as best he/she can. You don't need to leave your family, your work, or your likes and inclinations. You just need to prioritize the pleasure of Allah, and what He seeks from you is easy in comparison to past revelations. Because of this ease, it is easy to remain connected to it.

The Quran and Sunnah call us to perfection but they map out for us how to get there from the first step to the last. The Prophet told us what to and the approach. 

The religion is a call to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala but you don't have to do a spectacular act to be accepted by Allah or pleasing to Allah or beloved to Allah or close to Allah. You just have to walk on the footsteps of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and you are told on how to begin walking and how take the first step and the following steps.

May Allah enable us to follow on the footsteps of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and make us of the righteous. Aameen.

Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- In Light of Tragedies and Losses

Bismillah

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ ‎

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]. (102) [Quran, AleImran 3:102]

In the last 2 years every single one of us has been affected by the pandemic. We have suffered various types of trauma. Some of us have lost family members or close friends. There has been suffering on the financial side as well.

During times like this is when our iman is tested and we have to renew our commitment to the ideals of our Faith.

One of the most beautiful stories of the Quran that reiterates the wisdom of why there is so much diffciulties in this world, is the story that we should read every single Friday, that is mentioned in Surah Al Kahf. We have heard and read them many times but in light of tragedies, difficulties and losses, these stories take on new meanings, and we are reminded of something that we might have forgotten. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,

 

وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ تَنفَعُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ‎

 

And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers. [Quran, Adh-Dhariyat 51:55]

 

The three incidents that took place in the journey of Musa with Khidr, each one of which involves pain, trauma and loss -- the first incident was when Khidr tore open a fishermen's ship whose owners were generous to them by letting them ride on their ship for free. The second incident was when Khidir killed an innocent boy. The third was when Khidr restored a wall that was about to collapse in a city where the people were inhospitable. Through navigating these stories we find comfort and relevancy in our own pains and tragedies. 

May Allah grant us hidayah and tawfiq. Aameen.