Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ثَوَابَ ٱلدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ ٱللَّهِ ثَوَابُ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ سَمِيعًۢا بَصِيرًۭا

"Whoso desires the reward of this world, with God is the reward of this world and of the world to come; God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing." Qur'an An-Nisaa 4:134

Knowing one attribute of Allah should be sufficient to change our lives but when Allah mentions two of His Names together in His Speech, we should start feeling smaller than we already are.

We know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. This should guide us towards sincerity (ikhlas) in our actions. We don't long for people to hear or see our good deeds and acts of obedience. It is sufficient that Allah hears and sees all of them because Allah is the One who can reward us. The highest reward that we can conceive is in terms of this life. But Allah can reward us not only what we can conceive but something beyond our imagination--the reward of the Hereafter.

Often, people are very careful to make sure that other people don't see or hear what sinful things they are engaging in--gossiping, looking at bad sites, cheating on their spouses, engaging in unlawful seclusion, beating their wives, stealing, drinking, or gambling, etc. They close the doors and windows so people don't see or hear their acts of disobedience. The moment they hear footsteps or they see the curtain moving (from the wind blowing it), they stop or scramble or hide, afraid getting caught. How about Allah? Are they not afraid of the One who punishes, hearing and seeing their bad acts? Allah can see even a black ant under a black stone in a pitch black night. Allah can hear even the tying of a shoelace. So, there is really no place to hide from Allah, the only One we should fear.

وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

"....And fear Allah, and know that Allah is strict in punishment." Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:196

May Allah make us among the God-fearing. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Catch the Final Moments

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Taraweeh and Qiyam for some parts of the world have passed and for those in the Northern Hemisphere, you still have the chance to gain that extra reward from the blessings of Ramadhan. Don't miss this opportunity and don't let the masjids become lean with people because you are preparing for Eid!

For the rest who just completed their last taraweeh or qiyam, reap the benefits of Ramadhan while it lasts during this final moments with many other good deeds--give extra charity and pay your sadaqatul fitr and zakat now before Friday. InshaAllah.

Also, read more Qur'an. Remember each letter you recite is one reward, and rewards are multiplied by 10 of their kind.

Regarding Ramadhan, it was reported that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "...Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligation at any other time.."

May Allah accept our prayers, fasting, charity, du'as and all acts of good deeds. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your du'as. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Gratitude and Patience

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

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

No matter how good things get there are people who still only see the bad – and they go to great lengths to point it out to everyone around them. These are the complainers. A lot of people don't realize they are complainers. Complainers are complainers. You cannot cheer them up, you cannot suggest them solutions, you cannot ask them to pull themselves together, you cannot complain about them, you cannot complain along with them, you cannot ignore them, you cannot confront them. So what do you do? You sincerely say, "You know that sounds terrible. I don't know how you deal with all these problems!" You will find them say, "Well, it's really not that bad!" Remember, don’t be sarcastic when you say it. Be sincere.You don’t have to agree that these are huge problems. Even if everything the complainer says sounds trivial to you, remember that it feels like a huge problem to them or they wouldn’t go on about it. What seems trivial to one person can be a huge problem for others.

For the complainers, you need to learn to look at yourself in the mirror in a humble fashion. Look at the blessed you and think of the many people who are in worse situation than you. You hear about them everyday in the news, in your emails and you can see them around you too--poverty stricken, loss of limbs, orphans, refugees, homelessness, and just can't enumerate the entire examples here. When I was at the convention the other day, I saw a paraplegic (and came across him a few times) and I looked at my children and they looked back at me with a look of someone who knew what I was going to say to them if I were to say it--be grateful, don't complain.

So be thankful to Allah that you are able to stand up and look at yourself in the mirror, by virtue of a huge blessing of the limbs from your Lord which you won't trade even for millions of dollars. If you thank Allah, Allah will give you more. Be patient, nothing happen but for a good reason. Move on, don't make the life of those around you miserable, make lots of du'a and just wait for that good thing to fall on your lap. It will come sooner than you think and most of the time in a very unexpected way, although sometimes you may not notice it. Allah's reward is tremendous for the patient one. InshaAllah.

And Allah knows best.

May Allah give you tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam

Best Gift for Your Parents and Yourself

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

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

"And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years — give thanks to Me and to your parents, unto Me is the final destination." Qur'an Luqman 31:14

We can never repay our parents in this life for their love and sacrifices but as for their eternal life we are holding the treasure box. All you have to do is to unlock it and give it to them. So why wait a minute longer--open it! It does not cost you anything and it will also raise you higher in ranks in this life as well as the next. InshaAllah.

"Whoever recites the Qur'an and acts according to what it contains, Allah will adorn his parents with a crown on the Day of Judgment, its radiance more beautiful that the radiance of the sun in the abode of this world. So what do you presume the reward will be for the one who acts according to it?" (Abu Dawud)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The Qur’an will come on the Day of Resurrection and will say, ‘O Lord, adorn him.’ So he will be given a crown of honor to wear. Then it will say, ‘O Lord, give him more.’ So he will be given a garment of honor.’ Then it will say, ‘O Lord, be pleased with him.’ So Allah will be pleased with him. Then it will be said to him, ‘Recite and advance in status, and for each verse you will gain one more hasanah (reward for good deed).” (Tirmidhi)

To the person with the Qur'an, it is said, "Recite and ascend! Recite measuredly just as you used to recite in the world! Your station will be at the last verse you recite." (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i

There is no better gift for your parents and yourself than this. Recite the Qur'an everyday and start memorizing the words of Allah and go with it. Teach and encourage your children to do the same.

May Allah grant you and your children tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalaam