بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
If someone came to you today and offered you a free lunch, what would be your response? No doubt you would smile, speak kindly to and of them, and reserve a special place in your heart for their memory. Why is it then that our parents receive cold stares, harsh words and bitter treatment and they are who they are in our lives? For twenty or thirty years they fed us, clothed us, washed us, and showered their mercy on our soft skin. Their love for us never dies even if we do, love that goes even beyond us, to our children and even their children.
We all have parents – whether they are with us or not – and many have not understood the their grand position in our lives and their right to be respected and revered.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala commands us to worship Him alone and treat our parents with excellence إِحْسَـٰنًا When something is a command, Allah in essence has made it easy for us so we need not think about it. We just do it. We hear and we obey (following the way of the Prophets وَقَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا Al-Baqarah 2:285) because Allah created us and we have trust in Him that He wants good for us.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says in Surah Al Isra'
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّۢ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا ﴿٢٣﴾ وَٱخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًا ﴿٢٤﴾
And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good 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) And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small." (24) [Qur'an, Al-Isra'17:23-24]
Birr Al-Waalidayn is a characteristic of the believer (Mu’min). Al-Hasan Al Basri defined it saying, “Al-Birr is to obey the parents in everything that they ask so long as it is not to disobey Allah. Uqooq is to disown your parents, denying them all of your goodness.”
By the consensus of the scholars, being respectful and obedient to ones parents is obligatory (fard). Ibn Hazm said, “(Obeying ones parents) is fard” and he quoted the above verse.
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى فِى ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ ۖ إِنِّى تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims." [Du'a from Surah Al Ahqaf 49:15]
Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
Good read article in Malay
https://www.bharian.com.my/node/69235?fbclid=IwAR3zGi_8NItxrWIa-24kDxQC6KNksgbEY4xOUH_2RpjOrdqAiKsd-fN-0Jg
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Quran Reflection -- Knowledge and Adab
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
In Surah Ta-Ha, Allah tells us
وَهَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰٓ ﴿٩﴾ إِذْ رَءَا نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ ٱمْكُثُوٓا۟ إِنِّىٓ ءَانَسْتُ نَارًا لَّعَلِّىٓ ءَاتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ هُدًى ﴿١٠﴾ فَلَمَّآ أَتَىٰهَا نُودِىَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ ﴿١١﴾ إِنِّىٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ۖ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى ﴿١٢
And has the story of Moses reached you? - (9) When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance." (10) And when he came to it, he was called, "O Moses, (11) Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. (12) [Quran, Ta-Ha 20:9-12]
The first commandment given to Musa alayhissalaam was "Take your shoes (sandals) off!". It is because he was in a sacred place. He was taught adab.
The first commandment given to our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was "Read!" [Quran, Al-Alaq 96:1]
There are two parts of education--1) Academics and knowledge 2) Adab (manners). Our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was given knowledge. Musa was given adab. The component of education we highlight today is academics and knowledge. One may have a PhD or Islamic degree, but has no manners.
May Allah grant us noble character, remove our blameworthy traits and replace them with praiseworthy traits. Aameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
In Surah Ta-Ha, Allah tells us
وَهَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰٓ ﴿٩﴾ إِذْ رَءَا نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ ٱمْكُثُوٓا۟ إِنِّىٓ ءَانَسْتُ نَارًا لَّعَلِّىٓ ءَاتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ هُدًى ﴿١٠﴾ فَلَمَّآ أَتَىٰهَا نُودِىَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ ﴿١١﴾ إِنِّىٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ۖ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى ﴿١٢
And has the story of Moses reached you? - (9) When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance." (10) And when he came to it, he was called, "O Moses, (11) Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. (12) [Quran, Ta-Ha 20:9-12]
The first commandment given to Musa alayhissalaam was "Take your shoes (sandals) off!". It is because he was in a sacred place. He was taught adab.
The first commandment given to our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was "Read!" [Quran, Al-Alaq 96:1]
There are two parts of education--1) Academics and knowledge 2) Adab (manners). Our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was given knowledge. Musa was given adab. The component of education we highlight today is academics and knowledge. One may have a PhD or Islamic degree, but has no manners.
May Allah grant us noble character, remove our blameworthy traits and replace them with praiseworthy traits. Aameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Post Ramadhan Blues
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Ramadhan is over. Are you feeling blue? Are you feeling sad because you didn't get to do all that you wanted to do in Ramadhan?
How to deal with it?
--Focus on quality, not quantity. Praying a few rakat of taraweeh with tranquillity, peacefulness, and consciousness of the greatness of the act, is a thousand times better than praying twenty units of marathon race. Reciting Quran with reflection and acting upon the guidance is a thousand times better than simply reading without any effort to understand what you are reading.
--Don’t compare yourself with others. Compare yourself with:
Yourself a year ago
Yourself before Ramadhan
That will show you, not how you rank in certain deeds among your peers, but how much you have grown and matured over time.
--Focus on the real goal and not on the means to that goal.
The point is not praying twenty rakat taraweeh or doing two or three khatams; rather it is to get closer to Allah this Ramadhan than you were before.
This is done through:
Connecting with Allah through prayers and remembrance (emphasis on connecting)
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ ﴿١٨٦
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:186]
Attaining gratefulness
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٨٥
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.
[Quran, Al Baqarah 2:185]
Attaining consciousness of Allah
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ﴿١٨٣
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous - [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:183]
--Don't fall back. We have left behind the blessed month of Ramadhan, the month of mercy, forgiveness and freedom from the Hellfire, but we have challenged our nafs (lower self) and our desires and we made progress. The progress came from our internal commitment, special prayers, fasting, charity and avoiding sins.
We must continue that progress and don't fall back.
Fasting may continue with sunnah fasting. Allah has spread other blessed times throughout the year for fasting. It is a shield from falling into sin and giving in to our own nafs. Abu Hurayrah reported, Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, “Fasting is a shield.” [Muslim] Also, remember the tremendous rewards of fasting. Allah Almighty said: The Fast is for Me and I will give the reward for it. [Bukhari & Muslim].
Our first opportunity for Sunnah fasting is fasting 6 days in Shawwal, the month following Ramadhan. It is the practice of many Muslims to fast for 6 consecutive days starting the 2nd Shawwal. Strive to start on 2nd Shawwal and delay any open houses to the evening or after 7th Shawwal.
Continue the taraweeh night prayers with a few raka'ats tahajjud prayer every night.
Continue reading a portion of the Quran every day, consistently (same place, same time), and invite your family, friends and neighbors for khatam and food once a month, and at regular interval. Take your reading to the next level--learn and understand what you read, teach the Quran, and apply what you read.
Continue giving charity everyday even with a smile.
Take one or two bad habits (like procrastination, sleep after fajr, etc) each month and work on removing it that month.
May Allah accept our Ramadhan worship and good deeds, and grant us a sound understanding of His Book and tawfiq in following the teachings. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and He alone grants success.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Ramadhan is over. Are you feeling blue? Are you feeling sad because you didn't get to do all that you wanted to do in Ramadhan?
How to deal with it?
--Focus on quality, not quantity. Praying a few rakat of taraweeh with tranquillity, peacefulness, and consciousness of the greatness of the act, is a thousand times better than praying twenty units of marathon race. Reciting Quran with reflection and acting upon the guidance is a thousand times better than simply reading without any effort to understand what you are reading.
--Don’t compare yourself with others. Compare yourself with:
Yourself a year ago
Yourself before Ramadhan
That will show you, not how you rank in certain deeds among your peers, but how much you have grown and matured over time.
--Focus on the real goal and not on the means to that goal.
The point is not praying twenty rakat taraweeh or doing two or three khatams; rather it is to get closer to Allah this Ramadhan than you were before.
This is done through:
Connecting with Allah through prayers and remembrance (emphasis on connecting)
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ ﴿١٨٦
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:186]
Attaining gratefulness
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٨٥
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.
[Quran, Al Baqarah 2:185]
Attaining consciousness of Allah
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ﴿١٨٣
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous - [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:183]
--Don't fall back. We have left behind the blessed month of Ramadhan, the month of mercy, forgiveness and freedom from the Hellfire, but we have challenged our nafs (lower self) and our desires and we made progress. The progress came from our internal commitment, special prayers, fasting, charity and avoiding sins.
We must continue that progress and don't fall back.
Fasting may continue with sunnah fasting. Allah has spread other blessed times throughout the year for fasting. It is a shield from falling into sin and giving in to our own nafs. Abu Hurayrah reported, Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, “Fasting is a shield.” [Muslim] Also, remember the tremendous rewards of fasting. Allah Almighty said: The Fast is for Me and I will give the reward for it. [Bukhari & Muslim].
Our first opportunity for Sunnah fasting is fasting 6 days in Shawwal, the month following Ramadhan. It is the practice of many Muslims to fast for 6 consecutive days starting the 2nd Shawwal. Strive to start on 2nd Shawwal and delay any open houses to the evening or after 7th Shawwal.
Continue the taraweeh night prayers with a few raka'ats tahajjud prayer every night.
Continue reading a portion of the Quran every day, consistently (same place, same time), and invite your family, friends and neighbors for khatam and food once a month, and at regular interval. Take your reading to the next level--learn and understand what you read, teach the Quran, and apply what you read.
Continue giving charity everyday even with a smile.
Take one or two bad habits (like procrastination, sleep after fajr, etc) each month and work on removing it that month.
May Allah accept our Ramadhan worship and good deeds, and grant us a sound understanding of His Book and tawfiq in following the teachings. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and He alone grants success.
Wassalaam
Friday, June 7, 2019
Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Renew Our Committment to the Quran
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
We thank Allah for the another opportunity to experience Ramadhan this year. May Allah accept all our Ramadhan deeds and forgive and pardon all our sins and save us from the Hellfire. Aameen.
So, we performed our prayers, fasting, charity and completed recitation of the Quran (khatam) once or more this Ramadhan, but was that enough? Of course not!
Let the highs of the spiritual journey that we went through during Ramadhan have a lasting effect in our lives post Ramadhan. And let us not restrict the recitation of Quran to only the month of Ramadhan. We have to take at least half an hour to an hour daily out of our schedule to recite, understand and ponder over the verses of Quran.
The Quran is worthy of our time and attention. What came down is not a casual read. Every opportunity that we have to get closer to the Qur'an, we should take it.
The Quran came down to change our lives. Don't be like the failed nations of the past who had shallow relationship with their Books, and long periods passed over them, so their hearts become hardened.
أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ فَـٰسِقُونَ ﴿١٦
Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient. (16)
[Quran, Al-Hadid 57:16]
Allah Almighty says in Surah Al-Kahf,
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ ﴿١﴾ قَيِّمًا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا ﴿٢
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam) the Book (the Qur'an), and has not placed therein any crookedness. (1) [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward (2)
[Quran, Al-Kahf 18:1-2]
The Quran is upright and safeguards the best interest of His servants. It will set anybody right. Even in the toughest of time, the Qur'an can help us stand up straight. It teaches us to stay within limits. It does not put a burden or responsibility upon the slaves of Allah the kind of burden or responsibility that they can't carry.
It will never fall short in the realm of guidance. That's why Allah sent the Qur'an as the last Book. The Qur'an is a complete guidance. Whatever troubles or crisis we are facing -- personal, national, ethical, political, factional, ignorance, morality, shamelessness, etc -- the Qur'an has the solution for it.
The world we live in now is not much different than the world before in terms of its crookedness and deviations. Quran is committed to rectify the most crooked of nations. So we must have hope that when we restore the relationship with the Qur'an to people, beginning with ourselves and our families, then there will be good things lie ahead. The Qur'an is straight and no matter how much society deviates, it will remain straight. It has the power to take that which is bent and make it straight.
The actual relationship we have with the Quran is when we are standing in prayer and reciting it, and when we are standing behind an imam and listening to it being recited. Our relationship with the Quran happens at least five times a day. If somebody's prayer is good, his Quran is good, and if someone is not engaging with the Quran in his prayers, then his relationship with the Quran is entirely superficial.
Isn't it time we take the Qur'an seriously? The hearts of those who claim to have Faith (the believers) should be filled with the grandeur of Allah, in awe of Allah's power, due to the remembrance of Allah. Their hearts should flood with tears because of the Qur'an. Our hearts should be filled with overwhelming sense of emotion because we haven't connected with the Qur'an yet.
We should act like the Ummah that we are supposed to be with the Qu'ran.
وَٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن كِتَابِ رَبِّكَ ۖ لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَلَن تَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِۦ مُلْتَحَدًا ﴿٢٧
And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge. (27)
[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:27]
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِىَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ ۚ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًۭا ۖ وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ فَلَن يَهْتَدُوٓا۟ إِذًا أَبَدًا ﴿٥٧
And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord but turns away from them and forgets what his hands have put forth? Indeed, We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And if you invite them to guidance - they will never be guided, then - ever. (57)
[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:57]
May Allah bring us closer to His Book. 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 wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
We thank Allah for the another opportunity to experience Ramadhan this year. May Allah accept all our Ramadhan deeds and forgive and pardon all our sins and save us from the Hellfire. Aameen.
So, we performed our prayers, fasting, charity and completed recitation of the Quran (khatam) once or more this Ramadhan, but was that enough? Of course not!
Let the highs of the spiritual journey that we went through during Ramadhan have a lasting effect in our lives post Ramadhan. And let us not restrict the recitation of Quran to only the month of Ramadhan. We have to take at least half an hour to an hour daily out of our schedule to recite, understand and ponder over the verses of Quran.
The Quran is worthy of our time and attention. What came down is not a casual read. Every opportunity that we have to get closer to the Qur'an, we should take it.
The Quran came down to change our lives. Don't be like the failed nations of the past who had shallow relationship with their Books, and long periods passed over them, so their hearts become hardened.
أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ فَـٰسِقُونَ ﴿١٦
Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient. (16)
[Quran, Al-Hadid 57:16]
Allah Almighty says in Surah Al-Kahf,
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ ﴿١﴾ قَيِّمًا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا ﴿٢
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam) the Book (the Qur'an), and has not placed therein any crookedness. (1) [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward (2)
[Quran, Al-Kahf 18:1-2]
The Quran is upright and safeguards the best interest of His servants. It will set anybody right. Even in the toughest of time, the Qur'an can help us stand up straight. It teaches us to stay within limits. It does not put a burden or responsibility upon the slaves of Allah the kind of burden or responsibility that they can't carry.
It will never fall short in the realm of guidance. That's why Allah sent the Qur'an as the last Book. The Qur'an is a complete guidance. Whatever troubles or crisis we are facing -- personal, national, ethical, political, factional, ignorance, morality, shamelessness, etc -- the Qur'an has the solution for it.
The world we live in now is not much different than the world before in terms of its crookedness and deviations. Quran is committed to rectify the most crooked of nations. So we must have hope that when we restore the relationship with the Qur'an to people, beginning with ourselves and our families, then there will be good things lie ahead. The Qur'an is straight and no matter how much society deviates, it will remain straight. It has the power to take that which is bent and make it straight.
The actual relationship we have with the Quran is when we are standing in prayer and reciting it, and when we are standing behind an imam and listening to it being recited. Our relationship with the Quran happens at least five times a day. If somebody's prayer is good, his Quran is good, and if someone is not engaging with the Quran in his prayers, then his relationship with the Quran is entirely superficial.
Isn't it time we take the Qur'an seriously? The hearts of those who claim to have Faith (the believers) should be filled with the grandeur of Allah, in awe of Allah's power, due to the remembrance of Allah. Their hearts should flood with tears because of the Qur'an. Our hearts should be filled with overwhelming sense of emotion because we haven't connected with the Qur'an yet.
We should act like the Ummah that we are supposed to be with the Qu'ran.
وَٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن كِتَابِ رَبِّكَ ۖ لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَلَن تَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِۦ مُلْتَحَدًا ﴿٢٧
And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge. (27)
[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:27]
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِىَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ ۚ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًۭا ۖ وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ فَلَن يَهْتَدُوٓا۟ إِذًا أَبَدًا ﴿٥٧
And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord but turns away from them and forgets what his hands have put forth? Indeed, We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And if you invite them to guidance - they will never be guided, then - ever. (57)
[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:57]
May Allah bring us closer to His Book. 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 wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Bidding Farewell To Ramadhan 1440H -- It's Not Over Until It Is Over
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
The month of Quran is almost over. It feels like yesterday we were celebrating the first day of Ramadhan and now it is almost over. Whether you love Ramadhan so much and want it to stay; whether you fell short in Ramadhan and want it to stay so you can do more, Ramadhan got to go. You cannot stop Ramadhan from leaving. It was only here for a limited number of days -- 29 or 30. And you have to wait till next year to see Ramadhan again, that if Allah had decreed that you live long enough.
People who have lost out in Ramadhan were those who had busied themselves with things that did not concern them -- those things that they cannot take with them to their graves, i.e. things that cannot help them succeed in the Hereafter. Our concern in this life should be Allah alone, our standing with Him, and our next life to come. And this is the concern that we trained ourselves in Ramadhan and should have from now and until we breathe our last.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to make preparations for Ramadhan six months in advance, in which they would keep asking Allah to let them reach Ramadhan and in good health. Then for the next six months, they would keep asking Allah to accept their Ramadhan worship. This is the way of the best generation of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace). They took the matter of worshiping Allah very seriously. It is their way of life.
It is not over until it is over. Reap the benefits of Ramadhan while it lasts during this final moments with many other good deeds--be good to your parents, call them, thank them, hug them, say you love them. Give extra charity and pay your sadaqatul fitr (this is obligatory on every Muslim) and zakat before your Eid prayer.
Read more Qur'an. Remember each letter you recite is one reward, and rewards are multiplied by ten of their kind. You should try to complete reciting the Qur'an this one last time in Ramadhan, perhaps you can gather your family members and friends to do a group khatam instead of cooking, final shopping for Eid or travelling.
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 performs an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligation at any other time..."
We should also intend to perform as many good actions, short and long term, and take the means to accomplish them. Actions are only by intentions. Intention is the measure for rendering actions true, so that where intention is sound action is sound, and where it is corrupt then action is corrupt.
From the Amir al-Muminin Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiya'llahu 'anhu, that he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, 'Actions are only by intentions, and every man has only that which he intended. Whoever's emigration is for Allah and His Messenger then his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever's emigration is for some worldly gain which he can acquire or a woman he will marry then his emigration is for that for which he emigrated'." [Bukhari]
It's always the case of too many things to do in such little time. But inshaa Allah from the barakah (blessing) of time and your good intentions, you will be able to accomplish what you intend to do, including what's on your "Ramadhan To Do List" that you were not quite able to do, such as complete reading of the Quran, memorize some surahs, read the meanings of the Quran, learn some Arabic, read some tafsir, seerah, remove certain blameworthy traits, pick up certain praiseworthy trait, establish ties of kinship, etc.
May Allah accept our worship and good deeds of Ramadhan, forgive and pardon us, save us from Hellfire, relieve the tribulations of the Ummah, and enable us to reach the next Ramadhan. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
The month of Quran is almost over. It feels like yesterday we were celebrating the first day of Ramadhan and now it is almost over. Whether you love Ramadhan so much and want it to stay; whether you fell short in Ramadhan and want it to stay so you can do more, Ramadhan got to go. You cannot stop Ramadhan from leaving. It was only here for a limited number of days -- 29 or 30. And you have to wait till next year to see Ramadhan again, that if Allah had decreed that you live long enough.
People who have lost out in Ramadhan were those who had busied themselves with things that did not concern them -- those things that they cannot take with them to their graves, i.e. things that cannot help them succeed in the Hereafter. Our concern in this life should be Allah alone, our standing with Him, and our next life to come. And this is the concern that we trained ourselves in Ramadhan and should have from now and until we breathe our last.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to make preparations for Ramadhan six months in advance, in which they would keep asking Allah to let them reach Ramadhan and in good health. Then for the next six months, they would keep asking Allah to accept their Ramadhan worship. This is the way of the best generation of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace). They took the matter of worshiping Allah very seriously. It is their way of life.
It is not over until it is over. Reap the benefits of Ramadhan while it lasts during this final moments with many other good deeds--be good to your parents, call them, thank them, hug them, say you love them. Give extra charity and pay your sadaqatul fitr (this is obligatory on every Muslim) and zakat before your Eid prayer.
Read more Qur'an. Remember each letter you recite is one reward, and rewards are multiplied by ten of their kind. You should try to complete reciting the Qur'an this one last time in Ramadhan, perhaps you can gather your family members and friends to do a group khatam instead of cooking, final shopping for Eid or travelling.
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 performs an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligation at any other time..."
We should also intend to perform as many good actions, short and long term, and take the means to accomplish them. Actions are only by intentions. Intention is the measure for rendering actions true, so that where intention is sound action is sound, and where it is corrupt then action is corrupt.
From the Amir al-Muminin Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiya'llahu 'anhu, that he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, 'Actions are only by intentions, and every man has only that which he intended. Whoever's emigration is for Allah and His Messenger then his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever's emigration is for some worldly gain which he can acquire or a woman he will marry then his emigration is for that for which he emigrated'." [Bukhari]
It's always the case of too many things to do in such little time. But inshaa Allah from the barakah (blessing) of time and your good intentions, you will be able to accomplish what you intend to do, including what's on your "Ramadhan To Do List" that you were not quite able to do, such as complete reading of the Quran, memorize some surahs, read the meanings of the Quran, learn some Arabic, read some tafsir, seerah, remove certain blameworthy traits, pick up certain praiseworthy trait, establish ties of kinship, etc.
May Allah accept our worship and good deeds of Ramadhan, forgive and pardon us, save us from Hellfire, relieve the tribulations of the Ummah, and enable us to reach the next Ramadhan. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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