What's Life All About?

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Our life is about submission to the Will of Allah. We are expected to submit whether we know the "goodness" of the command or not. It is not acceptable for people to violate what Allah wants from them. Violating Allah's instructions is violating His purpose.

"I did not create man and jinn except to worship Me." Qur'an Zariyat 51:56

Intellect is able to tell right from wrong but this understanding is based on the assumption that matters are intrinsically right or wrong. Neither did God make them such nor the intellect. Rather the intellect discerns this innate goodness or badness in human acts. How can we be sure that what we feel good is good with Allah and what we feel bad is bad with Allah?

Good is that which is pleasing to Allah, that which results in an eternal rank with Allah. Bad is the opposite. There is a Truth that is behind Divine commands. Violating this Truth and acting contrary to Allah's commands has dreadful consequences like in the story of the People of Sabbath in the Qur'an.

We know that life is a blessing and taking it away is going against this. It is wrong to kill someone. Everyone knows that oppression is wrong. Denying one of his basic right to live is an oppression. So, we are sure that to kill someone is wrong. But Ibrahim, Allah grant him peace, was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, and he obeyed the command. It was a good act to offer his son in sacrifice. The Abrahamic way is complete surrender and submission. Whatever Allah wants, Ibrahim was there to surrender. This is the essence of religion--humble slavehood. His Lord rewarded him and made him a father of prophets.

We can understand the intent of God only through Allah telling us. The mind cannot know the intent of God. The mind is not the final source for right and wrong. It is a source of reasoning for the basis of religious belief.

People have values that they see to be universal and these values for them are so universal that they can't imagine not being right in everything. When they see to the contrary they do everything in their power to re-interpret the text. There is an essential problem because we need to know what Allah wants from us, not to know what we want Allah to be telling us about.

"It is not for any believer man or woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have the choice in the affair. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error." Qur'an Ahsab 33:36

If we interpret the law based on our own sense of right and wrong then where do we we draw the line?

"...And who is more astray than he who follow his caprice without any guidance from Allah..." Qur'an Qasas 28:50

Allah is All Wise. His commandments have wisdom. Some of these are discernible to us, some are not. Our feelings or sense of worth are meaningless. Look at where Iblis ended up because he wanted to follow his own sense instead of following Allah's command to prostrate to Adam.

Ibn Khaldun says about the intellect, "Follow what the lawgiver has commanded you of beliefs and practices for He is more keen on your felicity than you, and more aware of what benefits you than you; because it is from a realm higher than yours, and a source more expansive than yours. There is not to detract from the intellect and its insights for the intellect is a true scale, its judgments are certain, no error in it, but you cannot hope to weigh in it...what is beyond its realm for that is hoping for the impossible. That is like the case of a man who saw a weighing scale that is used for weighing a gold and then hopes to weigh with it a mountain--this does not mean that the scale is wrong, but the intellect has a level that it cannot bypass."

The point is not that the mind can tell right or wrong but to bring revelation to the forefront and align ourselves to it.

May Allah guide us and all the Muslims. Ameen. Please keep us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalaam

Life Is Beautiful!

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Life is beautiful! How could it not be beautiful when you are a Muslim--you have only One to submit to, the One who never changes, the One who possesses all the beautiful and powerful attributes. The One you submit to is very easy to please. He already tell you exactly what pleases Him and what great reward for those whom He is pleased with. He did not create you and leave you to fend by yourselves. He sent you a Messenger to teach you everything. All you need to do is to follow His Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Now if you can stand up, sit or move your fingers, remember He is the One who allows you to do this. This is a huge blessing in itself. So, don't waste time. Take the time to thank Him and to know more about Him.


هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱلۡقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُ ٱلۡمُهَيۡمِنُ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡجَبَّارُ ٱلۡمُتَڪَبِّرُ‌ۚ سُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشۡرِڪُونَ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡخَـٰلِقُ ٱلۡبَارِئُ ٱلۡمُصَوِّرُ‌ۖ لَهُ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ‌ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ

"He is Allah beside Whom is La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." Quran Hashr 59:23-24

May Allah brings us closer to Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Where Does Your Time Go?

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

"No creature is there crawling on the earth, but its provision rests on God; He knows its lodging-place and its repository. All is in a Manifest Book." Qur'an Hud 11:6

"If you relied on Allah with a true reliance (Tawakkul), He would provide for you the same as He provides birds: they set off in the early morning with empty stomachs and return back at the end of the day with full stomachs." (Tirmidhi)

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, made this du'a, "O Allah, bless my nation in its early mornings." (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud)

So if you have the right Tawakkul in Allah, do your part working, and start your day from early morning (not habitually going back to sleep after Fajr prayer!), there is plenty of time to have personal time with Allah and learning the religion of Allah.

And Allah knows best.

May Allah increase our Iman and Tawakkul and bless our time. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam

Among The Best Ummah

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well

Out of Allah's infinite mercy, He has created us as part of the best and most honored nation ever to inhabit the earth. We are also the last and final nation until Judgment Day.

"You are the best Ummah singled out for mankind: you enjoin what is right (ma'ruf), forbid what is wrong (munkar), and believe in Allah." Qur'an AleImran 3:110

The head and the highest ma’ruf is the belief in Allah and the rest of the pillars of Islam. The head of the munkaraat (plural of munkar) and its most evil manifestation is kufr in all its forms. We must avoid the munkar, deter others from it and warn others from falling into it.
But, knowledge precedes action. Before we can enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, we must acquire knowledge on what is right and what is wrong. Then only then we can call others to abide by the ma’ruf and abstain from the munkar.

So, it is imperative that we seek knowledge of this religion so we can fulfill the condition of being the best Ummah.

Qatadah, Allah be pleased with him, said, “We were told that Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Allah be pleased with him, recited this verse during a Hajj that he performed, when he saw that the people were rushing. He then said, "Whoever likes to be among this (praised) Ummah, let him fulfill the condition that Allah set in this Ayah (3:110)."

Aren't you among this best and honored Ummah?
Watch this short video


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

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Which of You Is Best in Deeds?

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Three things, if you have them, by Allah's grace, will open up everything for you, inshaAllah.

Serve Allah and His creations for His sake only (seeking His pleasure with gratitude and humility)
Patient and persevere in the face of difficulties, problems or hardship
Content with everything--what you have or don't have, what comes your way--little or much, good or bad

The Arabic name for Egypt is Misr. It's Arabic letters are م ص ر. Each letter is said to have the beginning of an Arabic word that can be understood to have the above-mentioned words/meanings.

If you have lived or seen Egypt, you can understand how particularly important this is. Egypt is not like many countries I have been. Some people called this place a factory of knowledge. Indeed, there is a lot of truth to this. But people who come to Egypt or live in Egypt for something else other than to know Allah miss the abundant knowledge that Allah is putting before them in each and every moment.

If you want good, you can find abundant good in Egypt, more than anywhere else I have been, and you feel the compassion and mercy of Allah everywhere. You are thankful for any good and you overlook the bad.

"With Him are the keys of the Unseen, the treasures that none knows but He. He knows whatever there is on the earth, and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is written in a Clear Record." Qur'an An'Am 6:59

Bottom line, wherever you go, wherever you are, whatever you encounter in your daily lives, you should constantly feel the compassion and mercy of Allah. He is Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim. You yourselves invoke these Names many times a day--e.g. before you eat, before you take your wudu', before reciting any surah of the Qur'an, and before many of your mundane actions. You should be the same to His creations, especially to the people around you and especially to your parents, your children and your spouse.

The Creation we see around us is not idle sport or play, or whim on the part of Allah. It is the medium through which we develop our spiritual life. This life is our testing time.

"And He it is Who has created the heavens and the earth in six days and His Throne was on the water, that He might try you, which of you is the best in deeds..." Qur'an Hud 11:7

Yesterday, my son and I had to travel to downtown Cairo (my son lost count on how many times we had to do this) in order to try to resolve my son's college admission matters. We wound up having to walk from one place to another or stand most of the 8 hours we were out. We have gone through this similar experience many times before for the past almost 3 months for the same reason. So, I decided not to fast yesterday (Thursday) because I haven't been well and didn't want to worsen my condition with dehydration. At one of the many stops to ask for directions, I saw a fresh juice stand, so I asked my son if he would like a glass of fresh sugar cane juice, his favorite. And of course his answer was "yes." It was a hot day and he was sweating! As I was ordering, I saw from the corner of my eyes, a middle aged woman in all black dress and hijab, who was sitting on the sidewalk next to the store and reciting Qur'an. She looked poor and weak. I ordered another glass of sugar cane juice and offered it to her. But she politely refused and said she was fasting. MashaAllah. I looked at her again. I could see the light in her face. SubhanAllah. I then asked my son to give her some money and he did. May Allah have mercy on the lady.

My son was quiet all throughout the rest of our journey and made my job so much easier.

May Allah shower us with His Light and have mercy on us and all the Muslims. Ameen. Please keep us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam