Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Truth and Lying

[Taken from Gems and Jewels page 26 - Dar Us Salam Publications]

Allaah (the exalted) says in the noble Qu’ran about the basic qualities of the believer:
“O you who believe” Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do” (Qu’ran) 61:2,3)

The Prophet (salallalahu alayhi wassalaam) was asked, “Can a believer be a miser?” He said, ‘Yes.” He was asked, “Can a believer be a coward?” He said, “Yes.” And he was asked, “And can a believer be A LIAR?” He said, “NO.”

It has been related that a man went to Allah’s Messenger and said, “O Messenger of Allah, indeed I do three sins in secret: (I drink) alcohol, fornication and lying. So inform me which of them should I abandon?.” He said, “LEAVE OF LYING.” The man went away, and later desired to fornicate, but he thought to himself, “I will go to the Messenger of Allaah and he will ask me whether I fornicated? If I say yes, he will punish me. And if I say no, I will have broken the covenant and lied.” So he abstained from fornicating , and the same occured regarding alcohol. He returned to Allaah’s Messenger and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, indeed I have abandoned all of them.”

My brother, you do not see then, that LYING is the root of every wicked deed, and it leads to all other sins. You will not see anyone more miserable and wretched than the liar, and disbelief is the most severe kind of lying, for it is lying upon Allaah (the Exalted).

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Thats to Salty!

assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,



While we like to complain about the salt in our food, no ketchup in the burger, slightly burnt parathas and about which Masajid offers the best Iftaars, there are people looking for the most basic necessity in life, water.



We get irritated by a long line up (only 5 people ahead of us) at Walmart with a shopping cart full of food, imagine lining up holding onto your child who is depending on that empty bowl, which you are hoping to fill with a few morsels of food and drops of water.



Check out these amazing photos to present to you the current condition in East Africa:

1. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/07/horn_of_africa_on_the_brink_of.html

2. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/08/the_horn_of_africa_dadaab_refu.html



Take advantage of the last few days of Ramadaan by donating, making dua' etc. In one halaqa a student from Madinah was mentioning that the trail of having wealth is usually a greater trail than not having wealth. I wonder if people in East Africa are being tried in a greater manner or us through our hardened, stained and greedy hearts.



Hope this is a motivation to help out inshaa Allah,

http://www.islamicreliefcanada.org/client/home.aspx

Fares. E


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السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

F.E

Anas (Radhi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam) say:
"Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it."
[at-Tirmidhi, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal]



"Whoever competes with you in your Deen [Religion], then compete with him, but whoever competes with you in your Dunya [Worldly Matters], then throw it to him" -Imaam al-Hasan al-Basri

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Mercy Towards Others

Taken from Book of Manners - Imam Bukhari

This should be a motivation to have Mercy towards others,

Jarir reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah will not show mercy to a person who does not show mercy to other people."

'Umar was heard to say, "Anyone who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy. Anyone who does not forgive will not be forgiven. Anyone who does not turn in repentance will not be turned to nor will he be protected or guarded."

Mu'awiya ibn Qurra reported that his father said, "A man said, 'Messenger of Allah, I was going to slaughter a sheep (for eating) and then I felt sorry for it (or 'sorry for the sheep I was going to slaughter').' He said twice, 'Since you showed mercy to the sheep, Allah will show mercy to you.'"

Abu Hurayra said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a child which he began to embrace. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said. 'Do you show mercy towards me?' 'Yes,' the man replied. He said, 'Allah is more merciful towards you than you are towards this child. He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "One day a man became very thirsty while walking down the road. He came across a well, went down into it, and drank and then climbed out. In front of him he found a dog panting, eating the dust out of thirst. The man said, 'This dog is as thirsty as I was.' He went back down into the well and filled his show, putting it into his mouth (in order to climb back up) and then gave the dog water. Therefore Allah thanked him and forgave him." They said, "Messenger of Allah, will we have a reward on account of animals?" He said, "There is a reward on account of every living thing."

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A woman punished her cat by imprisoning it until it died of hunger and because of it, she entered the Fire. It was said ­ and Allah knows best: 'You did not feed it nor give it water when you imprisoned it nor did you release it and let it eat from the plants of the earth."

Abu Umama that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Anyone who shows mercy, even to an animal meant for slaughtering, will be shown mercy by Allah on the Day of Rising."

'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stopped in a place and then someone took a bird's eggs and the bird began to beat its wings around the head of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He asked, "Which of you has taken its eggs?" A man said, "Messenger of Allah, I have taken its eggs." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Return them out off mercy to the bird."


Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Muslim in Ramadaan

Praise be to Allaah.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allaah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar: Allaah is the Most Great)] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.”

[al-Baqarah 2:185]

This blessed month is a great opportunity for goodness, barakah (blessing), worship and obedience towards Allaah.

It is a great month, a noble season, a month in which hasanaat (rewards for good deeds) are multiplied and in which committing sayi’aat (bad deeds) is more serious than at other times. The gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the sinners’ repentance to Allaah is accepted. It is a month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is redemption from the Fire.

So give thanks to Him for the season of goodness and blessing that He has bestowed upon you, and for the means of bounty and various kinds of great blessings for which He has singled you out. Make the most of this blessed time by filling it with acts of worship and forsaking haraam things, so that you may attain a good life in this world and happiness after death.

For the sincere believer, every month is an occasion for worship and his whole life is spent in obeying Allaah, but in the month of Ramadaan he has even more motives to do good and his heart is even more focused on worship, and he turns even more to his Lord. By His grace, our generous Lord bestows His bounty upon the fasting believers and multiplies the reward for them on this blessed occasion, so He gives abundantly and rewards generously for righteous deeds.

Time passes quickly
Days pass so quickly, as if they were mere moments. We welcomed Ramadaan, then we bade it farewell, and only a short period of time passed and we are welcoming Ramadaan again. So we should hasten to do good deeds in this month and strive to fill it with that which Allaah is pleased with and with that which will help us on the Day when we meet Him.

How can we prepare for Ramadaan?

We can prepare for Ramadaan by taking stock of ourselves and recognizing our shortcomings in living up to the Shahaadatayn, or our shortcoming in fulfilling our duties, or our shortcomings in not keeping away from the desires and doubts that we may have fallen into…

We should set ourselves straight so that in Ramadaan we will have a higher degree of faith. For faith increases and decreases. It increases through obedience to Allaah and it decreases through disobedience and sin. The first act of obedience that a person should achieve is that of being a true slave of Allaah and believing that there is none that is rightfully worshipped except Allaah, so he directs all kinds of worship to Allaah and does not associate anyone else in worship with Him. Each of us should realize that whatever has befallen him could not have missed him, and whatever missed him could not have befallen him, and that everything happens by the will and decree of Allaah.

We should avoid everything that could undermine our commitment to the Shahaadatayn. This means keeping away from bid’ah (innovations) and things that have been introduced into the religion. We should also follow the principle of al-walaa’ wa’l-bara’ (loyalty and friendship vs. disavowal and enmity), by taking the believers as our friends and by regarding the kaafirs and hypocrites as enemies, and we should rejoice when the Muslims gain a victory over their enemies. We should follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions and adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the way of the Rightly-Guided Khulafa’ who came after him. We should love the Sunnah and love those who adhere to it and defend it, in whatever country they are and whatever colour or nationality they are.

After that we should take stock of ourselves and recognize our shortcomings in doing acts of worship such as praying in congregation, remembering Allaah (dhikr), paying attention to the rights of neighbours, relatives and the Muslims, spreading the greeting of salaam, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, urging one another to follow the truth and be patient and steadfast in doing so, being patient in avoiding evil actions and in doing good deeds, and accepting the decree of Allaah with patience.

Then we should take stock of ourselves and our sins and our following whims and desires. We should stop ourselves from persisting in that, whether the sin is great or small, whether it is a sin of the eye, by looking at that which Allaah has forbidden; or by listening to music; or by walking to things of which Allaah does not approve; or by using one's hands to srike in a manner with which Allaah is not pleased; or by consuming things that Allaah has forbidden such as riba (usury) and bribes, or any other means of consuming people’s wealth unlawfully.

We should never forget that Allaah stretches forth His hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who sinned at night, and He stretches forth His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the day. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqoon (the pious).

Those who spend (in Allaah’s Cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allaah loves Al-Muhsinoon (the good‑doers).

And those who, when they have committed Faahishah (illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allaah and ask forgiveness for their sins; — and none can forgive sins but Allaah — and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know.

For such, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath (Paradise), wherein they shall abide forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers (who do righteous deeds according to Allaah’s Orders)”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:133-136]

“Say: “O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”

[al-Zumar 39:53]

“And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allaah’s forgiveness, he will find Allaah Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”

[al-Nisa’ 4:110]

By taking stock, repenting and seeking forgiveness, this is how we should welcome Ramadaan. “The smart man is the one who takes stock of himself and strives to do that which will benefit him after death, and the helpless one is the one who follows his own whims and desires and engages in wishful thinking, (assuming that Allaah will forgive him regardless of what he does and that he does not need to strive to good deeds).”

The month of Ramadaan is the month of great gains and profits. The smart trader is the one who makes the most of special occasions to increase his profits. So make the most of this month by doing lots of acts of worship, praying a great deal, reading Qur’aan, forgiving people, being kind to others and giving charity to the poor.

In the month of Ramadaan the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut. The devils are put in chains and a caller cries out each night, O seeker of good, proceed, O seeker of evil, desist.

So, O slaves of Allaah, be among the people of good, following the path of your righteous forebears who were guided by the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so that we may end Ramadaan with our sins forgiven and our righteous deeds accepted.

We should note that the month of Ramadaan is the best of months.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Another of example of that – i.e., of the differentiation between the things that Allaah has created – is the fact that the month of Ramadaan is superior to all other months, and the last ten nights are superior to the other nights.”

Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/56

This month is superior to others in four things:

1 – In it there is the best night of the year, which is Laylat al-Qadr. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, We have sent it (this Qur’aan) down in the Night of Al‑Qadr (Decree).

And what will make you know what the Night of Al‑Qadr (Decree) is?

The Night of Al‑Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allaah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).

Therein descend the angels and the Rooh [Jibreel (Gabriel)] by Allaah’s Permission with all Decrees,

(All that night), there is peace (and goodness from Allaah to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn”

[al-Qadar 97:1-5]

So worship on this night is better than worshipping for a thousand months.

2 – In this month was revealed the best of Books to the best of the Prophets (peace be upon them). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)”

[al-Baqarah 2:185]

“We sent it (this Qur’aan) down on a blessed night [(i.e. the Night of Al‑Qadr) in the month of Ramadan — the 9th month of the Islamic calendar]. Verily, We are ever warning [mankind that Our Torment will reach those who disbelieve in Our Oneness of Lordship and in Our Oneness of worship].

Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments.

As a Command (or this Qur’aan or the Decree of every matter) from Us. Verily, We are ever sending (the Messengers)”

[al-Dukhaan 44:3-5]

It was narrated by Ahmad and by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer that Waathilah ibn al-Asqa’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Scriptures of Ibraaheem were sent down on the first of the month of Ramadaan. The Tawraat was sent down on the sixth of Ramadaan. The Injeel was sent down on the thirteenth of Ramadaan. The Zaboor was sent down on the eighteenth of Ramadaan, and the Qur’aan was sent down on the twenty-fourth of Ramadaan.

Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1575.

2 – In this month the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the devils are chained up.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are put in chains.” (Agreed upon).

Al-Nasaa’i narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Ramadaan comes, the gates of mercy are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the devils are put in chains.”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 471.

Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah and Ibn Khuzaymah narrated in one report: “When the first night of the month of Ramadaan comes, the devils and rebellious jinn are chained up and the gates of Hell are closed, and not one gate of it is opened. The gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a caller cries out: ‘O seeker of good, proceed; O seeker of evil, desist. And Allaah has those whom He redeems from the Fire, and that happens every night.”

Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 759.

If it is asked, how come we see many evil actions and sins committed in Ramadaan, for if the devils are chained up that would not happen?

The answer is that evil actions become less for those who observe the conditions and etiquette of fasting;

or that the ones who are chained up are some of the devils – namely the rebellious ones – not all of them;

or that what is meant is that evil is reduced in Ramadaan, which is a proven fact. If evil happens at this time, it is still less than at other times. Even if all of them (the devils) are chained up, that does not necessarily mean that no evil or sin will happen, because there are other causes of that besides the devils, such as evil souls, bad habits and the devils among mankind. Al-Fath, 4/145

4 – There are many kinds of worship in Ramadaan, some of which are not done at other times, such as fasting, praying qiyaam, feeding the poor, i’tikaaf, sadaqah, and reading Qur’aan.

I ask Allaah, the Exalted, the Almighty, to help us all to do that and to help us to fast and pray qiyaam, and to do acts of worship and to avoid doing evil. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.



Islam Q&A

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Help your Muslim brothers and sisters!

Assalamu alaykum,

Please do not forget to help your brothers and sisters in east Africa. help them and inshaAllah, Allah will help you!
http://www.namf.ca/new/sub-page.php?page=africa_pr.html

JazakumAllahukhayran,
Fares Elahi

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Remembrance!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Nifaaq - Hypocrisy

It is reported from Al-Hasan Al-Basrî – Allâh have mercy on him – that he said:

It used to be said: it is part of al-nifâq (hypocrisy) to be inwardly different from what you are on the outside, to say one thing and do another and to be different in how you enter and how you leave. And the root of al-nifâq is lying.

Abû Bakr Al-Kharâ`itî, Masâwî Al-Akhlâq wa Madhmûmihâ p62.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Check out my new car!!!‏

Check out my new car!!!‏

assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

"O mankind! Verily, the Promise of Allah is true. So let not this present life deceive you, and let not the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah. Surely, Shaitan (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his followers that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire..." [5 - 6, 35]

We often hear prideful and boastful statements such as: My son graduated from so and so university, my son/daughter is very successful, my brother makes six figure income, I just bought a new car!, check out my new house!, he comes from a very educated family, my son works at a fortune 500 company, my son's a CA, my daughter's a CEO, so and so is a MD of a huge bank - "very successful" etc... (as I can speak for the bengali community, I am sure most of the world works the same way now).

It seems like by competing for worldly possesions most of us forgot the beautiful hadith of the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam), "None of you have attained faith, until you love for your brother what you love for yourselves." [Bukhari]. The intense competition for the duniya has led people to rejecting this hadith, by wanting only good for oneself and not his/her fellow Muslim. It is unfortunate that people compete for the wrong things and neglect the halaal competition of competing for the Deen [to be highest of ranks in the Jannah and loved by Allah (subhana wa ta'ala)].

Following is a beautiful explaination of a hadith in Riyadh us Saliheen by Sh. Uthaymeen [May Allah have mercy on his soul]. I took this section from Kamil's blog, a friend in Madeenah Univ doing post grad. InshaaAllah this is beneficial for all of you.

jazakumAllahukhayran,
Fares

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Shaikh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaimeen said:


"The more people increase in comfort and luxury and the more they open up before the people [with the Dunya], the more evils will open up before them. It is comfort and luxury that destroys a person. Because if a person was to concern himself with comfort and luxury and providing enjoyment to his body, he will become negligent of providing enjoyment to his heart, and his greatest worry will become providing enjoyment to this body that is doomed to become worms and rotten.

This is the ordeal, and this is what has harmed people today. You can hardly find anyone except that they say: "What is our palace? What is our car? What is our furniture? What is our food?" Even those who study [Islamic] knowledge, some of them only study in order to gain rank or status to reach the blessings of the Dunya. As if man was not created for a significant purpose. The Dunya and its blessings are only a means, nothing more. We ask Allah to make us and you use it as a means.

Ibn Taimiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: "A person should use money as he uses a donkey to ride, and as he uses the toilet to relieve himself."

These are the ones who know money and its value. So do not make money your greatest worry, rather ride on money, for if you do not ride on it, it will ride on you, and your worry will become the Dunya.

For this, we say, that the more the Dunya opens up before the people, and they end up concerning themselves with it, they will lose as much of the Akhira as they have gained from the Dunya. The Prophet (SAW) said: "By Allah, I am not afraid of your poverty," meaning I am not afraid of poverty for you, for the Dunya will open up before you, "but I am afraid that you will lead a life of luxury as past nations did, whereupon you will compete with each other for it, as they competed for it, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them." [Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger (SAW) spoke the truth. This is what has destroyed the people today. What has destroyed the people today, is their competing with one another for the Dunya, and them being as if they were only created for it, and not it created for them. So they have preoccupied themselves with what was created for them over what they were created for. This is backwardness. We ask Allah for protection."



Madeenah, Saudi Arabia
24th of October 2010

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Grave!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Three Tips

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

This is a reminder for those active in da’wah, naseeha and volunteers at various organizations. It is also a reminder for myself.

Three tips for my Brothers and Sisters active in Da’wah and Naseeha:

1. Be truly sincere in what you do. Everyone knows the Hadith, actions are according to the intentions. If an individual volunteers to be seen by people for his name to be publicized, to be seen by others; that individual may want to re-check his/her intention. Remember this could happen even in the smallest ways as Tip 3 will explain. Remember the Hadith of the status of individuals who were eager to get rewards from the people (ex. hearing praises), Allah will tell them in the Day of Judgement to seek their rewards from the people they wanted to please. (SubhanAllah!! May Allah protect us. Aameen). [Imam Ahmad].

2. Do not be arrogant to think your intentions are always correct – Continuously purify and monitor your intentions to make it purely for the sake of Allah, ask Allah to purify your intention. Remember the 3 individuals who will be sent to the Hellfire and told that they were liars [Sahih Muslim]. They reached a high level in Islam yet their actions were rejected & tainted because of their intentions. Think about it: An individual, who recited Qur’aan, memorized it and taught it, how many of us are at that level? An individual, who fought for the sake of Allah and “supposedly” died as a Martyr, how many of us are at that level? An individual, who gave lots and lots of charity, yet he was rejected, most of us if we spend one dollar in charity we feel like we did ourselves a great favour.

These are people who in reality worked harder than us, but their intentions were wrong. So do not be arrogant, by taking a few courses here and there, reading a couple of books, spending half the day on YouTube to think our intentions are always correct. Even the scholars spoke about purifying their intentions. "I have never tried to cure anything, that is more difficult to cure than my Niyah (Intention)" Shaikh Sufyan Ath-Thawri (Rahimullah).

3. Avoid things that can cause Ar-Riya (Showing off) – Black ant on a black rock in a moonless night, you all know this. This is what the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) mentioned, that it is almost impossible to notice it yet it could be there. So maybe it might be better to avoid mentioning our deeds, especially in terms of Deen. There are some individuals you might be with who will never mention to you that they are fasting (nafl), yet there are others who will tell you in a second.

This could come in many forms. Try your best to avoid all kinds of things that might lead to showing off as it can indirectly affect your intention. Think about it; what is the real purpose of posting pictures of ourselves on social networks delivering lectures, teaching Qur’aan or pictures of our bookshelves full of knowledge. Do we want others to see them and say Masha Allah? A profile picture is obviously something shared so that others can see. Unless if it is for da’wah, if a person indirectly puts up an image to show their righteousness or piety to others, Allah knows best what the purpose is. This is not to target anyone; rather this is an important reminder as in tip 2 we have seen that individuals who reached pinnacles have failed as well. Allah truly knows what our intentions are, May Allah purify it. Aameen.

Lastly, for those who might read this, we should not be discouraged to do a good deed if shaytaan whispers to us that our intentions are wrong. The awareness of wanting to purify the intention is a good sign in the first place.

jazakumAllahukhayran, Forgive me for any mistakes,
Your brother in Islam, wanting the best for you,
Fares

Friday, March 25, 2011

The People of Paradise!

Mu`adh ibn Jabal said that
the Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

"The People of Paradise
will not regret except one thing alone:
the hour that passed them by and in which they made
no remembrance of Allah."

[Narrated by Bayhaqi and Tabarani,
As-Suyuti declared it hasan]

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Best times to make Dua'‏

Best times to make Dua'‏

assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

Most of you might have read this many times but sometimes it is good to review and remind one another. Hope inshaa Allah this motivates all of you to make lots of dua' at these specified times. Forward this to benefit others inshaa Allah. Also check out the video attached if you would like.

Fares

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There are certain times dua (supplication) is more likely to be accepted by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) as mentioned by Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). These times are as follows:



1. The Last Third Of The Night



Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘In the last third of every night our Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) (Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)) descends to the lowermost heaven and says; “Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that may I grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?.”‘ [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith Qudsi]



Amr ibn Absah narrated that the Prophet said: ‘The closest any worshipper can be to His Lord is during the last part of the night, so if you can be amongst those who remember Allah at that time, then do so.’ [at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i, al-Hakim - Sahih]



2. Late at night



When people are sleeping and busy with worldly pleasures Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) gives the believers an opportunity, or an answer hour if they can fight sleep and invoke Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) for whatever they need.



The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘There is at night an hour, no Muslim happens to be asking Allah any matter of this world or the Hereafter, except that he will be given it, and this (occurs) every night.’ [Muslim #757]



3. Between Adhan and Iqamah



Anas (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘A supplication made between the Adhan and Iqama is not rejected.’ [Ahmad, abu Dawud #521, at-Tirmidhi #212, Sahih al-Jami #3408, an-Nasai and Ibn Hibban graded it sahih (sound)]



4. An Hour o­n Friday



Narrated Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu): Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) talked about Friday and said: ‘There is an hour o­n Friday and if a Muslim gets it while offering Salat (prayer) and asks something from Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), then Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) will definitely meet his demand.’ And he (the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) pointed out the shortness of that particular time with his hands. [Sahih al-Bukhari]



Some have said that this hour is from the time the Imam (prayer’s leader) enters the mosque o­n Friday’s prayer until the prayer is over (ie between the two khutbahs), whereas others have said that it is the last hour of the day (ie after the Asr prayer until the Maghrib prayer).


(Note: when we say an hour here we do not mean the hour everyone knows (60 minutes) but an unspecified period of time because the time counters which we use today came after the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had died.



5. While Drinking Zamzam Water



Jaber (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘Zamzam water is for what it is drunk for.’ [Ahmad 3: 357 and Ibn Majah #3062]

This means that when you drink Zamzam water you may ask Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) for anything you like to gain or benefit from this water such as healing from illness…. etc.



6. While Prostrating



Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), said: ‘The nearest a slave can be to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so invoke (supplicate) Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) much in it. [Muslim, abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i and others, Sahih al-Jami #1175]



When a Muslim is in his Salat (prayer) he is facing Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) and when he prostrates he is the nearest he can be to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) so it is best to invoke Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) at this time. It is said that while in prostration, o­ne should not ask for worldy needs (ie a nice car, a new job, etc), but for the Hereafter.



7. When Waking Up at Night



Narrated Ubada Bin As-Samit that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘Whomever wakes up at night and says La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la shrika lahu lahulmulku, wa lahul hamdu, wa huwa ala kulli shai’in qadir. Alhamdu lillahi, wa subhanallahi wa la ilaha illallahu, wallah akbir, wa la hawla wala quwata illa billah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) He is the o­nly o­ne who has no partners. His is the kingdom and all the praises are for Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) All the glories are for Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) and Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) is the most Great and there is neither might nor power except with Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) and then says, Allahumma ighfir li (O Allah! Forgive me) or invokes Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), he will be responded to and if he makes ablution and performs Salat (prayer), his Salat (prayer) will be accepted. [Sahih al-Bukhari]



8. At The End Of The Obligatory Salat:



Narrated Abu Omamah (radiAllahu anhu): that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was asked, O Messenger of Allah, which supplication is heard (by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), he said the end of the night and at the end of the obligatory Salat (prayer) [at-Tirmidhi]



This time is after saying ‘At-tahyat’ , and before making Tasleem (finishing prayer)



9. The Night Of ‘Qadr’ (Decree)



This night is the greatest night of the year. This is the night which the almighty Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) said about it, “The night of Al-Qadar (Decree) is better than a thousand months.” [Surah al-Qadr, 97: 3]



The Night of Decree is o­ne of the odd nights of the last ten nights of the blessed month of Ramadan. The angels descend down to the earth, and the earth is overwhelmed with peace and serenity until the break of dawn and when he doors of Paradise are opened, the worshipper is encouraged to turn to Allah to ask for his needs for this world and the Hereafter.



10. During The Rain



Narrated Sahel Ibn Sa’ad (radiAllahu anhu): that the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘Two will not be rejected, Supplication when the Adhan (call of prayer) is being called, and at the time of the rain’. [Al-Hakim 2: 114, and Abu Dawud #2540, ibn Majah]



‘Seek the response to your du’as when the armies meet, and the prayer is called, and when rain falls’ [reported by Imam al-Shafi' in al-Umm, al-Sahihah #1469]



The time of the rain is a time of mercy from Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) so, o­ne should take advantage of this time when Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) is having mercy o­n His slaves.



11. At the Adhan



‘Seek the response to your du’as when the armies meet, and the prayer is called, and when rain falls’ [reported by Imam al-Shafi' in al-Umm, al-Sahihah #1469]



In another hadith; ‘When the prayer is called, the doors of the skies are opened, and the du’a is answered’ [al-Tayalisi in his Musnad #2106, al-Sahihah #1413]



12. The o­ne Who Is Suffering Injustice and Opression



The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said to Mua’ad Ibn Jabal (radiAllahu anhu), ‘Beware of the supplication of the unjustly treated, because there is no shelter or veil between it (the supplication of the o­ne who is suffering injustice) and Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)’ [Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim]



The prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) declared, ‘Three men whose dua is never rejected (by Allah) are: the fasting person until he breaks his fast (in another narration, when he breaks fast), the just ruler and the o­ne who is oppressed.’
[Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi - Hasan]



In another hadith; The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) declared: ‘Three du’as are surely answered: The du’a of the oppressed, the du’a of the traveler, and the du’a of the father/mother (upon their child)’



The o­ne who is suffering injustice is heard by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) when he invokes Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to retain his rights from the unjust o­ne or oppressor. Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) has sworn to help the o­ne who is suffering from injustice sooner or later as the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said.



13. The Traveler



The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said; Three supplications will not be rejected (by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)), the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the o­ne who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveler. [al-Bayhaqi, at-Tirmidhi - Sahih]



During travel supplication is heard by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) if the trip is for a good reason, but if the trip is for a bad intention or to perform illegal things (making sins) this will not apply to it.



14. The Parent’s Supplication for their Child



The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said; Three supplications will not be rejected (by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)), the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the o­ne who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveler. [al-Bayhaqi, at-Tirmidhi - Sahih]



15. Dua after praising Allah and giving salat o­n the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) in the tashahhud at the end of salat.



Narrated Faddalah ibn Ubayd (radiAllahu anhu): that the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘When anyone of you makes du’a, let him start by glorifying his Lord and praising Him, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), then let him pray for whatever he wants’ [abu Dawud #1481, at-Tirmidhi #3477]



In another hadith; Baqiy ibn Mukhallid (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that that the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘Every du’a is not responded to until o­ne sends blessings upon the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)’ [al-Bayhaqi]



In another hadith; Umar (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘Du’a is detained between the heavens and the earth and no part of it is taken up until you send blessings upon your Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)’
[at-Tirmidhi #486]



After a person has finished his tashahhud and before saying the ’salam’, supplication at this time is o­ne likely to be responded to. Ibn Mas’ud narrates: I was o­nce praying, and the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), Abu Bakr and Umar (were all present). When I sat down (in the final tashahhud), I praised Allah, then sent salams o­n the Prophet, then started praying for myself. At this, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:‘Ask, and you shall be given it! Ask, and you shall be given it!’ [at-Tirmidhi #593 - hasan, Mishkat al-Misbah #931]



16. The dua of a Muslim for his absent brother or sister Muslim stemming from the heart.



The prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘There is no believing servant who supplicates for his brother in his absence where the angels do not say, ‘the same be for you” [Muslim]



17. Dua o­n the Day of Arafat



The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘The best supplication is the supplication o­n the day of Arafat’.[at-Tirmidhi and Malik]



The day of Arafat is the essence and pinnacle of Hajj. o­n this great and momentous day, millions of worshippers gather together o­n o­ne plain, from every corner of the world, with o­nly o­ne purpose in mind – to respone to the call of their Creator. During this auspicious day, Allah does not refuse the requests of His worshippers.



18. Dua during the month of Ramadan



Ramadan is month full of many blessings, thus the du’a of Ramadan is a blessed o­ne. This can be inferred from the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) saying: ‘When Ramadan comes, the Doors of Mercy (another narration says Paradise) are opened, and the doors of Hell are closed, and the Sahitans are locked up’ Thus, it is clear that du’a during Ramadan has a greater chance of being accepted, as the Gates of Paradise and Mercy are opened.
[Sahih al-Bukhari #1899, Muslim #1079 and others]



19. Dua when the Armies meet



When the Muslim is facing the enemy in battle, at this critical period, the du’a of a worshipper is accepted.



Sahl ibn Sa’d (radiAllahu anhu) narrtaed the the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘Two duas are never rejected, or rarely rejected: the du’a during the call for prayer, and the du’a during the clamity when the two armies attack each other’ [abu Dawud #2540, ibn Majah, al-Hakim]



In another narration: ‘Seek the response to your du’as when the armies meet, and the prayer is called, and when rain falls’[reported by Imam al-Shafi' in al-Umm, al-Sahihah #1469]



20. When Muslims gather for the purpose of invoking and remembering Allah (Dhikrullah) .



The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
If a group of people sit together remembering Allah, the angels will circle them, mercy will shroud them, peace will descend o­nto them and Allah will remember them among those with Him. [Muslim]



21. First Ten days of Dhul-Hijjah



The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘There are no days during which good deeds are more beloved to Allah than during these ten days’ [Sahih al-Bukhai #969 and others]



22. Dua when the heart reaches out to Allah and is ready to be totally sincere



23. At Midnight



Abu Umamah (radiAllahu anhu) said, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was questioned; ‘Which du’a is heard (by Allah)?’ He answered, ‘At midnight and at the end of every obligatory prayer.’[at-Tirmidhi - Hasan]



25. Dua of people after the death of a person



In a long hadith, Umm Salamah (radiAllahu anha) narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, when Abu Salamah had just passed away, and had closed his eyes,
‘Do not ask for yourselves anything but good, for the angels will say ‘Ameen’ to all that you ask for. O Allah, forgive Abu Salamah, and raise his ranks among those who are guided.’
[Muslim, abu Dawud, Ahmad]



26. Dua of the o­ne fasting until he breaks his fast.



The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said; Three supplications will not be rejected (by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)), the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the o­ne who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveler. [al-Bayhaqi, at-Tirmidhi - Sahih]



27. Dua of the o­ne fasting at the time of breaking fast



The prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) declared,
‘Three men whose dua is never rejected (by Allah) are: when a fasting person breaks fast (in another narration, the fasting person until he breaks his fast), the just ruler and the o­ne who is oppressed.’ [Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi - Hasan]



29. Dua of a just Ruler



The prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) declared,
‘Three men whose dua is never rejected (by Allah) are: the fasting person until he breaks his fast (in another narration, when he breaks fast), the just ruler and the o­ne who is oppressed.’
[Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi - Hasan]



30. Dua of a son or daughter obedient to his or her parents



It is well known in the story narrated in hadith os three men who were trapped by a huge stone in a cave. o­ne of them who was kind to kis parents asked Allah to remove the stone, and his du’a was answered. [Sahih al-Bukhari 3:36 #472]



31. Dua immediately after wudu



Umar ibn Al-Khattab reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘There is not o­ne of you that makes wudu, and does it perfectly, then says: I testify that there is no diety worthy of worship except Allah. he is Alone, having no partners. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger’, except that the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, and he can enter into it through whichever o­ne he pleases’
[Muslim #234, abu Dawud #162, Ahmad, an-Nasa'i]

Saying what has been mentioned in the hadith that is directly related to it (ablution)



32. Dua after stoning the Jamarat at Hajj



The stoning of the small Shaitan (jamrat sugra), or the middle Shaitan (jamrat wusta) pillars during Hajj.

It is narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) would stone the small Jamarah (one of the three pillars that is stoned in the last days of Hajj), then face the qiblah, raise his hands, and make du’a for a long time. He would then stone the middle Jamarah and do the same. When he stoned the large Jamarah, he would depart without making any du’a. [Sahih al-Bukhari #1753 and others]



33. At the Crowing of a Rooster



Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘When you hear a rooster crowing, then ask Allah for His bounties, for it has seen an angel, and when you hear a donkey braying, then seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan, for it has seen a Shaitan’ [Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Sahih al-Jami #611]



34. Du’a made inside the Ka’bah



The Ka’bah is a sanctuary that has no comparison in the entire world. The du’a of o­ne who prays inside the hijr is considered as being made inside the ka’bah, as it is part of the house (Baitullah). [This is the semicircle to the right of the Ka'bah if you face the door, opposite to the Yemeni corner and the Black stone wall.]



Usamah ibn Zayd narrated, ‘When the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) entered the House (Ka’bah), he made du’a in all of its corners [Muslim 2: 968 and others]



35. Du’a o­n the mount of Safa or Marwah during Umrah or Hajj

It is narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) would make long du’as at Safa and Marwah. [Muslim #1218 and others]



36. Dua at any of the holy sites.



37. While reciting Surah al-Fatihah



The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said that Allah the Exalted had said:
‘ I have divided the prayer into two halves between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. When the servant says: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe, Allah the Most High says: My servant has praised Me. And when he (the servant) says: The Most Compassionate, the Merciful, Allah the Most High says: My servant has lauded Me. When he (the servant) says: Master of the Day of Judgment, He remarks: My servant has glorified Me, and sometimes He will say: My servant entrusted (his affairs) to Me. When he (the worshipper) says: Thee do we worship and of Thee do we ask help, He (Allah) says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. Then, when he (the worshipper) says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those to whom Thou hast been Gracious — not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, nor of those who have gone astray, He (Allah) says: This is for My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for.
[Muslim 4: 395]



38. Saying ‘Ameen’ during prayer



After finishing the recitation of al-Fatihah, the saying of‘Ameen’ in congregation.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: ‘When the Imam says ‘Ameen’, then recite it behind him (as well), because whoever’s Ameen coincides with the Ameen of the angels will have all of his sins forgiven.’ [Sahih al-Bukhari #780, Muslim #410 and others]



39. While visiting the sick, and dua made by the sick



Umm Salamah narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘When you visit the sick, or the dead then say good, because the angels say ‘Ameen’ to whatever you say [Muslim #2126]



Ali (radiAllahu anhu) reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
‘When a Muslim visits his sick Muslim brother in the morning, seventy thousand angels make dua for his forgiveness till the evening. And when he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels make dua for his forgiveness till the morning, and he will be granted a garden for it in Jannah.’ [at-Tirmidhi, abu Dawud]

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Very Easy!

assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah:

"One day we were praying behind the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) and when he raised his head from the position of ruku`(bowing position), he said: “Sami Allahu leman hamidah” – ‘Allah hears the one who praises Him’. A man from behind added:

“Rabbanna wa la kal hamd – hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan fih” – ‘Our Lord, all praise is due only to You, praise which is abundant, excellent and blessed.’ When we finished the prayer the Prophet said: ‘Who spoke?’ The man said, ‘I did’. He said, ‘Indeed I saw some 30 angels all scuffling to see which one of them could record it."

[Sahih Muslim]

-------------------------------------------------

Spend 5 mins and learn this (if you do not know), it is a very easy way for you to gain rewards inshaAllah and forward this if you want to benefit others inshaAllah.

jazakum Allahu khayran
Fares

Friday, January 7, 2011

10 Steps to keep the Masjid Clean‏

assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

Unfortunately, it seems like we as a collaborative ummah love to transfer responsibilities to others. Many of us are negligent of caring whether the houses of Allah are clean or not. There are too many brothers/sisters turning a blind eye to dirt in the Masjid. And you see several individuals dropping tissues and other stuff and pretending not to notice. So here are a few steps we can take to help keep the Masajids clean and at the same time gain a tremendous amount of reward in doing so insha Allah.

Before reading the steps, remember the Hadith where the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) praised the lady who used to clean the Masjid, when she passed away he was not notified and they prayed the janazah without Him. When he found out he specially prayed janazah just for her due to her actions. Good hadith to keep in mind while reading these steps. inshaAllah we will begin:

1. Treat the Masjid like your own House - Very simple and self explanatory. You try your best to keep the carpets in the house clean and tidy. Every now and then you vacuum the house or mop the floors. This is your house; imagine how much more cleaner should you keep the House of Allah.

2. Preparation before Guests Arrive - When you have guests coming over, you make that extra effort to make sure the house is very clean, smells good and nicely decorated. What about the House of Allah where there are not only your Brothers/Sisters, there are continuously Angels praising and glorifying Allah. Also, what if a non-Muslim guest arrives to get information about Islam? A soon to be Muslim might be discouraged to accept Islam by feeling Muslims are unclean.

3. A collaborative effort - The Ummah needs to work together in solving issues like this. If we keep shifting responsibilities to others (ex. the caretaker), we wont be able to solve this issue. Just like the parking situation in the Masjids, if one person parks properly and the rest park like fools, will it solve the problem? Remember those old clean up days in middle school, where the entire classroom worked together to clean up, not just one individual. If everyone does their share the overall outcome is better and easier to achieve. Do not just follow and say just because so and so did so and so, I will do the same.

4. Wear clean clothes (especially socks) - Self explanatory. If you are simply to lazy to wear clean socks, at the minimum wear clean socks on Fridays. Spray some fabric fresheners in your clothes and socks in order to smell fresh. The socks smell is tremendous in some places. Sometimes in Sujood you can smell the brother in front and it completely ruins your khushoo. This takes us to the next step.

5. Perfume yourselves (applies to men only) - Stop smelling like curry, get some nice smelling Attr (not the horrible fake mixed with water ones). A good trick is to put some on your palms and forehead, that way when you go into Sujood your are also making the Masjid smell good! Imagine if everyone did this! But remember everything should be done in moderation and not extreme levels. Sharing your Attr with others is also a good idea and a great way for earning more rewards.

6. Buy Air Freshener- A very simple step to help keep the Masjid smelling good. Just go to the dollar store and pick up some sprays or plug in air fresheners, leave it in the Masjid so anyone can utilize it and inshaAllah your rewards will grow. It is only a few dollars! You can also buy some Attr and put it on the bookshelves so others can make use of it.

7. Washrooms! - Please keep the washrooms dry and clean. A book can be written about how bad the washrooms in the Masajid are. At times they are so bad that it is preferable to go to a public washroom over the Masjid washroom.

8. Watch what you eat - It is sad that a lot of brothers and uncles cant stop burping, when it is an act specifically detested by the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) in the Authentic hadith. No Angels want to be around the burper, how can you seek the pleasure of Allah by burping? Believe me also the guy beside you is getting irritated no matter how nice the brother might be. So please stop burping! There is obviously a reason why Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) detested it. Also remember that he prohibited eating garlic and onions before entering the Masjid. 90% of the curry we cook have onions, so not only do you smell onions, you smell some fried curry mixed onion! Imagine if you entered the Masjid with the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) there.

9. Keep the shoe racks neat and tidy. 10. Do not throw things in the wudu area. It looks disgusting, especially those wet paper towels. Lastly remember the last two ayahs from Surah Az Zalzalah, Search it up right now if you do not know them. These are just a few steps we can take, I am sure there are many more, feel free to share this with others. This was not intended to target anyone specific; rather it is for myself and for all of us as a reminder inshaAllah. May Allah forgive us for our shortcomings and assist us in keeping His Houses clean. Aameen.

Your brother in Islam,
Fares Elahi
Jan 2011

Monday, January 3, 2011

50 Narrations on Virtuous Deeds

All narrations have been declared ‘authentic’ by Shaykh al-Albani.

1) Whoever reads Surah Ikhlas ten times, Allah will build a palace for him in Paradise. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed, “If that’s the case, then we will increase in our palaces!” The Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) responded, “Allah is better and greater (in reward).” [Ahmad]

2) Whoever reads Surat al-Kahf on Friday, it will act as a light/protection for him from one Friday to the next. [Bayhaqi]

3) Whoever memorizes the first ten verses from Suratul Kahf, he will be protected from the trial of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ). [Ahmad]

4) Whoever reads Ayatul Kursi after every obligatory prayer, nothing will keep him from Paradise except death. [Nasaa’i]

5) When you go to your beds at night, read Surat al-Kafirun then sleep upon completing it, for it will be a protection from Shirk (associating partners with Allah). [Ahmad]

6) Whoever performs their ablution carefully and then affirms (their faith by testifying): “Ash-hadu an laa ilaha il Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lahu wa anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasuluhu; Allahumma-ja’lni min at-tawaabeen waj-a’lni min al-mutatahireen”: ‘I testify that there is no true deity except Allah Alone, Who has no partners, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His slave and Messenger; O Allah, make me from those who repent and purify themselves’ – the eight gates of Jannah are opened for him so he may enter through whichever of these gates he desires.[Tirmidhi]

7) Whoever makes ablution then says upon finishing: “Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika;, Ashhadu an laa ilaha ila anta, Astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilayk”: ‘Glory be to You O Allah and all praise belongs to You; I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except You. I seek Your Forgiveness, and I turn to You,’ - it is written in a parchment, then sealed; and is not opened till the Day of Resurrection. [Nasaa’i]

8) While we were praying one day with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a man from among the people said, “Allahu Akbaru Kabeera, walhamdulillahi Katheera, wa Subhan’Allahi bukratan wa aseela”, ‘Allah is the Greatest above everything else, and All Praise is for Allah abundantly, and Glory be to Allah in the morning and evening.’ The Prophet ﷺ asked, “who said those words?” A man replied, “I did, O Messeger of Allah.” The Prophet ﷺ then said, ‘I am amazed by your speech, for they caused the doors of heaven to open.’ Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) added to this narration, “I never left saying those words after I heard the Messenger of Allah say that. [Muslim]

9) One day we were praying behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and when he ﷺ raised his head from the position of ruku` (bowing position), he said: “Sami Allahu leman hamidah” – ‘Allah hears the one who praises Him’. A man from behind added: “Rabbanna wa la kal hamd – hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan fih” – ‘Our Lord, all praise is due only to You, praise which is abundant, excellent and blessed.’ When we finished [the prayer] the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Who spoke?’ The man said, ‘I did’. He ﷺ said, ‘Indeed I saw some 30 angels all scuffling to see which one of them could record it.’ [Muslim]

10) Whoever prays twelve units of prayer voluntarily in a day and night, Allah will build him a house in Paradise. [Muslim]

11) Whoever observes four rakaat (units) before dhuhr (midday) prayer, and four rakaat after prayer, the fire will not touch him. [Abu Dawud]

12) May Allah have mercy on a person who prays four rakaat before ‘Asr (afternoon) prayer.[Abu Dawud]

13) Whoever stands in night prayer and recites ten verses (from the Qur’an) will not be written as a heedless person. And whoever recites 100 verses will be written as a devout slave. And whoever recites 1000 verses will be written as one who has mountains of good deeds. [Abu Dawud]

14) The voluntary prayer of a man where no one can see him is 25 times greater than voluntary prayer in front of the people. [Abu Ya’la]

15) Whoever prays four rakaat of Duha (mid-morning) prayer, and then another four (for a total of eight rakaat), a house is built for him in Paradise. [Tabarani]

16) Verily, Allah and His angels pray for the ones who fill in (or complete) the rows [in prayer], and whoever fills in a gap, Allah will raise his status because of it and will build a house for him in Paradise. [Ahmad]

17) Whenever a servant prostrates to Allah, Allah writes a reward for him, wipes out one of his sins and elevates his rank by one degree; so prostrate as much as you can. [ibn Majah]

18) Whoever prays fajr (morning prayer) in congregation then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, then prays two units of prayer has the reward like that of Hajj and Umrah. [Tirmidhi]

19) “Whoever prays to Allah for forty days in congregation, not missing the first takbeer (of prayer), he will be recorded as being free from two things: free from the Fire and free from hypocrisy. [Tirmidhi]

20) The best of prayers with Allah is the fajr (morning) prayer, prayed in congregation on Friday. [Abu Nu’aym] (There is a difference of opinion among the scholars if this narration is a hadith or a statement of ibn Umar – Allah knows best)

21) Whoever says, “Subhan’Allah al-Adheem wa biHamdihi” – ‘Glory be to Allah the Most Great and for Him is all praise’, will have a date-palm tree planted for him in Paradise. [Tirmidhi]

22) Whoever says “Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, ash-hadu an laa ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilaika” - ‘(O Allah, You are free from every imperfection; praise be to You. I testify that there is no true god except You; I ask Your Pardon and turn to You in repentance)’ in a gathering of remembrance, it will be like a seal to stamp it (the remembrance) with, and he who says it in a gathering of vain talk, it will be an expiation for it (the vain talk). [Nasaa’i]

23) Indeed, (saying) “SubhanAllah” – ‘Glory be to Allah (and He is high above any imperfection)’ and “Alhamdulillah” – ‘All praise and thanks is only for Allah alone’, and “Laa ilaha ilAllah” – ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except ’llah’, and “Allahu Akbar” – ‘Allah is Greater than everything’, cause a slave’s sins to fall away just as the leaves of a tree fall. [Ahmad]

24) Would any of you like to accumulate 1000 rewards every day? Say “SubhanAllah“, ‘Glory be to Allah and He is high above any imperfection’ 100 times and Allah will record for you 1000 rewards or He will remove 1000 mis-deeds. [Muslim]

25) Verily, Allah has chosen four words from all speech: “SubhanAllah” (Glory be to Allah and He is high above any imperfection), and “Alhamdulillah” (All praise and thanks are for Allah alone), and “Laa ilaha ilAllah” (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah), and “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greater than everything). Therefore whoever says SubhanAllah twenty deeds will be recorded for him and twenty sins will be removed from him. And whoever says Allahu Akbar will get the same. And whoever says Laa ilaha ilAllah will get the same. And whoever says “Alhamdulillahi Rabbil `Alamin” – ‘All praise and thanks is for Allah alone, the Lord of all things’, from his heart, thirty good deeds will be recorded for him and thirty sins will be dropped from him. [Nasaa’i]

26. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates, “The Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by me once while I was planting some crops. He said, ‘O Abu Hurayrah! What are you planting?’ I answered, ‘some crops.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Shall I inform you of crops which are far better than all this? Saying: “SubhanAllah” – ‘Glory be to Allah (and He is high above any imperfection)’ and “Alhamdulillah” – ‘All praise and thanks is for Allah alone’, and “Laa ilaha ilAllah” – ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’, and “Allahu Akbar” – ‘Allah is Greater than everything’. With every one of these [words], a tree will be planted for you in paradise’.” [Sunan ibn Majah]

27. Whoever is stingy about spending his wealth, and fears to fight the enemy, and is in terror of enduring the night should repeat frequently “SubhanAllahi wa biHamdihi” – ‘Glory be to Allah the Most Great and for Him is all praise’. By Him in whose Hand is my soul, they (those words) are more beloved to Allah than two mountains of gold and silver. [Abu Nu’aym]

28. Whoever enters a market and says: “Laa ilaaha illAllah waHdahu laa shareeka lah, lahul mulku wa lahul Hamdu yuHyi wa yumeetu wa huwa Hayyun laa yamoot, bi yadihil khayr, wahuwa `alaa kulli shay’in Qadeer” – ‘There is nothing worthy of worship but Allah, He is alone without partner, to Him belongs dominion and praise, he causes life and death and He is the Living and does not die. In His Hand is all the good, and He is over all things competent’; Allah will write for him a million good deeds, erase a million of his bad deeds and raise him a million levels and build for him a house in Paradise. [Tirmidhi]

29. Shall I guide you to something greater than remembering Allah (all) night and day? Say: “Alhamdulillahi `adada maa khalaq, Alhamdulillahi mil`a maa khalaq, Alhamdulillahi `adada maa fee-s-samawati wa maa fil`ardhi, Alhamdulillahi`’adada maa ahsaa kitabahu, wa Alhamdulillahi `alaa maa ahsaa kitaabahu, wa Alhamdulillahi `adada kuli shayy, wa Alhamdulillah mil`a kuli shayy” – ‘Praise be to Allah by the multitude of what He created; Praise be to Allah by the abundance of what He created; Praise be to Allah by the multitude of what is in the heavens and the earth; Praise be to Allah by the multitude of what His book enumerates; And Praise be to Allah for what His book enumerates; And Praise be to Allah as abundantly as everything.’ Then Glorify Allah similarly (by): learn these (phrases) and teach them to those who will follow after you. [At-Tabarani]

30. Whoever sends blessings on me (the Prophet ﷺ) 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening will have my intercession (Shafa’ah) on the Day of Judgment. [At-Tabarani]

31. Whoever says: “Radheetu billahi Rabba, wa bil Islaami Deena, wa bi Muhammad Nabiyya” – ‘I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, and with Islam as my Religion, and with Muhammad as my Prophet,’ Paradise would be (made) mandatory for him. [Abu Dawud]

32. Whoever supplicates for his brother (in Islam) in his absence, an angel is appointed to his side who says “Ameen (so be it) and may you also be blessed with the same.” [Muslim]

33. Whoever defends the honor of his brother in his absence will be entitled to Allah’s Protection from the Fire. [Tirmidhi]

34. Whoever removes a harmful thing from the path of the Muslims, Allah shall write for him a virtue whose reward is Paradise. [At-Tabarani]

35. Whoever extends the time to his debtor [to return the loan] , or forgives the debt, will be in the shade of the Throne (of Allah) on the Day of Resurrection. [Muslim]

36. Whoever gives respite to a poor person or writes off his debt, Allah will put him under His shade on a day on which there will be no shade except His (Judgment Day). [Muslim]

37. Whoever asks Allah for Paradise three times (Allahumma inni as’aluk al-Jannah), then Paradise will say: “O Allah! Enter him into Paradise!” And whoever seeks protection with Allah from the Fire three times (Allahumma najjini min an-Nar), the Fire will say: “O Allah! Protect him from the Fire!” [Tirmidhi]

38. Whoever is easy-going, gentle and kind, Allah will make the fire forbidden for him. [Hakim]

39. Whoever abstains from asking others for some financial help, Allah will give him (help) and save him from asking others; Allah will make him self-sufficient.” [Bukhari]

40. Whoever builds a Masjid for the sake of Allah even if it is like a nest which a bird builds for its eggs, Allah will build for him/her a house in Paradise. [Tirmidhi]

41. In Paradise there are rooms whose outside can be seen from the inside and the inside can be seen from the outside. Allah has prepared them for those who feed the poor, who are gentle in speech, who fast regularly and who pray at night when (other) people are asleep. [Ahmad]

42. If a Muslim plants a tree, or sows a field and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity from him. [Muslim]

43. Whoever visited a sick person or visits his brother in Islam, a caller calls from the skies: “You have done well and your walk was good also, and you have earned a place in paradise”. [Tirmidhi]

44. If a man visits his sick Muslim brother, it is as if he walks reaping the fruits of Paradise until he sits, and when he sits he is showered in mercy, and if this was in the morning, seventy thousand angels pray for him until the evening, and if this was in the evening, seventy thousand angels pray for him until the morning. [Tirmidhi]

45. Whoever says, “Astaghfirullah al-lathi laa ilaha illa huwa, al-Hayyul Qayyum wa atubu ilayh” – ‘I ask forgiveness from Allah the One whom there is no deity worthy of worship except He, the Ever-Living and Sustainer and I repent to Him’ three times, Allah would forgive his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea. [Abu Dawud]

46. Shall I teach you some words that if you were to say them, Allah would forgive you? “Laa ilaha ilAllahul `Aliyyul ‘Adheem, laa ilaha ilAllahul Hakimul Kareem, la ilaha ilAllahu SubhanAllahi Rabbis-Samawaati as-Sabi’ wa Rabbil ‘Arshil ‘Adheem. Alhamdulillahil Rabbil `alameen” – ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, The Most High, The Great. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, The Most Wise, The Most Generous. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, Glory be to Allah (and He is high above any imperfection), The Lord of the Seven Heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne. All praise and thanks is for Allah Alone, Lord of all that exists.’ [Ahmad]

47. From the acts that guarantee forgiveness is being generous with the spreading of salaam [i.e., frequently greeting] and good speech. [at-Tabarani]

48. Glad tidings for the one who finds in his book (i.e. his book of deeds) lots of seeking forgiveness (repentance). [ibn Majah]

49. He who has taken food and says at the end, ”Alhamdulillah’illadhi at`amani hadha, wa razzaqanihi min ghairi hawlin minni wa la quwwatin” – ‘All praise and thanks is due to Allah Who has given me food to eat and provided it without any endeavor on my part or any power,’ all his past sins will be forgiven.’ [Ahmad]

50. Whoever seeks forgiveness for believing men and believing women, Allah will write for him a good deed for each believing man and believing woman. [At-Tabarani]