Strong Believer

My respected and most beloved teacher’s Dars/lesson on Wednesday 24/1/07 was concerning strength.

عن ابي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلي الله عليه و سلم " المومن القوي خير وأحب إلى الله من المومن الضعيف و في كل خير، احرص علي ما ينفعك، واستعن بالله ولا تعجز. وان اصابك شئ فلا تقل: لو اني فعلت كان كذا و كذا ولكن قل قدر الله و ما شاء فعل فان لو تفتح عمل الشيطان" – رواه مسلم

Narrated by Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه : Allah’s Messenger صلي عليه وسلم said,

“A strong believer is better and dearer to Allah than a weak one in all good things. Adhere to that which is most beneficial for you. Keep beseeching Allah for help and do not refrain from it. If you are afflicted in any way, do not say: If I had taken this or that step, it would have resulted into such and such,’ but say only: ‘Allah so determined and did as He willed.’ The word ‘IF’ opens the gates of satanic conduct.” [Muslim]

Respected teacher explained that in this Hadith,

1. Goodness is acknowledged in weak as well as strong because the real Faith is a common feature of both. The one who is stronger is, however, better with Allah for the reason that he is more active and energetic in the matter of noble deeds and performance of ritual prayers, obligatory as well as voluntary.

Further ahead this Hadith is related to either:

A. Physical strength (jismani)

B. Spiritual strength (ruhani)

E.g. When one turns angry and controls his anger is the strongest.

In one Hadith it is mentioned:

“The strong man is not the one who wrestles, but the strong man is in fact the one who controls himself in a fit of rage.” [Muslim]

People are usually impressed by the physical power and strength of somebody. But the real strength of man lies in the fact that he should be able to wrestle his passions in a fit of anger and avoid committing an act for which he may subsequently regret. To control the ego [nafs] is the most difficult and daring deed to achieve. One may be physically powerful, however if one is not spiritually powerful there is no use of that strength and power. Where as if one is spiritually strong even though he is physically weak, Insha-Allah he will still gain great success.

One may say, "I am willing to change my ways of life and strengthen my iman, however i don't seem to get up and do what it takes to revert myself for the better"

Respected Teacher answers this in the most amazing manner.

"Hidayah is from Allah, Allah is the one who decides whether you do such an act or not. Ask Guidance from Allah as well as changing. As we all are in need of Allah's help. We cannot achieve anything without him."

2.This Hadith also ordains that in case of trouble, one should exercise patience and show submission and obedience rather than saying ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ about it, because it provides Shaytan with a chance to mislead the victim.

It has Allah's hikmah behind it all. May Allah be pleased with my respected and most beloved teacher and May Allah guide us all, Ameen……….

Week4

HADITH:
"Supplication is the essence of worship" (bukhari).

DID YOU KNOW:
Al-Zahrawi (known as Albucassis) wrote "At-Tasrif" a 1500 page illustrated encyclopedia of medicine and surgery (1000 C.E). In it he describes 200 surgical instruments many of which are still used today with slight modifications. It became the manual for physicians at its time and for many years to come.

TARGET:
Insha'Allah- reflect on the conditions for making repentance.

*To show remorse
*To humble oneself infront of the almighty

The Holy Qur'an

My respected teacher performed his weekly Dars of Hadeeth on Wednesday and he respected advised us on the benefits of reciting the Holy Qur’an.

يقول الله سبحانه وتعالى: ( من شغله القرآن وذكري عن مسألتي أعطيته أفضل ما أعطي السائلين وفضل كلام الله سبحانه وتعالى عن سائر الكلام كفضل الله تعالى على خلقه) رواه الترمذي

In Hadeeth-e-Qudsi it has been mentioned that Allah سبحانه وتعالي mentions:

"If anybody finds no time for My remembrance and for begging favours of Me, because of him remaining busy with the Holy Qur'an, I shall give him more than what I give to all those who beg favours of Me. The superiority of the Word of Allah over all other words is like the superiority of Allah over the entire creation."

In this Hadeeth we find that whoever is so engrossed in reading the Qur’an and does not have time for any other Nafl acts, so in return Allah will favour him more than even those who beg before Him.

We need to make a habit of reading the Qur’an contineously. Shaykh Zakariyya (ra) advised those, who are hafidh that they must read atleast 3 juz every day and to those, who aren't Hafidh may pray 1 juz per day.

There are many people, whilst in their daily routine they have the habit of reciting the Holy Qur’an completely.

My Shaykh once mentioned in his discourse that there was a man, whose job was to deliver goods, and whilst driving he would start his day reciting "Surah Fatiha" and he would complete the Qur’an by the end of the day.

Even though we may not be Hafiz-e-Qur’an we must put much effort into reciting the words of Allah as much as we can. May it be just a few lines or words, however try and make sure it is persistent.

There are three rights of the Qur’an:

1. Azmat (greatness)
a) Inner greatness (Batini)
*Love- We should have love for the Qur’an from the heart.
b) Outer greatness (Zahiri)
*Adab- We should respect the Qur’an by our actions.

2. Tilawat (recitation)
- the daily recitation of the Holy Qur’an should be our habit.

3. Amal (to act upon)
- to act upon what has been said in the Holy Qur’an.

Week 3

HADITH:
"The Religion (Islam) is to act with sincerity" (Muslim).

DID YOU KNOW?:
Caliph Umar ibn ul Khattab was the first to establish the Islamic Hijri calender. He chose the Hijrah of the Prophet sallahu alaihi wasalam from Makkah to Madinah to be its starting point. Before that the Arabs used important events like the incident of the Elephant, to keep track of dates. The First day of the Hijri Calender correspond to July 16, 622 C.E

TARGET:
Insh'Allah analyse one's priorities in life

*Think about the halal and haram things before prioritising


May he give us all the ability to act upon these targets InshAllah

Humour

My greatly respected teacher performed his (respected) weekly Hadeeth lesson on Wednesday concerning humour and a few more beneficial points.

Hadeeth:

و عن انس ان رجلا استحمل رسول الله صلي الله عليه و سلم فقال اني حاملك علي ولد ناقة فقال ما اصنع بولد الناقة فقال رسول الله صلي الله عليه و سلم و هل تلد الابل الا النوق- رواه الترمزي

Sayyiduna Anas رضي الله عنه said: A man came to the Prophet صلي الله عليه وسلم and said: O Rasul of Allah! Give me a mount. The Prophet صلي الله عليه وسلم said: We shall give you a she-camel's child to ride on. He said: What shall I do with a she-camel's child? The Prophet صلي الله عليه وسلم replied: Does anything other than a she-camel give birth to camels?" (Sunan Tirmidhi)

My beloved teacher mentioned that through this Hadeeth we can deduce that Our Nabi صلي الله عليه وسلم was humorous towards his beloved companions.

We are all drawn to people with a good sense of humour. Humour has the power of warming people’s hearts and lifting the spirits like no other human characteristic, and it provides a welcome break amidst the pressures of life.

Abu Huraira (رضي الله عنه )quoted that, companions said, “O Prophet of Allah, you joke with us.” He said, “I only say what is true.” (Tirmidhi)

GUIDELINES FOR HUMOUR:

*We mustn't associate fun and laughter with lies. The Prophet صلي الله عليه وسلم said, “I only say what is true.”

*Bad language or reference to improper topics of conversation may not be subject of jokes.

*The angels are ready to record whatever we may utter, therefore to stay quite is also to stay away from sins

*Protect your tongue and from fun and laughter that contain lies.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

• Is this the right time to joke?

• Is this an appropriate person to joke with?

• Is this an appropriate topic to joke about?

• Is this the right place?

STORY :

My beloved teacher mentions: "There was a couple that constantly used to argue and they were at each others throats non-stop. So to go to a Shaykh was decided, they explained their situation, and instantly the Shaykh noticed that it was the women, who couldn't control her tongue. They asked for some water (that had been prayed on), soon the Shaykh advised that the women should keep that water in her mouth for 15 minutes, as soon as the argument starts. So this was understood and the couple did as they were told, whenever there was a controversy between them the women did not say anything due to the water in her mouth. Soon the husband gave up too. This is how their problem was solved."

ADVICES:

1. Control your tongue

2. Have a laugh but speak the truth

3. Silence saves you from sin

4. To smile is a Sadaqah (charity)

5. Silence is a best answer to a fool

May Allah be pleased with my esteemed teacher and may he give us the ability to act upon what has been said...ameen

Apologies for any mistakes that have been, they were truly unintentional!!

Week 2

I hope and pray we all tried our utmost best in keeping up with the first target.

HADITH:
Actions are according to intentions (bukhari-Muslim)

DID YOU KNOW?:
Abul Hasan is distinguished as the inventor of the telescope, which he described to be a tube "Tube, to the extremities of which were attached diopters".

TARGET:
Insha'Allah - reflect on the intentions behind one's actions.

*When you're about to do something, anything stop and think about, why you are doing it, who you are doing it for.
*Then go back change you're intention, Only for the sake of Allah...May it be the smallest act.

Setting Targets

I thought maybe we should all keep targets....may it be daily, weekly or even monthly. We hear and read many discourses and lectures from our beloved teachers, shaykhs but how much of it goes in and we actually attempt to act upon it. We busy ourselves so much in our daily lives and routine that we hardly have time to improve ourselves in matters of deen. If we learn but not act upon the knowledge we have gained, it won't be any use to us but become a cause of destruction. May Allah save us.

Let us bring that little amount of knowledge into our lives and act upon it, slowly and gradually and insha'Allah we can make an immense change in our lives.

As my respected teacher once mentioned:

"Mountains are made up of stones; hence acting upon knowledge slowly, gradually will become a mountain of knowledge"

"One large change is less effective than a small but persistent change.
e.g. One bucket full of water won't make an effect on a stone where as a drop every day will gradually make a dent, may it take 1 year, 5 years or even 20 years it will make that mark"

Therefore i thought of putting up a "Weekly Hadith", A "Did you know" statement, and a "Weekly target"...

HADITH:
The one who visits the sick is in fact like one who is in the fruit garden of paradise (until he returns). (Muslim)

DID YOU KNOW?:
Prophet Ibrahim Alaihis salaam's footprint is preserved on a stone in vicinity of the ka'aba known as Maqam Ibrahim

TARGET:
Insha'Allah- reflect on one's personal characteristics.
*Sincerity
*Patience
*Self-respect
*Hardworking
*Gentleness

Cordial Tendency

My esteemed teacher gave an amazing discourse regarding Love for Allah on Friday....

It is stated in al-Hadeeth al-Qudsi that:

كنت كنزا مخفيا فاحببت ان اعرف فخلقت الخلق
"I was a hidden treasure, I wanted myself to be identified, and therefore I created the creation"

The reason why Allah سبحانه وتعالي has created us, is to love Him and for us to recognise His existence, none other than Him. Otherwise love is "WASTEFUL LOVE".

If one ponders over this then he/she will notice that amongst the creation everyone has this essence of love, as the heart is made to love. May it be a human, an animal or even a plant, all fall in love...

My highly respected teacher cites a few examples:

STEEL:
The steel too loves, it is attracted to the magnet no matter if there may be the most stunning jewel between them it will still be attracted to the magnet.

SUNFLOWER:
If we observe a sunflower that has been named after the sun, we will notice that it is opened up to its best when the sun is shining bright. It shoots up reaching up to the sun due to its love for it. Soon when the sun sets the sunflower's head too lowers itself. If there isn't any sunlight the sunflower withers away and dies.

FISH:
We all acknowledge the fact that once we take a fish out of water it loses its life and lets out a foul odour. A fish will love water to the extreme that it cannot live without it. Extremely in love gives the one, who eats it the love for water too. If we ponder over these examples we will find that the love between the two are wasteful and their consequences are also a downfall.

However, if only we had love like the examples above for our creator Allah سبحانه وتعالي then we would face a greater result, appreciation and reward. We must prioritise our love for someone and make sure that the love for Allah سبحانه وتعالي and Nabi صلي الله عليه وسلم is leading everything else we may have affection for.

ALLAH سبحانه وتعالي says:
Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight … are dearer to you than Allâh and His Messenger, and striving hard in His Cause, then wait until Allâh brings about His Decision (torment). And Allâh guides not the people who are Al-Fâsiqûn (the rebellious, disobedient to Allâh). (9:24)

May Allah give us all the ability to create love for Allah سبحانه وتعالي and Nabi صلي الله عليه وسلم in our hearts. Ameen

The Importance of Halal

I found a book authored by my respected teacher "Halal ki Ihemiyyat" and I thought to translate it and share its beneficial contents with you, which would be a source of my salvation in the hereafter.....

FIRST SECTION: Verses regarding the Importance of Halal

Without Halal sustenance, worship is unacceptable

It is the command of Allah that we eat pure

It is a sufficient virtue that the believers

are together with the Prophets in this command

Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala has emphasized in his pure and holy words regarding the importance of Halal sustenance. Similarly, this issue has emphasized in many blessed Ahadith of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam.

Below are selections of verses and Ahadith along with their interpretation.


Verse 1

يا ايهالرسل كلوا من الطيبات واعملواصالحا اني بما تعملون عليم

O’ Messengers, eat of the good things and act rightly, I most certainly know what you do.
23:51

In this verse Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala mentions that the way in which We have given you permission to use Our blessings and ordered you to worship, We have also commanded the Messengers and through them their nations that you and your Ummah should eat that which is good and pure, and then thank Allah by doing righteous deeds. I am aware of what you are doing. I will reward you according to your worship and righteous deeds.

يا ايهالرسل
O Messengers!

When the Messengers of Allah are being addressed in this manner, then this decree holds greater importance for the respective nation of each Messenger. The ultimate aim of this verse is to make sure that the Ummah acts upon it.

In another verse the believers have been clearly ordered to do this. The Prophet of Allah has mentioned this subject matter in a Hadith.

Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam once said:

O you people, Allah is good, and He only accepts what is good. Allah has issued to the believers the same command that He gave to the Messengers, for He said:

O you Messengers, eat of the good things, and do right. I am indeed aware of what you do. (23:51)

Allah also says:

O you who truly believe! Eat of the good things with which we have provided you. (2:172)

Then the Prophet mentions a man who undertakes a very long journey, describing him as: Unkempt, covered in dust, he stretches his hands toward the sky, (crying): ‘O my Lord! O my Lord!’ but his source of food, drink and clothing is unlawful, and he sustains himself unlawfully, so how can he expect a response to his appeal?
(Muslim / at-Tirmidhi)

كلوا من الطيبات
Eat of the good things.

The literal meaning of the word ‘tayyibat’ is clean and pure. Because all the things which the Islamic Shari’ah regards Haram are not pure and nor do intellectuals regard them to be so. This is why from the word ‘tayyibat’ it is meant all things, which are Halal, clean and pure from inward and outward.

Qadhi Thana’ullah Panipaty writes in his Tafseer al-Mazhari that ‘tayyibat’ clearly means everything that is Halal. And the order of eating pure items is an obligatory, meaning that don’t eat anything Haram. Or ‘tayyibat’ may mean delicious or tasteful, in that case the meaning of the verse is to create ease and show permissibility and forbid asceticism.

Some scholars have written that ‘tayyibat’ means Halal, pure and healthy.

Halal is that in which disobedience of Allah is not committed and its opposite is Haram.

Pure is that by consuming it, a person will not become ignorant of Allah, opposite to that is where one becomes ignorant of Allah and he begins to follow his own egos.
Healthy means that it keeps him away from his own desire and safeguards his understanding and its opposite is to overeat. (Tafseer al-Mazhari)

واعملواصالحا
And work righteous deeds.

In this verse we find that every Messenger in his time was given two pieces of advice, to eat Halal, and to do righteous deeds.

Ulama have stated that in bringing these two commands together it is an indication that eating Halal has a major part to play in being able to do righteous deeds.

When ones sustenance is Halal then this will automatically enable him to do good deeds, and when one consumes Haram then even though if one intends to do righteous deeds, it will prevent him from doing so. Righteous deeds means to fulfil the command of Allah in the way it has been ordered solely for the pleasure of Allah. In conclusion, we have commanded every messenger that do not eat anything which is Haram but eat Halal and do righteous deeds.

Allamah Ibn Kathir Rahemahullah writes ‘Verily Halal helps to do good deeds’. In the verse Allah is not mentioning a certain taste or colour but he is saying eat which is Halal.

It is narrated in a Sahih Hadith that the Prophet of Allah said, “Every Messenger was a shepherd”. The companions asked, “Even you O’ Prophet of Allah?” The Prophet replied, “Even me, I used to graze the sheep of the people of Makkah in exchange for a few Qiraat”.

It is also mentioned in the Hadith that the Prophet Daud Alaihis Salam use to eat from the money he earned whilst working.

At the end of the verse, Allah says ‘do not think even for a moment that we are unaware of what you do, because

“اني بما تعملون عليم” I most certainly know what you do.