Sunday, November 9

‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz said: "None can reach the state of taqwā until he possesses neither actions nor words that can be exposed to his embarrassment, either in this world or the Hereafter,” and he was once asked: "When does the worshipper reach the peak of taqwā?" So, he replied: "If he puts all the thoughts and desires in his heart on a plate and then wandered around in the market, he should not feel ashamed of anything there." [‘Min Akhlāq as-Salaf’; p. 56]

Friday, September 12

Ibn'ul Qayyim said: "I heard Shaykh'ul- Islam Ibn Taymiyyah - may Allah sanctify his soul - say: 'Dhikr is to the heart as water is to a fish; see what happens to a fish when it is taken out of water!' ... I once attended the morning (fajr) Prayer with Shaykh'ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, after which he sat down and engaged in dhikr of Allah until it was almost midday. He then turned to me and said: 'This is my morning meal, if I do not partake of it my strength diminishes."
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said : "Gratitude is built upon five pillars: Submissiveness to Allah from the one expressing gratitude; lov­ing Him for it; acknowledging His favour; praising Him for it; and not utilizing it in a way that displeases Him"

Thursday, May 15

And we think we’re something…

Ponder over this verse:

{“Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds!”} [al-Kahf; 103-104]

…and this hadith:

“If a man were to be dragged on his face from the day he was born until the day he dies in order to please Allah, then on the Day of Resurrection, he will not consider this to have been sufficient to gain Allah’s Pleasure.”

['Sahih al-Jami''; # 5249]

…and this statement of Ibn Taymiyyah:

“Verily, I constantly renew my Islam until this very day, as up to now, I do not consider myself to have ever been a good Muslim.”

[Narrated by Ibn al-Qayyim in 'Madarij as-Salikin'; 1/218]

And we think we’re something…

Courtesy of Iskandrani.wordpress.com

Tuesday, March 11

“I know exactly who you are…”

Abu Bakr said: “Let not any Muslim belittle another Muslim, for the lowest of the Muslims is great in the Sight of Allah.”

Wahb (bin al-Munabbih) said: “When Allah Created the Garden of Eden, He looked to it and said: “You are forbidden for every arrogant person!”“

al-Ahnaf bin Qays used to sit with Mus’ab bin az-Zubayr on his sleeping mat and talk. One day, he came to find Mus’ab extending his feet forward, so, he pushed his legs aside to make room for himself to sit. When he saw the signs of displeasure on Mus’ab’s face from this, he said: “How strange is the son of Adam! He is arrogant while he was originated from an organ that transports urine!”

al-Hasan (al-Basri) said: “I wonder at the son of Adam! He uses his hand to wash himself from his waste once or twice a day, yet he seeks to compete with the All-Mighty?”

Muhammad bin al-Husayn bin ‘Ali said: “The heart of a person is never afflicted with the slightest bit of arrogance except that his intelligence and sanity is decreased because of that in accordance with how much of that arrogance has entered his heart.”

Sulayman was asked about a bad deed that cannot be wiped away with a good dead, so he replied: “Arrogance.”

‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-’Aziz went for Hajj before he became the khalifah, and Tawus saw him walking with a slight swing in his walk that he thought looked boastful. So, he went up to ‘Umar and nudged him in his side, saying to him: “Is this the walk of one whose stomach carries waste?”

Muhammad bin Wasi’ saw his son acting boastful, so, he called him over and said: “Do you know who you are? As for your mother, then I purchased her for a mere one hundred dirhams. As for your father, then may Allah not increase his likes amongst the Muslims!”

Mutraf bin ‘Abdullah saw al-Muhallab walking in a new overcoat he had bought, looking pleased with himself. So, he said to him: “O Abu ‘Abdullah! This is a type of walking that is hated by Allah and His Messenger!” So, al-Muhallab said to him: “Do you have any idea who I am?” So, Mutraf replied: “I know exactly who you are: your beginning is in the form of a tiny clot of sperm and egg, and your end is in the form of a rotten corpse!” So, al-Muhallab abandoned that type of walking from then on.

Courtesy of Iskandrani.wordpress.com

Saturday, March 8

Gratitude

Gratitude (shukr) is expressed with the heart, by acknowledging Allah's favours, attesting to them and not considering oneself deserving of them, but instead recognizing that they are purely from the Lord's bountiful grace. It is expressed with the tongue by praising Allah for His favours and proclaiming them. [It is expressed] with the limbs by not being disobedient to Allah, but rather by utilizing His favours to obey Him.

If he is granted any worldly thing, he thanks Allah for it. If something of this world is removed from him, he [still] thanks Allah, for some­times the withdrawal of a favour removes the person from a greater evil. If he is granted the ability to do an act of obedience, he sees this as a grace (tawfiq) from Allah, for which he [again] thanks Him.

And Allah's aid is sought.

Thursday, February 28

Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"Al- Junayd said: 'The journey from this world to the Hereafter is smooth and easy for the believer, but leaving ordinary life for the sake of Allah is difficult. The journey from the ego (nafs) to Allah is extremely difficult, and patience (sabr) in Allah is even more difficult."
He was asked about patience, so he replied: 'It is to swallow bitterness without frowning.'
Dhu'l-Nun al-Misri said: 'Patience is to distance yourself from opposing [the truth], to remain calm when engulfed with calamities, and to display sufficiency when poverty occupies your daily life.'
It has been said: 'Patience is to face affliction with the best conduct.'
It has been said: 'It is to absorb affliction without display­ing complaint.'
It is said: 'It is accustoming the soul to the onslaught of adversi­ties.'
It is said: 'It is to settle down with adversities in good companionship, in the same manner as one settles down with well-being.'
And 'Amr ibn 'Uthman said: 'It is standing firm with Allah and meeting tribulations with magnanimity and welcome.'

Sunday, February 10

Compensation

Umm Salamah said:

I heard the Messenger of Allaah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam say, “There is no Muslim who is afflicted with a calamity and says that which Allaah has enjoined, Innaa lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon. Allaahumma ajurni fi museebati wakhluf li khayran minha (Verily to Allaah we belong and unto Him is our return. O Allaah, reward me for my calamity and compensate me with something better than it), but Allaah will compensate him with something better than it.”

She said: When Abu Salamah died, I said, who among the Muslims is better than Abu Salamah, the first household to migrate to the Messenger of Allaah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam ? Then I said these words, and Allaah compensated me with the Messenger of Allaah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam.

Saheeh Muslim


Wednesday, February 6

Abu Hurayrah ( رضي الله عنه ) said: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: "It does not befit a Siddiq (righteous Muslim) to frequently curse others.'' [Muslim]

Abud-Darda' (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, "Those who frequently resort to cursing (people) would neither be accepted as witnesses nor as intercessors on the Day of Resurrection.'' [Muslim].

Samurah bin Jundub (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, "Do not curse one another, invoking Curse of Allah or Wrath of Allah or the fire of Hell.'' [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

Abu Zaid Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak Al-Ansari (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, "..... Cursing a believer is like murdering him.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Barzah Nadlah bin `Ubaid Al-Aslami (رضي الله عنه) said: A young woman was riding a she-camel on which there was the luggage of people. Suddenly she saw the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). The pass of the mountain became narrow for her people (because of fear). The young woman said to the she-camel: "Go ahead.'' When it did not move, she said,"O Allah! Curse it.'' The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, "The she-camel that has been cursed should not accompany us.'' [Muslim].

Wednesday, January 16

Imaam Ahmad, an-Nasaa’ee, at-Tirmidhee and Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh report the hadeeth of Ka’b ibn Maalik al-Ansaaree, radiyallaahu ‘anhu, from the Prophet (salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that he said: “Two hungry wolves let loose among sheep are not more harmful then a person craving after wealth and status is to his Deen (Religion).” at-Tirmidhee said, “It is hasan saheeh.”

What's So Special About Muharram?

1) It is the first month of the Hijri calendar.

2) It is one of the four sacred months concerning which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Verily, the number of months with Allaah is twelve months (in a year), so it was ordained by Allaah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein..." [al-Tawbah 9:36]

Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (sa) said: 'The year is twelve months of which four are sacred, the three consecutive months of: Dhu'l-Qa'dah, Dhu'l-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab Mudar which comes between Jumaada and Sha'baan.' (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2958).

3) The 10th of Muharram is the 'day of Ashura'

Fasting the day of 'Ashoora' does expiate for the past year, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'For fasting the day of 'Ashura, I hope that Allah will accept it as expiation for (the sins committed in) the year that went before.' (Narrated by Muslim, 1162.) This is by the bounty that Allaah bestows upon us, whereby fasting one day expiates for the sins of a whole year. And Allaah is the Owner of great bounty.

4) Sins in this month are more serious, and good deeds bring greater reward

It was reported that Ibn 'Abbaas said: Allaah's words (interpretation of the meaning):'so wrong not yourselves therein...'referred to all the months, then these four were singled out and made sacred, so that sin in these months is more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.

5) Virtues of observing Nafl (voluntary fasts)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: 'The Messenger of Allaah (sa) said: 'The best of fasting after Ramadaan is fasting Allaah's month of Muharram.' (reported by Muslim, 1982).

InshaaAllah the day of 'Ashoora' is on Friday (18th Jan 2008), and those who intend to fast are required to fast Thursday (Jan 17th) or Saturday also (Jan 19th) - in order to avoid singling out the Friday for fasting.

May Allah accept from us and you..

Adapted from Islam Q&A - Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid

Friday, January 11

Ibn al-Qayyim said (2/248):

"Good character with the Creator and with the cre­ation revolves around two statements which were mentioned by Shaykh 'Abd al-­Qadir al-Jilani who said:

'Be with the Truth, without creation; and be with cre­ation, without ego (nafs).'

So consider carefully! How amazing are these state­ments, despite their brevity, and how they gather together the principles of way­faring (suluk) and every beautiful character. Corruption of character arises from putting the creation between yourself and Allah, and by putting your ego between yourself and His creation. So when you isolate the creation, in that state when you are with Allah the Exalted; and when you isolate your ego, in that state when you are with the creation - then you have fully attained to the ideals of the People of Spirituality (al-qawm). And Allah's aid is sought."

Wednesday, January 2

And on the authority of Shaddad bin al Hadi (may Allah be pleased with him):

‘A man of the [nomad] Arabs came and believed in the Prophet (PBUH). Then he said: "I shall emigrate with you." And the Prophet (PBUH) put him into the charge of some of his Companions. In a campaign the Prophet (PBUH) took some booty and this was divided up, and he gave him his share. And he [i.e., the Arab] said: "What is this?" He said: "I have apportioned it to you." He said: "It was not for this that I followed you; rather I followed you that I might be pierced here (and he motioned with his hand to his neck) with an arrow, and that I might die and enter Paradise." He said: "If you are truthful in what you have just said, then Allah will fulfil your desire." So they remained there for a space; then they rose to do battle with the enemy. He was carried over to the Prophet, having been struck with an arrow exactly where he had pointed. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Is it he?" They said: "Yes." He said: "He was truthful in what he said, so Allah answered him." Then he was shrouded in the garment of the Prophet (PBUH), and he [i.e., the Prophet] walked before him and prayed over him. This is part of what he said in his prayer: "O Allah, this is your servant who went forth as an Emigrant in your way and was slain a martyr. And I am a witness unto it." (Transmitted by An-Nisaa'i)