Eid Mubarak

Eid is a day made by Allah to mark a special event and a blessed event. It is a day in which Muslims around the world gather to perform the sacred and religious sacrifice in the blessed land. This is another day from the days of Hajj which denotes the Sacrifice made by Ibrahim عليه اسلام.

Allah states:

لَن يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِن يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنكُمْ كَذَلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

"Their flesh and their blood reach not Allah, but the devotion/piety from you reaches Him. Thus have we made them subject to you that you may magnify Allah that He has guided you..."

[Surah al-Hajj - 22:37]

POINT

This is the day where, although we enjoy ourselves, we should remember the sacrifice that Hadhrat Ibrahim عليه اسلام made for the sake and pleasure of Allah Ta'ala. It is a day within which many pilgrims have sacrificed their desires, comfort and families to complete one of the pillars of Islam whilst bearing hardship to seek the pleasure of Allah and acquiring closeness to Him.

May Allah allow us to enjoy this day in its true meaning whilst giving us the understanding to realise that this day is about sacrifice for the sake of Allah and not following one's desires to displease Allah. Aameen.

Eid Mubarak to all the readers.

Interview

My friend had an interview a short while back; an interview which I believe was fairly easy and straightforward in achieving results. He was given a paper with possible questions that would be presented to him which he was to provide answers for.

Obviously, life isn’t always that simple and there would be other questions asked from him which were not mentioned on the paper he received. However, with the interview time being limited, I would have thought that providing good answers would leave him with limited time for questions that were not on the paper.

Well, I met my friend the day before and I was astonished to see that he was relaxing in his room with no concern about his interview. When I asked him regarding this he simply replied “it’s okay, I’ll be fine”.

I found it to be quite funny as well as disturbing that he was hoping to achieve results without having done any work or preparation for that result.

POINT

In life there are many things that we aim to achieve yet we fail to plan and exercise effort in achieving this.

The example of this foolishness is the example of a person who intends to travel south but takes the road that leads to the north.

These are all worldly matters; I pondered over my friend’s attitude and realised that we sometimes have the same attitude in our religious affairs:

الكيس من دان نفسه و عمل لما بعد الموت؛ و العاجز من اتبع نفسه هواها و تمني علي الله

“The intelligent person is he who subdues his desires and works for that which comes after death; and the foolish person is he who follows his desire and has (vain) hopes in Allah”

[Sunan Tirmidhi]

A person who pursues his desires and does what his heart desires then hopes for the mercy and favours of Allah is a foolish person. It is important for an individual to understand what is required from him and then to make an effort in achieving, thereafter leaving it in the hands and of Allah.

May Allah give us all the inclination to control our desires and to become intelligent in the way Allah has shown us and not to be foolish by following our desires readily whilst having false hope in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah. Aameen.

Why am I not happy?

Through the journey of life, it is a natural occurrence that something will take place which will be contrary to our desire and wishes. It is at these times we will feel a great sense of unhappiness and displeasure.

We sometimes feel displeasure when our food isn’t ready on time; sometimes when we are late we feel unhappy in regards to this. Furthermore, our discontentment is mixed and contaminated with ingratitude and ungratefulness. We seem to let our annoyance become the reason behind our lack appreciation for everything else that has occurred and is continuing to occur in our life.

At times in life we feel a certain discomfort and frustration towards things that occur in life which we were hoping would emerge and develop in a totally different matter and at that point we tend to forget all the happiness, pleasures and bounties we have in the world and show our lack of appreciation and thanklessness based on that single occurrence.

POINT

In life we always tend to forget the favours of Allah during the time when we are displeased with an action of His or something that went against our own desires. In actual fact, we have moulded our heart in such a manner that it only receives pleasure when its wishes, desires and requests are fulfilled.
Yet we tend to ignore and disregard all the favours and bounties that have been given to us by that person, if it was through them we received annoyance; or the fact that there could be something superior to that which we have lost.

There is a saying:

'When something occurs and it is according to your wishes and desire, then that is a good thing… but when something takes place which is against your will and desire then it is even better. For that which is not in accordance with your desire is in accordance to the desire of the Lord'

In simple terms, when something takes place we should always relate its occurrence to Allah; by doing so we will never be displeased, as a believer’s true pleasure is in the pleasure of Allah.

Thus, by doing so, there will not be a circumstance within which a person will not become ungrateful and unappreciative; instead he will ensure that he thanks Allah for all those times where his wishes have been met and accepted despite being only His slave.

May Allah give us all the realisation of His presence and His will and command. May He give us the strength to accept that which He has chosen to occur and understanding to realise that all good lies in His hands and in His power. May He give us wisdom (Hikmah) in that which we know, and a zeal and thirst for knowledge for those matters which we have no knowledge of. Aameen.

Slow Puncture

Recently, I've been having a little problem with the front driver side tyre. I woke up one morning to find that there was less air in the tyre and became frantic to pump it up at the petrol station before it reached a stage where I couldn't drive the car.

Off I drove to the nearest petrol station to fill in the air. I know this is totally wrong, but I decided to fill the air in the tyre to 42psi instead of the normal 35psi. My thinking was that it'll last a little longer and I'll have the extra time to get the tyre repaired.

I was correct about the tyre lasting for another day or so, but I was still unable to find some time to get the tyre repaired.

In the back of my mind I always had this concern that I might park the car somewhere and find it to have less air in the tyre, forcing me once again to visit the petrol station.

This procedure continued for a fair few days and I was a regular visitor at my local petrol station just to fill the air in the tyre.

POINT

The lesson we learn from here is simple and always mentioned by the scholars. It is the lesson of the water and bucket. No matter how much we fill the bucket we will eventually find it empty, sooner than later, if there is a hole within that bucket.

This is the same principle with our actions; no matter how much we strive (even if we 'over-do' acts of worship) we will find that we will be left with nothing if we fail to stop sinning and leaking out the acts of worship we have done.

It is always essential to repair the leak when it occurs instead of avoiding and ignoring it. Once the leak is repaired even a few acts of worships will ensure that our hearts are filled with Noor (diving light).

May Allah give us all the inclination, ability, strength and understanding to repair the holes that we have created in our hearts. May He give us the wisdom to stop sinning whilst worshiping. Aameen.

Eid Mubarak

After Eisha Salaah the day felt really incomplete without the Taraweeh prayer. As I headed home I was thinking about the month of Ramadhan, its purpose and the way in which It just came and went.

The month of Ramadhan is a devotion and dedication to Allah for which we are giving the day of Eid in return. We celebrate on the day of Eid because during the month of Ramadhan we are to have attained a rank higher, blessings and self-control that we never possessed before.

For those who were sinful they were granted forgiveness and guidance; for those that had few sins or were on the correct path they were granted rank and status.

The month of Ramadhan just reminded me of a training ground; a person enters the ground and trains for a month after which he leaves. Generally this 'graduation' day is celebrated with family and friends and thereafter we are sent into the real field.

POINT

The month of Ramadhan is like a training ground for us all; a month which teaches us self control, discipline, devotion and worship. It is followed by a day of celebration which is known to us as Eid. Eid is our graduation from this blessed month and this graduation only indicates that now the real work is to begin.

Whatever we learnt and done in the month of Ramadhan will now be reflected from what we do in the remaining months. We will prove whether we were worthy or graduation from this training camp or did we let ourselves down.

The month of Ramadhan was a month where we worked upon ourselves... Now arrives the months within which we have to maintain that work and show what we learnt in the blessed month of Ramadhan.

May Allah make this day of graduation filled with happiness and blessings. May He make us worthy of this graduation and aid us in the path we are to take. May He guide us and prove our training to be at least successful if not complete. Aameen.

Eid Mubarak

Manuals & Instructions.

I was at the factory looking at the manuals for all the machinery we have there. Each manual contained a detailed explanation on how to operate the machinery, how to maintain it as well as what to do and what precautions to take.

When I came home I was going through my drawers and once again manuals of computer software and electronic items were placed in a pile in one of my draws.

It just made me realise, that the simplest of items to the most complicated machinery and technology contained some sort of instructions and guidance; at times on a small piece of paper giving simple warning instructions or indicating the safety standards of the product and at times a whole manual covering every minute detail of the product.

It was obvious that the more complicated and complex the product was the more detailed the manual would be. And this was obviously a need that was comprehended by the maker of the product and therefore the need was met in this manner.

POINT

The human body is the most complicated of machinery, the most amazing creation of Allah, the Creator; and just as complicated is the soul that is present within this human body.

Allah, the Almighty, knowing that there would be a need for not only a manual but also a guide, sent down our Beloved Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم as a guide and along with him the Qur’an as the manual, the book of guidance.

“This is that book in which there is no doubt. Guidance for the God-fearing”

[al-Baqarah – 02:02]

Allah, being the Most Merciful not only sent down this manual and book of guidance but also sent down our Nabi صلي الله عليه و سلم as a demonstrator and a complete guide. He included in this ‘manual’ every necessity and requirement of man. How man should maintain both his physical body and his spiritual body.

Allah mentioned within this manual technicians that will aid one to repair one’s physical body, these being doctors; and in the same manner technicians that would aid us in our spiritual ailments, these being our Shuyookh (spiritual doctors).
These two are the greatest gifts and blessings from Allah which are exceedingly forgotten and unappreciated by mankind.

Imagine our electronic devices without any instructions, without any guidance of operation! Imagine all our tools and utensils without any maintenance instructions! Let us try assembling complicated items without any illustrations. It can seem difficult despite its simplicity in comparison to the complicated and masterful creation of the body.

May Allah give us all the understanding and appreciation of both the teachings of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم and the Qur’an. May He give us the appreciation for all the favours He has done upon us and then courage and strength to bring that appreciation into action. Aameen.

Tug-of-War

Whilst sitting in my room one night, I was totally aware that the following day would hold a great challenge; a day that would require me to exercise every ounce of patience I had. I knew the baby-sitting my nephew and niece was not going to be an easy task… not by far.

Well, to be honest, they’re a pair of good kids, but they’re kids. So I was preparing myself mentally and headed off to sleep to prepare physically also.The day came and the day went; and to be able to write up the activities of that day I would need your attention for a couple of hours. So to skip to the point…

Two packets of crisps, two children but only blanket is the perfect ingredient for trouble. Kids, although loving, caring and sharing, can sometimes decide that they want something totally to themselves and that they want ‘that particular one’.

Not before long there was a tug of war on the blanket and the rivalry to get the blanket had disappeared replacing it with a fun activity of seeing who was stronger and would win this tug of war.

Muhammad, being the elder had no advantage at all as his physique left him pull with all his might; whilst on the opposite side, Aisha, although younger and stronger also didn’t have the advantage because she was too busy giggling and laughing instead of pulling… In the end I had to call it quits before someone gave up and one of them went ‘flying’.

POINT

We sometimes fail to realise that life is a big ‘tug-of-war’ where we have oppositions and teams at many modes of life. At times we will find people who will willingly join our team and give us strength and an advantage over the opposition and at times we will meet people that would rather give join our opposition and then we have to put on a stronger fight and greater effort, if not to win, then at least to stay in the game.

In life, we have one team of goodness and one of badness; these teams stand either side and tug against each other hoping to pull the opposing team into their territory and by doing so win the ‘game’.

In our life, on one side we have those who will aid us into getting closer to Allah by helping us pull at this ‘rope of worship’ and at the same time we will find people that will oppose us and try and weaken us in achieving this.

However, in life, we also find people that appear to be on our team yet they make no effort in helping us, and at times their actions help the opposing team. These people appear to be our friends but in reality hold interests for the opposing team.

In this month of Ramadhan we have been given support by Allah Himself, who has taken the strongest of the opposing team , Shayaateen, and locked them behind bars. However, we still have to keep tugging and pulling and not become distracted, who we have people who seem to be on our side that actually aid the opposing team, this is our Nafs, Self Desire.

O Allah, give us strength so that we come out as the winners, give us courage that we never lose hope when the opposition seems strong. O Allah, save us from those people who appear to be friends but distract us from your path and in doing so aid the enemy. O Allah, save us from our desires and give us the zeal to walk the path you have chosen for us, the path that leads to you. Aameen.

When will it be me?

At a young age I was totally unaware of death; the meaning of death and its existence were totally oblivious to me due to the lack of understanding. When I grew up a little and began understanding the meaning and existence of death I associated death with age and illnesses; when a person reached a certain age and becomes old, or if a person is exceedingly ill, he then dies and is buried.

However, after Islamic education and further understanding, which came with age, I began to learn that death was not associated with illness or age. Death can come to anyone at any time and no one is excluded from death.

Nevertheless, the human mind always has a feeling that death will never reach him or he will die when he is old. When a person is young and strong he feels that death is far from him and will not come to him for at least another few years; whilst still having this notion in mind that he will reach his old age.

Whilst I was standing in Salaah today I felt slightly dizzy and thought that I would collapse on the spot due to my knees becoming weak. At once I remembered the football player I had read about that died on the football pitch during a match; one minute he was standing the next minute ‘thump’ and he was on the ground… Dead. It made me realise that even before starting this Salaah I was fully confident that I would complete it and return home and complete my tasks which I had set for the day.

Our life is such that we plan not each day as it comes, but we plan years ahead and have this ‘false’ confidence that we will complete these plans and maybe one day ‘retire’ after which death will come to us.

POINT

كن في الدنيا كأنك غريب او عابر سبل

“Live in this word as though you are a stranger or a passer-by”

Meaning:

Live in this world like a traveller lives in a hotel or a country he does not reside in; always keeping in mind that this is not his permanent place of residence and therefore not getting too attached or comfortable. Our home is the hereafter whilst this world is a temporary station.

الدنيا سجن المؤمن و جنة الكافر

“The world is a prison for the believer and paradise for the disbeliever”

Meaning:

The world is full of restrictions for a believer just like a prison has restrictions for a prisoner. However, once we are free from this ‘jail’ (world) we will have no restrictions, Insha Allah.

The prison is a place where a prisoner is unable to unite with his beloved; it acts as a barrier and obstacle between a person and his beloved. In the same manner, a believer is deprived from meeting his beloved, Allah, due to the barrier of this world.

تحفة المؤمن الموت

“The gift of a believer is death”

Meaning:

Death, if seen with an open mind, is a gift not only to believers but to entire mankind. However, it is the believers that realise and appreciate this. Death allows this world to have enough space for its residence; otherwise the world would be overcrowded. Furthermore, it relieves people from old age and the illnesses and weaknesses that come with it.

Death is the only obstacle between a lover (believer) and his Beloved (Allah). Therefore, a believer sees death as a gift from Allah as it is a call from the Beloved to the lover. Moreover, it is the bridge that takes a lover to his beloved, Allah.

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

Our beloved Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم has taught us that death can come at any time to anyone. In fact, he صلي الله عليه و سلم has taught us that death is so sudden that when we say one ‘Salaam’ in Salaah we should know in our hearts that it may not be possible to say the other ‘Salaam’ though the interval between the two may be of a few seconds.

In Islam, when a child is born, the call to prayer (Adhan) is given in the child’s right ear whilst the call to gather the congregation (Iqaamah) is given in the left ear and there is no Salaah that is performed thereafter.

However, the teaching of Islam is that after the Adhan and Iqaamah immediately prayer (Salaah) is commenced. Therefore, in this case, the ‘Ulamaa (scholars) have explained that the prayer that follows is the Salaatul Janaaza (prayer upon the deceased) to show that the life of a person, in reality, is extremely short, so much so, that it seems there is a short interval between the Iqaamah recited in the child’s ear and the Janaaza Salaah which takes place at the time of their death. Furthermore, they explain that this is the reason why there is no Adhan or Iqaamah for the Janaaza prayer.

O Allah, give us all the true understanding of death and give us the wisdom to accept that it could occur at any time. Give us the courage, time and importance of remembering death at all times. Keep us alive until that time which life is better for us and give us death when death is better for us. Make our lives ones that are long and filled with good deeds. O Allah, make us from those who see death as a gift and this world as a prison and make not death ‘sudden’ upon us and keep us ever ready for it.

O Allah, save us from the pangs of death and make death easy upon us. Do not attach our hearts to this world to such an extent that we feel sorrow, grief and pain at the time of our death. O Allah, we seek from you your mercy and that you send upon us the angels of mercy to remove our soul. O Allah, make us pleased with death for indeed it is death that will unite us with our Creator. O Allah, make us happy to see you and make us such that you are happy to see us. Aameen.

Ramadhan Mubarak

It is the mercy and blessing of Allah that He gave us life to be present in the month of Ramadhan and by doing so given us an opportunity to seek His forgiveness, mercy and blessings that overflow for His servants in this blessed month.

The month of Ramadhan is like the period in our life where we make great efforts to do some 'spring cleaning' and 'throw out the old' and 'bring in the new.' In the same way, the month of Ramadhan is where we do a 'spring clean' of our hearts and get rid of all the bad habits and give way to new and good habits. It is a month where we try and cleanse ourselves so that we are pure, clean and spiritually motivate for the months to come.

I pray to Allah that He gives us the understanding and vision to seek the rewards that are present within this month of Ramadhan and then the strength, ability and zeal to reap them all.

I pray to Allah that He accepts us and our efforts within this month then shows us His acceptance by making a change visible within us during this month and in the months that follow.

I make Du'a to Allah that He removes, through the means of this month, the pain, suffering, depression, illnesses, worries, trails, difficulties, poverty, hunger etc that people are facing in the world so that they are able to devote themselves to Him alone.

O Allah send the choicest of blessings upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه و سلم and upon his blessed family the amount that pleases you.

O Allah send blessings upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه و سلم and upon his blessed family equal to the amount of rain drops that have dropped and will drop.

O Allah send salutations on our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه و سلم and upon his blessed family equal to the amount of people that remember him and the amount that are negligent of his remembrance.

O Allah elevate the rank of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه و سلم to the status and rank of محمرد, which you have promised him and grant him the highest of places in Paradise.

O Allah forgive our shortcomings and hold us firm upon your path. Make us pleased with your decisions and please us with your decisions. O Allah, grant us Jannatul Firdous and honour us with the intercession of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه و سلم on the Day of Judgement and of drinking the water of Kauther from his hands. Grant us the status of being with the Prophets and the pious people and with those whom You will grant shade under Your throne where there shall be no shade but Yours.

O Allah, we seek Your pleasure and the pleasure of Your Beloved صلي الله عليه و سلم. Be pleased with us and make us Pleased with you. Aameen.

َ اللهُمَّ صَلِّيْ وَسَلِّمْ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ كُلَّمَا ذَكَرَهُ الذَّاكِرُوْنَ , و صَلِّيْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّم كُلَّمَا غَفَلَ عَنْ ذِكْرِهِ الْغَافِلُوْنَ َ

"O Allah, send blessings and salutations upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه و سلم the amount of every person that remembers (sends salutation upon) him; and send blessing and salutations upon him صلي الله عليه و سلم the amount of every person who is ignorant of remembering (sending blessings upon) him صلي الله عليه و سلم."

Please remember me in your Du'as.

Parents

At times we rebel, at times we show them great love... Parents.

Parents are those beings who were given to us by Allah to cater for us, care for us and fulfil our every need and valid desire on this earth. Our parents look after us when the only thing we are capable of doing is sleeping, crying and breathing. They tend to us and lose their sleepp so that we, their children, can sleep in peace; they stay hungry only so that they can feed us.

However, life is such that we can never fully appreciate our parents. We sometimes upset them, go against their desires and do things that hurt their feelings. Yet we fail to realise what a true gift these parents are despite all their 'apparent flaws.'

As usual, my posts are related to something that occurred in my life...

Alhumdulillah, by the grace of Allah, I was blessed with a baby girl this Monday. It brought me great pleasure to have been able to complete two Sunnats of our Beloved Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم; the first Sunnah being that the first child was a girl and the second Sunnah that her name is Fatimah.

A humble request to all readers to remember me and my family in your Du'as in the month of Ramadhan.

Point

"Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship except Him, and your parents shall be honoured. As long as one or both of them live, you shall never say to them, "Uff" (the slightest gesture of annoyance), nor shall you shout at them; you shall treat them amicably.

Even if you have to turn away from them, as you pursue the mercy of your Lord, you shall treat them in the nicest manner."

[Surah al-Israa - 17:23]

This order of Allah should always be remembered and it should be understood that Allah, after ordering His worship in the entirety, has ordered good towards the parents. Such is the rank of parents and such are their favours.

However, we tend to forget ourselves the amount of sacrifices our parents have done for us and we tend to think that this was their 'duty' yet we fail to realise our duty towards them.

It is a well known Hadith of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم which states that the he صلي الله عليه و سلم supplicated for the destruction of three types of people whilst ascending the Mimbar.

The Prophet of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم said: "Jibraeel عليه السلام appeared before me and said, destruction to him who found the blessed month of Ramadhan and let it pass by without gaining forgiveness, upon that I said, Ameen."

When I climbed the second step, Jibraeel عليه السلام said, "destruction to him before whom your name is taken and he does not salutations. I replied Ameen."

When I climbed the third step, Jibraeel عليه السلام said, "destruction unto him in whose lifetime his parents or either one of them reaches old age, and (through failure to serve them) he is not allowed to enter Jannah. I said, Ameen."

We are all aware of our responsibilities to our parents, we all are aware of right from wrong. However, we all need to realise the true sacrifices and value of our parents to be able to be obedient to them for eternity.

May Allah give us all the understanding to be pious and obedient children. May He give us the strength to serve them through their old age and grant us Jannah as a result. May He make our parents pleased with us and make us coolness for their eyes. May He reward them in this word as well as the hereafter for their sacrifices, care Ameen.

May He give us pious children who become the coolness of our eyes and who are obedient to us. May He make our children successful and grant them health and honour in His eyes. Aameen.

I pray to Allah that He gives us the ability and knowledge to be successful parents to our children and that we are capable of providing them with sound knowledge of Islam and educate them about Islam and its teachings so that through them our path towards Jannah becomes easier. Aameen.

Losing Someone

If anyone here has ever lost anyone then only they will know the true feeling and meaning of loss.

Losing someone is a pain that cannot be explained nor described, it is a pain that can only be felt and experienced by an individual.

When we lose those who are close to us it brings us much pain and grief; and if it a loss of a person we have been close to, someone we grew up with and spent most of our time with, then this pain multiplies and becomes harder to bear.

At this moment in time, a very true and close friend of mine is fighting for their life; lying in bed without any knowledge of what the future will hold.

Although no one ever wishes to lose someone, it is inevitable to think of what life would be like without someone so dear and so close. Losing such a close friend would be something that one may not get over throughout one's life.

These are the thoughts travelling through my head, whilst the heart prays and begs Allah for the recovery of such a great friend.

My request to all the readers for humble Du'as for my friend's speedy and complete recovery.

Point

It is amazing how we grieve over the loss of a person that we have built a connection and bond with maybe over a period of twenty to thirty years. This bond then becomes stronger if that person is close to us, has done us favours and we have looked after them like our own.

If an individual can understand this bond created by one human for another human, how can we overlook the bond created by Allah for His bondsmen.

Allah personally created man, took care of him from the time he was in the womb till the day he reaches the grave and even after that. It is Allah that fed that person, clothed him, loved him and appointed angels to keep him safe. It is Him who created for him the tools and means to remove every difficulty; He created for him a partner to relieve his loneliness and become his companion.

What sort of a bond would be created by Allah with someone He has done this much favours upon? What love and care would Allah have for that person? So when such a servant turns away from Allah why is it that we fail to see His disappointment, His remorse and His reason to become angry despite given us chances upon chances.

An Incident

This reminds me of an incident that took place between Allah and Hadhrat Mussa عليه السلام. On one occasion, after having made every effort possible, Mussa عليه السلام turned to Allah and requested that his entire nation be destroyed as they did not take heed of his words and guidance.

Allah asked Mussa عليه السلام to make 40 clay pots with his bare hands before any action was taken. Although Mussa عليه السلام was unaware of the link between the making of the clay pots and his request to Allah he submitted to the command of Allah and began making clay pots with his own hands. Mussa عليه السلام put his entire effort into making these pots and completed making all forty, after which, he looked with delight towards what he had achieved.

Mussa عليه السلام then turned to Allah and informed him of completing the task Allah had set him. Allah then commanded Mussa عليه السلام to take a stick and break one pot after another. Mussa عليه السلام was astonished by this command but continued to obey the order of Allah. He slowly began breaking one pot after another bearing the pain in his heart for destroying what he had so carefully made.

After Mussa عليه السلام had finished destroying all the pots, Allah informed him, O Mussa (عليه السلام), you found great difficulty in breaking pots of clay that you made with your bare hands, yet it was you that asked me to destroy an entire nation that I myself created and moulded with my own hands. At this point Mussa عليه السلام realised what he had asked from Allah.

Lesson

We feel the pain of our loss, we feel the pain of the destruction of our belongings and we feel our anger is justified towards one who is ungrateful towards us and our favours. Yet we fail to see Allah's disappointment and 'grief' when a servant that He created from His own hands turns away from Him; we fail to understand and justify His punishment for all the sins we commit and all the times we rebel against Him; we fail to see the sacrifices of His beloved Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم. But we never fail to sacrifice our religion...

May Allah give us all the understanding to love Him in the manner He loves us. May He make us worthy of being His creation and may He make us worthy of being called His. May He give us the realisation of our acts and the harm and pain they cause and most important of all, may He accept us. Aameen.

Barbeque

Note:

This was a post that was written by Zain a while back but he never had the chance to post it. Seeing as he isn't on the blogs for a while and I have some of his unpublished posts I thought I could publish these. Please forgive me for any errors or incompleteness as I am not sure if these posts are ready for publishing.

This summer has been very hot; a summer full of heat and sunshine. Well, if there's one thing you have to take advantage of in this country is the weather. Therefore, seizing the moment we decided to go to a nearby park for an outing and a barbeque.

The outing was organised by a few families and we all decided to take different varieties of food and share the responsibility of taking the different necessary things.

As always, departure was hectic, and those who had prepared in advance were relaxed whilst those who had left things for the final moment were rushed and flustered.

Finally, when we did make our way to the park and got there we off-loaded all the items we had and then made our way to a quiet and sheltered place. The last thing any of us wanted was to sit in the direct sunlight.

To cut a long outing short, we started the barbeque after some while and realised that we had no fire-lighters. The people who were supposed to bring the fire-lighters had left everything to the last minute and had forgotten to pack. Now we had a problem trying to light the coal and get a fire started for the barbeque.

We finally managed to light the barbeque (using various other methods) and enjoyed ourselves (finally).

POINT

This post has quite a few points, some that I never realised myself at the time and came to realise it whilst writing the post.

The first point that I realised was during the barbeque. It is easy to light a fire when paraffin is available and the fire-lighters are present. If the right things are present then even to light up charcoal is not a problem. But if you don’t have the correct stuff even a petrol soaked sheet of paper would be hard to put on fire.

This is the same case with burning a fire within one’s heart; the fire of the love for Allah. If one uses the correct method he is able to light this fire of love easily; and if the right method is not adopted this fire will be difficult to ignite. Nevertheless, the person who is determined will manage to produce a spark and light the fire either way.

Therefore, it is important to try and use the correct methods and mediums to gain the love and mercy of Allah. We all have the spark and flame of Imaan within our hearts, it is now up to us to ignite this flame and turn it into a blazing fire.

The other point I realised whilst writing this post was the need to prepare in advance. Even for a small trip correct preparation is vital to avoid hassle and inconvenience later on. Preparing means one becomes more relaxed and confident and is more able to carry out other tasks. However, the person who doesn’t prepare forces upon himself stress and difficulty; and it could well be that after having prepared in a rush we realise later that we have actually forgotten something very vital.

This is also the case when we refer to the hereafter; if preparation is needed for such a small trip then it is inevitable that immense preparation will be required for the journey from this world to the hereafter. It is therefore essential that we prepare for this journey in advance so that when the time for departure arrives we are relaxed and not troubled; and if we fail to prepare for this journey then we will be anxious and frustrated at the time of the departure, and Allah forbid that on the Day of Resurrection we realise that we have actually forgotten something behind.

As a final point, it is worthy of noting how we are eager and make an effort to find shade in this world when the temperature rises even a little. However, we should ponder over the Day of Judgement when the sun will be just above our heads and their will be no shade but His, under His throne. May Allah give us the inclination to do those acts by which we will be granted the honour of being under the shade of His throne of the day of Judgement. Aameen.

The Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade:
a just ruler;
a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic;
a man whose heart is attached to the mosques;
two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that;
a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position, but he says: ‘I fear Allah’,
a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity;
and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.”

[Saheeh al-Bukhari]

May Allah give us all the inclination to burn the fire of love for Him and His Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم in our hearts. May He guide us to the correct and quick path towards His mercy and love. May He give us the inclination to prepare for the hereafter in advance. Aameen.

Ouch

Ever pricked your finger? Or maybe tripped over a stone? It's painful isn't it? How about being cut with a knife or beaten with a stick? Haven't we all felt these pains in one way or another?

Let us look at some other pains... Ever lost a loved one? Sworn at by a total stranger? Discriminated? Or been left out?

These are pains that vary, some physical, some mental. But either way they cause great pain.

Today I decided to 'advice' someone and maybe guide them in the right direction. The intention as always was the pleasure of Allah. However, it was quite painful when that person responded in a negative manner, something I didn't expect and was totally hurt.

This post is written for a few reasons...

1. To apologise to that person for causing them pain and hurt, which was totally unintentional.

2. As usual, derive a beneficial lesson from this.

POINT

1. In life we do many things to please people. At times we even go out of our ways to assist them or cause them ease. At times we expect something in return and at other times we do it totally for the sake of Allah.

However, we should keep a few things in mind when helping people.

a. When a person aids another, Allah remains in his aid.

و الله في عون العبد ما كان العبد في عون أخيه

"And Allah remains in the aid of a servant as long as that servant remains in the aid of his brother"

[Sunan Muslim]

b. Removing a difficulty from someone in this world will mean that Allah will remove a difficulty of ours in the Hereafter.

من نفس ان مؤمن كربة من كرب الدنيا نفس الله عنه كربة من كرب يوم القيامة

"And whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter."

[Sunan Muslim]

c. A believer is rewarded for even a thorn that pricks him.

‏ما من مصيبة تصيب المسلم إلا كفر الله بها عنه حتى الشوكة يشاكها

"A Muslim is not afflicted by hardship but Allah expiates his sins from Him, due to that hardship, to the extent of even a thorn that pricks him"

[Saheeh al-Bukahri]

d. Allah is the one who rewards.

إن أجري الا علي الله و هو علي كل سيء شهيد

"My reward is from Allah only. And He is a Witness over all things."

[Surah Saba – 34:47]

2. When we are hurt we feel pain, we feel remorse and depression at times. We feel unappreciated and ungratified.

Have we ever turned a thought towards why we feel like that? It is solely because we done someone a favour and never got anything from them. If that wasn't bad enough, we actually went the opposite way and done them harm or went against their will and hurt them.

This is the feeling we get when one of our favours are unappreciated. Yet we fail to appreciate Allah for His countless favours and gifts. In fact, the more He gives us, the more we retaliate, the more we hurt Him and the more we turn away.

We're never reluctant to take a blade and cut off the Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم despite his sleepless nights for us; disregarding his tears that soaked his beard in our concern.

If we feel pain and remorse... How will Allah the Creator of all feel? How will the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم feel?

Are we justified in our actions?

3. When we do something we should always expect its reward from Allah and none other. The Prophet of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم has said: "indeed even the slightest of show is Shirk" and it is mentioned that we will be asked to collect our rewards from the people who we done the deed for.

May Allah save us all and give us the inclination to do acts for His sake only. May He give us the strength to bear the torments from people and make it bearable by reminding us that the true reward is from Allah alone. Aameen

All Planned Out...

Human nature is such that it wants to plan ahead and feel in control and organised. And if we look at it, in life it sometimes is necessary to plan ahead. Some people like to plan day by day as it comes; some choose to plan a month ahead and others plan years ahead.

As many of my readers will be aware, I was suffering from appendicitis. I've had this problem since February and was admitted in emergency on two occasions, only to be discharged and put on the NHS waiting list.

Recently, I received a letter letting me know that I had a place in the hospital to have my surgery done and should contact the hospital. I was given Thursday 13th July 2006 to have a pre-assessment and thereafter be admitted on Wednesday 19th 2006. The operation was booked for Thursday 20th 2006 and my discharge date as Friday 21st of July 2006.

I had all these dates a week in advance and naturally I started planning out what I would be doing during the following week.

However, to cut a long story short, when I went for my pre-assessment on Thursday, I was admitted in emergency and had the operation done on the same day. The operation was a little 'messy' and it meant that I had to be in the hospital a day extra and was discharged on Saturday.

When I came out of Hospital, I was just thinking how I had planned a whole week ahead whereas everything happened to the contrary and finished within the week.

POINT 1

As I mentioned, in life it is neccessary to plan ahead. But it is far more necessary to realise that our planning ahead should be only limited to our worldly acts, for if the wordly acts are left out for any reason the consequences cannot be that bad.

However, in actions regarding our Hereafter, we should never leave anything til later but instead strive to commit and carry out that act as soon as possible. For if the acts of our hereafter are left out then the consequences and regrets are far greater.

POINT 2

When planning for anything we should never in our minds think that this is exactly what will happen. Instead we should pray to Allah to make matters easy for us and remember that life is unpredictable, one minute we are here, the next we could be gone.

POINT 3

Finally, there is no gift like health. Whilst in hospital, and even looking at myself, I can realise how the strongest of people crumble under pain. When our health is not to a level we can't even worship Allah to our maximum limits. This is why we have been told by the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم:

"Take benefit of five before five:

1. Your youth before your old age,
2. Your health before your sickness,
3. Your wealth before your poverty,
4. Your free-time before your preoccupation, and
5. Your life before your death."

[Bayhaqee]

May Allah give us all good health so that we can use it in His worship. May He also give us the courage and understanding to carry out acts of worship as soon as possible and not leave them to a later date. Aameen.

Please remember me in your Du'as and especially make Du'as for my recovery. Insha Allah, depending on my health, I will try and update as and when possible.

Eyes

My last post was on a gift that was given to me by my friend. Something I showed great appreciation for and I therefore treated it with the greatest of care and held it in high value and esteem. My lesson and message was that we should be thankful for these gifts and we should furthermore be more grateful towards Allah for His gifts.

Friday is probably the best day of the week for me for a number of reasons. To begin I have to lead the prayers at Rugby Mosque and to be able to provide a service to the Muslim Ummah is an honour whilst the peaceful journey there and back is a bonus. As the evening comes I get to see my adorable niece and nephew. Although looking after them and playing with them is like a full time job it is the best moments of my day and even my week. And without any surprise I sleep well after being drained out of all the energy I possessed.

Saturday, although being accounts day is also something I look forward to as we have football matches and therefore something else I enjoy and await during the week. After which my day usually ends in resting and some paperwork.

Finally, Sunday is family day and it is always a pleasure that needs no description or explanation.

However, this week went a 'little' different for me. It was a week where I realised that despite realising the value of the things we have, we only realise its true value when we actually lose it.

The weekend began as normal and I had my game of football as planned. The game was fun and winning was obviously even better. However, after a couple of hours after returning from football, I realised that I had an itch on my eye-lid and that it was a little painful. As usual, I left it to my body to deal with it and continued with my day. That evening, without actually realising, my eye had swollen and become red and I was hardly able to open it; forced to continue my activities with the aid of one eye I was hoping it would resolve sooner than later.

On Sunday, my eye went from bad to worse and I was unable to see anything from that eye, and to make matters worse my other eye was continuously watering and it was difficult to clearly see from there either.

The tasks which I carried out day after day without a second thought are now tasks that take a great deal of concentration and last forever.

...And I am still to experience how hard it is with an eye like this...

POINT

At times we tend to forget the gifts and bounties of Allah, especially those we have take for granted, like our eyes, hands, feet, speech etc. And then there are some that realise that we have been given these gifts yet they fail to realise how precious and valuable these gifts really are.

There are only a few people who realise the value of these gifts and many of these are those who have lost them. Ask the value of sight to a person who was once able to see; ask the value of speech to someone who is no longer able to talk; tell a person to explain the value of legs to someone who is now in a wheelchair...

Many a times we fail to show enough gratitude to Allah for the gifts He has given us and many of us feel it is enough thanks by just raising our hands and thanking Allah once in a while for these gifts.

The 'Ulamaa (scholars) have mentioned the true method of thankfulness for all the gifts of Allah:

01. Thank Allah through "speech".

We should all take time out to raise our hands in front of Allah and utter words of thanks and appreciation. This is thanking Allah by means of one's tongue.

02. Thank Allah through "appreciation"

It is also necessary for every person to have the feeling of appreciation for the gifts Allah has given to us. This is thanking Allah through one's heart.

03. Thanking Allah through "Actions"

This is where many people fail to thank Allah. We should show appreciation and thanks to Allah through our actions and this is achieved in two ways.

Firstly, we should thank Allah by our actions in general. And secondly, we should show appreciation through the particular parts of our body. For example, to show appreciation for our tongue we should not utter anything that would displease Allah; for appreciation for our eyes we should not look at anything which Allah has forbidden us to look at; and so forth.

I pray to Allah that He gives us the true understanding of His gifts and bounties and thereafter He gives us the ability, understanding and inclination to thank Him through the many channels He has made known to us. Aameen.

Please do remember me in your Duas.

A Gift...

My day began as any other day... I continued doing my duties for Madrassah and for work. However, during midday I received a package, very nicely packed I must admit, sitting on my desk.

I was expecting a package, but I had no knowledge of what was inside (and no idea that it would be so delicately packaged).

I sat there, with a big grin I must admit, and started to tear open the package. When I finally got to what was inside, after removing all the measures taken to protect the item, I got to what was 'mine'.

It's always good to share, but the hand-made frame that was inside totally belongs to me. And I thought I would take this opportunity to thank the person who went to such effort to make something so beautiful for me.

I pray to Allah the He removes all calamities from your path and the path of those who are associated with you. I pray that He keeps you and you family safe from all harm and sadness. May He fill you life with happiness and make you successful in all that you choose to do. Finally, I pray that makes you smile through each day and give you the inclination and will power to get closer to Him and win His favours. May He grant you Jannatul Firdaus. Aameen.

POINT:

Point 1

The religion of Islam is such that Allah teaches us to be thankful towards Him and furthermore He tells us through our beloved messenger صلي الله عليه و سلم that we should also be thankful towards the people.

من لم يشكر الناس لم يشكر الله

[Sunan Tirmidhi]

"He who is not thankful towards the people
is not thankful towards Allah"

Therefore, it is vital for us to thank Allah by also thanking the people.

Point 2

The gift was really precious to both me and my friend who sent it; this was evident from the packing. It took me nearly five minutes to take out the frame from the packing.

The packing was the evidence of the value of what was inside. Similarly, Allah Ta'ala has value for the heart of a believer and has given it the best of packing; the human body.

Allah Ta'ala's gift to man is the heart within his chest. This gift has been wrapped by Allah and given it and it is obvious that we are expected to take care of it.

It we destroy a gift through negligence or due to lack of appreciation then surely the person who gives us a gift will feel that we don't 'deserve' any more gifts from him or will not make an effort to send us any gifts.

However, Allah is merciful and we may see that He again sends us more gifts in life. However, we have to realise that this may be through His mercy and as the Lord and not as a friend and beloved. However, this gift gives us an opportunity once again to gain the favours of Allah.

May Allah give us all the inclination to show gratitude towards all of His gifts. May He give us the understanding to be thankful towards people in order to show our appreciation towards Him. Aameen.

Power Stations

Summer is here (finally) and everything seems to be bright and 'alive'. It is one that time of the year where people like to be outside or make the most of the sunshine in whatever way they can, be it decorating, day trips, family outings or other activities. And most of all it seems as though the wedding season has begun.

During the weekend I was traveling to a wedding which took place in Bradford. I thought it was going to be a short drive but I was totally wrong about that. Nevertheless, the drive was good because of the weather and obviously the surrounding greenery and scenery.

Whilst driving on the M1 North I came across many things which I don't usually see on the M1 South (my usual motorway route). But the most meaningful thing that I saw on the motorway was the Nuclear Power Stations. It's an amazing site. Big 'chimney-pot-like, pillars with smoke coming out from within; showing its power, might and strength. The big pillar just took my attention off the road and other surrounding things. It made me realise that these were the things that provide us with our energy sources... Electricity.

POINT

When I saw these power stations I straight away imagined a doctor, a spiritual doctor. Someone who has that spiritual energy and distributes it as far and wide as he can. I realised that although we look at these strong pillars we fail to sometimes realise their value and need in the community and how they provide us with the energy that we rely on yet take for granted.

Our Shuyookh (Scholars & Spiritual Doctors) are our Power Stations. They are the ones that provide us with this energy; it is they that give us what we take for granted. Just as they power stations are constant in providing energy, we too need to realise that we need to receive constant spirituality and guidance from our scholars and Shuyookh.

May Allah give us all the inclination to realise the need of constant energy that takes us to his path and allows us to constantly produce acts of obedience for His happiness. Aameen

Antiques

Leicester, being a small place, can get boring at times and on occasions its confusing as to where to go and what to do to pass time.

This Sunday I went for a long drive towards Market Harborough and further up. In one of the town centres I saw like a Museum and Town Centre hall. On the window I read "open only on Tuesdays, Thursday & Saturdays" and therefore I thought it would be closed.

As I was just about to drive past I saw a banner reading "Antique Show on Sunday" and in order to pass some time I parked up and made my way inside.

Inside were mostly old people with stalls arranged in a large hall, a total of thirty or more stalls were displaying items that were antiques and usually had some history connected to it.

Whilst inside I saw a variety of items, from books to collector items; model cars, old scales, small items, large items, medals, cups and a wide range of antique items.

The thing that amazed me was the price tag on most of these items; A model of a toy car that we can purchase in a shop of a new model car would cost over five or six times more because the model was of an old car; a small cup the size of one's finger nail was priced at about £45.00; and many other items that 'seemed' to be highly priced.

POINT

The people at that antique show were those people who realised and appreciated the value of these 'aged' items.

It made me realise that Islam has also realised the value of 'age' and has instructed us to do the same:

Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As رضي الله عنه has narrated the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم as saying:

"Those who do not show mercy to our young ones and do not realise the right of our elders are not from us"

[Sunan Abi Dawud]

Similarly, Hadhrat Abu Musa al-Ash'ari رضي الله عنه has narrated the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم as saying:

"Glorifying Allah involves showing honour to a grey-haired Muslim..."

[Sunan Abi Dawud]

We all realise how important obedience towards our parents is, and furthermore how necessary it is to serve them, but this becomes a great obligation when they reach their old age:

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم said:

"Let him be humiliated, let him be humiliated, let him be humiliated. It was said: Allah's Messenger, who is he? He صلي الله عليه و سلم said: "He who finds his parents in old age, either one or both of them, and does not enter Paradise (through serving them)".

[Saheeh Muslim]

We all know what the status of parents are according to Islam and humanity; we even feel regret at times due to our disobedience towards them; and at times we even go to the extreme of neglecting them and their needs. This is only because we fail to realise the true price tag attached to our parents, especially in their old age.

The Prophet of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم has mentioned the following person to be most unfortunate:

"...(When I ascended the third step of the Pulpit Jibra'il عليه السلام appeared before me and said:) Woe to him in whose presence his parents or one of them attain old age, and through failure to serve them is not allowed to enter Paradise." I said, Aameen".

[Hakam, Tabarani]

May Allah give us all the inclination and understanding to serve our parents. May He give us the strength to be respectful towards our elders and show mercy towards them and our youngsters. May He make us steadfast in serving our parents, especially in their old age, and make it a source of entering His paradise. Aameen.

FEEDBLITZ

As Salaamu Alaykum,

As many readers will already be aware of the fact that Bloglet may no longer be an available service to bloggers.

Therefore, many bloggers have decided to move to Feedblitz which seems to be more stable.

There was a request for some bloggers to re-subscribe to the blogs. However, this won't be necessary as I have imported my contacts from Bloglet to Feedblitz and therefore all subscribers should be receiving updates in their mail as usual.

However, if you did not receive an update for this post, please re-enter your email address to subscribe to this blog.

Finally, I would like to take this oppertunity to inform people that there subscription is now available on my new blog. www.zain121.wordpress.com.

Wasalaam

Selling Point...

Whilst at work, many a times, I have to deal with sales representatives who come at the office and try to sell us, the company, some of their products. At times, we can have like a few of these a week and it's always amazing to see the techniques and methods they use to sell their products.

Method One

Some sales representatives will sell you their product by continually praising it, and therefore, you will start considering the product and realising its true potential.

Method Two

Another method is to compare it to the product you are already using and making you realise why their product is far better than the one you are already using.

Method Three

Making the buyer realise how flexible and versatile their product is and how it is possible to complete more than one task with their product, thus replacing the need for more than one product, in other words, how complete their product is.

Method Four

This is one of their most essential selling techniques; they advertise their products by making sure they are using it themselves. If someone was to see a car salesman of Company A driving a car from Company B, he would automatically question, within his mind, that this person is selling me a product that he himself would not use. Therefore, to sell the item by making the buyer realise that the seller would not use anything but this product himself.

POINT

So how do we sell our religion? Well, as with any selling technique we first have to realise that we will always have competition, Shaytaan and our Nafs (Self Desire).

Shaytaan will try and sell his religion and we, in competition, have to sell our religion. The advantage is ours because our religion, without doubt, is better and complete, whereas Shaytaan has no religion and uses deception to sell what he does not have.

And the devil will say, after the judgment had been issued, "GOD has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I broke my promise. I had no power over you; I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves. My complaining cannot help you, nor can your complaining help me..."

[Surah Ibrahim - 14:22]

Therefore, we have to think whether we are even using their basic selling points to make sure we are spreading our religion and not turning people away from it:

Method One...

Do we continually praise our religion and realise how valuable and perfect it is? Or do we complain when we want to do something and are told it is Haraam and forbidden in Islam?

Method Two...

Have we ever taken the effort to make people realise the differences between our religion and the people of other religion? Do we make an effort to make people realise which is the complete and true religion.

Method Three...

The misconception, many a times portrayed by us, is that religion is 'difficult' and very 'strict'. Do we think like this or have we made an effort to understand how flexible our religion is within its boundaries.

Method Four...

Are we promoting our religion whilst adopting methods which are far from it? Do we say we love Allah and His Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم whilst doing actions that totally displease them?

These are just a few basic points that we should bring into consideration.

If we are turning people against the religion of Islam, intentionally or unintentionally, then we will be question regarding that as every sales person. But the reality is that our religion is far more precious than any sales persons' product.

May Allah give us all an true understanding of our religion and make us realise the responsibility we have been placed with of spreading this true word. And may He save us all from being those who turn people away from His path and those who portray His way incorrectly. Aameen.

zain121

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Alhumdulillah, it has been a year since I began this new zain121 blog and since it has begun I have learnt many things from it. I pray that Allah has made it beneficial to all the readers also.

It doesn't seem like a year since I started this blog; time seems to have gone so fast. I can recall when I just posted to pass time and someone asked me to continue the blog.

Nevertheless, it has been a year and I would like to thank everyone that has helped me in making this blog successful in any way.

Over the past year, apart from my simplyislam blog I began two more blogs, drops of an ocean and News & Views.

However, I felt that it would be better to combine these blogs so that all the different contents can be found in once place. Therefore, I have decided to keep this blog and the simply Islam blog going but at the same time I will be incorporating my other blogs into my wordpress account, zain121.wordpress.com and additionally have a few other subject areas also.

In addition, I have managed to convince Sister Sajeda (Muslimah Ukhti) to contribute to the blog. Those who are aware of her works will appreciate all that she has to offer, and those who have not, Insha Allah will find out her depth of knowledge. May Allah increase her in her knowledge and reward her for her efforts and contributions. Aameen.

I pray to Allah that this blog proves to be beneficial and that it serves the purpose it is being published for. Aameen.

You may visit the new blog at zain121.wordpress.com

Wasalaam

Car Race

On my way back from Rugby today I witnessed two drivers having a race on the motorway. It reminded me of racing games and the actual concept of races.

Although I am sure everyone knows how a 'car race' actually works, it's important to just mention what occurs for us to realise the lesson behind it.

In a race two cars set a course as to how far they have to race and set a destination or target they have to reach. Thereafter, each car competes to get to that destined place first. Whoever reaches first is the winner.

The thing to remember is that the deciding factor is who reaches the destination first and crosses the line. However, within the race there will be many times where one car overtakes the other, this does not make the other driver give up but instead makes him work harder, for he knows that it's not over until they cross the line.

POINT

I realised from these people racing, that despite them overtaking one another several times, they never gave up to try and win the race.

Similarly, in our lives, we are having a race, a competition, with Shaytaan and our Desires. There will be times in our life where Shaytaan or our Desires will overtake us. However, we should never let this stop us from reaching our goal and winning the race; in fact we should make an extra effort to win back the first position and perform extra acts of worship and seek more forgiveness.

Furthermore, we should never drop our guard down for Shaytaan and our Desires will try and overtake us at a point when we cannot return from the defeat; this is at the time of our death, near the finish line. If at this point Shaytaan succeeds and wins the race then we have lost, no matter how many a times we overtook him during our lifetime and if at that time we beat Shaytaan and depart this world with the Kalimah and whilst having faith in Allah then we have surely won the race.

May Allah give us the understanding and strength to win this race and this battle; may He give us the courage to continue to overtake Shaytaan if ever he overtakes us. May He incline our hearts to seek forgiveness and may He shower His mercy by forgiving us. Aameen.

Glow in the dark

Yesterday, whilst I was sitting in my room, my attention went towards my watch on my wrist. It's not the first time I was looking at my watch and thinking of how the handles on the watch glow in the dark; to be honest, it fascinates me.

Sometimes I make the room totally dark just to see if the handles glow; and most of the times I find that they don't because during the day they haven't had enough light.

However, it struck me yesterday for the first time that this watch has a great message for us.

POINT

For the handles of the watch to be able to glow in the dark it is necessary that it receives enough light during the day.

Similarly, if we want to glow in the darkness of the grave, if we want to shine of the day of Judgement, if we want to guided by the light of Imaan then it is inevitable that we provide ourselves with this light during our lifetime. It is necessary to prepare for the darkness while there is still light.

Like the saying goes, do not start digging for a well when the fire has commenced. Meaning that it is hopeless and too late to start digging for a well when the fire has broken out; there is no time for that now. Similarly, it will be hopeless to start searching for the light in the grave if we have not prepared luminous acts beforehand.

May Allah Ta'ala give us all the inclination to prepare for tomorrow and to send forward those acts that will provide us with a glowing light in our graves and will guide us towards Jannah on the Day of Judgement. May He make those acts a guidance for us in this world towards His obedience, submission, happiness, guidance, love and towards the love and of our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. Aameen

A Bad Penny

This Friday, at Rugby, after the prayers we were all sitting and whilst talking going through the contributions people had made towards the Masjid. The money was being counted and we were just looking to ensure that all the coins were 'real' and not tokens or foreign policy.

We found a couple of tokens last week and foreign money, and this week I thought there may be an odd coin that would turn up. However, this week we saw a penny that looked as though it had been everything someone could pit it through; the coin was worn our, eroded and shabby, the edges were not round but chunks were cut out from it and it was filthy and dirty.

One of the members sitting there picked up the coin and was amused, we could tell from the look on his face that he was trying to determine whether the coin was genuine or not and whether it would be accepted. Whilst he was doing this another member took the coin and said that the penny was a penny and the bank wouldn't really look at the apparent condition it was in and would accept it as it still held the value of a penny.

Point

Our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has taught us this same lesson in regards to our Deen and religion. He states in a Hadith:

"Indeed Allah does not look towards your appearance nor your body, but instead he looks towards your heart and actions".

[Saheeh al-Bukhari]

The value of a believer is known through his heart and actions, no matter what his appearance is. Just as the bank would accept the penny coin so will Allah accept His servants through the value of their hearts.

It made me realise that no matter how a Muslim may look, no matter what his race or colour, regardless of his language or background, the true value of a believer is in his heart because he holds the Kalimah within, he holds the love of Allah and of His Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.

After realising this, we should remember that we are brothers and sisters in Islam and that Allah has made us different so that we can recognise one another and appreciate one another. It is though His wisdom that He has made some people rich and some people poor, some people happy some people poor, some people educated and others uneducated; one reason is so that we can all aid one another, the poor will work for money while the rich will need them for their services. etc.

May Allah give us the ability to realise that the true value of a person is recognised from his actions and his heart, and that appearance is only for recognition. Aameen.

Car Park Ticket

We all have had that moment in life when we had to 'pop' into the town centre to do a little bit of shopping. It's one of those things in life that you just have to do.

For some people, strolling down into the town centre and doing shopping is like a fun activity or shopping; for me it's something I try and prolong for as long as possible... But there are some things that just have to be done.

Being Sunday, I had a little time on my hand and built up the courage to drive to the town centre and park in the Haymarket Theatre. There is a flat rate for parking at the Haymarket Theatre on Sundays and therefore people prefer parking there as they can shop for longer without having to worry about returning to their car before a specific time.

While I was on my way into the car park there was another car leaving; the car stopped and opened its window to offer me his parking ticket as it was valid for the entire day. "I won't be needing this ticket anymore, you can use it if you please" was what he said. I thought for a moment and refused...

POINT

Sometimes we forget that Islam is a way of Life, a religion that is present in every act and action we do; a religion that categorises every deed and deems it either acceptable or unacceptable in the eyes of Allah.

It was tempting to take that ticket and park my car in the Haymarket; there seemed to be nothing wrong it doing so; he offered me the ticket, willingly, and I could have made use for it.

But... I remembered an incident of Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi:

As far as I recall, there was a disciple of Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf that came to His Khankah to visit him with his children. The disciple, through some talk, mentioned to Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf Ali that he had paid only half price for his child’s ticket in order to get to the Khankah because despite being an adult he only looked like a child and therefore was able to pass off as a child at the ticket counter.

After hearing this Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi became perplexed and disturbed and told his disciple that he had not understood the basis and principles of Islam and therefore he was not even fit for Khilaafah (being his disciple).

It is an incident that should make us realise the true meaning of Islam; an incident that should make us realise that Islam is much more than just offering charity, praying Salaah and making supplications. It was upon the above act that the disciple lost his Khilaafah.

May Allah forgive all of our sins; those we commit knowingly and unknowingly; those we perform in the light of the day or the darkness of the night; those committed openly or in hiding and may He give us the true understand of our Religion, Islam. Aameen.

Get Well Soon

Since the past week, I have not been well at all. I've been to the Accident & Emergency and from their I got admitted into Hospital. I stayed there a couple of nights of 'NBM' (Nil By Mouth) where I was on drips and nothing to eat. The pain was bad and the needles that were injected me at short intervals were worse.

Nevertheless, it is the mercy of Allah that He gives sickness to mankind to make them ponder, realise and accept their sins; it is His way of forgiving people in this world so that they do not have to suffer the pain in the hereafter.

During my visit to the hospital I was under 'close watch' and it was reassuring in a sense that I knew that if I had any problems there would be there someone looking over me. And as I was in a ward where the patients were those on whom a constant watch was kept on, I realised that there were people far worse off than me.

Even at the moment, I can remember their faces, their lost look; at visiting times some of them never even had a visitor throughout the while visiting time whereas my bed was constant with visitors and even that there was a limitation to 'two per bed', meaning a queue in the day room to visit.

POINT

Sickness if from Allah, maybe He sometimes even gives us physical pain to make us realise that there may also be another sickness towards which we are not turning our attention. If sickness omits the sins of man then surely it should make us realise that we need to pay a great deal of attention to our spiritual side also. We are quick and fast to rush to Accident & Emergency when we have bodily pain but do we even run to our spiritual doctor when we miss our Fajr (morning) prayer?

Similarly, just as the constant watch from the doctors and nurses in the ward gives us that sense of security and ease of mind, similarly, if we created the right link with Allah then we would be content with knowing that He is watching us all the time and will be there whenever we need Him.

I thank Allah for the family He has given us, for the facilities He provides for us and for all the ease of pain that comes from Him. I thank Him for all that He has done for us, whether me realise it or not.

May He forgive us, rid us of any illnesses, physical, mental and spiritual. May His constant remembrance and presence be with us all day. Aameen.

There will be no posts on this blog for a short while until I recover. Please make special Duaa for me.

Road Works

Whilst on my way to Rugby last Friday, I had decided to take the M1 South. I usually take the side roads through the villages because of the scenery, but this time I decided to take the motorway to see how much time I could save.

However, little did I realise that there were road works on the M1 and that I would be stuck in slow moving traffic. Due to road re-surfacing two lanes were closed and only one was operating. This meant that flow of traffic was dependent on this one lane.

While the traffic was moving slowly, it was possible to see all the workmen in action, the manner in which the works was taking place and the actual work the people were carrying out to the road.

The first thing I began to notice was that there was this great big stone wall being built between our side of the motorway and the oncoming traffic. This was obviously a safety measure that the council had probably decided to implement to avoid accidents or collisions. This seemed a little peculiar to me at the beginning, because, without a doubt, there was a previous barrier there. It's not possible for one car to cross over to the other lane, but this time the council had gone a step further and made this really strong and solid wall between the two sides to avoid even a large vehicle from breaking through it.

The second part of work that was taking place was on the actual road surface. This is why only one lane was accessible to motorists while the first two lanes were closed. I was just looking at the road surface how smooth, new and flawless it looked. It was amazing, the way the tar was just laid across the ground to produce the road surface we drive on. What I also noticed was the level of smoke and steam that was produced from the vehicle that was pouring the tar out onto the ground. The strong material of tar had to be melted at extreme temperatures so that it could flow onto the ground and be spread out evenly.

Well, my exit came, and I departed from the motorway to join the side roads leading to Rugby.

POINT:

From each of the works that was being carried out I realised two things that could aid us in our journey towards Allah, on the path of Islam.

First of all, I realised that our declaration is a barrier that protects us, or stops us from crossing the boundaries set by Allah. It is this barrier that prevents suffering from a major accident and that aids us is staying on the path that we have chosen. This is exactly what I saw on the motorway day after day. However, this time I saw the strengthening of these barriers and it made me realise that we also need to strengthen our Imaan in order to prevent the major obstacles and distractions from taking us over that forbidden border. Although we have this barrier of Imaan, we may realise that many a times we cross over these boundaries set by Allah and cause an 'accident', his displeasure.

Thus, in order to stay away from these temptations we need to build a strong wall between us and these desires and temptations; a wall made from the Love and Fear of Allah Ta'ala. Thereafter, Insha-Allah, whenever we are tempted towards a sinful desire, there will be that barrier, that love of Allah and His Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, that will act as a prevention from this major catastrophe.

Thereafter, I also realised another point, that in life there are many things that are beautiful, solid and strong. However, many a times it takes plenty of effort and work upon that thing to make it into the finished product and to give it that complete and perfect look. Whilst looking at the tar, I was reminded of our sins which are like dirt marks that and gather upon our hearts and settle there becoming very solid and set, similar to how the tar is set on the ground and left to dry to become solid.

However, before the tar settles it needs to be melted, it needs to go through extreme pressures to allow it to flow and become liquid again.

Similarly, in this way, our hearts become 'solid' like stones due to the sins we commit. As a result of these sins our tears sometimes lose their flow and become dry. This was shown with the tar as well as the solution; extreme temperature to 'melt' the tar. In order to remove this 'hardness' and bring back the flow of tears we need to soften our hearts by melting them with whatever procedure necessary.

Many Saints have mentioned the many methods of softening one's heart; some being: The Dhikr (constant remembrance of Allah), Salaah Alan Nabi Salllallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam (salutations upon the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), Muraaqabatul Maut (Remembrance of Death), through the recitation of the Qur'an and excessive Istigfaar (seeking forgiveness).

May Allah give us all the inclination to build a wall between us and all those matters that displease Him and His Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. May He support us in the attempt of 'melting' our hearts by eliminating the sins that have settled upon it. Aameen.

News & Views

This blog was originally published so that we could obtain a little insight of all those little things in life that allow us to reflect and remember our Lord, Allah. It highlighted our daily chores that reminded us of Him and of all his 'signs' that can be found in each of His creations.

This blog has been of great benefit for me from the moment I published it; I began to look for a deeper meaning in the little activities that we carry out day to day and started realising that if one paid attention, for even a short period of time, it wouldn't be long before we came to understood that Allah is present everywhere and that His signs are visible in all our activities.

Looking at this blog, I began to think that a look at the wider world would really help us understand the Wisdom and doings of Allah all across the globe. In this attempt, I have created another blog named as News & Views.

This blog aims to bring 'News' to the readers and will be followed by a short 'view' and then if applicable, I will present Qur'anic verses and Prophetic Narrations (Ahadeeth) that are relevant to the news. It also allows everyone to put their views forward.

I pray to Allah that He accepts the efforts of this new blog and that through it I am able to achieve the many objectives I have in mind. May He make it a source of forgiveness and also a means of salvation. Aameen.

Ajnabi - A Stranger

Once whilst getting groceries for my mum, I saw two people talking inside the shop. How it is a common habit for people to have particular times to go 'grocery shopping' and they meet up in the shops just to have a nice 'chit chat'.

So the above scene was nothing out of the ordinary; virtually every person would be part of a small group who would pick the same time to shop so they could have someone to talk to. But what took my attention was a woman who was so obviously avoiding the other women that was talking to her.

At some time or another we bump into a person that we want to ignore; a person that manages to get a 'deep sigh' because we were hoping we could avoid her. However, this woman wasn't being discrete about hiding the fact that she didn't want to talk to her; each time the woman came in front of her she would turn her face and look the other way and fidget with another kind of vegetable and would respond to her comments with little 'grunts'.

In the end, the other women finally left her and continued her shopping. Thereafter, another woman approached her and asked why she had been behaving in such a manner; the women replied that she was related to the women but she would always retaliate with her in matters and then after she had retaliated, she would always return to her to talk and accompany her and that she had done this once too many.

POINT

It is in a person's nature that he does things according to his desires, and at times these are the things that cause him to sin. We retaliate against our Lord, Allah and then it is towards him that we have to turn.

There is a great difference in the forgiving nature of Allah and that of His creation; Allah is the Oft Forgiving and is ever ready to forgive us. But His wrath is also the same, if we continue to disobey Him deliberately, out of rebellion, and then it could be that He puts a 'seal' on our hearts so that we do not have the inclination to even return to Him for forgiveness. This will be Him turning his face away from us.

Whilst I was in that grocery shop, I was reminded of a Hadeeth where a couple of people approached the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam with a message from their 'Lord' (i.e. their king) and he, Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, turned his face away from them because they had cut their beards and had gone against his teaching and the teaching of Allah.

The true point is, what will we do if, on the Day of Judgement, or whilst we are in the grave, he, Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, turns his face away from us? What answer will we give and what hope will we have?

May Allah save us all from this rebellion and from it being the reason that we become an Ajnabi (a stranger) in His eyes or the eyes of His Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. Aameen.

Cleaning Services

On Wednesday afternoon, whilst standing at my bedroom window, I saw a couple of men with brooms and pans, cleaning up the side of the streets.

It was amazing to see, that despite living on that street, I never noticed the amount of litter that was scattered on the floor. After seeing these men sweep us the litter I realised that despite me not being able to see any dirt, there was quite a fair amount on the streets.

Obviously, there were some plastic bags, the odd cans and other large items that were visible without giving them much attention, but the smaller items that were regularly dropped on the street were not noticeable until we paid attention to them.

POINT

Similarly, in our life, we continuously gather litter; litter that we cannot see unless we pay extra care and attention towards it. This litter is known as minor sins and it contaminates and corrupts our hearts.

Similarly, at times we commit major sins, and these are the sins that we should be able to point out straight away and clean as soon as we can. For these are the sins that take away the glow of Imaan, the Nur (Divine Light) away from our faces and is visible to others also.

Therefore, we have to take heed from these "Cleaning Services" and ensure that we also take out time to clean our hearts; to sweet up all the sins that we sometimes don't realise we have committed. And the best cleanser for sins is the tears of remorse and regret that comes from the eyes of a believer.

May Allah give us all the inclination to do a daily sweep-out of our sins and to leave us with a clean and pure heart that pleases Allah. Aameen