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

In The Driver's Seat

First of all, Jazakallah to everyone that remembered me in their Duas and for all the comments and e-mails people have sent.

Since I have started this blog, it has become so much more easier to see a deeper meaning to the everyday things in life. Just as Allah has stated in the Glorius Qur'an:

"To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth;
and God hath power to will anything..
Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day; there are indeed Signs for men of understanding.
Those who remember God standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth:
Our Lord! You have not created this in vain!
Glory be to You; save us then from the chastisement of the fire"

[Aal-e-Imran 3:189-91]

This verse is particularly important for our observation of the creation, for shaping our worldview with belief in Allah and applying our belief to our daily lives. It means that every single thing in its creation is a sign to the Creator and it reflects the attributes of the Creator. Whatever we can think of, each and every thing or event is created with wisdom as a sign to the Creator. We receive a phone call, a fly lands on our hand… these do not happen in vain, without any meaning or purpose...

So, if we reflect on any matter in life, and ponder over its creation and how it reflects the attributes of Allah, we will automatically start seeing the purpose of creation and how we are reminded of Allah through every act and each of His creation.

The lifestyle in Pakistan is completely different to the one we are used to seeing in the United Kingdom. Being a third-world country it is enivitable that we will see poverty, corruption and also a totally different living standard. There is no system, no practiced laws and everyone has their own styles of living.

The thing which caught my attention was the driving method in Pakistan. Those who have been there will be well aware of the manner of driving their; and those who have not had the pleasure of seeing it, I can simply say there is no system and no rules, anything goes (but you have to see it to believe it).

Whilst driving in Pakistan, there will be many times where you have to stop in the traffic (hardly for a traffic light). If at any point the car stops in the traffic, the driver, along with the passengers will be faced with two things; either they will have a beggar come up to their windows and ask for something, or they will have a poor person, trying to make his living, who will come to sell something.

Additionally, whilst driving in Pakistan, as there is no system, a driver is able to travel is able to take any route he wants to reach his destination; some routes will taker him faster to his destination than others, but always, the destination remains the same.

POINT

Similarly, in our lives, on the path of Islam and reaching Allah, we will also find times where we will either trip or come to a little stop, it is at this time that Shaytaan will take the opportunity to come to us and try and 'sell' us a lie and deceive us, or he will come and 'beg' us to do something which will divert our attention from the road for a moment or so.

It is then our choice whether we choose to pursue further onto the path we have chosen or whether we are deceived by the "sellers" and "beggars".

Another point to remember is that when we set out, our destination is always the pleasure of Allah; reaching Him, and acquiring paradise. However, no matter what our destination is, if we take the wrong path, we will never reach there and in the process we will have wasted valuable time. To the contrary, to reach Allah we can take many paths; those that will take us closer to Allah in a shorter span of time than other paths. There are many paths and each person has a choice to decide which path he wants to take to reach Allah, but it should not be forgotten, that no matter what path you choose, the final destination is none other than Allah.

May Allah give us the inclination to choose the path in which He is pleased, the path of Islam. May He show us the path that will earn us His pleasure and one that will take us to Him earlier than other Paths, and that He saves us from Shaytaan that who is our open enemy and will always try and deceive us from the straight path. Aameen.

A Short Break...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Just a short notice to all the readers. Insha Allah, I am leaving to go abroad today for about a month. Therefore, I doubt I will be able to post during my travels.

Some people already know the purpose of my travels and others are probably totally unaware.

Insha Allah, I will be aiming to "complete half of my Imaan" and I request each and every reader to keep me in their Duas and make extra special Dua for me that Allah makes me successful and makes everything easy and that this can be a new beginning in the long stretch of efforts in pleasing Allah. Aameen.

I will be keeping everyone of you in my Duas and I hope that I have loads to write once I return from my trip.

Jazakallah for all the support and encouraging comments.

Wasalaam

EID MUBARAK

EID MUBAARAK to all the readers. May Allah make this day speacial and blessed for each and everyone. May He help all of us share in the joy of our friends and family.

May He accept our deeds during the month of Ramadhan and show us the sign of this acceptance by keeping us steadfast during the months to come. Aameen.

Please do remember me in your Duas and specially those people who are less fortunate than we are at this moment in time, keep them in your Duas and prayers and let us pray that Allah showers His mercy upon them so that they we can united in sharing the joy of Eid. Aameen.

Wasalaam

Life is a football match

Yesterday night, after Taraweeh, we went to play football with our ten players. The teams were different this week as we had different player this week as some of the regular players could not make it.

As always, a good game of football feels great and there are many lessons to be learnt from what we would class a simple game of football.

Yesterday the teams were evenly matched and equally balanced out. The result of which was a very tight game. Each team put in a hundred percent to overcome the other team and push forward.

In short, the game ended as a draw. One team's goal was answered by the same from the other team. The battle of sixty minutes led to nothing more than a tie.

POINT

The teams in this football match were equally matched and therefore the result was a draw. In our everyday life we have a football match and we have to make an effort to make a stronger team than the opposition.

The length of this match is until our soul is taken by the angel of death and the referees are the angels upon our shoulders.

So who are the team players?

Team one:

Player one: Me, you, us.
Player two: the love for Allah
Player three: the love for our Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam
Player four: Desire for Jannah

Versus

Team two:

Player one: Shaytaan
Player two: Nafs (Self)
Player three: Habits
Player four: Desire for sinning.

The only way we can defeat this opposition if we continue to give back what we take. Each time Shaytaan strikes and scores a goal against us we should become more alert and follow it up straight away.

The Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has said:

"and follow up a sin with a good deed, it (the good deed) will wipe it (the sin) out..."

The only way to win this game is by training our players; by increasing our love for Allah and His Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam and increasing the desire for Jannah we will have a stronger and better team than Shaytaan.

And if we slip up our defences some times and let Shaytaan's team score a goal then we should make certain that we reply a goal with a goal.

May Allah Ta'ala give us the inclination and make us strong in our beliefs. Aameen.

Rush Rush...

As usual I had to lead Jumu'ah prayers at Rugby town this Friday. Alhumdulillah the weather was great and the sun was shining, the drive there was as good as the drive back; with all the scenery and greenery I was pleased that I had taken the country roads to get to the Masjid.

The journey takes me one three hours in total; an hour to get there and back, and an additional hour at the Masjid. Usually I hasten to leave the Masjid after an hour so that I can reach home and get to the other duties I have. However, this Friday I stayed behind for an additional half an hour reading a few books and just meeting the local people at the Masjid.

It was only when I decided that I had to leave that I realised I had to rush back because time was short and there was a fair bit of work that needed to be completed and I was also missing the luxuries of my home. Keeping this in mind, I left the town and decided to take the Motorway so that I could do greater speeds, thus arrive home earlier than I would if I had taken the country roads...

It was during this drive that I realised that I had an aim; a destination. I wanted to reach somewhere and my love for it was making me rush and hasten towards my goal. The luxury of my home had made me take a path which was quicker than the path I would have chosen otherwise...

POINT

Allah tells us in the Qur'an:

"And hasten towards the forgiveness from your Lord; and a Garden, the extensiveness of which is (as) the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who are God-fearing."

[Surah Aal-e-Imran 3:133]

In this verse we are asked to hasten towards forgiveness and Jannah, yet we can see that we fail to act on this command and instruction of Allah.

If we ponder over the reason, we will realise that we haven't created that love and haven't set Jannah and the forgiveness of Allah as our goal and target. For if we were aware of the luxuries of this Paradise then surely we would adopt such a path within which we would reach our goal much quicker than the path we have adopted.

Allah shows us through our daily lives that desire to achieve our goal is what will make us hasten towards attaining it... And if we have this desire then we will be concerned about the path we need to take in order to reach to this goal as quickly as possible.

May Allah Ta'ala create the love and realisation of the luxuries of Jannah in our heart. May He increase it's desire in our hearts so that we can prepare our journey to hasten towards it. May He also show and guide us on those paths which will take us quicker towards reaching this goal of ours. Aameen.

Ramadhan Mubarak

As Salaamu Alayakum,

Just a simple post to say Ramadhan Mubarak.

May Allah give us the strength and inclination to achieve in this month all the rewards and blessings that are sent down by Him.

May He make us from amongst those who have His glad tidings by the time this month comes to an end and may He make us from amongst those who He has forgiven.

Please remember me in your Duas during this month as I will be rememebering you.

Wasalaam

Network Busy...

As time moves on technology becomes more advance. If we were to look ten years back we will see that many of the luxuries that we have today were not available to us ten years ago. The phone industry is one such industry that has been providing us with remarkable improvements in technology.

I can remember a time where to answer a call we had to stand in corner of the living room and we had no privacy because we were limited to "corded phones". As techonology improved we were able to carry the phone around in the house due to the new "cordless phones". It has now come to a stage where we can make a call from just about anywhere. We carry our own personal little phones in our pockets and have the facility to call whenever we want and wherever we want.

So, without a doubt, it's a thumbs-up to technology and in particular the mobile industry.

Despite this, there are times with every system where they suffer some sort of technical problems. One which everyone will be aware of is "Network Busy".

Our network connection is dependent on our mobile service provider. The larger the compnay, or the more coverage the company has, the greater possibility of our calls being connected.

Today I used a friends phone to make a call as I didn't have my mobile with me. The call was quite important and therefore I was disappointed when he returned to tell me that the only response he had was "network busy".

POINT

The most important and worthiwhile connection we can ever have or think of is the connection we have with Allah Ta'ala. It is this connection that tries to establish itself many a times in a day; yet, due to our ignorance we fail to see this happening and continue with our lifestyles without a connection.

Each time the Adhaan (call to prayer) is said it is a connection that Allah is calling us towards; a reminder from Allah saying that come towards me and establish that link. But how many times do we cut off that connection and pay no notice?

Each time our parents give us an order to do something it is an that tries to connect us with Allah; a reminder from Him telling us that we are expected to obey our parents and treat them with love and respect. Despite this, how many times have we been disobedient to our parents and put them second only to place our desires first?

How many times have we had that regret when our connection was lost? How many times did we feel remorse when we returned Allah's call with a reply of "network busy"?

May Allah give us the inclination of creating a link and connection with Him. And may He also give us the feeling of regret and the understanding to establish a connection with Him. Aameen.

Run-Down Vehicle

For the past two Fridays I have been travelling to Rugby town to lead the Jumu'ah prayers. It is about an hours drive from home and the roads are through the countryside and it is a beautiful drive.

This Friday, on my way back home, I was going through a town where I saw this really run-down, battered and abandoned van. My eyes took in as much as they could whilst the car was on the move, and from what I saw it was obvious that the car had been looked after well but it had just past its time and had been either abandoned or left parked without much use.

This got me wondering... We take so much care over our cars and vehicles and then at the end of the day we have to abandon them because it is of no use.

Sometimes, the care out does us and it is us that leaves the world before the car reaches a point of being rendered outworn.

POINT

In our lives we pay so much attention to our bodies, we wake up each morning and spend hours on adorning ourselves. The world goes to so much effort in order to create "anti-wrinkle" creams and similar creams. Though there is nothing wrong with 'looking' after one's body, have we ever thought about how much attention we pay to our souls?

The soul is the real gift and everlasting item whilst the body is just the container. The example is simple, the soul is like the perfume inside a bottle; not matter how beautiful the bottle is, the reality is what is inside the bottle.

The human body is just a case for this precious item within, it will one day corrode and have no purpose for Allah will give every soul a new body in the hereafter.

May Allah give us the inclination to pay more attention to our souls than to our temporary body. Aameen

Remember me and I will remember you.

Recently, there was a request to post something in regards to doing Dhikr of Allah. It got me thinking as to how the Dhikr of Allah is implemented in one’s life and how one gains benefit from it.

The verse that came to mind was:

"...Remember Me and I shall remember you..."

[Al-Baqarah - 02:152]

What can be more rewarding than the fact that Allah remembers us if we remember Him.

This blog is dedicated to me, my life and my experiences, how each thing we do in life is connected to His being and presence.

POINT

Those who remember Allah and those who do not, how do they defer? What are the differences in their lifestyles?

Let us start with a simple example; we see at the airport many people have baggage with them. We can easily split these people into two types; firstly, those who carry their baggage and then those who place them upon a trolley.

If both these people were carrying a heavy load of the same weight, we could easily say, despite of both of them having the same weight, that the person using the trolley will be at more ease than him who is carrying his bag. We could even go further to say that the person with the trolley is able to carry a greater with more ease than that person who is carrying his load.

This is the difference between a person who remembers Allah and a person who does not. When a person remembers Allah, then in return Allah also remembers him, and in due to this all the burdens of that person become easier and bearable.

The Dhikr of Allah means that Allah will be remembering that person and surely if Allah remembers us our daily life becomes much easier to bear despite the load being the same.

So, in simple terms, the remembrance of Allah aids us in living our lives; we find pleasure and sweetness in our worship; it keeps our hearts alive and it every time we remember Him we should keep in mind that He is also remembering us.

May Allah give us the inclination to remember Him continuously. Aameen.