Refresh Your Imaan

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, "He who spends a pair in the way of Allah will be called from the gates of Jannah: ` O slave of Allah! This gate is better for you' and one who is constant in Salat (prayer), will be called from the Gate of Salat; and whoever is eager in fighting in the Cause of Allah, will be called from the Gate of Jihad; and who is regular in observing Saum will be called from Ar-Raiyan Gate. The one who is generous in charity will be called from the Gate of Charity.'' Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you! Those who are called from these gates will stand in need of nothing. Will anybody be called from all of those gates?'' He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied, "Yes, and I hope that you will be one of them.'' [Al-Bukh

Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)   was the most generous of the men; and he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was   the most generous during the month of Ramadan when Jibril visited him every night   and recited the Qur'an to him.  During this period, the generosity of Messenger of Allah   (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)  waxed faster than the rain bearing wind.  [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. This Hadith induces us to do two good things frequently and with full preparation in the month of Ramadan. First, benevolence and generosity   so that people get maximum time for worship and reduce their mundane  affairs during this month. Second, recitation of the Qur'an and Mudarsah,  (reading and hearing the Qur'an from one another) as is done by two Huffaz in this manner. The reason for the stress on the Qur'an is that the Qur'an and the month of Ramadan are closely linked with each other. The Qur'a

“Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) addressed the people asking three times, ‘Yaum al-khalas, and what is yaum al-khalas. Yaum al-khalas, and what is yaum al-khalas.’ Somebody asked, ‘What is this yaum al-khalas?’ The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, ‘Dajjal will come and climb Mount Uhud. Then he will say to his friends, ‘Do you see that white palace (qasre abyad)? That is Ahmed’s masjid.’ Then he will come towards Madina Munawwara but on every path he takes he will encounter an angel with an unsheathed sword. Then he will go towards Sabghatul Jarf and will strike his camp and Madina Munawwara will be jolted thrice as a result of which every munafiq (hypocrite) man and woman and fasiq (habitually sinning) man and woman will leave Madina and go with him. In this way Madina will be purified of sinners and this is yaum al-khalas (the day of relief).’” [Hakim in Mustadrak] This hadith is Sahih on the conditions of Imam Muslim. Imam Dhahabi has corrobora

Zaid bin Thabit (radi Allahu anhu) narrated how, when the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions were once passing some graves of polytheists, the Prophet’s horse bolted and almost unseated him. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) explained: “These people are being tortured in their graves, and were it not that you would stop burying your dead, I would ask Allah to let you hear the punishment in the grave which I (and this horse) can hear.” [Sahih Muslim] After the soul of a wicked person is restored to its body, the two fearsome, dread-inspiring angels, Munkar and Nakeer, come to it for its interrogation. After making him sit up, they ask: “Who is your Lord?” The disbelieving soul answers: “Alas, alas, I do not know.” Munkar and Nakeer ask: “What is your religion?” The disbelieving soul says: “Alas, alas, I do not know.” Munkar and Nakeer ask: “What do you say about this man (Muhammad) sent to you?” The disbelieving soul says: “Alas, alas I do

The Prophet of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah accepts the repentance of the servant so long as his ruh has not arrived at his throat.” [Tirmidhi] Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says: “If you could see when the wrongdoers taste the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out, [saying], 'Deliver up your souls. This day you will be awarded a degrading punishment.'” [Al-Quran 6:93] “When an unbeliever is about to depart from this world, angels with black faces descend from the heavens carrying rough hair-cloth, and sit around the dying person in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at the head of the unbeliever and says: 'O foul soul, come out to the wrath and anger of Allah!' The soul inside the disbeliever's body does not want to deliver itself up and divides up in the body of the dying person, whereupon the Angel of Death violently pulls it and it is dragged out like a skewer

The Prophet of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "When a deceased person is laid in his grave, he hears the sound of the footsteps of people as they go away. If he is a believer, the prayer will stand by his head, the fasting will be to his right, alms to his left, and all other good deeds of charity, kindness to relations, and good behavior will be by his feet." [Ahmad] Then two fearsome, dread-inspiring angels, called Munkar and Nakeer, visit the soul to ask it about its religion, God, and prophet. The believing soul sits upright in its grave as Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) grants it the strength to answer the angels with full faith and certainty. Munkar and Nakeer: “What is your religion?” Believing soul: “Islam.” Munkar and Nakeer: “Who is your Lord?” Believing soul: “Allah.” Munkar and Nakeer: “Who is your Prophet?” (or “What do you say about this man?”) Believing soul: “Muhammad.” Munkar and Nakeer: “How did you come to know these thing

Ummul Momineen Sayyidina Aaisha (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) used to strive more in worship during Ramadan than he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) strove in any other time of the year; and he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) would devote himself more (in the worship of ALLAH, Subhanahu wa ta'ala,) in the last ten nights of Ramadan than he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) strove in earlier part of the month. [Muslim]

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "A servant of God will remain standing on the Day of Judgment until he is questioned about his (time on earth) and how he used it; about his knowledge and how he utilized it; about his wealth and from where he acquired it and in what (activities) he spent it; and about his body and how he used it." [Tirmidhi] Have you ever thought about these questions? Try to answer them now. See where you stand. We better have good answers to give on the Day of Questioning.

Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) said, "The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) kissed al-Hasan ibn Ali (his grandson) while al-Aqra ibn Habis was with him. Al-Aqra said, 'I have ten children and have never kissed any of them.' The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) looked at him and said, 'Anyone who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy." [Sahih Bukhari] Aisha (radi Allahu anha) said, "Some of the Bedouins came to the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and said, 'Do you really kiss your children?' He said, 'Yes.' They said, 'But, by Allah, we do not!' The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, 'There is nothing I can do if Allah has removed mercy from your hearts!'" [Sahih Bukhari] Emulate the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and be affectionate towards your children.

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Judges are of three types, two of them will go to the Hellfire and one type will go to Paradise. The one who knows the truth and judges with it – he is in Paradise. One who knows the truth but doesn’t judge by it, will go to Hellfire. The one who doesn’t know the truth and judges between people with ignorance, will go to the Hellfire.” [Abu Daud, Tirmidhi] What the truth is, is determined by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). He has spelt it out for us in the Shariah, that is the Quran and Sunnah. If a person passes judgment according to his or her own standards of right and wrong, rather than what Allah has declared as right or wrong, then that judge is judging with ignorance.

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Modesty is a virtue through and through, or said: Modesty is a goodness complete.” [Muslim] Once the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) passed by a man who was admonishing his brother regarding Haya and was saying, 'You are very shy, and I am afraid that might harm you.' On that, Allah's Apostle said, 'Leave him, for Haya is (a part) of Faith.' [Bukhari] This hadith tells us that there is nothing bad about modesty. Therefore, if something is purely good, then however much you have of it, it can only be good for you. This is something to especially remember in these times when ‘moral’ and ‘modest’ are portrayed as ‘backward,’ ‘oppressed' and 'under-confident.’ A person with Haya does not show off his mind, body, or anything else. Haya is translated as modesty but it includes all of the following meanings as well: self respect, bashfulness, having scruples, having awareness of Allah.

The death of Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was a great shock to all the companions including Abu Ubaidah (radi Allahu anhu). But they understood that their religion was now complete and that they had to carry it on from here themselves. Abu Ubaidah (radi Allahu anhu) and some other Muslims were busy preparing the body of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) for burial, when they received news that the Ansar had gathered at the Saqifah (meeting place) of Banu Sa'aadah, to decide the successor from amongst themselves. This day is known in history as the Day of Saqifah. This was a delicate issue and could have resulted in a great fitna. Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaidah (radi Allahu anhum) acted quickly to resolve the matter. They immediately went to the meeting and Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) suggested that the Khalifah should be from the tribe of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) in order for him to be acceptable to all of the Arabs. The Qurai

Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah has cursed the lady who lengthens (her or someone else’s) hair artificially and also the one who gets it lengthened.” [Sahih Bukhari] All sorts of Haraam (forbidden) practices are in fashion in different parts of the world. Salons and beauty parlours cater to all such desires. Muslims must educate themselves to avoid incurring Allah’s wrath by using false hair and wigs themselves or on others. “When Muawiya (radi Allahu anhu) came to Madina for the last time and delivered a Khutba he took out a tuft of hair and said, ‘I thought that none used to do this (i.e. use false hair) except Jews. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) labeled such practice, (i.e. the use of false hair), as cheating.’” [Sahih Bukhari]

“Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was offered something to drink. He drank of it while on his right was a boy and on his left were some elderly people. He said to the boy, ‘May I give these (elderly) people first?’ The boy said, ‘By Allah, O Allah’s Messenger! I will not give up my share from you to somebody else.’ On that Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) placed the cup in the hand of that boy.” [Sahih Bukhari] This hadith gives us a clue as to why the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was loved so dearly by his followers. Whenever he was given anything he immediately shared it with those around him. He always acted selflessly and his love and concern for those around him was obvious to all. In this instance, he was offered a drink but didn’t drink it all by himself. Nor did he embarrass or inconvenience his host by asking for drinks for the others. He drank some of what was offered to him to show his appreciation and then offered

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Near the establishment of the Hour there will be days during which (religious) knowledge will be taken away (vanish) and general ignorance will spread, and there will be Al-Harj in abundance, and Al-Harj means killing.” [The Book of Al-Fitan: Sahih Bukhari] If you think about it, the ignorance of religious knowledge, or lack of conviction in it, is the cause of all evil: Shirk, Bidaat (innovations), ignoring the commands of Allah, lying, deception, untrustworthiness, disobedience of parents, immorality, loss of Haya (modesty), murder and killing, not caring for blood relatives, obedience of the Jews and Christians and subservience to them, etc. As people are getting further away from the knowledge of the Quran and hadith they are getting deeper into misguidance and trials. By the time a person reaches middle age they’ve read several hundred books of all sorts. Even the person with only compulsory education has gone

Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) narrated that when the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) would sneeze, he would cover his face with his hand or with his garment, and muffle the sound with it. (Hasan) [The Chapters on Manners: Jami at-Tirmidhi] The good habit and example of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) teaches that a person should keep the sound minimal and suppressed whilst sneezing, particularly when he/she is in a gathering. They should cover their face with a hand or a cloth, not only to muffle the sound but also to avoid spraying other people. The culture of Islam is a culture that has been washed in the rivers of Paradise. Therefore, to leave the culture of Islam for anything else is a gross error, regardless of what reason people give to adopt something contrary to it.

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