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Eat Together

Some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “We eat but are not satisfied.” He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Perhaps you eat separately.” The Companions replied in the affirmative. He then said: “Eat together and mention the name of Allah over your food. It will be blessed for you.” [Abu Dawud] Islam promotes a family culture. All the members of the family should sit together to eat. Normally, each person is busy doing their share of work, men outside the house and women inside the house. Meal times are the time that they can all get together for a little while, talk to each other, exchange their thoughts and increase each other in their love of Allah and Islam. This hadith tells us some benefits of eating together. When Muslims eat together their hunger gets satisfied and Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) blesses their subsistence. If they live individualistically, and eat separately, then they can expect the opposite to happen.

Evil Thoughts

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah has forgiven my followers the evil thoughts that occur to their minds, as long as such thoughts are not put into action or uttered.” [Sahih Bukhari] Sometimes evil thoughts come to us the occurring of which we have no control over. When Shaytaan or our nafs puts such thoughts in our minds, and we do not entertain them, then Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in His Infinite Mercy and Justice does not hold us accountable for them. Not entertaining such thoughts means to not continue to think about them, not speak of them, and not act according to them.  If our mind keeps mulling the thoughts over, or God Forbid takes pleasure in such thoughts, then we will not automatically be forgiven them, for we chose then to think on such lines. In order to stop thinking about something it helps to get up and start doing some physical work.

Consistency

Abu Huraira narrated from the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) that once while a man was traveling in the wilderness he heard a voice in a cloud ordering the angel of the cloud to pour its rain on a particular farm. So the man followed the cloud and saw that it poured its rain on a rocky volcanic plain. All the water gathered in a stream and poured into a farm. The man saw the owner working in that farm and asked him his name. The name was the same one that he had heard from the cloud. The man then related what he had heard and seen, and inquired from the owner of the farm what was special about him that would explain all of this. Given the reason for the inquiry, the owner explained that he would plant his farm and then split the harvest into three equal parts. One part he gave as sadaqa, the second part he kept as food for himself and his family, and the third part he replanted. [Muslim]   There are two important lessons that we obtain from this hadith: 1. The importance of con

Confused By Prosperity

Once when Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was in the house of Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) he looked around and saw nothing of importance except three hides. He narrated, “So I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Invoke Allah to make your followers rich, for the Persians and the Romans have been made prosperous and they have been given (the pleasures of the world), although they do not worship Allah.' Thereupon the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) sat up, as he had been reclining, and said, 'Are you of such an opinion, O son of Al-Khattab? These are the people who have received the rewards for their good deeds in this world.' I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Ask Allah to forgive me.'” [Sahih Bukhari] Unfortunately, many Muslims today get similarly confused by the prosperity that they see non-Muslims in. They say that it is the non-Muslims who must be the beloved of Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) as they have been bestowed with His favours. It is implied that th

Mentioned in the Highest Circles

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah says, ‘I am in accordance with the thoughts of My slave about Me; and I am with him, when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I also remember him in My heart. If he remembers Me in a group, I remember him in a better group (i.e. angels). If he draws near Me by the span of a palm, I draw near him by a cubit. If he draws near Me by a cubit, I draw near him by the space covered by outstretched arms. If he walks towards Me, I go to him running.’” [Sahih Bukhari] This hadith shows how willing and eager Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is to befriend us and draw close to us. Anybody who sincerely wants Allah in his/her life will find Him. It cannot be that a person is sincere in their search but are not guided to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). The case of Salman Farsi is a perfect example of how the search for truth brought him to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). It is said about him that even if Islam were to be found on the moon, he woul

My Best Day

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah will say to the inhabitants of Paradise: ‘O inhabitants of Paradise!.... Are you contented?’ And they will say: ‘And how should we not be contented, O Lord, when You have given to us that which You have given to no one else of Your creation?’” [Bukhari] Out of all His creations, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) chose me to give eternal life to. He made Jannat for me. Allah wishes to be with me for eternity. For this He bestows eternal life to me. After I reach Jannat I become immortal. The ultimate pleasure in Jannat is that I will be allowed to look at Allah’s face. All that exists is perishable except Allah’s face. [Al-Quran 28:88] Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) tells us that He was a hidden treasure. He created us so that we could have this treasure. Those who realize this are intense in their love of their Lord. [Al-Quran 2:165] Allah’s justice demanded that He ask us to do something, no matter how insignificant, in exchange for which we

Musa and Al-Khidr

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Once Musa (alaihis salam) preached to the people till their eyes shed tears and their hearts became tender, whereupon he finished his sermon. Then a man came to Musa (alaihis salam) and asked, ‘O Allah's Messenger! Is there anyone on the earth who is more learned than you?’ Musa (alaihis salam) replied, ‘No.’ So Allah admonished him (Musa), for he did not ascribe all knowledge to Allah Alone. It was said (on behalf of Allah), ‘Yes, (there is a slave of Ours who knows more than you).’” [Sahih Bukhari] The story of Musa and Al-Khidr is mentioned in the Quran in Surah al-Kahf. It is the Surah with which we protect ourselves from the Dajjal. The first lesson we get from this story is that all knowledge belongs to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala): He is Al-Aleem. It is not sufficient to believe that Allah knows; rather, Allah Alone knows and we do not know. Whatever knowledge is with any of Allah’s creation has been granted them by A

Readying for Death

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) told us that there was a group from the Bani Israel who went to visit a graveyard. There they said, “How about if we pray two rakahs and ask Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) to resurrect someone, so we can ask him about death.” So they prayed two rakahs and asked Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) to resurrect one of the dead. A dark man was resurrected, who had the sign of sujood (prostrations) on his forehead.  He said, “What do you want from me? I died one hundred years ago and the pain of death only just stopped at this moment. Pray to Allah and ask him to return me to as I was.” [Abu Daud] There are three lessons to learn from this hadith: 1. The pain of death is severe and it lasts for a long time. We should pray to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) to make it easy for us. 2. The value of shahada. One of the many honors that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) will give a shaheed is that his/her pain of death would feel no more then the sting of a mosquito

Veil a Mark of Freedom

Anas (radi Allahu anhu) reported regarding the marriage of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) to Safiyya bint Huyayy (radi Allahu anha): “Allah's Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) arranged the wedding feast consisting of dates, cheese, and refined butter…. And the people ate to their fill, and they said, ‘We do not know whether he (the Prophet) has married her (as a free woman) or as a slave woman.’ They said, ‘If he (the Prophet) makes her wear the veil, then she is a free woman, and if he does not make her wear the veil, then it means that she is a slave woman.’ When he intended to ride, he made her wear the veil and she sat on the hind part of the camel; so they came to know that he had married her.” [Sahih Muslim] There are many lessons to be drawn from this Hadith. A few of these are:  A man should publicize his marriage with a wedding feast.  One should provide sufficient food to the guest that they may eat to their fill.  The veil is the mark o

Secret Zikr

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Secret Zikr is the best Zikr.” [Ihya Ulum Id-Deen] Don’t waste your good deeds by informing others about them, obviously or obliquely. And try to perform your good deeds while hidden from the eyes of men.  To do a good deed is indeed not as difficult as safeguarding it is. To obtain the maximum reward for it on the Day of Judgement it must have been done for Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) alone and so must be saved from being used to show-off and earn mileage in the world. Another Hadith states that the reward of a secret deed is seventy times more than that of an open deed.

Lying Blackens the Heart

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise; a person remains truthful until he is written as a Siddeeq (truthful person) with Allah. Lying leads to sin and sin leads to the Fire; a person keeps lying until he is written as a Kadhdhab (liar) with Allah.”  [Bukhari, Muslim] Imam Malik records that Abdullah ibn Masud would say, “Each time someone lies a black spot appears on his heart until his whole heart becomes black and he is written with Allah as a Kadhdhab.” He also records that it was asked of Luqman, “How have you reached this level in excellence?” He replied, “By being true in speech, fulfilling trusts and leaving what does not concern me.” Such is the importance of remaining truthful that the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said that a Momin could at any one time perform one sin or the other but he could never be a liar. Shaitan incites us to lie, saying it is only one lie. But that is how the h

Knowledge for Material Gain

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) said that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever seeks knowledge that should be sought seeking the Face of Allah, but he only seeks it for the sake of some worldly gain, he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Ressurrection." (Hasan) [The Book of Knowledge: Sunan Abu Dawud] This hadith reminds us to acquire knowledge for the pleasure of Allah alone. If a religious scholar acquires it to make it a means of worldly gains, then it turns into such a serious crime that such an alim/scholar will not even smell the fragrance of Jannah, although its fragrance can be smelt from a very great distance. This means that he or she will not enter Jannah along with the saved. May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) save us from such an end.  However, if a scholar gains wealth or other worldly gains through it without that being his or her intention, then it is a different matter. In that case, it is not har

Jannah Surrounded by Difficult Things

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “When Allah created Paradise, He said to Jibreel: ‘Go and look at it.’ Jibreel went and looked at it, then came and said: ‘O my Lord! By Thy might, no one who hears of it will fail to enter it.’   Allah then surrounded it with disagreeable things, and said: ‘Go and look at it, Jibreel.’ He went and looked at it, then came and said: ‘O my Lord! By Thy might, I am afraid that no one will enter it.’ When Allah created Hell, He said: ‘Go and look at it, Jibreel.’ Jibreel went and looked at it, then came and said: ‘O my Lord! By Thy might, no one who hears of it will enter it. ‘ Allah then surrounded it with desirable things and said: ‘Go and look at it, Jibreel.’ Jibreel went, looked at it, then came and said: ‘O my Lord! By Thy might and power, I am afraid that no one will remain who does not enter it.’ [Abu Daud] Hellfire is surrounded by tempting things and sin appears attractive to us; but where sin leads to is horrific. On the

Idol Smasher or Idol Seller

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “I have been sent to join the ties of relationship (with kindness and affection), to break the idols, and to proclaim the oneness of Allah (in a manner that) nothing is to be associated with Him.” [Sahih Muslim] When Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered India and broke the temple at Somnath he also smashed all the idols in it. When he was about to break the biggest idol, its worshippers pleaded for it to be spared and offered its weight in gold in exchange. So Mahmud consulted his advisers all of whom said, “We have already gained victory, what will it harm us if we leave one idol? The money we will get in exchange for it will help our forces. We should spare the idol.”  The commander-in-chief Masood Ghazi was also present in the meeting. He said, “This would be trading in idols! Up until now our king was known as an idol breaker, now he will be called an idol vendor!” This statement impacted Mahmud but he deliberated and postponed a fin

Jummah Prayer

"O believers, when the call is proclaimed for the prayer on Friday, come to the remembrance of Allah and leave off business, that is better for you if you but did know." [Al-Jumuah, 62:9] Purifying and cleaning oneself The person intending to perform Salat al-Jumah is highly encouraged to have ghusl (full bath or shower). The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that the ghusl for Salat a-Jumah is recommended (sunnah) but not obligatory. The ghusl is performed starting from the time of Fajr Prayer. Also, if a person performs ghusl and then later invalidates his ablution, he need not repeat the ghusl. Making ablution (wudhu) suffices. Furthermore, one ghusl may be used for removing sexual defilement (janabah) and for Salat al-Jumuah. Going early to the masjid There is a great reward in going early to Salat al-Jumuah, beginning after sunrise. By leaving for Salat al-Jumuah, one gets the reward of waiting for the Prayer, making dhikr (remembering Allah) and volunt

Black Flags from Khorasan are Mahdi's

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “When you see that black flags have appeared from Khorasan then join them. Because Allah’s Khalifa Mahdi will be among them.” [Musnad Ahmed] The area that was known as Khorasan in the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) corresponds primarily to the area known as Afghanistan today. Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) ordered his Ummah to join the troops with black flags from this area. When Imam Mahdi is among this group then there is no better group on earth to join. Allah’s Messenger is telling us to trade the small good of the world for the much greater good of the Hereafter. Imam Zuhri (rahmahulla) said that a narration reached him that “black flags will emerge from Khorasan: So when they descend from the mountain passes of Khorasan they will do so for the sake of Islam. Nothing will hinder them except for the flags of the non-Arabs which will come from the west.” [Kanzul Ammal] Imam Zuhri’s narrat