Refresh Your Imaan

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “What a Muslim spends on his family, for seeking the pleasure of Allah, is also counted as charity.” [Bukhaari] Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) advises man to first be kind to himself and to the people in his home, then to his larger circle of relatives, and then to all human beings.  When a man provides for his wife, children, parents and any other dependents, he is worshipping Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) by obeying Him. If his intention is to fulfill the responsibilities Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has assigned to him, he gains the reward of performing good deeds, by paying for his family’s food, clothes, housing, medicine, etc. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has forbidden both miserliness and extravagance (wasteful spending). We should spend in a balanced manner, keeping well away from these two extremes.

Umm Habibah bint Abu Sufyan (radi Allahu anha) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever prays twelve rakat during the day and night will have a house built for him in Paradise: four rakat before Zuhr and two after it, two rakat after Maghrib, two rakat after Isha, and two rakat before Fajr.” (Hasan Sahih hadith) [Tirmidhi] One of the Umayyad Khalifa’s asked Ibn Hazm, “Why do we fear death?”  Ibn Hazm replied, “Because we hate to go from what we have built to what we have destroyed.” Whatever efforts and accumulations we have made are for this Dunya and it shows in the form of our properties, businesses, possessions, etc., looking very nice. When we try to imagine our property in the Akhirah we don’t see anything, or at best, we are uncertain. Thus, we don’t feel comfortable about going there. But our death will bring an end to this life and will take us to the life of that uncertain place anyway. So why not invest in a real estate project f

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whichever woman applies scent should not join us for the Isha prayers.” [Abu Dawud] During the early Islamic era, women used to perform salaat behind Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), in congregation. On one occasion Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told the women that they should not come to the masjid perfumed.  While the women are coming to the masjid to earn sawaab/hasanaat, their presence should not cause the salaat of other people to be ruined. If the fragrance of the perfume distracts men and instills desire in their hearts, then the women would have gotten more sawaab by staying home and not being a cause of fitnah/corruption in society.  If Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) prevented women who applied perfume from attending the masjid during his noble era, one can imagine how much worse it is for women to mingle with men decked up and perfumed.

When Ruqayya (radi Allahu anha) the daughter of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) died and women started to cry, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) tried to stop them. On this the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “O Umar, leave them alone and let them cry.” To the women he said: “Go ahead and cry, but avoid the crying of the Shaytaan… Whatever comes from your eye and heart is from Allah and is a sign of mercy, and whatever comes from your hand and your tongue is from the Shaytaan.” [Ahmad] It is permitted to cry on the death of a loved one. It is natural to feel a sense of loss from which one sheds tears. However, wailing, eulogizing (excessively praising the deceased), tearing one’s clothes, pulling one’s hair, and all such extreme displays of emotion from one’s hand and tongue are forbidden.  These customs were known at the time of Jahilliyah and are still common among Muslims today. Such conduct is not permitted in Islam, as a Muslim is required to face bereavement, like al

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Oh Ali, if two people come to ask you to judge between them, do not judge in favour of the first until you hear the word of the second in order that you may know how to judge.” [Ahmad, Abu Daud] Humans are hasty by nature. We are quick to judge. A situation aggravates us and we rush to condemn without bothering to determine all the facts first. In our haste usually only one point of view is considered. This could happen in our households when children get into a fight. This also often happens when we hear things about people. We don’t stay out of things that do not concern us; then we do not bother to hear the other side of the story either. Thirdly, we also get easily influenced with one sided information broadcast at us through the media. In short, we do exactly what Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has forbidden, which is to make haste in passing judgment. Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to make dua begging Allah, “Enable me t