Refresh Your Imaan

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “If a community decreases the measure and weight (of sold grains or food), they will be overcome by poverty, their provisions will decrease and their ruler will be unjust.” [Ibn Majah, al-Bazzar, al-Baihaqi] We complain all the time about the evil of our rulers - how they cheat us, lie to us and are the cause of our ruin. It is easy to point fingers at others. Much more under our control are our own actions. But how much do we analyze what we do? The first lesson that we get from this hadith is that it is the result of our own sinning that we are afflicted with the rulers that we have. Everybody thinks of changing the world; nobody thinks of changing themselves. It is in exchange for the deception that we practice that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) punishes us with poverty and unjust rulers. During the khilafah of Hazrat Umar (radi Allahu anhu) three minor earthquakes afflicted Madina. Hazrat Umar (radi Allahu anhu) addressed the people and ...

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The thing which has obscenity will be spoilt by it and the thing which has modesty will be beautified by it.” [Tirmidhi] In this hadith Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) tells us the secret to appearing truly beautiful. We especially need to be reminded of this hadith in current times when modesty is attacked as a lack of confidence and vulgarity is praised as boldness. SubhanAllah, truly values are inverted as the Day of Judgement approaches.

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "People will keep wondering and asking each other until it is said, 'This is Allah's creation, but who created Allah?' Whoever finds anything like this, let him say, 'I believe in Allah and His messengers.'" It is not possible to answer questions about Allah’s nature. This territory is a slippery slope into the abyss of Kufr. We have been warned against exploring it and told to say that we believe in Allah and what He has revealed to us through His messengers, and to wait patiently for the Day of Judgement for all our questions to be answered. Human beings have limited abilities of sight, sound, hearing, experience and intellect. It is a fact of life that we are not all-powerful. For example, out of the whole electromagnetic spectrum all that human beings can see are the wavelengths between 400 and 700nm. This we call “visible” light. Bees on the other hand are able to see ultraviolet radiation markings on f...

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "He who does not thank people is unthankful to Allah." [Abu Dawud] Although Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) is the ultimate Bestower of all the good we receive, yet He commands us to thank the immediate source of the good too, the person or people through whom Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) sent the good to us. The people to whom we are most obliged during our lives, are our parents. Regarding them Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says, "... show thanks to Me, and to your parents..." [Al-Quran 31:14] One of the early Muslims said: "Ingratitude for a kindness is one of the enormities (major sins). Gratitude consists of reciprocating it or supplicating for the person." So, saying 'Thank you' is not enough. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in His mercy has guided us to an appropriate course of action to show gratitude. We should be genuinely grateful and if we are able to return the favour we should do so. Otherwise, or...

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "Verily Allah says: O son of Adam, free yourself for my worship, I will (in turn) fill your chest with satisfaction and remove your poverty, and if you don't, I will fill your hands with distraction and will not remove your poverty." [Ahmad, Ibn Majah] The explanation of this in Fayd ul Qadeer is: "Free yourself of your interests in order to worship Me and do not busy yourself in earning that which exceeds your needs and the needs of those under your care."  In other words, when a person has earned enough to fulfill his needs, the needs of those he is responsible for and whatever else is necessary, he should not busy himself in acquiring beyond that, but should busy himself in obedience to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala), otherwise he will be establishing his worldly life but destroying his Hereafter. Fayd al Qadeer, by al Manaawee, is a scholarly piece of work explaining al-Jaami as-Saghir by al-Haafidh as-Suyuti. ...

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters) concerning his life - how he spent it; about his youth - how he took care of it; about his wealth - how he earned it; and where he spent it; and about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired." [Tirmidhi] So there is no escape from being questioned about:  1. Your life - how you spent it. Was it in righteousness and piety or in sin and transgression?  2. Your youth - how you spent it. Was it in acts of obedience or acts of disobedience to Allah?  3. Your wealth - how you acquired it. Was it from that which is halaal or from that which is haraam? 4. Your wealth - how you spent it. Did you give others their rights in it - your relatives, the needy, the orphans, the mujahideen... or did you squander it on yourself alone? 5. Your knowledge - how you acted upon it. How much of your knowl...

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "Verily the inhabitants of the Fire cry, so much that if ships were sailed into their tears, they would float, and verily they cry blood (instead of tears)." [Ibn Maajah, Kitaab az-Zuhd] You should aid yourself through fear. Live with the fear of ending up in Hell and never coming out of it. Live with the fear of everlasting hunger and continuous thirst, with the fear of crying blood continually, so much so that if a ship were to be sent into it, it would float. When you are truly afraid of this, only then will you take the necessary steps to stay out of this danger that you have been warned about.  In addition to changing your beliefs and lifestyle, also make the supplication of Yusuf (alaihis salaam): "Cause me to die as a Muslim and join me with the righteous." [Al-Quran 12:101] Don't just sit around while the sweetness of Faith is missing.