Monday, 12 March 2012

A Miracle...


She stood alone on the rooftop looking up at the night sky with tears that refused to fall; they had already been falling for too long. She asked Him, ‘God, do you still love me?’—She listened for an answer and didn’t hear anything. There was no sign sent from above, there was no message in the clouds. She wanted a miracle. She wanted to see the answer to her question laid out before her. What she didn’t realize though, was that His answers were all around her, she just had to open her eyes to see them. Often times we call out to God, praying for a miracle, praying for something to change drastically and instantly—but we look around and see nothing. We go on living in a world without miracles, constantly passing through days without miracles. The truth is, it’s not that there are no more miracles; it’s that we refuse to see them for what they are.

Our Beloved Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) stood in front of the people one morning, telling them of a journey he made the night before. He told them of al-israa wal-miraaj in which he traveled across countries and rose to the heavens for a sacred meeting with his Lord. Those listening to the account split into two groups: those who accepted the miracle and welcomed it open heartedly and those who denied the possibility of any such journey taking place and denied the miracle all together. Those who accepted the miracle were instantly blessed with the magnificent feeling of awe and love for the One who made that miracle possible. Those who denied the miracle didn’t get any such feeling of awe and love, nor did they find themselves in a miraculous situation, one we all wish to find ourselves in one day. Every day, this same scenario occurs, on a smaller, but still miraculous, scale. And every day, we get to choose what group we will be a part of: those who accept the miracle and are instantly rewarded; or those who deny the miracle and reap nothing. What we don’t realize however, is that when we deny the miracles that occur before our very eyes every day, we deny their effect in our lives and are left scrambling for hope.
Whenever we find ourselves in a difficult situation, the first and most important thing we need to remember is that no matter what happens, nothing we do on our own will cause any beneficial change to occur. The only One in our lives that can make a change is God Himself—when He wills it and with His might, not ours. With this in mind we begin our struggle with spiritual action rather than physical action. Before even moving a muscle we turn our hearts and minds to Him and ask Him for a miracle. This, of course, doesn’t mean we should not put our own effort into fixing our situation; rather, it means that we recognize that our actions are simply a means. The means is not what changes the situation, the change lies in themiracle. With that in mind, no situation is beyond repair, no problem is too big, and no hope is too ambitious. On that same note, God has told us that He is as we think of HimThe Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah the Most High said, ‘I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.’” If we do not fully believe that God will change our situation, then He won’t. If we do not think that we will see miracles in our day-to-day lives, then we won’t. If we do not think that He can miraculously change our lives from pits of misery to a life of love and worshipping Him, then he won’t. When we full-heartedly believe in the miracles of our Lord, we will begin to see them each and every day.
Miracles don’t necessarily have to be a message in the clouds or a crystal clear dream. Rather, miracles can be seen in the smallest of things. It can be that moment when we feel like we are too weak to carry the burden that has been placed on our shoulders, and then He shows us an ant carrying a load many times its size to remind us that if He brought us to it, He’ll bring us through it. It can be seen in that excruciating fear we go through when we realize we forgot to turn off the electric stove and our house will surely burn down, and we return home to find the rain caused the electricity to go out, saving our house and our cooking reputation! It can be seen in that moment when we feel like our faith has hit an all-time low, and He blesses us with people to give us exactly the reminders we need, in the manner that we need it in. These are not all ‘coincidences’; rather they are miracles from the One above, bringing us closer to Him. But of course, it just depends on how we look at it.


Adapted From: Reehab Ramadan, Suhaibwebb.com

Wednesday, 23 November 2011

Sometimes late at night...


… I think about all the things that have been, all the things that haven’t been and all the things yet to be. I wonder if this world will ever make sense to me, if I will ever truly understand anything… and if there’s really anything to understand at all.

... I know that i must be grateful for all i have. After all, don't our Prophet (peace be upon him) told us “Look at those who stand at a lower level than you but don’t look at those who stand at a higher level than you, for this would make the favors (conferred upon you by Allah) insignificant (in your eyes).” (Sahih Muslim).

... I asked myself.. it is too hard to say "Alhamdulillah"? If am having a hard time at work, why don't i step back and say, “Alhamdulilah, I have a job.” If i am ever get stuck in traffic, i can think “Alhamdulilah, I have the means to get around.” When the house is a mess and the dishes are dirty, i will say, “Alhamdulilah, I have shelter and food.” Isn't that a more beautiful way of looking at things? Suddenly all negative energy becomes positive, don't they?

... What if Allah take away the blessings He bestows on me?.. Astaghfirullah.. i wouldn't want that to happen, would you?.. Ibn Ata’Allah said, “If you do not know the blessings you have when you have them, then Allah will teach you about them by taking them away.”!! I am scared now. Dear friends, don’t wait until you are without, to appreciate what you have.

... Don’t use your blessings to accumulate sins. We can choose to use our tongues to backbite or dhikr. We can use our wealth for riba (usury) or sadaqa (charity).

... Remember that Allah tests us with good and bad. In good times, be grateful and in hardship, be patient. If you tried to number God's blessings, you could never count them. God is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nahl: 18)

... So, now.. whenever i think of the pain i have faced.. I ask Allah for forgiveness for being blinded by my hardship that i failed to see the blessings i have enjoyed.  Did he not announced "If you are grateful, I will certainly give you increase, but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe."' (Surah Ibrahim: 7)?

So, friends, if you ever feel sad, alone, dejected, rejected, down etc.... stay positive and count Allah's blessings.. you wont feel so bad anymore, InsyaAllah..

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

:: I am only human ::

Dear Self,
You are only human.
You are not perfect,
and really if you were,
how absolutely dreadful that would be.

But Self,
do remember,
that you are not defined by your imperfections,
you are not ruled nor controlled,
merely challenged.

Think of it this way,
you now have a chance to be better than you were,
you now have a chance to understand more about yourself,
people around you,
and the world as a whole.

So in essence what separates the wise,
from those who pretty much take themselves too seriously,
is your reaction to yourself.

Lighten up.
You're not all that bad.
You're actually really good.

So when you look in the mirror,
and notice all the blemishes,
smile and say,
this too shall pass.

After all,
you are only human.

By: Anonymus 

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

Sitting is Killing You

As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, there is one thing nearly all modern Americans have in common: we sit all the time. Though our great shift towards computer-based work has done great things for productivity, it has, unfortunately, done terrible things for our health. From increased risk of heart disease and obesity in the long term, to sharply hampered cholesterol maintenance in the short term, the negative health effects of sitting are starting to weigh heavily against the benefits. Even the medical field – the greatest advocates of reducing sitting time – is plagued by this new health issue. Though doctors and nurses get plenty of walking time, it usually falls to the secretaries, billers, and coders to do all the sitting. And, as we can see, something has to change.







Smile! It's a charity and it's free!


Assalamualaikum...

Smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth. The smile can also be around the eyes. It is natural on us... research shows that even baby in womb smiles! (see:: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v3/n3/words-are-us)



Why should we smile? (about.com,2010)

1. Smiling Makes us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away — but a smile draws them in.
2. Smiling Changes our Mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There’s a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.
3. Smiling is contagious
When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.
4. Smiling Relieves Stress
Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you’ll be better able to take action.
5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System.
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.

Furthermore, our beloved Prophet smiled all the time! Abdullah ibn Harith, A RadiaAllahu'anhu said " I have never seen any one who smiled more than Allah's Messenger." (Jami Tirmidhi) Don't we all wants to follow Prophet's sunnah?.. what could be the easiest sunnah, dont you think?.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Charity is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises.” He was then asked: “From what do we give charity every day?” The Prophet answered: “The doors of goodness are many…enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf, leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one’s legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the feeble with the strength of one’s arms–all of these are charity prescribed for you.” He also said: “Your smile for your brother is charity.” – Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 98 (http://chillyoislamyo.com/,2011)

Isnt it great? Just by smiling.. we: 1) get all the physical and psycological benefit  2) follow Prophet's sunnah.. 3) do charity! and it's free!



Tuesday, 10 May 2011

The Importance of Good Manner


A brother approached me recently looking for advice. He said that he had gone through several phases in his development and in each stage he would add more acts of worship to his daily life. He started by getting his five prayers down, then theirsunnahs, then adding the forenoon prayer (ḍuḥā), then trying to pray in the night, and finally, fasting Mondays and Thursdays. His concern was that recently, when he was trying to pray more in the night, he was having a hard time doing it and felt that he was stagnating.
As I thought about his situation and his struggle to improve himself, I remembered something that I was reading in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn just a few days before. I was preparing for a talk that I was to give on arrogance and the chapter after it in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn happened to be the chapter on good manners. I was overwhelmed.
I will mention some of the ahadith that were compiled in this section by Imam al-Nawawi and perhaps share a few thoughts on a couple of them. One thing that we will see is that sometimes we are not in need of increasing our acts of worship, but rather in improving the quality of our acts of worship and the quality of our interactions with people.
Anas radiAllahu `anhu (ra) said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had the best character of anyone.”
Anas (ra) said, “I did not touch any silk brocade nor silk softer than the palm of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I did not smell any scent sweeter than the scent of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I served the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for ten years and he never said to me, ‘Uff‘ nor did he say about anything I had done, ‘Why did you do that?’ nor about anything I had not done, ‘Why did you not do that?’”
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-’As (ra) said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was neither obscene nor indecent. He used to say, ‘The best of you are the best in character.’”
Abu Hurairah (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The believers with the most perfect belief are the best of them in character. The best of you are the best of you towards your wives.”
‘A’isha (ra) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘By his good character a believer can reach the same rank as someone who fasts and prays at night.”
One of the commentators on this hadith said that the reason for this is because the one who prays in the night or fasts in the day struggles against his self while being disconnected from the people, but the one who deals with the people with good character struggles against himself while dealing with others, with all their differences, so they are equal to the one who prays or fasts, or maybe even better.
Abu Umama al-Bahili (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I guarantee a house on the outskirts of the Garden to anyone who abstains from disputation, even if he is in the right, and a house in the middle of the Garden for anyone who abandons lying, even when he jests, and a house at the summit of the Garden for anyone who has good character.”
Jabir (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Those I love most and those sitting nearest to me on the Day of Rising will be those of you with the best character. Those most hateful to me and the furthest of you from me on the Day of Rising will be the pompous, the braggarts and the arrogant.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we know the pompous and the braggarts, but who are the arrogant?’ He said, ‘The proud.’”
‘A’isha (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah is kind and loves kindness and gives for gentleness what he does not give for harshness nor for anything else.”
The Prophet ﷺ said to his companions, “Shall I not tell you something that is better than fasting, and praying, and giving charity?” They said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Reconciling between people.”
O Allah (swt), bestow your peace and blessings upon the best man to ever walk the face of the earth, our Prophet and master, Muhammad ﷺ. May He allow us to be true inheritors of his legacy.

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Failure and Success


I found this article and found this is a good effort in understanding of Surah Al-Asr... 
Today we live in a materialistic world, where the aim of society is to gain as much wealth as possible, for this is the way to success. Success is defined by how many college degrees you have, how much property you own, how much money you have, and so on.. In short, the more dunya you have, the more successful you are. This shows the real narrow-mindedness and heedlessness. It is as if only the rich, powerful and famous are successful while everyone else is not. In fact, this is a form of discrimination.
Allah in His Glorious Book revealed a different formula for success. It is contained in one of the shortest surahs (chapters) in the Qur’an, a chapter most Muslims have memorized and frequently recite in their prayers. The great tragedy is that the meaning this surah should have in our lives has been lost.
The surah is Surat al-`Asr – the chapter entitled “The Declining Day”:
“By time, indeed humanity is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Qur’an, 103)
This surah is the 103rd chapter of the Qur’an. It is one of the shortest chapters, but it is also among the most comprehensive and discussed. The surah before it is Surat at-Takathur and after it is the Surat al-Humazah. One of the miracles of the Qur’an is the sequence of chapters; although they were revealed at various times and places, every surahhas a connection to the surah before it and after it. It seems as if they were actually revealed together. Subhan’Allah, such consistency can never be found in human speech. The chapters before and after Surat al-`Asr mention that the human being has been deluded by their search for wealth; money has given them a false security of being successful.
Allah (swt) mentions in the last verse of Surah at-Takathur that, “Then, on that Day, you shall be asked about the blessings you enjoyed” (Qur’an, 102:8). Surat al-`Asr starts with the greatest blessing that we as human beings regardless of age, sex, color, caste, religion enjoy—TIME. Allah (swt) swears by time, which shows that:
  1. Time has a lofty status in the sight of Allah;
  2. Allah is asking us to contemplate on the passage of time;
  3. The time which we waste will never come back;
  4. Time is a witness to many human beings being in a state of loss;
  5. In concordance with the last verse of Surat at-Takathur, it shows that by time people become distracted by the dunyaand forget their real purpose in life.
As we move into the second verse, we find another correlation between the previous surah and this one. The central theme of the previous surah was at-Takathur which essential means the following:
  1. The desire to have more;
  2. Competing with others to get more;
  3. Utilizing inappropriate means to win others over;
  4. Taking pride in what you have.
So essentially, it is gaining in this “life” that is meant by takathur. However, the central theme of Surat al-`Asr is khusr (loss).Khusr essentially means losing everything. Subhan’Allah, Allah shows us in a subtle yet powerful way that seeking thedunya is one of the main causes of loss. If you reflect on this verse, it seems to be referring directly to this day and age, another miracle of the Qur’an. By default, human beings are losers, and on the path to destruction. However, Allah is the Most Merciful; as a sign of His Mercy, He revealed the secret to success in the final ayah (verse) of Surat al-`Asr.
This last verse essentially shows the minimum that we need to do to attain the pleasure of Allah. This verse also removes the doubts in the minds of many Muslims that just believing is enough. Even Shaytan (Satan) believes in God, so how can just believing be enough? The four criteria for going to paradise by earning Allah’s Mercy are the following:
1. Belief. Believing in Allah, His Books, His Prophets and Messengers, His Angels, the Day of Judgment, and divine decree. This belief is based upon sure knowledge; therefore we should strive to attain the necessary religious knowledge.
2.  Righteous deeds. Belief mandates knowledge, and knowledge mandates action. We should accompany our belief with righteous deeds done for the sake of Allah. Prayers, fasting, hajj and all the other obligatory acts of worship should be done only for the sake of Allah and in the way that was demonstrated by Muhammad ﷺ. However, every good that Allah loves and is pleased with is also considered an act of worship, and therefore is rewardableinsha’Allah. The obligatory deeds are the minimum.
3.  Calling others to the truth. The use of “wa tawaasi (and advise)” in the verse shows continuity. We should be calling others to the truth at all times, regardless of whether they accept it or not.
4.  The straight path is not easy. There will be difficulties, which causes some people to leave the path. We should be patient in calling to them, asking them to be patient, and persevere through the troubles. Patience is in obeying Allah, not disobeying Him, and persevering through calamities over which we have no control.
This surah is a conclusion to the message in the four surahs preceding it:Surat al-Zalzalah, Surat al-`Adiyat, Surat al-Qari`ah and Surat at-Takathur. Surah al-`Adiyat and Surah at-Takathur show the sorry state of the human beings, while Surat al-Zalzalah and Surat al-Qari`ah show the reality of the Day of Judgment. The conclusion is that human beings are in loss, except for those who follow the prescription in Surat al-`Asr. Therefore, this chapter has been precisely placed in the Qur’an as miraculous guidance. The irony of the surah is that this is the surah we often read when we are “too busy,” when we just need to get our prayers out of the way and do “more important” things. We are reciting that time is passing and mankind is in loss – and we are also demonstrating that very well! May Allah save us all.
This surah also places a great emphasis on da`wah (calling to the truth) and patience. Even though da`wah and patience are already righteous things, they are mentioned separately as they are sometimes neglected. Islam is a social religion. Not only should we do what is proper, but we should also encourage others to do so. At times, we justify not doing da`wah. Start doing da`wah – it’s a must. You can share the message of this surah with everyone, to start!
We need to fulfill all four conditions to meet the criteria for success. Human beings are losing, but we have the formula to the exceptions! We might think this formula strange, but a famous saying of Muhammad ﷺ can serve as motivation to us all, “Islam began strange, and it will become strange again just like it was at the beginning, so blessed are the strangers.” [Muslim]
Let us reflect on Surat al-`Asr the next time we recite it. Let us study a tafsir (explanation) of the Qur’an. We ask Allah to grant us barakah (blessings) in reciting and pondering upon the Qur’an, and we ask Allah to make us among those for whom the Qur’an will intercede on the Day of Judgment. Ameen.
By Raiiq Ridwan