Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Zam zam water
That is amazing story about Zam-Zam!Read it!ZamZam WaterAllah Ta'ala has made all living creatures out of water. People require water for almost for everything but not all water carries the same value and significance.Muslims refer to the water of Zamzam as something revered and unique. They crave this mysterious liquid and love to drink it whenever they can. And for those who managed to go to the Hajj, they return home carrying it for thousands of miles as a prized possession and to give as special gift to their friends and families.So what is so special about Zamzam water? In a word: Everything! There is nothing ordinary about it. The miracle of how it came to being in the middle of a desert, its consistency throught out 1000s of years, the beneficial qualities it has, the fact that it never dries up. This water is special. The fact is, this small and only ' 5 ft deep well ' is far away from any other source or body of water. It is self replenishing. It is constantly replenishing itself in order to produce gallons upon gallons of water for the consumption of thirsty pilgrims plus the additional amount that is bottled up and also the amount that is taken as gifts and distributed worldwide to millions. SubhanAllah! Zam zam water has scientifically been proven to contain healing qualities due to its higher content of Calcium and Magnesium Salts and also natural fluorides that encompass a germicidal action. It is also an established scientific fact that pools or water wells tend to grow vegetation such as algae-- especially in warm climates. Amazingly this is not the case in the well of Zamzam. It has remained free from bilogical contaminations. History of Zamzam WaterZamzam is the name of a famous well in al-Masjid al-Haraam [the Sacred Mosque in Makkah], which is thirty-eight cubits away from the Ka’bah. It is the well from which Allah quenched the thirst of Ismaa’eel the son of Ibraaheem (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both) when he was an infant. His mother(Haajra(peace and blessings of Allah be upon her) looked for water for him, but could not find any. She climbed to the top of Mount al-Safaa, praying to Allah to help her and give her water for Ismaa’eel, then she climbed to the top of Mount al-Marwah and did the same. Allah sent Jibreel(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , and he struck the earth, and water appeared. The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) agreed that it is mustahabb (recommended) for pilgrims on Hajj and ‘Umrah in particular, and for all Muslims in general, to drink Zamzam water, because of the saheeh hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have drunk the water of Zamzam. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3/492). According to the hadeeth of Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said concerning the water of Zamzam, “It is a blessing, and it is food that satisfies.” (Reported by Muslim, 4/1922). Al-Tayaalisi added, in a version that he narrated: “and a cure for the sick. – but this is when he drinks it with faith and sincerity, as proven in the hadeeth of Abu Dharr al-Ghifaari who stayed in Makkah for a month without any nourishment except Zamzam water. Al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The people used to compete over Zamzam during the time of Jaahiliyyah(ignorance). People who had children used to bring them and give them to drink, and this was their early-morning victuals. We used to used to think that it was a help for people who had children.” Al-‘Abbaas said: “During the Jaahiliyyah, Zamzam was known as Shabaa’ah (satisfaction).”Al-‘Allaamah al-Abbi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “(The water) is for whatever purpose it is drunk for, and Allaah made it food and drink for Ismaa’eel and his mother Haajar.”Ibn al-Mubaarak entered Zamzam and said, “O Allaah, Ibn al-Mu’ammal told me, from Abu’l-Zubayr from Jaabir that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘The water of Zamzam is for whatever purpose it is drunk for,’ so, O Allaah, I am drinking it (to quench) my thirst on the Day of Resurrection.”Virtues and characteristics of the water of Zamzam The two angels washed the heart of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he was a child, after they had taken it out, then they put it back. Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The reason why the Prophet’s chest was washed with Zamzam water was to make him stronger so that he could see the kingdom of heaven and earth, and Paradise and Hell, because one of the special qualities of Zamzam is that it strengthens the heart and calms the soul. The report about the chest of the Prophet (peace be upon him) being washed with the water of Zamzam is proven in the hadeeth of Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him), who reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “My roof was opened when I was in Makkah, and Jibreel (peace be upon him) came down and opened my chest, then he washed it with Zamzam water. Then he brought a gold basin full of wisdom and faith, poured it into my chest, and closed it up again. Then he took me by the hand and ascended with me into the first heaven.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3/429). It is sunnah to drink one’s fill of Zamzam water and to quench one’s thirst.The fuqaha have mentioned the etiquette that is mustahabb (recommended) when drinking Zamzam water, such as facing the Ka’bah, saying Bismillah, pausing to take a breath three times, drinking one’s fill, praising Allaah after one finishes As regards the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said, “I gave the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) Zamzam water to drink whilst he was standing,” (reported by al-Bukhaari, 3/492), it is taken to mean that it is permissible to drink zamzam whilst standing; showing the utmost respect. The scholars also recommended that the person who drinks Zamzam water should sprinkle some of it on his head, face and chest, make lots of du’aa’ when drinking it, and to drink it for a purpose that will benefit him in this world or the next, because of the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The water of Zamzam is for whatever purpose it is drunk for.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 2/1018; see Al-Maqaasid al-Hasanah by al-Sakhaawi, p. 359). It was reported that when Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) drank from the water of Zamzam, he said: “O Allaah, I ask you for beneficial knowledge, plentiful provision and healing from every disease.” Al-Daynoori reported that al-Humaydi said: “We were with Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah, and he told us the hadeeth about the water of Zamzam being drunk for whatever purpose it is drunk for. A man got up and left the gathering, then he came back and said, ‘O Abu Muhammad, is the hadeeth which you told us about the water of Zamzam saheeh?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ The man said, ‘Just now I drank a bucket of Zamzam so that you would tell me one hundred hadeeths.’ Sufyaan said, ‘Sit down,’ so he sat down and he told him one hundred hadeeths.” Some fuqaha’ recommended that people should take some Zamzam water back with them to their countries, because it is a cure for those who seek healing. ‘Aa’ishah(R.A.) reported that she took Zamzam water home with her in bottles, and said, “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took some of it away with him, and he used to pour it on the sick and give it to them to drink.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 4/37). Al-Haafiz al-Sakhaawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Al-Maqaasid al-Hasanah: “Some people said that the virtue (of Zamzam water) remains only so long as it is in its place (of origin), and that when it is taken away,it changes. This is an idea that has no basis. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wrote to Suhayl ibn ‘Amr: “If my letter reaches you at night, do not wait until morning, and if it reaches you during the day, do not wait until evening, to send me some Zamzam water.” He sent him two containers full, and at that time he was in Madeenah, before the Conquest of Makkah. This hadeeth is hasan because of corroborating evidence. ‘Aa’ishah also used to take Zamzam water away with her, and she reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do this; he used to carry it in small vessels and buckets, and pour it onto the sick and give it to them to drink. Whenever a guest visited Ibn ‘Abbaas he would honour him by giving him Zamzam to drink. ‘Ata’ was asked about taking Zamzam water away, and he said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him), al-Hasan and al-Husayn all took it away with them.”And Allaah knows best. (See: Fath al-Baari,3/493; al-Mughni, 3/445; Nihaayat al-Muhtaaj, Shifa’ al-Gharaam bi Akhbaar al-Balad al-Haraam, by al-‘Iraaqi, 1/258) Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Myself and others tried seeking healing with Zamzam water and saw wondrous things. I sought healing with it from a number of illnesses, and I was healed by the permission of Allaah. I saw someone who nourished himself with it for a number of days, half a month or more, and he did not feel hunger; he performed Tawaaf along with the other people just as they did. And he told me that he consumed nothing but Zamzam water for forty days and he had the strength to have intercourse with his wife, to fast and to perform Tawaaf numerous times. (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 4/319, 320). Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah preserve him) said:So you should have the intention of what you want to gain by drinking this water. He should drink his fill, ie. fill his stomach with it until it is filled to the ribs, because this water is good. A hadeeth has been narrated concerning this: the difference between the believers and the hypocrites is drinking one’s fill of Zamzam water.(Narrated by Ibn Maajah) It was reported in Saheeh Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Abu Dharr, who had stayed near the Ka’bah and its coverings for forty days and nights with no food or drink other than (Zamzam): “How long have you been here?” Abu Dharr said: “I have been here for thirty days and nights.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Who has been feeding you?” He said, “I have had nothing but Zamzam water, and I have gotten so fat that I have folds of fat on my stomach. I do not feel any of the tiredness or weakness of hunger and I have not become thin.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Verily, it is blessed, it is food that nourishes.” (Narrated by Imaam Muslim, 2473). Some incidents relating to the Miracles of ZamZamYusria Abdel-Rahman Haraz said that she was affected by a ulcer in her eye. It affected her by a severe headache which could not be cured by tablets. She was about to become blind in the affected eye. She went to a famous doctor who suggested to give her an injection which will stop the headache but it will also dysfunction the affected eye and consequently she will loose the sight in the affected eye. Mrs.Yusria was confident of the mercy of Allah. She thought of performing Umra and supplicated to Allah to cure her. She come to Makkah and performed Tawaf, there were not many people and the areas not crowded, therefore, she could be with the Zamzam water for long time. She washed her eyes. When she came back to the hotel she found that her affected eyes was cured and the ulcer disappeared. This event proves that it is a confirmation of the Hadeeth which says, “Zamzam water fulfils the purpose for which it has been drunk, if you drink it for getting cured Allah cures you, if you drink it for stomach satisfaction Allah will satisfy you and if you drink it for quenching thirst Allah will quench your thirst.” [Refer to El-Dar Gatni and El-Hukm and Zad] There are many of such events, which proves the truth of what Prophet Muhammed(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said and the holy nature of Zamzam water. Dr. Farooque Antar tells his own story. He says that he had been affected by a stone in his ureter and the doctor could not remove or destroy it without a surgical operation. But he postponed the operation two times. Meanwhile he performed Umra and supplicated to Allah to cure him without undergoing operation. He drank from Zamzam water and prayed two Rakaats. Then he felt a benching in his ureter and hurried to relieve himself, only to see the stone come out and he was cured without undergoing a surgical operation. The doctors who were treating Dr. Farooque were surprised at this. A man from Yemen was fond of reading Quran from a small Mushaf. As he became old he found that he couldn’t read Quran easily from that book because his sight was becoming weak. He heard about the water of Zamzam and its advantage of fulfilling the purpose for which it has been drunk. He came to Haj and he drank from Zamzam. He started reading from that small Mushaf of Quran easily and without any sight problems. He achieved what he wanted because he was confident of that and had deep faith in the saying of the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam), “The water of Zamzam fulfils the purpose for which it has deep drunk” He was also confident and had deep belief in the Quranic sign in which Allah says, “When my servants ask thee concerning me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he collect on me, let them also with a will listen to my call, and believe in Me. That may walk in the right way”. [2:186] Source: “You ask about the scientific miracles of Quran an Sunna and Shaikh Zindani answers” By Shaikh Abdel Majeed El Zindani SOME AHAADEETH: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best water on the face of the earth is the water of Zamzam; it is a kind of food and a healing from sickness.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3302). It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) drank it, did wudoo’ with it and poured it on his head. He used to carry Zamzam water in small vessels and large containers in order to pour it on the sick and give it to them to drink. (al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 883). One of the Sahaabah said: we used to call it al-Shabbaa’ah (satisfying) and it helped us to take care our families (ie. it was filling and helped them to do without food, it was also sufficient to nourish children). (al-Silsilat al-Saheehah li’l-Albaani, 2685). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for.” (Narrated by Ibn Maajah) The Messenger of Allah, salallahu alayhe wa sallam has said:" The most sublime of all earthly waters is that of zamzam; therein one finds food for the hungry and medicne for the ill." [ At- Tabarani ] "Zamzam water is what one intends to drink it for. When one drinks it to be healed, Allah heals him; when one drinks it to be full, Allah makes him full; and when one drinks it to quench his thrist, Allah quenches it. " [ Ahmad, and Ibn Majah]Since Zamzam water serves whatever purpose and intention for which it is drank; provided it is with sincerity: The scholars and the righteous have tried this and they drank from it with the intention of fulfilling their needs and seeking cure for the sick or relief from poverty or catastrophe and surely Allah eased for them achieving their needs. So next time when one gets the opportunity to drink Zamzam, one should grab the opportunity to pray for: a healthy body, sharp mind, forgiveness for sins, life in Jannah after death, an honorable death on the day of Jummah, and all one's physical and spiritual needs of this world and Hereafter.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Transcript of true happiness
This is a transcript of the True Happiness Khutbah by Yasir Qadhi which we posted earlier. One of the sisters who reads the site, Bint AbdelHamid, took this project on and sent it to us, may Allah (swt) reward her immensely for her efforts.
الحمد لله - الحمد لله الذي خلق السماوات والأرض، و جعل الظلمات والنور ثم الذين كفروا بربهم يعدلون، لا يحصي عدد نعمه العادون، ولا يؤدي شكره المتحمدون، و لا يبلغ مدى عظمته الواصفون. بديع السماوات و الأرض، إذا قضى أمراً فإنما يقول له كن فيكون. و أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، و أعتقد أن لا رب إلا إياه، شهادة من لا يرتاب في شهادته، و اعتقاد من لا يستنكف عن عبادته، و أشهد أن محمداً عبده الأمين و رسوله المبين، أرسله الله تعالى إلى الخلق أجمعين، بلسان عربي مبين، بلغ الرسالة، و أدى الأمانة، و نصع الأمة و كشف به الغمة، و جاهد في سبيل الله المشركين، و عبد ربه حتى أتاه اليقين. فصلى الله عليه و على آل بيته المطهرين، و على أصحابه المنتخبين و على من سار على نهجهم و سلك طريقهم إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد،
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, it is a common fact of existence that each and every living being, each and every breathing organism has but one ultimate goal. In each and every thing that it does - in its sleep and its wakeful state, in its movement and its rest, in its eating and drinking and socializing - in whatever action that ANY living organism does - animal or man, inse or jinn, Muslim or Non-Muslim, male or female - there is but one ultimate goal.
And that goal is to find an inner happiness. That goal is to be fulfilled, is to feel sakeena and tuma’neena, is to feel peaceful within themselves.
So, whatever every person does, that person believe that through this thing, “I will be happy. It will bring me comfort; it will bring me pleasure; it will bring me joy and peace.” This is what motivates every single living organism, every single being - this is what motivates it.
Now, the goal is one, and that is the goal to feel happy. But we find that the paths to find this happiness are different. We find that various people take different goals, different methods, different paths, different roads. And they all think that they will arrive at the same destination.
So we find that one group of people believes that happiness will be found through possessions, through money, through wealth, through owning the best houses and cars. And so, you find [that] this person, all that he does or she does is to figure out, “How can I get the most money? What degree should I get; what education, what university, which job, which firm, which company? How can I climb the corporate ladder?” Their entire life becomes achieving wealth, because of which they think they will become happy…
Another group of people think that happiness will be found through fame, through recognition. And so you find this group, all that they do [is], “What can make me famous? How can society recognize me?” So they become actors/actresses, go into music and singing. Or, if they’re into Arts and Sciences, they think of discovery: “What can I discover to make me famous, to win a Nobel Prize, or to win this award? When everybody knows who I am, that is when I will achieve happiness and satisfaction…”
Yet another group of people believes that happiness is found through satisfying one’s animal desires - sensual instincts. And so, you find this group of people turning to women and wine, to drugs and cheap luxuries. And they think that by numbing out their animal senses, by making sure each and every bestial desire inside of them is met, they will find happiness…
And most of us, most of us, sadly, believe that happiness is a combination of the above factors. A little bit of wealth, with a little bit of fame and a little bit of sensual desires.
This is how we find “happiness.”
But the reality is, when you look at the people who have spent their lives following these various paths, when you look at the people whom society considers have reached the upper echelons of wealth, of fame, of sensuality - the most evil people in terms of sensuality, the most richest people in terms of wealth, the most famous people in terms of recognition - the rest of society considers they have arrived -
If you were to interview this elite, if you were to get to know them and ask them, “You have spent your life hoarding this wealth, amassing fortunes, you’re on the Fordes list of 100 richest people or 50 richest people; you’re one of the most influential people according to Times Magazine; you’re one of the most famous actors and actresses - everybody knows you; your pictures appear on the magazines; you fall, you sneeze, you laugh, it becomes a national news item; you enter the hospital, you come out of it, the whole world knows… Fine, let me ask: have you achieved… happiness?
“Sure, you’re rich, you’re famous, you’re wealthy, you’re the most evil in terms of sensuality, sure - [but] have you achieved this inner happiness? Because the rest of society looks up to you. The rest of society believes you have, they take you as their role models, they take you as their gods and goddesses that they have to worship. Each and every thing that you do becomes a religion for them, they follow your statistics, your marriages and divorces - you become their role model!
“But let me ask you: are you happy in your personal life? Have you achieved what the rest of the people think you have achieved?”
And if these people could be honest with you (and many of them have, if you read their interviews, and many of them are not - but if they could be honest with you), they would say, ALL of them, “Not yet…”
For many people, they very thing that they were desiring becomes a curse. For many people, the fame, the recognition, becomes a curse that they cannot get out of it, they cannot live normal lives anymore. They were the ones who didn’t want to live normal lives, they were the ones striving to get famous. Once they reach there, they regret it. They can’t enjoy a normal life anymore… and they have no one to blame but themselves.
When they become rich, their entire thinking, their entire day and night becomes worrying about the stock going up and down, my company floundering or getting more money, this transaction, that business, that deal going through. In other words, their time becomes locked up with that money, not with their family, not with the joys of life, not with the happiness.
So what if they wear a fancier suit and they drive a better car?! In their hearts they are more busier, they are more filthy. In their hearts they have nothing to enjoy that with, because their minds are always thinking about this money and how to get more and how to make sure it doesn’t go away. They become slaves to the money that they were worshipping besides Allah.
And the same goes for sensuality, and the same goes for satisfying your bestial desires. Ask anybody - anybody - and many of us, unfortunately, have fallen also into these types of sins, and so you know from your own self - do these desires bring about infinite happiness? Whatever they are, do they bring about genuine joy and sincerity? Do they bring about fulfillment, inner sakeena?
Or - or, is it like a poisoned sweet, that you enjoy something for a while. You enjoy something for a while, and then as soon as that enjoyment finishes, the outer layer dissolves, [and] what is left is bitter poison; what is left is that which rots the heart?
This is something we experience in our daily lives, when we commit a sin, whatever that sin might be. Sure we enjoy it, that’s why we committed the sin. Let us not fool ourselves and say there is no pleasure in sin. Of course there is pleasure in sin - that is why we commit sins; because we enjoy doing them. But let me ask you, when we finish that sin, even during, while committing that sin and as soon as we finish it: Do we feel proud? Do we feel good? Do we feel happy inside of ourselves?
On the contrary, we feel disgusted. We feel evil, we feel dirty - a type of dirtiness, you can take a thousand showers, it won’t wash away the dirt that you feel because it is an inner dirt. It is an inner garbage that you have put into yourself and your own system.
All of this shows us that the paths to happiness that mankind has chosen are not the ultimate paths to happiness. They are not. We don’t need Qur’an and Sunnah to prove this - life proves it. Life itself proves it to us. Of course, the Qur’an and Sunnah adds to this, but we don’t need to quote evidences, because human experience, human interaction, is enough of an evidence that the paths to happiness are not found in the ways that most of mankind are doing them.
So the question arises, if the paths to happiness are not as we have mentioned before, what, then, IS the path to happiness?
This goes back to a very interesting point, brothers and sisters. This goes back to a very profound point. And before I answer the question, “What is happiness and how do we get there?”, let us ask another question that will help us get to the answer of the final question. And this initial question is: “Who are we, and what are we made of?”
What are you composed of? You will respond: “I am composed of body and soul. Rooh [soul] and Jasad [body]. I have a body, this physical body, and I have an inner soul, a rooh, and the two put together form life as we know it.” The rooh and the jasad put together forms life as we know it.
So I ask you, “Ok, what is this body made of?” You will say: this body is made of earth, clay, tdeen - which is the earth around us - Allah fashioned this clay, and then blew life into it. So since the body is made of earth, in order to feed the body, we need to feed it with nutrients that come from the earth. The body is made from earth - how to feed the body? From nutrients made from this earth. Allah ‘azza wa jel caused plants to grow, animals eat the plants, water is stored in the soil, comes down form the skies and we find it in the lakes and rivers. So we eat and drink from the source of our body, and that is: the land around us.
You have taken care of your physical side. But you see, most people consider pleasure only to be composed of body. So they find pleasure through bodily experiences. They forget, what makes them really human is the rooh. What makes them above other beings, other creatures, is the intelligent rooh that Allah gave us. This intelligent rooh is what makes us above animals, it makes us above everything else.
Allah gave us a mind, a rooh, an active mind to think - and this rooh, where did it come from? Did it come from this earth? No? Allah says,
وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي
- [”…and I have breathed into him of My Spirit…” (15:29 and 38:720)] -
Allah ‘azza wa jel blew His rooh into Adam alayhi assalam. Now, when Allah says His ‘rooh’, it doesn’t mean - a’oothu billah - [that] there’s an element of divinity. Many Muslims misunderstand, and you have some groups saying we have - every one of us has - divinity inside of us - a’oothu billah. This is not the belief of Muslims. When Allah says “Our spirit,” Allah ‘azza wa jel is saying: We created and blew it into the people. Just like the house of Allah is a created house, just like the rasool of Allah is a created rasool…
Similarly, when Allah says, We blew from Our spirit into man, Allah created a rooh, Allah created something that He blew into us, and this rooh is form Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala. And Allah says: you will never know much about this rooh:
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
- “They ask you: what is the rooh?” - what is this thing? - “Say: the rooh is from the command of Allah and you don’t have any knowledge except a little bit about it” (17:85) -
You don’t have much knowledge. But we do know it is from Allah. So the question is, what will we nourish the rooh with? And when we answer this question, that is when we will answer “how to gain happiness.” How so? Because as we said, what makes us human, more than the jasad, is the rooh. What makes us truly human - the jasad comes and goes; the rooh will be eternal. The rooh will be, either in jahennam or in jennah, with the body, but the body is going to go through many phases. The rooh will not go through any phase. The rooh will always be the rooh.
So by feeding the rooh, we attain eternal life. And by neglecting the rooh, we suffocate the rooh. What is the rooh fed by? This is the question. The response: the rooh must be fed from substances that originate from its [own] origins, just like the body must be fed from substances that originated from where the body originated. Where did the rooh originate form? From Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Therefore, to feed the rooh, we need to sustain it via a connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. We need a feeding tube, if you like, from all that relates to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Hence - how do we attain happiness? By feeding the rooh. How do we feed the rooh? By establishing a connection with Allah. How do we establish a connection with Allah? By doing what Allah wants us to do…
Fasting… praying… charity… thikr… every single act of worship that we do, it will feed the rooh; it makes the rooh grow stronger. It will make the rooh become more alive, and when the rooh is alive, even if the body is week - subhan Allah, even if the body is dead - when the rooh is alive, it will enjoy blessings from Allah in the hereafter. Even when the body is dead, because the rooh is alive, it will be happy.
But if the body is alive, and the rooh is not fed - if you don’t feed the rooh - no matter how “alive” your body is, your rooh will be dead. And if your rooh is dead, you don’t feel any purpose of living, you don’t have enjoyment of life. You don’t enjoy life because you don’t have a real rooh inside of you. You have a half-dead rooh, you have a rooh that is not alive, and that is why Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala calls the person who does not worship Him - He calls him dead:
أَوَ مَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ
- “Give the example of the one who was dead” - Allah says - “and We gave him life” (6:122)-
The scholars of tafseer say: this verse applies to the one who was not worshipping Allah, and Allah called him dead. And then Allah says: “We gave him life” by bringing him into My worship, by bringing him into the sphere of connecting himself with Allah.
So the point is, this verse calls the person who does not worship Allah dead. Even though he is living - he’s walking on the face of this earth; but Allah calls him dead: “awamen kaana maytan.” Then Allah says: “fa ‘ahyaynaah” - “We gave him life” - by guiding him to Islam, We gave him life by giving him a reason to live, a reason to feel that happiness and joy.
Brothers and sisters, ultimate happiness, ultimate happiness comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And in order to get that happiness, we need to establish a connection with Allah. Once we establish a connection with Allah, the world becomes secondary - what we have, alhamdulillah, what we don’t have, alhamdulillah!
The world does not become our ultimate goal. And when the world seizes to be our ultimate goal, then all of a sudden we are content with what we have. Our money, our wealth, our fame, our family, our health - everything: we have it, alhamdulillah, we thank Allah, we don’t, we are still thankful and our attitudes are optimistic and hoping for the best form Allah.
So the point being, when we correct our inner state, our rooh, the outer state becomes truly irrelevant. When we don’t correct our inner state, no matter how much we feed the outer state, the jasad, it will never be satisfied. No matter what we do with the jasad, the body, it will never be satisfied, it will always want more and more and more. But if we feed the rooh, then the body becomes content, and when it becomes content, then and only then is where we find ultimate happiness.
بارك الله لي و لكم في القرآن العظيم، و نفعني و إياكم بما فيه من الآيات و الذكر الحكيم. أقول ما تسمعون، و أستغفر الله العظيم لي و لكم و لسائر المؤمنين، إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.
[istighfaar…
… followed by second khutbah:]
الحمد لله، الحمد الله الواحد الأحد، الفرض الصمد، الذي لم يلد و لم يولد و لم يكن له كفوا أحد… و بعد
What I have just said, brothers and sisters, is not something that I need to back up with Qur’an and Sunnah, even though it can be backed up with Qur’an an Sunnah. Because, as I said initially, this is something that we experiences in our lives. It is something that is a fact, that each and every one of us has tasted. We don’t need to prove it through external sources, because we are living proofs of it.
Let me ask you a question, and answer yourself in your own mind this: how do you feel on a day that you’ve read your five prayers? How do you feel on a day that you woke up for Fajr and you prayed Fajr at its proper time? How do you feel when you recite the Qur’an and you close that book and you put it back? How do you feel for the rest of the day? How do you feel after a LONG day of fasting in Ramadan, and you break your iftaar, you’ve been tired physically - how do you feel inside? How do you feel after doing ‘umrah or hajj? How do you feel after giving charity to a poor person and nobody knows except Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and you fed that person and you gave him money - how do you feel inside of you?
I ask you this question: this feeling of joy, of happiness, of fulfillment - can you purchase the feeling by all the money in the world? Can you buy it, can you go to the shop and say: GIVE me this inner happiness that one day’s fasting gave me! Give me this feeling that reading the Qur’an gave me. Can ALL the money in the WORLD purchase that happiness inside of you? By Allah, YOU know the answer: no, it cannot.
You feel fulfilled and happy because of what you have done, because you established a connection with Allah, because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has become a part of your life. Your goal, your ultimate destiny is to please Allah, and when it becomes to please Allah, you feel fulfilled. Why do you feel fulfilled? Because this is why Allah created you:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُون
- “I have only created men and jinn to worship Me” (51:56) -
When you do what Allah wants you to do, of course you will feel fulfilled. Of course! Allah made you for this purpose. When you do it, you feel fulfilled because you are fulfilling your purpose of life!
But when you neglect Allah - when you neglect Allah, when you neglect the religion, when you neglect the spirituality, what happens? Wallahi, you can eat, you can feed yourself, you can follow every passion in the book - it would increase you nothing by disgust, nothing but feeling bad, nothing but regret, nothing but remorse. You can do each and every sin in the book, and yet at the end of all of that, you have not attained - forget happiness - you have attained ultimate sadness. You have wasted your life, you have neglected what Allah ‘azza wa jel has created you for, and you feel it in your heart.
And again, I ask you: when you commit a sin, that feeling that you get after committing that sin, that feeling of guilt, that feeling of distancing yourself from Allah, that you have done something that displeased Allah - can ALL the money in the WORLD get rid of that feeling? Can ALL the money in the world get rid of that feeling that you have that YOU have gone against the purpose of creation?
No, it cannot.
So, my brothers and sisters, now my question now comes to myself and all of you: if this feeling is a feeling that we know from our lives, without even reading the Qur’an and Sunnah (I can quote you dozens of verses, dozens of ahadeeth, dozens of aathaar of the scholars of the past), but this is something I don’t need to do - why? Because I know it as well as you. You experience it, and I experience it, in our lives.
The question, then, becomes: if we experience it, if we know it, if this is a reality we have tasted and felt, we have SMELT this reality, then why have we neglected it?
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ
- why are you so deceived about Allah SWT? [see ayah (82:6)] -
فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ التَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ
- why do they turn away? [see ayah (74:49)] -
When you KNOW this reality, when you experience it, WHAT is the problem? You know it! Sins only increase your guilt, your feeling DISpleasure. Worshipping Allah only increases you in happiness. What’s the problem? What’s the problem? Why don’t you turn to the worship of Allah, and diminish your sins? You’re never going to leave your sins, you’re not going to become an angel - diminish them. The goal is to fight against sins, to lower them, to minimize them. The goal is perfection, but you know you’re never going to become perfect. You’re always going to commit sins. Okay. Commit sins. Repent to Allah. Continue to establish [a] relationship with Allah. TRY your best to minimize the sins. Always attempt to become a better person. Establish the five prayers. Oh Muslims, what will make you understand the importance of the five prayers? Establish the five prayers. Fast the month of Ramadan. Give zakat. Do the bare minimum. And wallahi your life will change upside down.
Let me leave you with one challenge. One challenge. And challenge yourselves this. Challenge yourselves for ONE WEEK. To be practicing Muslims. Five times a day prayer. And leave the major sins. One week, challenge yourselves this. You’re going to pray, five times a day, on the time. And leave the major sins.
After this one week, I challenge you. After you have tasted the sweetness of iman, I challenge you to go back to your old ways. You won’t be able to do it. After you have tasted how good it feels to worship Allah, you’re never going to go back to your old ways. You have to give yourself that encouragement - turn to Allah, make du’aa to Allah, and try your best, STRIVE to be a better Muslim, and when you’ve started feeling the TASTE of that sweetness of iman, it will become more addictive to you than ANY other sweetness on this earth. And once you do that, it will become easier to go higher and higher and higher.
I conclude this khutbah by quoting a simple verse in the Qur’an that summarizes all of this. Five words that summarize the entire khutbah. Allah SWT says:
أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
- “Know and realize that only through the remembrance of Allah - the worship of Allah - do the hearts achieve tranquility” (13:28) -
You’re not going to find tranquility through ANY other means.
الحمد لله - الحمد لله الذي خلق السماوات والأرض، و جعل الظلمات والنور ثم الذين كفروا بربهم يعدلون، لا يحصي عدد نعمه العادون، ولا يؤدي شكره المتحمدون، و لا يبلغ مدى عظمته الواصفون. بديع السماوات و الأرض، إذا قضى أمراً فإنما يقول له كن فيكون. و أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، و أعتقد أن لا رب إلا إياه، شهادة من لا يرتاب في شهادته، و اعتقاد من لا يستنكف عن عبادته، و أشهد أن محمداً عبده الأمين و رسوله المبين، أرسله الله تعالى إلى الخلق أجمعين، بلسان عربي مبين، بلغ الرسالة، و أدى الأمانة، و نصع الأمة و كشف به الغمة، و جاهد في سبيل الله المشركين، و عبد ربه حتى أتاه اليقين. فصلى الله عليه و على آل بيته المطهرين، و على أصحابه المنتخبين و على من سار على نهجهم و سلك طريقهم إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد،
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, it is a common fact of existence that each and every living being, each and every breathing organism has but one ultimate goal. In each and every thing that it does - in its sleep and its wakeful state, in its movement and its rest, in its eating and drinking and socializing - in whatever action that ANY living organism does - animal or man, inse or jinn, Muslim or Non-Muslim, male or female - there is but one ultimate goal.
And that goal is to find an inner happiness. That goal is to be fulfilled, is to feel sakeena and tuma’neena, is to feel peaceful within themselves.
So, whatever every person does, that person believe that through this thing, “I will be happy. It will bring me comfort; it will bring me pleasure; it will bring me joy and peace.” This is what motivates every single living organism, every single being - this is what motivates it.
Now, the goal is one, and that is the goal to feel happy. But we find that the paths to find this happiness are different. We find that various people take different goals, different methods, different paths, different roads. And they all think that they will arrive at the same destination.
So we find that one group of people believes that happiness will be found through possessions, through money, through wealth, through owning the best houses and cars. And so, you find [that] this person, all that he does or she does is to figure out, “How can I get the most money? What degree should I get; what education, what university, which job, which firm, which company? How can I climb the corporate ladder?” Their entire life becomes achieving wealth, because of which they think they will become happy…
Another group of people think that happiness will be found through fame, through recognition. And so you find this group, all that they do [is], “What can make me famous? How can society recognize me?” So they become actors/actresses, go into music and singing. Or, if they’re into Arts and Sciences, they think of discovery: “What can I discover to make me famous, to win a Nobel Prize, or to win this award? When everybody knows who I am, that is when I will achieve happiness and satisfaction…”
Yet another group of people believes that happiness is found through satisfying one’s animal desires - sensual instincts. And so, you find this group of people turning to women and wine, to drugs and cheap luxuries. And they think that by numbing out their animal senses, by making sure each and every bestial desire inside of them is met, they will find happiness…
And most of us, most of us, sadly, believe that happiness is a combination of the above factors. A little bit of wealth, with a little bit of fame and a little bit of sensual desires.
This is how we find “happiness.”
But the reality is, when you look at the people who have spent their lives following these various paths, when you look at the people whom society considers have reached the upper echelons of wealth, of fame, of sensuality - the most evil people in terms of sensuality, the most richest people in terms of wealth, the most famous people in terms of recognition - the rest of society considers they have arrived -
If you were to interview this elite, if you were to get to know them and ask them, “You have spent your life hoarding this wealth, amassing fortunes, you’re on the Fordes list of 100 richest people or 50 richest people; you’re one of the most influential people according to Times Magazine; you’re one of the most famous actors and actresses - everybody knows you; your pictures appear on the magazines; you fall, you sneeze, you laugh, it becomes a national news item; you enter the hospital, you come out of it, the whole world knows… Fine, let me ask: have you achieved… happiness?
“Sure, you’re rich, you’re famous, you’re wealthy, you’re the most evil in terms of sensuality, sure - [but] have you achieved this inner happiness? Because the rest of society looks up to you. The rest of society believes you have, they take you as their role models, they take you as their gods and goddesses that they have to worship. Each and every thing that you do becomes a religion for them, they follow your statistics, your marriages and divorces - you become their role model!
“But let me ask you: are you happy in your personal life? Have you achieved what the rest of the people think you have achieved?”
And if these people could be honest with you (and many of them have, if you read their interviews, and many of them are not - but if they could be honest with you), they would say, ALL of them, “Not yet…”
For many people, they very thing that they were desiring becomes a curse. For many people, the fame, the recognition, becomes a curse that they cannot get out of it, they cannot live normal lives anymore. They were the ones who didn’t want to live normal lives, they were the ones striving to get famous. Once they reach there, they regret it. They can’t enjoy a normal life anymore… and they have no one to blame but themselves.
When they become rich, their entire thinking, their entire day and night becomes worrying about the stock going up and down, my company floundering or getting more money, this transaction, that business, that deal going through. In other words, their time becomes locked up with that money, not with their family, not with the joys of life, not with the happiness.
So what if they wear a fancier suit and they drive a better car?! In their hearts they are more busier, they are more filthy. In their hearts they have nothing to enjoy that with, because their minds are always thinking about this money and how to get more and how to make sure it doesn’t go away. They become slaves to the money that they were worshipping besides Allah.
And the same goes for sensuality, and the same goes for satisfying your bestial desires. Ask anybody - anybody - and many of us, unfortunately, have fallen also into these types of sins, and so you know from your own self - do these desires bring about infinite happiness? Whatever they are, do they bring about genuine joy and sincerity? Do they bring about fulfillment, inner sakeena?
Or - or, is it like a poisoned sweet, that you enjoy something for a while. You enjoy something for a while, and then as soon as that enjoyment finishes, the outer layer dissolves, [and] what is left is bitter poison; what is left is that which rots the heart?
This is something we experience in our daily lives, when we commit a sin, whatever that sin might be. Sure we enjoy it, that’s why we committed the sin. Let us not fool ourselves and say there is no pleasure in sin. Of course there is pleasure in sin - that is why we commit sins; because we enjoy doing them. But let me ask you, when we finish that sin, even during, while committing that sin and as soon as we finish it: Do we feel proud? Do we feel good? Do we feel happy inside of ourselves?
On the contrary, we feel disgusted. We feel evil, we feel dirty - a type of dirtiness, you can take a thousand showers, it won’t wash away the dirt that you feel because it is an inner dirt. It is an inner garbage that you have put into yourself and your own system.
All of this shows us that the paths to happiness that mankind has chosen are not the ultimate paths to happiness. They are not. We don’t need Qur’an and Sunnah to prove this - life proves it. Life itself proves it to us. Of course, the Qur’an and Sunnah adds to this, but we don’t need to quote evidences, because human experience, human interaction, is enough of an evidence that the paths to happiness are not found in the ways that most of mankind are doing them.
So the question arises, if the paths to happiness are not as we have mentioned before, what, then, IS the path to happiness?
This goes back to a very interesting point, brothers and sisters. This goes back to a very profound point. And before I answer the question, “What is happiness and how do we get there?”, let us ask another question that will help us get to the answer of the final question. And this initial question is: “Who are we, and what are we made of?”
What are you composed of? You will respond: “I am composed of body and soul. Rooh [soul] and Jasad [body]. I have a body, this physical body, and I have an inner soul, a rooh, and the two put together form life as we know it.” The rooh and the jasad put together forms life as we know it.
So I ask you, “Ok, what is this body made of?” You will say: this body is made of earth, clay, tdeen - which is the earth around us - Allah fashioned this clay, and then blew life into it. So since the body is made of earth, in order to feed the body, we need to feed it with nutrients that come from the earth. The body is made from earth - how to feed the body? From nutrients made from this earth. Allah ‘azza wa jel caused plants to grow, animals eat the plants, water is stored in the soil, comes down form the skies and we find it in the lakes and rivers. So we eat and drink from the source of our body, and that is: the land around us.
You have taken care of your physical side. But you see, most people consider pleasure only to be composed of body. So they find pleasure through bodily experiences. They forget, what makes them really human is the rooh. What makes them above other beings, other creatures, is the intelligent rooh that Allah gave us. This intelligent rooh is what makes us above animals, it makes us above everything else.
Allah gave us a mind, a rooh, an active mind to think - and this rooh, where did it come from? Did it come from this earth? No? Allah says,
وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي
- [”…and I have breathed into him of My Spirit…” (15:29 and 38:720)] -
Allah ‘azza wa jel blew His rooh into Adam alayhi assalam. Now, when Allah says His ‘rooh’, it doesn’t mean - a’oothu billah - [that] there’s an element of divinity. Many Muslims misunderstand, and you have some groups saying we have - every one of us has - divinity inside of us - a’oothu billah. This is not the belief of Muslims. When Allah says “Our spirit,” Allah ‘azza wa jel is saying: We created and blew it into the people. Just like the house of Allah is a created house, just like the rasool of Allah is a created rasool…
Similarly, when Allah says, We blew from Our spirit into man, Allah created a rooh, Allah created something that He blew into us, and this rooh is form Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala. And Allah says: you will never know much about this rooh:
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
- “They ask you: what is the rooh?” - what is this thing? - “Say: the rooh is from the command of Allah and you don’t have any knowledge except a little bit about it” (17:85) -
You don’t have much knowledge. But we do know it is from Allah. So the question is, what will we nourish the rooh with? And when we answer this question, that is when we will answer “how to gain happiness.” How so? Because as we said, what makes us human, more than the jasad, is the rooh. What makes us truly human - the jasad comes and goes; the rooh will be eternal. The rooh will be, either in jahennam or in jennah, with the body, but the body is going to go through many phases. The rooh will not go through any phase. The rooh will always be the rooh.
So by feeding the rooh, we attain eternal life. And by neglecting the rooh, we suffocate the rooh. What is the rooh fed by? This is the question. The response: the rooh must be fed from substances that originate from its [own] origins, just like the body must be fed from substances that originated from where the body originated. Where did the rooh originate form? From Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Therefore, to feed the rooh, we need to sustain it via a connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. We need a feeding tube, if you like, from all that relates to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Hence - how do we attain happiness? By feeding the rooh. How do we feed the rooh? By establishing a connection with Allah. How do we establish a connection with Allah? By doing what Allah wants us to do…
Fasting… praying… charity… thikr… every single act of worship that we do, it will feed the rooh; it makes the rooh grow stronger. It will make the rooh become more alive, and when the rooh is alive, even if the body is week - subhan Allah, even if the body is dead - when the rooh is alive, it will enjoy blessings from Allah in the hereafter. Even when the body is dead, because the rooh is alive, it will be happy.
But if the body is alive, and the rooh is not fed - if you don’t feed the rooh - no matter how “alive” your body is, your rooh will be dead. And if your rooh is dead, you don’t feel any purpose of living, you don’t have enjoyment of life. You don’t enjoy life because you don’t have a real rooh inside of you. You have a half-dead rooh, you have a rooh that is not alive, and that is why Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala calls the person who does not worship Him - He calls him dead:
أَوَ مَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ
- “Give the example of the one who was dead” - Allah says - “and We gave him life” (6:122)-
The scholars of tafseer say: this verse applies to the one who was not worshipping Allah, and Allah called him dead. And then Allah says: “We gave him life” by bringing him into My worship, by bringing him into the sphere of connecting himself with Allah.
So the point is, this verse calls the person who does not worship Allah dead. Even though he is living - he’s walking on the face of this earth; but Allah calls him dead: “awamen kaana maytan.” Then Allah says: “fa ‘ahyaynaah” - “We gave him life” - by guiding him to Islam, We gave him life by giving him a reason to live, a reason to feel that happiness and joy.
Brothers and sisters, ultimate happiness, ultimate happiness comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And in order to get that happiness, we need to establish a connection with Allah. Once we establish a connection with Allah, the world becomes secondary - what we have, alhamdulillah, what we don’t have, alhamdulillah!
The world does not become our ultimate goal. And when the world seizes to be our ultimate goal, then all of a sudden we are content with what we have. Our money, our wealth, our fame, our family, our health - everything: we have it, alhamdulillah, we thank Allah, we don’t, we are still thankful and our attitudes are optimistic and hoping for the best form Allah.
So the point being, when we correct our inner state, our rooh, the outer state becomes truly irrelevant. When we don’t correct our inner state, no matter how much we feed the outer state, the jasad, it will never be satisfied. No matter what we do with the jasad, the body, it will never be satisfied, it will always want more and more and more. But if we feed the rooh, then the body becomes content, and when it becomes content, then and only then is where we find ultimate happiness.
بارك الله لي و لكم في القرآن العظيم، و نفعني و إياكم بما فيه من الآيات و الذكر الحكيم. أقول ما تسمعون، و أستغفر الله العظيم لي و لكم و لسائر المؤمنين، إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.
[istighfaar…
… followed by second khutbah:]
الحمد لله، الحمد الله الواحد الأحد، الفرض الصمد، الذي لم يلد و لم يولد و لم يكن له كفوا أحد… و بعد
What I have just said, brothers and sisters, is not something that I need to back up with Qur’an and Sunnah, even though it can be backed up with Qur’an an Sunnah. Because, as I said initially, this is something that we experiences in our lives. It is something that is a fact, that each and every one of us has tasted. We don’t need to prove it through external sources, because we are living proofs of it.
Let me ask you a question, and answer yourself in your own mind this: how do you feel on a day that you’ve read your five prayers? How do you feel on a day that you woke up for Fajr and you prayed Fajr at its proper time? How do you feel when you recite the Qur’an and you close that book and you put it back? How do you feel for the rest of the day? How do you feel after a LONG day of fasting in Ramadan, and you break your iftaar, you’ve been tired physically - how do you feel inside? How do you feel after doing ‘umrah or hajj? How do you feel after giving charity to a poor person and nobody knows except Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and you fed that person and you gave him money - how do you feel inside of you?
I ask you this question: this feeling of joy, of happiness, of fulfillment - can you purchase the feeling by all the money in the world? Can you buy it, can you go to the shop and say: GIVE me this inner happiness that one day’s fasting gave me! Give me this feeling that reading the Qur’an gave me. Can ALL the money in the WORLD purchase that happiness inside of you? By Allah, YOU know the answer: no, it cannot.
You feel fulfilled and happy because of what you have done, because you established a connection with Allah, because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has become a part of your life. Your goal, your ultimate destiny is to please Allah, and when it becomes to please Allah, you feel fulfilled. Why do you feel fulfilled? Because this is why Allah created you:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُون
- “I have only created men and jinn to worship Me” (51:56) -
When you do what Allah wants you to do, of course you will feel fulfilled. Of course! Allah made you for this purpose. When you do it, you feel fulfilled because you are fulfilling your purpose of life!
But when you neglect Allah - when you neglect Allah, when you neglect the religion, when you neglect the spirituality, what happens? Wallahi, you can eat, you can feed yourself, you can follow every passion in the book - it would increase you nothing by disgust, nothing but feeling bad, nothing but regret, nothing but remorse. You can do each and every sin in the book, and yet at the end of all of that, you have not attained - forget happiness - you have attained ultimate sadness. You have wasted your life, you have neglected what Allah ‘azza wa jel has created you for, and you feel it in your heart.
And again, I ask you: when you commit a sin, that feeling that you get after committing that sin, that feeling of guilt, that feeling of distancing yourself from Allah, that you have done something that displeased Allah - can ALL the money in the WORLD get rid of that feeling? Can ALL the money in the world get rid of that feeling that you have that YOU have gone against the purpose of creation?
No, it cannot.
So, my brothers and sisters, now my question now comes to myself and all of you: if this feeling is a feeling that we know from our lives, without even reading the Qur’an and Sunnah (I can quote you dozens of verses, dozens of ahadeeth, dozens of aathaar of the scholars of the past), but this is something I don’t need to do - why? Because I know it as well as you. You experience it, and I experience it, in our lives.
The question, then, becomes: if we experience it, if we know it, if this is a reality we have tasted and felt, we have SMELT this reality, then why have we neglected it?
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ
- why are you so deceived about Allah SWT? [see ayah (82:6)] -
فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ التَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ
- why do they turn away? [see ayah (74:49)] -
When you KNOW this reality, when you experience it, WHAT is the problem? You know it! Sins only increase your guilt, your feeling DISpleasure. Worshipping Allah only increases you in happiness. What’s the problem? What’s the problem? Why don’t you turn to the worship of Allah, and diminish your sins? You’re never going to leave your sins, you’re not going to become an angel - diminish them. The goal is to fight against sins, to lower them, to minimize them. The goal is perfection, but you know you’re never going to become perfect. You’re always going to commit sins. Okay. Commit sins. Repent to Allah. Continue to establish [a] relationship with Allah. TRY your best to minimize the sins. Always attempt to become a better person. Establish the five prayers. Oh Muslims, what will make you understand the importance of the five prayers? Establish the five prayers. Fast the month of Ramadan. Give zakat. Do the bare minimum. And wallahi your life will change upside down.
Let me leave you with one challenge. One challenge. And challenge yourselves this. Challenge yourselves for ONE WEEK. To be practicing Muslims. Five times a day prayer. And leave the major sins. One week, challenge yourselves this. You’re going to pray, five times a day, on the time. And leave the major sins.
After this one week, I challenge you. After you have tasted the sweetness of iman, I challenge you to go back to your old ways. You won’t be able to do it. After you have tasted how good it feels to worship Allah, you’re never going to go back to your old ways. You have to give yourself that encouragement - turn to Allah, make du’aa to Allah, and try your best, STRIVE to be a better Muslim, and when you’ve started feeling the TASTE of that sweetness of iman, it will become more addictive to you than ANY other sweetness on this earth. And once you do that, it will become easier to go higher and higher and higher.
I conclude this khutbah by quoting a simple verse in the Qur’an that summarizes all of this. Five words that summarize the entire khutbah. Allah SWT says:
أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
- “Know and realize that only through the remembrance of Allah - the worship of Allah - do the hearts achieve tranquility” (13:28) -
You’re not going to find tranquility through ANY other means.
Friday, 13 June 2008
Six criterias of hijab
Hijab for men People usually only discuss ‘hijab’ in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Qur’an, Allah (swt) first mentions ‘hijab’ for men before ‘hijab’ for the women. The Qur’an mentions in Surah Noor: “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.” [Al-Qur’an 24:30] The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze. Hijab for women The next verse of Surah Noor, says: “ And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons…” [Al-Qur’an 24:31] Six criteria for Hijab According to Qur’an and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijab: 1. Extent: The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijab’. All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women. 2. The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure. 3. The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them. 4. The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex. 5. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex. 6. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions. Hijab includes conduct and behaviour Complete ‘hijab’, besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of ‘hijab’ of the clothes is observing ‘hijab’ in a limited sense. ‘Hijab’ of the clothes should be accompanied by ‘hijab’ of the eyes, ‘hijab’ of the heart, ‘hijab’ of thought and ‘hijab’ of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc. Ads by Google
charateristics of the wali of Allah
Characteristics of a Wali of Allah
by Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
[This article is adapted from his Book "Criterion between the Allies of Allah and the allies of the Devil"]
The word 'Awliya' singular 'wali' comes from the root word of wilaya. Wilaya is the opposite of enmity (adawaa). The Wali is therefore the one who is close. Allah has explained in His Book, and in the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) that He has awliya among the people and that shaitaan also has his awliya. The Qur'aan mentions the allies of Allah. "Indeed there is no fear upon the awliya of Allah, nor shall they grieve; those who believe and used to fear Allah much. For them are glad tidings in this life and the Hereafter…" [Soorah Yunus (10): 62]"Allah is the protector (ally) of those who believe, He takes them out of darkness into light." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 257]The allies of devil have also been mentioned in the Qur'aan: "…As for those who disbelieve, their allies are the taaghoot who take them out of the light and into the darkness. Those are the people of fire, and they will be in it forever." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 257]"We have made the devils allies of those who do not believe; those who commit outrages and then say: "We found our predecessors on this (tradition)" Surely they have taken the devils as allies instead of Allah, and they think that they are on guidance" [Soorah Al-A'raf (7): 27-28]
After knowing that there are among people allies of the Merciful and the allies of the devil, it becomes very important to differentiate between these groups by means of the criterion, as described by Allah and His Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) as follows: .The First and Foremost Condition of an Ally of Allah - Taqwa and Belief in Allah -
No slave can be an ally of Allah, unless he has the characteristics of faith and pious practices, since Allah has made faith and piety a pre-condition for His Wilaya. He said: "Indeed there is no fear upon the awliya of Allah, nor shall they grieve, those who believe and used to fear Allah much (i.e. have Taqwa - piety). For them are glad tidings in this life and the Hereafter…" [Yunus (10): 62]Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) said:"Allah, the Exalted said: "Whoever takes a Wali (loyal slave) of Mine as an enemy, I will wage war on him; and My slave will not perform any act with which he draws closer to Me, more beloved to Me then when he fulfills what I have ordained on him; and My salve will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him, and when I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hands with which he strikes, and his legs with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him; and if he seeks refuge with Me, I will grant him refuge." [Saheeh Bukhari]From this narration and the above-mentioned Qur'aanic verse, we know that the Awliya of Allah are those who believe in Allah and give Him their full loyalty Thus, they love all that Allah loves, hate what Allah hates, are pleased with what Allah is pleased with, despise what Allah despises, they enjoin what Allah enjoins, forbid that what He forbids, give to those whom Allah loves for them to be given, and withhold from those whom Allah loves not to receive, since Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) explained the best handhold of faith to be love and hate for the sake of Allah: "The most dependable handhold on faith is: love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah." [At-Tirmidhee]"Whoever loves for Allah, hates for Allah, gives for Allah, and withholds for Allah, has sought the completion of his faith." [Abu Dawood]Belief (imaan) of necessity entails belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His Prophets, and the Last Day:"Say: We believe in Allah and in that which has been sent to us and in that which was sent to Ibrahim, and Ismail and Ishaq and Ya'qub, and the tribes and that which was given to Moosa and Isa and that which was given to the Prophets form their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them, and we submit to Allah. And so, if they believe in that which you believe, they have achieved guidance, but if they turn away, they are surely in rebellion. Allah will suffice you against them and He is the all-hearing, the all-knowing." [Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 136-137]"The Prophet has believed in that which is sent to him from his Lord as have the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His angels, His books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His messengers, and they say: "We hear and we obey. (We seek)Your forgiveness, our Lord to You is the return (of all). Allah does not burden any soul beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 285-6]"This is a book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who are pious. Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. Those who believe in that which was sent down to you and that which was sent down to those before you, and certainly of faith in the existence of the Hereafter. Such are on a true guidance from their Lord, and such are the successful." [Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 1-5]Thus, a necessary component of faith (eeman) is to believe that Muhammad (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) is the seal of the prophets, and there is no prophet after him, and that Allah sent him to all of the two possessors of free will: humans and jinns. From the moment he was made a prophet, Allah made him the criterion between His allies and His enemies, none are the allies of Allah except one who believes in Muhammad (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) and in that with which he was sent, and follows it openly and in secret. Whoever claims love of Allah and alliance with Allah but does not follow the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) is not one of the allies of Allah. He is one of the allies of shaitaan.
Allah said: "Say (O Mohammad) If you truly love Allah, then follow me so that Allah loves you." [Al-Imraan (3): 31]
Allah made it clear in the verse that Allah loves whoever follows the Prophet, and whoever claims the love of Allah, but does not follow the Prophet, is not from the allies of Allah. Al-Hasan al-Basri said about this verse: "A group of people claimed to love Allah, so He sent down this verse as a test for them." And secondly to believe in all that which he (Prophet) was sent with. Anyone who does not believe in it is not a believer, much less a pious ally of (waly) of Allah. Whoever believes in part of what he brought and rejects part is a kaafir, and not a believer:
"Those who disbelieve in Allah and His Prophets and seek to differentiate between Allah and His prophets, and they say: "We believe in some and we reject some" Such are true disbelievers, and We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment. As for those who believe in Allah and His prophets, and sought not to differentiate between any of them. We shall give them their rewards. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful." [(4): 150-152]Whatever stage the person reaches in terms of asceticism, devotion, and knowledge, but without belief in the entire message brought by Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam), it can never make him a believer, nor an ally of Allah. Allah said: "Whoever turns away from the reminder of the Merciful, we will assign to him a devil, who will be a partner to him." [(43): 36]
The reminder is the reminder with which He sent His Messenger such as the Qur'aan. So, whoever does not believe in the Qur'aan, and all the information contained therein, has turned away from it, and so is assigned a shaitaan. He turns himself as blind from the Book of Allah and Allah will turn him blind on the Day of Judgment:
"And whoever turns away form my reminder will have an oppressive, restricted life, and We will resurrect him on the Day of Qiyamah: blind. He will say: "Oh my Lord! Why have you resurrected my blind, while I used to see?" (Allah) will say: "Just as My verses came to you and you forgot them, today you are forgotten." [Soorah Ta-Ha (20): 124-126]
This verse clearly shows that 'my reminder' here is the same thing as 'my verses' which Allah sent down. Thus, even if someone mentions Allah (which is known as 'dhikr' in Arabic) constantly, day and night, with devotion, but at the same time is not a follower of Allah's dhikr (Qur'aan) which He sent down to His prophet, he would be one of the allies of shaitaan, even if he were to fly through the air, or walk on water. Faith also includes - belief that Prophet is the intermediary between Allah and His creation for the purpose of delivering His orders and forbiddance, His promises and threats, and the definition of Halaal and the Haraam. The Halaal is that which Allah and His Messenger have declared Halaal, and the Haraam is what Allah and His Messenger have ordained, because Allah commands the believers to obey him:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and Obey the Messenger and make not vain your deeds." [Soorah Muhammad (47): 33]
"He who obeys the Messenger had obeyed Allah" [Soorah An-Nisa (4): 80]
He also says: "Whatsoever the Messenger gives you take it and whatsoever he forbids you refrain from it."Thus, whoever believes that any waly has a way to Allah without following the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) is a kaafir, and is an ally of the devil.Actions of the Allies of Allah
The allies of Allah are of two levels: forerunners those who brought near - and those of the right hand who act in moderation. Allah, the Exalted says reminding the Day of Judgement: "And you (all) will be in three kinds (i.e separate groups). So those on the Right Hand and Who will be those of the Right Hand? And those on the Left Hand and who will be those on the Left Hand? And those foremost will be foremost in Paradise. They will be those nearest to Allah." [Soorah al-Waqiyah (56): 8-12]And again Allah says in the end of the same Soorah: "Then, if the dying person be of the Muqarraboon (those brought near to Allah.) (There is for him) rest and provision, and a Garden of delights (Paradise). And if he be of those on the Right Hand. Then there is safety and peace for those on the Right Hand. But if he be of the denying then for him is entertainment with boiling water. And burning in Hell-Fire." [(56): 88-94]
And the actions of these two groups are mentioned in the Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam): "Allah says: "Whoever takes a Wali (loyal slave) of Mine an enemy, I will wage war on him; and My slave will not perform any act with which he draws closer to Me, more beloved to Me then when he fulfills what I have ordained on him; and My salve will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him, and when I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hands with which he strikes, and his legs with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him; and if he seeks refuge with Me, I will grant him refuge." [Saheeh Bukharee]Consequently, the righteous - those of the Right Hand are those who seek to come close to Allah with obligatory actions: they do that which Allah has ordered them to do, and avoid that which Allah has forbidden them, and do not demand of themselves the doing of the commendable but less than obligatory (i.e. mandoob), or the avoiding of some of the disrecommendable of the allowed (i.e. makrooh)As for the forerunners those brought near, they sought to come close to Allah with extra efforts after the obligatory. They did the obligatory and the commendable, and avoided the forbidden and the non-recommended. When they sought to come close to Him with everything within their ability of that which they love, Allah's love for them became complete, as Allah says: "…My salve will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him…" [Saheeh Bukharee]The Allies of Allah have no Special Appearance
The allies of Allah have no special appearance with which they differ form other people. They have no special dress from other than just being permissible. Rather, they are to be found in all categories of the nation of Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam). However, the Qur'aan and the Sunnah show clearly that the best people in the sight of Allah is the one with the most of Taqwa (pious practice):
"O people, we have created you from a male and a female and made you in peoples and tribes that you may know each other. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the greatest in righteous practice." [Soorah al-Hujarat (49): 13]Abu Hurairah narrates in a Saheeh Hadeeth: "The Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) was asked: "Which people are the best? He said: "Those greatest in taqwa (righteous practice)"… [Bukhareee and Muslim]Allies of Allah are not ma'soom (protected) from mistakes
It is not a condition for an ally of Allah that he be free of (protected from) mistakes and errors. It is quite possible that some knowledge of the shari'ah may be hidden from him, just as it is possible for him to be confused about some issues in Islam But, he may not necessarily because of this, leave the ranks of allies of Allah, since Allah has overlooked and forgiven for this Ummah error, acts of forgetting, and things done under compulsion:
"There is no burden upon you for that in which you were mistaken, rather that which you have done with the full determination of the heart." [Soorah Ahzab (33): 5]
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: "When a ruler exerts himself to arrive at the correct ruling, and is correct, he gets two rewards and when he exerts himself but is mistaken, he gets one reward." [Bukharee and Muslim]
Since, it is possible for any ally of Allah to make a mistake. It can never be obligatory upon the people to believe in everything any one of them says, except that in the case that one of them is a prophet. Rather, it is obligatory for him to measure all of that up to the criterion of that which the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) brought. If it is in agreement therewith then he can accept it, but if it is in disagreement then he must reject it, and if he cannot be sure whether it is in accordance with the Prophet's message or at variance with it, he must refrain from believing it or applying it. The second Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), regarding whom Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: "In previous nations there were individuals who were addressed (with the truth). If there are such people in my nation, Umar is the one of them." [Bukharee and Muslim]
"Verily, Allah has put the truth on the tongue of Umar and in his heart." [At- Tirmidhee (hasan)]
But, Umar always did that which was obligatory upon him: i.e. - to measure things that occurred to him against that with which the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) was sent. He never said: "I am mahaddath, I receive inspiration and visions, and so you should accept that which I say and not oppose me therein."
Heart is an intuitions and not protected from falling into errors, and so one needs always to measure them against that which has been brought by the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam), the protected from falling into error. And the early scholars of Islam have unanimously agreed that the opinions of any man can be accepted and rejected i.e. they are open to questions except for the statements of the Prophet.
The point we are making here is an issue of complete consensus of the allies of Allah:
It is obligatory upon the allies of Allah to hold tight to the criterion; the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and no one of them is ma'soom; i.e. protected against falling into errors, such that it is permissible to him or to his followers to follow that which comes to his heart without subjecting it to the test of the Qur'aan and the Sunnah. Whoever does not accept this is in no way or shape or form among the allies of Allah, whom Allah has ordered us to emulate. Such a person is either 'kafir' or is engaged in extreme and excessive foolishness and ignorance.
by Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
[This article is adapted from his Book "Criterion between the Allies of Allah and the allies of the Devil"]
The word 'Awliya' singular 'wali' comes from the root word of wilaya. Wilaya is the opposite of enmity (adawaa). The Wali is therefore the one who is close. Allah has explained in His Book, and in the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) that He has awliya among the people and that shaitaan also has his awliya. The Qur'aan mentions the allies of Allah. "Indeed there is no fear upon the awliya of Allah, nor shall they grieve; those who believe and used to fear Allah much. For them are glad tidings in this life and the Hereafter…" [Soorah Yunus (10): 62]"Allah is the protector (ally) of those who believe, He takes them out of darkness into light." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 257]The allies of devil have also been mentioned in the Qur'aan: "…As for those who disbelieve, their allies are the taaghoot who take them out of the light and into the darkness. Those are the people of fire, and they will be in it forever." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 257]"We have made the devils allies of those who do not believe; those who commit outrages and then say: "We found our predecessors on this (tradition)" Surely they have taken the devils as allies instead of Allah, and they think that they are on guidance" [Soorah Al-A'raf (7): 27-28]
After knowing that there are among people allies of the Merciful and the allies of the devil, it becomes very important to differentiate between these groups by means of the criterion, as described by Allah and His Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) as follows: .The First and Foremost Condition of an Ally of Allah - Taqwa and Belief in Allah -
No slave can be an ally of Allah, unless he has the characteristics of faith and pious practices, since Allah has made faith and piety a pre-condition for His Wilaya. He said: "Indeed there is no fear upon the awliya of Allah, nor shall they grieve, those who believe and used to fear Allah much (i.e. have Taqwa - piety). For them are glad tidings in this life and the Hereafter…" [Yunus (10): 62]Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) said:"Allah, the Exalted said: "Whoever takes a Wali (loyal slave) of Mine as an enemy, I will wage war on him; and My slave will not perform any act with which he draws closer to Me, more beloved to Me then when he fulfills what I have ordained on him; and My salve will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him, and when I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hands with which he strikes, and his legs with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him; and if he seeks refuge with Me, I will grant him refuge." [Saheeh Bukhari]From this narration and the above-mentioned Qur'aanic verse, we know that the Awliya of Allah are those who believe in Allah and give Him their full loyalty Thus, they love all that Allah loves, hate what Allah hates, are pleased with what Allah is pleased with, despise what Allah despises, they enjoin what Allah enjoins, forbid that what He forbids, give to those whom Allah loves for them to be given, and withhold from those whom Allah loves not to receive, since Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) explained the best handhold of faith to be love and hate for the sake of Allah: "The most dependable handhold on faith is: love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah." [At-Tirmidhee]"Whoever loves for Allah, hates for Allah, gives for Allah, and withholds for Allah, has sought the completion of his faith." [Abu Dawood]Belief (imaan) of necessity entails belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His Prophets, and the Last Day:"Say: We believe in Allah and in that which has been sent to us and in that which was sent to Ibrahim, and Ismail and Ishaq and Ya'qub, and the tribes and that which was given to Moosa and Isa and that which was given to the Prophets form their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them, and we submit to Allah. And so, if they believe in that which you believe, they have achieved guidance, but if they turn away, they are surely in rebellion. Allah will suffice you against them and He is the all-hearing, the all-knowing." [Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 136-137]"The Prophet has believed in that which is sent to him from his Lord as have the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His angels, His books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His messengers, and they say: "We hear and we obey. (We seek)Your forgiveness, our Lord to You is the return (of all). Allah does not burden any soul beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 285-6]"This is a book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who are pious. Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. Those who believe in that which was sent down to you and that which was sent down to those before you, and certainly of faith in the existence of the Hereafter. Such are on a true guidance from their Lord, and such are the successful." [Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 1-5]Thus, a necessary component of faith (eeman) is to believe that Muhammad (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) is the seal of the prophets, and there is no prophet after him, and that Allah sent him to all of the two possessors of free will: humans and jinns. From the moment he was made a prophet, Allah made him the criterion between His allies and His enemies, none are the allies of Allah except one who believes in Muhammad (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) and in that with which he was sent, and follows it openly and in secret. Whoever claims love of Allah and alliance with Allah but does not follow the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) is not one of the allies of Allah. He is one of the allies of shaitaan.
Allah said: "Say (O Mohammad) If you truly love Allah, then follow me so that Allah loves you." [Al-Imraan (3): 31]
Allah made it clear in the verse that Allah loves whoever follows the Prophet, and whoever claims the love of Allah, but does not follow the Prophet, is not from the allies of Allah. Al-Hasan al-Basri said about this verse: "A group of people claimed to love Allah, so He sent down this verse as a test for them." And secondly to believe in all that which he (Prophet) was sent with. Anyone who does not believe in it is not a believer, much less a pious ally of (waly) of Allah. Whoever believes in part of what he brought and rejects part is a kaafir, and not a believer:
"Those who disbelieve in Allah and His Prophets and seek to differentiate between Allah and His prophets, and they say: "We believe in some and we reject some" Such are true disbelievers, and We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment. As for those who believe in Allah and His prophets, and sought not to differentiate between any of them. We shall give them their rewards. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful." [(4): 150-152]Whatever stage the person reaches in terms of asceticism, devotion, and knowledge, but without belief in the entire message brought by Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam), it can never make him a believer, nor an ally of Allah. Allah said: "Whoever turns away from the reminder of the Merciful, we will assign to him a devil, who will be a partner to him." [(43): 36]
The reminder is the reminder with which He sent His Messenger such as the Qur'aan. So, whoever does not believe in the Qur'aan, and all the information contained therein, has turned away from it, and so is assigned a shaitaan. He turns himself as blind from the Book of Allah and Allah will turn him blind on the Day of Judgment:
"And whoever turns away form my reminder will have an oppressive, restricted life, and We will resurrect him on the Day of Qiyamah: blind. He will say: "Oh my Lord! Why have you resurrected my blind, while I used to see?" (Allah) will say: "Just as My verses came to you and you forgot them, today you are forgotten." [Soorah Ta-Ha (20): 124-126]
This verse clearly shows that 'my reminder' here is the same thing as 'my verses' which Allah sent down. Thus, even if someone mentions Allah (which is known as 'dhikr' in Arabic) constantly, day and night, with devotion, but at the same time is not a follower of Allah's dhikr (Qur'aan) which He sent down to His prophet, he would be one of the allies of shaitaan, even if he were to fly through the air, or walk on water. Faith also includes - belief that Prophet is the intermediary between Allah and His creation for the purpose of delivering His orders and forbiddance, His promises and threats, and the definition of Halaal and the Haraam. The Halaal is that which Allah and His Messenger have declared Halaal, and the Haraam is what Allah and His Messenger have ordained, because Allah commands the believers to obey him:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and Obey the Messenger and make not vain your deeds." [Soorah Muhammad (47): 33]
"He who obeys the Messenger had obeyed Allah" [Soorah An-Nisa (4): 80]
He also says: "Whatsoever the Messenger gives you take it and whatsoever he forbids you refrain from it."Thus, whoever believes that any waly has a way to Allah without following the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) is a kaafir, and is an ally of the devil.Actions of the Allies of Allah
The allies of Allah are of two levels: forerunners those who brought near - and those of the right hand who act in moderation. Allah, the Exalted says reminding the Day of Judgement: "And you (all) will be in three kinds (i.e separate groups). So those on the Right Hand and Who will be those of the Right Hand? And those on the Left Hand and who will be those on the Left Hand? And those foremost will be foremost in Paradise. They will be those nearest to Allah." [Soorah al-Waqiyah (56): 8-12]And again Allah says in the end of the same Soorah: "Then, if the dying person be of the Muqarraboon (those brought near to Allah.) (There is for him) rest and provision, and a Garden of delights (Paradise). And if he be of those on the Right Hand. Then there is safety and peace for those on the Right Hand. But if he be of the denying then for him is entertainment with boiling water. And burning in Hell-Fire." [(56): 88-94]
And the actions of these two groups are mentioned in the Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam): "Allah says: "Whoever takes a Wali (loyal slave) of Mine an enemy, I will wage war on him; and My slave will not perform any act with which he draws closer to Me, more beloved to Me then when he fulfills what I have ordained on him; and My salve will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him, and when I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hands with which he strikes, and his legs with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him; and if he seeks refuge with Me, I will grant him refuge." [Saheeh Bukharee]Consequently, the righteous - those of the Right Hand are those who seek to come close to Allah with obligatory actions: they do that which Allah has ordered them to do, and avoid that which Allah has forbidden them, and do not demand of themselves the doing of the commendable but less than obligatory (i.e. mandoob), or the avoiding of some of the disrecommendable of the allowed (i.e. makrooh)As for the forerunners those brought near, they sought to come close to Allah with extra efforts after the obligatory. They did the obligatory and the commendable, and avoided the forbidden and the non-recommended. When they sought to come close to Him with everything within their ability of that which they love, Allah's love for them became complete, as Allah says: "…My salve will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him…" [Saheeh Bukharee]The Allies of Allah have no Special Appearance
The allies of Allah have no special appearance with which they differ form other people. They have no special dress from other than just being permissible. Rather, they are to be found in all categories of the nation of Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam). However, the Qur'aan and the Sunnah show clearly that the best people in the sight of Allah is the one with the most of Taqwa (pious practice):
"O people, we have created you from a male and a female and made you in peoples and tribes that you may know each other. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the greatest in righteous practice." [Soorah al-Hujarat (49): 13]Abu Hurairah narrates in a Saheeh Hadeeth: "The Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) was asked: "Which people are the best? He said: "Those greatest in taqwa (righteous practice)"… [Bukhareee and Muslim]Allies of Allah are not ma'soom (protected) from mistakes
It is not a condition for an ally of Allah that he be free of (protected from) mistakes and errors. It is quite possible that some knowledge of the shari'ah may be hidden from him, just as it is possible for him to be confused about some issues in Islam But, he may not necessarily because of this, leave the ranks of allies of Allah, since Allah has overlooked and forgiven for this Ummah error, acts of forgetting, and things done under compulsion:
"There is no burden upon you for that in which you were mistaken, rather that which you have done with the full determination of the heart." [Soorah Ahzab (33): 5]
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: "When a ruler exerts himself to arrive at the correct ruling, and is correct, he gets two rewards and when he exerts himself but is mistaken, he gets one reward." [Bukharee and Muslim]
Since, it is possible for any ally of Allah to make a mistake. It can never be obligatory upon the people to believe in everything any one of them says, except that in the case that one of them is a prophet. Rather, it is obligatory for him to measure all of that up to the criterion of that which the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) brought. If it is in agreement therewith then he can accept it, but if it is in disagreement then he must reject it, and if he cannot be sure whether it is in accordance with the Prophet's message or at variance with it, he must refrain from believing it or applying it. The second Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), regarding whom Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: "In previous nations there were individuals who were addressed (with the truth). If there are such people in my nation, Umar is the one of them." [Bukharee and Muslim]
"Verily, Allah has put the truth on the tongue of Umar and in his heart." [At- Tirmidhee (hasan)]
But, Umar always did that which was obligatory upon him: i.e. - to measure things that occurred to him against that with which the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam) was sent. He never said: "I am mahaddath, I receive inspiration and visions, and so you should accept that which I say and not oppose me therein."
Heart is an intuitions and not protected from falling into errors, and so one needs always to measure them against that which has been brought by the Prophet (sallalahu alaihe wa-sallam), the protected from falling into error. And the early scholars of Islam have unanimously agreed that the opinions of any man can be accepted and rejected i.e. they are open to questions except for the statements of the Prophet.
The point we are making here is an issue of complete consensus of the allies of Allah:
It is obligatory upon the allies of Allah to hold tight to the criterion; the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and no one of them is ma'soom; i.e. protected against falling into errors, such that it is permissible to him or to his followers to follow that which comes to his heart without subjecting it to the test of the Qur'aan and the Sunnah. Whoever does not accept this is in no way or shape or form among the allies of Allah, whom Allah has ordered us to emulate. Such a person is either 'kafir' or is engaged in extreme and excessive foolishness and ignorance.
Sisterhood
Sisterhood in Islam
As Muslims sisters strive to gain knowledge about their religion and endeavor to increase their Iman, there is one issue of importance that often seems to be neglected. This is the issue of Sisterhood in Islam. Sisters may greet each other, spend time socializing, give gifts during happy occasions, cook for those who have a new baby, etc., but this is only the surface level of Sisterhood. To understand what this special relationship really means we must go much deeper than that. We need to go to the level of the heart from which the bonds of Sisterhood emanate. This relationship is very special because it involves a unique type of love; one that cannot be experienced in any other social connection. It is a feeling that is particularly extraordinary for those of us who are revert/converts to Islam. To really enjoy the beauty of this bond we need to completely comprehend the elements that are involved. A letter has been written to each of us to assist us in this endeavor, Insha-Allah. Let us put this knowledge in our hearts and we will begin to see the seeds of true Sisterhood grow into a beautiful, flowering plant, Insha-Allah.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Baraktuh
My Dear Sister in Islam:
Insha-Allah, everything is well with you and those close to you. I am writing this letter to let you know how much I care and to help us both gain an understanding of what Sisterhood in Islam really means, Insha-Allah. I care about you because we share something that is more special than the whold world and all that it contains; we share the belief in the Onenesss of Allah (SWT) and the religion that He (SWT) has given to us. This is a gift that transcends any differences we may have in regard to race, color, nationality, culture or language. Being a sister in Islam is one of the many blessings that comes from acceptance of the true path of Allah (SWT). It is also a responsibility that we each have as members of the Muslim Ummah. To fufill our obligation, we first need to understand what is required of us.
This is what the bond of Sisterhood in Islam means to me, based upon the wisdom of Allah and his Prophet Muhammad (SAW),
"...And lower your wing for the believers (be courteous to the fellow-believers)." (Al-Hijr 15:88)
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"None of you has Iman (faith) until he desires for his brother (or sister) Muslim that which he desires for himself (or herself)." (Bukhari and Muslim)
He (SAW) also said,
"The Muslims in their mutual love, kindness and compassion are like the human body where when one of its parts is in agony the entire body feels the pain, both in sleeplessness and fever." (Bukhari and Muslim)
I love you for the sake of Allah (SWT) ...
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said,
"On the Day of Judgement, Allah, the Most High, will announce, 'Where are those who love each other for the sake of My pleasure? This day I am going to shelter them in the shade provided by Me. Today there is no shade except My shade." (Muslim)
I will be sure to tell you of my love, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"If a person loves his brother, he should inform him of this fact." (Abu Dawud and Tirmidi)
I will be merciful and compassionate toward you, Insha-Allah ...
Allah (SWT) says,
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against the disbelievers, and merciful among themselves..." (Al-Fath 48:29)
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"Do not be envious of other Muslims; do not overbid at auctions against another Muslim; do not have malice against a Muslim; do not go against a Muslim and forsake him; do not make an offering during a pending transaction. O' servants of Allah, be like brothers (or sisters) with each other. A Muslim is the brother (or sister) of another Muslim; do not hurt him (or her), or look down upon him (or her) or bring shame on him (or her). Piety is a matter of heart (The Prophet (SAW) repeated this thrice). It is enough evil for a person to look down upon his Muslim brother (or sister). The blood, property and honor of a Muslim is inviolable to a Musilm." (Muslim)
I will keep company with you, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"Keep company with a believer only, and let your food be eaten only by the righteous." (Abu Dawud and Tirmidi)
He (SAW) also said,
"A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so look whom you befriend." (Abu Dawud and Tirmidi)
I will help you when necessary and I will cover your shortcomings, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"One who helps a fellow Muslim in removing his (or her) difficulty in this world, Allah will remove the former's distress on the Day of Judgement. He who helps to remove the hardship of another, will have his difficulties removed by Allah in this world and in the Hereafter. One who covers the shortcomings of another Muslim, will have his faults covered up in this world and the next by Allah. Allah continues to help a servant so long as he goes on helping his own brother (or sister)." (Muslim)
I will encourage you to the right, Insha-Allah ...
Allah (SWT) says,
"The believers, men and women. are Auliya (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamio Monotheism and all that Islma orders one to do), and forbids (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they offer their prayers perfectly (Iqamat-as-Salat); and give the Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His mercy upon them. Surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise." (At-Tauba 9:71)
When the Prophet (SAW) instructed,
"Help your (Muslim) brother (or sister) when he commits a wrong and when a wrong is committed against him, someone asked, "O Messenger of Allah, I understand how I can help him if a wrong is committed against him, but how can I help him if he is himself committing a wrong?" At that the Prophet (SAW) answered, "Stopping him from committing the wrong is helping him." (Bukhari)
I will fulfill my minimum duties and beyond, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"A Muslim owes six obligations towards another Muslim: when you meet him (or her), salute him (or her) saying 'Assalamu Alaikum; when he (or she) invites you, accept his (or her) invitation; when he (or she) solicits your advice, advise him (or her) sincerely; when he (or she) sneezes and praises Allah, respond with the supplication Yarhamuk Allah (Allah have mercy on you); when he (or she) falls sick, visit him (or her); on his (or her) death, join his (or her funeral)." (Muslim)
He (SAW) also said,
"When a Muslim visits his (or her) Muslim brother (or sister) who is sick, he (or she) certainly gathers the fruits of Paradise until he (or she) returns (from visiting)." (Muslim)
You should understand, dear sister, that these are only some of the promises that I have made to you and to Allah (SWT), Insha-Allah. I will strive to fufill each of them to the best of my ability, Insha-Allah. Insha-Allah you will do the same for all of your sisters in Islam. This will not only enhance our bounds of Sisterhood, but will also strengthen the fibers of the Muslim Ummah as we acquire and utilize the wisdom of Islam, Insha-Allah. Our ultimate goal is to gain the pleasure of Allah (SWT), as well as His Mercy and Blessings, Insha-Allah. May we both find the true peace that comes with being a Muslim and attaing the highest of rewards: Paradise. Ameen!!!
With true love,
Your Sister in Islam
As Muslims sisters strive to gain knowledge about their religion and endeavor to increase their Iman, there is one issue of importance that often seems to be neglected. This is the issue of Sisterhood in Islam. Sisters may greet each other, spend time socializing, give gifts during happy occasions, cook for those who have a new baby, etc., but this is only the surface level of Sisterhood. To understand what this special relationship really means we must go much deeper than that. We need to go to the level of the heart from which the bonds of Sisterhood emanate. This relationship is very special because it involves a unique type of love; one that cannot be experienced in any other social connection. It is a feeling that is particularly extraordinary for those of us who are revert/converts to Islam. To really enjoy the beauty of this bond we need to completely comprehend the elements that are involved. A letter has been written to each of us to assist us in this endeavor, Insha-Allah. Let us put this knowledge in our hearts and we will begin to see the seeds of true Sisterhood grow into a beautiful, flowering plant, Insha-Allah.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Baraktuh
My Dear Sister in Islam:
Insha-Allah, everything is well with you and those close to you. I am writing this letter to let you know how much I care and to help us both gain an understanding of what Sisterhood in Islam really means, Insha-Allah. I care about you because we share something that is more special than the whold world and all that it contains; we share the belief in the Onenesss of Allah (SWT) and the religion that He (SWT) has given to us. This is a gift that transcends any differences we may have in regard to race, color, nationality, culture or language. Being a sister in Islam is one of the many blessings that comes from acceptance of the true path of Allah (SWT). It is also a responsibility that we each have as members of the Muslim Ummah. To fufill our obligation, we first need to understand what is required of us.
This is what the bond of Sisterhood in Islam means to me, based upon the wisdom of Allah and his Prophet Muhammad (SAW),
"...And lower your wing for the believers (be courteous to the fellow-believers)." (Al-Hijr 15:88)
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"None of you has Iman (faith) until he desires for his brother (or sister) Muslim that which he desires for himself (or herself)." (Bukhari and Muslim)
He (SAW) also said,
"The Muslims in their mutual love, kindness and compassion are like the human body where when one of its parts is in agony the entire body feels the pain, both in sleeplessness and fever." (Bukhari and Muslim)
I love you for the sake of Allah (SWT) ...
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said,
"On the Day of Judgement, Allah, the Most High, will announce, 'Where are those who love each other for the sake of My pleasure? This day I am going to shelter them in the shade provided by Me. Today there is no shade except My shade." (Muslim)
I will be sure to tell you of my love, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"If a person loves his brother, he should inform him of this fact." (Abu Dawud and Tirmidi)
I will be merciful and compassionate toward you, Insha-Allah ...
Allah (SWT) says,
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against the disbelievers, and merciful among themselves..." (Al-Fath 48:29)
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"Do not be envious of other Muslims; do not overbid at auctions against another Muslim; do not have malice against a Muslim; do not go against a Muslim and forsake him; do not make an offering during a pending transaction. O' servants of Allah, be like brothers (or sisters) with each other. A Muslim is the brother (or sister) of another Muslim; do not hurt him (or her), or look down upon him (or her) or bring shame on him (or her). Piety is a matter of heart (The Prophet (SAW) repeated this thrice). It is enough evil for a person to look down upon his Muslim brother (or sister). The blood, property and honor of a Muslim is inviolable to a Musilm." (Muslim)
I will keep company with you, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"Keep company with a believer only, and let your food be eaten only by the righteous." (Abu Dawud and Tirmidi)
He (SAW) also said,
"A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so look whom you befriend." (Abu Dawud and Tirmidi)
I will help you when necessary and I will cover your shortcomings, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"One who helps a fellow Muslim in removing his (or her) difficulty in this world, Allah will remove the former's distress on the Day of Judgement. He who helps to remove the hardship of another, will have his difficulties removed by Allah in this world and in the Hereafter. One who covers the shortcomings of another Muslim, will have his faults covered up in this world and the next by Allah. Allah continues to help a servant so long as he goes on helping his own brother (or sister)." (Muslim)
I will encourage you to the right, Insha-Allah ...
Allah (SWT) says,
"The believers, men and women. are Auliya (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamio Monotheism and all that Islma orders one to do), and forbids (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they offer their prayers perfectly (Iqamat-as-Salat); and give the Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His mercy upon them. Surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise." (At-Tauba 9:71)
When the Prophet (SAW) instructed,
"Help your (Muslim) brother (or sister) when he commits a wrong and when a wrong is committed against him, someone asked, "O Messenger of Allah, I understand how I can help him if a wrong is committed against him, but how can I help him if he is himself committing a wrong?" At that the Prophet (SAW) answered, "Stopping him from committing the wrong is helping him." (Bukhari)
I will fulfill my minimum duties and beyond, Insha-Allah ...
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"A Muslim owes six obligations towards another Muslim: when you meet him (or her), salute him (or her) saying 'Assalamu Alaikum; when he (or she) invites you, accept his (or her) invitation; when he (or she) solicits your advice, advise him (or her) sincerely; when he (or she) sneezes and praises Allah, respond with the supplication Yarhamuk Allah (Allah have mercy on you); when he (or she) falls sick, visit him (or her); on his (or her) death, join his (or her funeral)." (Muslim)
He (SAW) also said,
"When a Muslim visits his (or her) Muslim brother (or sister) who is sick, he (or she) certainly gathers the fruits of Paradise until he (or she) returns (from visiting)." (Muslim)
You should understand, dear sister, that these are only some of the promises that I have made to you and to Allah (SWT), Insha-Allah. I will strive to fufill each of them to the best of my ability, Insha-Allah. Insha-Allah you will do the same for all of your sisters in Islam. This will not only enhance our bounds of Sisterhood, but will also strengthen the fibers of the Muslim Ummah as we acquire and utilize the wisdom of Islam, Insha-Allah. Our ultimate goal is to gain the pleasure of Allah (SWT), as well as His Mercy and Blessings, Insha-Allah. May we both find the true peace that comes with being a Muslim and attaing the highest of rewards: Paradise. Ameen!!!
With true love,
Your Sister in Islam
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