SuhaibWebb.com | Broken Pieces of Clay and Pottery: A Lesson in Humanity

SuhaibWebb.com | Broken Pieces of Clay and Pottery: A Lesson in Humanity -
Broken Pieces of Clay and Pottery: A Lesson in Humanity

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT

By Farhia Yahya
I was once walking along a narrow but busy street in Cairo when ahead of me was a donkey-cart laden with handmade pottery and clay utensils. It belonged to an old man who had been walking slowly beside it, and trying to sell whatever he could to make an income. He walked with hunched-shoulders, a turban tied round his head like a Sa’idi from Upper Egypt, his face wrinkled by age and the harsh Egyptian sun. It wasn’t hard to see that many difficult years had passed over him and he had probably been doing this for a long while.
As I continued to walk, I heard a cry and some commotion. The donkey had staggered back (probably startled by something) and as a result, the harnessing pushed the cart upwards, sending the pottery and clay shattering out into the street. It was heartbreaking to see the poor man’s face turn dark and sorrowful. With a heavy heart, he began to pick up the broken and chipped pieces of clay and pottery; his livelihood and merchandise that no one was going to buy now.
But as he did so, I began to see random people come out of shops and apartments, hurrying towards him and picking up his pottery from the street. There was no more hustle and bustle; just a quiet silence as people stopped to help him. Cars stopped out of respect, or slowly diverted around the broken and chipped clay. What was truly moving was to see many people pull out money and give it to the man as if they were purchasing the broken clay, except they weren’t buying anything (other than Paradise I guess). Drivers stuck out money from their window for the poor aged man, and almost every person who helped pick up the pieces also chipped in with sadaqah (charity). They realized that today, he wasn’t going to be making much money… in fact for that whole month to come, he probably wasn’t going to be making much at all.
It was incredible to see the hearts of people move like this. Humanity may disappear and people may be cruel towards the poor in certain places and at certain times, but in other places and at other times, the humanity is truly beautiful.
Keep your heart close to the poor and needy; they help to keep it alive.

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How the Bible Led Me to Islam: The Story of a Former Christian Youth Min...

Don’t Leave the Mountain

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Dear Brother, I have known you since you were a teenager, and I have witnessed you bloom beautifully. When I saw you around friends and people in the community, and saw how steadfast on the deen (religion) you were, you reminded me of how Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (glorified is He) protected Musa and brought him up as a youth: “…and I bestowed upon you love from Me that you would be brought up under My eye.” (Qur’an 20:39) And you reminded me of the saying of the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him), as he describes how Allah (swt) chooses people to serve his deen (religion) like he chooses prophets and saints from the very hardness of dead rocks, sometimes roses do blossom: “Allah will continue to plant new people in this religion and use them in His obedience.’” (Hadith Hasan, Sunan Ibn Majah) And dear brother, I never told you this, but maybe now I should—that you were always in my du`a’ (supplication)—sometimes in my sujood (prostration) and after salah (prayer)—I made du`a’ that Allah would keep you steadfast, that Allah (swt) would continue to bestow his blessings upon you. I send you this letter today, because I see you have chosen to change…I see you getting higher in the ranks of life but more distant from competing for the hereafter; stronger in seeking worldly recognition, but weaker in the struggle for the akhira (hereafter); and I remember all the walks that we had together and shared our aspiration to grow stronger in this life to better serve this deen in the hopes that we can be great people in this world to be elements of change and reformation. I remember you telling me how proud our beloved Prophet ﷺ would be of you. I know that life keeps us busy, and I know that deep inside you still belong here with us in the lines standing and bowing in front of Allah (swt) and I am hopeful that you will reconsider. In the seerah (life) of our beloved Prophet ﷺ is a story with a great metaphor, which I wanted to share it with you, and dedicate the deep meanings of this metaphor to you. During the battle of Uhud, the Prophet ﷺordered around 50 archers to stay on top of the mountain and protect the back of the Muslim army. The Prophet strategically knew that Quraish could turn around from the back to attack the Muslims if this professional group of highly trained and skilled men left their position. The Prophet ﷺ was very clear in his instructions that these men are not to leave their spots: “Even if you see us snatched by wild birds, do not leave your spot until I send you a word.” Because they secured the back of the Muslim army, the Muslims had the upper hand in this battle, but not for too long. The archers saw the advancing Muslim army gaining control and collecting spoils of war, and most of the archers abandoned their spots running after the booties that Quraish left behind. They left the mountain. What happened after that, is the tragedy that we all know of in the battle of Uhud; the Muslims were uncovered, and Quraish indeed stabbed the army in the back. Had it not been for the divine protection of Allah (swt) and the bravery of a few believers who fought between the hands of our holy Prophet and sacrificed their lives for the life of the message, the Prophet ﷺ would have been killed. The lesson the Muslims learned on that day was very painful, but also very deep. The victory of Islam was in the hands of men who were of known expertise, and the ummah (Muslim community) was seriously harmed when these men let down their own people. Dear brother, please don’t leave the mountain. Our ummah needs men like you. The metaphor I see in this story is that of wasted talents of people who let down their own brethren, who in turn were sent as a mercy to mankind. In the life story of the Prophet, there were men who embraced Islam, and caused a turning point in the history of this ummah, and I have great hope in Allah that you can be among those men. Al-Hasan Al-Basri narrates that on the day of judgment Islam will be personified and will bear witness on people: “O Allah this person made me victorious. O Allah this person let me down…” until Islam reaches to Omar bin Al-Khattab radi Allahu` anhu (may God be pleased with him) and says: “O Allah, I was a stranger on this earth until this man became Muslim.” Don’t leave the mountain. Here, there is clarity of vision, and uniformity in direction: “Say: ‘Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.’” (Qur’an 6:162) Don’t leave the mountain. A mountain of eternal good deeds. We pray in rows shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, facing one direction, and the angels pray on us. We put our hands together to feed the poor and the needy, they raise their hands and make a prayer for us, prayers that are never veiled from the Lord of the heavens and the earth. “And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [Saying:] ‘We feed you only for countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.’” (Qur’an 76:8-9) “Who is it that would loan to Allah a goodly loan so He might multiply it for him many times over?” (Qur’an 2:245) We share the hopes, the laughs, the sighs; we break the fast together, and raise the hands in du`a’ together. “The Believer to the Believer is like a solid building, one part supporting the other.” (Bukhari) Dear brother, we are all here for you, and we miss you. It is never too late to come back, never too late to make a u-turn. We can come back to Allah (swt) without worrying about having to save face or answer to others. In the life story of the Prophet ﷺ were stories of men running, bulging through the door of the masjid, running to Allah (swt) from themselves and complaining to the Prophet of Allah about their sick hearts, and then returning with healed wounds and forgiven sins. Al-Imam Al-Nawawi mentions in his “Athkar” (and the hadith (narration) is in Al-Mustadrak of Al-Hakim), a story of a man who came to the Prophet of mercy ﷺ shouting: “Woe be to myself, I have sinned, woe be to myself I have sinned!” The Prophet ﷺ did not ask him about what kind of sin he committed nor where he came from, nor when was the last time he came to the masjid (mosque); instead he sat him down, and calmingly asked him to say the following: “O Allah your forgiveness is far more vast than my sins, and I have more hope in your mercy than in my own actions, so please forgive me,” then asked him to repeat it again, then again, then told him to stand up: “Allah has forgiven your sins.” Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that a man by the name of Nabhan, came to `Umar and said that a woman came to buy dates from him. During the course of their business, he told her that he had dates of better quality at his place, and took her inside and did everything with her except the actual act of sexual intercourse. `Umar said, “Woe unto you! She probably was a woman whose husband is away (fighting) in the path of Allah.” The man said, “Of course she was.” `Umar then said, “Go to Abu Bakr and ask him about this.” The man went to Abu Bakr and asked him about the matter. Abu Bakr said, “She probably was a woman whose husband is away (fighting) in the path of Allah,” just as `Umar had said. Then he went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him the same story. The Prophet said she probably was a woman whose husband is away (fighting) in the path of Allah. Then a verse of Qur’an was revealed, “And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds.” (Qur’an:11:114) The man then said, “O Messenger of Allah! Is this verse only for me, or does it apply to all of the people in general?” `Umar then struck the man on his chest with his hand and said, “No, rather it is for all of the people in general.” Then the Messenger of Allah said, “`Umar has spoken the truth.” These are real stories of men and women who heard the Qur’an from the Prophet ﷺ and listened to his wisdom; they fell short sometimes, they realized the ugliness of their sins, but they were never estranged from their faith, and kept coming back to Allah (swt) and His Messenger ﷺ, throwing their heavy burdens at the front steps of Allah asking for forgiveness, that they were graciously granted. Dear brother, we might change at times, but these changes don’t have to be permanent. We might go about trying things that can be of psychological and spiritual burden, but these exposures do not necessarily define us. Our hearts can become loathsome with the darkness of estrangement from Allah (swt), but this does not have to be our fate. These dilemmas we all struggle with in our lives, this is part of our very human nature, and this is why the door back to Allah (swt) is always open: “Say: ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Qur’an 39:53) Dear brother, the door is open. Please come back! —Othman

SuhaibWebb.com | A Prophetic Way of Teaching -

SuhaibWebb.com | A Prophetic Way of Teaching - A Prophetic Way of Teaching

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT

The traditions of the Prophet ﷺ, namely in the form of sayings (hadith) as well as being a source of law and religious guidance, also holds many other meanings and lessons, available to those who read it analytically. This is alluded to in the following Hadith:

“May Allah brighten [the face of] a person who hears a hadith from us, and reports it as he heard it, for perhaps the one whom the hadith is reported to, is more understanding than the one who reported it to them.” (Tirmidhi)

In this short article, we’ll explore a hadith with this in mind. However, at the outset, it is important to remember that this is ‘a’ prophetic method, not ‘the’ only and exclusive prophetic way, as the Prophet ﷺ often would address those present according to their intellectual capacity. As he said:

Treat people according to their ranks/ability/status (Abu Dawud)¹

Thus a philosopher or an academic will be engaged in different discussion than a simple nomad.
From Universals to Particulars
A man migrated (hijra) from Mecca to Medina because he intended to marry a woman called Umm Qays. The woman said she will accept his proposal only if he migrated. Thus he became known as ‘the migrator to Umm Qays’. The man then went to ask the Prophet ﷺ about the status of his action, will he get the reward for making the hijra? To this, the Prophet ﷺ replied,

 “Actions are by their intentions and every man (or woman) shall have what they intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger ﷺ, his migration was for Allah and His messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated.” (Bukhari)

The Prophet ﷺ first stated a universal (kulli or jinse):

“Actions are by their intentions and every man (or woman) shall have what they intended.”

He then applied this universal to two general categories (naw`):  Doing something for the hereafter, and doing something for this world.
He then placed the actual case in hand, i.e. migrating for the purpose of marriage, under the ‘mundane’ category (`ayn):

Universal	General	Particular
“Actions are by their intentions”	Hereafter
	Mundane	Marriage

One of the strengths of this approach is that you not only answer the specific question under discussion, but also equip the questioner with the knowledge necessary to answer any other question of a similar nature. Furthermore, your questioner benefits from the fact that you expose your line of reasoning.
This Prophetic method is utilised by many Islamic jurists when they, like the Prophet ﷺ, answer questions. Moreover, as Imam Ibn al-Qayyim mentions, it allows breadth for the jurist to answer questions by including additional, but relevant, knowledge. By extension, it is completely acceptable for a Muslim to ask the jurist or mufti for his reasoning when the latter issues a legal response (fatwa), and the jurist should not be offended by this, as that would indicate he deems himself above the Prophetic method.
This approach of moving from generals to particulars is also employed in the science of Qawā’id Fiqhiyya (legal maxims), which unfortunately is not studied except by dedicated students of the Islamic sciences, more specifically those who are training to issue legal rulings (fatwa).
Lastly, it is important for us to note that this is not something jurists or scholars employ just to show intellectual prowess as is sometimes alluded to. As well as having a discourse which accommodates everyone, it is also vital that we appreciate and keep alive our intellectual rigour and sophistication. We need not ‘dumb everything down’, all in the name of accessibility. Sometimes, the onus is on the student, to ‘up her game’.
Employing This Method in Our Discourses
Of course, this method is probably not the easiest to grasp at first, and thus it needn’t be used all the time, however, to be better equipped at ‘internalising’ the logic of the Shari’a (Islamic law), it is indispensable. This will allow a person to acquire a new level of understanding, one that is deeper than simple do’s and don’ts. This eventually leads a person to grasp the aims and purposes (maqāsid) of the Shari`a, at least to some degree.
The Common Method
The more common method when teaching Islamic law and ethics, however, is to cover each issue individually with its ruling, i.e. the particulars only. This is due to its expediency and the fact that it equips people to immediately deal with the issue at hand and know the Shar’ia stance towards it. This is also a method employed by our Prophet ﷺ.
Can you think of any examples where the Prophet ﷺ uses this method? Write them in the comments section below!

1. There is discussion over the authenticity of this Hadith. Nonetheless it has been narrated through several chains of narrations (isnad) all of which strengthen each other.

SuhaibWebb.com | Qur’an – The Centripetal Force

Qur’an – The Centripetal Force

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT

By Mehreen Omer
Life has always been a mystery for me; it is an enigma perhaps no one can solve. But one thing that I’ve been able to discern from my life is that the Qur’an keeps your life in order. The longer and the further you go away from it, the greater the chance of your life going out of control. The Qur’an is that very centripetal force that prevents us from delving into total chaos.
And I say that out of experience. Time and time again, someone was trying to teach me a lesson; someone was telling me beware. And time and time again, I tried to keep my heart shut to any advice. I was warned several times, and I still ignored. I was told by my conscience to keep reading and understanding the Qur’an, but I was too busy to believe it was such a big priority.
Ever since my dad passed away, everything completely changed. All my relationships and friendships became superficial – or perhaps I became too cynical to call them any better. Trying to struggle in this world and fighting out your way all alone is something that supposedly makes hero. It made me a monster.
If there was anything that consoled me during my hardest of times, it was the Qur’an. It gave life to a despairing heart – literally. When I look back at how I managed to keep calm during the first few months after I lost my dad, I realize it was nothing more than my closeness to the Qur’an and understanding through it that this life is temporary.
But then this world overpowered me – I wanted to be successful and make lots of money so that I could keep my family happy – a family that had no son to do the job. I started pushing people away, becoming irritated at the slightest of disturbances. I thought being rude to people was justified given my predicament. It wasn’t. I left reading the Qur’an as I became too busy in my studies and other work. I started leaving my prayers for the first time in my life.
Reality set in when I realized how lonely I’d become. I had no one to rely on to. This paved the way for despair – there was a time when I asked Allah to just take my life, since I found nothing in this life worth living for. But I couldn’t die; I had done so many bad deeds that I had to make up for. Life soon became a torture, I cannot even explain to myself.
As I write this article, I see the Qur’an right next to me waiting for me to open it. How many times has Allah (swt) explained in the Qur’an that everything will perish, except His Majesty? How many times has Allah (swt) told us not to get too much attached to this world because it is a mirage that only disappoints you if you try to make it your final destination? How many times has Allah (swt) spoken directly to my heart and told me to come back to the friend who never leaves? What in the world would make me realize that the reason for my sadness is not the tragedy of life itself, but my abandonment of the Qur’an?
Because no matter how hard we try for the pursuit of happiness, the only thing that will give us so is its true source.
“Only in remembrance of Allah (swt) will your heart find peace.” (Qur’an 13:28)
Perhaps before falling in to despair, we should think if we have tried all doors. Because maybe, the only door we have not tried is the one that was there right in front of our eyes all the time.

NO MAN IS TRUE BELIEVER

SuhaibWebb.com | Start with the Qur’an

Start with the Qur’an

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT

Lecture by Suhaib Webb | Transcribed by Fuseina Mohamad
Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31
The Prophet ﷺ  (peace be upon him) said in a hadith recorded in Bukhari, related by Uthman ibn Affan:

“.خيركم من تعلم القرآن و علمه”

“The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.”
The word  تَعَلَّمَ  ta`allam is in a form which means takalluf (effort/exertion), meaning that the person struggled to learn the Qur’an, that their learning the Qur’an required effort and difficulty. Similarly, yesterday we talked about nations before us that struggled to carry the Torah. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) uses the word hummilu at-Torah (they struggled to carry it).
خيركم khayrukum means the best of the Muslims. This shows that the success, honor, respect and glory of this Ummah is with the book of Allah (swt). That’s why I encourage our brothers and sisters who become Muslim that, after learning prayer and other basics of Islam, they should focus on the Qur’an. Find someone who can teach you the Qur’an. I meet Muslim brothers who tell me all the bad things about a particular scholar. I ask the brother if he can read Surah Fatiha. I find that he cannot even read the Qur’an properly, but he was able to speak about a scholar of Islam. What kind of Islam is this? When the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ  became Muslim, the first thing they concentrated on was Qur’an and how to pray. Alhamdullilah (praise be to God), I thank my teacher in Oklahoma. He was a large man from Senegal. When I became Muslim he grabbed me and he said, “Listen, learn the Qur’an and learn Arabic. Don’t waste your time with groups.” I remember he told me some stories about Senegal that I want to share with you.
First he said: “In my town in Senegal (St. Louis, which is next to Mauritania) if someone amongst the people of knowledge wants to get married he must first memorize the Qur’an, pray taraweeh with the Qur’an and also memorize the Mu’wattah of Imam Maalik.” Of course this is difficult for us today—we have difficulty memorizing the 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi, but this criteria shows us the level of their study.
Then, my teacher told me that he finished learning the 10 major qiraat (recitations) of the Qur’an and he learned that from his sister. He said, “My father considered the Qur’an to be a simple pre-requisite that had to be done, and so he didn’t teach it to me. My father was busy teaching usool al fiqh (philosophy of Islamic Law), lugha (language), hadith (traditions of the Prophet ﷺ ) etc. My father told me that for the examination to get the real ijaazah (certification) we would be given empty notebooks. Then we had to write from Surat Al-Fatiha to Surat An-Nas in two weeks. Every day you had to write a certain amount of Qur’an, which would then be given to the Sheikh. They read what you write and if you made even one mistake, you don’t get an ijaazah. Just one mistake. I asked my teacher, “Where is your book in which you wrote the Quran?” He said, “No, we don’t keep it. It is a gift for our Sheikh.”
The third story he told me is about his grandfather who was the Mufti of Senegal. He said one day a group of youth came to his grandfather and told him they wanted to study the philosophy of Islamic Law. He said, “No.” They asked, “Why?” He asked them, “How much Qur’an have you memorized?” They replied, “We’ve memorized twelve ajzaa (parts).” He said, “Start with Qur’an. Forget usool al-fiqh.”
The Qur’an is very important, and we should not neglect it. If you have the time and the resources of people available to teach you,,then you will be asked by Allah (swt) why you didn’t study and make the effort to learn. One of my teachers, Sh. Muhammed Al Mahdi from Al-Jazaair in Egypt, started to teach five subjects every day after Fajr. I stopped going to this class of his, and one day he came to me and said, “I’m going to bear witness against you on the Day of Judgment that you didn’t come to class.” Then, I started to come to class!
How many of us want to be the chosen people of Allah (swt)? The Prophet ﷺ  said,

“.أهل القرآن أهل الله و خاصته”

“The people of the Qur’an are the people of Allah (swt) and His chosen people.”

A Moment in Black History

SuhaibWebb.com | A Moment in Black History

A Moment in Black History

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT

The Legacy of The Hon. Elijah Muhammad
By Imam Ivan G. Nassar
This article was submitted as a part of the “Expressions of the African American Muslim Experience” call for submissions.
“Yes, today the Muslims are in all the major cities of America, and if you look around in the smaller cities you will find us there also. Just walk around saying, ‘as-salaamu alaikum’ (peace be with you), and pretty soon someone will reply, ‘Wa- alaikum- assalaam’  (and upon you be peace).” —Elijah Muhammad’s Atlanta speech, 1961
When Elijah Muhammad spoke these words, there was hardly a black family in America that did not have a near relative or know someone who identified with the religion of Islam; these facts remain true today. Experts agree that Islam is the fastest growing religion among African Americans. “It’s an American phenomenon,” says Yvonne Haddad, a professor of history of Islam and Christian and Muslim relations at Georgetown University. “Starting from the ghettoes of the north, it is a response to racism; it is the religion of liberation.”
The professor’s points are valid; however, the professor fails to cite the genetic bond and historical connection that made Islam a legitimate choice for many African Americans. West Africa is the progenitor of African American history. Legendary Arab historians and eminent African scholars have documented the dignity and grandeur of the royal Islamic empire of Ghana, which served as the ancestral model for the Islamic empires of Mali, Songhay, and Kanem Bornu. According to the Arab historian and writer, al-Umari, the fame of West African Emperor Mansa Kankan Musa of Mali spread from Sudan, North Africa, and up to Europe.
The origin of the philosophy of the Nation of Islam is accreted to the mystic teacher Fard Muhammad who appeared in Detroit, Michigan in July 1930. Before his mysterious disappearance in 1934, he appointed his prize pupil Elijah Muhammad to lead the Nation of Islam, thus beginning the legacy of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad who would become one of the most feared and respected black men in American.
Elijah Muhammad taught and emphasized morality with respect to oneself and others. He also introduced a hypothesis of separation from the white race, believing that blacks should have their own state or territory. The first publication of the Nation of Islam newspaper bore the title “Some of this Earth to Call Our Own.”
Where home, schools and churches failed, leaving thousands of African Americans languishing under the imposition of social disparities, many African Americans viewed Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam as their saving grace. People who were once considered thugs, prostitutes, and dope addicts converted to Islam by the thousands. The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson once said about Elijah Muhammad, “He took dope out of veins and put hope in our brains.”
Elijah Muhammad won an important convert when Malcolm X joined the faith in a prison cell. Malcolm became a public figure and spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1960s. With the leadership of Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam became a movement to be reckoned with. A year before his death in 1964, Malcolm separated himself from Elijah Muhammad and its black supremacy teachings.
Other important converts of Elijah Muhammad include Louis Farrakhan and boxing legend Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay). Minister Farrakhan (Louis X) took over the roll of the official spokesperson for the Nation of Islam.
Elijah Muhammad died of congestive heart failure at the age of seventy-seven on Feb. 25,1975. Twenty thousand mourners attended his funeral rites as Muslims mourned the loss of their leader.
Wallace D. Muhammad, the fifth son of Elijah Muhammad, became the undisputed leader of the movement. Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang professor and chairman of the African Study Department at Howard University called him ‘the Transformer in Chief’. He wrote, “Wallace shepherded the Nation of Islam into the fold of Sunni Islam.”
As the new leader moved closer to the beliefs and practices of Islam as experienced in most of the Muslim world, the movement split and Minister Louis Farrakhan became the leader for those who wanted to continue the unorthodox practice established by Elijah Muhammad.
Elijah Muhammad had a major role in the shaping of African American history. It was Elijah who spearheaded the fame of Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan (Wallace), and Warith D. Mohammed; and he helped shape the character of boxing champ Muhammad Ali. All are products of his legacy.

SuhaibWebb.com | I’m Better Than You

I’m Better Than You

Transcribed by Abdul Alim Abdullah

The following story is an extract from ibn al-Jawzī’s Ocean of Tears.

It has been related through some reports that there was a man who was from amongst the Islāmic jurists of Baghdād. He was a source of knowledge and authority for the people in addition to being a great and noble shaykh.

One time he desired to perform Hajj to Allāh’s Sacred House and to visit the grave of His Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him). He gathered some of the students who used to study with him and they set out for the journey placing their full trust in Allāh, Exalted is He.

During their travels they came upon a Christian monastery. They had become exhausted and fatigued from the heat of the sun and thirst. The students said to the shaykh, “Our dear teacher, let us take refuge at the monastery until the weather becomes cooler and then we’ll set out again.” The shaykh said to them, “Do as you please.” They then went to the monastery and settled at its walls. The students slept, but the shaykh did not.

The shaykh left the students sleeping with no other concern except to search for some water to perform wuḍū’. As he was searching for the water he raised his head and saw a young woman whose beauty emanated like the sun. At this moment Iblīs gained control of his heart and he forgot about the water and wuḍū’. He did not have any concern now except for this young woman. He went to the monastery’s gate and knocked upon it intensely. A priest came out and asked, “Who are you?”

The shaykh introduced himself.

The priest said, “And what do you want, O jurist of the Muslims?”

The shaykh said, “Dear priest, that young woman who appeared at the top of the monastery. Who is she?”

The priest said, “She is my daughter. What’s your business with her?”

The shaykh said, “I want you to marry her to me.”

The priest said, “That is something not permissible in our religion. If it were permissible, I would marry her to you even without consulting her. However, she made a covenant upon herself that she would not marry anyone whom she is not pleased with. I will go to her and inform her about you, and if she is pleased I’ll marry her to you.”

The shaykh said, “My warmest love and honor to you.”

The priest then went to his daughter and informed her of what transpired as the shaykh listened nearby.

She said, “My dearest father, how could you marry me to him? I am a Christian and he is a Muslim. No marriage will occur until he becomes a Christian.”

When she said that, the priest replied, “So if he accepts your religion will you marry him?”

She said, “Yes.”

As these events were unfolding, the noble scholar was becoming overly passionate. Iblīs began to beautify all of this to him while his companions were in deep sleep with no knowledge of what had happened to their teacher.

The shaykh approached the young woman and said, “I have rejected Islām and have accepted your religion.”

She said to him, “A marriage destined to happen! However, it is from my rights of marriage that there is a dowry payment. So, where is my dowry? I see you as someone poor, but if you herd these pigs over here for one whole year, I will accept that as a dowry.”

He said, “Sure, I will do that. But I have a condition that you do not conceal your face from me so that I may look at you throughout the day and night.” She agreed.

He took his cane that he used to lean upon during his public sermons and went to the pigs, driving them towards the pasture.

All of this happened while his companions were asleep. When they awoke they began to look for their teacher, but with no success. They asked the priest about him, and he told them what happened.

Some of them fell down unconscious, others cried and wailed. Others felt great regret for what happened to him.

They then asked the priest, “Where is he?”

He said, “He is herding pigs.”

They went to him and found him leaning upon his cane—the one on which he used to lean during his public sermons. This time around he was herding pigs with it. They said to him, “Our dear teacher, what is this misfortune that has happened to you?” They began to remind him of the virtues of Islām and the Qur’ān, and the virtues of Muḥammad ﷺ. They proceeded to recite some verses of the Qur’ān to him, as well as Prophetic traditions.

He said to them, “Get away from me! I am more knowledgeable with what you are reminding me with. This ordeal of mine is from the Lord of the Worlds.”

His companions said, “We tried convincing him to come with us but we were not able to. Thus, we left him and proceeded to Makkah with a feeling of regret for him in our hearts.

They performed their Hajj and began their journey back to Baghdād. When they came across the same monastery on the way back, they said, “Let us go see what our teacher has done. Perhaps he felt regret over his actions and repented to Allāh, Exalted is He, and returned to his previous state.”

They went to him and found him in the same situation, herding the pigs. They conveyed their salām to him, gave him reminders, and recited some Qur’ān to him, but he gave no response. They left him and the regret for him in their hearts intensified.

As they distanced themselves from the monastery in a state of mourning, someone began to come from the direction of the monastery crying out to them, and they stopped. It was their shaykh and he joined them once again.

He said, “I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allāh, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh. I have repented to Allāh and have abandoned what I was upon. All of this has happened because of a sin between me and my Lord, and He wanted to punish me and thus you witnessed the ordeal I was in.”

The students were happy beyond belief and returned to Baghdād. The shaykh engaged in acts of worship and self-struggling far more than what he used to do. One day while they were reading to the shaykh, there was a knock at the door and it turned out to be a young woman. The students asked her, “What do you need, young lady?”

She said, “I want to speak to the shaykh.”

They went to the shaykh and told her that she was so-and-so, the daughter of the priest. She came to accept Islām at his hands. He permitted her to enter and she said to him, “My master, I have come to accept Islām at your hands.”

The shaykh said, “What is your story?”

She said, “When you left me, I became weary and fell asleep. I saw in my dream `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, may Allāh be pleased with him, and he said to me: ‘There is no religion except the religion of Muḥammad, may Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him.’ He said that three times and then said: ‘And Allāh will not test one of His righteous servants through you.’ So now I have come to you, standing here in front of you to say that I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allāh, and I bear witness that Muḥammad his the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him.”

The shaykh rejoiced that Allāh blessed her with Islām upon his hands. He then married her based upon the law of Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ.

The students asked him about the sin that he committed that was between him and Allāh.

He replied, “One day I was walking in a path when a Christian man grabbed a hold of me. I said: ‘Get away from me! May Allāh’s curse be upon you!’

He asked, ‘Why?’

I told him: ‘I am better than you.’

The Christian man turned to me and said, ‘And how do you know that you are better than me? Do you know of the matters with Allāh that would lead you to say such words?’

After some time, news reached me that this Christian man accepted Islām, lived it in a beautiful manner, and was persistent in his worship. Thus, Allāh tested me because of this as you have witnessed.”

We ask Allāh for a state of spiritual well-being in this life and the Hereafter.

Regarding the Permissibility of Music

Question:

Some scholars and many zealous laymen claim that there is a consensus among jurists as to the prohibition of listening to any music with musical instruments. Some Imams say the opinion that allows it is a strange (شاذ) opinion, which is rejected as baseless by all prominent scholars and schools of thought. If this is true, how can so many Imams and scholars allow this new phenomenon of Islamic music using instruments?
Answer:

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة و سلام على رسول الله

In the name of Allah, and all praise and thanks is due to Allah,  and may He send peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad

It is quite true that—historically—the prevalent (جمهور) opinion in Islamic jurisprudence regarding the use of and listening to musical instruments is that of prohibition (حرام). It is the official opinion of the four schools of thought, although various scholars from different schools held it is only disliked (مكروه) and many others deemed it permissible with the condition that the song is not immoral. It is not true that there is a consensus on it or that the opinion of permissibility is a strange opinion, which is a divergence from clear teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah. In today’s world there are a growing number of prominent scholars that allow listening to instruments that don’t accompany sinful poetry (song).
We will—with divine support—show that this issue is a matter of legitimate disagreement based on scholarly derivation and interpretation (اجتهاد). Unfortunately, one of the main reasons for this research is that there is actually a movement among modern scholars to dismiss, suppress, or misrepresent the opinion of permissibility!
There is a claim that no prominent scholars ruled for the permissibility of musical instruments except for Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is purported to solely rely on a strange opinion of Imam Ibn Hazm. This is false. There are hundreds, dare I say thousands, of scholars who held the permissibility of listening to music as long as the song is morally upright. The following are some of the most prominent scholars (mujtahideen) in our history who, not only deemed it permissible, but in some cases wrote a whole research to prove it!

• Abdullah bin Ja’far bin Abi Talib (al-Aqd al-Fareed 6/12)
• Sh. Abu Hamed al-Ghazali (vol. 6 pg. 1150 al-Ihyaa’)
• Imam al-Shawkani (Ibtal da’wa al-Ijmaa ala mutlaq al-Sama’)
• Imam ibn Hazm (Al-Muhallah)
• Imam Abdul-Ghani al-Nablusi (Idaahat al-Dalalaat fee sama’ al-alaat)
• Sultan al-Ulema al-Iz ibn Abdul-Salam (Rislat al-Sama’)
• Al-Qadi Ibn Qutaiba al-Daynoor (al-Rukhsah fi al-Sama’)
• Imam Ibn Tahir al-Qaysirany (pg. 31 al-Sama’)
• Imam al-Thahabi (al-Rukhsah fil-Ghinaa wa al-Turb)
• Abu Talib al-Makky (Qoot al-Quloob)
• al-Qady Ibn Al-Araby al-Makky (Ahkam al-Quran vol. 3 pg. 1494)
• Sh. Yusuf al-Majishoon the prominent Muhaddith (#3399 ibn al-Khuthayma)
• Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid (Iqtinas al-Sawanih)
• Sh. Jad Ali jad al-Haqq (fatawah #3280)
• Sh. Mahmood Al-Shaltoot (pg. 375 fatawaah)

May God shower them all with His Mercy!
Some scholars try to say that many of these scholars were simply saying that it is permissible to listen to songs a cappella—and some of their works do make that point in addition to the permissibility of also using musical instruments. Each one of these references refers to the opinion of permissibility for songs with instruments.
The following are the juristic proofs used to illustrate prohibition and the response from the scholars who are not convinced by the evidence or who see the evidence in a different way:
From the Qur’an: There are two verses which are interpreted as justifying prohibition supporting the clearer hadith (narration) on the subject. They are as follows:

“There are some people who buy distracting/entertaining speech without knowledge in order to mislead people from the path of God…” (Qur’an 31:6)
Only a couple out of the dozens of exegetes thought this had anything to do with musical instruments.
Many exegetes took the more common path of general meaning in the absence of an authentic text and said it refers to preferring or liking to listen to false speech, thus distracting one from Islam.
The vast majority of exegetes said it is talking about the singing of jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic days). Imam al-Qurtubi said that this and the other verse are those that the scholars use as evidence for the disliked (مكروه) nature of singing. Imam al-Qurtubi also narrates that this verse was revealed in the life of the Prophet ﷺ when a man bought a slave known for singing unIslamic songs of jahiliyyah (ignorance).
Many exegetes pointed out a weak hadith that is strengthened by the aforementioned circumstantial cause of revelation. The weak hadith states:
“لا يحل بيعُ المُغنّياتِ ولا شِراؤهنّ وثمنهنّ حرامٌ”
“It is prohibited to buy or sell women singers of jahiliyyah. The price of such transaction is prohibited.”
The evidence for prohibition of Islamic Music in this verse is very weak. Any true scholar will surely admit that the verse is not evidence in and of itself; rather it is supportive to a couple hadiths and the position of many Companions.
The second verse is:

“(God is saying to Satan) Incite whoever you can among them with your voice…” (Qur’an 17:64)
Some scholars from the early generations said this is literal and it means that Satan is whispering to us to follow him and disobey God as is mentioned in the famous verse in Surah Ibrahim, “I had no authority over you except that I called you and you followed me…” (Qur’an 14:22). The great Imam of tafsir (exegesis) al-Tabari took the position as is his style that it is general and since there is no clear evidence specifying what is meant by “your voice” then it is taken literally and generally.
Many other scholars noted that the verse is talking about playing (لعب) and wasting time (لهو). Once again, no real scholar will claim that this verse in and of itself can be used to prohibit listening to music.
Let’s see what evidence we can find from the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet ﷺ):
There is a hadith mentioned as an attachment (معلق) to a section in the authentic collection of Bukhari under the chapter of drinks #5590 titled those who seek permission of drinking alcohol by calling it another name. Imam al-Bukhari did not put the Hadith as an official Hadith in his authentic collection. According to Imam al-Muhallab the reason was because Hisham was not sure of the name of the companion (Al-Ibtal Al-Shawkani pg. 9) The hadith goes:
ليكونَنَّ من أمَّتي أقوامٌ ، يستحلُّونَ الحِرَ والحريرَ ، والخمرَ والمعازِفَ
“There will be a group of people from my nation who will deem silk, alcohol and musical instruments as permissible…”
Some hadith scholars found a connected chain for this type of hadith. The most famous is the book by Ibn Hajr in his book “closing the attachments” (تغليق التعليق). There are scholars who argued against his assertions, but even if we were to accept his findings about a connection between al-Bukhari and Hisham bin Ammar there is still a problem with Hisham as a narrator among some prominent hadith scholars.
There are many concerning issues with this hadith. According to Imam al-Thahabi in his famous 4-volume book Mizan al-I’tidaal which accounts for all the weak narrators he could gather. Imam al-Thahabi mentions that Hisham bin Ammar used to be a veracious narrator, then he changed. He has narrated 400 hadiths that have no basis. He used to not narrate unless someone paid him. He was accused of changing the text. Imam Ahmad said he was reckless. Some narrated that he said the Qur’an has words from Gabriel and Muhammad ﷺ and is created speech.
Ibn Hajar acknowledges this, but justifies his ruling of the hadith through a different narration that has someone else narrating it other than Hisham. That hadith varies in text but does mention the people deeming musical instruments as permissible (which linguistically and logically doesn’t necessarily mean that it is prohibited). The next problem with this hadith, which is not solved by Ibn Hajar’s book, is a narrator named Atiyah bin Qays.
Atiyah bin Qays was a righteous man who hadith scholars agreed regarding his character and honesty (عدالة), but there is an issue among some scholars about his precision of memory and narrating (ضبط). Some famous scholars of hadith call him trustworthy (ثقة) just because he is a known pious man while the issue of his precision with hadith is unknown (مجهول). Some of them said although he is acceptable (far from Saheeh ) to be careful in narrating from him. This is mentioned by the hadith scholar Abu Hatem al-Razi in his book al-Jarh wa al-Ta’deel 2/37 and by Abu Bakr al-Bazzaar in his book Kashf al-Astar 1/106.
This is the best proof that the proponents of prohibition bring forth according to them. Other hadiths are relying on this one. For example:
ليكونن في هذه الأمة خسف، وقذف، ومسخ، وذلك إذا شربوا الخمور، واتخذوا القينات، وضربوا بالمعازف
“There will be disgrace and defamation in this nation when they will drink alcohol and listen to music (literally female singers while beating on instruments).” (al-Suyooti al-Sagheer 7720)
Even a layman can see that the linguistic connotation does not in any way show a prohibition for listening to music, but rather a prohibition of the “party” scene. There are many other hadiths like this one that show that the combination of alcohol and music is a shameful and immoral scene. On this fact there is a consensus among scholars.  Even in the narration of the other hadith seen as the strongest proof, there are variations which focus on drinking alcohol by a different name and don’t even mention musical instruments. Thus Imam Bukhari’s precise classification.
Many people feel that even though we see the issues in the proofs used for prohibiting music, still it is the official opinion of the 4 main schools of thought and that shows that it was clear to those scholars who know better than us. The assumption here is that every scholar from the different schools of thought over the centuries was a mujtahid and was willing to challenge the opinion and evidence of his own school. This was simply just not the case as Dr. Mana’ al-Qattan narrates in his book on the history of legislation in Islamic history. He elucidates on the well-known unfortunate part of our history known as the closing of the doors to juristic reasoning (إغلاق باب الاجتهاد). For close to 8 centuries, most of the scholars passed down by memory and book most of the rulings of Islamic Law. For various reasons, they were uncomfortable with people changing or questioning popular rulings. Some of those who didn’t agree with this methodology like Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) or al-Suyooti (ra) were seen as dissidents. There is also some historical evidence that this ruling of prohibition of all music was heavily promoted toward the end of the Abbasi Caliphate because of the widespread immorality with music and drinking as many of the hadiths indicate. In my research, which really requires a whole book, there is more than meets the eye on the prevalence of the opinion prohibiting all instrumental music.
Proofs for the Permission of Good, Morally Upright Music:

1. There is a false claim that the Companions all prohibited it. Abdullah bin al-Zubair used to keep women playing guitars (lutes) and singing in his presence. (Idahaat al-Dalalat al-Nablusi 96)
2. There is no disagreement about the Ibrahim bin Sa’d bin Abdul Rahman bin Awf listening to songs with guitars (al-Sama’ Ibn Tahir 63)
3. Jews have always attributed music to Prophet David ‘alahi assalatu wassalam (peace and blessings be upon him). It is in the Bible, “The priests stood in waiting at their assigned places, along with the descendants of Levi who carried musical instruments used in service to the LORD that King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD—because his gracious love is eternal…” (2 Chronicles 7:6). So in the following hadith and commentary we have some solid evidence for the praise of good music:

يا أبا موسى ، لقد أوتيتَ مِزمارًا مِن مزاميرِ آلِ داود

“Abu Musa, Surely you have been given a voice like the music of David.” (Bukhari 5048)

Many scholars want to say that this hadith is simply referring to a beautiful voice. When we look into Ibn Hajar’s explanation of this hadith he comments with another sound hadith, “I entered Abu Musa’s house and I have not heard a cymbal, lute or a flute better than his voice.” (al-Fath)

The clear linguistic indication here is that the Prophet ﷺ is talking about musical instruments as though they are beautiful and delightful. That cannot be the case in something prohibited. It would be like him saying to his companion who earned a lot of money, “That’s even better than hijacking a caravan!”

4. Imam al-Thahabi’s recordings about scholars in his book on prominent Muslims. Here are two examples:

“Ishaaq al-Nadeem an Imam who was a great scholar master of many sciences. Known for music with untainted poetry…” (Siyar 11/118)

“Ulayyah sister of the commander of the faithful Haroon al-Rasheed ‘Well-refined poetess known for singing and music with a pleasant voice. A modest pious women of precedence…’” (Siyar 10/187)

There are hadiths that led many scholars from the schools of thought to permit listening to drums. Other prominent Malikis and Shafi’ees (two different schools of thought) allowed trumpets, flutes and tambourines. Those are all musical instruments and the Islamic legal practice of analogy (قياس) allows other instruments in the absence of a clear text prohibiting them.
Whichever opinion you feel is stronger, you are welcome to follow. Please don’t judge someone else because they follow a different opinion than you. Our scholars teach us the following principle in dealing with law—there shall be no rebuking in matters of legitimate disagreement.
لا إنكار في مسائل الاختلاف . Islam has a rich tradition of knowledge that by divine decree has differing interpretations as to the details of law. Only God owns the absolute truth.
If you choose to listen to music, observe piety and do not listen to immoral music or choose to be in immoral environments. There is no doubt that much of today’s music is prohibited by Islam and even some Islamic music still brings bad environments.

Just because you have witnessed some bad

Just because you have witnessed some bad from someone, it doesn't mean that they are not capable of good.(Saad Tasleem)

Bumpy start for Islam classes in Germany | Germany | DW.DE | 05.03.2013

Bumpy start for Islam classes in Germany | Germany | DW.DE | 05.03.2013
Since the start of the school year, Islamic religious instruction has been offered at selected schools. However, very few children are receiving the classes due to a serious shortage of teachers.

Huseyin Cetin teaches Islamic religious instruction in Marxloh, a heavily Muslim section of Duisburg in the Ruhr Valley industrial region of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), where Duisburg is located, is the first state in Germany to offer Islamic religious instruction. But the introduction of the classes has been bumpy. There are 100,000 Muslim elementary school children in NRW, but there are only enough teachers to instruct 2,000 pupils.

Huseyin Cetin is one of the first 40 qualified teachers

The problem was expected. It will take some time to provide blanket coverage across the state, admits Sylvia Löhrmann, the NRW education minister. "But what is the alternative? We could not have trained the teachers before knowing whether we were going to have the classes in the first place," she said, adding that there first had to be the legal foundation, which meant introducing the classes incrementally.
Pupils' knowledge varies
What's more, courses to train Islam teachers at German universities have only just begun. The first graduates from the University of Münster won't be ready until the spring of 2017.
Huseyin Cetin teaches second graders in Marxloh, as one of 40 qualified Islam religious instruction teachers in NRW.  He studied theology and earned an education degree from Uludag University in Turkey. He has been working as an Islam teacher in a variety of pilot projects since 1999.

Prof. Mouhanad Khorchide sees the new courses as recognition of the place of Muslims in society

Prior knowledge of Islam varies widely among the school children, says Cetin, depending on how often they attend classes at their local mosque. How much they already know also depends on what country they, or their parents, come from. "Our job is to harmonize these different levels of knowledge and to correct the wrong information they have," he told DW, adding that the instruction fulfilled an important function in this regard.
Career changers welcome
To finesse the shortage of teachers, the NRW education ministry is offering special courses where young educators can earn a certificate to teach Islamic religious instruction. "On the one hand, career changers - that is, Muslims who were enrolled in Islamic studies programs - are being trained to teach religion classes; but, more importantly, the other group is Muslim teachers who have been teaching something else," says Mouhanad Khorchide, from the University of Münster.

Aziz Fooladvand has to prepare teaching material himself since syllabuses are not yet ready

One of the bigger problems, however, is the lack of appropriate teaching materials, says one career changer, Aziz Fooladvand, who teaches in Bonn. "There is a book for the five and sixth grades, but there is simply no material for higher levels. I select the topics for all the grades myself, but that takes a lot of time and effort," he said. For the upper grades there is also no harmonized syllabus as yet, he added.
Fooladwand said he tried to be critical of traditional views, which often leads to heated discussions. But such debates, he said, do not take place in the family, or at the mosque, because the religious practice there is not methodical or didactic. Viewpoints are just simply accepted, he said.
Important sign of recognition
Despite the modest number of pupils participating at the moment, Khorchide is upbeat about the prospects. He said there was a brisk interest in religious education among the students and, in Muslim circles, the Islamic courses have been widely accepted. "This is seen as a sign of recognition for Islam and Muslims as equal citizens in this country," he said.

DW.DE

Sunnah of Jumma

Sunnah of Jumma

Layers of Darkness

Layers of Darkness

 

A second grade class sat in front of their little cups of dirt, thinking about what was going on underneath the soil. Only a few days prior they had placed a seed deep underneath, hoping that it would one day sprout. They were only in the second grade so they couldn’t really understand the concept that they had to put it underneath the soil. They didn’t see the point of why the seed had to work so hard to push its sprout all the way to the top of the soil. Why couldn’t we just make things easier for the poor seed and keep it on top of the surface in the sunlight? Why couldn’t we just help it by opening it up and pulling the sprout out of the seed ourselves? Why did the seed have to take time and effort to become what it needed to be? But the seed knew. The seed knew that in order to grow, it needed to be buried under the dirt, smothered in darkness and it had to work hard to reach the light. And so it did.
This simple example of the perspective of second graders on the sprouting of a seed and growing of a plant retells itself time and time again throughout our lives, but on a different level. As adults, we may smile at the innocence of these children, knowing that one day they will realize that there are certain processes that may seem hard and useless but are actually essential, just like in this plant. But often times we fail to take that same example and place it in our lives. There are times in life we need to grow, need to become better and stronger people. It is during those times that we find ourselves smothered in darkness, feeling hurt and disconnected. We may feel like we are covered in layers upon layers of dirt, not knowing how to take a breath, and we just want to reach the surface and break through to the light. But we know that in order to do that, we are going to work really hard, and at times it may hurt beyond belief. It is at these times that we often get frustrated and confused with what God is putting us through. We may begin to question why God would even allow this to happen or why He isn’t helping us in the way that we are asking. And no matter how hard we think, we just cannot see the wisdom in being locked in layers of darkness, struggling to reach the top. It is at this moment that we need to stop, take a step back and learn from nature. Stop and imagine what would happen to the seed if it simply stopped trying because it was too tired to push through and struggle to the top. Imagine what would happen to a butterfly if, after being wrapped in its cocoon for so long, it decided to stop pushing its way out and spread its wings. Imagine what would happen to a baby chick if it stopped pecking its way through the egg to make it to the world where chicks become chickens.
Things may seem to be tougher than necessary, for longer than necessary, in places where we don’t want them to be. But know, nothing is without reason and nothing is without cause. God sent us examples in His creation to constantly give us motivational boosts to get us throughout our days. Open your eyes to the signs of God and embrace your inspiration to move forward. As Richard Carlson says, “If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you can’t help but learn.”

How to Pray Five Times a Day

How to Pray Five Times a Day

Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PST

Question:
I want to pray the five daily prayers on time, but I have trouble doing them on time and regularly. How can I get into it?
Answer:
Dear Questioner,
The fact that you even care about your prayers is an incredible sign of God’s love for you and His desire to keep you close to Him! How many Muslims do you know personally who have not prayed in years and who have no desire to do so? God has honored you by placing in your heart the desire to fulfill this part of your relationship with Him. The question is: will you accept being chosen and show Him that you really care?
Praying the five daily prayers on time, everyday, is a good habit that just needs to be built. You’ve been building habits since you were a child and this is just another habit you need to develop and strengthen.
How do I know you’ve been habit building? Without knowing you, I’m going to give you a simple example.
Consider the call of hunger. When you were an infant and you were hungry, you’d likely call out for someone to quell the pain of your hunger. Someone in your life most likely came to help you take care of this need; they fed and nourished you, and your body, in turn, responded and began to grow.
As you developed and learned how to eat for yourself, you most likely recognized the call to hunger and developed a habitual response (i.e. eating). The type and proportions of food you ate began to impact your body; the healthy foods for your body helped nourish you and strengthened your physical and mental development.
The overindulgence of food or consistent consumption of unhealthy and junky foods likely began to deteriorate your body. Eventually, your time will pass and your soul will depart. Your body will no longer feel the need for, nor be able to respond to, the call of hunger.
The habit of eating when feeling hungry is one you developed; even if it was time consuming, you realized it was something you had to do to survive.
Let’s now consider salah (prayer). Everyday, five times a day, your body, your heart and your soul, are begging you to respond to the call to prayer. For those who choose to respond to the call to prayer, you satiate your body, heart, and soul. However, just as with food, this satiation comes in different ways. Those who come to prayer with presence of heart and mind, with focus and desire to nourish and cleanse themselves spiritually, often begin to see the positive impact of their prayers on the rest of their lives.
Some others may answer the call to prayer more neglectfully, perhaps offering them on time or late, all of them or just some of them, but rushing through them mindlessly or negligently. These individuals are still nobly choosing to answer the call, yet like the junk food that can cause a body to be sick and stunt its healthy development and maintenance, this type of prayer could stunt a person’s spiritual growth, perhaps making them weak against succumbing to desires or fighting diseases of the heart and soul.
Finally, just as a dead body does not experience hunger, a spiritually dead person does not feel the need or have interest in responding to the call of prayer. The difference, however, is that while the dead body no longer has a chance to experience revitalization through food, the spiritually dead heart can be revived through prayer.
Prayer alone is not the key to a completely sound spiritual state or understanding, just as food alone is not the only component to maintain a healthy body. However, through developing a focused, centered, and meaningful habit of maintaining the five daily prayers, a person will, God willing, experience incredible benefits in this life and undoubtedly the next.
So, once we’ve recognized that salah is a healthy survival habit which one has the capability to work on maintaining throughout one’s life, the question then becomes: How?
Here are a few suggestions to perhaps get you started. Two are geared to convince and encourage your mind and heart to pray while three are specific tasks to help you begin and maintain the action of prayer.

1. Recognize the benefits.

Simply consider the following as a start: “The five obligatory daily prayers, the Friday prayer followed by another Friday prayer, Ramadan followed by another Ramadan, expiate sins committed in between them as long as major sins are avoided,” (Muslim).And, “The first thing the people will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Allah will say to His angels (even though He already knows), “Look at my servant’s prayers. Were they complete or not?” If they were complete, it will be written as complete. If they were not fully complete Allah will say, “See if my servant has voluntary prayers.” If he has them, Allah will say, “Complete his obligatory prayers shortage with his voluntary prayers.” Then the rest of his deeds will be dealt with in the same manner,” (Ahmad).
And in a hadith qudsi (a narration from the Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon him, of the words of God), “…My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it…” (Bukhari).

2. Understand prayer as an investment and a refuge:

Make a list of everything God has given you for which you should be grateful (could this list ever actually end?). Also make a list of all the hardships with which you or loved ones are currently facing. Then, for each of the five daily prayers, take one item off one of those lists and go to prayer focusing on showing gratitude to or seeking assistance from Allah, The Appreciative, The Answerer.
For an item of gratitude, allow yourself to understand that each and every prayer is an investment in what and whom you love in life being maintained and increased. Allow yourself to be immersed in a humble feeling of appreciation because of your desire to continue to experience that blessing and to have it amplified by God. As He tells us, “…If you are grateful, I will surely increase you…” (Qur’an 14:7).
For an item of difficulty from your list, allow the heaviness of your heart and soul to pour out in every word you utter in prayer. Permit your tears of anger and anguish to release in prostration. Be certain that through this action God will undoubtedly respond to your distress. As He confirms, “Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil…” (Qur’an, 27:62).

3. Make a chart to keep track of prayers and set daily and weekly goals.

Compensate yourself based on your performance. The below is an example:Week 1: Daily Goal—Pray all five prayers on time. If mess up, make up the prayer as soon as I can. Reward if meet my goal by end of the day = favorite chocolate bar. Punishment if do not reach goal = clean roommate’s bathroom. Reward if met goal everyday of the week: Movie night with best friend. Punishment if not met by end of the week: No Facebook all weekend.

4. Tag-Team and use technology:

Building a habit often needs support—especially a habit which takes place multiple times a day during very specific time periods. Find someone who you can check in with, who you can text or who will text you to check in for prayers. Consider also using current technology which will help give you prayer reminders through an app on your phone!

5. Keep going.

There may be times where you feel spiritual exhilaration through prayer; your heart may feel like it’s flying, your eyes may tear up because of a closeness you experience with your Creator. Then there may be times where you feel absolutely nothing; this can make you feel like you’re doing something horribly wrong or that it’s not worth continuing because it doesn’t make you feel any different.
However, be careful not to get addicted to the “feeling” by choosing only to continue praying as long as it “feels” good and despairing in Allah and leaving prayer once you no longer “feel” it.  Praying is an obligation. Remember that you are doing this action to the best of your ability for the sake of God, not just because it makes you feel good.
While going through this journey, remember that even overindulging in healthy foods can hurt your body. In the same way, taking prayer, or any aspect of religion, to an extreme can hurt your spiritual state. Praying is not always easy. God Almighty Himself tells us, “And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive. [The humbly submissive are those] Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him,” (Qur’an, 2:45-46).
When the going gets tough with your prayers, always remember that God has been, is, and always will be there for you:
“I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.”
Take that step through maintaining your five daily prayers with sincerity, focus and presence of heart. God willing, as you take a few steps, you’ll find Allah already waiting for you.

truly powerful and amazing dua for our life

 

A truly powerful and amazing dua for our life in this world and here after. Read it, Share it, Spread it.

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil 'akhirati hasanatan waqina 'adhaban-nar.

"Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!"

Tarbiyah – Correct Upbringing

Tarbiyah – Correct Upbringing

By Umm Salihah ( Deputy editor)   Thu, Dec 06, 2012

Something that is very important to me is bringing my children up in the best way possible. For me this means raising them with good manners and good character and this includes being strong in their faith.

I have tried my best, but I always feel that I could do better.  I suspect this is the case with most parents – they are never satisfied at the job they are doing.

Now that I am at home full time with the children for the next few months on maternity leave, I had planned to focus on a few habits the children have picked up and review where I had been doing a decent job and where I could improve.  There are a few habits which have been concerning me, some swearing that has crept in and Little Lady’s bad temper being two.

This week my mum said to me that now that I am home, I need to focus on the children’s manners – she said that she didn’t feel that the children had particularly great “tarbiyah” or upbringing and that I needed to rectify this.  At first I felt a little hurt and defensive – after all it is not for lack of trying and there is nothing that is more important to get right, so I could not stomach the idea of doing a bad job.  Then I thought about what she had said.  I believe in taking criticism on board and thinking through what might have prompted it, even if I don’t agree with it.  When it comes from my mum, I am minded even more to reflect on what has been said.

I felt a bit lost as to how I could assess whether I was raising my children well and what else I should be doing or not doing.  I realised that I needed to go back to a definition of what tarbiyah was.  In Arabic tarbiyah means “growth” or “cultivation”, for Muslims this term is used generally to refer to a child’s development and education.  I have come across a number of definitions:

• “to take care of that which is necessary for the development of the one being raised… the word Ar Rabb (the Lord) is derived from the word tarbiyah (to nurture)” (source).
• “...to nurture, rear or to take care of a child from stage to stage until he / she becomes obedient and righteous” (source).
• “rearing and raising a good righteous Muslim that is sound and complete in all matters such as health, mentality, religion, spirit, ethics, management and creativity” (source).

When I think of what is considered tarbiyah in my parent’s culture, it tends to mean certain things:

• Being obedient to your parents (and to pretty much anyone else older than you that happens to be around)
• Speaking good Urdu
• Being seen and not heard
• Not getting messy or dirty.
• Never, ever answering back
• And I am not sure what else....

In the weekly halaqah (study circle) I attend, correct tarbiyah of ourselves and our children is something that the women have been exploring.  The key elements of good tarbiyah and tools for developing it that were discussed are summarised as:

1. Iman or faith – basically meaning that we should teach our children that everything is from Allah (SWT), that He created us and that He fulfils our needs.  We should turn to Him in our difficulty and rely on Him only.
2. The Sunnah – ensuring that we live by the example of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).  This requires us to study how he lived his everyday life, how he conducted his business and relationships and then to emulate this where appropriate.  Very often, we will say that something that is sunnah is not obligatory but just encouraged.  This leaves us the option of dropping the sunnah from our everyday lives.  In reality we should value the sunnah and work hard to make it a reality in our and our children’s lives.
3. Salaah or prayer – We should encourage our children to join in the five daily prayers so that it becomes a lifelong habit.  This habit also instils discipline in other areas such as cleanliness and timekeeping.  Our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded us to encourage our children to perform their salaah from the age of seven.
4. Knowledge – we need to educate our children regarding their faith from a young age so that they know what is halal and haram, what is permissible and forbidden and how to conduct our everyday lives in the way that Allah (SWT) has commanded.
5. Remembrance – This requires us encouraging our children to remember their Creator throughout the day through their “masnoon” prayers such as those for entering the house, entering the bathroom, before eating, before sleeping, on waking etc.  This also requires us to teach our children to use Islamic expressions: saying Bismillah when starting anything new, Alhamdulillah rather than saying OK, Masha'allah when they like something, Astughfiruallah when they don’t. 
6. Ikhlaq or good character – this focuses on the way we behave towards others.  Islam provides guidance on the best way to behave towards different people – respect for our elders, kindness towards our youngsters, and civility towards our neighbours.  Islam outlines the rights of each family member, of neighbours, of the poor and of the stranger, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.  One element of this is reminding our children that a Muslim is one from whose tongue should feel safe and that we should take care never to engage in backbiting or slander.
7. Sincerity – everything we do should be to please Allah (SWT).  Our good deeds our rewarded on the basis of our intentions.  Often our children will try to please or impress us.  We should remind our children that everything that they do should be to please Allah (SWT) to gain the true reward.
8. Calling to Allah – this one might sound strange when exploring raising children, but I included it because I remembered something that my husband said to me “as soon as you stop influencing others, they are influencing you, i.e. you either share with others about Islam and make an impact on those around you or you let society and your environment in general impact on you and shape you”.  I believe we should encourage our children to be proud of their deen and to dress, behave and live accordingly.  In doing so they become a form of dawah for their friends, peers and teachers.  I remember one of my friends telling me that my daughter had asked if she was Muslim and when she had told her no, she thought my daughter had looked so disappointed, Alhamdulillah I realised then that Islam had become the norm and default for my children rather than something which makes them different.

I used the list above to make a more honest assessment of how I am raising my children.  This made it easier to determine what I am doing right and what I could do better rather than just feeling like a failure.  This gave me some clear things to work on, rather than some vague sense of things not being right.  At the same time, it helped me to identify some things which might be considered bad manners but which do not bother me as much. 

Prime amongst these for my children is asking for things.  My middle son in particular is a foodie in the making and cannot contain himself when we go to visit friends.  On one occasion, he came out and asked the hostess when she was going to go in the kitchen and get the food.  In our (Pakistani) culture traditionally you never ask for food, unless amongst very close friends and only take it when offered, this is probably to avoid embarrassing a host who might not have anything available to fulfil a request.  This particularly stands for children.  So when my son goes to his Nan’s and the first thing he asks is what there is to eat, it looks like he has no manners.  This one doesn’t particularly bother me and I have always encouraged my children to ask and ask again when they want something – a habit encouraged more in the West I think.

Insh’Allah I hope to keep learning more and working hard on this one.  It occurred to me recently, that when I study and work hard to learn and achieve something I usually find a way to do well, why should this be any different?  The guidance is available in the Quran and the Sunnah if we care to take the time to learn and practise insh’Allah.  I believe our children are our greatest legacy and sadaqah jariyah (continuing charity) and I can live with failing in other things but not on doing a bad job of raising my children.