بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake
And the earth discharges its burdens
And man says, “What is [wrong] with it?” –
That Day, it will report its news
Because your Lord has commanded it.
That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds.
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.(99:1-8)
“Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) said that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to teach them this supplication in the same way that he used to teach them a Surah of the Quran. He would say: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the punishment of Jahannum and I seek refuge with You from the punishment of the grave. I seek refuge with You from the trial of the Masih ad-Dajjal and I seek refuge with You from the trials of life and death.’” [Sahih Muslim]
Firstly, this hadith tells us that the punishment of Jahannum is a reality, the punishment of the grave is a reality, the Fitnah of Dajjal (anti-Christ) is something very serious, and that there are trials in both life and death.
Secondly, this hadith also indicates the severity of various punishments and trials. The order in which the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) sought refuge from them is indicative of their seriousness. The worst that could happen to a person is that they get thrown into Jahannum. The next worst thing that could happen to them is for them to be punished in their grave. Then comes the severity of the Fitnah of Dajjal, then other trials that afflict people at different times in their lives.
Even without revelation the Arabs knew that strange things happened in graves. If their horses got stomach ailments they would take them to graveyards. The horse would jump and twist so violently that its cramps would straighten away. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told us that the punishment of the grave is heard by all creatures except men and Jinn, and that if we were cognizant of it we wouldn’t bury our dead.
The greatest trial of the living will be at the hands of Dajjal. Other than that there are numerous trials people go through as a result of which they are purified of their sins, as metal is purified from its ore through burning.
Trials also separate the wheat from the chaff. People will be rewarded according to the level of suffering they have patiently borne, and the trials they have dealt with keeping their Eeman intact.
We should try to keep the ingredients of this Dua in our prayers.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The dearest parts on the face of the earth near Allah are its mosques, and the most hated parts near Allah are its markets.” [Sahih Muslim]
The superiority of the mosques is obvious. People pray and worship Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in mosques. They recite the Quran in it and encourage one another to obey Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). The mosque in the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was also the head quarters of the Islamic State. Foreign delegations were received there, the consultative assembly was held in Masjid-e-Nabwi, and all matters of state were discussed therein.
On the other hand, malls and bazaars are where people forget Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). The adhan and time of prayer go unnoticed. Shaitaan makes us indulge in such forbidden acts as fraud, lying, gossiping, checking people out and wasting money.
Malls and bazaars are disliked for the many sins that are likely to occur in them, not least of which is taking Allah’s blessings and favours for granted. Shops taunt us with their glittery ware, flaunting before us all that we do not possess of material goods, while possessing these things is of no value to our everlasting life. We end up wasting our money which we could have used to come closer to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala).
Spending more time than necessary in market places is also a waste of another precious commodity: time. “Hanging out”, “window shopping” and “killing time” are the very antithesis of an Islamic understanding of life. During an exam does any sane person do anything except focus on getting the exam questions answered correctly? We are in an exam until we die. What we do every second that we are alive, counts in the final assessment. We can’t afford to waste time. The purpose of life is simply to qualify for Allah’s Grace and His granting us everlasting happiness in Jannah. There is no other purpose to life.
I woke up at 4:20 am this morning, ate four hard-boiled eggs and a blueberry bagel, swallowed down a cup of coffee, and sat down to pray.
And I haven’t eaten or had a drink since.
The clock reads 6:26 pm, and I still have over two hours to go.
This is the first day of Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims around the world. For thirty days, Muslims fast from all food and drink from sunrise to sunset.
Oh, and me, too.
I decided to observe Ramadan this year, for a number of reasons which I will explain over the next thirty days. I plan to blog about the experience, too.
I have tried my hand at fasting in many different ways over my lifetime, most recently with a regular Friday fast from sunrise to 3 pm. Fasting has never come easy for me – that may be the point!? – but I have certainly come to value the spiritual rigor and discipline of abstaining from food for extended periods of time.
We American Christians aren’t really all that good at fasting; it’s never been high on our list of spiritual disciplines. Even in the one season of the church calendar in which we are supposed to fast, Lent, we manage to find ways to minimize and downplay the sacrificial aspect of the fast. We give up chocolate or soft drinks for an entire forty days – woohoo, that should bring us closer to Christ!
That’s why I’ve always been fascinated by the extreme fasting that most Muslims practice during Ramadan – no food or drink during daylight for thirty whole days!
Recently, I’ve felt a little stale, dry even, in my own spiritual life. I do the normal, daily things; I go through my regular routine of prayer and Bible reading. But it doesn’t seem as rich and as profound. I’ve found myself deeply distracted by things happening in the world, including the great hubbub in the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, concerning the status of the denomination and the fate of our particular bishop.
I took a meeting with my good friend, Shaikh Yaseen, the imam (religious leader) of a mosque in Plano, part of the Islamic Association of Collin County. We have been friends for several years, and recently I attended the dedication of the new wing of the mosque.
When I told him that I was considering observing Ramadan, he grinned and said, “Brilliant!” in his British accent. “It’s intense, you know.”
I informed him that I was well aware of what such a commitment meant, but asked him to give me a deeper understanding of what it meant.
“Ramadan is a fast of the body, of course,” he said. “But even more importantly, it’s a fast of the hands and feet and eyes, and finally, of the mind. It’s a time to become very aware of God and to be completely obedient.”
I am intrigued by the fact that “Islam” means “submission,” and that, fundamentally, the Islamic faith is an attempt to practice submission to God’s will on a daily basis. This is not a foreign idea to Christians – this was Jesus’ stated approach, as well. He famously said, in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but yours be done.” He also once said that whoever did the will of his Father in heaven, were his brother and sister and mother.
The core of both Islamic and Christian faith is the quest to know, and to live within, the will of the one God.
Yaseen went on to explain that, during Ramadan, Muslims read through the Quran, make special financial gifts for the needy, and attend prayer time at the mosque daily. It is, in fact, a month of searching, of devotion, of love of God and neighbor. It is a living symbol of one’s hunger and thirst for the true God.
That’s what appeals to me in my current spiritual tepidity. I feel as if I need a jolt to my senses. And I know that observing Ramadan will deliver a burst of hungering and thirsting for God – a God whom Muslims call “Allah,” and whom Christians call “Father.”
But there’s another reason that I have chosen to “act like a Muslim” over the next thirty days. I truly want to stand in solidarity with my friend, Yaseen, and his congregation in Plano. I want them to know that I do not resent their presence in my community and country. In fact, I am very glad that they are here.
Not only do I stand with the Plano Muslims, but I have also begun to make friends with Muslim refugees from Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. I’ve previously blogged about Mohammed, a young Sudanese Muslim who often attends New Day. The last time I served him Communion, he asked if he could pray “for the food” first. After he prayed in Arabic, I happily offered him the bread and cup, symbol of Jesus’ love and sacrifice.
I get to return the favor now. By turning down food and drink during Ramadan, I begin to wear Mohammed’s shoes, live a small part of his life, and catch a glimpse of his own religious commitments and devotion.
I don’t know if I can truly love Mohammed until I do this. I don’t believe that I can truly be Yaseen’s friend until, and unless, I attempt to enter into his story, into his life narrative. I must know what it is like to worship God as a Muslim.
Perhaps then I will learn how to worship God … as a Christian.
If I can just make it until 8:37 …
http://www.youtube.com/MakkahLive
Google’s bringing tradition and technology closer together by putting a digital spin on the holy month of Ramadan.
As explained in a blog post by Maha Abouelenein — Google’s head of communications for the Middle East and North Africa — the search engine giant will have a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing Islamic prayers live from Mecca, a new YouTube channel which will offer 50 “premium Ramadan shows” on the same day that they air, and Google+ Hangouts which will begin after sundown.
The Google+ Hangouts will coincide with the traditional evening break-the-fast meals (called the “Iftar”) and involve celebrity chefs who will share recipes, doctors who will give pointers on healthy eating habits, actors who’ll talk about their favorite Ramadan shows, poets, religious figures and more.
http://www.youtube.com/MakkahLive
And Moosa prayed, “Our Lord! You have given Firaun and his chiefs adornment and wealth in the life of this world, our Lord, that they may lead astray from Your path; our Lord! Destroy their riches and harden their hearts so that they may not accept faith until they witness the painful punishment.”[Yunus 10:88]
In The Name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful.
May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon his last and final messenger.
asalamu alaykum (peace be upon you)
Tawbah is to repent from ones previous sins and to start fresh by changing whatever bad they used to do and trying to adhere to the law of Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala. When a person makes a proper tawbah and Allah excepts their tawbah, that tawbah will eliminate all their previous sins and so they have a clean slate to start over on.
Quranic verses concering tawbah:
Surah 39 Ayah 53
Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah 19 Ayah 60
Except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness: for these will enter the Garden and will not be wronged in the least,-
Surah 25 Ayah 70
Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,
Surah 66 Ayah 8
O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow,- the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, “Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things.”
a collections hadeeths adressing tawbah and forgiveness.
Abu Musa Ash’ari Radiyallahu ‘anhu has narrated that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said:
verily Allah the Almighty spreads open His arms of forgiveness every morning so the one who disobeyed Him during the day can repent to Him, and spreads open His arms of forgiveness throughout the night so the one who disobeyed Him in the day can seek His forgiveness and repent to Him and this will continue untill the day the sun rises from the west.
(Muslim)
Umar bin Al Khattaab Radiyallahu ‘anhu has narrated that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said:
Verily Allah the Almighty will accept the repentance of his servants right until the last moments of his death
(Tirmidhi)
Abu Hurayrah Radiyallahu ‘anhu has narrated that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said:
The one who repents prior to the rising of the sun from the west Allah will accept his forgiveness.
(Muslim)
Anas bin Malik Radiyallahu ‘anhu has narrated that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said:
Allah becomes even more happier when you repent to him than the happiness of one of you who is in a barren land and he has all his belongings on a conveyance and he loses it, he becomes despondent at finding it and waits for death to overcome him, to his utter amazement he finds it in front of him, due to excessive happiness and joy as a result of finding his conveyance with all his belongings, as a slip of the tongue he utters Oh Allah, I’m your Lord and You are my servant, one can imagine how happy he must be, Allah Subhânahù wa Ta’âlâ when the lost servant finds his direction and repents to Allah Subhânahù wa Ta’âlâ, Allah becomes even more Happier.
(Bukhari, Muslim)
In the Name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most merciful
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His last and final messenger.
Asalamu alaykum (peace be upon you)
Who are those Whom Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala loves.We need not to turn to other than the Holy Qur’an. Allah mentions those Whom he loves in the Qur’an clearly and so we should try to be like them.Many times Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala also mentions how they will be rewarded in the hereafter.
3:146
“But they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah’s way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And Allah Loves those who are firm and steadfast.”
Surah 2 Ayah 195
“And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction; but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good.”
Surah 3 Ayah 76
“Nay.- Those that keep their plighted faith and act aright,-verily Allah loves those who act aright.”
Surah 5 Ayah 42
“If thou judge, judge in equity between them. For Allah loveth those who judge in equity.”
Surah 2 Ayah 222
“For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.”
A beautiful lecture by Sheikh Mohamed Elshinawy.
The Promise of Allah
Enjoy.
The following story was narrated by Professor Anwar, who teaches in the Ryerson University located in Toronto, Canada. He said that during his student life, he was studying at an university in Bangladesh. There, he had a good friend who was very intelligent. This friend was the only child of his family. Everyone used to look upto his great future. And they were right, he graduated with the highest mark in his field. Immediately, calls came for him from big companies. One day, Dr. Anwar was requested by his friend to accompany him to one such companies for an interview. They were going by riding on a motor cycle. On the way, a speeding truck couldn’t manage itself and hit their motor cycle from the back. At that collision, Dr. Anwar flew off the motor cycle and fell on the side of the street. But his friend got hit from another vehicle that was coming from the opposite side and died instantly.
Here was a person who was at the peek of material success in this world but little did he know that his death was just around the corner. We have spent much of our time preparing for the life before death, but how much time have we spent preparing for the everlasting life after death?
Narrated by Anas:
The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said, “When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad ? He will say: I testify that he is Allah’s slave and His Apostle. Then it will be said to him, ‘Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.’ ” The Prophet (may peace be upon him) added, “The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, ‘I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him, ‘Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Quran).’ Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and jinns.”
Sahih Al Bukhari
Allah has promised the Muslim men and Muslim women, Gardens beneath which rivers flow – they will abide in it forever – and pure dwellings in Gardens of everlasting stay; and the greatest (reward) is Allah’s pleasure; this is the supreme success. [Taubah 9:72]
August 3,4&5, 2012, Path to Piety will be hosting Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar for a 3 day retreat at the Islamic Society of Toronto – Masjid Dar Us Salaam. Visit our website at www.pathtopiety.com for more information
Friday, 27 July 2012 from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Toronto, Ontario
The Heart That Bleeds | Fundraising Iftaar Dinner for Syria
http://theheartthatbleeds.eventbrite.ca/
As we are all aware of the genocide that is currently taking place in Syria where thousands of children, women, and men have been raped, tortured and slaughtered, a group of youth from Toronto decided that they needed to do something to mobilize the community into action for helping those most afflicted by the violence in Syria. The money raised will help in providing humanitarian aid including food, medical aid, and emergency shelter for those most afflicted by the violence.
Join us for a SPECIAL night with incredible speakers and entertainment for the entire family
Tickets are only $20.00 / At the door $25.00
Table tickets (6 seats) $100.00
Dinner is included!
Join us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/events/458508824167589/
Follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/SYRIA_isCALLING
Questions? Syria.is.calling@gmail.com
Want to volunteer? Join our group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/248705015247579/
Join us for an evening of reminders, remembrance, and advices as we demonstrate solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Syria!
Sponsored by Human Concern International
Fasting is for a fixed number of days, and if one of you be sick, or if one of you be on a journey, you will fast the same number of other days later on. For those who are capable of fasting (but still do not fast) there is a redemption: feeding a needy man for each day missed. Whoever voluntarily does more good than is required, will find it better for him; and that you should fast is better for you, if you only know. [2:184]
Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? (21:30)
