UDHIYA - QURBANI

Udhiya (Qurbani)

 

 

What is Udhiya?

 

 

'Udhiya' is an Arabic word meaning "blood sacrifice", and 'Qurbani' is an Urdu and Persian word derived from the Arabic word "Qurban" which literally means an act performed to seek Allah Ta'ala's pleasure. It is technically used for the sacrifice of an animal slaughtered for the sake of Allah Ta'ala.

 

The sacrifice of an animal has always been a recognised form of worship in many religions, but in the 'Shariah' (Islamic sacred law) of The Last and Final Messenger of Allah Ta'ala (Peace be upon him) the sacrifice of an animal has been recognised as a form of ibadah (worship) during the three days of the month Zul Hijjah, namely the 10th, 11th, and 12th .

 

This is to commemorate the unparalleled sacrifice offered by the Prophet Sayyidna Ibrahim, Alayhi Salam, when he, in pursuance to a command of Allah Ta'ala conveyed to him in a dream, prepared himself to slaughter his beloved son, Sayyidna Isma'il, Alayhi Salam, and actually intended to do so, but Allah Ta'ala the Almighty, after testing his submission, sent down a sheep and saved his son from the logical fate of slaughter. It is from that incident that the sacrifice of an animal became an obligatory duty to be performed by every Muslim who has the means to do it.

 

On who is it obligatory?

 

Qurbani is Wajib (obligatory) on every Muslim who is

• Of sound mind - mature (has reached the age of puberty),
• Muqeem (i.e. he is not a Shari traveller)
• Possesses the amount of 612,36 grams of silver or wealth equivalent to that value which is in excess of one's basic needs and debts on any of the three days of Qurbani. It is not necessary that this amount be in one's possession for a complete lunar year. (please do consult your local Islamic Scholars for more details and exact value in your local currency)

 

What the Quran and Hadith says:

 

Allah Ta'ala Ta'ala, The Most Wise says:

 

"It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches Allâh, it is your piety that reaches Him. Indeed He has subjected them (animals) to you so that you may glorify Allah for guiding you, and give glad tidings to those who excel in good." (Quran-22:37)

 

The Noble Messenger of Allah Ta'ala(Peace be upon him) is reported to have said:

 

"For every hair that is on the sacrificial animal, one reward is recorded for the person making the Qurbâni."

 

"There is nothing dearer to Allâh during the days of Qurbâni than the sacrificing of animals. The sacrificed animal shall come on the Day of Qiyamah with its horns, hair and hooves (to be weighed in reward). The sacrifice is accepted by Allâh before the blood reaches the ground. Therefore sacrifice with an open and happy heart."

"Whoever has the capacity to sacrifice and does not do so, should not come to the place where the Eid prayer is offered." (Hadith-Ibn Majah).

 

Therefore if you have the means to do Qurbani, do not ignore this important part of Deen. There are many more details that relate to Qurbani which we have not covered in this brief article.

 

For a detailed article on the Laws & Virtues of Udhiya (Qurbani) please visit: http://eislaminfo.blogspot.com/2010/10/qurbaniudhiyya.html

 

If you still need more info regarding Qurbani please contact: admin@daruliftaa.net

The Dirty Laundry…(motivational)

The Dirty Laundry…

By Abu Muhammad Yusuf

 

In life we often tend to be judgmental and very often look down upon others without exploring deeper as to why the person is behaving in such a way. The Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is reported to have said "It is enough of evil for a person to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All of a Muslim is sacred to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth and his honour." (Hadith- Muslim)

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbour hanging the laundry outside. "That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap. "Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbour would hang her washing to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean laundry on the line and said to her husband: "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."

"The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows"

Lesson: If our windows are dirty so will we see others as dirty too. What we see in others is indeed a reflection of our inner-selves! So it is with life that what we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. It is easy for us to discuss other people, their lives & things that really doesn't even concern us and we tend to forget - our windows may not be that clean after all! If we good we will see good…

The Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is reported to have said:
"A Muslim is a mirror to another Muslim"(Hadith_Abu Dawud)

QUNOOT-E-NAAZILAH

Qunoot - e - Naazilah

Du'aa for protection against Natural Disaster, Plague and War.

When the Muslims Community is afflicted with some hardship then Qunoot-E-Naazilah should be recited in the Fajr Salaat.

The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) encouraged the Ummah to read Qunoot-e-Naazilah supplication (dua) at the time of distress and calamity. (Hadith- Abu Dawood).

Method: After the Rukoo of the second raka'at, while standing in the position known as Qaumah, the Qunoot should be read in a voice lower in tone than when reciting the Qiraa'at. The Muqtadees should place their hands at the side and say Aameen at the proper juncture.

Note: Women may also recite this du'aa softly.

One may recite it as often as possible as a du'aa.

Translation :

O, Allah, guide us aright along with those who have been rightly guided and grant us safety along with those that have been granted safety and support us along with those that have been supported and add Your Blessings to what You have given us and save us from the harmful effects of what You have ordained ( i.e. lest I should be wanting in cheerfully submitting to your Decrees) as You alone disposes and no one can dispose against You. Anyone who is under Your Protection cannot be lowered and anyone who is opposed by You cannot gain dignity; our Lord; You are full of blessings and Most High, we beg forgiveness from You and repent before You and may the blessings of Allah be showered on the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). O Allah, forgive us and the believing men and women and Muslim men and women, unite their hearts with mutual love, set right their mutual affairs and help them against theirs and Your enemy. O Allah, let Your curse be on those unbelievers who prevent people from treading Your path, who reject Your prophets and fight Your chosen ones. O Allah, make difficult their plans, shake their feet and give them such punishment which is not turned away from a sinning people.

Aameen

Envy...Some ways to Cure it!

Envy…Some Ways to Cure it!

 

Envy refers to the desire that a person feels for the destruction or removal of a blessing that another person has – a destruction which the bearer of this feeling would himself carry out if he had the power to. This is quite different to wanting such blessings for oneself while not wishing for them to be removed from others, for that is, indeed, a positive and commendable desire. Envy is an evil disease of the heart and the cancer of the soul. If unchecked it leads to animosity, bad behaviour, thinking evil of others, backbiting, tale-bearing and dishonesty. It is considered to be among the most dangerous and destructive of internal diseases and is the most destructive to a person's religion and worldly life.

Abu Huraryah (ra) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When one of you sees someone who has been blessed more than him in money or appearance, then let him look at someone lesser than him, whom he has been preferred over." (Bukhari)

What is Envy?

Envy is a puzzling and complex emotion. In Christianity, it is known as one of the "Seven Deadly Sins". In Islam, there is hasad (destructive jealousy) where the envier wishes evil for others and to be happy when misfortune befalls them. Ghibtah, however, is envy that is free from malice, meaning the envier neither wants the loss of the blessing nor hating for it to remain with the person, but desiring the same for oneself without the removal of the blessing from others. Envy is not a respected emotion in religion, philosophy, or psychology, yet many of us are suffering from it more and more in a world that forces us to compare ourselves to others.

On Social Media Networks we are forced to look into the lives of others and wonder if our life compares as well. In magazines and talk shows, we are forced to look into the lives of celebrities, which leaves us wondering about our own lives. Are we thin enough, pretty enough, successful enough, etc? Even if we try and protect our home environment from being invaded by such images, we are bombarded with them each time we go to the grocery store and see magazine covers promoting the lifestyles of the rich and famous; drive through the town or freeways and see billboards with images promoting plastic surgery; or listen to the radio and hear advertisements for various products that will make us prettier, richer and thinner. Young children as a result are starting to worry about their weight and appearance at ages as young as 4-5 years old. This is worrisome to say the least.

"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself".

How Envy Can Destroy Our Lives

"Envy is a propensity to view the well-being of others with distress, even though it does not detract from one's own. [It is] a reluctance to see our own well being overshadowed by another's because the standard we use to see how well off we are is not the intrinsic worth of our own well being but how it compares with that of others. [Envy] aims, at least in terms of one's wishes, at destroying others' good fortune".

Envy and jealousy are often used interchangeably but they are separate and distinct emotions. Envy is centrally focused on the competition with another. You can channel the desire for competition into something more productive rather than destructive.

10 Easy Steps to Overcome Envy

1. Stop the comparisons!

If you find yourself stalking your friends on Social Media Networks or comparing yourself to celebrities, catch yourself and STOP IT! Come up with an affirmation to soothe yourself such as "I feel blessed with all that I have been given." Giving thanks to Allah for all that has been bestowed upon you takes your focus on what you don't have and brings it back to all that you do have. Make gratitude a regular part of your day. For 30 days, write down three different things you are grateful for at the end of each day. Volunteering at a homeless shelter for one day is also a great way to recognize your blessings.

2. Increase your knowledge.

Many of us envy others, without having full knowledge of their lives.

"Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins." –

When we compare our lives to others, we don't take into consideration the whole picture. Many celebrities fear aging and gaining weight so much, they deprive themselves of nourishing sustenance in order to maintain relevant and remain in the public eye. If we knew all this about our favorite envied individual, would we still want to have that life? Would it not make our life seem more stable by comparison?

3. Recognize and embrace your own individuality.

We need to learn to appreciate our differences, within ourselves and with others. We may envy the lives of others but if it were given to us, we may actually wish for our own life back!

Embrace what makes you unique and what's different about you. What you consider a flaw in you might actually be what makes you unique and special.

"It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, than you are indeed a man of true wisdom."

4. Recognize that the success of others DOES NOT take way from your own!

Be happy for the success and happiness of others and remind yourself it does not take anything away from you. You create your own path and you are responsible for your successes and failures. There is more than enough to go around. You do not need to trample over others to get what you deserve.

5. Learn from the envied: "Don't hate, appreciate and emulate!"

Learn from those you envy. You do not need to have all that they have but maybe you can learn from them. If you envy a friend for their success or happiness, you can ask them their "secret." This can deepen your friendship rather than drive the wedge of resentment and envy further. Are they eating healthy and exercising? You can emulate some of the positive traits and apply them to your life. Do they look young because they take care of their skin? You can learn from their techniques.

6. Find out what you can do better, how you can be better!

Envy is a non-productive and energy zapping emotion. You can instead channel your energy towards making yourself better. Do you envy how creative or talented your friend is? Explore your own creativity or talents by taking classes and experimenting with various projects. Is your friend adventurous and you wished you traveled more? Start saving up for that trip you've been wanting to take. Rather than stand by and hope great things will happen to you, make things happen.

"Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be."

7. Work within your limitations.

Understand what is possible and accept what isn't. If you've always wanted to jump out of a plane but are terrified of heights, how can you achieve the sensation without having to actually jump out of a plane? Would riding a scary roller coaster be sufficient? Would taking a helicopter ride be equivalent? Work within your limitations and use them to bust through the mental barriers you have set up for yourself. You don't have to have everything in place to make your dreams a reality. Set your intentions and you'll be amazed how things fall into place after that. It might take years but once it happens, you'll realize it happened at just the right time!

8. Keep your focus on your goals.

You must first have goals in order to stay focused on them. Your goals don't have to be major accomplishments. Keep the focus of your goals on increasing your happiness and making you a better person rather than impressing others. Do things because you want to feel good not because you feel bad about your life.

9. Be happy for the envied and genuinely mean it.

Being happy for others makes you feel happier inside. Envy takes our focus away from the connection we all have to each other. We envy others because we don't feel good about our own lives. Instead of allowing envy to erode your self-esteem, boost your self-esteem by remembering what makes you special. Focusing on your positives will make you notice the positives in others.

"The supplication of a Muslim for his brother in his absence will certainly be answered. Everytime he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the angel appointed for this particular task says: `Ameen! May it be for you, too'." (Muslim).

10. Be the best that you can be.

Focus on an area of your life that needs improving, whether it's to become a better person, gossip less, give more, take more time for yourself, get a makeover, get a massage, or learn a new skill. When you feel good about yourself, it's easier to be good to those around you. Confidence and self-esteem are at the core of success and happiness. Work on improving and increasing your self-esteem and self-confidence.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The deeds of anyone of you will not save you from the Fire." They said, "Even you, [will not be saved by your deeds] O Allah's Apostle?" He said, "No, even I [will not be saved] unless and until Allah bestows His Mercy on me. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target." (Bukhari)

Problems, Problems, Problems...

Problems, Problems, Problems…
By Sister S Bemath

PROBLEMS. . . how we hate them! The time and energy we waste, stewing over problems instead of tackling them cheerfully and constructively, recognising them as the growth points of life and progress. Life can expose us to a series of problems. Problems evoke in us a great deal of emotional pain, such as sorrow, fear, anger, anxiety, sadness etc. These are uncomfortable emotions. Do we want to moan about them or solve them? Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems... it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning.

Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes success and failure. Problems are what cause us to grow mentally and spiritually. Without growth, we're doomed to stay as we have always been. Wise people learn not to dread problems, but to welcome, expect and tackle problems. Fearing the pain involved causes most to go to any lengths to avoid their problems and the suffering , attempting to escape from or even at times ignoring them by building out the most elaborate fantasies in which to live, sometimes to the total exclusion of reality. A little pain, perhaps, in facing a problem... a little patience, courage, thought and effort to try and solve it – they're preferable to burying it and risk becoming a neurotic cripple who may need psychiatric treatment. In ignoring the problem, we stop growth which we learn from the problems that life brings. Therefore, we avoid real life for the replaced fantasy. When we stop the growth, we also stop the healing we could have attained if we faced our problems and pain with proper responses.

As Muslims, we are in direct communication with the Almighty ALLAH. No matter how bad you perceive your situation and your lack of strength is, don't give up! Because, where your strength ends, the grace of ALLAH begins. So, cry your heart to none but ALLAH. Only ALLAH TA'ALA can and will heal you in all possible ways! HE is the only One Who not only Hears and Knows all, but Who can change our situation and give us the patience to deal with our difficulties. Allah, The Most Wise, says:

"Remember Me, and I shall remember you; be grateful to Me, and deny Me not." (Qur'aan 2:152)

Life is difficult, and the world is full of troubles, but the sun still shines, and ALLAH'S blessings are everywhere in our lives. Many have complained that "life isn't fair."  Life consists of examination papers given by Almighty ALLAH to see how much we have learnt in HIS subject called "LIFE". Sometimes ALLAH tests us so that we can see the rainbow after a stormy rain. If we can't see the rainbow in this world, then In'Sha'ALLAH we can in the Hereafter. Just be strong in your heart and mind! Furnish it with faith, love, trust, and sincerity for the sake of ALLAH. Make your imagination embroidered with HIS love and light. In'Sha'ALLAH tranquility and contentment will penetrate into our soul. That is when our imagination triumphs over intelligence. Never give up on ALLAH'S MERCY. Doing so is actually tantamount to disbelief.

"Truly no one despairs of ALLAH'S soothing Mercy except those who have no faith." (Qur'aan 12:87)

Be it the silence in your life right now or the rumble of the forthcoming storm... you have ALLAH TA'ALA to guide you through! HE sends you hope in the most desperate moments. Don't forget; the heaviest rain comes out of the darkest clouds. Have faith that it shall pass and a sunshine of Sabr (patience) will shine down on you. So, often we associate problems with "the unwanted, difficulty and stress." We should rather associate them with "lessons, opportunity and growth." Problems are like washing machines, they twist us, spin us and knock us around, but in the end we come out cleaner, brighter and better than before.

 Avoiding problems is our attempt to avoid true life's learning opportunities. True emotional and spiritual health comes from acknowledging that life is full of problems. And with this truth, we discover the tools to dealing with these problems. The tools we must discover are found inside discipline. When we develop discipline within every area of our life, we also develop the tools we shall need to successfully confront and overcome problems Insha Allah.

Here are few guidelines for problem solving:

• Develop the habit of viewing problems optimistically and tackling them creatively. With patience, prayer and supplication, most problems can be overcome. Prayer is the key that unlocks all doors.

• Have faith in your ability to solve problems, often while you sleep. Write down what's worrying you before you go to bed, then trust Allah Ta'ala to work on the problem while you sleep. Often an answer comes like a flash in the morning. "Sleep on a problem" is sound common-sense which has worked throughout the ages.

• Recognise which problems need to be lived through and which to be worked through. Recognise also that there are no definite answers to every problem and with the passage of time some will evaporate, while others need to be tackled wisely.

• Don't suppose that, if you change your circumstances, problems will vanish. Many people think that if this and if that, they would be happy – but every situation has its problems. The secret is to change your attitude towards them.

• Place your forehead on the ground and mention ALLAH'S Praises, so that you can obtain true freedom. Let your tears flow in front of HIM and read the supplication of Prophet Yaqoob (Alaihis Salaam), "I only complain of my suffering and grief to ALLAH..." (Qur'aan 12:86)

• Write down several possible solutions. If you can't think of any, remember ALLAH, call out HIS name, and ask HIM for help. HE will make a way out when there seems to be no way!!!

"…And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose…" (Quran 65: 2-3)

Accept your problems. View them positively, creatively and courageously. And, yes, be grateful for them – for, in learning to cope, you'll grow in stature and wisdom. Take the time out every day to thank ALLAH for the blessings in your life – not only will you be overwhelmed because you will never be able to enumerate them, but you will truly recognise ALLAH'S presence in your life.

Stay strong and firm because things will get better Insha Allah, it might be stormy now, but it can't rain forever.