Unfolding a Rose

Unfolding a Rose

 

 

It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of Allah's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
with these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
is not known to such as I.
Allah opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hands they die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of Allah's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
to unfold this life of mine?
So I'll trust in Him for leading
each moment of my day.
I will look to him for His guidance
each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me,
Only ALLAH knows.
I'll trust Allah to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.

 

 

Haj

Hajj 

 

 

 

"And pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah,upon everyone who is able to undertake the journey to it"–[ 3:96 Quran]

 

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah Muhammad [Peace be upon him] said,: 

"Whoever performs the Hajj and commits no lustful act during it nor disobeys Allah (in any other way) shall return from it as pure and sinless as he was at the time of his birth." Bukhari & Muslim 

"From one Umra to another (i.e. the two Umras) become an atonement for the sins committed during the period intervening between them and the reward on Hajj-e-Mabroor (i.e. pure and untainted Haj) is paradise itself and nothing less." Bukhari & Muslim 

"Those who make the pilgrimage for the Hajj or Umra are the guests of Allah. The petitions[duas] they make will be granted and if they seek deliverance from sins, their sins will be forgiven." Ibn-Maja 

 

It is related by Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah Muhammad [Peace be upon him] said,: 

 "Any one who Allah has given enough to perform the Haj, and he also has a conveyance which can take him to the House of Allah. If he still fails to do so then it does not matter whether he dies a Jew or Christian, and it is so because Allah has said: Pilgrimage to the House (of Allah) is a duty men owe to Allah – those who can afford the journey." Hadith-Tirmizi 

 

DEATH may occur at any time, so if HAJ is compulsory on you ……PERFORM IT!...DONT DELAY!

Love Her...

Love Her…

 

Love her …when she sips on your coffee or tea. She only wants to make sure it tastes just right for you.

Love her…when she "pushes" you to pray. She wants to be with you in Jannah (Paradise).

Love her…when she asks you to play with the kids. She did not "make" them on her own.

Love her...when she is jealous. Out of all the men she can have, she chose you

Love her…when she has annoying little habits that drives you nuts. You have them too.

Love her…when her cooking is bad. She tries.

Love her…when she looks dishevelled in the morning. She always grooms herself up again.

Love her…when she asks to help with the kids homework. She only wants you to be part of the home.

Love her...when she asks if she looks fat. Your opinion counts, so tell her she's beautiful.

Love her…when she looks beautiful. She's yours so appreciate her.

Love her...when she spends hours to get ready. She only wants to look her best for you.

Love her…when she buys you gifts you don't like. Smile and tell her it's what you've always wanted.

Love her…when she has developed a bad habit. You have many more and with wisdom and politeness you have all the time to help her change.

Love her…when she cries for absolutely nothing. Don't ask, tell her its going to be okay

Love her…when she suffers from PMS. Buy chocolate, rub her feet and back and just chat to her (trust me this works!)

Love her…when whatever you do is not pleasing. It happens and will pass

Love her…when she stains your clothes. You needed a new thobe (kurta) anyway

Love her…when she tells you how to drive. She only wants you to be safe.

Love her…when she argues. She only wants to make things right for both

Love her…she is yours. You don't need any other special reason!!!!

All this forms part of a Woman's Character. Women are part of your life and should be treated as the Queen.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) advised concerning the woman:

·         Treat the women well.

·         The best of you are those who are the best in the treatment of their wives.

·         No one honours the woman except an honorable man. And no one humiliates her or holds her in contempt except one who is evil, vile, wicked and depraved.   

Don't wait for that special occasion,take time now to make her feel Special in Every Way!

Importance of Time

Importance of Time

 

 

 

 

"The Qur'an and the Sunnah make it clear that time is very valuable. Almighty Allah says: "By the time! Verily man is in loss."     (Al-`Asr:1-2)

 

 

 

Take benefit of five before five

 

"Take benefit of five before five:

your youth before your old age,

your health before your sickness,

your wealth before your poverty,

your free-time before your preoccupation,

and your life before your death."[Hadith- al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee, Saheeh]

 

The importance of time!

 

 MANY people forget or neglect the importance of time although man's life on earth is a span of time. Islam gives due attention to the issue of time because if people waste their time, they are actually wasting their life.

The Holy Qur'an gives due attention to the idea of time and this is clear in many verses of the Qur'an when Allah swears using the different places of times of the day to reveal the importance of time, "By the break of Day," (Qur'an, 1:89) "By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),' (Qur'an, 1:103) .etc.

 

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says in one Hadith: "There are two things that people are not aware of how important they are: health and time." This Hadith stresses two facts: People are not aware of the importance of being in good health till they fall ill and people are not aware of the importance of time and therefore waste their time doing trivial things.

 

There was research published in one of the magazines about how man spends his time. The research revealed that if man lives for 60 years, he spends one third of his life sleeping because man usually sleeps eight hours a day. Remaining years are spent in public transportation, watching TV, eating, in the bathroom.etc. This means that the larger part of man's life is spent in worldly matters. Karen Armstrong, refers to this aspect of time in Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) life. She indicated that what the Prophet (peace be upon him) did in 23 years was miraculous and what he accomplished required thousands of philosophers, reformers, intellectuals and mentors to do in hundreds of years.

 

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who has failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a pre-mature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE DAY, ask a daily wage labourer who has kids to feed.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the bride who is waiting to meet her groom
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who has missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who has avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLI-SECOND, ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

 

The Characteristics of Time

 

We are to bear in mind that time has certain characteristics, among of which are the following:

1.  Time passes quickly.

2.  Time that passes can never return, nor can it be compensated for, for time is irretrievable.

3.  Time is the most precious thing that man possesses.

 

The following are some of the most important duties demanded of Muslims:

1.  Ensuring benefitting from time

2.  Utilizing leisure time

3.  Racing for good deeds

4.  Learning from the passage of time

5.  Seeking the superior times

6.  Planning and organizing time

7.  Fulfillment of time commitments

8.  Necessary awareness of time wasters

 

One of the methods of managing his time properly is for a Muslim to get up early and sleep early, for early hours always yield great blessings. Starting his day with prayer and the supplication of the morning brings the Muslim Allah's grace. A Muslim should always bear in mind that every time has its own task that suits it. Doing tasks in their due times brings about peace of mind and comfort. The most important aspect being gaining such knowledge of Islam that will enable and empower one to do such actions at a given time that pleases Allah abundantly! A Muslim is disciplined and uses every second constructively and productively!

 

Mu`adh ibn Jabal quotes the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as saying: "A servant of Allah will remain standing on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it up, his property and how he acquired and managed it and his knowledge and how he utilized it." [HADITH]

 

May Allah guide us to use our time correctly and beneficially!!!...Ameen

Marriage: Look Beyond the Packaging!

Marriage: Look Beyond the Packaging!

 By W Abdelgawad

 

 

Is his hair nicely styled? Is he the perfect height?

Is her makeup just right? Does her body have the perfect curves?

This is packaging, it's irrelevant.

American, Pakistani, Mexican, Egyptian, Bengali, Indonesian, black, white, brown, this is a veneer. It's unimportant in the long run. When you're sick and battling to recover, it's not an American who holds you and tells you that it will be okay, who makes you chicken soup with lemon and ginger… It's a human being, a husband or wife who loves you.

We must get beyond superficial and meaningless classifications like race and nationality.

Does he wear Armani suits cut just right? Are his shoes sleek and shiny? Does her clothing drape elegantly on her figure?

You know what? That Armani suit can't stand on its own. It needs a hangar just to stay upright. That elegant clothing can't raise your children right.

We must learn to look beyond appearances. I'm not saying that appearance is irrelevant, but how much of our attraction is based on true human beauty, and how much is based on distorted standards and poisonous imagery pumped into our brains by TV, movies, advertising, magazines and billboards? In other words, to what degree have we been brainwashed?

The world of advertising teaches us to focus on the wrong things. Consultants are paid millions of dollars to design the perfect package for a box of cereal or an energy drink, just the right shape and bright color to catch your eye and entice you to buy. Meanwhile, the product – as often as not – is actually bad for you, consisting of empty calories, sugar, chemicals and dyes. They are teaching us to make choices based on packaging and image, and what they are teaching us is entirely ruinous and wrong.

Human beings, however, are not consumer products. We're not disposable. When you marry someone you're in it for the long haul. You're with them when they wake up in the morning with crust in their eyes and hair stuck to one side of the their head; when they get laid off from their job and you don't know how the bills will get paid next month; when they're depressed, tired, sick; when they make mistakes, when they say and do the wrong things, when they lose their temper, when they're afraid or insecure…

This is as serious as it gets. This is life, and the right package won't get you through it, won't help on you the path, won't hold you up when you're weak, or put a smile in your heart when you're down. The package can't do that. Remember that when you buy something, the package ends up in the trash. If you choose someone for the package only, you may be bitterly disappointed when the storm comes and no one is there to keep you safe.

These are lessons learned through heartache and disappointment. These are lessons I have learned.

Look deeper. Find a gentle heart, a strong backbone, a striving spirit. Look to what the person does, how they live, how they treat people, how they relate to the Almighty. Look to that shimmering soul inside, and discern whether it's a selfish and bitter soul, or loving and true. Look beyond the packaging to the person inside, and trust your fitrah-based instincts, and you'll find yourself a rare happiness, and a precious partnership.

The most beautiful, powerful things in the world don't come in packages. Mountains, trees, ocean, sky, stars… their true attributes are bared to the world. They don't need packages because they are beautiful and profound in their essence.

By basing your life choices on matters of substance, you'll avoid social and financial traps that ruin so many. You'll build friendships as real and solid as mountains, with people you can trust with your honor, your heart and your life. You'll do work that matters, and leave a legacy that improves people's lives in unforgettable ways.

The Noble Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is reported to have said:

"A woman may be married for four qualities, for her property, her rank, her beauty, and her religion (piety); so get the religious one and prosper."

 

 (Hadith  Bukhaari (5090), Muslim (1466) )

SIN-O- METER

SIN-O- METER

 

 

 

 

Want to know for sure something is a sin?

I don't mean missing Fajr prayer, or back-biting. These are clearly bad.

No, I mean the things that you habitually do, that you maybe know might, perhaps, just maaaaybe wrong. but your mind somehow makes okay.

The litmus test: the month of Ramadan.

If you feel truly uneasy doing this deed in Ramadan, it's most likely a sin.

If you have the self-control to give it up completely, Masha'Allah, it's 99.9999% likely a sin, or at the very least, a waste of your precious time.

So, really, let's reflect on that for a moment. If the above is true, then we should ideally never resume committing those doubtful acts after Ramadan, right? I mean, what's a sin in Ramadan, is still a sin on Eid day, and onwards still.

If gold, and diamonds, and oyster pearls are precious by their rarity alone, then it is clear that every moment we exist, every breath we inhale, then exhale after that, is pure gold dust, if only because they are all rarer than the rarest gemstones; never to be seen again, until the day that our deeds are played back to us on the ultimate cinematic, widescreen, surround sound, ultra high def experience of Yaum al-Qiyamah(The Day of Judgement).

So what makes those acts that seem wasteful in Ramadan, suddenly become a good use of our time after the month has swiftly past through our fingers?

What validation do we put forth for our thinly veiled hypocrisy?

Weakness? Perhaps. We are made weak. But still. We have a month to train hard. To build up our spiritual muscles. Yes, you can get that emaan six-pack you always wanted - and in just THIRTY DAYS, insha'Allah!

So, take another look at that mental list you wrote; the one titled, "What I plan to give up during Ramadan", and ask yourself: "If I can last 30 days without it. and with it, my Ramadan is tainted then is it really that important to me? And do I really want it back in my life ever again?".

The Messenger of Allah Muhammad(peace be upon him)said: "Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and which you do not want people to know about." [Muslim]

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said to his Companion: "You have come to ask about righteousness ?" "Yes," I answered. He said: "Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and sin is what creates restlessness in the soul and moves to and fro in the breast, even though people give you their opinion (in your favour) and continue to do so." [A good hadith transmitted from the Musnads of the two Imams, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Al-Darimi]

May Allah guide us to the true answer to those questions, and make it easy for us all to do the right thing.! Ameen

Lets make a firm and sincere decision to give up each and every one of those sinful or non-beneficial habits. During this month of Ramadan there are tons of moments when duas are accepted so lets not miss out on this opportunity! Lets ask Allah to assist us in leading a true,pure and noble life according to Allah's commandments and the Sunnah practice of our beloved Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] which will truly help us not only in this world but also in the life after death! Ameen

Save the Changes: Ramadhaan

Ramadan: Save the Changes

 

 Don't Press the "redo" after we "undo" and "save the changes"!!!

 

 

 During the Mubarak and beautiful month of Ramadhaan many have navigated themeselves to the Deen of Allah and have brought about substantial positive deeni changes. Now is a critical time to click on the right tab- Save those changes!

 

Nearly everyone in this age of modern technology has at some stage worked with a P.C. We have used it to draft documents, amend these documents, copied and pasted onto documents, used the 'undo' icon, edited documents, just to mention a few of the time saving operations that we find on this device.

After opening a document that we have worked upon previously and made the necessary changes and improvements a little box appears on the screen asking the question: Do you want to save the changes you have made to this document? You are then given the option of selecting the YES tab or the NO tab. Selecting the YES tab will give you the desired results while selecting the NO tab literally takes you back to square one. All the effort made in editing, improving and shaping the document becomes an exercise in futility.

Don't we all find ourselves in a similar predicament when the blessed month of Ramadaan passes us? Just think of your book of deeds like a document on your P.C. During the month of Ramadaan we have done amongst other things the following-

· Increased our Ibaadah and acts of charity;

· Took control of our feelings and emotion;

· Responded with compassion and sensitivity to the needs of other;

· Multiplied our good deeds;

-Repented: we have spent many hours on the Musallah begging for Allah's forgiveness for our sins, errors and transgressions.

The vital question that needs to be asked is :

Do we want to save the changes that we have made in the month of Ramadaan? Are we going to press the YES tab or the No tab?

Pressing the YES tab will leave us with a new, improved version. A version of heightened spirituality, a version of righteousness, a version that is pleasing to our Creator. Pressing the NO tab will take us back to square one; back to our old habits before Ramadaan, back to the life of sin and immorality, back to a life of heedlessness and back to a life subjecting ourselves to the wrath of the Almighty.

How do we improve on this document; the document of our lives, the document of our deeds, the document that we are going to present to Allah the Almighty on the Day of Reckoning? Here are some hints: Copy and Paste from the life of our illustrious master Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi Wasallam.

Use the 'undo' icon by making Taubah immediately after any transgression as the Hadith states "The one who repents from sin is like one who has committed no sin at all"

There may not be a need to do a "spell check" but there is certainly a need to do a "sincerity check" and a "Shari'ah check"? Are we complying?

There may be files and folders that we want to keep while there could be some others we would not even want others to know exist. Many of us begged Allah to "delete" our sins and dark deeds .We cried before Allah, shed tears of remorse and vowed not to commit those sins in future. Going back to the sins that we have asked Allah's forgiveness for would be like making a visit to the "recycle bin".

What about viruses? P.C. users are also very wary about e-mails they receive and the sites that they visit, fearing the admission of a virus that may pollute their system and cause it to malfunction.The environment and people who we associate with could adversely infect us!Why do we then subject our minds and thoughts to immoral sites and dens of vice which would pollute our moral system and cause us to malfunction? What anti-virus software have we installed to ward off the variety of Fitnahs that confront us everyday?

We need to install the right version of the anti-viruses. There is indeed only One version. Without delay install every Commad of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ( Salallaho alaihe wassallam) onto our hardrives (lives). This will allow us to repel the attemps by shaytaan and other evil forces to infect our PC's (souls).

It s Now time to Run the Programs...

Begin By:

Connecting ourselves to the right network. When we need an I.T solution we go to I.T specialist. In our lives we need to consult with Ulama(Islamic Scholars) and pious people so that we are connected to the right network!

Delete ALL harmulful programs Permanetly! Lets Repent over past evil deeds and make a firm niyyah (intention) NEVER to Redo those evil deeds

Ensure that the service provider provides the installation guide for the following must install programs to be run on your PC:

Program 1:

Dawat (Inviting ourselves, families, communities and humanity towards Allah Ta'ala and His Beloved Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him). Also help Allah's Deen by striving to uplift it)

Program 2:

Taalim (Learning and teaching Deen)

Program 3:

Ibaadat-Worship ( Salaah,Haj, Umrah, Quran, Zikr, Dua and all other forms of Ibadat)

Program 4:

Khidmat- Acts of Charity ( All acts of Charity including Zakaah especially helping the Ummah in whatever possible way, respecting and fulfilling the rights of people and other creation of Allah.)

Now lets connect ourselves to Deen of Islam and the Amaal (good actions) that takes place in our Musjids...as no one knows when his or her PC will crash(when we will die)! By performing Good Deeds we will have Permanently Backed Up our records in Jannah(Paradise). Be carefull not to engage ourselves in Evil lest we Back-Up our evil deeds in Jahannam (Hell)

Fortunate is the person who has "saved the changes". Extremely unfortunate is the person who has made no changes as he /she has nothing to save.!

IMPORTANT: As we dont know the time when ou PC will shut down ...Make those Change Now and more importnat.........Save it!