Friday, May 30, 2014

How much gratitude do we have?

THE WORLD IS MINE

Today, upon a bus, I saw a very beautiful woman,
And wished I were as beautiful.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a crutch.
But as she passed, she passed a smile.
Oh, Allah, forgive me when I whine.
I have two legs; the world is mine.

I stopped to buy some candy,
The lad who sold it had such charm,
I talked with him, he seemed so glad,
If I were late, it'd do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
"I thank you, you've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you.
You see," he said, "I'm blind."
Oh, Allah, forgive me when I whine.
I have two eyes; the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I'd go,
With eyes to see the sunset's glow,
With ears to hear what I'd know.
With loving family & friends to enjoy life
Oh, Allah, forgive me when I whine,
I've been blessed indeed, the world is mine.

-------

If this poem makes you feel thankful,
Just forward it to your friends.
After all, it's just a simple reminder that we have so much to be thankful for!
Give the gift of love.
It never comes back empty

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Pearls of Wisdom 354

1. Love the Holy Prophet because he makes it possible for you to be human.

2. He that considers a part of Sunnah to be small is uninterested in the Prophetic light.

3. If your birth is humble, let the Sunnah make you a noble man. If your birth is noble, endure that your acts are not less so.

4. Anyone can fear His law, but they only love it who are close to Him.

5. He that is close to God is saturated with love and acceptance, he that is far from Him burns in the hell of anger and anxiety.

6. See with God's light, and happiness will never desert you.

7. If you wish to be settled remember God properly..

8. Even if you cannot live simply, be sure to enjoy simple pleasures the most.

9. Misery is only for those without hope.

10. Forgiveness is only complete when you love those who have given you the opportunity to be forgiving. [Abdul Hakim Murad]

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Heart Corruptors....

The heart becomes corrupt through six things:

1. Committing a sin in the hope of repenting.

2. Seeking knowledge and not applying it.

3. Practice without sincerity for Allah.

4. Eating the sustenance of Allah without appreciating Him.

5. Not being pleased with what Allah has destined.

6. Burying the dead without learning from it -- not preparing for it.
    [Hasan al Basri]

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Lesson of the Day 1354

Ayahs of the day:
But if anyone commits an error or a sin and then blames an innocent for it, he has taken on a burden of slander and open  iniquity. [4: 112]

Hadith of the day:
He does not thank Allah who does not thank the people. [Sunan Abi Dawood]

Wise quote of the day:
When the heart is imbued with love for Allah Most High, then each word creates an impression on the hearts of the listeners. [Shah Abdul Qadir]

Guidance of the day:
To fast every Monday and Thursday is also extremely meritorious. The Prophet (peace and blessing upon him) used to fast them and say, 'These are two days on which works are presented to the Lord of all beings. It pleases me that my works are presented even as I am fasting."

To fast on Friday is recommended, due to the merits and rank of that day, but on condition that it be paired with either Thursday or Saturday, for it has been transmitted that the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) discouraged the people from fasting it on its own. Generally speaking, one should fast with frequency, for it is a most effective manner of disciplining the soul and breaking its  passion, in softening and illuminating the hearts, and in refining  the senses and imposing rectitude upon them. There is in it an immense wage and a generous reward that has neither limit nor end. [Counsels of Religion by Imam al-Haddad]

Food for thought:
Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity. Cultivate only the habits that you are willing should master you. The chain of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Each year, one vicious habit rooted out, in time ought to make the worst man good.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Understanding the best....

1. I looked at all my friends, and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue.

2. I thought about all the outfits, but did not find a better outfit than piety.

3. I thought of all types of good deeds, but did not find a better deed than offering good advice.

4. I looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Pearls of Wisdom 353

1. Put your hope in no one except your Lord, have fear of nothing other than your sins.

2. The extent to which one understands the nature of dunya (this world) is measured through the degree of his detachment from it.

3. A slip of tongue is more hazardous than a slip of the foot.

4. If you are bent on committing that sin, then seek out that place which is bent on keeping God out of it.

5. To deem that God is with one every moment is the greatest expression of faith.

6. The scandal monger harms three people with his tongue -- himself, his listener, and his target.

7. The surest way of achieving heaven on earth is contentment with His decree.

8. Indeed the sword may wound the body, but it is foul speech which wounds the soul.

9. Steeped in error is he who can find time to seek out the faults of others.

10. A Muslims humiliation comes from his heedlessness of his religion, not in his lack of wealth or stature. [Othman radi Allah anhu]

Friday, May 09, 2014

Mother's day -- 365 days a year for a Muslim....

                                                           Mothers

From Surah al-Rahman are the glorious words of our Creator:  "Then which of the favors of your Lord will your deny?" 

Yet how often we deny the greatest of favors that the Bestower has granted us.  This favor, in the form of a woman......

A woman who carried us within her for almost a whole year of her short life in this world, bearing every hardship and discomfort to protect and nurture our frail being as the Fashioner gently prepared us to come into this worldly realm....

A woman who braved death's door, embracing pain unimaginable to even the most stalwart of warriors, that our tiny form may chance to take its first breath, open its eyes to the light of a new home, and feel her warm, soft caress, as she forgets all that she went through, to make comfortable our awakening into a new world....

A woman who had forsaken rest, slumber, and dreams for far too many nights; to rise instead, and answer the pitiful wail of a helpless creature that always knew she would be there to answer its plaintive cry, even as the whole world slumbered on into the dead of the night......

A woman who bore weakness to give forth from her being, a pure and heavenly nectar to nourish our growing bodies and our thirsty souls with sustenance to define our humanity ever onward......

A woman who watered and pruned our character with all the patience and care of a master gardener turning a wild shrub into a beautiful tree.......

A woman who was always there for us, no matter how many backs were turned to us, no matter how many doors closed in our face, to give us a shoulder to cry on, an ear to heed our complaint, a comforting bosom to embrace when there was no other.......

A woman who, even after all of our blunders, all of our impudence, all of our ungrateful gestures and insolent remarks, will not hesitate to say I forgive you when no one else in the world will....

A woman who we call Mother.

If we only knew her lofty station in the sight of He whose mercy is endless, a single portion of which He showered upon the world and it manifested itself as the undying compassion of the mother to her child.

"THEN WHICH OF THE FAVORS OF YOUR LORD DO YOU DENY?" 

To deny is to show ingratitude.  To show ingratitude is to lose one's blessings......like sand flowing through one's fingers.

To show ingratitude to the all Merciful is to show ingratitude to the means He creates out of His endless mercy.  WHAT OF THE MEANS WHICH BROUGHT US INTO THE WORLD?

If one's mother is alive, then cry out of thankfulness to Allah, go to her, sit at her feet, kiss her on the forehead, look her in the eyes and tell her how blessed you are for someone like her......

Tell her how much you love her.....

And never forget the immortal words of our beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace):

"Paradise is under the feet of the mother...."

From,
a son

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Lesson of the day 1353

Ayahs of the day:
And whoever commits a sin only sins against his own soul; and God is most knowing, most wise. [4: 111]

Hadith of the day:
Whoever constantly prays for forgiveness, Allah will give him a way out of every difficulty and relief from every worry, and will grant him provision from where he did not expect. [Sunna Abi Dawood]

Wise quote of the day:
Know that it is not your family and friends, but rather your deen which truly looks after you. [Hasan radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the day:
It is a sunnah to fast six days in Shawwal, to bid farewell to Ramadan and compensate fro any other deficiency in one's fast, for supererogatory (nafl) devotions compensate for deficiencies in obligatory ones. It is meritorious to fast the Day of 'Arafat, which is the day of Hajj, the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah'. Then comes the Day of 'Ashura', which is the tenth day of Muharram. 

It is strongly recommended to fast three days every month. It is better and more meritorious for the person wishing to fast to make them the White days -- these are the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of every month, and should be given priority. However, to fast any other three days is also good, even if not consecutively. [Counsels of Religion by Imam al-Haddad]

Food for thought:
The grave wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul. How small a portion of earth will hold us when we are dead, who ambitiously seek after the whole world while we are living. We weep over the graves of infants and the little ones taken from us by death; but an early grave may be the shortest way to heaven.

Friday, May 02, 2014

Friends who bring us closer to Allah should be sought....

Not everyone suits to be your friend

Friends have a large influence on our lives. Islam has emphasized on choosing companions who are upright and noble. The Prophet (peace be upon him said), “Man is on his friend’s religion. Therefore, man should see with whom he is making friends.” (Abu Dawood, no.4815).

Friendship that leads one to Allah’s disobedience is not worth it. Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi mentions in his book Mukhtasar Minhaj Al-Qasidin (pg. 126-132) some valuable points on this topic:

Know that not everyone is suitable to be your friend. You must verify that this potential friend has the necessary characteristics that make friendship with him something to be desired. The one you seek to befriend must have five characteristics:

• He must be intelligent, as there is no good in befriending an idiot, as he will only harm you when he wants to benefit you. By intelligent, we mean one who understands things as they are, either on his own, or if they are explained to him.

• He must have good manners, and this is a must. One who is simply intelligent might be overcome by anger or desire, and obey his desire. Thus, there would be no benefit in befriending him.

• He must not be a fasiq, the one who openly disobeys Allah, as such a person would not fear Allah, and whoever does not fear Allah cannot be trusted.

• He must not be an innovator, as his over-indulgence innovation is feared from befriending him.

• He should not be too eager in seeking the dunya. Which means that he is not willing to sacrifice his hereafter for it.