30
Nov 2021
There are various duas for a good end to one’s life. Ibn ‘Umar heard a man wishing for death, and said: Do not wish for death, for you will surely die; rather ask Allah for well-being. A timely end We ask Allah for our life span to be good and to take our souls when it is the best time for it to depart, as Allah is the only one who knows when that is. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)......
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28
Nov 2021
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was the final messenger and had the perfect character, and the perfect religion. Though there were messengers and prophets before him, Abu Sa’id reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: نْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَا سَيِّدُ وَلَدِ آدَمَ وَلَا فَخْرَ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ مَنْ تَنْشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ عَنْهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا فَخْرَ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ شَافِعٍ وَأَوَّلُ مُشَفَّعٍ وَلَا فَخْرَ وَلِوَاءُ الْحَمْدِ بِيَدِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا فَخْرَ “I am the master of the children of Adam, and......
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20
Nov 2021
Our mission is to deliver the divine message. Not to convert people. Yet we have a common misconception that we can convert people to the truth. In fact, no one can convert people. Then, if they argue with you, say: “I have submitted myself to Allah, and (so did) those who have followed me.” And say to those who have been given the Book, and to the unlettered: “Do you submit?” If they submit, they will be on the right path. Yet, if they turn back, then you have only to convey......
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19
Nov 2021
Imam Ghazali’s book, Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, ‘The Forty Principles of the Religion,’ which he wrote before his death, is a summary of Ihya Ulumuddin, In his chapter entitled Tazkiya al Qulub, The Purification of the Heart, he pinpoints the blameworthy characteristics we need to extract from our heart and explores the evils of the tongue. Arguing is the third ailment of the tongue. It is a trait which Allah mentions in Surat al Anam: Surely the devils whisper to their ˹human˺ associates to argue with you. (6:121) Argumentation: jidaal and......
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15
Nov 2021
It is important for those teaching the deen to their community to be in touch with it. In fact, Allah Almighty talked about this openly in Surat Ibrahim when He said: ‘Wa ma ‘arsalna mir-rasoulin ‘illa bi-lisani qaw-mihee ‘We have never sent a messenger but in the language of his people’. The delivery of the message is only effective when it is in the language of its people Language is for communication and it’s so crucial to understand the community you are teaching. We see this again in the story of......
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15
Nov 2021
The answer is a full course question. The simple answer is you have to focus on what Allah Almighty will ask you about. Just ask yourself, would Allah ask you about this if you didn’t do it? If no, then don’t make it your priority, make your priority what Allah will ask you about. Your relationship with Allah is number one; your relationship with your parents is number two; your family is number three; your earnings are number four etc. This is how we prioritise our life. Don’t make number 4 number......
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15
Nov 2021
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: The severe weather in winter and summer is from hell. It is reminder to us when we have extremely hot weather to say I seek refuge from the heat of hellfire, and also when we have cold weather to seek refuge from hell. Hell is not just hot. It has a variety of punishments. One is fire, which is dominant, but there is also freezing cold. One reason for this is that jinn are created......
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15
Nov 2021
Fix your foundation first Reading Sufi books without proper knowledge or training from the well-educated people in this science, is not a good idea. You can easily misunderstand what has been written or go in the wrong direction. Scholars do not teach tasawwuf until their students understand fard ‘ayn I remember my teachers (may Allah have mercy on them) would not let their students read books of purification (tasawwuf) until they had a proper foundation in the main principles of the sciences, which is the obligatory knowledge (fard ‘ayn) such as aqeedah......
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13
Nov 2021
Imam Ghazali’s book Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, The 40 Principles of the Faith is a summary of his great work, Ihya Ulumuddin which he wrote before he died. In the chapter on the purification of the heart, he breaks down the traits we need to excise from ourselves, and begins by focusing on the evils of the tongue. He zooms in on 5 of the common diseases, out of 20 evils of the tonque he listed in the Ihya. These 5 are: lying (kadhib) كذب, backbiting (ghiba) غيبة, argumentation (marah) مماراة,......
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07
Nov 2021
Imam Ghazali’s book Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, The 40 Principles of the Faith is a summary of his great work, Ihya Ulumuddin. In his chapter on the purification of the heart, he explores how to rid one’s self of bad traits, and talks about the evils of the tongue. The desire to speak All the limbs of the body are affected by the tongue. Most importantly, the heart which is the core of the body, (not just physically, but also spiritually) is acutely affected by the tongue. This is why Ghazali......
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06
Nov 2021
O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women. If you fear Allah, then do not be soft in speech , lest he in whose heart is disease should covet, but speak with appropriate speech. (33:32) يَٰنِسَآءَ ٱلنَّبِىِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ إِنِ ٱتَّقَيْتُنَّ فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِٱلْقَوْلِ فَيَطْمَعَ ٱلَّذِى فِى قَلْبِهِۦ مَرَضٌ وَقُلْنَ قَوْلًا مَّعْرُوفًا Ya nisaa alnnabiyyi lastunna kaahadin mina alnnisai ini ittaqaytunna fala takhdaAAna bialqawli fayatmaAAa allathee fee qalbihi maradun waqulna qawlan maAAroofan Command for the wives of the Prophet (peace be on him) Every ayah......
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05
Nov 2021
Racism and Islamphobia are not acceptable today. There were not acceptable yesterday and will not be acceptable tomorrow. Nike has joined Tetley, Yorkshire Tea and other sponsors in dropping Yorkshire Cricket Club which plays at one of England’s most historic and prestigious grounds (Headingley), following the allegations by Azeem Rafiq of being institutionally racist and having ‘a culture that refuses to accept change or challenge’. As more snippets of the investigation are leaked and the story emerges of Rafiq feeling close to suicide, we see glimpses of the painful, ongoing systemic racism......
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01
Nov 2021
We should perform our salah as we were taught to pray by the Prophet (peace be on him), who said, as reported by Malik ibn al-Huwayrith: Pray as you have seen me praying. (Bukhari and Muslim) Is it permissible to hold a mushaf (printed Quran) during salah? There is no ayah in the Quran that says you cannot hold the mushaf during the salah, nor any hadith. The fuqaha (jurists) say that holding the mushaf means that extra elements are being added to the salah, that do not belong in the salah,......
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01
Nov 2021
During sujud the sunnah is to recite subhana rabbiyal a’la) which means ‘Glorious is my Lord the Most High’. You can also recite tahlil (La ilaha illallah which means ‘there’s no God but God’) and tahmeed (alhamdulillah which means praise be to God) and you can recite dua in your fard, sunnah or nafil salah. Do not recite the Quran in sujud (unless it is a Quranic dua) It is forbidden to recite the Quran in ruku or sujud, unless you are reciting a dua from the Quran, such as: ربنا هَبْ لَنَا......
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