30
Aug 2022
The art of questioning To ask a question is actually an art. To answer the question requires experience, understanding and knowledge. Not everybody can answer the right question, not everybody can ask the right question. This is why we have the etiquette (adab) of questioning (suwal) known as adab suwal in Arabic, which are the etiquettes of what to ask, what not ask, how to ask, when to ask and so on. Alhamdullilah this is a very unique topic, and one of my favourites. Do we have any recommendations, guidance in the......
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30
Aug 2022
Life is a journey to Allah which we do not pursue alone. We are not an island – we are surrounded by people, friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, those whom we employ and those we work for, and, fleetingly, those people we pass along the way. These interactions are fraught with a variety of emotions – currents of emotion bubble up inside us and at the same time, we are beset by various inner drives that Allah Almighty created within us, which we struggle to restrain. Ghazali gives twenty rules of how to......
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26
Aug 2022
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بن مَسْعُودٍ رضي الله تعالى عنه قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَخْلَاقَكُمْ، كَمَا قَسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَرْزَاقَكُمْ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُعْطِي الدُّنْيَا مَنْ يُحِبُّ، وَمَنْ لَا يُحِبُّ، وَلَا يُعْطِي الدِّينَ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَحَبَّ، فَمَنْ أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ الدِّينَ فَقَدْ أَحَبَّهُ “. رواه أحمد والحاكم في المستدرك. Verily, Allah has distributed your characters among you just as He has distributed your provision. Allah gives the world to......
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22
Aug 2022
What can Islam offer us today? Connect people to God You could talk for volumes on this question, but let me summarise. Firstly, we must understand that Islam is a divine revelation, so the first thing the revelation does is to connect people with God. Continuity of the divine message since time began From the time of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, til Muhammad (peace be on them all), the divine message has been sent down to mankind. The message has always been the same, as mankind has remained the same. Despite......
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22
Aug 2022
Should the menopause be taboo or not? The topic of menopause has been taboo for centuries and particularly within culture, it is not a topic that one likes to discuss publicly. Yet the Quran never shies away from uncomfortable or embarrassing topics, rather it broaches them in a positive way. We certainly need more awareness of this topic as it affects half the population directly and the rest of it indirectly by being in the company of women who are going through it at some point in time. Though it is expected......
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20
Aug 2022
We are living in uncertain times. We have witnessed huge losses of life worldwide, through the pandemic and world disasters, and personally we have all experienced the death of close family and friends. None of us knows how long we have therefore we need to be prepared for the eventuality we will all inevitably face – death. Once we die, we will be heading for the most serious audit of our lives. In this life, we prepare our annual tax returns, after death we will have to submit a return for our......
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19
Aug 2022
Man is created with the innate disposition to tell the truth. Over time and through one’s environment, one can fall into the habit of telling little white lies, or gradually giant porky pies, lies. One lie often takes more lies to cover up. Eventually one is likely to be tangled in a web of deceit. The danger is spelled out in the plethora of hadith. Lying is a very destructive practice, which affects relationships and careers and most significantly one’s final destination and the one who lies habitually will be called by......
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17
Aug 2022
The argumentative one Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, ‘The most detested of people to Allah is the obstinate argumentative (person).’ Setting the social code of behaviour This one-line hadith is a very comprehensive hadith. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is highlighting a common social problem. We see that Allah Almighty is putting forward the social code for everyone to follow – what to do, what not to do; drawing the line and defining the boundaries because this is......
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16
Aug 2022
Is it permissible to pray in impure clothes out of necessity (such as the clothes on which urine has fallen), if one cannot change one’s clothes and will end up missing the salah? Salah requires purity of one’s body, clothes and place of worship The conditions of a valid salah are that one prays with clothes free from impurity, in a place that is free from impurity, in a state of purity (wudu). Impure substances are urine, alcohol, faeces, animal faeces and blood. One should try to avoid having urine splash on......
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12
Aug 2022
As temperatures soar, breaking records, the parched earth thirsts for water, and wildfires burn, smoke and smoulder in multiple countries around the world, we are reminded of the unrelenting blazing fire of hell. May Allah protect us all from hellfire. The Prophet (peace be on him) taught the Ummah the recipe for how to protect themselves from hellfire and how to enter the safety and pleasures of paradise. In this hadith, he said that one can protect themselves from hellfire by giving charity and even if they do not have half a......
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10
Aug 2022
Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: ‘Avoid sitting by the roadside.’ They (the Sahaba) asked, ‘O Allah’s Messenger, we cannot do without those meeting places in which we converse,’ so he said, ‘Well, if you insist (on that) give the road its dues?’ They asked, ‘What are the road’s dues?’ He replied, ‘Lowering the eyes, abstaining from anything offensive, returning salutations, enjoining good and forbidding evil.’ Here, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is establishing good social......
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09
Aug 2022
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: ‘Avoid (you people) suspicion for indeed suspicion is the worst form of false speech.’ Avoiding suspicion is part of having good character, while being suspicious of other’s motives a reflection of bad character. The quick summary is that Allah Almighty mentioned in the Quran: ‘O you who believe avoid much suspicion, some suspicions are sins’ . Suspicions that are baseless This is because some suspicions......
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09
Aug 2022
Mosques are sacred places. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أَحَبُّ الْبِلَادِ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَسَاجِدُهَا وَأَبْغَضُ الْبِلَادِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَسْوَاقُهَا “The most beloved of places to Allah are the mosques, and the most hated of places to Allah are the markets.” We have been told to glorify Allah and all that He has made sacred. Imam Suyuti said that this verse from Surat Nur commands us to......
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08
Aug 2022
Reciting the bismillah What does it mean to say ‘Bismillah’ – In the name of Allah? Bismillah is invoking Allah at the beginning of an action. We attach Allah’s name to that action. And we begin that action mindful of Allah. For instance, ‘iqra bismillah’ (I read in the name of Allah) means you are attaching your reading to Allah’s name, or in other words seeking Allah’s help and blessings by uttering His name. Allah’s name is a gateway to all kinds of goodness. Therefore it is haram to mention Allah’s name......
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05
Aug 2022
Continual struggle The Prophet (peace be on him) had given dawah (invited people to Islam) tirelessly for 13 years until 610 CE, and withstood escalating torture and persecution and threats during this time. Only a very tiny minority had accepted the divine message he had brought. We do not have accurate statistics, but we estimate that only about 100 had accepted Islam. Dead end Though he tried his best to deliver the message, he was faced by the tyrannical opposition of the leaders of Quraysh who felt threatened by his message, so......
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