27
Nov 2022
Belief in angels is an article of faith One of the pillars of faith is to believe in angels. We know from the very famous hadith of Jibreel, that he came to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the form of a mysterious stranger whom no one recognised. He came and sat down right opposite Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and posed some questions. He said, “Tell me about faith.” The Prophet said, “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, his Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and to......
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27
Nov 2022
Is it wrong to cry for the deceased? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: وَإِنَّ المَيِّتَ يُعَذَّبُ بِبُكَاءِ أَهْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ ‘Indeed the deceased is punished for the crying of his relatives over him.’ What does this hadith mean? What type of crying is being prohibited here? Misconception There is a misconception that crying for the deceased causes them pain due to the misunderstanding of this hadith. This hadith is explained by another hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that crying (buka) is not prohibited but wailing......
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27
Nov 2022
Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him In Surat al Maidah, Allah Almighty says: قَالَ ٱللَّهُ هَٰذَا يَوۡمُ يَنفَعُ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ صِدۡقُهُمۡۚ لَهُمۡ جَنَّٰتٞ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدٗاۖ رَّضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنۡهُمۡ وَرَضُواْ عَنۡهُۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ Allah will say: “This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) – they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise). In Surat Tawbah,......
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26
Nov 2022
Stick to your principles Allah Almighty said in the Quran: فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا ۚ إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ So be upright, as you are commanded, along with those who repented with you, and do not transgress. He is Seeing of everything you do. Addressing the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his nation, and all humanity, Allah Almighty told us to cling to His divine revelation and not to compromise our principles, values and beliefs. We have been commanded to hold fast to the ‘rope of......
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24
Nov 2022
Abu Ad-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whoever defends his brother’s honour in his absence, Allah will protect his face from the hellfire on the day of Resurrection.’ * This hadith is one of the ahadith that established a new social code – the Islamic social code, which brings tremendous goodness in society if we follow it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us in his narrations how to behave in different scenarios. It is like a manual, saying open this......
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24
Nov 2022
Iyad bin Himar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, ‘Allah, the Most High has revealed to me that you should be humble, so that no one transgresses against another and no one boasts to another’ Arab naming convention The narrator, Iyad bin Himar (may Allah be pleased with him) was a Companion known as Iyad, son of a donkey! What’s the story behind such an odd name? Scholars have written books about the Arabic culture in naming children, humans and servants......
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20
Nov 2022
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: ‘Sadaqa does not reduce (one’s) wealth; and Allah increases the honour of his who pardons (others); and no one will humble himself for Allah’s sake without Allah raising him up.’ The concise speech of Prophet (peace be upon him) Though this is a very short hadith – just two lines in Arabic, but as usual the wording of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is very comprehensive. This is what we call in......
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19
Nov 2022
This is the last part of Ghazali’s chapter on love. He already mentioned that the senses are our gateway to pleasure and we love everything that is pleasurable to our senses. However there is something else we love, but that is not experienced through our senses and that is the love of Allah, which we experience in our heart. Allah stated in the Qurah that He did not create man and Jinn except to worship Him, liyabudun. Mujahid (the student of Ibn Abbas) said that to worship means to KNOW Allah (liyarifun)......
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19
Nov 2022
Those who are distracted are in a state of heedlessness or hypocrisy In Surat Munafiqoon, which means Hypocrites, Allah Almighty Allah is warning us not to be like the hypocrites: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ O you who believe! Let neither your possessions nor your children distract you from the remembrance of Allah . Whoever does that—these are the losers. One of the signs of hypocrisy is not to remember Allah much. Hypocrites only remember Allah when......
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13
Nov 2022
Belief in Jinn Jinn are a very hot topic. Are Jinn real or an illusion or fairy tales? They are definitely not an illusion or creatures from fairy tales. Belief in Jinn, as Muslims, is part of our faith. How do we know Jinn exist when we cannot see them? Our senses do not enable us to assess the existence of Jinn to us, as they are invisible. Sometimes they do show themselves, but not to everyone and not all the time. So we can’t take Jinn to the lab to decide......
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13
Nov 2022
Why do we love the Prophet (peace be upon him)? Ghazali likes to link every topic to its roots to examine it. How do we develop love? Ghazali already mentioned that we find everything pleasurable to us beloved, while we find everything painful repulsive and abhorrent. Primarily we experience love through our senses and these cause us to respond positively every time our senses are pleased – be it by fragrance, or taste or touch or sight. These are all external stimuli but we also have in addition we have the internal......
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11
Nov 2022
The day of Jumuah is a great day that Allah has given exclusively to this Ummah. Missing Jumuah Salah is a sin In Surat Jumuah, it says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on Congregation Day, hasten to the remembrance of God, and drop all business. That is better for you, if you only knew. Then Allah says: فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي......
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04
Nov 2022
Ghazali lived in 5th century Hijri and his 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 (Revival of the Sciences of the Religion), and his life’s works and thoughts. In the last ten principles of the forty, he looks at good traits that we should adopt and nurture within ourselves. The first is tawbah (repentance); the second is khawf (fear) and the third is zuhd (asceticism), the fourth quality is sabr (patience). The fifth quality is......
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04
Nov 2022
Provoking the wrath and enmity of Allah There is a stern hadith from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) warning his Ummah not to use the favours Allah bestowed on them for deceit, cheating and dishonesty. Yahya ibn Rashid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were sitting waiting for Abdullah ibn Umar who came out to us and sat. He then said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ رَاشِدٍ قَالَ : جَلَسْنَا لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ ، فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْنَا فَجَلَسَ، فَقَالَ......
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