What have you prepared for the Hour?

What have you prepared for the Hour?

What have you prepared for the Hour? Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a man asked the Prophet ﷺ about the Hour: مَتَى السَّاعَةُ؟ “When is the Hour?” The Prophet ﷺ replied: وَمَاذَا أَعْدَدْتَ لَهَا؟ “What have you prepared for it?” The man said that he had not prepared a…

Moving out as a Muslim Woman: what should you consider?
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Moving out as a Muslim Woman: what should you consider?

A woman may need to move away from her family for work or study. She may be student in her twenties, or working away from her family home, or maybe in her thirties or forties, still sharing a bedroom and needing more privacy, or she may find that living at home is affecting her wellbeing….

When Allah turns what you wanted away from you

When Allah turns what you wanted away from you

Between your choice and Allah’s choice for you Qatadah ibn al-Nu’man narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: إِذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ عَبْدًا حَمَاهُ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا يَظَلُّ أَحَدُكُمْ يَحْمِي سَقِيمَهُ الْمَاءَ “When Allah loves a servant, He shields him from worldly things, just as one of you would keep water away from a sick person.” (Tirmidhi) In…

Lessons from the Seerah 4 – the strange superstitions and wacky practices of pre-Islamic Arabia

Lessons from the Seerah 4 – the strange superstitions and wacky practices of pre-Islamic Arabia

It is a great privilege to read through the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and try to explore how things used to be: what the society was like, what the connections were, and how people lived. In the previous sessions, we covered the trade routes, the products they used to sell, the markets, and the…

The reward for striving to earn a halal living

The reward for striving to earn a halal living

Allah Almighty says towards the end of Surat al-Jumu’ah: فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ “When the prayer has been concluded, disperse through the land and seek the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often so that you may succeed.”(Surat al-Jumu’ah, 62:10) We see here that…

Lessons from the Seerah 3 continued – Makkan society

Lessons from the Seerah 3 continued – Makkan society

The religious and social privilege of Quraysh: the Hums and the Hillah Makkan society before Islam was not divided only by lineage, wealth and tribal protection. There was also a form of religious distinction connected to the Haram and the rituals of Hajj. One of the clearest examples was the Hums. The term Hums was…

Debt
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The dangers of getting into debt

Debt is sometimes unavoidable. Situations arise that mean finances are no longer balancing – people borrow because of illness, loss of income, family responsibilities etc. However, the Prophet ﷺ repeatedly warned us not to take debt lightly. Debt can turn financial security into anxiety, place pressure on a person’s character, and remains an obligation even…

Don’t wait for the big ticket. Be the big ticket.
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Don’t wait for the big ticket. Be the big ticket.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ advised Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) to follow seven commands, and through him taught the Ummah. عن أبي ذَرٍّ الغِفاريِّ رضي الله عنه، قال: أمرَني خليلي ﷺ بسبع: ١-(أمرَني بحبِّ المساكينِ والدُّنوِّ منهُم. ٢-وأمرَني أن أنظرَ إلى مَن هو دُوني ولا أنظرَ إلى مَن هو فوقي. ٣-وأمرَني…

Wearing trousers above the ankles and the dangers of worship becoming mixed with pride
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Wearing trousers above the ankles and the dangers of worship becoming mixed with pride

The question of whether a man should wear his trousers above or below his ankles often leads to strong opinions. There are authentic hadiths warning men about letting their clothes fall below the ankles. But there is also a deeper lesson behind these hadiths: arrogance. At the time of the Prophet ﷺ, wealthy and powerful…