What is tayammum Tayammum is making wudu with dust instead of water. The word tayammum comes from from yummama which linguistically means ‘to intend’ (qasada) e.g. I intend to go to Makkah. We do not cover all parts of the body with dust as we do with water. Certainly not our noses or mouths or our feet. O you…
Travelling is part of seeking knowledge The importance of travelling to seek knowledge is highlighted in the book of Patience by Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah who has described some of the arduous journeys undertaken by great scholars of the past. The virtues of seeking knowledge There are many verses which talk about the importance…
Month of mindfulness Ramadan is about becoming more mindful of your Lord, mindful of your duties towards Him and towards His creation as well. All the messages that were sent by God to humanity since Adam and Noah and Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammed (peace be upon them) were sent to make the human race…
How to deal with sinners Whether it is your family or friends or a public figure, every now and then, they make mistakes. Unfortunately as a community, we have many shortcomings, and one of these is that we don’t know how to handle people’s misdemeanours and mistakes, or ill judged statements, from an Islamic point…
There is a split of opinion among scholars on the topic of poverty and wealth – whether it is better to be poor or well off. The high status of the poor Imam Bukahri wrote a chapter on the virtues of poverty in his Sahih, called Fadlu al faqr. So scholars commented that this showed…
Glorify, be guided and be grateful Allah …[wants] you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. (2:185) Takbeer (say Allahu Akbar) is the essence of Eid Every Eid it is the sunnah to do takbeer, say ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is…
It’s the end of Ramadan. What have we achieved? And how can we retain what we have learned? We ask this question every year at the end of this blessed month. In fact when you ponder on the verses of Siyam fasting in Surah Baqarah (183-187), there are three things that we can focus on….
‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) used to tighten his belt and used to stay up all night, and he would also wake his family. (Bukhari) When the 10 nights start the Prophet (peace be…
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قَالَ رَسُولُ الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم: ‘ثَلاَثَةٌ لا تُرَدُّ دَعْوَتُهُمْ: الصائِمُ حِينَ يُفْطِرُ، وَالإمَامُ العَادِلُ، وَدَعْوَةُ المَظْلُومِ يَرْفَعُهَا الله فَوْقَ الغَمَام وَيَفْتَحُ لَهَا أَبْوَابَ السمَاءِ، ويَقُولُ الرَبُ: وَعِزَّتِي لأنصُرَنَّكَ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ’. رواه الترمذي و ابن ماجه وابن خزيمة وقَالَ الشيخ أحمد شاكر: صحيح. Abu Hurairah narrated…
The Patience of Pious Predecessors in Seeking Knowledge Among my books, one which is very dear to me, is Safahat min sabr al-’Ulamaa by one of my late shuyukh Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah[i] which took him more than 20 years to write. He did not set out to write it, but during the course…
We all know that zakat is the third pillar of Islam, after shahada and salah. Though we might think there are more verses on salah in the Quran, there are many more verses on zakat and spending than on salah. The word Zakat itself has been mentioned 32 times. And it is mentioned alongside salah…
There is a very sweet narration by Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman which gives us beautiful insight into how the Prophet (peace be on him) prayed. We can glimpse the quality of his prayer. Hudhaifah tells us of the occasion he was praying with the Prophet (peace be on him), and we see this prayer unfold through…
The cycle of corruption and correction Why did Allah Almighty send messengers and prophets? In the varied stories of the prophets, we see a pattern throughout time. We see the spread of corruption, and when it reached rampant proportions, people would need guidance to restore the principles of decency. They were in need of…
The month of the Quran is Ramadan. Though the Quran is not exclusive to Ramadan. However we do increase our recitation during this month. Here are some of my reflections on The effect of the Quran on us and why we should make the effort to discover it more. Tranquility Allah Almighty says: الَّذينَ…
In the beginning of Surah Baraqah Allah Almighty says beautifully: This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for the mutaqeen (those have taqwa) (2:2) The word mutaqeen has been repeated many times in the Quran and it does not really have an equivalent word in English, though it has been…