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Blog


10
Jan 2019

Getting our Priorities Right In the pursuit of goodness it is easy to become side-tracked by worthwhile acts, which may deceptively be shifting your focus from more important acts. How valuable is growing a beard when you are not acquiring your earnings in a halal way? Or praying in the front row when you are treating your wife badly? Or performing tarawih prayers but then missing fajr? Understanding the value of what is important, means we can build strong foundations and then embellish the structure. Rather than risk beautifying a crumbly edifice. The scholar Imam Muhasibi said......

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08
Jan 2019
why not to rush the pursuit of knowledge

Not Trying to Attain the Impossible If you feel frustrated in pursuing knowledge, it is worth thinking again, as knowledge is not something we can acquire overnight. It is a consistent approach that brings the seeds of knowledge to bloom.  Slow and Steady One must apply gentleness and proceed in a slow and calm manner in his search for knowledge. This is since the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: ‘Verily, Allah loves gentleness in every affair.’  And ‘Gentleness does not enter something except that it beautifies it.’ Seeking knowledge......

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03
Jan 2019
Fear in Islam: Time

Fear What Tomorrow Holds The Future is Unknown We do not know what will happen tomorrow let alone the rest of our lives. Do not procrastinate or defer things to the future. Today you are fine but tomorrow you may not. Many people have good health today, and then out of the blue, they have cancer, or some kind of debilitating illness which renders them not even half the person they were. It could be in our health or mental well-being, it could be in our environment. 10 years ago, the people......

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03
Jan 2019
defending the weak and helpless

Opposing Oppression ‘Oh My servants I have prohibited oppression for myself and made it prohibited amongst you, so do not oppress one another’ (Bukhari) There are countless verses in the Qur’an on oppression and around 97 verses alone on oppressors. Human Weakness By contrast, there is a word which is mentioned three times in just one surah, which makes it very special, that word is al mustadafin ‘the helpless people’. It appears in Surat al Nisa. The word mustada’af derives from da’f– as the majority of Arabic words derive from three original letters –......

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02
Jan 2019
Fear in Islam: sins

Fear the Sins You have Committed We should fear the sins that we have committed between yourself and Allah Almighty. We should have this fear, and not be of those who are over reliant on His mercy and forgiveness. Yes, Allah Almighty is the All-Merciful and All-Forgiving, but He is also severe in His punishment. “Your Lord is the possessor of boundless Mercy; but His punishment shall not be averted from the sinners.” Having a relaxed attitude to sins will destroy our connection with Allah Almighty. Sins are sins......

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02
Jan 2019
the pillars of islamic civilisation

The Pillars of the Islamic Civilisation   What were the Achievements of the Islamic Civilisation built on? Whenever anyone asks what Islamic Civilisation is, the first thing which comes to our mind is usually our scientific achievements, of which we are rightfully proud Alhamdulilah. However, I would like to look deeper and focus on the pillars which underpinned the Islamic Civilisation. These can be broken down into five main principles. Al Wahi Islam is a Divine System which Allah Almighty sent down to humanity from Adam to the last Prophet (peace be......

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01
Jan 2019
Having the Right Friend

Choosing Good Friends ‘Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.’ (Samuel T Coleridge) Good friends are most capable of delivering good advice in the most effective way to have the right impact. The choice of a friend can make one’s life bitter or sweet; a good friend who is loving, caring, true, faithful and loyal is a gift from Allah. Whoever Allah wishes good for, He will grant him a righteous friend, who will remind him if he......

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30
Dec 2018
Being Strategic in Preparing for the Akhirah

Being Properly Prepared  As most of us do not feel prepared for the akhirah, what tips are there to help us focus? Though most people think that ‘This day I have perfected for you your religion’ (5:3) is the last ayah to be revealed, they do not realise that that was only a fragment, a part of a longer ayah. Whereas the last complete ayah to be revealed was the one from surah Baqarah: Be fearful of a day when you shall return to Allah and you will receive your reward fully......

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27
Dec 2018
sacrificing sleep

Seeking Knowledge over Sleep There are so many studies about the benefits of sleep and the its healing effects for the body and the mind. However there is still much we can learn from the scholars of the past about maximising energy and productivity through managing our sleep. Here is a brief look… Burning the Midnight Oil Imam Nawawi came from Nawa and studied in Damascus in 649 AH. It is said that he would not sleep except when sleep overtook him. He would rest......

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26
Dec 2018
fear in islam: the soundness of the intention

Fear a Day that you will receive from Allah Almighty what you didn’t expect We should fear a Day when all the records are laid open, and we find in our books things we didn’t expect. Maybe we were under the impression that most of our deeds and our worship are accepted and we find they were not. Should that be the case, these deeds will not be worth much if they were done without Ikhlaas. What do we do now? “And there will appear to them from Allah Almighty that which......

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26
Dec 2018
How Your Diet Affects More Than Your Health

The Pitfalls of Excessive Eating One of the factors that determine how well we utilise our time is dependant on our energy level. Energy is related to the food and drink we consume. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: ‘The worst vessel that the son of Adam can fill is his stomach.’ The sunnah is to consume enough food to keep the body going, this is filling one third of the stomach with food, one third with water and a third for air. Eat little, as excessive eating causes......

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25
Dec 2018
How to act on your New Year Resolution

How to Act on Your New Year Resolution New Beginnings and Affecting Change ‘Oh you who believe! Fear Allah and behave with taqwa. Let every soul consider what it has prepared for tomorrow. Allah is surely aware of everything you do.’ (59:18) New Year’s Resolutions Most resolutions blow away with the wind. There’s nothing wrong with them from an Islamic point of view, as long as you are within halal parameters of course. Even just good intentions will be rewarded. Out of Allah’s mercy, He will record your good intentions but not......

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23
Dec 2018
Fear in Islam: Allah's Favour

Fear the Denial of Allah’s Favour One of the legitimate fears Muslims should have is being included in those who deny the favours of Allah; the ones who are ungrateful of the favours that they have received. Kufr – linguistically means to cover something, farmers are called kuffars because they cover the seeds with earth. Kuffran ul-ne’am – denying the favours of Allah, that we cover the favours of Allah Almighty that He has bestowed. Bat’r – the joy of receiving the blessing makes one become forgetful of the One Who gave......

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22
Dec 2018
truth

Telling the Truth O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are true (in word and deed). (9:119) Say, ‘Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path – a religion of values – the way of Abraham, inclining toward truth. And he was not among those who associated others with Allah. (6:161) Truth is top of the List of Islamic Values The Qur’an and sunnah put truthfulness at the very top of the list. In different surahs and hadith, we see the value of truthfulness recurring due......

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19
Dec 2018
how to receive the light of Allah in your heart

Open the Curtains and Let Light of Allah in Your Heart The Light of Allah, when we receive it, has a profound effect on our hearts and on our life. What are the means with which we can seek it and what blocks it? Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly star lit from a blessed olive tree,......

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