12
Aug 2018
Spending Wisely – Avoid the Mania Spending without Extravagance In Surah Furqan, Allah Almighty describes ibadur Rahman (the obedient servants) of Allah Almighty. Amongst their attributes, He mentions that they do not overspend and they do not act with stinginess, but they take a moderate way between them. And those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, moderate (25:67) And in another verse in Surah Isra, as in many other surahs, we see that Allah Almighty is saying do not squander......
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12
Aug 2018
More Lessons from Bani Israel And when We appointed forty nights for Musa, then you took the calf (as God) thereafter, and you were unjust. (51) Yet We pardoned you, even after that, so that you may show gratitude. (52) Then We gave Musa the Book and the Criterion (of right and wrong), so that you may find the right path. (53) When Musa said to his people: ‘My people, you have wronged yourselves by your taking the calf (as God). So, turn in repentance to your Creator, and slay yourselves. That will......
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10
Aug 2018
The Importance of Aiming High ‘Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them which of them is best in deed.’ (18:7) What is zeenah? We recite surah Kahf every Friday. And in this surah, Allah Almighty says we have made what is on the earth an adornment for it in order to test our conduct. The Arabic word for adornment is zeenah and there are many verses in the Qur’an mentioning zeenah. But what is zeenah? We have two......
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10
Aug 2018
What Qualities a Teacher of Deen Should Have The observation of Allah Almighty, in the life of a teacher, is perhaps the single most important aspect a teacher should have; the others are secondary features that fall into place when the first is present. As the teacher is acting as a representative of Allah and His Messenger (peace be on him)’ he has placed himself in a position to convey the message that was sent down to Muhammad (peace be on him). We have read already that the scholars are the inheritors......
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09
Aug 2018
Do you have to Practice What You Preach? And be steadfast in Salah (prayer), and pay Zakah, and bow down with those who bow down. (43) Do you enjoin righteousness upon others while you ignore your own selves, although you keep reciting the Book? Have you then no sense? (2:44) Allah Almighty is pointing out the hypocrisy of preaching one thing, while personally doing another. At the time of this revelation, there were some rabbis who would instruct their followers to do one thing, but themselves would do another. Allah Almighty is......
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08
Aug 2018
How to Escape the Clutches of the Nafs Seek help through patience and prayer. It is indeed exacting, but not for those who are humble in their hearts, (45) Who bear in mind that they are to meet their Lord, and that to Him they are to return. (2:45-46) What prevents us from caving into our baser cravings? The relentless pull of our nafs is tough to keep in check. Just as the irrepressible urge of a smoker to pick up a cigarette makes him feel trapped, repeating a behaviour that he......
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07
Aug 2018
Letting Go Memory is a funny thing. There some things we can’t forget and some things we can’t remember… The role of memory in our lives plays an important role but we need to make an active effort to retain what is important and to delete what is not. O Children of Isra’il (Israel), remember My blessing that I conferred upon you, and that I gave you excellence over the worlds; (47) And guard yourselves against a day when no one shall stand for anyone in anything, nor shall intercession be accepted......
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06
Aug 2018
The Lessons from Adam and Eve And when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before ’Adam!” So, they prostrated themselves, all but Iblis (Satan). He refused, showed arrogance and became one of the infidels. (34) And We said, “O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise; and eat at pleasure wherever you like, but do not go near this tree, otherwise you will be (counted) among the transgressors.” (35) Then, Satan caused them to slip from it, and brought them out of where they had been. And We said, “Go......
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05
Aug 2018
What is Fitnah and What can I do to Protect Myself from It? We hear the word all the time. But what is the definition of fitnah, what fitnahs are we not aware of? And what did Allah the Almighty give us to save us from it? Once Umar bin Khattab asked a question: ‘Who among you remembers the statement of the Prophet (peace be on him) about the afflictions (fitnah)?’ Hudhaifa said, ‘The affliction of a man in his family, his property, his children and his neighbours are expiated by his......
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04
Aug 2018
The Fool Proof Way to Achieve Failure Obey God and His Messenger. Do not quarrel with each other lest you fail or lose honour. Exercise patience; God is with those who have patience. (8:56) Fool Proof Way to Weaken the Ummah We have all read this ayah, and memorised this ayah but unfortunately we have not absorbed the meaning of this ayah. The consequences of not following this ayah are painfully before our eyes. The disputes in our ummah have let our enemies grasp more control over Masjid al Aqsa, because of OUR weakness,......
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03
Aug 2018
The Courage to Recognise the Truth ‘O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant with Me and I shall fulfil My covenant with you and fear none but Me. (40) And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price: and fear Me, and Me alone. (41) And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what......
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02
Aug 2018
How to Keep Knowledge Safe Moving Away from Student Mentality We all know that from experience that sitting in a classroom as a student is not the same as being in the class as the teacher. The difference is in the preparation. If you were the teacher, you would have prepared the subject matter, what topics to address and the amount of time you allocate to each. You would have also extended your research into other relevant areas to the topic at hand and prepared for potential questions that the student may ask.......
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01
Aug 2018
Gluing the Ummah Back Together Allah the Almighty mentions in Surah Al Imran one of the fundamental verses in the Qur’an concerning the unity of the ummah: And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favour of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favour, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to......
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30
Jul 2018
What is the Best Way to Cope with Family Politics? Indeed in Yusuf and his brothers, there are lessons for men of understanding’ (12:111) Extreme Sibling Rivalry The main focus of the story of Yusuf (peace be on him) and his brothers is the conflict between them. Allah the Almighty says in this story there are many lessons for those who are seeking them, and if we reflect on the main focus we see plainly the bitterness of the fighting amongst siblings within the very same family, with the same blood. Though it is......
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30
Jul 2018
Allah’s Special Plan Lessons from the Seerah The benefits of reciting darood When travelling to Madinah, as the Prophet (peace be on him) did, we do not experience hardship as he did, but we can utilise that time for dhikr. One of the best types of dhikr is to say salaam upon him. Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (peace be on you), I frequently invoke Allah to elevate your rank. How much of my supplications should I devote to you?’ He said,......
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