03
Jan 2019
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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02
Jan 2019
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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01
Jan 2019
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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27
Dec 2018
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 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
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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23
Dec 2018
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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18
Dec 2018
Not Relying on Your Deeds as Your Ticket to Paradise There are 9 legitimate types of fear which Imam Muhasibi, the influential scholar from Basra renowned for his introspection, explored in his work on fear and hope. The first fear is fearing how our good deeds will counted and how we viewed them. Fearing deeds may not be accepted Relying on our deeds is to implicitly say, ‘my deeds is my admission ticket to enter Paradise’ – and this is not so. No one can compel Allah Almighty to admit them to......
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17
Dec 2018
Good Fear and Bad Fear When we read this word khawf, we have a common conception or misconception about its meaning. Some of our construct of what khawf, especially with regards to the deen or Allah Almighty is perhaps not healthy and not correct. Yet, from childhood the concept of fearing Allah Almighty is through negative associations and distances us from Him. Truly fearing Allah Almighty brings us closer to Him. Fear is a powerful and incredibly complex emotion which at its core is an innate protective survival mechanism. Fear is an......
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16
Dec 2018
A Leaf’s Tale When a leaf falls As I was walking on one autumnal day, an old oak tree shed a leaf. The leaf caught my attention as it fell, just then, a gust of wind blew across the courtyard, catching the leaf in its path. It turned and twirled as it drifted in the wind before it finally came to rest before my feet. I smiled, because my thoughts raced to the time when an apple fell in an old English country garden, and Sir Isaac Newton happened to see it, he only......
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10
Dec 2018
Everyone is in search of happiness… Where to find happiness? To find peace turn to your Lord, for He is the Source of peace, To find happiness, orientate yourself to your purpose. Happiness is the solace that is derived from being in harmony with the truth. Search for it within, deep within, there you will find it. Be content with knowing Allah and you will be the richest of people. Have inner conviction and determination, and in time you’ll learn to read the cosmos, Written in the ink of His Name, expressing......
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09
Dec 2018
The Benefits of Dhikr Simple dhikr is a powerful tool. Light on the tongue but heavy on the scales. My servant continues to draw near to Me with optional works so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant......
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04
Dec 2018
Envy – the Destroyer of Contentment Ill effects of envy on society Envy is said to be the roots of many diseases of the heart, originally displayed by the accursed Shai’tan. It shows up time and again in many of the social ills we have prevalent in our society like tale bearing, backbiting, slander, hatred, gossip, jealousy, stealing, harming and even murder. Envy is generally blameworthy though it is permissible in a few cases. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) allowed envy in two things, he said: “There is no......
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22
Nov 2018
Boost Your Imaan How can we increase in our spiritual state? What are the keys to finding tranquility? What strengthens imaan? Here are five steps which will bring you closer to Allah when you carry them out with sincerity: You must always be aware that Allah is watching you, in the open and even more so in secret. This is one of the levels of Ihsan; worshipping Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you. Your attitude towards your Lord must always be balanced......
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08
Nov 2018
Study Tips Organising Time Imam Al-Ghazali, in his great work, ‘Ihya Ulum ad-Din’ gives the following advice on structuring your daily life: You should structure your time, arrange your regular devotion and assign to each function a set period of time during which it is given first priority but which it does not overstep. For if you abandon yourself to neglect and purposelessness, as cattle do, and just do anything that may occur to you at any time it happens to occur to you, most of your time will be wasted. Your......
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