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Our Lord! Cause Not Our Hearts To Go Stray

[ALLAH’S Quran – 3:8] “Our Lord! Cause not our hearts to stray after Thou hast guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Thy Presence. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Bestower.”

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has said :
[Malik’s Muwatta, Book #3, Hadith #3.6.26] “Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Ubayd, the mawla of Sulayman ibn Abd alMalik, from Ubada ibn Nusayy from Qays ibn al Harith that Abu Abdullah as-Sunabihi said, “I arrived in Madina in the khalifate of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, and I prayed maghrib behind him. He recited the umm al Qur’an and two suras from the shorter ones of the mufassal in the first two rakas. Then he stood up in the third and I drew so near to him that my clothes were almost touching his clothes. I heard him reciting the umm al-Qur’an and this ayat, ‘Our Lord, do not make our hearts go astray after You have guided us, and give us mercy from Your presence. Surely You are the Giver.”

Al-Ehsaan, You Worship Him As Though You Are Seeing Him

Sahih Bukhari Book 1, Number 0001:
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Ya’mur that the first man who discussed about Qadr(Divine Decree) in Basra was Ma’bad al-Juhani. I along with Humaid b. ‘Abdur-Rahman Himyari set out for pilgrimage or for ‘Umrah and said: Should it so happen that we come into contact with one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) we shall ask him about what is talked about Taqdir (Division Decree). Accidentally we came across Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab, while he was entering the mosque. My companion and I surrounded him. One of us (stood) on his right and the other stood on his left. I expected that my companion would authorize me to speak. I therefore said: Abu Abdur Rahman! there have appeared some people in our land who recite the Holy Qur’an and pursue knowledge. And then after talking about their affairs, added: They (such people) claim that there is no such thing as Divine Decree and events are not predestined. He (Abdullah ibn Umar) said: When you happen to meet such people tell them that I have nothing to do with them and they have nothing to do with me. And verily they are in no way responsible for my (belief). Abdullah ibn Umar swore by Him (the Lord) (and said): If any one of them (who does not believe in the Divine Decree) had with him gold equal to the bulk of (the mountain) Uhud and then, it (in the way of Allah), Allah would not accept it unless he affirmed his faith in Divine Decree.

He further said: My father, Umar ibn al-Khattab, told me: One day we were sitting in the company of Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Apostle (peace be upon him) He knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Al-Islam implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about al-Ihsan. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don’t see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer) again said: Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the one who is inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me some of its indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings. He (the narrator, Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: Then he (the inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a long while. He then, said to me: Umar, do you know who this inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel (the angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion.
Sahih Bukhari Book 1, Number 0001:

The Holy Prophet Muhammed (may peace be upon him ) informed the muslims about Al-Ehsaan , the spiritual state of believer ,as he does the acts of worship and good deeds only for Allah and follows the command of Allah and his Apostle , and associates with the Holy Prophet Muhammed Salalaahu Alaihi wasallam by both heart and by actions .

This Spiritual state reflects the Impact of the pious acts and deeds and worship on his soul that he is able to worship Allah as though he is seeing Allah , even though he does not see Allah , but Allah’s presence becomes so vivid an real before him like he is seeing Allah.

Holidays Can be Real Fun!!!

Some Ways of Making your Kids Vacation more Rewarding

During the vacation there is a good opportunity to recharge our kids spiritual batteries and start afresh in daily activities. It is a joyous period and a unique break from our busy schedules. Most of us welcome vacations for its fun. It is good to have fun but this must always be done by not compromising the Islamic way of life!!!

By the same token, it is not a bad idea to take time out during these pressure-free holidays to reflect and possibly change our positions and life for the better.

There is an area that is largely ignored by parents when they go on holidays and that is how to guide their children and teenagers to a sin-free vacation. Very often, the newer generations of Muslims growing up in the West have little guidance and sometimes even less knowledge of the Islamic rules that govern our Islamic way of life and they often end up imitating the free unislamic western lifestyle that surrounds them.

No doubt, if we don’t take a proactive approach to maintaining our iman (faith), we might really lose it. The vacation represents an ideal opportunity to boost one’s deen (religion). However if it’s spent inappropriately, it can lead to disastrous consequences. If we truly value our faith, it is imperative that we use this opportunity to its fullest extent.

Parents have a great responsibility to guide their children to an Islamic lifestyle and to provide a vice-free environment. They should use all available strategies to carry out this responsibility effectively and successfully. This can be achieved by attempting to implement the following tips:

PRAYER –
Parents should ensure that prayers are performed punctually and be keen to pray on time, especially when their children are with them. This will help the children learn the importance of prayer and the value of time. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as said, “Refresh yourselves with Prayer…” (Hadith Al-Bukhari).Men should perform prayer at the Masjid.However if on vacation a Masjid is not close by then pray together as a family. Prayer in Jamaat is better than praying alone. Children love to call azan. Make the youngest one the salaat manager, taking care of prayer rugs, timing, and inviting everyone to salaat.

ENVIRONMENT –
Always remain within an environment that is free from sin. Psychologist emphasize that environment has a great effect on the upbringing of kids. Plan visits to places that do not in any way encroach on our Islamic way of life. Parents should try to keep their children and teenagers away from the immoral scenes that people usually see in holiday resorts during vacations. The free intermingling of sexes is totally prohibited in Islam. Children are vulnerable and very easily succumb to peer pressure. Parents need to be diplomatically assertive in emphasizing Islamic values.

INTERACT –
Regular interaction with your children is vital. Teach them through cool behavior. Trying to appear “cool” in front of their peers during adolescence brings tremendous pressure on children. “Children often don’t feel that their parents know what’s cool and what’s happening, so they turn to their peer group for the answers by trying to imitate them. By starting regular interaction while your children are young, parents can ensure that their kids will use them as their role models and not their peer groups. Time spent with children enhances the parent-child relationship, so that in their later life children will emulate their parents’ values and attitudes and that makes the gift of time the greatest gift of all.

Supplicate And Tide Over Crisis

All of us, no matter how long we have been Muslim, have ups and downs in our Iman (faith). So we must always strive to improve and not get discouraged when we are feeling our Iman at its lowest. Some people give up trying when their Iman is low, and they may end up losing it completely. Don’t let that happen to you!

The first thing one should do, of course, is to learn how to perform Salah (the formal prayer) properly, and then get into the habit of performing the five daily prayers at their proper times. This means learning a little bit of the Qur’an — at east Surat Al-Fatihah (Chapter 1) and at least one or two short surahs — so that you can pray.

It is better, of course, if you learn more of the Qur’an. So make as much effort as you can to learn a bit each day. Also try to learn how to read the Qur’an in Arabic. Your pronunciation will be much better if you learn Qur’an from the Arabic script rather than from a transliteration into Latin letters. This advice is a “too much thing to do” at the beginning, I understand. At least have it at the back of your mind that it is recommended and a long-term goal. Yet, bear in mind that it is not a must.

Another important step in developing your Iman is to make new friends with devout Muslims and try to spend time with them. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to totally give up the friends you had before you were Muslim. Yet, if you spent your time with your old friends drinking or gambling or doing other negative and haraam (forbidden) things, you will have to avoid those activities. This may or may not mean dropping those friends also. If they are real friends, they should be willing to accept you for what you are now. You can still watch football together, for example, but substitute soft drinks for alcohol. If they’re not willing to do that, they’re not real friends.

You can also increase your knowledge of Islam by reading, attending lessons at the mosque or in homes, and listening to audio files on the Internet or to tapes. Try to find a knowledgeable person who can answer your questions. Beware of those who seem to be knowledgeable, while they are not. Search for scholars through Islamic centers and get close to them. Seek knowledge from them.

Also, try to get information from more than one source so that you get a more balanced view of what Islam is. The hardest thing for new Muslims is to figure out where they fit on the spectrum of Islam — are they liberal, moderate, or conservative? Some people have very strict views of what is right and wrong and always choose the more difficult of two Halaal (permissible) choices. Try to take the middle ground and be moderate. Usually, there is more than a black-or-white choice, with many shades of gray in between.

In learning to practice your new faith, take things slowly. Don’t be over-enthusiastic by plunging in and trying to do many extra acts of worship at once.

It was reported by Al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that Allah loves best the acts that are performed regularly, even if they were little. So choose one new action at a time and become very regular in performing it before adding another one.

Finally, the prayers that can be recommended in times of trial. The best thing to do is to pray from your heart. Ask God for what you need and expose your soul at His attendance. However, the only other prayers that are to be recommended are Prophetic supplications used by Prophet Muhammad and other great Prophets (peace be upon them all) or the great Companions.

Otherwise, it is never recommended to oblige oneself to use specific supplications that one doesn’t feel or develop personally. Supplication is a way to communicate on personal level with the Divine. We can only use the Prophetic example as a role model here, from where we start to launch a deep personal relation.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: He among you who sees something abominable should rectify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue; and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the lowest level of faith. (Muslim)

To ensure that our supplication is answered, we must be firm in our belief that Allah is able to rectify the problem and that He will answer our prayers. If we have little hope that Allah will answer our prayers, then we have poor understanding of His power or little faith in His mercy, or both.

So supplicate and pray for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Islam, as well as for all humanity, as much as you can and have faith that Allah will help them, and help all of us to help them,In Sha Allah.