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Cleanliness At Home

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Cleanliness is half of faith…” (Bukhari).
Cleanliness in our homes is not just a matter of routine; it is actually part of our religion.

Our homes are where we live, eat, sleep, and offer salah (prayer). You could even say that our homes are our identities. The bottom line is that our homes deserve respect. Keeping them clean is a way to demonstrate our regard for them.

This fact is further reinforced as Allah clearly tells us: “Make your dwellings as places for your worship.” (10:87).

One might ask, why should we show regard to our homes? In fact, they are only buildings.

But, Allah explains to us repeatedly in the Qur’an: “Be grateful to Me (For My countless Favors on you) and never be ungrateful to Me.” [2:152].

It all simply boils down to how we look at things. Our homes are not just buildings; they are favors given to us by our Creator. Therefore, it is obligatory for us to show regard and appreciation for the blessings that He has bestowed on us.

Could anyone of us ever imagine mistreating a gift from Allah? It’s not likely that when viewed in this light, anyone of us would ever have the intention of disregard. Our homes are among the numerous blessings that we have been given in this life. They are a test for us as well as a luxurious blessing that not all have been granted.

“Verily Allah is full of bounty to mankind, but most of them are ungrateful.” (10:60)

This is not to say that we must scrub the floors daily, but keeping a neat home nurtures our mental state and encourages us to have confidence, which fuels optimism.

It has been suggested that people who are surrounded by constant untidiness become depressed and dispirited. When a woman is feeling her worst, the state of her home may be a direct reflection of her state of mind at that time.

By keeping our homes clean and in order, we are better equipped to handle difficult situations and be better Muslims. Cleanliness is also a wonderful gift we can teach our children. Children learn by our example, and their habits will rival our own – good or bad.

Teaching tidy habits to children will help them to become more successful during their school-age years and also at work when they grow older. Organization and tidiness are useful traits in every walk of life and profession.

Cleanliness is also a part of Da’wah (propagation of Islam) to non-Muslims. It exhibits one of the many wonderful benefits that are a result of practicing our religion. For example, if a Muslim family rents a home and leaves it clean, the owner of the property will be drawn to renting to other Muslims in the future.

Our day-to-day living conditions can either leave the mark of a good impression or a negative one that will be remembered for years. By keeping our homes clean, to the best of our ability, we are making our homes a more desirable place for our families and ourselves.

Furthermore, we are practicing our religion by completing half of our faith and displaying deep gratitude for the blessings we have been provided with in this life in hopes of gaining better ( Paradise) in the next, God willing.

About Honey

If you have allergies, honey can be beneficial. If you eat honey that is local to your area, it may help prevent your seasonal allergies. Bees use the pollen from local plants and eventually, it ends up in your honey.

[16:114] Therefore, you shall eat from GOD’s provisions everything that is lawful and good, and be appreciative of GOD’s blessings, if you do worship Him alone.

Honey may also be good for your skin. It has the ability to attract water. It is also safe for sensitive skin. You can use it as a moisturizing mask for your skin as well as your hair. To use it as a conditioner, mix the honey with olive oil. Be sure to wash your hair thoroughly before you go outside.

[35:3] O people, remember GOD’s blessings upon you. Is there any creator other than GOD who provides for you from heaven and the earth? There is no other god besides Him. How could you deviate?

If you have a sore throat, take some honey.  Honey has powerful antimicrobial properties, which can soothe your raw tissues. Pour a teaspoon of honey into a large serving spoon and then top off the spoon with lemon juice. Swallow the concoction (without water) every few hours until symptoms clear up. Some people add a pinch of black or red pepper to increase blood circulation to the throat.  Due to its natural anti-inflammatory effect, it will help to heal wounds more quickly. It also has different phytochemicals–chemicals found in plants and different foods–that kill viruses, bacteria, and fungus making it a good substitute for wound dressings. The taste may also take your mind off the pain. There is evidence that honey diluted in water will help with your stomach aches and dehydration.

[33:17] Say, “Who would protect you from GOD if He willed any adversity, or willed any blessing for you?” They can never find, besides GOD, any other Lord and Master.

Do you have a cut? Honey is a natural antiseptic. Medical journals cite more than 600 cases in which honey was employed to treat wounds. By applying honey to your wounds, you prevent infections. Honey contains antimicrobial agents, which prevent infections by killing the bacteria in and around your wounds. When using honey it may help to heat it up before putting it on your wound (caution test the heat before you place it on the wound). Many types of bacteria can’t survive in honey, so wounds heal, swelling eases, and tissue can grow back.

[16:53] Any blessing you enjoy is from GOD. Yet, whenever you incur any adversity you immediately complain to Him.

Honey may also be effective in the treatment of your ulcers.  In Europe, honey has been used internally to help cure ulcers, particularly stomach ulcers. Burns, too, heal better with honey, studies show. The advantage of honey is that it not only prevents infections from occurring, it actually accelerates skin healing. Since the sugar in honey absorbs water it helps to trap some of the moisture so that the bacteria and other microbes can’t grow as easily as in other food.
It is true that honey has healing.  But, it is not the only food that heals:

[16:68] And your Lord inspired the bee: build homes in mountains and trees, and in (the hives) they build for you.
[16:69] Then eat from all the fruits, following the design of your Lord, precisely. From their bellies comes a drink of different colors, wherein there is healing for the people. This should be (sufficient) proof for people who reflect.

The Quran is the best hadith that gives us the correct understanding.

[39:23] GOD has revealed herein the best Hadith; a book that is consistent and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). The skins of those who reverence their Lord cringe therefrom, then their skins and their hearts soften up for GOD’s message. Such is GOD’s guidance; He bestows it upon whoever wills (to be guided). As for those sent astray by GOD, nothing can guide them.

Embracing Islam In Daily Life

Islam has existed since the beginning of time and it is the natural religion of mankind. Since the beginning of His creation, Almighty Allah had planned that Islam would be the way His creation would find true happiness.

Unlike other religions, Islam is not just a religion of rituals and religious observance, but it is a complete way of life. In Islam, we find a complete way of living. In fact, the ordinary routines of life become for us a way of worshiping Almighty Allah.

The first and most important way in which we embrace Islam in our daily lives is to be regular about the five daily prayers. These five prayers are essential for us. Without them, we are just pretending to be Muslim. Without them, we are not taking our faith seriously.

The five daily prayers are the way in which our whole day becomes grounded and rooted in Allah. They have been given to us to make it possible to live as good Muslims, turning our eyes and our hearts throughout the day to Allah.

If we are looking for ways to live as Muslims, we need to look no further than to try to be faithful and prompt in the five daily prayers. By doing this, our whole day revolves around Allah and all the activities of the day; all our thoughts and all our intentions become devoted to Him.

It is only natural for us, as humans, to get caught up in the rushing around and the business of the day. It is only natural that the television news and the newspapers will affect us with their stories of tragedy and disaster. This is why so many people in the world become depressed and anxious.

We, too, as Muslims, might fall into the trap of getting caught up in the affairs of the world if it were not for the five daily prayers. Just as an air raid siren calls citizens in a time of danger to rush and take shelter, so the Adhan, the Call to Prayer, urges us to rush and take shelter from the cares of the world and to take refuge with Almighty Allah, Who is in control of all things. So prayer is the first way to embrace Islam in our daily lives.

We might find some time, too, during the day to read the Qur’an and ponder its message. This might not take a great deal of time, but it will heap rewards upon us and will make our day richer. Setting aside a few minutes each day, maybe early in the morning or late at night, to read the Qur’an will make our day a better day.

Aside from these two central things, we may take a whole book to list just some of the ways in which to take our faith seriously and embrace Islam in our daily lives.
The way we greet others, for example, reminds them that we are Muslim and it reminds us, too, that we are Muslim.

The greeting of salam, a greeting of peace, reminds us that Islam is a religion of peace.

In some countries, it may not be the custom to greet all people with as-salamu alaykum, but we can at least not forget to do this with our Muslim brothers and sisters. There is an unfortunate trend at the moment to answer the telephone by saying “hello.” Where did this “hello” come from? Are we not Muslim? Is our greeting not always the greeting of peace?

Throughout our conversation during the day, we remind ourselves that we are Muslim by words and phrases that call to mind Almighty Allah. For example, we praise Almighty Allah with exclamations like al-hamdu lillah (all praise to Allah) and ma sha’ Allah (whatever Allah wants). We can remain strong in faith by saying aloud such phrases as la hawla wa la quwwata ill bil-lah (There is neither strength nor power save from  Allah,) whenever we hear of something bad or of some tragedy or disaster in the news.

Of course, as Muslims, we embrace Islam in our daily lives by the way we dress modestly, which applies to both men and women, the way we lower our gaze at the proper time, and the way we relate to others during the course of the day. The way we talk, the topics of our conversation, and the people we mix with are all part of our Islam. The choice of friends is all a part of who we are as Muslims.

Good manners are a complete part of our Muslim way of life. In fact, it is these Islamic good manners that can be a very strong part of our da’wah to others, telling them about Islam in a gentle way, without “preaching” to them.

Muslims are courteous toward others and are respectful to others and to all of Allah’s creation. In this sense, Muslims are the world’s natural environmentalists, since we love and respect our environment as part of creation.

In addition to all these natural ways of being a good Muslim, we can add extra things to help us even more. We can get up in the middle of the night, for example, to pray extra prayers, knowing that Almighty Allah is ready to listen to us. We might pray an extra two rak’ahs at different times during the day to ask Allah for our needs or to pray for the needs of others.

We might choose to follow the example of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), by fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. During the special month of Ramadan, we are given an even greater opportunity to dedicate our whole day to Almighty Allah, by fasting for His sake.

So there are so many ways in which Islam becomes a part of our daily lives. It is easy for anyone to say with their lips that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Messenger, but as Muslims, we must mean it with all our hearts.

We can show how much we mean it by embracing Islam daily and making it, as you say, a part of our daily lives. In Sha’ Allah, Almighty Allah will give us the will to do this and reward our efforts.

Man Has A Free Will In Islam

Before assigning to man this vicegerency (Khilafat), Allah made it clear to him that He alone is the Lord, the Ruler, and the Deity. As such, the entire universe and all the creatures in it (including man) should submit to Him alone.

Man must not think himself totally free and must realize that this earth is not his permanent abode.

He has been created to live on it only for a probationary period and, in due course, he will return to his Lord, to be judged according to the way he has spent that period.

The only right course for man is to acknowledge Allah as the only Lord, the Sustainer, and the Deity, and to follow His guidance and His commands in all he does.

His sole objective should be to merit the approval of Allah.

If man follows a course of righteousness and godliness (which he is free to choose and follow) he will be rewarded in this world and the next: in this world he will live a life of peace and contentment, and in the Hereafter he will qualify for the heaven of eternal bliss, Al-Jannah. If he chooses to follow the course of godlessness and evil (which he is equally free to choose and follow), his life will be one of corruption and frustration in this world, and in the life to come, he will face the prospect of that abode of pain and misery which is called Hell.

After making this position clear, Allah placed man on earth and provided the very first human beings (Adam and Eve) with guidance as to how they were to live.

Thus man’s life on this earth did not start in utter darkness. From the beginning, a bright torch of light was provided so that humanity could fulfill its glorious destiny.

The very first man received revealed knowledge from Allah Himself and was told the correct way to live.

This code of life was Islam, the attitude of complete submission to Allah, the Creator of man and the whole universe. It was this religion that Adam, the first man, passed down to posterity.

But later generations gradually drifted away from the right path.

Either they lost the original teachings through negligence or they deliberately adulterated and distorted them. They associated Allah with innumerable human beings, material objects, and imaginary gods. Shirk (polytheism) became widespread. They mixed up the teachings of Allah with myths and strange philosophies and thus produced a jumble of religions and cults; and they discarded the God-given principles of personal and social morality, the Shariah.

Although man departed from the path of truth, disregarded or distorted the Shariah, or even rejected the code of Divine guidance, Allah did not destroy them or force them to take the right course. Forced morality was not in keeping with the autonomy He had given to man. Instead, God appointed certain good people from among the human society itself to guide men to the right path.

These men believed in Allah and lived a life of obedience to Him. He honored them with His revelations, giving them the knowledge of reality. Known as prophets, blessings, and peace be on all of them, they were assigned the task of spreading Allah’s message among men.

Concealing The Weaknesses Of Others

A very bad and dirty habit to be commonly found is to reveal and make public the fault of other people. People don’t think for a second to comment upon any other fault or weakness. While avoiding harm to others and concealing the weakness of one’s fellow human beings is a prominent theme of the moral teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah. Please have a look at the Few Sayings of our Prophet are as follows:

1-  “If a person conceals the weakness of another in this world, Allah will conceal their weakness in the hereafter”
[Al Nawawi, Riyad al Salihin p 135, Hadith no 245; al Ghazali, Kitab Adab p 344]

2- “Whoever protects the honor of his brother, will have Allah protect his countenance from the fire on the Day of Judgement ”
[Al Nawawi, Riyad al Salihin p 488, Hadith no 1530]

3- “Do not harm Muslims, and do not revile them, nor pursue their imperfections. For verily, whosoever pursues the imperfections of his brother shall have his own imperfections pursued by Allah ”
[Sunan of al Tirmidhi, as quoted in Principles of State and Government in Islam, p 85]

Whoever sees a Muslim’s imperfection and then conceals it is like one who gives new life to a female infant buried in the desert.
[Bukhari]

Verily, Allah does not like people who are obscene and who spread obscenities.
[Bukhari]

A Word Of Advice To Seekers Of Knowledge

We give thanks to Allah, the One free of all defects, for having inspired us. And we ask Him to grant us the ability to act upon what He has given us knowledge of. Indeed, goodness cannot be attained, except by His granting and His assistance. Whomsoever Allah leads astray, there is no one from His creation that can guide him. May Allah send His blessings upon Muhammad, the chief of the first and the last (of people), and upon his brothers from among the prophets and messengers. And upon those who follow the light ( i.e. the Qur’an) that was revealed to him until the Day of Recompense.

To proceed, I advise you O seeker of knowledge to have a sincere and pure intention in your search for knowledge. And that you exert yourself in acting upon what it necessitates (from action). For indeed knowledge is a tree and action is its fruit. And one can never be considered knowledgeable so long as he doesn’t act upon what he has knowledge of.

It has also been stated: “Knowledge is a parent and action is its offspring.” And “Knowledge comes with action, while narrating comes with investigating.”

So do not feel satisfied with your actions so long as you are lacking in knowledge. Nor feel satisfied with knowledge so long as you fall short of producing actions. Rather, combine them both, even if your share of the two is small.

And there is nothing worse than a scholar, whose knowledge the people abandon because of the corruption of his ways, nor an ignorant person whose ignorance the people accept because of what they see from his worship.

So a little of this (knowledge) along with a little of that (action) is what is most likely to save you in the end, when Allah bestows His mercy upon His servant and completes his favor upon him. But as for laziness and negligence, love for ease and comfort, preferring the easy life and showing indifference, inclining towards leisure and relaxation, then the results of these characteristics are blameworthy, detestable, and disastrous.

Knowledge leads to action, just as action leads to salvation. So if the action falls short of the knowledge, then the knowledge becomes a burden upon the one who possesses that knowledge. And we seek Allah’s refuge from knowledge that turns into a burden, is the cause of humiliation, and becomes a shackle on the neck of the one who possesses it.

Is Every Deed Acceptable?

“Innamal aamalu bin niyyat” – Actions depend upon intentions.

The Hadith about intentions is so important, some scholars have expressed the opinion that it encompasses fully one-third of Islamic teachings. Also, it is one of the most remembered and quoted Hadiths and one that is frequently quoted in its original Arabic even by non-Arabic speaking Muslims. There is hardly a Muslim who has never heard it. While all this attention to its words is superb, unfortunately, we have not done as much to understand its implications and let that understanding inform our actions.

From an Islamic perspective, our actions can fall into one of three categories and our intentions have different implications for each of them. In the first category are the religiously mandatory acts or the voluntary acts of worship (like voluntary salat). In the second category are the permissible acts that include most of the mundane activities in life, like eating, drinking, sleeping, earning a living, and raising a family. The third category consists of prohibited acts.

The most direct application of this Hadith is to the first category. It tells us that such deeds must be performed for the sole purpose of pleasing Allah for even the slightest corruption of our motives could destroy them. The five pillars are prime examples of such deeds. For example, if a person offers salat (ritual prayers) to be recognized as a pious person, he has destroyed his salat. For he was praying for the sake of others. The same is true of Haj, and Hijra, and Jihad, and charity, etc, etc…

A believer is fully aware that this sincerity and purity of intention are his most important assets, for without them his most generous donation may bring nothing but disaster.

The Qur’an explains it further through a beautiful simile. It compares the case of two persons engaged in what would appear to be identical acts of charity. Both spend money to help the needy. One does it purely for the sake of Allah; the other has the goal of getting a good name from it. (Al-Baqarah, 2:264-265).

Charity is an important example because here the chances of corruption of our motives are especially high due to the very nature of the act. We deal with other people who may thank and recognize us and we may begin to love and seek that appreciation. What is more, we may brush aside any qualms by assuring ourselves that the publicity is only meant to inspire others.

If we keep this background in mind, we can begin to see the now nearly routine practice of holding a fundraising dinner – by the Muslims living in the West -very differently. It is obvious that this is not a Muslim institution; they borrowed it from their host countries. And they did so without much thought. Here are its underlying ideas. First, a nice dinner in a nice restaurant is a way of putting people in the mood. Second, advertising each donation is a means of inspiring others as well as rewarding the donors. Third, high-pressure techniques, like putting people on the spot, are quite productive.

Each of these elements is poles apart from Islamic teachings. A Muslim gives out of concern for his hereafter, not by being lulled into giving by posh surroundings. He knows that the reward for his donation depends upon the sincerity with which it is given and not its monetary amount. He is fully aware that this sincerity and purity of intention are his most important assets, for without them his most generous donation may bring nothing but disaster. A person with such concerns would be very leery of going to a fundraising dinner with his donations. An entire community of such people would be very reluctant to hold such an event in its present form.

Despite remembering, and often repeating, the words “innamal aamalu bin niyyat” (Actions depend upon intentions), the Muslim communities in the West (with the notable exception of Islamic religious schools) have shown little qualms about this borrowed fundraising practice, show that somehow we have lost sight of its message.

We can turn every moment of our life into an act of worship through a change in our intentions.

In fact, often times this Hadith is invoked in a twisted manner; with reference to the third category of deeds (the prohibited acts), for example. When we commit a mistake, we try to assuage our guilty feelings by assuring ourselves that we meant no harm. For our failures or shortcomings, we have the satisfaction that our intentions were good. In the worst case, we may interpret the Hadith to suggest that the ends justify the means. We need to remember that sheer good intentions do not repair a bad act. If we do not perform our salat or sacrifice or Haj correctly, mere good intentions will not make them right.

With regard to the second category (permissible mundane acts), our intentions have the potential for turning them into acts of worship. This is also an aspect we ignore to our own loss. For here is the possibility of turning every moment of our life into an act of worship through a change in our intentions. For example, when a believer goes to his place of work with the intention of fulfilling his religious responsibility to provide for his family and earn a halal living, he may be engaged in the same physical activity as the next person but his outlook is very different. And so is his reward!

Through this small effort, we could really be living for a higher purpose. And at a higher level.