Let Him Separate Himself
IN the days when Musa (peace be upon him) wandered with the tribe of Bani Isra’eel in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands praying for rain. To the astonishment of Musa (peace be upon him) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished and the heat intensified.
It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe who had disobeyed Allah for more than forty years of his life.
“Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah told Musa (peace be upon him). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”
Musa (peace be upon him) then called out to his people, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.”
That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow. He knew that he was the one.
The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated.
At that moment, he supplicated to Allah with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”
As Musa (peace be upon him) and the people were waiting for the sinner to come forward, clouds hugged the sky and rain poured.
Musa asked Allah, “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.”
Allah replied, “O Musa, due to the repentance of that very person I blessed all of Bani Isra’eel with water.”
Musa (peace be upon him), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!”
Allah replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”
Destiny
There shall be a night, some night in your life, that you shall awaken in Jannah or Hellfire. On his deathbed, Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed to Allah, “O Allah, protect me from a night whose morning brings a journey to Hellfire.” Think about that morning.
Only two more nights remain
Ibn Jareer narrates on the authority of Mujahid, that there was a man from Bani Israeel who used to spend the night in prayer. Then during the day he would fight the enemy in the way of Allah until the evening and he did this for a thousand months.
Allah revealed for us the Surah about the Night of Al-Qadr.
“The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshiping Allah in that night is better than worshiping Him a thousand months.” (Qur’an, 97:3)
Peace shall descend on Laylatul Qadr until the dawn. It may be that we leave the masjid after Fajr in the next few fays forgiven by Allah, Glorious and Most High.
Communication Between Birds
And Sulaiman (Solomon) inherited (the knowledge of ) Dawud (David). He said: “O mankind! We have been taught the language of birds, and on us have been bestowed all things. This, verily, is an evident grace (from Allah).” (Qur’an, 27:16)
IN the above verse, it is said that the Prophet Solomon was taught the speech of birds in addition to the endowments that God’s grace had adorned him with. The Qur’an refers to the communication between birds and to the fact that the twittering and singing of birds has particular meanings. Birds, like human beings, do communicate. This undeniable communication is certainly not as developed as it is in man.
Research conducted by zoologists has established that sounds emitted by animals are meaningful and not haphazard. Birds, ants, dolphins, etc., have systems of communication.
Meanings in sounds emitted by birds
As the Qur’an speaks of the language of birds, let us take a look at research conducted on birds. Brazilian and American ornithologists have studied the hummingbird (one of the tiniest birds in the world) and published their findings in the British journal Nature. The author of the article, Maria Luisa Da Silva, says that the vocabulary of the hummingbird is not innate but develops afterward. In other words, the hummingbird learns to speak as human beings do.
Studies on crows have demonstrated that they emit a variety of sounds, namely, to call the colony of crows to come together, to express alarm, and to communicate a state of distress. Ornithologists, who have recorded these sounds using a sonograph, are still engaged in deciphering the meanings behind them. Bernd Heinrich, among these scientists who speak of the difficulty in decoding the sonograms, associates this research work with the work of the inhabitants of other planets visiting our earth and trying to decipher eating, playing, making love and activities like catching fish using a sonograph. What we are trying to do is to imagine ourselves in their place. Heinrich speaks of the difficulty encountered in deciphering the language of animals in general, as different species have different ways of communication, each calling for a different approach.
There is a body language, expressed by the changes in your body position and movements, that show what you are feeling or thinking. Nodding means “yes,” hailing is a sign of calling to someone in order to greet him or try to attract his attention. Although the sounds emitted by birds are a means of communication, they also have, in general, a body language. Their body language is easier to decipher. For instance, a bird that emits a sound by touching its beak with his tongue means “I am a friend, I have no intention to harm you.” Theresa Jordan gives a whole list of signs, demonstrating thereby that even the body language necessitates a glossary.
The physiology of birds is as interesting as their language, the long distances they cover without swerving from their destination are something to marvel at. Ornithologists studying birds will see God’s perfect artistry revealed in these creatures too.
There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered. (Qur’an, 6:38)
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): A Unique Type Of Sociability
Some people may need seclusion to maintain their purity of heart and mind. Psychologists say that man’s thinking becomes more mundane when one is in a crowd.
This may be true in as far as ordinary leading figures are concerned. God’s messengers, however, elevate the masses and are never pulled down by the masses. Some of Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) companions used to complain that when they sat with the Prophet they felt to be at a high level of mental awareness which they could not maintain when they got home.
Because of the strength of his relation with his Lord, Muhammad could make the earth heaven and transform ordinary people into angels. His companions were always remembering God when they were with him, and they urged one another to attend to their worship and fulfill the duties assigned to them by God.
The Prophet disliked gatherings where people were oblivious of their duties. He looked unfavorably at any gathering in which God is not glorified. He said: “When a group of people break up after a meeting in which they have not remembered God or glorified him, their meeting is just like a gathering around a dead donkey. They are sure to regret it.”
Should they have a meeting in which matters relating to both this life and the life to come are mentioned, they should be keen to retain its benefit and remove its evil by concluding it with a prayer for forgiveness. The Prophet teaches us: “Whoever sits with some people when they exchange much idle conversation, let him say before leaving: ‘All glory and praise be to You, my Lord. I bear witness that there is no deity other than You. I pray for Your forgiveness, and I repent of my sins’. When a person says this supplication, he is certain to be forgiven whatever took place in that meeting.” Another hadith mentions this supplication and adds: “If that is a good gathering, the supplication becomes its identifier, and if it is a bad meeting, the supplication ensures the supplicant’s forgiveness.”
Social gatherings may lead people to compete for worldly things, and may encourage them to show off and press their own advantages. They may preoccupy people with trivialities, or cause them to transgress. Therefore, the Prophet was keen to end his meetings with people with a prayer for all who are attending. Abdullah ibn Umar reports: “The Prophet rarely left a meeting before saying this prayer for his companions: ‘Our Lord, grant us a feeling of fearing You which is strong enough to keep us away from disobeying You; grant us a level of obeying You that is enough to ensure admission into Your heaven; grant us enough certitude of faith to make all world’s catastrophes seem to us to be light. Our Lord, allow us to enjoy our senses of hearing and sight and to keep our strength throughout our lives, and make these the last of me. Make the one who is unjust to us the pursuer of revenge, and support us against our enemies. Do not make our loss a loss of faith. Our Lord, do not make this world our highest pursuit, or the limit of our knowledge. Do not give power over us to anyone who is unmerciful.”
It was in this fashion that the Prophet ended his meetings. When people left him, they were keenly aware of God’s grace being bestowed on them
Behtareen Biwi Woh Hai
Truthfulness In Qur’an And Sunnah
“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds.)” (Qur’an, 9:119)
“Obedience (to Allah) and good words (were better for them). And when the matter (preparation for Jihad) is resolved on, then if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them.” (Qur’an, 47:21)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “A true action leads to the path of virtue and good deeds, and virtue paves the way for a person to Paradise. A person continues to speak the truth till in the sight of Allah he is named Siddiq or Truthful. Lying leads to vice, and vice leads to indecent acts. A person continues to lie till in the sight of Allah he is named a liar.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Leave alone that which puts thee in doubt, and adhere to that which is free from doubt, for truth is comforting and falsehood is disturbing.” (Tirmidhi)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said about business transactions: “A sale agreement is revocable till the buyer and seller part company. If they tell the truth and disclose everything relevant to the transaction, it becomes full of blessings for both of them; but if they speak falsely and conceal what should be disclosed, the blessing of the transaction is withheld.” (Bukhari and Muslim).
Time: The Precious Asset
In one of the shortest and most powerful surahs, we are reminded that our whole existence in this life would be utterly wasted, futile, and pointless unless we have faith in Allah, act righteously, and join with others in encouraging truthfulness, patience, and perseverance (Al-Asr, 103).
During our lifetime, we will encounter hardship and prosperity, grief and happiness. Allah will test us, with success and with suffering, to see who is best in faith, to test our iman. To the believer, time is a wonderful asset, it is a chance to seek Allah’s mercy, to ask forgiveness, and to do more good deeds.
We must use our time wisely, because wasted time can never be recovered. Time and tide wait for no man. Time passes on, used or abused. And the two angels on our shoulders write down every action in our book of deeds.
Don’t we often wish that we could live our lives again from the start, so that we could put right the wrong things we did? And that our successes could be repeated over and over again? The very fact that we now want to forget our mistakes, or, we want to repeat our good deeds, shows that we have learnt from our experiences in time. Yes, Allah has placed Time at our service as our teacher: it is a teacher that allows good and bad things to happen. But the decision is made by our own free will.
If we look back in history, we will see that, in time, every unjust oppressor was destroyed. In time, good prevails over evil. But this comes only with effort and sacrifice. Thus the hard work, suffering, humility and perseverance of all the Prophets of Allah, helped justice to prevail over oppression.
Just think of Prophet Musa (Moses) and Pharaoh, or Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the tribe of Quraish. Thus Allah Almighty reminds us in the Qur’an:
Whoever does righteous good deeds, it is for (the benefit of) his own self: and whosoever does evil, it is against his own self…. (Fussilat 41: 46)
Time wears out and destroys all material things. But time itself was created by Allah. Allah Alone is the Master of time, and He punishes and rewards us in relation to how we use our time.
We have the power to use time to make our world a better place. But are we truly aware of the value of time? Does our use of the time show that we understand the purpose for which we were created? Do we fully realize that we cannot escape Allah’s judgment? Allah created us to serve Him and Him Alone, and all our actions must reflect this. Our actions must be in harmony with all other creatures, and must follow with the Divine Plan of Allah.
Certain forms of ibadah (worship) need to be observed at definite, prescribed times, such as our prayers, fasting, haj, and Jumu’ah. We cannot perform Jumu’ah at any time, according to our convenience, like on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon! Our daily routines must fit in with our Islamic duties that are time-related. This way, all our good actions will become an extension of our ibadah.
Time is valuable. Let s not waste it on vain conversations and petty arguments. Let s use our time creatively, to move forward, as individuals and as an Ummah. Every moment in time is a favor Allah bestows on us, and surely we must repay honor with honor.
We must express our gratitude to Allah Almighty by using every moment in His service, by teaching others, inviting others to good and, serving our less fortunate brothers and sisters in distress.
The Virtues of Umrah
In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful Allah (swt) says: And complete the Hajj and Umrah in the service of Allah… (Al Baqarah, 196) Nabi (saw) has stated in a hadith: ‘The performance of Hajj and Umrah increase a person’s life span and eradicates poverty and sins just as rust is removed from the iron when placed in the furnace.’ (Targhib)
For this very same reason Imam An-Nawawi (rah) has written that if Allah (swt) grants the ability and guidance to a servant of His, it is Mustahab (preferred) to perform umrah frequently. (Sharah Manasik)
Hazrat Amar ibn Abassa (ra) relates: ‘Rasulullah (saw) stated that the best of deeds is the performance of Hajj or Umrah.’ (Musnad Ahmad)
It is also related in a hadith: ‘Umrah is the lesser Haj.’ (Duri Manzoor)
Abu Hurairah (ra) relates that Rasulullah (saw) stated: ‘One Umrah is expiation for the sins committed between that and the previous Umrah’ (Bukhari/Muslim) Meaning that the performance of one Umrah is the means of forgiving the sins and faults that may have been committed by an individual between that Umrah and the previous one.
Allah (swt) has determined for his servants the fact that Hajj can only be performed at its specified time, in the particular days of Dhil Hijjah. It is not possible for one to perform the rites of Hajj outside this time in any way, shape or form. However, Allah (swt) has blessed His servants with the fact that, aside from the 5 days of Hajj, there is no restriction on the performance of Umrah throughout the year.
It is narrated from Abu Hurairah (ra) Rasulullah (saw) stated: ‘The performers of Hajj and Umrah are guests of Allah (swt), if they seek something from Him, He will grant them, if they seek forgiveness He will forgive them.’ (Ibn Majah)
In another hadith it is related: ‘The performers of Hajj & Umrah are the special guests of Allah (swt), whatever they ask for they are granted and what they pray for it is granted to them and what they spend of they are rewarded for it. They are granted a recompense of 1,000,000 dirhams for the sake of 1 dirham spent.’ (Targhib)
It is for this very reason that we should, in the spare time that we have, endeavor to take our families to the blessed House of Allah (swt) and perform Umrah, stay in the blessed vicinity of the Haramain Sharifain and make it a means of attaching ourselves to Allah (swt) and his Prophet (saw), which is the foundation of our deen.
It is with these trips that one’s attention is directed towards the Akhirah and children are given the motivation to do good deeds and strive to improve their understanding of deen.
It is however unfortunate that in this day and age, due to not being aware of the blessings of such actions as Umrah, we prefer to take our families to the seaside where there is nudity and immodesty. The viewing of which removes hayah (modesty & bashfulness) from our wives, children and loved ones.
My friends, take heed, that those for whom you are responsible, who you take to/allow to go to places of immodesty, it is a right upon you that you teach them correct manners and etiquettes, in accordance with the Qur’an & Sunnah. The propagation and calling towards avenues other that those which are permitted in Shariah is against the orders of Allah (swt) and the teachings of his final Messenger (saw).
Allamah Mahmood Aalosi Baghdadi (rah) has related a hadith in his book: ‘On the day of Qiyamah, a few people (on whom the decision of Jahannum will be manifest) will be in such a state that by looking at them, the others will say… ‘these were those who did great feats of worship, but their loved ones devoured their deeds.’ (Roohul Ma’ani)
May Allah (swt) protect our Iman and grant us the guidance to do good deeds, Aameen Al –Kauthar
Mufti Yusuf Danka Al-Kauthar
Akad Mawakhat
10 Tips To Be A Successful Husband
1. Dress up well for one’s wife:
Dress up for your wife, look clean, and smell good. When was the last time we men looked good to please our wives? Just like the husband wants his wife to look nice to him, she also wants her husband to dress up for her too. Remember that Rasulullah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) – would always start with Miswak when returning home and always loved the sweetest smells.
2. Use likable names for your wife:
Use the cutest names for your wife. Rasul Allah – sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam – had nicknames for his wives, ones that they loved. Call your wife by the most beloved names to her, and avoid using names that hurt their feelings.
3. Recognize the good & focus on that:
Don’t treat her like a fly. We never think about a fly in our daily lives until it ‘bugs’ us. Similarly, a wife will do well all day – which brings no attention from the husband – until she does something to ‘bug’ him. Don’t treat her like this; recognize all the good that she does and focus on that.
4. Be silent on the wrongs:
If you see wrong from your wife, try being silent and do not comment! This is one of the ways Rasullullah( sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) – used when he would see something inappropriate from his wives – radi Allahu ‘anhum. It’s a technique that few Muslim men have mastered.
5. Smile at your wife:
Smile at your wife whenever you see her and embrace her often. Smiling is Sadaqah and your wife is not exempt from the Muslim Ummah. Imagine life with her constantly seeing you smiling. Remember also those Ahadith when Rasullullah( sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam)- would kiss his wife before leaving for Salah, even if he was fasting.
6. Thank her:
Thank her for all that she does for you. Then thank her again! Take for example a dinner at your house. She makes the food, cleans the home, and does a dozen other tasks to prepare. And sometimes the only acknowledgment she receives is that there needed to be more salt in the soup. Don’t let that be; thank her!
7. Make her happy:
Ask her to write down the last ten things you did for her that made her happy. Then go and do them again. It may be hard to recognize what gives your wife pleasure. You don’t have to play a guessing game, ask her and work on repeating those times in your Life.
8. Comfort her:
Don’t belittle her desires. Comfort her. Sometimes the men may look down upon the requests of their wives. Rasullullah( sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) set the example for us in an incident when Safiyyah – radi Allahu ‘anha – was crying because, as she said, he had put her on a slow camel. He wiped her tears, comforted her, and brought her the camel.
9. Be humorous:
Be humorous and Play games with your wife. Look at how Rasul Allah – sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam – would race his wife Aisha -radi Allahu ‘anha – in the desert. When was the last time we did something like that?
10. Try to be the Best:
Always remember the words of Allah’s Messenger – sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam: “The best of you are those who treat their families the best. And I am the best amongst you to my family.” Try to be the best!
In conclusion: Never forget to make Dua to Allah – azza wa jall – to make your marriage successful.
And Allah ta’ala knows best !!