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Declaration Of The Prophet Of Islam

[Quran – 10:104] “O ye men, if you are in doubt concerning my religion, then know that I worship not those whom you worship instead of ALLAH, but I worship ALLAH alone………”

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has said :
[Bukhari, Book #2, Hadith #42] “Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, “Whoever said” None has the right to be worshiped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a barley grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said: “None has the right to be worshiped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a wheat grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said, “None has the right to be worshiped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of an atom will be taken out of Hell.”

Our Misfortunes Fate Or Fiction?

Thinking that our suffering is a punishment from Allah, or just a doing of His because that is what He does, is a very superficial way to look at things.

I have always been a successful, smart, admired, and well-loved person. I always had an idea of what I wanted to do next, and how I would achieve it. I always felt like Allah is on my side, that He answers my prayers and gives me the best of what I ask for. Life has been so rewarding and so fulfilling to my sense of self, until one day, when everything started to change. Unexpectedly, the professional paths I took no longer landed me where I wanted, it threw me on the opposite side of the plan. The people I met no longer appreciated or admired the person that I was, they overlooked the obvious. They only judged, criticized, and belittled me. My financial situation became so unpromising, and my health deteriorated. Those, who seemed so far away from where I was yesterday, are way ahead of me now. Yet, on top of everything, Allah was no longer answering my prayers. No matter how many times I prayed and begged all night, nothing seemed to change. It suddenly felt like a one-sided relationship and that He was no longer responding.

Disappointed, exhausted, frustrated, and torn apart, I asked a thousand questions: why, how, and why me? Am I being punished, or is it how things go? Does Allah sometimes not respond, although He is capable of it, and do I just need to get along with that? I got trapped inside myself and started to feel like the world had become my enemy, and even worse, that Allah was no longer by my side. I went through a very bitter journey both on the inside and outside that many of us pass through in our lives.

Don’t feel agitated, for you are not alone in that. You are not the only one who has unanswered prayers, or question marks about Allah, are doing. You are not the only one who has doubts. We are partners in the same “elevating experience”.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?
Allah SWT says “What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe?” [Quran 4:417]

So, thinking that our suffering is a punishment from Allah, or just a doing of His because that is what He does, is a very superficial way to look at things. Yet, if Allah is not punishing us, nor merely imposing misfortune on us, then why is He doing so? There must be something else beneath the surface that we need to understand. However, to be able to understand what that thing is, we need to look a bit into our psychology.

The Psychology of Our Suffering
As we start our journey in this world, from a very early age, we try to define ourselves through things: relationships, possessions, successes, and accomplishments. Our identification with things is our basic level of self-identification and the most common form of it. Once we define ourselves with things, we cling to them as they become who we are. We start doing anything we can to preserve this false identity. We want more to feel whole, yet, we are farming on fallow land.

The reality is that what we are looking for is the thought that has the label “I, me, mine” on it, or anything that feeds our ego, our false sense of self! Rather than pursuing a sense of identity, we are only pursuing slavery! We are slaves of the things we pursue, slaves who look high upon ourselves and value our ego to the extent that we don’t take losing easily. In fact, if there is a good definition of slavery, it would not be better than the definition we set for ourselves.

Breaking Free from Slavery
A very wise man once said, “He who thinks highly of himself, degrades his religion”. Contemplating this statement solves the mystery of Allah’s doing in our lives. Allah does not inflict calamities upon our lives to punish us, rather He does so to free and elevate our souls. This is clearly declared in Allah SWT saying “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me [51:56]”.

Our mission is obvious and clear, although we tend to overlook it most of the time. We are here to transcend our egos to a higher consciousness, our “ROH” or purified soul. Because it is this purified soul that knows Allah well and is capable of His worship. Egos, on the other side, are a diversion, a test from Allah to measure our sincerity and perseverance in our pursuit of knowing Him and hence worshiping Him at our best. That is why Allah SWT will give us whatever experience is most helpful to free our souls from the chains of slavery, as our purified souls are found on the other end of attachments. Yet, purifying our souls can only be attained through our servitude to Allah, not through our slavery to this Dunya.

So, when Allah finds us imprisoned inside our clinginess for wealth, success, or social status, and trapped inside our dependence on people who are as weak as we are for emotional security, sustenance, or well-being, then He throws us the gift of freedom wrapped in a calamity. Accepting His presents with that level of consciousness would direct us in unwrapping it right. Just like taking off your shoes and walking barefoot on soft sand feels very liberating, so is taking off all this Dunya from your heart. When we look upon Allah’s actions through this lens, we can easily comprehend why He threw His most beloved Prophets with the most difficult of trials. It is because the highest of tests only suit the best of His servants.

The Link between Mental Illness & Spirituality with Psychotherapist Berak Hussain (Podcast)

Philosophy of the Trials of Prophets
Although it was heartbreaking for Prophet Ibrahim to leave his son Ismail and his wife Hajar in the middle of the desert, it was Allah’s gift to free Ibrahim’s heart from the unhealthy attachment to his one and only son at that time. Yet, if it hadn’t been for that, our Prophet (PBUH) would not have been born in Mecca. And if it hadn’t been for the Prophet’s loss of both of his beloved wife Khadija and dear uncle Abu-Talib at the darkest of hours, the rising of Islam would have been attributed to their support, not to Allah’s.

If it hadn’t been for the change of tides in the battle of Uhud and the close defeat of the companions, the remains of Dunya in their hearts wouldn’t have been completely removed, and their faith wouldn’t have been bulletproof.

If the incident of Moussa killing an Egyptian by mistake hadn’t happened, he wouldn’t have left the castle of the Pharoh and traveled to Madyan to grow a thick skin, and hence be prepared to be spoken to by Allah SWT.

Unwrap Your Gifts
So regardless of your suffering, try to unwrap the message inside. There is something in it for you, something that is coming especially for you to liberate your heart from depending on a person, a job, a boss, or even a child for matters that only Allah is responsible for. Something that intends to redirect your heart from its intense occupation with Dunya to Allah. Something that is teaching you step-by-step to trust in Him, rely on Him, call onto Him, speak with Him, repent to Him and really get to know Him. He created us, and He does love us more than a mother loves her child. So, trust His education and let it bring you closer to Him, never far.

“Let the pain of trial be eased by your knowing that it is Him (SWT) who is giving you this trial; For the One whose trials are overwhelming, is the One who has always chosen the best for you (Ibn Atta’ Allah)”.

May we always find peace and understanding?

Shaimaa Elhomossany

Prostrate Yourselves Unto Allah

[ALLAH’S Quran – 41:37] “Among His signs are the day and the night, the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them all, if you truly worship Him alone”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) has said:
[Bukhari, Book #2, Hadith #50] “Do you know what is meant by believing in Allah alone?” They replied, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” Thereupon the Prophet said, It means:
1. To testify that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle.
2. To offer prayers perfectly
3. To pay the Zakat (obligatory charity)
4. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.
5. And to pay Al-Khumus (one-fifth of the booty to be given in Allah’s Cause).

Then he forbade them four things, namely, Hantam, Dubba,’ Naqir Ann Muzaffat or Muqaiyar; (These were the names of pots in which Alcoholic drinks were prepared) (The Prophet mentioned the container of wine, and he meant the wine itself). The Prophet further said (to them): “Memorize them (these instructions) and convey them to the people whom you have left behind.”

Allah Is With The Patient

[103. Surah Al-Asr: Ayah 1-3] “By the declining day, Lo! Man is a state of loss, save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 45-46] “And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones, Who know that they shall meet their Lord.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 153] “O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is with the patient.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 155] “And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits, and give good news to the patient.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 156] “Who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Allah’s and to Him, we shall surely return.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 157] “Those are they on whom are blessings and mercy from their Lord, and those are the followers of the right course.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 249] “Allah is with the patient.”

[33. Surah Al-Ahzab: Ayah 35] “Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember– Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward.”

Allah’s Revelation To Bee

[16. Surah Nahl: Ayah 68-69] “And your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build. Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colors, in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a person who reflects.”

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 71, Number 582] Narrated Abu Huraira (Radi Allah Anhu): The Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) said, “There is no disease that Allah has sent down, except that He also has sent down its treatment.”

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 71, Number 584] Narrated Ibn Abbas (Radi Allah Anhu): The Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) said, “Healing is in three things: cupping, a gulp of honey or cauterization (branding with fire) but I forbid my followers to use cauterization (branding with fire).”

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 71, Number 588] Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri (Radi Allah Anhu): A man came to Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) and said, ” My brother has abdominal trouble.” The Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) said to him “Let him drink honey.” He returned again and said that I had done that but nothing changed. The Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) said, “Allah has said the truth, but your abdomen has told a lie. Let him drink honey.” So he made him drink honey and he was cured.

Ramadan Allah’s Laws For Fasting

“It is a religious observance that lasts a fixed number of days. But those of you who are sick or proceeding on a journey shall compensate the fast by the same number of days at a later date. As for those who experience hardship caused by fasting, they appease Allah by expiration of feeding an indigent. Nonetheless, he who voluntarily offers to commit good shall find benevolence and benefaction indeed rewarding; and if you are able to fast, it profits you, if only you knew. Ramadan is the month of fasting during which the Quran’s poignant disclosure was revealed to guide people into all truth; its clear revelations guide them out of darkness and superstition and eliminate want of spiritual and intellectual vision into illumination and mental enlightenment, and its precepts are the standard to judge right or wrong. Therefore, he who grasps sight of the birth of the moon shall begin to fast. But he who is sick or proceeding on a journey shall fast the same number of days at a later time. Allah’s purpose is to put you at ease and not make you experience discomfort. He wants you to complete the course of fasting so that you praise Allah and extol His glorious attributes for His guidance to the path of righteousness, and that you may hopefully impel yourselves to feel gratitude.” [2:184-185]

“It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights preceding the fast. Your spouses are a garment for you, as you are for them. Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you. So now you may be intimate with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you. You may eat and drink until you see the light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall. Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques. These are the limits set by Allah, so do not exceed them. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to people, so they may become mindful of Him.” [2:187]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) has said:
[Bukhari, Book #31, Hadith #118] “Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “fasting is a shield (or a screen or a shelter). So, the person observing fasting should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, “I am fasting.” The Prophet added, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), ‘He has left his food, drink, and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it, and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times.”

Allah Sent Gabriel To Paradise And Hell

On the authority of Abu Hurrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:- When Allah created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent Gabriel to Paradise, saying:- Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants.

The Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:- So he (Gabriel) came to it and looked at what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants.

The Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:- So he (Gabriel) returned to HIM and said:- By your glory, no one hears of it without entering it. So he ordered that it be encompassed by forms of hardship. He said:- Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants.

The Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:- So he (Gabriel) returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship.

Then he returned to him and said:- By Your glory, I fear that no one will enter it.

He said:- Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants, and he (Gabriel) found that it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned to HIM and said:- By Your glory, no one who hears of it
will enter it. So HE ordered that it be encompassed by Lusts.

Then HE said:- Return to it. And he (Gabriel) returned to it and said:- By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape from entering it.

Allah The Forgiver Of Sin, The Accepter Of Repentance

[40. Surah Gafir: Ayah 1-4] “Ha Mim. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Mighty, the knowing, The Forgiver of the faults and the Acceptor of repentance, Severe to punish, Lord of bounty; there is no god but He; to Him is the eventual coming. None dispute concerning the communications of Allah but those who disbelieve, therefore let not their going to and fro in the cities deceive you.”

[9. Surah At-Tawba: Ayahs 104] “Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from His servants and takes the
alms, and that Allah is the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful?”

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 9, Book 93, Number 592] Narrated Abu Huraira (Radi Allah Anhu): Allah’s Apostle (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) said, “Allah says, “If My slave intends to do a bad deed then (O Angels) do not write it unless he does it; if he does it, then write it as it is, but if he refrains from doing it for My Sake, then write it as a good deed (in his account). (On the other hand) if he intends to do a good deed but does not, then write a good deed (in his account), and if he does it, then write it for him (in his account) as ten good deeds up to seven hundred times.”

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 9, Book 93, Number 598] Narrated Abu Huraira (Radi Allah Anhu): I heard the Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) saying, “If somebody commits a sin and then says, ‘O my Lord! I have sinned, please forgive me!’ and his Lord says, ‘My slave has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven my slave (his sins).’ Then he remains without committing any sin for a while and then again commits another sin and says, ‘O my Lord, I have committed another sin, please forgive me,’ and Allah says, ‘My slave has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven my slave (his sin). Then he remains without Committing any other sin for a while and then commits another sin (for the third time) and says, ‘O my Lord, I have committed another sin, please forgive me,’ and Allah says, ‘My slave has known that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven My slave (his sin), he can do whatever he likes.”