Our social:

TAG: Kindness

Why We Need To Pray

After a long and hectic day at work, how difficult it is for a tired person to go out to the mosque and concentrate on his prayers to Allah, the Almighty. Snuggled up in a warm and cozy bed, how difficult it is to get up at the call of the Mu`ezzin: “Come to prayer! Come to success!”

The famous doctor and philosopher, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), recalls such a moment in his life. One cold and icy night, he and his servant were resting at an inn in a remote part of Khurasan. During the night, he felt thirsty, so he called to his servant to bring him some water. The slave had no desire to leave his warm bed, so he pretended not to hear Ibn Sina’s call. But finally, after repeated calls, he reluctantly got up and went to fetch the water.

A little while later, the melodious sound of the adhan (call to prayer) filled the air. Ibn Sina began to think about the person calling the people to prayer. “My slave, Abdullah,” he mused, “has always respected me and admired me. He seizes any opportunity to lavish praise and affection on me, but tonight he preferred his own comfort to my needs.

“On the other hand, look at this Persian, slave of Allah: He left his warm bed to go out into the chilly night, he made ablution in the icy water of the stream, and then he ascended the high minaret of the mosque to glorify Him Whom he truly serves: ‘I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’.”

Ibn Sina records: “I learned the essence of true love, that love which results in complete obedience.” The love of Allah demands total and unconditional obedience. Allah, the Almighty says:

Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon, to mankind): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an, 3:31)

What You And Me Can Do For Others

Imagine that you were witness to a gory hit-and-run accident: from your vantage point you can actually see the helpless, wounded victims, hear their groans of pain and their cries for help.

What would you do?
If you were a doctor or health-care worker, you would attempt to rescue, resuscitate and revive the victims. If you weren’t qualified/equipped to help them yourself, you would try and flag down other cars and get other people to help and carry the victims to the nearest hospital. At the very least, you would call an ambulance or emergency services so that they could be helped.

Only an individual with an exceptionally hardened heart would survey the scene and decide: “It’s not my problem,” avert his eyes and go away without trying to help in some way.

In my mind, this somewhat grisly analogy is apt for the state of our Ummah, and our inexcusable apathy towards it.

It’s almost as if we, the regular, average, and ordinary Muslims have abdicated our responsibility and conveniently look towards the scholars, students of knowledge, the rich and influential to do their bit – and hope it makes up for our reluctance/indifference.
Interestingly, our collective inertia is indicative of the state of our faith.

Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy upon him) says in his book Al-Fawaa’id: “There are different ways of supporting a fellow believer: with one’s wealth, with one’s position of authority or power, by means of physical service, by offering sincere advice and guidance, by du’a and asking for forgiveness for them, and by feeling their pain.

“The level of one’s support will be affected by the level of one’s faith. The weaker a person’s faith, the weaker his support will be; the stronger the faith, the stronger the support. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the greatest of all people in his support for his companions, so the more closely his followers follow him, the greater will be their support for their fellow-believers.”

To the sincere do-gooder, every act of kindness – ranging from the big things to Al-Ma’oon (the smallest good deeds, that could consist of supplying ordinary provisions like sugar, salt and water to the needy) – is fuel in the “race towards forgiveness from the Lord, and towards Paradise.”

There’s the famous story of Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) which illustrates this best: “During the days of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, in an out of the way street in Madina, there lived a blind old woman. Umar would go to her house everyday to see if she required help, but he always found that someone else had anticipated his visit and supplied all the needs of the old lady. One day Umar went to the house of the lady earlier than usual and found that the man who visited the old lady every morning and served her, was none other than Abu Bakr.

Before becoming the Caliph, Abu Bakr used to milk the goats in the neighborhood, and when he became the Caliph, he passed by some women in the street, one of whom remarked that now that he had become the Caliph he would no longer milk the goats for them. Abu Bakr heard these remarks and said that the caliphate made no difference to him, and that he would continue to milk their goats.”

We have seen numerous people here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who seems to have inherited the same spirit of services: there are unknown brothers who visits the hospitals feeds the patients and tucked them in comfortably, made du’a for their speedy recovery– without divulging their name. Some brothers are regular visitor on weekends and just came around to help the patients.

A sister who used to make small packets of detergent powder to distribute to the pilgrims during Haj. She said she had never thought that a small gesture like this would be welcomed by them, but was pleasantly surprised when her little gift was appreciated and accepted gratefully.

It just goes to show that we are limited in our capacity to do good to our fellow Muslims only by our lack of imagination and will – not by a lack of material means.

Spreading Love And Kindness In The Home

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ‘When Allah wills some good towards the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.’” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/71; Sahih Al-Jami’, 303)

According to another report: “When Allah loves the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.” (Ibn Abi Al-Dunya and others; Sahih al-Jami’, no. 1704)

In other words, they start to be kind to one another. This is one of the means of attaining happiness in the home, for kindness is very beneficial between the spouses, and with the children, and brings results that cannot be achieved through harshness, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah loves kindness and rewards it in such a way that He does not reward for harshness or for anything else.” (Sahih Muslim, no. 2592)

Many men think that housework is beneath them, and some of them think that it will undermine their status and position if they help their wives with this work.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), however, used to “sew his own clothes, mend his own shoes and do whatever other work men do in their homes.” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/121; Sahih Al-Jami’, 4927)

This was narrated by his wife Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her), when she was asked about what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to do in his house; her response described what she herself had seen. According to another report, she said: “He was like any other human being: he would clean his clothes, milk his ewe and serve himself.” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/256; Al-Silsilat Al-Sahihah, no. 671)

She was also asked about what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to do in his house, and she said, “He used to serve his family, then when the time for prayer came, he would go out to pray.” (Al-Bukhari)

If we were to do likewise nowadays, we would achieve three things: We would be following the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him); we would be helping our wives; we would feel more humble, not arrogant.

Some men demand food instantly from their wives, when the pot is on the stove and the baby is screaming to be fed; they do not pick up the child or wait a little while for the food. Let these Hadith be a reminder and a lesson.

Being affectionate towards and joking with the members of the family is a praiseworthy trait. Showing affection towards one’s wife and children is one of the things that leads to creating an atmosphere of happiness and friendliness in the home.

The ways in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed affection towards young children are too well-known to need mentioning. He often used to show his affection towards his grandchildren – Hasan and Hussain (may Allah be pleased with them). This is probably one of the reasons why the children used to rejoice when he would come back from traveling; they would rush to welcome him, as reported in a Sahih Hadith: “Whenever he came back from a journey, the children of his household would be taken out to meet him.”

 

The Philosophy Of Salaah

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The importance of Salaah (obligatory 5 times prayers) in a Muslim’s life is undeniable, unquestionable, and undisputable. Every Muslim would agree that acts such as recitation of the Qur’an (qirat), giving charity to the poor (zakaat), pilgrimage (Hajj), fasting during Ramadan (fasting), respecting elders, loving the younger ones, abstaining from watching hearing and doing the haraam, and practices such as taqwa, kindness, prostrations (sajda), and supplications (dua) hold extreme importance in a Muslim’s life.

Our Beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallum commanded the Muslims to practice and teach all of the above mentioned devotions to themselves, others, and especially the children. But never has the Prophet stressed so much on any other element, as He has stressed on Salaat. The Prophet has emphasized Salaat so much that a child is to be disciplined from an early tender age and be put into the practice of offering his prayers. If the child does not recite the Qur’an, that’s ok. If he does not fast, that’s ok. But it is not ok for the child to not offer his prayers. The Prophet commanded the believers to condition their children in such a way that Salaat becomes part of his daily activity from as early of an age as 7 and 10 years.

Salaat is to be offered 5 times a day irrespective of any excuses, whether in a standing position, in a sitting posture, or even while lying down (if a person is sick), but it can not be ignored. The question arises to mind that what is it about Salaat that makes it so different from other pious activities? Why has the Salaat been emphasized so much that it

is one of the only few things that are actually commanded for even a child.Why???
Allah says in the Qur”an, “Seek help from Salaat.” Whenever the Prophet happened to face any difficulty, he would immediately resort to Salaat. When a Muslim offers his Salaat to please Allah, his sins are shed away from him just as leaves drop from trees in Autumn. Just as dirt can not remain on a person’s body who bathes five times, exactly similar is the effect of Salaat offered five times a day with the Grace of Allah it washes away all the dirt of the mind and spirit. Accountability of Salaat will be one of the only three questions asked in the grave, and will be the first and the foremost thing to be accounted for on the Day of Judgement. Salaat is the key to Paradise, the pillar of Islam, the light and mai’raaj of a Momin, and disgraces the Devil. The Mercy of Allah descends upon a person so long as he is engaged in Salaat. Of all the practices, Salaat made at fixed hours is most loved by Allah.

The place of Salaat in Islam is like the head in a body. Fire of Hell is forbidden and Paradise becomes due to a person who performs his ‘Wudhu’ properly and says his Salaat keenly and according to its regulations. Salaat encourages promptness in a person’s life and allows him to appreciate the value of time when he promptly offers his prayers 5 times everyday at their respective times.

Salaat strengthens faith and Eemaan because it makes a believer feel close to his Creator and makes him realize that even if he can not see Allah, Allah can surely see him. Salaat promotes unity and discipline for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side, and it is this subconscious indivisible unity of Islam that makes a man instinctively into a brother.

With these points in mind, one begins to understand the importance of Salaat on an individual’s life, and only now can we begin to understand why Allah and His Messenger emphasized so much on Salaat and wished to embed Salaat as part of every believer?s life, children and adults alike.

Why Be Good To Parents?

Source to Paradise
Being kind to parents can be our source of entering paradise. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned that Jibreel cursed three types of people and the Prophet (peace be upon him) responded by saying Aameen. One such type is a person who grows up when his parents are alive and (due to his negligence to them) they do not allow him to enter Paradise. (Imam Bukhari’s Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, no. 646 – authenticated by Al-Albani)

This Hadith shows the importance of being good to parents, whether they are Muslims or not. It is one of the causes that leads an individual to paradise and saves him from the Fire.

Long life and wealth
Kindness to parents can increase our life span and sustenance. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever would like to have an extension in his stay in this world or have an increase in his sustenance then let him join his family ties.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Being good to parents is one of the important parts of upholding family ties. It could be a reason for long life with increase in sustenance.

Treatment reciprocated
If we treat our parents well, our children will similarly treat us well in future. Our kindness and respect will only return to us. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Show kindness to your parents and in turn your children shall show kindness to you.” (Al-Hakim)

(No doubt, it would be a blessing) if our children are good to us in times of our need.

Allah’s pleasure
Allah’s pleasure is tied with the pleasure of parents and so is His displeasure. Allah is pleased when we obey Him, and He commanded us to be kind to our parents. So, being kind to parents will please Allah, while the opposite invokes His anger.

– From Sheikh Al-Ghudyan’s lecture “Be dutiful and good to parents” via tele-link to Albaseerah, transcribed in Albaseerah.org forums.

Al-Ghudyan is a member of the Council of Senior Scholars and the Permanent Committee for Research and Islamic Verdicts, Saudi Arabia.

Muslim Character As It Should Be

MUSLIMS today are associated with terror, oppression, extremeness and harshness. Unfortunately due to the actions of a few, a huge misrepresentation of who a Muslim is and what the word stands for has developed.

To understand its right meaning, we should look into the life of Muhammad (peace is upon him). Several Muslims exert their utmost efforts to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him), but as fallible mortals, we all fall short.

If a group of Muslims cause terror around the globe by indiscriminately killing Muslims and non-Muslims and justify their actions by misquoting and misconstruing the verses of the Qur’an, is it fair to label all Muslims as terrorists? Take the example of a father who beats his children. Because of one such father, do we label all fathers as child-beaters? We cannot judge Islam by the people, we judge it by the Qur’an and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

A Muslim is someone who firstly believes in and submits to Allah, and obeys His Messenger. He understands and attests to the five pillars of Islam. Understanding monotheism and having the correct belief is the most important of all.

As for the character, a Muslim has to be honest and truthful. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said “Three things are the sign of the hypocrite: when he speaks he tells lies, when he promises he breaks it and when he is trusted he proves to be dishonest.” (Al-Bukhari, Eng. Trans. 1/31/no.32 and Muslim, Eng. Trans. 1/40/no.112). We should ask ourselves: Do we fall into these categories or are we safe from them?

A Muslim is expected to be gentle. Gentleness spreads love and unites people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said “Indeed Allah is gentle and loves gentleness, and gives due to gentleness that which He does not give to harshness. (Ibn Majah, no. 3688)

A Muslim should also be quick to forgive others. Allah said in the Qur’an:

“And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqun (the pious).

Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good­doers).” (Qur’an, 3:133-134)

Worthy to mention here is an example of the Prophet’s kindness and forgiveness:

Before migration, when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was living in Makkah, an old woman would throw rubbish on him whenever he passed by her house. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would silently pass by that house everyday, without expressing any anger or annoyance. The old woman, one day, fell ill. The Prophet (peace be upon him) not finding his usual greetings, enquired about the woman’s well-being by visiting her and if he could in any way help her.

The old woman was greatly moved by this kindness. The example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made her understand that he was truly the Prophet of Allah and that Islam was the true religion. She accepted Islam at once.

As Muslims, we should try our utmost to be a proper representative of Islam. We should portray the message brought by the Prophet (peace be upon him). We should always look at ourselves first before judging others.

How Strange Is It To Be Kind?

It seems so strange, but the words “be kind” have lost their meaning and essence. Kindness is something that Islam propagates to the extent that even a smile gets a reward. A Muslim is one who puts others before himself and tries to help others whenever he can.

Our Prophet (peace be upon him) was the greatest human example of kindness. Being kind to one another softens the heart and leads to love and strong bonds between Muslims. We all know the Prophetic narration that states: No one will be a true believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

When walking the streets in this country, just how many times do we initiate the Islamic greeting to others? Do we give our salaams to whom we know and whom we don’t know out of sincerity towards Allah? Saying salaams also entails an attitude of humility and spreading a symbol of this Ummah.

Too often, we underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, or a listening ear. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that we should not dismiss certain acts of kindness by deeming them to be insignificant, even if it was to meet your brother with a smiling face.

Is it that hard for us to put this into practice? Imagine you smiled at everyone you met. How would you feel? Next time you go out, smile at people you meet and you will see the difference in yourself and the way you perceive everything around you. As Muslims, we know kindness is a trait that brings about solace and comfort. Among the branches of kindness is being gentle with people. But today it is so normal to see harshness around us.

Ibn Majah reports through Abu Hurairah that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Indeed Allah is gentle and loves gentleness and gives due to gentleness that which he does not give to harshness.”

Through gentleness, hearts become united, love develops, and good spreads around. Through kindness, we can turn harsh people into mild, enemies into friends, and opponents into companions. Allah has blessed many of us with the blessing of having someone work for us, whether it be a house cleaner or a driver, something that is not common in the West. However, we read so many stories of cruelty and misconduct toward them.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim report that Anas said, “I never felt any piece of velvet or silk softer than the palm of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), nor did I smell any fragrance more pleasant than the smell of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). I served him for 10 years and he never said Uff (an expression of annoyance) to me. He never said, ‘Why did you do that?’ for something I had done, nor did he ever say, ‘Why did you not do such and such’ for something I had not done.”

Look and contemplate upon the kindness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he never found faults with the doings of his servant nor did he ever scold him during the 10 years of service. If we view ourselves in the light of this Hadith, then we’ll realize how far and distant we are from the best guidance.

Leave others aside, how do we treat our own families and children? Kindness breeds the type of patience that leads to morality. We also feel tremendous happiness by making others happy. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money cannot buy. The real treasures that Allah has bestowed upon us – the gift of seeing, hearing, and sensing.

There is a famous Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslims that shows how kindness can get our sins forgiven: “Once there was a dog wandering around, dying of thirst when a prostitute saw it. She then took off her shoe and used it to give the dog water (out of a well). She was granted forgiveness (i.e. for her sins for being a prostitute when she repented).”

So how can we become the kind person who puts others before himself? We must first start by having the correct belief in Islam and understanding of Islamic monotheism. This is the foundation of everything. If our belief in Allah is corrupted then we cannot expect to be good. It is like the example of a house.

If the foundations are weak, the whole house will be vulnerable but if the foundations are strong it will be sturdy and resilient. Next, we must have sincerity in what we are doing and do it for the sake of Allah alone. Then we must try to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him) as much as possible being conscious of the verse of the Qur’an that says Allah loves those who obey and follow Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Imam Muslim reports in his Sahih that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith;” and “one who lacks kindness of heart lacks all good.”

His Longtime Servant

In Makkah the home life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was generally comfortable, because his wife ensured that he had all what he wanted. She was rich and conducted her own trade, sending her merchandise with the traditional trade caravans the Quraysh used to send in summer and winter to Syria and Yemen. When he emigrated to Madinah, he was not accompanied by any servant. Khadeejah had died three years earlier, and the Prophet traveled with only his close companion, Abu Bakr. For the first few months after arriving in Madinah, the Prophet stayed in Abu Ayyub’s home, where he was served by people around him. He never asked any of them for anything.

One of the Ansars, the Prophet’s companion from Madinah, felt that the Prophet needed a personal servant. He took his stepson, Anas ibn Malik, to the Prophet and told him: “Messenger of God! Anas is an intelligent lad. Let him serve you.” The Prophet accepted. This was the beginning of a 10-year association for Anas, who was then only 10 or 12 years of age. Anas accompanied the Prophet to the last day of his blessed life, realizing that he could not have hoped for a better position. The Prophet’s household was such that no servant was at the receiving end of any abuse, physical or verbal.

As a young lad, Anas could be excused if at times he was negligent of what was assigned to him. The Prophet once sent him on an errand, but on the way, he saw some of his friends playing. Joining them was so attractive, and the boy could not resist. He forgot his errand and was fully engaged in the play. Sometime later, he felt someone pulling him by his robe. Turning back, he saw the Prophet beaming with a smile. He told him endearingly: ‘Unays! (This is a short form of Anas) Go where I sent you.’ That was all the rebuke Anas received on this occasion. We can imagine how masters react if they see a servant playing in the street instead of attending to the business they are told to do. Yet the Prophet just smiled and told Anas to do what he was told.

This was the Prophet’s attitude throughout his life, with all those who served him. Anas reports: “I served the Prophet (peace be upon him) for ten years, on his journeys and at home. He never said to me as much as ‘Ugh!’ He never said about something I did, why I did so, nor did he ever say anything I left undone, why I did not do it. Never did he say to me that I did something badly, nor did he ever criticize anything I did. If I slackened in doing what he ordered, he never reproached me. If anyone of his family criticized me, he would tell them: ‘Leave him alone. Had it been possible for that thing to happen, it would have happened.'” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Being Undutiful To Parents

As Muslims it is our duty to keep ourselves away from all sins; minor and major. This is based on the fact that the first priority for Muslims is to gain the pleasure of Allah the Almighty by doing what He likes and avoiding what He dislikes, irrespective of the gravity or the simplicity of the sin.

The first commandment in Islam as revealed to all the prophets is to worship Allah the Almighty and immediately after this comes the duty of being dutiful to parents

{Thy Lord has decreed, that you worship none save Him, and (that you show) kindness to parents.} (Al-Israa 17: 23).

Thus, Islam urges every Muslim to be dutiful to his parents, extending to them the kindest treatment possible.

Failing to treat parents kindly makes the person guilty of disobedience to parents as well as to Allah the Almighty.

Doing so may deprive him of the chance of being admitted to Paradise. Therefore, it goes without saying that disobedience to parents or mistreating them is the second major sin after Shirk (associating other beings with Allah).

The Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) was asked about the greatest sins. He said, “To join partners in worship with Allah; to kill a soul which Allah has forbidden to kill; and to be undutiful or unkind to one’s parents…“(Bukhari)

In another tradition, the Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) said, “The person who severs the bond of kinship will not enter Paradise.” (Al-Bukhari)

He also said, “The pleasure of Allah is in the pleasure of one’s parents and the wrath of Allah is in the wrath of one’s parents.” (Ibn Hibban)

Grateful For Every Kindness

It was customary for the Arabs in Makkah when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born that they sent their newborn children to some Bedouins where the young ones were breastfed by wet nurses. They felt that spending the first few years in a desert environment ensured that the child would grow up physically and mentally strong. Indications suggest that Makkah suffered some infectious diseases, and its people felt that children would be spared such diseases in the desert’s open air. We have a detailed story of how the young Muhammad ended up with Haleemah, his Bedouin wet nurse. We need only mention that Haleemah and her family were most delighted to have him, feeling that the young child brought some subtle blessing into their life. Hence, after he was weaned, Haleemah begged Aminah, the Prophet’s mother, to allow her to keep him for some more time. This was agreed upon, and most probably Muhammad stayed with Haleemah until he was five years of age.

In normal cases, when a child spends the first few years of life with carers who are not of his own family, living away from his hometown, it is not expected that relations with such carers would be maintained into his adult life without an effort by both parties. Nor would it be expected that he would look at those days of his childhood with tenderness. Most of us remember very little of our early years. Besides, Haleemah and her people lived in the desert, while Muhammad (peace be upon him) spent the rest of his life in Makkah, except for his last ten years when he lived in Madinah. Yet we read that in his adult life, Muhammad showed genuine gratitude to those very people.