Tag: dhikr

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

Self-Purification: How & What For?

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Approached as a comprehensive and all-embracing process, you will find that each part of your life will complement some other part.

The most comprehensive goal for a Muslim is the single-minded desire to attain Paradise. This desire to seek Paradise is a life-long process which can be sparked in a moment- and this desire will provide the means and the momentum to reach the goal.

Your model for self-development is that of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In your quest for Paradise, you must personally take charge of your responsibilities, develop the willpower to perform and make a genuine effort to fulfill your obligations, ensure that you make the best use of your time and adopt a balanced approach to life.

All-embracing Process

Islam does not subscribe to the type of asceticism where we purify our hearts and yet remain immersed in political, economic or social corruption. Tazkiyah must encompass our entire life – the privacy of our thoughts as well as their social manifestations in our daily life. Everything must be in conformity with Allah’s will.

This will of God also requires you to seek and maintain a delicate balance between the various obligations that demand your attention; between your obligations to Allah, your obligations towards others and your obligations towards yourself The Prophet advised us against extremism of any kind. It is reported that he said to `Abdullah ibn `Amr:

“Have I heard right that you fast every day and stand in prayer all night?” `Abdullah replied, “Yes, O Messenger of God.” The Prophet said, “Do not do that. Fast, as well as eat and drink. Stand in prayer, as well as sleep. For your body has a right upon you, your eyes have a right upon you, your wife has a right upon you, and your guest has a right upon you”. (Bukhari & Muslim)

Unless you approach tazkiyah as an all-embracing process, you will find that your life is compartmentalized, certain parts impeding the development of others. This can only result in a life of disharmony and unhappiness.

Approached as a comprehensive and all-embracing process, however, you will find that each part of your life will complement some other part. This should, God willing, make your struggle on the path to God and Janna, easier and full of grace.

As you struggle to make headway on the path to God, always remember that you have an excellent example before you. This is the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Often we would like to emulate our sports heroes, our parents, our teachers, our friends or others who attract our attention. For your spiritual development, however, the most beautiful example is that of the Prophet. Allah says in the Qur’an:

You have, indeed, in the Messenger of God an excellent exemplar, whoever places his hopes in God and the Final Days and who remembers Allah much. (Al-Ahzab 33: 21)

The Ultimate Goal

The decision to purify and develop yourself requires that you clearly define the path and consider the ways and means to achieve Paradise. This whole process will not only purify your heart, but also affect your entire life and the will of Allah will become so much easier for you to follow.

Following the Divine Will is, of course, tazkiyah itself, soon, all your efforts will be directed towards the ultimate goal – the pleasure of Allah and Paradise:

Know that every sin can be effaced through forgiveness, and forgiveness is a sure way to Paradise. As you strive to better yourself, then, simultaneously and continuously pray for forgiveness for all your shortcomings. God says: And whoever repents and believes and works righteous deeds, God changes evil deeds into good ones, and God is Ever-Forgiving, Merciful. (Al-Furqan 25:70)

It is a misconception to believe that simply by setting up Paradise as the ultimate goal, one can get there without any further effort. It is also a misconception that Paradise can solely be achieved by concentrating only on certain aspects of life, the ‘religious and the spiritual’.

The very fact that Paradise is the ultimate objective means that tazkiyah must be pursued in all aspects of life, and in life as a whole. Consider, for example, the following:

– Is not honesty a means to enter Paradise?

– Will not a sense of responsibility enable me to enter Paradise?

– Will not striving to fulfill the needs of fellow human beings make me deserve Paradise?

– Will not abstaining from vain talk and aimless actions, bring me closer to Paradise?

– Is not consciousness of the best use of my time a key to Paradise?

– Will not keeping promises and offering salah on time, which are distinguishing traits of the righteous, put me on the highway to Paradise?

– Must not all of the above be sought to attain Paradise?

Every effort that is legitimate and is aimed at attaining Paradise is also an integral part of the process of tazkiyah.

In sha’ Allah (God-willing), if you take heed of all the prerequisites, blessings and benefits of tazkiya, you will surely find the right environment, the true companionship and brotherhood and the most appropriate training programs to make the task of self-development easier and more rewarding.

So give the good news to My servants who listen to the word [of God], then follow the beauty in it. Such are they whom God has guided And such are they who are endowed with understanding. (Az-Zumar 39: 17-18)

Through the Guidance of God

Remember that every effort that is legitimate and is aimed at attaining Paradise is also an integral part of the process of tazkiyah and that every sin can be effaced through forgiveness – and that forgiveness is the sure way to Paradise.

And as for the one who fears to stand before his Lord and who restrains himself from base desires, the Garden is surely the abode. (An-Nazi`at 79: 40-41)

May Allah enable us to be among those who purify themselves for it is “God Who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity; and none shall be wronged by as much as the husk of a date stone” (An-Nisaa’ 4: 49).

Were it not for God’s favor upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-Hearing all-Knowing. (An-Nur 24:21)

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The article is excerpted from the author’s book “In the Early Hours: Reflections on Spiritual and Self-Development”.

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

Dhikr: God’s Always Open Door

dhikr

Dhikr purifies your heart and makes it sound. And you can only attain salvation and true success by having such a heart.

In a verse of the Qur’an that I love very much, Allah (Most Gracious and Loving) commends:

Remember Me and I shall remember you. Be grateful unto Me and deny Me not. (Al-Baqarah 2:152)

Can you imagine a more gratifying state than this; where, when you remember Allah, the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of the Universe, He remembers you in return?

The same exhortation has been beautifully conveyed in a hadith qudsi:

“I treat My servant as he hopes that I would treat him. I am with him whenever he remembers Me: if he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him in My `heart’; if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering far better than that gathering; if he draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to him an arm’s length; if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Those who remember Allah standing, sitting and reclining and who reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth are highly commended in the Noble Quran. They are wise in that they fill their hearts with the remembrance of God in every, moment, in every circumstance and in every posture of their lives. (Aal `Imran 3:191)

The exhortation to remember Allah at all times is a reflection of Allah’s all-embracing and overwhelming love for us. The door to Allah is always open to us: Remember Me and 1 will remember you. We need only find our way to and through that door.

The Significance of Dhikr

Regarding the significance of dhikr (of Allah) or the remembrance of God, Allah says in the Qur’an, itself “the ultimate reminder (dhikr) to all the worlds”. (Sad 38:87), the following:

Remember Allah. for He has guided you. (Al-Baqarah 2:198)

O you who believe! Remember Allah often with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening. (Luqman 31:41-42)

And men who remember God much and women who remember – God has prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward. (Al-Ahzab 33:35)

Hadith literature is similarly replete with references to the remembrance of Allah:

“The servant cannot perform a better deed which will save him from God’s punishment than the remembrance of God.” (Malik)

“Whoever wishes to feast in the gardens of Paradise, let him remember God often.” (At-Tirmidhi)

Indeed, with regard to dhikr, the Qur’an concludes: “And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest deed without doubt.” (Al-`Ankabut 29:45)

The significance of dhikr lies in the fact that it is God’s own chosen and recommended mode by which the believers show gratitude for having been shown the straight path. In addition, it is indeed the surest way of attaining God’s forgiveness and achieving the ultimate reward of Paradise.

The importance of dhikr then is not difficult to understand. It is dhikr that purifies your  heart and makes it sound. And you can only attain salvation and true success by having a pure and sound heart.

Heart-based Process

The ‘heart’ referred to here is not the pump in your breast that pushes blood around your body but rather the center or locus of your personality which pumps out your desires and motivations and which makes you conduct yourself as you do. It is this heart that lies at your center and dictates your actions which is the key to your ultimate success. Thus, with reference to the Day of Judgment, the Qur’an declares:

(It will be a Day) when neither wealth nor children shall profit (and when) only he (will be saved) who comes before God with a sound heart (free of evil). (Ash-Shu`ara’ 26:88-89)

This point is more elaborately made in a hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) says:

“Listen (to me) carefully. There is a lump of flesh in the body – if it is set right and made good, the entire body becomes good and healthy; but if it becomes diseased, the entire body becomes diseased. Remember well – it is the Heart.” (Al-Bukhari)

If the heart is the key to ultimate salvation and success, it may, likewise, be the seat of much corruption and open doors to many evils. It may facilitate the corruption of political and economic activities and ultimately the social institutions of a society. Where such a state prevails, the Qur’an suggests that it is because people, individually, have become “diseased in their hearts”. (Al-Baqarah 2:10)

In this state, people stop seeing and doing what is right. The Qur’an explains that this “is not because they have become blind in their eyes but because their hearts have become blind.

Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts. (Al-Hajj 22:46)

This blindness only draws them nearer to the ultimate chastisement.

It is the heart, as the decider of our ultimate fate, that must then be the starting point of any tazkiyah (purification) program, to purify this heart and then summon it to the service of mankind.

Ibn Al-Qayyim, one of the great scholars of Islam, states in his Kitab Al Adhkar (The Book of Remembrance), that “the heart which is devoid of the remembrance of Allah is a heart that is dead’; it is dead even and long before the body carrying the heart reaches its grave. Indeed, this living body that carries the heart is the heart’s grave.”

Ibn Al-Qayyim’s statement is reminiscent of the hadith of tire Prophet which states: “The difference between someone who remembers His Lord and someone who does not is like the difference between the living and the dead.” (Al-Bukhari.)

The statement is also reminiscent of the following verse of the Qur’an: “Do not become like those who forget Allah and Allah makes them forget themselves. It is they who are truly deprived.” (Al-Hashr 59:19)

The purpose of tazkiyah is to ensure that the heart never falls into a sorry state of being and that it is always alive with the remembrance of God. Prosperous indeed is one who purifies himself and remembers the name of His Guardian-Lord, and prays (unto Him). (Al-A`la 87:14-15)

The Prophet further emphasized the importance of dhikr when he said to his Companions:

“Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions, the purest in the sight of your Lord, which raises your rank to the highest, which is better for you than spending gold and silver, better than meeting your enemy so that you strike at their necks and they strike at yours?’ They replied: ‘Yes, indeed,’ and he said: ‘It is the remembrance of Allah.’” (At-Tirmidhi)

Strive then, to fill all your moments, all your thoughts and all your actions with His remembrance. Recite tasbeeh or words of glorification and praise to punctuate all your actions and achievements.

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The article is excerpted from the author’s In the Early Hours: Reflections on Spiritual and Self-Development.

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

How to Develop Your Level of Faith through Dhikr

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Dhikr must not only be felt by the heart and uttered with the tongue, but must also affect and effect good deeds.

What is the precise meaning of ‘dhikr’? What is its scope and what does it entail? Does it simply involve certain utterances of the tongue, like Subhanallah (I glorify Allah’s absolute perfection), Alhamdulillah (All praise be to Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest), La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah) and the recitation of some other selected verses of the Qur’an, or is there more to it?

Of course, such utterances of the tongue and recitation of verses of the Qur’an are important.

In fact they are very important forms of dhikr for, indeed, the best forms of remembrance are those that involve both the heart and the tongue. You must understand, however, that the scope of dhikr is considerably wider.

Dhikr must not only be felt by the heart and uttered with the tongue, but must also affect and effect good deeds.

All Aspects of Life

Significantly, Ibn Al-Qayyim suggests that dhikr encompasses ‘any and every particular moment when you are thinking, saying or doing things which Allah likes: Hence, if your conversation is filled with the words of God, this is dhikr and if all your actions are in accordance with His will, this is dhikr.

Indeed Allah commands that we remember Him while standing, sitting and even while reclining. This is only possible if dhikr embraces every single aspect of life. Consider for example the following verse of the Qur’an where dhikr is emphasized in both Prayer and business activity:

O Believers, when the call to Payer is sounded on the Day of Congregation, hasten to Allah’s remembrance and leave all worldly commerce. This a for your own good, if you but knew . And when the Prayer it finished then disperse through the land, and seek of the bounty of Allah; and remember Allah frequently that you may prosper. (Al-Jumu`ah 62:9,10)

Attending the Jumu`ah Prayer (Friday Prayer), listening to the khutbah (sermon) and performing the Congregational Prayer are all well known as forms of dhikr. But in our worldly pursuits as well we are urged to remember Allah even more often.

We may thus conclude, that attending to your personal needs, earning a livelihood and spending on your family are all forms of dhikr.

But of course, they can only be dhikr if, alongside with the relevant adhkar (supplications) in the heart and on the tongue, they are done in obedience to Allah, for His pleasure, to attain Jannah. Otherwise, as the Qur’an warns us, far from being dhikr, they may have the opposite effect:

Let not your worldly possessions and your children make you neglectful of Allah’s remembrance. But spend in the way of Allah. (Al-Munafiqun 63:9,10)

Methods of Dhikr

There are basically two forms of dhikr. The first involves continuous and sustained inner awareness of Allah in all that we say and do in our daily lives. The second involves mechanisms, whether performed individually or collectively, that help to develop the first.

Sustained Awareness of Allah

Let us begin with a discussion of the first form and its methods. How can you remember Allah throughout the normal course of your day without withdrawing from the routine of your daily worldly life?

How can you ensure that your personal life, family life, professional life and other activities all continue in full swing, and yet, at the same time, ensure that your life as a whole – every moment of it – is permeated with remembrance of Allah?

Such an all-pervading dhikr can be an onerous task, but one can accomplish – with some ease. Therefore, there’re four states of consciousness that you must strive to develop by remembering certain things, absorbing them and reminding yourself of them often.

1- Say to yourself: I am in Allah’s presence; He is watching me

Have you not seen that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be. (Al-Mujadilah 58:7)

He is nearer to you than your-jugular vein. (Qaf 50:16,18)

He is watching everything that you do and hearing everything that you say. He is ever present and His knowledge is all encompassing.

Remind yourself of this as often as you can, and throughout the day- every time you begin a new task, and every time you speak. Indeed, your aim should be to impress this on your heart in such a way that it ultimately becomes your very breath.

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked by a Companion about the best method of purifying himself, he replied: “You should always remember that Allah is with you wherever you are.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

2- Say to yourself: Everything I have has been given to me by Allah

All that there is – surrounding you, on you and in you – comes from Allah alone. There is none that creates or gives anything but Allah.

And Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers knowing nothing, and gave you hearing and sight and hearts that haply ye might give thanks. (An-Nahl 16:78)

A sign for them is the dead earth. We revive it, and We bring forth from it grain so that they eat thereof; And We have placed therein gardens of the date-palm and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein, that they may eat of the fruit thereof, and their hands made it not. Will they not, then, give thanks? (Ya-Sin 36:33-35)

Therefore, reflect upon all the blessing that He has created you with and be thankful to Him.

In all the adhkar that the Prophet has taught us, gratefulness to Allah is a constant theme. Many of these adhkar are simple to learn, and indeed, it was the most simple of his adhkar that he used most frequently.

When the Prophet rose in the morning, he would say Alhamdulillah; whenever he ate or drank he would say Alhamdulillah; and even when he relieved himself he would give thanks to Allah.

Learn as many of the adhkar as you can, and throughout the day, as you witness all that Allah has blessed you with, punctuate your day with these adhkar.

If ever you appear to be short of things to be thankful for, recall the hadith of the Prophet: “There are 360 joints in the body and for each joint you must give a sadaqah (thanks/charity) each day”. (Al-Bukhari.)

You must give a sadaqah for each one of them because without any one of them you will be incomplete and handicapped. You must do this on a daily basis for should any one of them

become damaged one day, you will similarly become incapacitated.

Additionally, you may remind yourself that, as we now know from our knowledge of human physiology, your heart beats 72 times a minute. Every time it beats, it does so with the permission of Allah. The moment He withdraws that permission, the heart will stop beating and your life will certainly come to an end.

If you feel that there is nothing else to thank Allah for, then thank him for the life that He has given you – for, so long as there is life, there is hope.

3- Say to yourself: Nothing in this world can happen without His permission

Everything lies in the hands of Allah. No harm can befall you and no benefit can reach you except as Allah ordains. It is as the Qur’an informs us:

If God should touch you with misfortune, none can remove it but He, and if He should touch you with good fortune, He has power over all things. He alone holds sway over His creatures; He is the All-wise, the All-aware. (Al-An`am 6:17,18)

The Prophet Muhammad would supplicate to Allah after each Prayer:

“O Allah, whatever You want to give me, no one can stop it from coming to me and whatever You want to prevent from coming to me, nobody can give to me.”

Prayer after Prayer, you should recite these beautiful words. And beyond that, remind yourself as much as you can and throughout the day, especially as you expect something to happen, or not to happen, that everything happens only as He commands, and by His permission.

4- Say to yourself: I am going to return to Allah one day and that day could be today

You do not know when you will leave this world. It may be that the coming morning is your last morning, or perhaps the coming evening is your last evening.

Indeed, it may be that this hour is your last hour, or even, that this moment is your last moment. Such an uncertainty does not, of course, justify a complete withdrawal from this life so as to prepare for the Next in some monastic fashion.

It is important, however, that you are always conscious of this uncertainty, to the extent that it motivates you to spend every moment of your remaining life seriously, considering it as a gift from Allah and spending the resources He has blessed you with – time, ability and energy – as He has advised.

Then, and only then, will your life have achieved what is required of it, and your return will achieve what is required of it. To help you attain this state of consciousness, recall and reflect upon the following Qur’anic verse as much as you can and throughout the day: “from Allah we came and to Him we shall return”. (Al-Baqarah 2:156)

These are the four states of consciousness that can help us achieve a life completely devoted to the remembrance of Allah. To try to reach these four states simultaneously, and with sincerity, can only purify you. To try in a determined fashion to reach these four states will lead you inevitably to Paradise.

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The article is excerpted from the author’s In the Early Hours: Reflections on Spiritual and Self-Development.

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

When Hardship Afflicts A Believer…

When in any difficulty or hardship, what should the believer do, and how should he/she deal with it?

Prophet Ayyub (Job, may Allah have mercy on him) had fourteen children, and he had great health and wealth. Everybody loved him.

And one day, after eighty years, Allah took away all of his 14 children, one by one, then he took away his wealth, then his health until his skin started to fall off his body that you could see his muscles and bones. And he is still alive, breathing.

Not only that, the people began to say if this man had been a good person, Allah wouldn’t have done this to him.

In the midst of his severe affliction, what did he say? What did he ask God for, and how did he address Him (Exalted be He)?

And Ayyub (Job), when he cried to his Lord, (saying): Harm has afflicted me, and You art the most Merciful of the merciful. Therefore, We responded to him and took off what harm he had, and We gave him his family and the like of them with them: a mercy from Us and a reminder to the worshippers. (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:82-83)

In the video below Ustadh Bilal Assad reflects on Prophet Ayyub’s affliction as an example and lesson on what may a believer face in life and how to face it …

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Source:  LoveAllah328 Youtube Channel

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New Muslims Reflections

Seizing Time: The Seventh Stop of Your Spiritual Journey to God

By Dr. Jasser Auda

Ibn `Ata’illah says: “Postponing good deeds until you have free time is an indication of an immature soul.”

In other words, there is nothing called “I do not have time.” The deeds we are talking about such as prayers, remembering God, reflection, all need time. However, sometimes one postpones them and says “I will do them tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, or next Ramadan.”

Ibn `Ata’illah describes this attitude as an indication of an immature soul, i.e. this person is demonstrating a folly of the self because you can do everything you want to do if you have a strong will and time will help you a lot.

Make the Best Use of Time

However, it is a matter of priorities. You leave home in the morning and you have a specific number of hours to do a certain number of tasks. You will do what is important first, then what is less important. Then you decide to postpone the remaining tasks until tomorrow saying that “God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear”. (Al-Baqarah 2:286)

If you have ten minutes, for example, and you have many things to do including the prayer, then you have to perform the prayer first. Sometimes worldly affairs take priority today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and religious affairs are always postponed. Even the prescribed acts of worship are not done by some people because they claim that they do not have time.

This procrastination has been mentioned in the hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “Most of the pain of the people of Hell will be because of procrastination.” Therefore, procrastination is unacceptable. Every Muslim should seize time and make the best use of it.

There is enough time to do everything. God will bless your time and work if you seize time and organize it. Seizing the time is not only important for managing worldly affairs, it is also important for managing religious affairs. If you are in the habit of reciting a portion of the Qur’an or some dhikr (remembrance of God) every day at a specific time and you have to go out for work, seize the time while riding the bus or the train and recite the Qur’an and mention God. I know of a number of brothers and sisters who memorized the Qur’an while riding a bus or a train on their way to work or back home.

Set, Manage Priorities

People in developed countries usually read a book or a story while riding a bus or a train. While revising this paragraph I was in the train in London. The train is crowded but it is very quiet. Everybody around me is either reading or writing even if they are standing in the train. If people are making the best use of their time for worldly affairs, the Muslim should be very keen to seize his time for religious affairs.

One has to set his priorities and start with what is more important. God’s right should be carried out in the best way. According to Shari`ah rules, people’s rights and trusts are more emphasized than God’s abstract right.

This does not mean that we care about people’s rights and neglect God’s right. We should seize the time and strike a balance between the two rights. Procrastination is an indication of my immature soul which has been deceived by Satan. God says:

As for those who will not believe in the life to come, they go on lying to themselves) until, when death approaches any of them, he prays: “O my Sustainer! Let me return, let me return (to life), so that I might act righteously in whatever I have failed (aforetime)!’’ Nay. (Al-Mu’minun 23:99,100)

We ask God the Almighty to help us make the best use of our time in what pleases Him.

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The article is excerpted from “Some of Al-Hikam Al-Ataiyyah” (The Path to God: A Journey with Ibn `Ata’illah’s Words of Wisdom In the Light of the Quran, the Prophetic Tradition, and Universal Laws of God- By Dr. Jasser Auda

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New Muslims Reflections

Patience with Tests: The Eighth Stop of Your Spiritual Journey to God

By Dr. Jasser Auda

A basic virtue and a very important stop in one’s journey to God is patience with tests.

Do not be surprised when difficulties happen in this worldly abode. It is only revealing its true character and identity.

Get Closer to Him

If the servant repents to God, relies on Him, purifies his intention to Him, reflects on Him, and seizes the time, the light of faith will fill his heart and he will start his journey to draw closer to God.

Ibn `Ata’illah says elsewhere: “There is no real distance between you and Him so that you embark upon a journey. And the connection between you and Him is not cut so that you seek to mend it.” But the servant is able to embark upon the journey and to strengthen his connection with God if he changes himself to the better.

At this stage, the following divine hadiths will be applicable to him:

“… And My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks.” (Al-Bukhari)

“And if he draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

According to God’s universal law, if God loves someone, He will put him to an indispensible trial. God says;

Do men think that on their (mere) saying, “We have attained to faith”, they will be left to themselves, and will not be put to a test?” (AL-`Ankabut 29:2)

And most certainly We shall try you all, so that We might mark out those of you who strive hard (in Our cause) and are patient in adversity: for We shall put to a test (the truth of) all your assertions. (Muhammad 47:31)

And most certainly shall We try you by means of danger, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of (labour’s) fruits. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity. (Al-Baqarah 2:155)

You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your persons; and indeed you shall hear many hurtful things from those to whom revelation was granted before your time, as well as from those who have come to ascribe divinity to other beings beside God. But if you remain patient in adversity and conscious of Him – this, behold, is something to set one’s heart upon. (Aal `Imran 3:186)

Nature of Worldly Life

God announces that this worldly life is nothing. If He deprives a servant of this worldly life or part of it and guides him to repentance and bestows on him His mercy and paradise instead, then what a great deal and reward! Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The most severely tested people are the prophets, then the next best, then the next best. A man will be tested in accordance with his level of religious commitment.” (Ibn Hibban)

For this reason, if life is full of difficulties and challenges, one should not be surprised or asks why. It is as if Ibn `Ata’illah is asking us: what is the name of this dar (abode)? The answer is that its name is “al-dunya, worldly abode” and literally it means inferior or low. Therefore, it is not surprising if bad conditions, unpleasant manners, and fatal consequences reveal themselves, because these things are derived from the word dunya, inferior or low.

Accepting this nature of worldly life helps the servant acquire a basic virtue and cross a very important stop in his journey to God which is that of patience with tests.

Patience is a characteristic that gets the servant into God’s Presence: “God is with those who are patient in adversity” (Al-Baqarah 2:153).  The word “with” has a lot of meanings as we explained above. If one is in God’s Presence, then why would he worry?

Types of Patience

Patience is of three types, namely patience in obeying God, patience in avoiding God’s disobedience and patience with God’s tests. Patience in obeying God means that the Muslim should always be obedient to God by doing lots of good deeds without harming himself or torturing it. God says:

… And He has laid no hardship on you in (anything that pertains to religion.  (Al-Hajj 22:78)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) saw an old man walking, supported by his two sons, and asked about him. The people informed him that he had vowed to go on foot (to the Ka`bah). He said, “Allah is not in need of this old man’s torturing himself, and ordered him to ride.” (An-Nasa’i)

But patience in obeying God is, for example, to do things such as performing the ablution thoroughly despite odds because the Prophet told us that it is one of the things by which God obliterates the sins and elevates the ranks of a man. If one is afflicted with difficulties in these acts of worship, he should not be surprised. However he should have glad tidings of God’s grace and mercy.

As for patience in avoiding God’s disobedience, it means that the Muslim should stay away from committing what God has forbidden. We read in the Qur’an about prophet Yusuf and the test we was put to, “And (it so happened that) she in whose house he was living (conceived a passion for him and) sought to make him yield himself unto her; and she bolted the doors and said, “Come you unto me!” (But Joseph) answered: “May God preserve me!” (Yusuf 12:23)

There is a great reward for this type of patience. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says that one of the seven persons whom God would give protection with His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but that of Him is “a man whom a beautiful woman of high rank seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying): ”I fear Allah.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Refrainment

Scholars divide patience with God’s tests into some types. All the types bear the meaning of refrainment, i.e. refraining from committing acts of disobedience, refraining from complaining, and refraining from being impatient with God’s Decree.

Refraining from committing sins is a condition for purifying one’s heart. God says about the hypocrites

“And, indeed, We tested them through suffering, but they did not abase themselves before their Sustainer; and they will never humble themselves.” (Al-Mu’minun 23:76)

If you face some problems, then you are at a cross-road. Either you repent to God and humble yourself to Him so that you will pass the test, or you commit sins so that you will fail the test.

Patience with God’s tests requires one to refrain from complaining about the test. This is called the beautiful patience as God tells us in the story of prophet Jacob (peace be upon him) “Patience in adversity is most goodly (in the sight of God)” (Yusuf 12:18) , “He answered: “It is only to God that I complain of my deep grief and my sorrow.” (Yusuf 12:86) The last verse means I complain about my problems only to God not to anyone else.

As for refraining from being impatient with God’s Decree, it is the best type of patience. The servant attains this degree when he does not complain and his heart is always patient. His soul is always at peace even at the peak of crisis. The Prophet said: “Patience is at the first stroke of a calamity.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

If the servant is patient when afflicted with tests, he will reach his destination easily and win God’s Paradise. God says:

Consider the flight of time! Verily, man is bound to lose himself unless he be of those who attain to faith, and do good works, and enjoin upon one another the keeping to truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity. (Al-`Asr 103:1-3)

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The article is excerpted from “Some of Al-Hikam Al-Ataiyyah” (The Path to God: A Journey with Ibn `Ata’illah’s Words of Wisdom In the Light of the Quran, the Prophetic Tradition, and Universal Laws of God- By Dr. Jasser Auda

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Categories
New Muslims Reflections

Perfecting the Beginnings: The Ninth Stop of Your Spiritual Journey to God

By Dr. Jasser Auda

A sign of success in the end is to refer to God in the beginning. If there is no sunrise in the beginning, there is no sunrise in the end.

A servant journeying to God, who is passing through difficult tests and heading to horizons of peace and tranquility, always thinks of new good deeds that help him along his journey. The word of wisdom under discussion teaches us another universal law. If you master the beginning of any work, there is a guarantee that you get the desired end of that work in the end. This will affect one’s journey to God in that if there is sunrise in the beginning, surely there will be sunrise in the end. But the question is: how should the beginning shine? The answer, according to Ibn `Ata’illah, is by referring to God. And how should one refer to God in the beginning of any work?

Every work should begin with mentioning God according to the remembrance that suits this work. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Every work that does not begin invoking the praise of God is not blessed.”

Therefore, you have to start every work in the name of God. You have to start your speech with sending peace and blessings on the Prophet and with praising God the Almighty. You have to start every act of worship with a pure intention to seek God’s pleasure. You have to start the prayer with this supplication: “I turn my face in complete devotion to One Who is the Originator of the heaven and the earth and I am not of the disbelievers.” When you embark upon big tasks, you have to perform two rak`ahs (units of prayer) of Istikharah (seeking the best course of action). All these things are forms of referring to God in the beginnings.

What is Istikharah?

Istikharah is a supplication that you recite when you want to choose between two permissible actions. The supplication is as follows:

O Allah, I seek Your help in finding out the best course of action (in this matter) by invoking Your knowledge; I ask You to empower me, and I beseech Your favor. You alone have the absolute power, while I have no power. You alone know it all, while I do not. You are the One Who knows the hidden mysteries. O Allah, if You know this thing (I am embarking on) (here mention your case) is good for me in my religion, worldly life, and my ultimate destiny, then facilitate it for me, and then bless me in my action. If, on the other hand, You know this thing is detrimental for me in my religion, worldly life, and ultimate destiny, turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and decree what is good for me, wherever it may be, and make me content with it.”

The meaning of this supplication is that you wholeheartedly surrender to God and rely on Him alone. Seeking God’s help is a kind of referring to God in the beginnings. Therefore, it is one of the signs and guarantees of success in the ends, no matter what these ends are in our human, worldly calculations of gain or loss. What matters is that you refer to God in the beginnings so that the calculations will be in your favor in the end.

For example, if you running a business to gain some profits, there is a possibility that you might lose that business. But if you think deeply about it, you will find that there are many probabilities for this loss. It is possible that there are huge profits awaiting you in another business in the future. It is also possible that God made you lose so that you reconsider many things in your life. You may find out why your calculations were wrong. You may win a friend who helped you in your troubles. Therefore, the real success lies in making profits in another deal, or reconsidering your calculations, or winning a friend. God says; “… and God knows, whereas you do not know. (Al-Baqarah 2:216)

Seeking God’s Pleasure

The human standards of success and failure are usually based on financial calculations, figures or statistical achievements. However, these calculations, in God’s sight, do not mean anything. What really matters is seeking God’s pleasure. So, if we refer to God in the beginning, the end will shine and Go

d will be pleased with you. Ibn `Ata’illah says: “If there is no sunrise in the beginning, there is no sunrise in the end.”

This rule applies to everything. For example, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that one of the seven persons whom God would give protection with His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but that of Him is “a youth who grew up with the worship of God.”  This youth perfected the beginning, therefore God granted him success in the end and protected him under His Shade.

There will be sunrise in the beginning when one refrains from committing sins, returns the rights to people, and seeks establishing justice in all the affairs that he handles. On the contrary, if one commits forbidden things in the beginning, surely the end will be a state of failure. This is because doing the things that God made unlawful results in failure and obliterates the blessing. Also the person who does the prohibited things will be at war with God and His messenger.

I pray to God to grant us a happy and good ending of our life. I also pray to God to help us refer to Him in the beginning so that we will achieve success in the end.

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The article is excerpted from “Some of Al-Hikam Al-Ataiyyah” (The Path to God: A Journey with Ibn `Ata’illah’s Words of Wisdom In the Light of the Quran, the Prophetic Tradition, and Universal Laws of God- By Dr. Jasser Auda

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Categories
New Muslims Prayer

How to Make Wudu’?

We, as Muslims, have to purify ourselves before offering prayer. Therefore, a Muslim is required to follow certain purification procedure known as wudu’ (ablution). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Allah does not accept prayer of anyone of you if he does hadath (passes wind) till he performs the ablution (anew). (Al-Bukhari)

But before ablution, you have to perform Istinja’ whenever one passes impurity from any of passages (front & back). One can use either stone (tissue in modern times) or water. To perform it with water is preferred. The best is to combine both water and tissue, first by wiping with the tissue and then washing.

In this video, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Naqwi explains how to make wudu’ perfectly….

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Source: edc.org.kw

 

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Categories
New Muslims Prayer

How to Perform Wudu’

By Abdul-Rahman Al Sheha

One should know that one must perform wudu’ (ablution) before the Prayer, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

How to Perform Wudu’

One should exhale the water from the nose with the help of the left hand.

“No Prayer is accepted without purification, and no charity is accepted from earnings made from impermissible sources.” (Muslim)

Allah says:

O you who believe! When you intend to offer the Salah, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, pass wet hands over your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. (Al-Ma’idah 5:6)

One should perform wudu’ in the following manner:

Homran ibn Aban, the freed slave of ‘Uthman ibn `Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“I saw `Uthman perform wudu’. He poured water on his two hands thrice, then he rinsed his mouth and nose, washed his face thrice, washed his right hand up to his elbow thrice, washed his right hand up to his elbow thrice, wiped over his head once, washed his right foot thrice, and then his left foot thrice. He then said, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) perform wudu’ like this wudu’, and then say: ‘Whoever performs wudu’ like my wudu’ I have just performed, and then prays two rak`ahs (units of prayer) not thinking about anything else, Allah will forgive him all his previous sins.’” (Al-Bukhari)

How to Perform Wudu’

1-One should intend with his heart that he is performing wudu’ to purify himself from a minor state of impurity. The evidence that the intention is obligatory is the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

“All deeds depend on their intention, and each person will be rewarded according to what they intend…” (Al-Bukhari)

2- One should say, “Bismillaah (In the Name of Allah),” before commencing the wudu’. The Prophet said:

“There is no Prayer for one who does not perform wudu’, and there is no wudu’ for one who does not mention the Name of Allah.” (Abu Dawud)

3- One should wash his hands thrice in the beginning of the wudu’, due to the hadith of Aws ibn Aws Ath-Thaqafi in which he said:

“I saw Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) wash his hands three times when he performed wudu’.” (Ahmad)

4- One should rinse his mouth and rinse his nose by inhaling water into it thrice. He should exhale the water from the nose with the help of the left hand.

5- One should wash his face thrice. The face consists of the area starting from the forelock at the top of the forehead of a normal haired man to the bottom of the (chin or) beard, vertically, and from right earlobe to the left, horizontally.

6- One should wash his hands from the tips of fingers up to and including the elbow, beginning first with the right hand, then the left. If he happens to be wearing a ring or a watch, they must move it in order to allow the water to reach the skin underneath it.

7- One must wipe over his head once. This is done by wetting the hands and passing them over the head, beginning from front, proceeding to the back, then passing them back over the head to the front. `Abdullah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

“Allah’s Messenger passed his two hands over his head starting from the front, proceeding to the back. He started from his forehead and passed them over to the top of his neck, and then passed them back to the place where he started from.” (Sahih ibn Khuzaimah)

8- One should wipe over his ears by inserting his wet index fingers [which he used to wipe his head] into the cavity if the ears, while wiping the outside with his wet thumbs. In ibn `Abbas’s description of the wudu’ of the Prophet (peac e be upon him), he said:

“He wiped his head and ears once.” (Abu Dawud)

In another narration, he said:

“He then wiped over his head and out his two index fingers into his ears, He wiped the outside of his ears with his thumbs, and the insides of his ear with his index fingers.” (Abu Dawud)

9- One should wash his feet three times from the tips of the toes up to and including the ankles. Abu Hurairah said that he saw a person who did not wash his heels, and he said to him:

“Woe to the heels from the Hellfire!” (Muslim)

10- One should wash the parts of wudu’ in the correct sequence. He should wash one part after another in the order that Allah commanded. He should not wash one body part before another which it should come after, for in the verse quoted previously, Allah mentioned the obligatory acts of wudu’ in a specific sequence.

11- One should make wudu’ in succession, meaning that one should not delay washing one part of the body so long that the previous washed part becomes dry. In a hadith, the Prophet saw a man praying, but a portion of his foot the size of a dirham was not wet. Upon this, the Prophet ordered him to repeat his wudu’ and Prayer. (Abu Dawud)

(Note that he did not merely order him to wash his foot, but rather he ordered him to repeat the whole wudu´ as well as his Prayer.)

One must remove anything from the parts that must be washed in the wudu’ which might prevent water from reaching the skin underneath it, such as paint and other similar things.

One remains in a state of wudu’ unless something invalidates it, such as urination, defecation, passing of gas, pre-seminal fluid, prostatic fluid, false menstruation (vaginal bleeding other than menses), eating of camel meat, touching the private parts with one’s hand without there being a barrier, or deep sleep.

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The article is an excerpt from the author’s book “How to Become a Muslim”.

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Categories
Ethics & Values New Muslims

For a Merciful Society: Rights of the Muslim upon the Muslim (3/3)

This is the third and last article of the series of the “Rights of the Muslim upon the Muslim”. We will continue this interesting topic about the mutual Islamic rights between Muslims and one another.

muslim

All texts of revelation have stressed good treatment, kindness and cooperation.

Right of Kind Treatment

A Muslim is always required to deal with others with high morals and pleasant manners. He should not indulge in ill actions or behaviors with other Muslims or non-Muslims. IbnMas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “A true believer is not involved in taunting, or frequently cursing (others) or in indecency or abusing.” (At-Tirmidhi)

The Prophet also warned against cursing or fighting a Muslim because these actions are contrary to the peaceful message of Islam. IbnMas`udreported: “The Messenger of Allah said, “Reviling a Muslim is fusuq (disobedience of Allah) and killing him is (tantamount to) disbelief.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Right of Good Neighborhood

All texts of revelation have stressed good treatment, kindness, cooperation, sharing happiness and sorrow, and mercifulness to neighbors. This right has been repeated in revelation to the Prophet once and once again until he thought that there will be a share of inheritance to the neighbors.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Gabriel impressed upon me (the kind treatment) towards the neighbor (so much) that I thought as if he would soon confer upon him the (right) of inheritance.” (Muslim)

Right of Visiting

The right of visiting between Muslims is most required in case of sickness or troubles. It was narrated that ‘Ali said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah say:

‘Whoever comes to his Muslim brother and visits him (when he is sick), he is walking among the harvest of Paradise until he sits down, and when he sits down he is covered with mercy. If it is morning, seventy thousand angels will send blessing upon him until evening, and if it is evening, seventy thousand angels will send blessing upon him until morning.’” (IbnMajah)

Also, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Messenger of Allah said, “A believer owes another believer five rights: responding to greetings, visiting him in illness, following his funeral, accepting his invitation, and saying ‘Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you),’ when he says ‘Al-hamdu-lillah(Praise be to Allah)’ after sneezing”. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Right of Greeting

It is an act of Sunnah and a right of the Muslim upon his Muslim brother to greet them when they meet. Abu Hurairah (peace be upon him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:

“A Muslim has six duties towards other Muslims: When you meet him, you should salute him; when he invites you, accept his invitation; when he asks for your advice, give it to him; when he sneezes and praises Allah, say May Allah have mercy on you; when he is ill, visit him; and when he dies follow his funeral.” (Muslim)

Once a person asked Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him):“What (sort of) deeds in Islam that are good?” He replied, “To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you don’t know.” (Al-Bukhari)

Right of Accepting Invitation

It was narrated in Al-Bukhari and Muslim that Abu Hurairahsaid: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: ‘The rights of a Muslim over his fellow Muslim are five: returning greetings, visiting the sick, attending funerals, accepting invitations, and saying Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah confer His mercy on you) when he sneezes.’”

Therefore, accepting the invitation, especially in occasions like marriage celebrations, are required upon the Muslim towards his Muslim brother. Some scholars considered this as an obligation upon the Muslim in case he or she is invited, provided that the place is devoid of sins such as music.

Right of Attending Muslim Funeral

The Prophet impressively clarifies that it is a right of a Muslim, even in case he is dead, to follow his funeral until he is buried. In the aforementioned hadiths, the Prophet said:

“A Muslim has six duties towards other Muslims: When you meet him, you should salute him; when he invites you, accept his invitation; when he asks for your advice, give it to him; when he sneezes and praises Allah, say May Allah have mercy on you; when he is ill, visit him; and when he dies follow his funeral.” (Muslim)

Attending the funerals of Muslim is of great reward. It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said: “Whoever follows the funeral procession of a Muslim out of faith and in the hope of reward, then offers the funeral prayer for him and waits until he is placed in his grave, then he will have two qirats, each of which is like Mount Uhud. Whoever offers the funeral prayer for him then returns, he will have one qirat.” (Al-Bukhari)

Saying the Dhikr of Sneezing

Among the mutual rights between Muslims is to say “Yarhamuka Allah” (may Allah confer mercy upon you) in case the Muslim is sneezing. Al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurairahthat the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“When one of you sneezes, let him say, ‘Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah),’ and let his brother or companion say to him. ‘Yarhamuka Allah” (may Allah have mercy on you).’ If he says, ‘Yarhamuka Allah,’ then let (the sneezer) say, ‘Yahdikum Allah wayuslihubalakum (may Allah guide you and rectify your condition).’”

 

Read also:

Part 1

Part 2

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Source: www.the-faith.com

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