Categories
Fasting New Muslims

Qur’anic Gems: Juz’ 3

Welcome to a new interesting episode of Qur’anic Gems series with Nouman Khan.

Here Nouman reflects on the verse number 286 of Surat Al-Baqarah (the second chapter of the Qur’an).

Nouman is shedding the light on the mercy of Allah with His servants regarding the obligations and commands clarifying that He does not burden them with what they are not able to do.

Follow us on this interesting talk to know more about the consequences of good deeds and bad deeds.

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Categories
New Muslims Reflections

This Is What I Love the Most about Islam…

What thing do you know by heart and mind, believe in, and fascinated by in Islam?

What is your favorite thing about Islam? What thing do you love most about this religion? And why do you love it?

This Is What I Love the Most in Islam… What is yours?

Below is an episodes of IBN’s “100 Muslims, 1 Question” where some fellow American Muslims were asked about their favorite thing in Islam, and here are their responses…

Share your opinions and thoughts here…

 

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Source: ibn.net

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Categories
New Muslims Reflections

This One Surah Is Mine…What Is Yours?

Given that every single human has a unique nature, each and every one of us connect with God in their own way, from their own perspective.

We all get in touch with God through the Qur’an, the message for all and for each one of us. Still, the Qur’an addresses each one of us individually.

Is it the first surah you learned or memorized?

What is your favorite surah of the Qur’an, and why? Is it the first surah you learned, recited or memorized?

What is the first thing you think about when you hear or read that surah? In what way does it impact or affect you on a personal level?

Some fellow American Muslims were asked about their favorite surah of the Qur’an, and why they are attached to it, and here are their responses…

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Source: ibn.net

 

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Categories
Divine Unity New Muslims

God: The All-Loving, the Merciful

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By His mercy and love He has shown us the Right way and sent to us messengers and teachers, books and revelations.

Once man believes that God exists he must know His attributes and names. Generally speaking every perfection and absolute goodness belong to Him, and no defect or wrong applies to Him. In specific terms, one should know and believe the following:

1- God is only One, has no partner or son, neither gives birth, nor is He born. He is eternally besought by all and has no beginning or end, and none is equal to Him:

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him. (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

2- He is the Merciful and the Compassionate, the Guardian and the True Guide, the Just and the Supreme Lord, the Creator and the Watchful, the First and the Last, the Knowing and the Wise, the Hearing and the Aware, the Witness and the Glorious, the Able and the Powerful, i.e. Al-Hadid 57:1-6, and Al-Hashr 59:22-24.

3- He is the Loving and Provider, the Generous and the Benevolent, the Rich and the Independent, the Forgiving and the Clement, the Patient and the Appreciative, the Unique and the Protector, the Judge and the Peace, i.e. Aal `Imran 3:31, Hud 11:6; Fatir 35:15, and At-Talaq 65:2-3).

Each one of these names and attributes of God is mentioned in various places in the Qur‘an. We all enjoy the care and mercy of God Who is so Loving and Kind to His creation. If we try to count His favors upon us, we cannot, because they are countless, i.e. Ibrahim 14:32-34, and An-Nahl 16:10-18).

His Love

God is High and Supreme, but He is very near to the pious thoughtful people; He answers their prayers and helps them. He loves the people who love Him and forgives their sins. He gives them peace and happiness, knowledge and success, life and protection, He welcomes all those who want to be at peace with Him and never rejects any of them.

He teaches man to be good, to do the right and keep away from the wrong. Because He is so Good and Loving, He recommends and accepts only the good right things. The door of His mercy is always open to any who sincerely seek His support and protection, i.e. Al-Baqarah 2:186, Qaf 50:16.

The Love of God for His creatures is immense and beyond human imagination. We cannot measure or count His favors. He creates us and takes good care of us, not only from the time of our birth onward, but even long before that. He makes us in the best form of creation and gives us all the senses and faculties that we need for our growth.

He helps us when we cannot help ourselves, and provides for us and for our dependents. He creates in man the mind to understand, the soul and conscience to be good and righteous, the feelings and sentiments to kind and humane.

His Mercy

By His mercy we gain true knowledge and see the real light. Because He is Merciful He creates us in the most beautiful shape and provides us with the sun and the moon, the land and sea, the earth and the skies, the plants and the animals.

He is the Creator of all these things and many others for our benefit and use. He makes things that are of service to us in this life, and gives man dignity and intelligence, honor and respect, because man is the best of all created things and is God’ s viceroy on earth.

The mercy of God gives us hope and peace, courage and confidence. It enables us to remedy our griefs and sorrows, to overcome our difficulties and obtain success and happiness.

Indeed, the mercy of God relieves the distressed, cheers the afflicted, consoles the sick, strengthens the desperate, and comforts the needy. In short, the mercy of God is active everywhere all the time in every aspect of our lives. Some people may fail to recognize it only because they take it for granted. But it is real and we can feel it with our hearts and appreciate it with our minds.

The Loving Merciful God never forgets us or lets us down or ignores our sincere calls upon Him. By His mercy and love He has shown us the Right way and sent to us messengers and teachers, books and revelations – all are meant for our help and guidance. The Last Messenger from God is Muhammad, and the most genuine existing book of God is the Qur’an.

From the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the teachings of the Qur’an, we learn about the Forgiving God. If a person commits a sin or does something wrong, then he is violating the law of God, committing a grave offense against God and abusing his own dignity and existence.

But if he is sincere and wishes to repent, regrets his wrong deeds and wants to turn to God, faithfully seeks pardon from God and honestly approaches Him, then God will certainly accept him and forgive him.

Even those who reject God or His Oneness are assured of forgiveness, should they realize their erroneous attitude and resolve to come back to God. In this connection the Qur’an says:

Say: ‘O My servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the mercy of God: for God forgives all sins: For He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. (An-Nisaa’ 4:48)

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him. (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

Say: ‘O My servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the mercy of God: for God forgives all sins: For He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Turn to your Lord (in repentance) and submit to Him, before the penalty comes on you; after that you shall not be helped. And follow the best of the courses revealed to you from your Lord, before the penalty comes on you – of a sudden while you perceive not!’ (Az-Zumar 39:53, 54)

Its Impact

In return for all these great favors and kindness God does not need anything from us, because He is the Needless and the Independent. He does not ask us to pay Him back, for we cannot reward Him or value His immeasurable favors and mercy.

What He commands us to do, however, is only to be good, to be thankful and appreciative, to follow His recommendations and enforce His law, to be the proper manifestation of His goodness and excellent attributes, to be His honest agents and true representatives on earth.

He does not want to enslave us, because He is the One Who grants us dignity and honor. He does not wish to subjugate us, because He is the One Who emancipates us from fear and superstitions. He does not desire to humiliate us because He is the One Who creates us and exalts our ranks above all other beings.

So whatever rules and prescriptions He passes unto us are designed for our own benefit and good. They are meant to help us to enjoy our lives with one another in peace and kindness, in brotherhood and cooperation. They are destined to make us attain His most pleasant company and adopt the surest approach to eternal happiness.

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The article is excerpted from the author’s Islam in Focus.

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Categories
Divine Unity New Muslims

My Favorite Name of God… What Is Yours?

There are various names and attributes of God, each one of them embraces many great meanings. Still each name has its own specialty and says something unique about God (Exalted be He).

Also each name has different meanings and implications. On individual basis, each one of us, may be more attached to a particular name. Contemplating on such name you feel inner peace and contentment, and feel so near to Him.

Some fellow American Muslims were asked about their favorite name of God, why they are attached to it, what this name means to them and how it implicates their relationship with Him and their life as well, and here are their responses…

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Source: ibn.net

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Categories
New Muslims Zakah

The Blessings behind Zakah

The Blessings behind Zakah

Paying your zakah means that what is left of your money will be more blessed and more productive for you.

Deep down, you may think of zakah (obligatory alms) as a tiresome once-a-year event that simply involves a quick online payment of 2.5% of your cash and a bunch of gold weighed on scales in your kitchen! But there is a lot more to it. Fully understanding and practicing this beautiful Pillar of Islam can lead to a more productive and successful existence at both an individual and community level. How?

Paying your zakah correctly triggers some marvelous productivity boosters that you probably have never thought of! Here’s what actually happens to you and your life when you pay your zakat:

1- Purifying the Soul

Nothing prevents us more from reaching the heights of productivity than our sins. Day and night, we disobey Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) in all sorts of ways, knowingly and unknowingly, blotting our hearts and blocking the light of Allah from entering them. One critical way of clearing out the junk from our hearts is to pay zakah.

Linguistically, zakah carries meanings of cleansing and purification, originating from the same root as the word tazkiyah. In fact, when Allah commanded the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to collect zakah, He specifically mentioned its purifying power:

Take from their wealth a charity to cleanse and purify them through it and pray for them. Indeed your prayer gives them tranquility. And indeed Allah is All Hearing, All Knowing. (At-Tawbah 9:103)

2- Blessing the Wealth

Apart from purification, zakah also carries meanings of growth and enhancement. Paying your zakah means that what is left of your money will be more blessed and more productive for you. Our Prophet emphasized this by warning against delaying the payment of zakah or not paying it at all:

“Zakah is never intermingled with any amount of wealth without destroying and rotting it.” (Al-Bukhari)

It is said that zakah represents the ‘filth’ within our wealth, i.e. an amount that we may have incurred through some form of sin or dishonesty, however small or great. For our money to remain blessed, it is vital to get rid of the ‘filth’ as soon as possible. This is akin to the dross that is filtered from a blast furnace, leaving a pure, pristine metal behind.

3- Opportunities for the Poor and Needy

One doubtless benefit of zakah is to help the poor and needy become more productive. By freeing them of the immediate stress of meeting their very basic needs, distributing zakat effectively allows those in need to pursue opportunities to help them turn their lives around.

4- Incurring the Mercy of Allah

In a powerful verse in the Qur’an, Allah says:

…I afflict with My punishment whomsoever I choose, but My mercy encompasses everything. So I will prescribe it (i.e. My mercy) for those who are God conscious, pay Zakah and believe in Our signs. (Al-Anfal 7:156)

This verse is one of just two in Qur’an where zakah is not mentioned in conjunction with the obligatory prayer. Notice how Allah mentions the fulfillment of zakah in such an amazing position: between the qualities of taqwa (God-consciousness) and iman (belief) in His signs. At the same time, He (Exalted be He) makes paying zakah a direct cause for incurring His mercy, without which being productive would be utterly impossible.

5- Endless Rewards

Just after one of the most famous verses in the Qur’an, the Verse of Light, Allah mentions a special group of people:

Men who are not diverted by business or trade from the remembrance of Allah, establishing the prayer and paying zakat, fearing the day (of judgment) in which hearts and sights are turned upside down. (An-Nur 24:37)

Here Allah extols the virtues of those who are busy, productive and successful in a worldly sense, but at the same time do not allow themselves to forget the most important aspects of their faith: remembering their Lord, establishing the prayer and paying zakah.

Allah then promises them an amazing outcome:

Allah will recompense them according to the best of what they have done and He will grant them increase out of His bounty. Allah provides for whomsoever He wills without measure. (An-Nur 24:38)

May Allah (Exalted be He) make us among those mentioned in the above verse! May He enable Muslims everywhere to understand and fulfill their obligation of zakah, thereby incurring His mercy and pleasure. Ameen.

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Source: productivemuslim.com.

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