2010/06/30

Athkaar of Morning&Evening...contd

Assalamou aleikoum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

Continuing the Supplications to be said morning & evening :

Asking for Allah’s forgiveness - It is also called the Master of Invocations :

Shaddad b. Aws reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The best supplication for forgiveness is to say,

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَمَا اسْتَطَعْتُ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلا أَنْتَ

‘Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduka, wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa wa’ dika mastata’tu. A’udhu bika min sharri ma sana’tu, abu’u laka bini’matika ‘alayya wa abu’u laka bidhanbi faghfirli innahu la yaghfirudhdhunuba illa anta

(O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I try my best to keep my covenant (faith) with You and to live in the hope of Your promise. I seek refuge in You from evil done by me. I acknowledge Your favors upon me and I acknowledge my sins. So forgive me for none forgives sins but You.”‘)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, added, “If somebody recites this during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be one of the people of Paradise. And if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be one of the people of Paradise.”(Reported in Bukhari and reported by Buraydah ibn al-Hasib in Abu Dawud, #5052)

to be cont'd....

2010/06/26

Your pain is....

Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break,that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder
at the daily miracles of your life, your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your
heart, even as you have always accepted
the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity
through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the
physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink
his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided
by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,
has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter
has moistened with His own sacred tears.

~Khalil Gibran

2010/06/21

Prophetic Sayings


Jabir said: I heard Allah's messenger say: "The best remembrance (of Allah) is la illaha illa llah" (There no God except God)
Tirmidhi
From 'Uthman ibn' 'Affan: Allah's messenger said: "The best of you is he who has learnt the Quran and then taught it"
Bukhari
Abu Huraira said that Allah's messenger said; "The most perfect of believers is the best of you in character; and the best of you are those among you are best to their wives"
Tirmidhi
From Abu Huraira: Allah's messenger said: "It is a (part) of the sunna that a man goes with his guest to the door of the house"
Ibn Maja
From Anas: "Sadaqa extinguishes the Lord's anger and repels evil death"
Tirmidhi

2010/06/19

Allah will be Enough for You

assalamu alaikum,


Imam Sufyaan (rahimahullah) wrote in a letter:

"Improve your secret and private life, and Allah will improve your public and social life. Make matters well between you and Allah, and Allah will make matters well between you and people. Work for the Hereafter, and Allah will be enough for you in your worldly concerns."
Source: Biography of Imam Sufyaan ath-Thawri by Salaahud-Deen ibn Ali ibn Abdul-Maujood


Beautiful Qoutes from our Pious Salaf(ridwanullahi alayhim):

http://www.islamicemirate.com/resources/islamic-quotes.html

2010/06/17

The prayer of the oppressed

 "O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness and humiliation before the people. You are most merciful, the Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have You entrusted me? To one who does not care for me? Or have you appointed my enemy as master of my affairs? So long as you are not angry with me , I care not. Your favor is abundant for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your face, by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descend upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction. There is no power no might except in You".

2010/06/16

Golden Words....

From our friends at http://window2mysoul.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/golden-pen-award/ -thank you!

Al Fatiha (The Opening)

Al-Fatiha
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (1) 
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, (2) The Beneficent, the Merciful. (3) Owner of the Day of Judgment, (4)Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. (5) Show us the straight path, (6) The path of those whom Thou hast favoured. Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. (7)

2010/06/10

The Reality of Tawheed

The Reality of Tawheed
by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Translated by Abu Rumaysah

The Relief of the Heart and Body Lies in the Obedience of Allah
In this lies a great secret from the secrets of Tawheed. This is that the heart cannot become firm, it cannot find satisfaction and it cannot find tranquillity except by reaching out to Him. Everything that is loved and desired besides Him then it must be desired for other than His sake. The One Who is desired, the One Who is beloved in and of Himself, with Whom all matters find their final goal is only one. It is impossible that the final goal be to two destinations just as it is impossible that the beginning of the creation be from two sources.

So the one whose love, desire, will and obedience ends at other than Him then it will be rendered null and void, it will disappear and split off from him no matter how great his need be of it. However the one whose love, desire, will, obedience, awe and reverential fear ends at Him, far removed is He from imperfection, will find himself winning His favours, bliss and rapture, magnificence and splendour, and felicity for eternity.

The servant continuously finds himself altering between the laws of commandments and the laws of decree. Therefore he is perpetually in need of aid to fulfil the commandments and in need of kindness and leniency at the onset of the calamity. It is the extent to which he establishes the obligations that determine how much kindness the servant will receive at the onset of the calamity. Therefore if he completes his obligations both inwardly and outwardly then he will attain kindness and leniency both inwardly and outwardly. If, however, he merely establishes the outward form [of the commandments] without establishing their reality [inwardly] then he will receive an outward kindness and his portion of inward kindness will [greatly] diminish.

So if it is asked: what is this inward kindness?

[I say in reply:] It is what the heart attains of tranquillity and satisfaction at the onset of the calamity and the removal of unrest, confusion and despair. Therefore the servant surrenders and submits himself before his Lord and Master and he emerges in a state of complete rest and tranquillity - looking on at Him with his heart, and his soul at peace. His witnessing His Kindness has distracted him from the severity of the situation. His knowledge of Allaah's excellent choice and decision for him diverts him from feeling the calamity just as does his knowledge that he is nothing but a mere servant upon whom the decrees of his Master take effect, and he can either be pleased with them or angry with them. So if he is pleased then he will attain Pleasure and if he is displeased then his portion is nothing save Displeasure. Therefore this inward kindness is the fruit of this inward action [of being pleased with the decree of Allaah], it increases with its increase and decreases with its decrease.

2010/06/09

What do you have to lose?

What makes the disbelievers, disbelieve when the guidance has come to them?
The pagan Arabs use to constantly ask Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to show them a miracle. Allah says in the Quran, "They swear their strongest oaths by Allah that if they were given a sign, they would believe" (6:109). The pagan Arabs said that surely other prophets were granted miracles before -so why not Muhammad (SAW)? But Allah says "Even if I send angels to them, and the dead speak to them face to face, and I gather together all things before their very eyes, they would not believe unless it be my wish. But most of them ignore the truth" (6:111).
Nevertheless, with Muhammad's plea, Allah did grant them a miracle. The moon split in half. When the Quraysh saw the moon split in half they first claimed it the works of a sorcerer -that somehow there eyes where being tricked. So they waited until some passerbys came and asked them if they to saw the miracle, they responded in the affirmative. There the Quraysh had been given a clear proof from Allah -so this must have finally converted them to faith? No, they were insincere. They only asked Muhammad (SAW) to perform a miracle in hopes that they could embarrass him and prove him a liar. Now with a clear proof they still clung to there disbelief.
Even the Prophet's beloved Uncle, Abu Talib, who loved his nephew and spent much of his life protecting him clung to his disbelief. On his death bed the Prophet (SAW) pleaded with his beloved uncle "My uncle, say La illaha illalah. This simple phrase, and if you say it, I'll plead with Allah for your salvation". But two of his pagan tribesmen where there and they rebuked the Prophet saying to his uncle "Will you shun the religion of Abdul Muttalib?" and he was last heard saying "... on the religion of Abdul Muttalib".
He died an unbeliever, but by his struggle to protect his nephew it would seem very plausible that he did believe his nephew to be the messenger of Allah -or did he simply protect his nephew out of love for there family bond? Its hard to tell, what even more difficult is to know is -what did Abu Talib have to lose on his death bed by accepting Allah as the creator and alone worthy of worship?
Maybe his last words offer us some insight. Is it possible that his family ties where more important to him then the reality of the oneness of God? This is not something to be taken lightly, then and now people cling on to beliefs because of their forefathers. Allah refers to these kinds of people in the Quran, those who take on the religion of their fathers though Islam is better for them. How many Christians have been Christians for generation after generation. How many of them could barely express the foundations or fundamentals of their religion yet they cling on to it close to their hearts. How many of their leaders change the words of their holy books? How many Christian know about the life of  Jesus? How many Christians know Aramaic or Hebrew so they could better understand their original holy book?
Islam has something to offer the disbelievers. But they must as rational human beings come to terms with what there is to lose. What non Muslims may lose are family ties, close friendships, status, etc. But what there is to gain is greater then what the is to lose. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is regarded by many scholars, Muslim and non Muslim, as one of the greatest men in history. But this was a lonely and harsh struggle to greatness. When he died, he'd conquered his enemies, created a Muslim state, freed the Muslims from there oppression, seen his children grow and marry, watched as the spread of Islam grew abundantly.
This was the end, in the beginning your eyes would come to tears for the struggle Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the early Muslims went through. Former slaves like Bilal were beaten and tortured, others like Khadejah were ostracized unable even to by food, some others were killed. The Prophet (SAW) himself was ridiculed and attempts at his death were many. Children threw stones at him, people cursed him, men threw the insides of animals on him as he prayed, his daughters were divorced by there husbands to spite him.... all because he wanted to invite them to the truth. He did not give up. He adhere to his beliefs despite his loses.
And this is not to say that he was some sort of robot who could feel no harm -no, he triumphed despite his hardship.
Once the prophet went to a people to tell them about Islam  and they rejected him. Throwing stones at him until he bleed, his adopted son Zayd tried to protect him and he too became afflicted, blood running down his head. After this ordeal ended, he sat down by a wall  and pleaded with Allah what we know call the dua of the oppressed; " O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness and humiliation before the people. You are most merciful, the Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have You entrusted me? To one who does not care for me? Or have you appointed my enemy as master of my affairs? So long as you are not angry with me , I care not. Your favor is abundant for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your face, by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descend upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction. There is no power no might except in You". Soon after this plea Allah begins to give his light to more people. Surrounding tribes begin to except Islam as there way of life and soon Madinah becomes a light of Islam and the Muslims begin to see strength in numbers.
Even this journey to Yathrib (Madinah) was a struggle some had to leave behind the families and property and even there livelihood was affected. This was a difficult transition but they where willing to lose there worldly gains in order to gain something so much better. A life of truth, mercy from Allah, and Insha Allah (God willing) paradise in the next life.
Sacrifice is a part of belief, Insha Allah may we all take the examples of those who where willing to lose some things in order to gain something better.

(Biographical information about the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been taken from the English translation of 'When the moon split: A biography of Prophet Muhammad (saw), words of Allah are taken form the English translation of the Muslim holy book Al Quran)

2010/06/06

Asalamu Alakum (Peace be on to you)!

Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and yet it is largely misunderstood by people outside the religion. We here at guiding friends would like to do our small part to alleviate the mystery that hangs over islam. So we would like to ask all of our dear readers a big favor........ can you ask us a question?
We would like you to think of anything you don't understand or would like to know more about in islam -anything at all that comes to mind. Monotheism, Terrorism, Prophet Muhammed, Women in veils, praying, fasting, etc. anything at all that comes to mind ask.
I can't promise we'll have the answer but I promise we will try our best, Insha Allah (Godwilling) please email us or post your questions as a 'comment', were waiting to hear from you :-).

2010/06/01

O Mankind! Certainly the Promise of Allah is True...






1 Praise be to Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth! Who appoint the angels having  two, three and four pairs of wings as His messengers. He adds to His creation as He pleases; for Allah has power over all things.

 2 None can withhold the blessings which He bestows on people and none can award besides Him what He withholds. He is the Mighty, the Wise.


3 O mankind! Call to mind the favors of Allah on you; is there any other creator than Allah who provides for you from the heavens and the earth? There is no god but Him. How then are you being deceived?
4 O Prophet! If they deny you, so were the Rasools denied before you. All affairs shall ultimately
be presented before Allah.

5 O mankind! Certainly the promise of Allah is true, therefore let not the life of this world deceive you nor let the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.
6 Surely Shaitan (Satan) is your enemy: so take him as an enemy. He is inviting his adherents towards his way so that they may become companions of the blazing fire.

7 Those who disbelieve shall have a terrible punishment, and those who believe and do good deeds shall have forgiveness and a magnificent reward.
8 Can that person be guided whose evil deeds are so fair seeming to him that he considers them good? The fact is that Allah leaves to stray whom He wills and guides to whom He pleases. Therefore, O Prophet, let not your soul expire in sorrow on their account. Allah is aware of all their actions.

9 It is Allah Who sends forth winds to raise up the clouds, then drives them to a dead land and therewith revive the earth after its death. Similar will be the resurrection of the dead.
10 If anyone is seeking honor, let him know that all honor belongs to Allah Alone. Good words ascend to Him and good deeds are exalted by Him. As for those who plan evil deeds, they shall have severe punishment and their plots will be brought to nothing.

12 The two bodies of water, of which one is sweet and pleasant to drink and the other is salty and bitter, are not alike. Yet from each kind of water you eat fresh meat and extract ornaments which you wear; and you see the ships plough their course through them to seek the bounty of Allah, that you may be grateful.
13 He causes the night to pass into the day and the day into the night, and He has made the sun and the moon to serve you; each one follows its course for an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Rabb; His is the kingdom; and those to whom you pray besides Him do not even own a thread of a date-stone.

14 If you pray to them they cannot hear your prayers and even if they could hear you they could not answer you. On the Day of Resurrection they will deny your associating them with Allah. O mankind! None can inform you about all this except the One Who is All-Aware.
15 O mankind! It is you who stands in need of Allah, and it is Allah Who is Free of all wants, Worthy of all praise.
16 If He wants, He can destroy you and replace you with a new creation;
17 and this is not at all difficult for Allah.

18 No bearer of a burden will bear another's burden, and if a heavy laden person cries out for help, none will come forward to share the least of his burden, even though he be a close relative. O Prophet! You can only admonish those who fear their Rabb - though they cannot see Him - and establish Salah. He that purifies himself does so for his own good. To Allah is the destination of all.

Meanings of verses 1-18 Surah Fatir
The Holy Quran

Photo: Ibn Hanif
 
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