Showing posts with label Make use of salah and dua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Make use of salah and dua. Show all posts

Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Sahih Al-Bukhari’-Imam Bukhari


In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful.

‘Sahih Al-Bukhari’
Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) - Who was he?
 To acquire (this science) solely for the pleasure of Allah.

“The most authentic book after the Holy Qur’an is Sahih Bukhari
This is the conclusion that every learned religious Scholar came to.
No matter how great these Scholars were, they were forced to unanimously agree that ‘Sahih Al-Bukhari’ is the most authentic work in Hadith literature ever compiled.

Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’an)
and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).).
(Qur'an 15:9)
The transmission of the Qur'an, from the day of its revelation up to the present day, is flawless.
The chapters and verses have been in constant use amongst Muslims and have been passed on perfectly intact from one generation to the other.
The Qur'an we know today is the same Qur'an which was revealed to the Prophet some fourteen centuries ago.
Today all of the copies of the Qur’an in the world are the same.
There is no difference and change among them.
In addition, millions of hafiz have it in their memory millions of tongues recite it every moment.
No other book written by a person has that quality and characteristic; neither does any of the holy books.
 It is necessary that the last word of Allah, His eternal command that is valid until the Day of Judgment, has such a unique rank and a high honor.

The steps of knowledge by Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah [ra]:
1} the first step in knowledge is to listen,
2} then to be quiet and attentive
3} then to preserve,
4} then to put it into practice,
5} then to spread it.

Imam ash-Shafi ((rahmatullahi alayhi) said:
''O my brother, you will not gain knowledge except through six,
I will inform you of their details with clarity, Intelligence, strong yearning, hard work, and surviving on the minimum, and the companionship of a teacher, and a long time.''

“The most authentic book after the Holy Qur’an.” This is the conclusion that every learned religious Scholar came to.
No matter how great these Scholars were, they were forced to unanimously agree
That ‘Sahih Al-Bukhari’ is the most authentic work in Hadith literature ever compiled.
We seem to have heard a lot about the magnificence of this compilation,
But how much do we really know about the person who actually compiled this book?
How much do we know about the man who had spent endless years traveling to many lands in search of people who had picked up the gems that had fallen from the lips of the Noble Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) so that he may gather these precious gems and present them to the world in the form of ‘Sahih Al-Bukhari.’
At the age of eighteen he visited Makkah accompanied by his mother and elder brother, Ahmad ibn Ism`l.
After performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned with his mother, but Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) stayed there for further education.
 Meanwhile, he wrote a book called, Qady as-Sahbah wat-Tbi`n.
After this he went to Madinah al-Munawwarah to compile the famous book of Asm` ar-rijl (Names of men of transmission) called, Trkh al-kabr,
 While sitting by the tomb of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) during moonlight hours.
 Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Furyb said that at the time he had copied Trkh al-kabr, Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) did not yet have any facial hair.

The problem of forging of Hadith
During the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam),:emphasis was on the penning down of Qur’an
And as such the Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)were simply committed to memory.
Though on individual level there were some attempts to scribe the Hadith, e.g. Abu Hurairah R.A. had made a private compilation,
on official level the first attempt was made by Umar bin Abdul Aziz (R.A.) for the compilation of the Hadith.
It would be erroneous to think that the Suhaba did not take pains for preservation of Hadith,
In fact some of the Sahaba (Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) dedicated their lives to this cause.
The reason behind not writing down the Hadith during the life time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) is a different topic and needs a separate discussion.

The absence of any complete compilation of Ahadith encouraged some unscrupulous persons,
in the later period, to attribute many sayings to  the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) which he never had said.
 These sayings got currency among people and soon it became difficult to differentiate the Sahih Ahadith from the forged ones.
When the menace of forged Ahadith spread its ugly head, the Muhaddithin took upon them the task of maintaining the purity of Hadith literature.
The Muhaddithin developed criterion by which to categories the Ahadith into different categories like Sahih, Hassan, Gharib, Mauzu (forged) etc.
 It was made compulsory to narrate the Hadith with complete chain of narrators,
 Then the Muhaddith would go into the credentials of each of the narrator in the chain and accordingly the Hadith would be categorized.
 Later on when the chain of narration began to be forged, the Muhaddithin would enquire whether the person narrating from had met him or not.
The incompletion of the chain would raise doubts about the authenticity of the Hadith.
Some of the Muhaddithin had developed the spiritual insight to identify a Hadith, or the Hadith had an aura of sublimity which is lacking in the words of the common human being.
(It is no less than inspiration sent down to him: He was taught by one Mighty in Power,)

Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi)- Who was he?
Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi), who was one of the greatest compilers of Ahadith, became blind at a young age.
He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference.
His mother was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman.
She cried out for help in the court of Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) the Almighty,
 for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight.
 At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) accepted her invocation.
One night, she visited Ibrahim alayhi -salaam in a dream and was told,
"Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful invocations."
In the morning, as Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) got up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes.
That is, his eyesight was fully restored.
Here we learn about dua's working when all has failed:
Make use of salah and Dua to solve any problem that even the best experts of this world cannot solve.
Unfortunately, the Muslims are turning away from these deeds today when they need them the most.
We pray for Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) to give us the true understanding of Islam. Ameen

 Abu‘abd Allah Muhammad ibn Isma’il, later known as Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi), was born in Bukhara on 13 Shawwal, 194 A.H. (July 21 810 A.C).  
 He lost his father when he was still a child. He was brought up by his illustrious and virtuous mother.  
He began his study of the Hadith at the early age of eleven. In his 16th year,
 he made pilgrimage of the Holy places along with his mother and elder brother.
 There he attended the lectures of the great teachers of Hadith in Makkah and Madinah.
He was still 18 years old, when he wrote a book on the decisions made by the Companions of  the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and their followers. 

Younus Ibn 'Ubayd [ra.] said:
"With good manners you understand the knowledge.
With the knowledge, your actions are corrected.
With actions, wisdom is obtained.
With wisdom you understand zuhd [abstinence] and are granted its benefits.
With zuhd comes abandoning the world.
With abandoning the world, comes the desire for the Hereafter.
With desire for the Hereafter the pleasure of Allah [the Mighty and Majestic] is obtained."

His elder brother, Rashid ibn Isma’il reports that the young Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) used to attend the lectures And discourses of learned men along with him and other pupils. But, unlike other pupils he never took notes of these discourses.
They criticized him for not taking notes of the lectures and thus wasted his time. Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) did not give any reply.
One day, being annoyed by their consistent criticism of his carelessness, Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) asked his fellow pupils to bring all they had noted down.
By that time, his fellow pupils had taken down more than 15 thousand Ahadith.
 Young Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi), to the amazement of all, Narrated all the 15 thousand Ahadith from his memory with minutest details which had not been noted down by the follow pupils. 
Later, he started on a study pilgrimage of the world of Islam, which lasted 16 years.
Of this period, he spent five years in Basra, visiting Egypt, Hijaz, Kufa and Baghdad several times and wandered all over Western Asia in quest of knowledge and learning . During his travels he reported Ahadith from 80,000 persons.
With the help of his exceptional memory he could retain these Ahadith with all their sources in his mind to be penned down at an opportune time.  
Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) was one of the greatest scholars this Ummah (Islamic nation) has ever produced.
The fame of his knowledge and his prodigious memory spread far and wide, and people used to travel thousands of miles in order to meet him and hear from him the Ahadith (Sayings of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace).

Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) often used to engage in archery while on horseback.
Once he missed the target and his arrow struck the pillar of a bridge, causing it to be damaged.
 He jumped of his horse, removed the arrow from the pillar and said to his companion,
“Go to the owner of this bridge and explain to him that we have caused some damage to the pillar of his bridge.
Beg for forgiveness from him. In addition, ask him to allow us to rebuild the pillar or to accept the equivalent sum of money for damages caused.”
When the owner was informed of this, he said,
“Tell Abu Abdullah (Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) that he has done nothing wrong. In fact, may all my wealth be sacrificed for him?”
When Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) heard his reply,
He was extremely happy and read five hundred Ahadith (Prophetic sayings) to those who had come from afar.
He also gave out three hundred dirhams in Sadqah (charity).
On another occasion, a group of traders from Syria came to purchase some goods from Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi).
They offered to purchase the goods from him at a price which would yield a profit of five thousand dirhams.
Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) said to them,” Return to your homes for today.”
The next day, another group of traders came to him and offered to purchase the goods at a price that would have enabled him to make a profit of ten thousand dirham. Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) refused, saying,
“I had already made an intention last night to sell these goods to the first group of traders who had come. I do not wish to change my intention now.
O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth.
He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins... (Al-Ahzab, ayat 70-71)

There is a famous happening in the life of Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) by which one can get an idea of how much care the Muhaddithin took
in ascertaining the authenticity of the Hadith.
Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) traveled to meet a man in order to take Hadith from him.
But he saw this man calling his horse with an empty vessel in his hand, as if there was food in that vessel, moving it in order for the horse to come near so he can grab the horse.
So Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) asked him, "What is in that vessel?" And the man said, "Nothing."
Then Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) said, "By Allah, I will not take Hadith from you, because you are a liar."
So it is not befitting for an individual (him or her) to be with the liars, or to be upon that which is a lie, or to be consistent upon lying.
Rather, they must consider lying as a tremendous act of evil. And know that lying is from the major sins.
 And it is a must that a person repents from lying; he has to make Tawba to Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala for lying.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said:
 "Indeed, truthfulness is that which one finds ease in his heart with, and indeed a lie is that which a person's heart is not at ease with."
So the one who is truthful, or the one you find being at ease, this is the truthful person.
And the one who is in a state of unrest, this is the individual who is a liar.
You find today that they have a lie detector's test, which monitors the person's internal movement, and this confirms the statement of the Prophet.
And Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’aala) said:
Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah... (Al-Ahzab, ayah 23)
And also, I wanted to bring the attention of the dangers of lying, even if you are joking.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said: "Woe to the one. Woe to the one.
Woe to the one from the hellfire, the one who lies in order to make the people laugh."
An individual should not look at the matter of making people laugh -
Even though it's a lie - rather we should look at it as something that angers Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD).
 "Every day that a person does not disobey Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) is a day of celebration".
So we should be pleased with that which Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) is pleased with.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said:
"I guarantee a house in the middle of Paradise for the one who leaves off lying even when joking."

What is meant here by the lie is Tawriyah, which is not a pure lie. Rather, it is like an individual saying to his wife,
'You are better than the moon to me.' And, yes, she is better than the moon, because she is a believer.
Or an individual says, speaking to his brother, 'he (the one who he has a dispute with) supplicates for you.'
 And indeed, the believer supplicates for the believers. Or 'he mentions you with good.'
But a person should not swear by Allah regarding a matter and then he falls into a pure lie, which is opposing reality.
And the meaning of Tawriyah is that a person makes a statement intending one thing, and the person hearing the statement understands another thing.

It is similar to the action of Abu Bakr (RadiAllahu 'anhu) when he was traveling with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam),
And the people came and said, 'Who is this man with you?' And Abu Bakr said, "Indeed, he is a guide who is guiding us to the right path."
Abu Bakr meant by his statement that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was a guide guiding people to the Paradise of Allah.
But the individuals who heard the statement understood that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was a man who was guiding him on a path in the desert.
PERSONALITY
Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) belonged to a financially strong and religious family.
Once a person had to return him 50,000 Dirham, but when Imam Bukhari found him unable o pay him back he asked him to pay, Just 10 Dharam per month.
He was a very simple person. He preferred to do the work himself.
Once near Baghdad he was building an Inn all alone, carrying bricks and tools all by himself.
One of his students Muhammad bin Hathim Varak requested him to do it for him.
But he refused saying, 'THESE WILL BENIFIT ME ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT'.
According to Varak Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) monthly income was about 500 Dirham. Most of which was spent on the welfare of his students.
He never liked to have the luxuries life. He was not fond of eating or other things. He even ate grass and dry bread as food.
Taqlid
Taqlid refers to the practice of an unqualified, lay person (in a specific field of specialization) submitting to and accepting the authority of an expert in that field, without demanding proof and justification for every view, opinion or verdict expressed by such an expert authority.
Imitation is a natural tendency of human existence, practiced by millions of people worldwide in every facet of life.
The simplest and most tangible example of Taqlid is that of a child learning his basic alphabets at school.
Every child learning his alphabets is unconsciously practicing Taqlid.
A learner driver taking instructions from a driving instructor is practicing Taqlid.
People going to a specialist doctor for medical treatment and following his instructions is another example of Taqlid.
A lay person soliciting a legal opinion from an advocate or following the advice of a tax consultant is another common case of Taqlid.
A client at an engineering firm, asking for the engineer's advice on complex engineering calculations is yet another instance of Taqlid in action.
The millions of 'facts' in the myriad of sciences such as astronomy, archaeology, etc. are all distinct examples of Taqlid.
Who ever questions the 'fact' that the sun is really 93 million miles away from the earth!
It is taken for granted that this is the findings of the 'experts' in these fields and everyone simply accepts it as such.
School teachers teach these to their pupils as 'gospel truth' and children learn and memorize these 'facts' with the hope of succeeding in their exams.
There are countless such examples of Taqlid in everyday existence.
By way of extension, Taqlid is the easy option for ordinary people in the context of Islamic Fiqh or Law too.
Taqlid in Islam simply refers to accepting and following the verdicts of expert scholars of Islamic Fiqh in their exposition
and interpretation of Islamic Law, without demanding from them an in-depth explanation of the intricate processes (Ijtihad) Required in arriving at such a verdict. It simply means that ordinary folk do not have to do Ijtihad.
The duty of ordinary people is to trustingly accept the authority of the learned scholars in this matter and act upon their verdicts.
In this sense, Taqlid is a great blessing for common people, for it is beyond the capacity of everyone to understand the extremely complex And complicated mechanics of Ijtihad.
The ability to do Ijtihad requires many long years of study and erudition and a great deal of exertion in acquiring a mastery of various Islamic sciences.
  Not with standing lovethe Sahaba had for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)
 And the dedication they had for promotion of Hadith,
They observed great care in narrating it, fearing they might not make some error in the narration and thereby, unwittingly,
Attribute something to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) which he had not said. They preferred others to narrate.
They would not even tolerate that the order of words would be altered or that they would use their own words.
If they had any doubt regarding the order of the words or were not confident of their memory, they would mention even that.
From the above discussion one can get an idea of how delicate is the matter of Ahadith and how much care has been observed by the Muhaddithin in narrating Hadith.
 In our times around the world, Hadith are being narrated carelessly.
To prove the superiority of ones cult or of some particular school of thought, etc,
Hadith are being narrated without caring for their authenticity.
When a person hears a Hadith which suits his ideas, he narrates them in public carelessly and nobody dares to object, fearing contempt.
 My friends Caution is needed in the narration of the Hadith my brothers/sisters.
Only that person who is well versed with the Hadith literature should narrate Hadith
And at least should know the difference between various categories of Hadith
And that he should narrate from an authentic compilation and that Hadith should be narrated along with Takhreej.
One should desist from narrating Hadith which one has simply heard from someone else.
There is a Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam), narrated by Bukhari,(rahmatullahi alayhi)
Which I have loosely translated as:
Whoever attributed a lie to me should make hell as his dwelling place.
My Dear Islamic Brothers/sisters! Our pious predecessors had Madani intellects; their minds reached places we are negligent of.
 May Allah protect us from the disasters of treachery? 

Muhammad ibn Ahmad said:
 “When Abu ‘l-Abbas Walid ibn Ibrahim was deposed as the chief justice of Rayy
 (Formally of the great cities of Persia located a few miles from Tehran) and he came to Bukhara,
My teacher, Abu Ibrahim Al-Khatalli took me with him to see Walid.
 My teacher requested him to narrate those Hadith to me which he had heard from his teachers.
He replied, ‘I have not heard anything from them.’ My teacher was quite shocked and remarked,
‘How can you say that you have not heard anything from them whereas you are a deeply-read scholar?’
    Walid then related his story saying,
‘When I became a rational and mature adult and I developed a passion toward the science of Hadith,
 I went to Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) and explained my intentions to him.
He advised me thus, “Son, before you set out to pursue any field, make sure you are well-grounded with its prerequisites and demands.
And remember that a person cannot become a perfect scholar in the science of Hadith [Muhaddith] until
And unless he writes four things with four other things,
Which are as indispensable as four things, which resemble four other things? (He must write these things) in four times, with four conditions, in four places, upon four things, from four types of people, and for four objectives. All of these four-angled things can only be Achieved with another four things coupled with another four. Once all these things are achieved, four things will become insignificant before him and he will be tried with four other things. If he exercises patience in these four trials, Allah will honor him with four things in this world and award him four things in the hereafter.”

I said, “May Allah has mercy upon you. Please explain these four-angled things for me.” He said, “Certainly. The four things he has to write are:

(1) The statements and commands of Allah’s Messenger (the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).
(2) The sayings of the Companions and their relative ranks.
(3) The sayings of the Followers and their ranks (i.e. who among them are reliable and who are not),and
(4) The conditions of all the narrators who narrate Hadith.

These (four pieces of information) must be written together with the following four things:
(1) The actual names of the narrators,
(2) Their appellations or titles [Kuna],
(3) Their places of residence, and
(4) Their dates of birth and death (to determine whether the narrator actually met the people he has narrated from).

(These are indispensable to him) just (as four things are necessary with four other things
(1) As praises [tahmid] of Allah (are necessary) with the khutba,
(2) As salutations [Salawaat], (are necessary) with mention of the name of Allah’s Messenger (the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).
(3) As (the recitation of) Bismillah (is necessary) with a Sura (of the Qur’an), and
(4) As the takbir (is necessary) with the Salât.

These resemble four other things (which are names of four categories of Hadith:
(1) The musnadat [narrations traceable to the Messenger],
(2) The mursalat [narrations transmitted by a Follower from the Messenger directly without a Companion in between],
(3) The mawqufat [narrations traceable only to a Companion], and
(4) The maqtu'at [narrations traceable only to a Follower].

(These things must all be written) in four times:
(1) In his childhood,
(2) In his age of discernment (i.e. close to maturity),
(3) In his youth, and
(4) In his old age.

(In other words, he must continue acquiring Hadith at all times throughout every stage of his life? They must be written) under four conditions:
(1) While his is occupied,
(2) While he is free,
(3) In his poverty, and
(4) In his affluence.

(In other words, he must diligently pursue the knowledge of these things no matter what his circumstances may be. This is done) at four places:
(1) In mountainous terrain,
(2) On the seas,
(3) In cities, and
(4) In rural areas.

(In other words, he must Endeavour to acquire this science from the right teacher, no matter where that teacher is located.
 He writes what he has acquired) upon four things:
(1) Upon stones,
(2) Upon shells,
(3) Upon skins, and
(4) Upon bones.

(In other words, even when be does not find paper he will continue recording it somewhere) until he finds the paper upon which to preserve it. (He acquires it from four different types of people:
(1) From his seniors,
(2) From his juniors,
(3) From his counterparts, and
(4) From the books of his father, provided he has firm conviction that these are his father’s books.

(In other words, he Endeavour’s to acquire this science in every way possible without feeling ashamed to obtain it even from his juniors. He has four objectives for doing all of these things:
(1) To acquire (this science) solely for the pleasure of Allah,
(2) To practice upon the Hadith which confirm to the verses of the Holy Qur’an?
(3) To propagate (the science) to those who seek it, and
(4) To write it out so that it can be a source of guidance to those who will come after him.

Thereafter, the aforementioned four things cannot be acquired (unless he has first acquired) four other things that are part of human acquisition:
(1) The knowledge of how to read and write,
(2) Lexicography and vocabulary,
(3) Morphology, and
(4) Syntax,

Together with four other things that are not of human acquisition, but are bestowed by Allah:
(1) Sound health,
(2) Ability,
(3) An ardent desire for learning, and
(4) A retentive memory.

Once all the aforementioned four-angled things are attained by him, then four things will become insignificant before him:
(1) His family,
(2) His children,
(3) His wealth and
(4) His motherland.

He will then be afflicted with four things:
(1) His enemies will rejoice at his distress,
(2) His friends will reproach him,
(3) The ignorant will taunt him, and
(4) The scholars [Ulamã] will be jealous of him.

Once he exercises patience on these calamities, Allah will honor him with four things in this world:
(1) The honor of contentment [qana'a],
(2) Conviction coupled with awe and dignity,
(3) The pleasure of sacred knowledge ['ilm] and
(4) Eternal life.

(On top of that,) Allah will honor him with four things in the hereafter:
(1) The honor of intercession on behalf of whomever he pleases,
(2) The shade of the throne of Allah on the day when there will be no shade available except the shade of His throne,
(3) The privilege to provide water to whomsoever he pleases from the pool of Muhammad [al-Kawthar], and
(4) Close proximity with the Prophets [Ambiya'] in the Highest of the High Places [alá ‘illiyyin].

So now, my son, I have told you whatever I have heard from my teachers.
Now you have the choice to either pursue this field or to abstain from it.”

These are the principles and rules Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) has laid out for every individual who wishes to become a Hadith scholar or a student of Hadith.
We should take heed of Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi)’s advice and hold firmly onto it.
In actual fact, the science of Hadith is even more difficult to attain than Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayhi) describes.


Imam Ash-Shafi (rahmatullahi alayhi) said: If you want to speak, then you should ask yourself, 'Is this speech going to be something that is good?'
 If it is good, then proceed forward and speak. Put your trust in Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala. And seek His reward.
If however, the speech is going to be something that is evil, then remain silent.
And if a person doesn't know if the speech is going to be good or evil - and this is the third state -
 Then leave it off for the believer fears the doubtful matters. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said:
   And the one who keeps away from the doubtful matters, and then he has saved himself regarding his religion and regarding his honor.

If I said anything correct, then it is from Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’aala),
      And if I erred, then that is from me and Shaitan.
May Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) make us from the Companions of His Book and unite us with His righteous slaves in the highest gardens of Paradise. Amen.
May Allah Subhanahu wata`aalaa grant us what is best in this world and the next!
Action speaks louder then words my friend’s practice Islam the way of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) did.
 May Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) help us to do that which He loves and which pleases Him?
May Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) make our efforts sincere and keep us all on the straight path...........
Feel free to Share the information here with everyone you know
         P.S.: "Have fun praying don’t forget to make Dua for me.

Friday, 16 April 2010

"Between a person and disbelief is discarding prayer"

There is a misunderstanding amongst many people that Islam is difficult and a burden to follow. Such people either have an incorrect understanding of Islam or do not realize how easy the rules of Islam are to follow. Let us look at the basic teachings of Islam and see how simple, natural and easy it is to practice Islam.

The scholars of Islam have agreed that the general principle regarding things of this world is that everything is permissible unless proven otherwise. So the burden of proof actually falls on those who say that anything is prohibited. This applies to all worldly things, as for religious deeds, the deed must be proven or it will be considered an innovation. Proof for this principle can be found in the following verses, “Allah wishes to make things easy for you, and not to make things difficult for you,” [1] and “We did not place difficulty in this religion.” [2]

Also the following Hadith is proof of this principle: “Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but aim to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshipping in the mornings and the nights.” [3] In fact, Imam Bukhari has a chapter in his Saheeh Al-Bukhari called “The chapter of the religion being easy” and ample proof for this point can be found in that chapter.

Firstly, the fact that everything worldly is permissible unless prohibited by sacred texts or deduction from them, is proof that Islam is not a difficult religion to follow, the amount of things that are permissible to do are far more than the obligations or prohibitions. Islam is not an ascetic religion that expects people to abandon the world and worship Allah all day in a cave, in fact, Islam prohibits such behaviour and encourages us to interact with society and live normal lives within the boundaries set by Allah, fulfilling our rights to Allah, to ourselves, and to the rest of creation.

Islam has given rights to all creation; we are not to harm any human, animal, plant or even ourselves unjustly. We must stay away from all sources of vice and whatever leads to them and we must fulfill our basic obligations. If we do these things, we can enjoy the permissible things of this world like family, spousal relations, physical sports or whatever you enjoy as long as you do not break the rules of Islam.

Islam is the natural religion; it appeals to our inner nature (Fitrah) and fulfills its basic needs without asking us to do anything unnatural. Try and find one ruling in the Quran and Sunnah that goes against human nature, you will not find it.

Islam is not a burden and does not ask us to do anything that we are incapable of doing, we are not required to give up our personalities, social lives or money. We are not required to pray all night or fast every day, in fact such things are prohibited. Islam emphasizes that we live a balanced life fulfilling our obligations to Allah as well as our obligations towards people and even our own selves. Try and find one command or prohibition in Islam that is beyond human ability, there is no such ruling.

One reason many people find Islam difficult to practice is because Satan beautifies evil deeds and makes good deeds look boring and difficult, thus we becomes lazy. Yet if one overcomes this obstacle he will find that the deeds emphasized by Islam bring true inner peace and are not too difficult, and he will begin to see the evils and wastage involved in committing sins. Take that first step and see for yourself

Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, is the creator of mankind and therefore knows his nature more intricately than mankind himself. Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, has therefore chosen for us a religion best suited to the nature of mankind, a religion that goes neither to the extremes of hardship nor of laxity, but instead provides a middle path; in other words, a religion of ease. Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, said;

"Allah intends for you ease, and does not want to make things difficult for you" [2:185]; and "Allah does not want to place you in difficulty" [5:6].

Such easiness is well explained in the hadeeth reported by Abu Hurairah, radiya Allahu 'anhu, that the Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, said, "Religion is easy..." [Bukhari], he also said; "The best of your religion, is the easiest." [Ahmad]

The easiness of this religion was put into practise by the best of humanity, the one who came to deliver the message, as Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, said;

"Verily there has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves, it grieves him that you should suffer any difficulty, he is anxious for you, for the believers he is full of pity and merciful" [10:128]

This understanding is clarified in a hadeeth in which the Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, said; "… Allah did not send me to be harsh, or cause harm, but He sent me to teach and make things easy" [Muslim]. This understanding is further implemented by the mercy sent to mankind, Muhammed, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, in the hadeeth reported by his noble and pure wife, 'Aishah, radiya Allahu 'anhu, who said; "Whenever the Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, has a choice between two matters, he would choose the easiest, unless it is sinful (act)" [Bukhari].

Many hadeeths have been reported on the matter of easiness: "Allah likes for this nation ease and hates for it hardship and adversity." [Tabaraani].

"We have been given a privilege over other nations... .we have been given verses that no one else has been given, the last two verses of Surah Baqarah(chapter 2)"Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error. Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear" After each statement, Allah responded by saying, "I did, I did, I did"" [Muslim].

To further emphasise this understanding to his companions, when once a Bedouin stood up and started urinating in the mosque, the people caught him; but he, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, ordered them to leave him and to pour a bucket or a tumbler of water over the place where he had urinated. The Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, then said, "You have been sent to make things easy and not to make them difficult" [Bukhari].

An example that illustrates this point is Salah, an act so important and vital to Islam that the Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, said; "Between a person and disbelief is discarding prayer" [Muslim]. He also warned against leaving salah, even at the time of his death, in his very last breaths before departing from this world.

Yet in this worship Allah has also prescribed easiness. At first, the number of prayers was fifty in number, but they were reduced several times until they were five. Then it was proclaimed 'O Muhammad, the order is not changed. These five are (equal in reward) to fifty' [Tirmidhi].

Causes of hardship
If Islam is a religion of ease, why do we find many Muslims not practising it? Why do we find them doing very little of what they ought to be doing, and why do even those who practise their religion sometimes find it difficult?

There are reasons why the practice of Islam can becomes hard:

1) Lack of piety
When we speak about Islam being easy we are, in reality, speaking about the easiness of its acts of worship and morals. Religion by definition means commitment and an obligation to a master. Therefore, being a religious person means to be always aware that we are slaves to a master, Allah, subhanahu wata'aala.

From here we see the mistake of those who want 'ease' to mean 'doing nothing', just saying "I am a Muslim", committing themselves to nothing. It is obvious that they want it to be easy, but what exactly do they want? They want an easy life, a life without any religious practices.

The idle belief of 'existing only to live' has long ago been negated by Allah, subhanahu wata'aala. He said:

"Do you think you have been created for nothing and that you will not be resurrected and brought back to Allah again!" [23:115]. He also said: "Thinks man that he is left aimless?" [75:86].

Islam is easy to practice; but those who do not understand the reasons behind their existence, who do not understand the concepts of religion, but meanwhile are striving to secure themselves in this life; then surely they will find its practices difficult.

The easiness of Islam is felt in all of its commandments. Some people find this or that commandment hard to follow but this does not mean that the command is in itself hard; often it is the person who is the cause.

For example Salah, it is an easy act of worship, as Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, has made clear:

"And seek help in patience and prayer and truly it is (prayer) extremely heavy and hard except for Al-Khashi'un (i.e. true submitting)" [2;45].

Prayer is an easy act of worship except, of course, for those who do not truly submit to their Lord; they will find it toilsome.

Why do they find it so? The answer is that it is not the prayer that is difficult, but it is the hearts of these people which have changed from good to bad, as Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, mentioned:

"Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up to pray, they stand with laziness …" [4;142]; in another verse He subhanahu wata'aala, said; "And that they came not to prayer except in a lazy state …" [9;54].

2) Ignorance
The rules of Islam did not come as mere do's and don'ts. Each obligation has wisdom and motivation behind it. It should make no difference to us if the wisdom for that particular practice is known or not, because if it is not known to us today, then if Allah wills, He will reveal it to future generations. What is primarily expected from us is to fully submit and implement every command.

For example, the giving of charity, which apparently decreases the wealth of the giver. Islam did not say "Pay charity, pay charity", as this would not motivate people and therefore make it difficult to act upon. Instead Allah says;

"Would you not like to give a loan to your Lord, and this loan will be paid back to you multiplied and you will be rewarded for it." [2:245]

The Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, said; "Verily, wealth does not decrease because of charity." [Muslim]

It seems Muslims often ask why this act or matter is Halaal or Haraam. With such an attitude they will never achieve their goal, because behind each injunction there is an aspect of wisdom. Without understanding this, practising Islam becomes a heavy burden. With strong belief, we do not even have to ask whether this or that is halaal or Haraam, but rather if it pleases Allah. Therefore we should take the rules seeking the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wata'aala,. If pleasing Allah subhanahu wata'aala, is, always, our aim, then undoubtedly the practice of religion becomes easy, no matter what apparent hardships we may encounter.

3) Inappropriate environment
It is true that sometimes we find it difficult to practise the religion, even those who are committed to it!

The reason behind this is that we are practising our religion in an non-religious environment. Islam is not meant to be practised while being immersed in a Kufr (disbelieving) society. Its practice will indeed be difficult in such an environment. Therefore, the difficulty cannot be blamed upon Islam as a religion, but rather on the circumstances of the society.

Returning to our example of prayer, we see that prayer by itself is easy, but if you have to stand alone to pray amongst non-Muslims, all of them watching you, it will suddenly become difficult. The obvious conclusion is that the prayer in itself is not difficult, but the environment has made it difficult.

Another example is that of a woman who wears hijaab and is happy to cover herself. If this were an Islamic society, it would have been difficult for her not to be covered, or for a man not to respond to the call to prayer and pray in a mosque. Thus difficulty is not the nature of our religion, but we are trying to be pure in a decadent and immoral environment. These realities are not unknown to Islam, because the Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, already warned his companions some fourteen centuries ago, and by that has also warned us by saying, as reported by Abu Tha'laba, radiya Allahu 'anhu, "… Ahead of you are days which will require endurance (in the practice of religion), in which he who shows endurance will be like him who grasps live coals. The one who acts rightly during that period will have the reward of fifty men who act as he does."

The hearers said, "The reward of fifty of them, Messenger of Allah!" He replied, "The reward of fifty of you." A companion said about this difference in reward, "Now you find people helping you to do good deeds, but then they will not find things to help them but they will find things to resist and oppose them." [Tirmidhi].

So Islam is the religion of ease. If we accept it as a religion to start with, then we should take it with its concepts, and practise it in a pure environment (as opposed to a corrupted and decadent one); it will then become an easier religion to practise.

As it is not possible to have a 100% pure society, we have to strive to achieve this by being surrounded by good Muslims. In doing this, the religion will loosen the burdens around it.

The easiness of Islam has even been testified by the enemies of Islam. This was apparent in the statement of the Jews at the time of the Prophet, salla Allaahu 'alaihe wasallam, when a man and a woman from amongst them committed fornication. Some of them said to the others: "Let us go to this Prophet, for he has been sent with an easy law …". [Abu Dawood].

So may Allah, subhanahu wata'aala, make us amongst those who

"Listen to the word and follow the best thereof, whom Allah has guided and those are men of understanding." [39;18].

Ameen.

Saturday, 26 December 2009

This shows trust in Allah's decisions

 'Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem

Dua, sometimes written duah, means calling, asking for something, and in the Islamic sense of the word it is doing just that, but to God. The word Dua can be translated in English to 'prayer', and this is accurate, but should not be confused with the other form of Muslim prayer, the Salat (aka namaz) which is something different. Dua is unlike the obligatory pillars of Islam such as Salat and Sawm (fasting) which have a rigid standard of regulations, because through du'a we are able to use our very own individual styles of expression.  the Muslim supplicator raises his hands palm-up in front of him, at the level of his chest, or on his lap during this type of prayer,
Du'a (supplication) is our own personal means of communication with our Creator and it is accepted in any language. An individual may pray to ask for forgiveness, prosperity, help, improvement of a situation, increase in faith, or to thank God for His bounty or answering previous prayers; A person can pray for anything that is good and halal (permitted Islamically), and he can also pray for the damnation of the enemy and the ending of the world's evils. An individual may also pray for other persons.
Duas can be individual and personal, but there are a great number of books that have pre-written duas, written and compiled by scholars, and these relate duas presented by Prophets (PBUT),

The Quran itself has a number of duas within its pages, one such dua is this one where Prophet Abraham (PBUH) says:

    الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي وَهَبَ لِي عَلَى الْكِبَرِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِنَّ رَبِّي لَسَمِيعُ الدُّعَاء
    رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلاَةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاء
    رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
    [Quran 14.39] Praise be to Allah, Who has given me in old age Ismail and Ishaq; most surely my Lord is the Hearer of prayer:
    [14.40] My Lord! make me keep up prayer and from my offspring (too), O our Lord, and accept my prayer:
    [14.41] O our Lord! grant me protection and my parents and the believers on the day when the reckoning shall come to pass!

The last line from that dua is sometimes said in a popular Qunoot dua, which is a special type of dua that is said in regular Salat prayers. A future article will be written about this to further elaborate.

Another dua from the Quran that we can use personally when we make dua is this:

    لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنتَ مَوْلاَنَا فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
    [Quran 2.286] ...Our Lord! do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake; Our Lord! do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us, Our Lord do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear; and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, Thou art our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people.

We have all undoubtedly been through some testing moments in our lives, and in such situations may have turned to close family and friends for help. Although they can provide us with valuable reassurance and comfort, they probably can do very little in helping to resolve the problem. Therefore it is necessary to confide in He who is the All-Listening and Most Wise, since it is only Allah (SWT) who has the power to really make a difference. Verily Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Quran,

    وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
    [Quran 2.186] And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.

However, it is important that we do not get into the habit of making du'a as a last resort and only after all else has failed. Surely if we remember Allah (SWT) at times of well-being, then He will remember us at times of difficulty. Therefore supplication should be a regular part of our lives, especially since it strengthens our relationship with Allah (SWT).
The severity of neglecting du'a

The consequence of not making du'a is explicitly summarized in a single ayah (verse) of the Holy Quran:

    وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ
    [Quran 40.60] And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased.


    
Du'a - Our connection to the heavens


 Dua, sometimes written duah, means calling, asking for something, and in the Islamic sense of the word it is doing just that, but to God. The word Dua can be translated in English to 'prayer', and this is accurate, but should not be confused with the other form of Muslim prayer, the Salat (aka namaz) which is something different. Dua is unlike the obligatory pillars of Islam such as Salat and Sawm (fasting) which have a rigid standard of regulations, because through du'a we are able to use our very own individual styles of expression.
The Muslim supplicator raises his hands palm-up in front of him, at the level of his chest, or on his lap during this type of prayer, but this is not a requirement.

Du'a (supplication) is our own personal means of communication with our Creator and it is accepted in any language. An individual may pray to ask for forgiveness, prosperity, help, improvement of a situation, increase in faith, or to thank God for His bounty or answering previous prayers; A person can pray for anything that is good and halal (permitted Islamically), and he can also pray for the damnation of the enemy and the ending of the world's evils. An individual may also pray for other persons.

Duas can be individual and personal, but there are a great number of books that have pre-written duas, written and compiled by scholars, and these relate duas presented by Prophets (PBUT). The Quran itself has a number of duas within its pages, one such dua is this one where Prophet Abraham (PBUH) says:

    الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي وَهَبَ لِي عَلَى الْكِبَرِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِنَّ رَبِّي لَسَمِيعُ الدُّعَاء
    رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلاَةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاء
    رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
    [Quran 14.39] Praise be to Allah, Who has given me in old age Ismail and Ishaq; most surely my Lord is the Hearer of prayer:
    [14.40] My Lord! make me keep up prayer and from my offspring (too), O our Lord, and accept my prayer:
    [14.41] O our Lord! grant me protection and my parents and the believers on the day when the reckoning shall come to pass!

The last line from that dua is sometimes said in a popular Qunoot dua, which is a special type of dua that is said in regular Salat prayers. A future article will be written about this to further elaborate.

Another dua from the Quran that we can use personally when we make dua is this:

    لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنتَ مَوْلاَنَا فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
    [Quran 2.286] ...Our Lord! do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake; Our Lord! do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us, Our Lord do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear; and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, Thou art our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people.

Other duas can be found in special books and collections like Sahifah Sajadiyah, and some of these duas are formulated to help certain situations like seeking pregnancy, stopping nightmares and many other things.  There is a formulated dua for every day of the week and almost every situation, and these are good to recite, and very beneficial.
Importance of du'a

We have all undoubtedly been through some testing moments in our lives, and in such situations may have turned to close family and friends for help. Although they can provide us with valuable reassurance and comfort, they probably can do very little in helping to resolve the problem. Therefore it is necessary to confide in He who is the All-Listening and Most Wise, since it is only Allah (SWT) who has the power to really make a difference. Verily Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Quran,

    وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
    [Quran 2.186] And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.

However, it is important that we do not get into the habit of making du'a as a last resort and only after all else has failed. Surely if we remember Allah (SWT) at times of well-being, then He will remember us at times of difficulty. Therefore supplication should be a regular part of our lives, especially since it strengthens our relationship with Allah (SWT).
The severity of neglecting du'a

The consequence of not making du'a is explicitly summarized in a single ayah (verse) of the Holy Quran:

    وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ
    [Quran 40.60] And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased.

Recommended etiquettes of du'a
As with all actions it is commendable that we start with the phrase 'Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem' (In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful), it is also recommended that we refer to our Creator and His glory through mentioning His names and attributes. Next, it is beneficial to invoke blessings on the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

It is also strongly advised that before praying for ourselves we pray for others first, especially for those who have died. This is because when a person's life draws to a close, the opportunity for repentance and doing good ceases, and the deceased is held at a transitional phase which lies between death and the day of judgment - this is the state of Barzakh (more about this later ). During this very vulnerable time the person is subject to a lot of questioning and punishment, therefore it is the supplication of the living for the dead that can help them at this most crucial point. In remembering the dead in our prayers we can only hope that when the time comes for our own souls to return to their Maker, there will be Muslims praying for us throughout this duration of difficulty. In addition to this, mentioning our Muslim brothers and sisters in du'a not only teaches us to be more compassionate, but it also means that the du'a is more likely to be accepted.

There are a couple of prerequisites for du'a to be accepted, with some being more serious than others. One important thing to keep in mind is the 'give and take' aspect of du'a - why should Allah give us anything we ask for if we do not do what He asks of us - we don't give anything back for what He has given us. Why would Allah grant a poor excuse for a believer what he covets, when this bad Muslim only angers God by sinning continuously and not even doing the simple obligatory deeds of worship, the minimum at least?

God has an agreement with the people that He will grant them what they wish if they fulfill the requirements of the covenant, but yet people continue to sin and they ask: Why are my prayers not answered? People should ask: Do I really deserve it?

Some things that are required for prayers to be accepted:

Stop Sinning - Sins come in three grades: Greater sins, great sins, and minor sins. A single greater sin can make your dua count for nothing for a considerable time, sometimes (but rarely) permanently. After doing such a sin the person must truly repent for ever, just hoping that God may shed His mercy upon them, even though He could deny them His mercy for they are not worthy. A great sin is grave enough for dua to be denied for a good length of time, until the perpetrator asks god to forgive them a couple of times sincerely. A great number of minor sins, sins that sometimes the sinner does not realize they are doing, can add-up and rise to a certain level where God just says this person does not even deserve anything because the person does not cease their evil-doings. If someone has wronged another person then they should right that wrong before they should expect their prayers to be answered, or for them to be forgiven.

A few lines explain these concepts:

 O Allah! Forgive me those sins, which tear apart modesty. O Allah! Forgive me those sins, which bring down misfortunes. O Allah! Forgive me those sins, which alter blessings. O Allah! Forgive me those sins, which hold back supplication. O Allah! Forgive me those sins, which cut down hopes. O Allah! Forgive me those sins, which bring down distress. O Allah! Forgive me every sin that I have committed, and every mistake that I have made. ... O my Master! I ask You by Your might, not to let my ugly deeds and acts conceal my supplication from You, not to disgrace me by exposing what is secret of my (acts), which (only) You are aware of, ... My God and my Protector! You have laid on me rules (to follow), but I followed my own whims. ... I come to You, My God, after my shortcoming, ... I do not find any way out from what I have done, nor any place of refuge to turn to about my affairs, other than Your acceptance of my apology, and Your entering me into the range of Your mercy. O Allah! Therefore, accept my apology, have mercy upon the severity of my affliction, and free me from the tightness of my chains.


Good fortune.

1. Wealth: If a Muslim becomes the owner of vast wealth, he should show his gratitude to Allah by paying Zakat duly.

2. Health: If a Muslim is physically healthy, he should show his gratitude and obedience by performing the pilgrimage (Hajj), provided that he is financially capable

3. Sudden solution: If a Muslim finds that a big problem in his life has been solved, he should show gratitude immediately to Allah by performing a Sijdah. And later, he should perform extra prayers.

Misfortune

Well, you can come up with examples yourself.

The main thing is that Muslims should do his work and for the results depend on Allah. If he is going through hard times, he should still stick to praying to Him and abiding by His orders to show His trust in Him.

If a person close to him dies, instead of asking Allah questions, he should accept the tragedy and understand that what has happened is Allah's decision. This shows trust in Allah's decisions

I have always felt that it is really not the death of the one that dies, but the one that lives on. The dearly departed are released from the toil of this life for a serenity that we cannot imagine. In published data about NDEs or near death experiences in which people have had cardiac arrests but were resuscitated, the next world is reported to be one of incredible peace and pleasure. The refrain in all these NDE reports is that the subject did not want to return to this world but was told that their time had not yet come so they had to. What gives credibility to these reports is the amazing concordance in all of them describing a tunnel with a light at the end of it, seeing predeceased relatives and experiencing an enveloping tranquillity.

The suffering of the survivors is usually intense and seemingly endless. The multifarious struggles: financial, logistic, emotional and spiritual. And the invariable "why me" question, for which no answers come then.

"Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Qur'aan or are their hearts locked up?" (Surah Muhammad 47:24) is only one of the many verses in the Qur'aan that exhort us to think and reflect on nature and events. "Not a leaf falls without His knowledge," (Surah An'am 6:59) and other verses like: "No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah," (Surah Al-Hadid 57:22) are evidence against events happening randomly or due to tectonic shifts or weather related phenomena.

A Muslim's belief is complete only after his acknowledgment of God, all the prophets, the angels, the books, the Day of Judgment and "qadaa wa qadar" or fate and predestination. Belief in fate and predestination does not in any way release us from responsibility of our actions. The fact that God has full knowledge of all that will be does not reduce us to a robot-like state. Shaykh Fadlallah Haeri explains well in his book "Decree and Destiny" that there was the advent of the Jabbariyya who believed that all was determined by God and Man was powerless, and the Qaddarriya who believed that nothing was predetermined and man was able to control his destiny. Shaykh Haeri states that the reality actually lies somewhere between those two extremes.

"And know that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial, and it is with Allah that lies your highest reward" (Surah Anfaal, 8:28). This verse speaks of how man will be tested and the Qur'aan speaks also of punishment in this world as well as the next. I spent many years trying to figure out how one could tell whether an unfortunate incident was a test or a punishment. At the inception with the moral compass given to us at the time of the Primordial Oath, we are able to distinguish right from wrong and thus tell whether our record has been good, bad or ugly.

In less clear situations, it was Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani's book "Futuhul Ghayb" or Revelations of the Unseen that gave me my answer. He says that it is a punishment if the person complains all the time and is bitter, a test if the person tolerates it with patience and for spiritual elevation if the misfortune is borne with cheerfulness.

On August 19, 1999 a powerful earthquake killed 6000 people in Turkey. The day prior to it the Turkish government had passed a law that would jail any person caught teaching their children the Qur'aan within their home. True to the refrain in the Qur'aan, the revelation in the Qur'aan is only for those who reflect. In the town of Golcuk buildings that were constructed recently were destroyed but a mosque and its minaret built a century earlier stand unscathed. The building next to it is also standing for had it fallen it would have likely damaged the mosque. It is easy to give bland scientific explanations for natural disasters. And yet if one was to reflect and realise that there is nothing that occurs without a reason, a whole lot could be learned from life and events. And we would be a step closer to our Maker, knowing whom, or gnosis, should be our raison d'etre.

In tsunami, the province of Aceh in Indonesia was essentially wiped out. And yet in many affected areas in Indonesia dozens of mosques stand untouched amidst the rubble around them. Secular interpretations say that mosques were better constructed and so escaped damage. However, according to an article by a non-Muslim journalist, in the town of Sigli a mosque made of wood stands whilst surrounding structures have been destroyed.

Whilst rebellious incidents such as the legislation in Turkey just prior to the earthquake have not been reported from Indonesia, it seems to be a matter of whether or not one is able to appreciate the concept of cause and effect that is mentioned in the Qur'aan. Our bad deeds as cause and ravaging disasters as effect, with the House of God bearing silent sombre testimony to His ire. On the happier side a great test for the survivors who lost entire families with an unscathed mosque as though saying that He tests us with our money and our children and those that bear with patience and fortitude earn a great station of closeness with Him and lasting bliss in the Hereafter.

Allah menitions in the Quran that when an evil befalls us it is due to what our own hands have earned. Also our beloved Messenger, Muhammad (sallalahu 'alayhi wassallam) said in a hadith that the most tried are the Prophets, then those in piety after those. So therefore in our day to daylife when things go wrong in our lives how do we decide whether it is due to our sinfulness or that Allah loves us . and therefore sends a trial upon us
Jazakallahu khairun

Friday, 1 August 2008

Make use of salah and dua

The Cure for Everything


Imam Bukhari, who was one of the greatest compilers of ahadith, became blind at a young age. He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allah the Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allah accepted her invocation. One night, she visited Ibrahim alayhis-salam in a dream and was told, "Allah has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imam Bukhari got up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes. That is, his eyesight was fully restored.

Source: From the biography of Imam Bukhari (ra) located in the beginning of Sahih Al Bukhari 9 Volume English Translation.

Make use of salah and dua to solve any problem that even the best experts of this world cannot solve. Unfortunately, the Muslims are turning away from these deeds today when they need them the most. We pray for Allah to give us the true understanding of Islam.