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Post by iloveAllah on Apr 27, 2011 19:51:02 GMT 5
If the first inward thought is not warded off, it will generate a desire, then the desire will generate a wish, and the wish will generate an intention, and the intention will generate the action, and the action will result in ruin and divine wrath. So evil must be cut off at its root, which is when it is simply a thought that crosses the mind, from which all the other things follow on.
Imam abu Hamid al-Ghazzali
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Post by iLoveAllah on Apr 27, 2011 19:56:51 GMT 5
- I looked at all friends, and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue.
- I thought about all dresses, but did not find a better dress than piety.
- I thought about all types of wealth, but did not find a better wealth than contentment in little.
- I thought of all types of good deeds, but did not find a better deed than offering good advice.
- I looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience.
Umar (RadiAllahu Anhu)
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Post by Ummati on May 6, 2011 21:46:37 GMT 5
The Importance of Recreation by 'Abdul-Bârî ibn ‘Awad ath-Thubaytî (edited)
All praise is due to Allah Who has made clear that which is lawful and that which is unlawful. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his household, his companions, and all those who follow their path.
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allah the Exalted and always remember your ultimate, inevitable return to Him. Be aware of the deeds that you have sent forth and do not be deceived by the life of this world; for it is but an illusory enjoyment. Allah says,
“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam.”(Aal-‘Imraan 3: 102)
Alternating between work and play
When you read the story of Hanzalah Al-Usaydee, you will note the admirable method that Islam promotes. Hanzalah belonged to a generation that preferred to spend all its life in the highest possible state of Eemaan. They assumed that playing with one’s wife and having fun with one’s children negates the concept of worship and total submission to Allah.
Hanzalah said “(One day) Aboo Bakr told me, “How are you, Hanzalah?” and I said, “Hanzalah is a hypocrite!” Aboo Bakr then exclaimed, “May Allah be glorified, what are you saying? I replied, “We stay with the Messenger of Allah and he reminds us of Paradise and Hell and it is as if we are looking at them and when we leave him, we attend to our wives, children and livelihood; hence, we forget much (of what we have learnt).” Aboo Bakr said, “By Allah! We also feel the same.” Then I, along with Aboo Bakr, went to the Prophet and I told him, “Hanzalah is a hypocrite!” The Prophet said, “What is that?” I replied, “We stay with you, and you remind us of Paradise and Hell as if we were looking at them, then when we leave you, we attend to our wives, children and livelihood, hence we have forgotten much.” The Messenger of Allah then said, “By He in Whose Hand is my soul, if you had remained upon the same state you were on when you were with me, in the remembrance of Allah, the angels would have shook your hands while you were on your beds or (walking) along your way. But, O Hanzalah, An hour and an hour! (i.e. everything has it’s proper time)” (Muslim)
Spending time alternatively between work and recreation removes tiredness and boredom, renews energy and increases one’s productivity. The Prophet’s statement quoted should not be taken to mean that a Muslim may spend all his time in amusement, playing, watching immoral films and reading immoral magazines that only arouse one’s desires.
Umar bin Abdul-Azeez said, “There is no harm for a Muslim to have some amusement and partake in some recreational activities so long as he does not make that his habit and lag behind during the time of seriousness, and play during the time of work.”
Abdullah bin Mas’ood used to say, “I will give you sermons only when you are eager to have them, as the Prophet used to do with us fearing that we might get bored.”
Finding the Balance
People of weak understanding may use these texts to straiten the hours of remembrance of Allah and seriousness and broaden the period of amusement thereby making places of knowledge and admonition deserted but for a little while.
Further, some people wrongly assume that recreation and amusement is an unrestrained matter in which one is free to overstep the limits of Sharee’ah and partake in it through whatever means without having regard for halaal or haraam. Here we have to know how our righteous predecessors amused themselves.
Ibn Mas’ood, while explaining the importance of recreation said, “Refresh your hearts; for when the heart is coerced (to do something) it becomes blind.”
Alee also said, “Make your heart relaxed and seek for it (entertainment in) light insightful conversation, for it gets bored as your bodies get bored.”
Aboo Dardaa said, “I make my heart relaxed through lawful amusement; that it may be strong enough to assist me on the Truth.”
Faithful Fun, the Beneficial Recreation
Since we have concluded that recreational activities were part of the life of the first generation of Muslims, we have to know how they used to amuse themselves. Was their recreation a result of having nothing to do with their time, or to fight boredom? No, not at all! Their recreation was rather to train their souls and to get more energy and higher aims to achieve the goal for which mankind was created which is to worship Allah.
To them, amusement was a definite means to an end, and not an end in its own right in which to spend all of one’s money and time.
Brothers and Sisters in Islam! It is unfortunate that nowadays participation in recreational activities has become a way to waste away one’s character and show disregard for the Law of Allah. This is a result of the present-day misconception of recreation, for the people nowadays regard recreation as the goal in itself and not as a means to achieve a higher goal.
As for the first generation of Muslims, they partook in amusements in order to strengthen their bodies, refine their manners, train themselves in the qualities of real manhood and seriousness and to open new horizons of knowledge and action. It was for these noble purposes that they raced, wrestled and encouraged one another to learn spear throwing. The Prophet raced with Aa’ishah and wrestled with Rukaanah and defeated him and that was what caused Rukaanah to embrace Islam.
The Messenger of Allah saw some of the tribe of Aslam taking part in a combative competition in the market-place and told them,
“Throw it (i.e. their spears), O children of Isma’eel, for your father was a (spear-)thrower.” (Bukhaaree)
Umar bin Abdul-Azeez said, “Discuss the Book of Allah and gather together (for the purpose of learning and discussing) it and when you get bored, then telling stories of (the deeds) of men is agreeable.”
The amusement done by the first generation was not a vain one. It was full of benefits. It did not contain making jest of others, backbiting, lying or blackmailing.
What not to do?
Dear brothers and sisters! Roaming about market places, pursuing other peoples faults and sitting in the cafés and roadsides are not lawful amusements. Entertainment in Islam should be free of un-Islamic manners, mingling of the two sexes and any means that could lead to violation of the greater Islamic injunctions.
The Salaf confirmed that the human soul does have its ups and downs, but they did not allow it to exceed the limits of Allah during the time of Salah, for that is a transgression over the rights of Allah; nor did they partake of amusement during the hours of work, for that is transgression over people’s rights. There is more to the life of a Muslim than just recreation. It is only allowed so that Muslims may not be negligent in their duties and obligations. That was why the companions used to amuse themselves. However whenever real issues came up they became real men.
Salamah bin Abdur-Rahmaan said,
“The companions of the Messenger of Allah were neither corrupt nor lazy, yet they used to recite some poetry in their meeting places and recollect some of the issues of their Jahiliyyah period; but when any one of them was offended on the matters of religion, he became enraged.”
Humor is healthy!
The Prophet also used to make jokes. An old woman came to him and said, “Pray for me, O Messenger of Allah, that Allah may admit me to Paradise.” The Prophet then told her, “O mother of so-and-so, old women will not enter Paradise.” The woman became distraught and wept, thinking that she would not enter Paradise. The Prophet then told her what he meant: that an old woman would not enter Paradise as she was in this world, but that she would be raised up by Allah on the Day of Judgement as another creature and He would make her enter Paradise in the form of a maiden.
He then recited the word of Allah, “Verily, We have created them (maidens) of special creation. And made them virgins, Loving (their husbands only and) of equal age.”(Al-Waaqi’ah 56: 35-37)
In another example of Prophets innocent and lawful joking; he asked a woman , “Who is your husband?” and she answered, “So-and-so.” He then said, “The one in whose eyes is a whiteness?” The woman hurriedly went to her husband and started examining his eyes. Being astonished, her husband asked her, “What is the matter with you?” She told him what the Prophet had said. He then said, “Don’t you see that the whiteness of my eyes is more than the darkness?”
This personality that made jokes is the same that prayed in the night, fasted in the day, fought in the way of Allah and spent generously for His sake. The Prophet – while advising his Ummah to maintain balance in matters of seriousness and amusement said,
“Indeed, your Lord has a right upon you, your soul has a right upon you and your family has a right upon you; so give everyone his due right.” (Al-Bukhaaree)
Oh, those long stretches of spare time...
During holidays, there is a the large amount of spare time that youths have in which they have nothing serious to do. In fact, youths’ corruption and perverseness is a direct consequence of this problem, while the present material civilisation widens the scope of this danger,
The more dangerous part of this problem is that this spare time must either be spent in something good or something bad. For whoever does not use his spare time in good deeds will spend it in evil acts. Yes, when one does not make proper use of his time it becomes a problem to him and it is well-known that having nothing to do makes one susceptible to corruption and leads to lustful desires that incapacitate the intellect and opens doors of devilish insinuations and other evils.
Specialists testify to the fact that crime and other social ills reach their highest point with unemployment and vacant hours and that the problem increases with the modern mass-media that entices youths and opens for them innumerable ways to waste their time.
Therefore, in order not to turn spare time into a demon, spending one’s time in useful things and moving from one work to another is a prevention against the disadvantages of spare time. Among the useful means through which one can spend his free time is performing acts of worship and reading useful religious and moral books. That is why it was said,
“There is nothing that has more impact on the mind, is more gladdening to the heart and makes one more eloquent … than a book which has many benefits in it and costs less…”
Abdullah bin Mubarak used to stay in his house, after he had sought knowledge and finished from his trade, reading the books of the Salaf and if he was asked, “Don’t you feel lonely?” He would answer, “How can I feel lonely while I am with the Prophet and his companions.”
Indeed, the people who spend their spare time in reading and learning books of useful knowledge rise in progress and civilisation and will be capable of understanding life, themselves and achieving their goals. As for those whose culture does not go beyond arenas of recreation, amusement and fashion they will ever remain subordinates and disgraced.
Among the useful things that one can do during the holiday is to attend lectures, symposia and scholarly lessons, to be kind to the kith and kin, partake in summer activities and amuse oneself following the aforementioned rules.
Umar said,
“These hands of yours must be employed to obey Allah before they employ you to disobey Him.”
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Post by Ummati on May 31, 2011 20:36:58 GMT 5
A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adam and said, “Advise me!”
Ibrahim replied:
I advise you with five things:
1. If people busy themselves with worldly matters, busy yourself with next-worldly matters.
2. If people busy themselves with beautifying their outward, busy yourself with beautifying your inward.
3. If people busy themselves with building palaces, busy yourself with preparing for your grave.
4. If people busy themselves with others’ faults, busy yourself with your own faults.
5. If people busy themselves with serving created things, busy yourself with serving the Creator.
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Post by Ummati on Jun 8, 2011 20:13:57 GMT 5
You know how sometimes it is SO difficult to leave THAT particular sin? You pray, you read quran, generally are good, you try to help others out.. you even try so hard to stop doing 'that' sin- but somehow you keep falling back. Insha Allah you ll find this talk by Shaykh Kamaluddin really helpful: LEAVING SIN: Part 1www.islamicspirituality.org/general/654/leaving-sin-birmingham-1Part 2 www.islamicspirituality.org/general/656/leaving-sin-birmingham-2I especially like how it is said- that when you are about to sin, you usually do so at night, you draw the curtains, you seek an isolated corner- and when someone asks what you are upto- you try to avoid giving a straight answer, somehow changing the subject, or answering almost rebelliously with that 'So What?' tone. But then.. we ask ourselves, from all those who might watch us, from all those who might find out- have we, may Allah forgive us!, given Allah SWT the LEAST DARJA? Because He's there when we're sinning. He's here with us right now. Watching us. Day in and day out. Night after night. We are under His Constant watch. So don't we care if He sees us sinning? Sinning with the eyes, the ears, the limbs, the mind, the heart, the soul- That HE gifted us? That He can take away in less than a second- but doesn't. How Merciful is He, and how very ungrateful are we! No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him: On the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the Partners they attribute to Him! (39:67)I'd like to share an article here I read recently, that exemplifies this issue (together with that of Haya- not only with ourselves, but most importantly with Allah SWT). It shows how easy it is to fall into sin- and how the web is tightly drawn around us.
THE LAST SMS
Yesterday was an insightful day for me. I have recently started to cover my face at college – it’s been three months only and alhamdulillah it has been pretty effective at keeping me protected from unwanted attention. I am not haggled by males passing random comments, they keep an appropriate distance, and I don’t encounter any staring while I am making a presentation – which is a frequent complaint of my sisters who do not cover. (May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala grant us all guidance and attract us to the beauty and modesty of hijab. Ameen.)
But something went wrong yesterday. My hijab backfired on me. Usually I keep a distance with males, and I speak only when it is necessary and avoid engaging in random chit chat. When I do converse I maintain a stern demeanor and try to lower my gaze. But over the last two weeks, I had been working with a guy on a project and I guess I let my guard down. I don’t know when the work related text messages became less work-oriented and gradually became more personal.
And the thing I’ve learnt is that it’s easier to maintain a physical distance. But when you are communicating via SMS the barriers break down and emotions flow freely. There are definitely way more “smileys” than in a face-to-face exchange (and even if I am smiling he doesn’t get to see me behind the veil). So somehow, bit by bit, the messages changed from “Please edit the slides and add pictures” to reminisces about childhood or an exchange of stories from our undergraduate days.
In class, the guy acts like a buffoon – he is the butt of all class jokes. Behind SMS he is smart, intelligent, sensitive, and fun to converse with. And suddenly, I started looking forward to his messages. I found myself thinking about them after reading them. And this is when warning bells should have started ringing in my head.
And alhamdulillah, they rang. But it was still very hard. I would tell myself, “Okay, this is the last SMS I will reply to.” But the last SMS is never really the last SMS, is it? I would reply to his text and he would respond with a witty or insightful comment and there we would go again. We had entered into this vicious cycle of free messaging and I said goodbye to sanity and effectively silenced the voice in my head which was screaming out “DO NOT REPLY TO THAT SMS!”
And this absurd situation which I found myself in made me wonder, ‘But what about my internal hijab, my hayaa?’ I am not just supposed to maintain a physical external distance, but what about the intellectual distance? Admittedly, I don’t know what he looks like as I try to avoid looking at his face and he doesn’t know what I look like because of my veil, but despite that, I am attracted to the person within – to his mind.
Moreover, I consider my intellect to be a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. It makes me a fun and cool person to hang out with despite my religiosity. Alhamdulillah, I can engage others to hold stimulating conversations with me for hours on end. Is this then not a blessing – a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala? Does this not add to my beauty as an individual, thus making me attractive to others? Should I not then reserve this for my husband and guard my modesty in terms of my thoughts, my emotions, my feelings, and the ability to mesmerize someone with my words instead of giving free access to the person within and exposing my soul?
Should I not then avoid replying to that message and put an end to the messaging before I fall down this slippery slope? If just a week’s worth of SMS exchanges can affect me so much, and if this were to continue, will it not have a snowball effect on my Iman and my connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and moreover be a mockery to the very reason I began to practice hijab in the first place?
The answers are simple; it is just hard to take that action and make the decision to do the right thing. But being Allah’s slave, I know I have to do the right thing even though that causes me temporary unhappiness in the short term.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala grant us all the strength to adopt perfect inner and outer hijab and grant us firmness on our path. And may He forgive us when we slip and help us get back to our feet so that we may be true daughters of this beautiful Deen. Ameen.And to every soul will be paid in full (the fruit) of its Deeds; and (Allah) knows best all that they do. (39:70)
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Post by Ummati on Jun 8, 2011 20:16:51 GMT 5
Staying away from Al-Laghw
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Post by Ummati on Jul 10, 2011 5:03:47 GMT 5
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Post by iloveAllah on Aug 13, 2011 19:56:44 GMT 5
“Certainly, good actions are a light in the heart, a strengthening for the body, a glow on the face, a reason for extensive provisions, and cause for love in the hearts of the creation. And certainly, bad actions are a darkness in the heart, a blackness on the face, a weakness for the body, a reason for decrease in provisions and a cause for hatred in the hearts of the creation.” — Abdullah ibn Abbas
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Post by Ummati on Aug 27, 2011 21:10:52 GMT 5
“Whoever wishes to purify his heart, then let him prefer Allah to his desires.”
— Ibn al-Qayyim
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Post by Ummati on Sept 4, 2011 23:32:05 GMT 5
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Post by iloveAllah on Oct 9, 2011 3:51:44 GMT 5
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Post by thinkonit on Oct 25, 2011 23:55:33 GMT 5
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Post by Ummati on Nov 26, 2011 18:09:25 GMT 5
LESSON FROM SURAH AL-KAHF:“And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say, “Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?”And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one.” [18:49]
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Post by Ummati on Nov 28, 2011 23:28:46 GMT 5
“Abu Dharr related that Rasulullah, salla Allahu alayhi wasalam, said: Fear Allah wherever you may be.
Follow an evil deed with a good one and you will erase it. Deal with people on the basis of good conduct. ”[Tirmidhi]
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Post by Ummati on Dec 13, 2011 17:36:23 GMT 5
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