| |
entries |
|
profile |
|
affiliates |
|
tagboard |
|
miscellaneous |
|
jannahbound*
"So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: and you shall have the upper hand if you are believers."
--
Quran (3:139)
"Life is only a crossing point and a passage that is not lasting,
just like a cloud that will soon move, and a dream that one will soon wake up from..."
- Ibn al-Qayyim
Saturday, January 10, 2009 @ 2:37 PM
Why you should never despair...
 Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said:"Sin may be more beneficial for a person, if it leads him to repent, than doing a lot of acts of worship. This is what is meant by the words of one of the salaf: 'A person may commit a sin and enter Paradise because of it, or he may do an act of worship and enter Hell because of it.'They said: 'How is that?'
He said: 'He may commit a sin and continues to think about it, and when he stands or sits or walks he remembers his sin, so he feels ashamed and repents and seeks forgiveness and regrets it, so that will be the means of his salvation.
And he may do a good deed and continue to think about it, and when he stands or sits or walks he remembers it and it fills him with self-admiration and pride, so it is the cause of his doom.
So the sin may be the factor that leads him to do acts of worship and good deeds and to change his attitude so that he fears Allah and feels shy before Him and feels humiliated before Him, hanging his head in shame and weeping with regret, seeking he forgiveness of his Lord. Each of these effects is better for a person than an act of worship that makes him feel proud and show off and look down on people.
Undoubtedly this sin is better before Allah and is more likely to bring salvation than one who admires himself and looks down on others, and who thinks that he is doing Allah a favour. Even if he says words that indicate something other than that, Allah is the Witness over what is in his heart. Such a person may feel hatred towards people if they do not hold him in high esteem and humiliate themselves before him. If he were to examine himself honestly, he would see that clearly."
Anas (Radhi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam) say: "Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it." [at-Tirmidhi, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal] Labels: Believer, Deed, Good, Heaven, hell, Muslim, Sins, Sisters
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 @ 8:13 PM
Verbal Abuse
Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
Insha'Allah, God willing, you are all in the best state of affairs. I finally have some time to post and insha'Allah I will be using these two weeks which I have off, to post more often.
I was going through one of my favourite websites: Sahaba.net (http://sahaba.net) and decided to read some of the stories on patience. This is one story that I had heard before and thought I should share here.
Once, a person was verbally abusing Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was curiously watching with a smile. After taking much abuse quietly, Abu Bakr responded to a few of his comments. At this, the Prophet exhibited his disapproval, got up and left. Abu Bakr caught up with the Prophet and wondered, 'O Messenger of Allaah, he was abusing me and you remained sitting. When I responded to him, you disapproved and got up.' The Messenger of Allaah responded,
'There was an angel with you responding to him. When you responded to him, Satan took his place.' He then said ..
'O Abu Bakr, there are three solid truths: If a person is wronged and he forbears it (without seeking revenge) just for the sake of Allaah almighty, Allaah will honour him and give him the upper hand with His help; if a person opens a door of giving gifts for cementing relationships with relatives, Allaah will give him abundance; and, if a person opens a door of seeking charity for himself to increase his wealth, Allaah will further reduce his wealth.'
Reported from Abu Huraira in Mishkaah and Musnad Ahmad.
Patience is beautiful, and it is pure. No one said it would be easy, but insha'Allah if we strive, we'll be rewarded with peace of mind in this world and rewards in the Hereafter. Being patient in most instances involves swallowing our pride, which can be rather difficult. May Allah SWT make it easy for us. Ameen. I find one thing that helps is keeping in mind that you are 100% responsible and accountable for what come sout of your mouth. It does not suffice to say that someone made you angry; you chose to allow yourself to become angry. The fault is yours, it's up to you to fix it.
May Allah SWT increase us in patience and taqwa. May He make the straight path easy and clear for us and raise us amongst the righteous on the the Day of Judgement. Ameen.
Ma'asalam.Labels: argument, brothers, day, Deed, Good, Heaven, Jannah, judgement, patience, Sisters
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 @ 8:40 PM
The man whom the world did not affect.
Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
Insha'Allah you are all well.
The other day someone related to me the story of a truly remarkable scholar that I wanted to share. A student of this scholar had related this story to his son, who had related it to the person who told me. His story is truly an inspiration for us all.
His name was Shaykh Abdul Hakim al Afghani. He was a big scholar who taught in Syria many years ago. At that time, it was hard to find books with heavy citation of hadith (meaning, when the ahadith were cited, explanations were often not included), thus many times the students of knowledge had to learn not only from the books, but with a scholar as well to elaborate. This scholar was very knowledgable and was known throughout the city.
He charged nothing for the knowledge he gave. Some of his students would sometimes bring him food, but he would make them promise not to tell their families that it was for a Shaykh, for fear that they may give him a lot of food. Subhan'Allah, it gets even more amazing.
People began to wonder where he gained his livelihood, and how he could live if he did not charge for the classes he held. One day, some of his students followed him. He left the city and made his way to a far village on the outskirts of the city where the people did not know him (in the city he was known as a big scholar.) there, his students who had followed him saw that he worked in masonry (brick-work, making bricks).
Subhan'Allah, wallahu akbar! He is an amazing example for us. In this day and age when people charge an arm and a leg for knowledge, this person was truly an example to live by. Instead of reaping worldly profits from the knowledge he shared, he did whatever job he could to gain his livelihood.
Now, his student (the same one who related this story to his son, who related it to the person who told me) was performing Hajj with another student many years later. They were in Madina when he had a dream. In his dream, the Prophet Muhammad SAW came to him and said "Today, the man whom the world did not affect him, has passed away." When the student woke up, he made his way to fajr when he came upon his friend. He related the dream, and his friend had had the exact same dream! They knew that Shaytan could not impersonate the Prophet Muhammad SAW in a dream, so their dream must have meant something.
When they returned to Syria, they found that on that same night when they had had the dream, Shaykh Abdul Hakim al Afghani had passed away.
Wallahu ta'alaa 'alam.
Indeed, this serves as an amazing example for us. Insha'Allah, we can be of those people whom the dunya does not affect our faith in Allah SWT.
ya Allah, give us the tawfeeq to follow your commandments and bless us with your Mercy. Ameen.
Keep me in your duaa.
Ma'asalam.
Labels: Deed, Dunya, Heaven, knowledge, Scholar, Wise
Sunday, January 13, 2008 @ 1:45 PM
Poisons of the Heart : Unrestrained Glances
Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
I read this and it affected me so deeply... how ignorant we are that we forget things like this, of such importance. Please do read the piece I've pasted below by Ibn al Qayyim Rahimullah, and ponder upon it.
Keep me in your duaa.
Ma'asalam.
Poisons of the Heart : Unrestrained Glances
Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyya
The unrestrained glance results in the one who looks becoming attracted to what he sees, and in the imprinting of an image of what he sees in his heart. This can result in several kinds of corruption in the heart of the servant. The following are a number a them:
It has been related that the Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) once said words to the effect:
The glance is a poisoned arrow of shaytaan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allah, He will bestow upon him a refreshing sweetness, which he will find in his heart on the day he meets Him.
Shaytan enters with the glance, for he travels with it, faster than the wind blowing through an empty place. He makes what is seen appear more beautiful then it really is, and transforms it in to an idol for the heart to worship. Then he promises it false rewards, lights the fire of desires within it, and fuels it with the wood of forbidden actions, which the servant would not have committed had it not been for this distorted image.
This distracts the heart and makes it forget its more important concerns. It stands between it and them; and so the heart loses it’s straight path and falls into the pit of desire and ignorance. Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He, says:
And do not obey anyone whose heart We have made forgetful in remembering Us – who follows his own desires, and whose affair has exceeded all bounds. [Surah al-Kahf: Ayah 28]
The unrestrained gaze causes all three afflictions. It has been said that between the eye and the heart is an immediate connection; if the eyes are corrupted, then the heart follows. It becomes like a rubbish heap where all the dirt and filth and rottenness collect, and so there is no room for love for Allah, relating all matters to Him, awareness of being in His presence, and feeling joy at His proximity - only the opposite of these things can inhabit such a heart.
Staring and gazing without restraint is disobedience to Allah:
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely Allah is aware of what they do. [Surah an-Nur: Ayah 30]
Only the one who obeys Allah’s commands is content in this world, and only the servant who obeys Allah will survive in the next world.
Furthermore, letting the gaze roam free cloaks the heart with darkness,. Just as lowering the gaze for Allah clothes it in light. After the above ayah, Allah, the Glorious and Mighty, says in the same Surah of the Qur’an:
Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth; the likeness of His light is as if there were a niche, and in the niche is a lamp, and in the lamp is a glass, and the glass is as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it. Light upon light. Allah guides whomsoever He wants to His light. Allah strikes metaphors for man: and Allah knows all things. [Surah an-Nur: Ayah 35]
When the heart is a light, countless good comes to it from all directions. If it is dark, then clouds of evil and afflictions come from all directions to cover it up.
Letting the gaze run loose also makes the heart blind to distinguishing between truth and falsehood, between the sunnah and innovation: while lowering it for Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, gives it a penetrating, true and distinguishing insight.
A righteous man once said:
Whoever enriches his outward behaviour by following the sunnah, and makes his inward soul wealthy through contemplation, and averts his gaze away from looking at what is forbidden, and avoids anything of a doubtful nature, and feeds solely on what is halal- his inner sight will never falter.
Rewards for actions come in kind. Whoever lowers his gaze from what Allah has forbidden, Allah will give his inner sight abundant reward. Labels: Deed, Dunya, Gaze, Gender, Glances, Heaven, Ibn, Islam, Jannah, Jawziya, Light, Lowering, Qayyim
about me
I am nothing more than a muslimah and mu'minah, insha'Allah, who is striving to please Allah
SWT.
A righteous man once said:
"Whoever enriches his outward behaviour by following the sunnah, and makes his inward soul wealthy through
contemplation,
and averts his gaze away from looking at what is forbidden, and avoids anything of a doubtful nature, and feeds
solely on what is halal- his inner sight will never falter."
***
deepest wish
jannat ul firdaus
miscellaneous
*~
credit
Blogskin created by Eclair-x, yours truly.
Layout idea courtesy of fruitstyle.
Best viewed in 1026 x 768 pixels screen resolution and smaller, Mozilla Firefox.
|
|
