Thursday, 7 June 2012

Blessed Family


Specially made for all niqobies.. ^^


As Shaykh Muhammad Faqih once said, “Hook up with Allah, Allah will hook you up!”



Let’s hook up with salah! Hook up with the Qur’an! Hook up with community work for Allah’s Sake! And have certainty that when we struggle to please Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), Ash-Shakoor is the Most Appreciative of our work and will undoubtedly reward us.


Will that reward be in the form of an amazing spouse and an amazing marriage? Allah knows best. But the best part is that Allah knows what is BEST for us and that His bounties are limitless.

The Prophet ﷺ has told us, “Any Muslim who supplicates to Allah in a du`a’ which contains no sin [of] breaking of kinship, Allah will give him one of three things: either his du`a’ will be immediately answered, it will be saved for him in the hereafter, or it will turn away an equivalent amount of evil (from him)…” (Ahmad).

Thus, we must know that if we connect with Allah, we can trust that Allah will grant us whatever is best, whether it be an answer to exactly what we are asking for or something better. Allah has got our backs! Who better to trust our future with than the One who already knows it?

Easier said than done? Maybe. But what have you got to lose? If at the end of the day you are only increasing in closeness to Allah, increasing in reading the Qur’an, tasting the sweetness of your salah, and making more sincere du`a’ then insha’Allah (if Allah wills) you will have gained more than simply “a spouse” if you get married and you would have gained much more than facebook “cruising for a spouse” time while you’re attempting to find your better half…Insha’Allah you will gain more in this life and the next, and an unwavering relationship with Allah!




Monday, 4 June 2012

The Mu'min Tree


In Surah Ibrahim, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gives us the metaphor of the kalimah (la ilaha ilallah) as a beautiful tree. The verse is:


أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللّهُ مَثَلاً كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاء
                    
Translation: Have you not seen how Allah has given the parable of a beautiful kalimah, like a beautiful tree, whose roots are firmly established, and whose branches tower in the sky? (Surah Ibrahim, verse 24)
According to the tafseer in Ibn Kathir, the mu’min is also like a beautiful tree. The heart of the believer is firmly established with the proofs (the Qur’an and the sunnah). The branches, the sincere and correct actions of the believer, reach Allah (see also Surah Fatir, verse 10: “To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it”)2. The fruit in all seasons is the believer who always obeys Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) at all times.
Even more amazing, subhanallah, are some amazing parallels we can draw from the science of trees.
  1. Forests: Trees grow much taller in forests then they do individually spaced-out. Why? More competition for sunlight. This is like believers.
  2. Cut the Side Branches: When you cut the branches at the side of the tree, the tree doesn’t stop growing–instead, it grows taller. Similarly, the believer, when pressured from all sides, he grows taller. (If you’ve ever seen someone put into a position of responsiblity rise up to the challenge, you know exactly what this means.)
  3. Cut the Top Branches: If you cut the top branches, the tree doesn’t stop growing–instead, it grows wider! Subhanallah. Similarly, if someone tries to stop a believer (“you can’t do X”), he grows wider–networking and outreach.
In either case, the tree keeps growing!
And these are metaphors for people to ponder upon. And inshaAllah even your contemplation earns you some reward in the akhir.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) increase us all in our knowledge (and subsequent implementation), ameen!
References
(1) Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghribLight of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.
(2) Khan, Muhsin, trans. “Quranic Realm.” Islamic Network. 7 May 2006 <http://quran.islamicnetwork.com/viewverses.php?q=35>.
(3) Light of Guidance. Cond. Mursaleen Al-Khurasani. Project Revision, Paltalk. 7 May 2006.