How to make a fresh start – Part 4

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

[Here are Parts 1, 2 and 3.]

[Yes, I know. You’re struggling to remember what this series is all about. It’s about the man who murdered 99 people.]

In the last part, I mentioned the importance of having good friends. Here’s one more hadeeth on the importance of being around righteous people:

إن لله ملائكة يطوفون في الطرق يلتمسون أهل الذكر ، فإذا وجدوا قوما يذكرون الله تنادوا : هلموا إلى حاجتكم . قال : فيحفونهم بأجنحتهم إلى السماء الدنيا ، قال : فيسألهم ربهم ، وهو أعلم منهم ، ما يقول عبادي ؟ قال : تقول : يسبحونك ويكبرونك ويحمدونك ويمجدونك ، قال : فيقول : هل رأوني ؟ قال : فيقولون : لا والله ما رأوك ، قال : فيقول : وكيف لو رأوني ؟ قال : يقولون : لو رأوك كانوا أشد لك عبادة ، وأشد لك تمجيدا وأكثر لك تسبيحا ، قال : يقول : فما يسألونني ؟ قال : يسألونك الجنة ، قال : يقول : وهل رأوها ؟ قال : يقولون : لا والله يا رب ما رأوها ، قال : يقول : فكيف لو أنهم رأوها ؟ قال : يقولون : لو أنهم رأوها كانوا أشد عليها حرصا ، وأشد لها طلبا ، وأعظم فيها رغبة ، قال : فمم يتعوذون ؟ قال : يقولون : من النار ، قال : يقول : وهل رأوها ؟ قال : يقولون : لا والله يا رب ما رأوها ، قال : يقول : فكيف لو رأوها ؟ قال : يقولون : لو رأوها كانوا أشد منها فرارا ، وأشد لها مخافة ، قال : فيقول : فأشهدكم أني قد غفرت لهم . قال : يقول ملك من الملائكة : فيهم فلان ليس منهم ، إنما جاء لحاجة . قال : هم الجلساء لا يشقى بهم جليسهم

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu): Allah ‘s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Allah has some angels who look for those who celebrate the Praises of Allah on the roads and paths. And when they find some people celebrating the Praises of Allah, they call each other, saying, “Come to the object of your pursuit.’ ” He added, “Then the angels encircle them with their wings up to the sky of the world.” He added. “(after those people celebrated the Praises of Allah, and the angels go back), their Lord, asks them (those angels)… though He knows better than them… ‘What do My slaves say?’ The angels reply, ‘They say: Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, and Alhamdulillah.

Allah then says ‘Did they see Me?’ The angels reply, ‘No! By Allah, they didn’t see You.’ Allah says, How it would have been if they saw Me?’ The angels reply, ‘If they saw You, they would worship You more devoutly and celebrate Your Glory more deeply, and declare Your freedom from any resemblance to anything more often.’ Allah says (to the angels), ‘What do they ask Me for?’ The angels reply, ‘They ask You for Paradise.’ Allah says (to the angels), ‘Did they see it?’ The angels say, ‘No! By Allah, O Lord! They did not see it.’ Allah says, How it would have been if they saw it?’ The angels say, ‘If they saw it, they would have greater covetousness for it and would seek It with greater zeal and would have greater desire for it.’

Allah says, ‘From what do they seek refuge?’ The angels reply, ‘They seek refuge from the (Hell) Fire.’ Allah says, ‘Did they see it?’ The angels say, ‘No By Allah, O Lord! They did not see it.’ Allah says, How it would have been if they saw it?’ The angels say, ‘If they saw it they would flee from it with the extreme fleeing and would have extreme fear from it.’ Then Allah says, ‘I make you witnesses that I have forgiven them.”‘

Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) added, “One of the angels would say, ‘There was so-and-so amongst them, and he was not one of them, but he had just come for some need.’ Allah would say, ‘These are those people whose companions will not be reduced to misery.’ “ [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume No. 8, Hadeeth No. 417]

Seriously Short Reminder No. 33: Remember that you need to reply to it…

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

[Note #1: So I was Internetless for 5 days. The last time that I sat that long in front of a PC without the Internet was….the 90s when the Internet first came out. I think I need to take more breaks away from this thing…]

[Note #2: Okay, it seems that most of you voted for the Lord of the Worlds series for Ramadan. If anyone wants one of the other two series mentioned, then please do say so ASAP. I’ll decide at the end of this week, insha-Allah.]

Reply to what, you ask?

Reply to the salaam (greeting of peace, of course).

The virtues of initiating the salaam (i.e. saying Assalamu Alaikum) are many and these are quite well-known, alhamdulillah. [This article states that it is a recommendation whereas this one states that it is an obligation.]

However, many people seem to be unaware of the importance of replying to the salaam.

Allah says:

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُ‌دُّوهَا ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيبًا

“When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally. Certainly, Allah is Ever a Careful Account Taker of all things.” [Surah An-Nisa (4) : 86]

Imam Ibn Kathir (rahimahullah) says in his tafsir (explanation) of this ayah (verse): “Therefore, the better Salam is recommended, while returning it equally is an obligation.”

So, when a Muslim greets us with “Assalamu Alaikum”, we are obliged to reply to it with “Wa Alaikum Assalam” and encouraged to add “Wa Rahmathullahi” or “Wa Ramathullahi Wa Barakathuh”.

If a Muslim greets us with “Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmathullah” we are obliged to reply with “Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmathullah” and encouraged to add “Wa Barakthuh”.

If a Muslim greets us with “Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmathullahi Wa Barakathuh”, we are obliged to reply with “Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmathullahi Wa Barakathuh”.

It seems that in today’s fast-paced twitter-oriented blackberry-addicted world, people have forgotten this act completely.

Brothers and sisters, these might seem like little things but these little things add up to a lot. Not replying to the salaam is a sin (even a delayed reply is a sin) so if we keep doing this with everything (whether it be email, facebook, twitter, blog posts, live conversations, etc), the sins will keep piling up.

However, if we reply properly, then we’ll be increasing in good deeds.

So please, when someone sends you an email that starts with “Assalamu Alaikum”, start your reply with “Wa Alaikum Assalam”. And if you are replying to an online article that starts with “Assalamu Alaikum,” start your reply with “Wa Alaikum Assalam.” [Please don’t say “wasak” or something like that. Type the whole thing out!]

Please don’t think that this is something that will waste your time, rather this will put more barakah (blessings) in your time – just like everything else that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) came with.

So…please remember to reply to the salaam.

PS. That includes any comments that are submitted to this blog. [Although I think you might have figured out that part already…]

Seriously Short Reminder No. 32: Remember to spoil them….

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

“Spoil who? The kiddies?”

No, of course not. I meant that we need to spoil the guests. [As for the kiddies, they shouldn’t be spoilt at all!!!]

سمعت أذناي ، وأبصرت عيناي ، حين تكلم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال : ( من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فليكرم جاره ، ومن كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فليكرم ضيفه جائزته ) . قال : وما جائزته يا رسول الله ؟ قال : ( يوم وليلة ، والضيافة ثلاثة أيام ، فما كان وراء ذلك فهو صدقة عليه ، ومن كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فليقل خيرا أو ليصمت ) .

Narrated by Abu Shuraih Al-Adawi (radiallahu anhu): My ears heard and my eyes saw the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) when he spoke, “Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day, should serve his neighbor generously, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should serve his guest generously by giving him his reward.” It was asked. “What is his reward, O Allah’s Messenger?” He said, “(To be entertained generously) for a day and a night (with high quality of food) and the guest has the right to be entertained for three days (with ordinary food) and if he stays longer, what he will be provided with will be regarded as sadaqah (a charitable gift). And anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quite (i.e. abstain from all kinds of dirty and evil talks).” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume No. 8, Hadeeth No. 48]

ومن نزل بقوم فعليهم أن يقروه ، فإن لم يقروه فله أن يغصبهم بمثل قراه

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Whoever stops among a people, they are obliged to entertain him, and if they do not entertain him, then he has the right to take from them an amount equivalent to that which they should have entertained him.” [Sunan Abee Dawood, Hadeeth No. 4604. Graded ‘sahih’ by Al-Albani, Sahih Sunan Abee Dawood, Hadeeth No. 4604.]

This is something that I would consider a “forgotten” sunnah. These days, you’d be blessed to get a glass of water when you visit someone.

Sadly, many people are unaware that showing hospitality to guests is an obligation.

So, let’s not forget to be good hosts and hostesses because this is part of being a good Muslim.

And Allah knows Better.

The Rights of the Quran and some tips on how to fulfill them – Part 5

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

[Here are Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.]

5) To call to it

It’s not enough to just apply the Quran ourselves, rather we also need to invite others to apply the Quran as well.

After all, what was the main role of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)? He was sent to call the people to worship Allah alone. So his primary role was dawah (calling to Islam).

Sadly, in these times, we have become very lax in fulfilling this right.

How does one do dawah?

Well, I hope to discuss that in greater detail in a future post, insha-Allah. For now, the following points should suffice:

a) Start with tawheed (worshipping Allah alone).

And no, not everyone knows about tawheed. If they did, I wouldn’t have come across as many dropped jaws as I did.

Tawheed is the most important thing and everything else is based upon it. Only the people of tawheed will exit Hell and only the people of tawheed will enter Paradise.

b) Talk about what you know

This one sounds obvious but given the amount of people who talk about matters in which they have zero knowledge, I guess it’s not that obvious….

c) Talk with proof

[Yes, I know that this particular post does not have any proof. Forgive me, it’s midnight at the moment.]

“I said”, ” I think”, “My shaikh said”, “My parents said” and “I heard someone say” are not counted as proofs, I’m afraid.

Proof = Allah said, Allah’s Messenger (sallalahu alaihi wasallam) said and the Companions of Allah’s Messenger said. This is what Islam is based on.

d) Be nice.

I repeat: Be nice.

I repeat yet again: BE NICE.

The above might sound like simple steps but they do make a lot of difference.

6) To do the above all the time

This is the last right and it entails fulfilling all the rights of the entire Quran consistently.

Failure to fulfill these rights would mean that we have abandoned the Quran. So we need to make sure that we try our best to do as much as we can.

May Allah make us of those who fulfill the rights of the Quran.

Seriously Short Reminder No. 30: Remember to cover your mouth…

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

“You mean while we’re eating so that the whole world can’t see what’s in our mouths?”

Yeah, that too.

However, I was primarily referring to the following two ahadeeth:

إذا تثاوب أحدكم ، فليمسك بيده على فيه . فإن الشيطان يدخل

The son of Abu Said al-Khudri reported on the authority of his father (radiallahu anhu) that Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “When one of you yawns, he should keep his mouth shut with the help of his hand, for it is the devil that enters therein.” [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth No. 7130]

إن الله يحب العطاس ، ويكره التثاؤب ، فإذا عطس فحمد الله ، فحق على كل مسلم سمعه أن يشمته ، وأما التثاؤب : فإنما هو من الشيطان ، فليرده ما استطاع ، فإذا قال : ها ، ضحك منه الشيطان

Narrated Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu): The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning, so if someone sneezes and then praises Allah, then it is obligatory on every Muslim who heard him, to say: May Allah be merciful to you (Yarhamukallah). But as regards yawning, it is from Shaytan (the devil), so one must try one’s best to stop it, if one says ‘Ha’ when yawning, Shaytan will laugh at him.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume No. 8, Hadeeth No. 242]

Now we all know why yawning is so contagious….

So, let’s cover our mouths whilst yawning so that Shaytan doesn’t get an opportunity to laugh at us.

PS. I probably won’t post again until next week, insha-Allah. I have lots of work to catch up on…