Just a thought...

I've been reading about Ibn al-Jawzi and as expected I'm in awe of how he dedicated his life to learning and teaching the Quran and hadith. But as I read about his family, it amazed me further to learn that he had 3 sons, who like their father were also teachers of hadith. Although it seems normal for the children of a great scholar to also become teachers and scholars, what I find interesting is how alongside teaching many students and writing over 300 detailed books, Ibn al-Jawzi brought up 3 sons who also dedicated their lives to Islam. 2 of his sons held important roles within the Khilafah at the time and they were sadly killed by the enemies of Islam. 

Scholars like Ibn al-Jawzi are great men, who learnt Islam, taught Islam and instilled Islam. 

Made me think how sometimes we make a tiny commitment and think we've done our bit, just doesn't work like that when it comes to the Deen. 

Muslims don't need Valentines Day

As Muslims, we don't need a pointless day like Valentines Day to express our love. We alhamdhulillah have been blessed with marriage. And although, it seems cheesy to say this, but marriage blessed by Allah is probably even more special in the liberal West where an honest relationship or commitment is becoming difficult to hold on to. 

Unlike the superficial love that is promoted by the commercialised, manipulative Valentines Day, the love that is encouraged in Islam for your spouse consists of a love that goes beyond a few roses or a box of chocolate. As Muslims we have rights and responsibilities towards our spouses which we must act on daily as we are accountable for how we treat all. Alhamdhulillah it's the morsel of food that a husband puts in his wife's mouth or the sprinkling of water at Fajr time which reflects the real love humans seek, not also forgetting the reward that awaits with Allah for all our sincere deeds. 

So as Muslims we say no thank you to all the supermarkets that have put out thousands of flowers tempting us to be part of a day which represents nothing but capitalism. We instead say like the Prophet (saw) did: "We do not think that there is anything better for those in love than marriage." (Ibn Mahah) 

How Umar (ra) reacted to a natural disaster

I read the below this morning and my love for this beloved companion of our Prophet (saw) just grew more. This Khalif was a true leader in every sense - subhanAllah I love Islamic history not because it tells good stories but because it talks about real people that dealt with real problems. 

In the year 18H, a great drought overwhelmed the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. There seemed no end to the drought, as people were on the verge of starvation. That year was called the year of the Ashes. It is noted Umar (ra) (the was the Khalif at the time) himself gave up meat and ghee until peoples lives improved. He said: "How will I come to care about the affairs of the people if I am not afflicted by that which afflicts them." 

Umar (ra) appointed a group of men to take care of the thousands of people that had come to Medinah looking for help and aid. Umar's (ra) workers began the task of cooking for the refugees. Umar (ra) was very organised, making sure that each worker knew exactly what his job was, in order to avoid redundancies. He (ra) also appointed another group of workers to station themselves in the various outskirts of Medinah - they supervised the distribution of food to refugees. In the evenings all the workers would meet with Umar informing with the updates of the day. Umar (ra) also requested help from Egypt and Ash-Sham. And subhanAllah Umar (ra) himself worked in the camps.

An unseen companion of the Prophet (saw) ~ OWAIS (ra)

A sister shared the below story on Facebook, and since reading it, I've been thinking non-stop about this particular sahaba. SubhanAllah, I urge everyone to read this. Its slightly long, but very much worth it. Absolutely a lot to learn from this.  InshaAllah, I leave it to you to enjoy and take inspiration,

Owais (RA) was the only man who was mentioned by name by the Prophet(SAWS) without him having met him. He became a companion without seeing the prophet (SAWS), Owais (R A) was given the honor of being his Companion in Paradise! SubahanAllaah. One day, Umar ibn Khattab, Abu Bakr, Ali and other companions (RA) were sitting with the Prophet (SAWS) at the Masjid when the Prophet (SAW) said to them, “Tomorrow, a man will enter from this door to pray among you and he will be from the people of Paradise.” 
“He is a man of medium height, head held high despite being poor with very dark skin. I can see him putting his right arm on his left arm and weeping as he reads Quran. He is wearing a cloak of poor wool,” said the Prophet (SAW), smiling as if he can see him as Angel Jibreal (AS) is describing him. “On his left shoulder, there is a white mark the size of a dirham that is the effect of an illness. He is unknown among the people but known in the skies. His biggest sign is the mother he deeply cares for. When he makes duaa, it is granted. He will come among the people on the Day of Judgment and as they are entering Paradise, he will be stopped. When he asks why, Allaah will tell him he can bring whomever he wants into Paradise with him, as much as 200,000 people (the amount of two large tribes).” “Ali and Umar, if you are ever to find this man, ask him to make duaa for you and ask Allaah for your forgiveness,” said the Prophet. 
Elsewhere in Yemen, a young boy is herding his sheep, the sun beating down on his shoulders where a white mark stands alone on his dark skin. He is frustrated from being poor and having to struggle and take care of his mother. His father died when he was a young child, leaving him the man of the house. When the boy was seventeen, his mother lost her vision, and his responsibilities toward her increased as he now had to help her move around.
he stood at Mount Arafat and asked all the people making Hajj to stand up. Then he told everyone to sit down except those from Yemen. From that group, he told them all to sit down except those from Murad and from that group, he told them all to sit down except those from Qarn. One man was left standing. “Are you a Qarni?” asked Umar ibn Al Khattab(R A). The man replied in the affirmative. “Do you know Owais?” “Yes, he is my nephew. But what would you want with him. He is but a poor, forgotten man,” replied the Yemeni man. Umar (RA) started to weep. “This man is not just a poor, forgotten man. He is a man who will choose 200,000 people to come with him into heaven. Is he with you?” “No, he is not,” replied the man. “Is his mother living,” asked Umar (RA). “Yes,” replied the man. “I know he will not ever leave her, as this is what the Prophet (SAWS) said,” replied Umar.

Abu Huraira (RA) relates that the next day he hurried to Fajr prayer at the Masjid and lined up in the first row in hopes that he would be the man that the Prophet (SAW) was referring to the day before. There were many other Companions standing alongside him who also had the same idea. The Prophet (SAWS) conducted Fajr prayer and sat down. The Companions were eager to know who this man of Paradise was, but it didn’t seem the Prophet was going to mention it. So they sat and waited for a while and some of them had to go, but others still waited. These included Abu Huraira, Abu Bakr, Ali, and Umar (RA). Just then walked in a man, who was so poor his clothes were dirty and torn. The Prophet (SAW) immediately stood up and smiled from ear to ear and welcomed the man. The man asked the Prophet to pray for him. The Prophet (SAW) raised his hands in duaa and said, “Oh Allaah please grant this man a position in the highest levels of Paradise, Al Firdous, with me.” So then when the man left, Abu Huraira (RA) asked the Prophet (SAW) ,”Was that him?!” “Yes,” replied the Prophet.  “But oh Messenger of Allaah , he is nothing more than a poor slave, how can that be him?” asked Abu Huraira (RA) . “Oh Abu Huraira,” said the Prophet. “What can I do for him if his fate in this world is to be poor? His position on the Day of Judgment is that of a king. Abu Huraira (RA) , the ones that have the most value to Allaah are those that are pure, starving, whose faces are dusty, who are not known on this Earth, but known in the skies. If they want to get married, no one would marry them. And if they get sick, the do not pass on the sickness to anyone (they are alone), and if they attend something their presence is not felt, and if they leave, no one notices, and when they die, no one attends their funeral. These people however, are not forgotten by Allaah and they are held with so much value.” “Oh Messenger of Allaah, show me one of them,” said Abu Huraira (RA). “I will tell you about Owais Al Qarni (RA),” replied the Prophet. The Companions looked at each other, each trying to recall if they know a man named Owais. They didn't know that he was talking about a man that they will meet years after the Prophet has passed away.

One night, he was carrying a candle and helping his mother move around the house when the candlelight went out and they were left in darkness. He could not see a thing. Then his mother, who was used to finding her way in the darkness, started leading him. This turn of events affected him deeply and he started to ponder on the weight of light and darkness.

The next day, the seventeen-year-old Owais (RA) bumped into a Muslim man who was coming to Yemen to spread Islam. He stopped the man and asked him to tell him something from the Qur'an that his Prophet (SAW) has said. So the man recites a verse from Surah An Nur:

{…And he for whom Allaah has not appointed light, for him there is no light} 

(Qur'an 24:40)

This really hit home for Owais (RA) as he remembered what had happened the night before with his mother. “Tell me more about what your Prophet (SAW) says,” said Owais. So the man, noticing that Owais (RA) was poor, chose this Hadith. “What am I to this world and what is this world to me? The example of me and this world is that of a man who walks in the heat of the desert and sits under the shade of a tree for an hour, then walks away and leaves it.”

Owais (RA) upon hearing this Hadith, immediately said his shahadah and became a Muslim at the age of 17. Then came the question, will he migrate to see the Prophet? As much as Owais (RA) wanted to, he couldn’t and wouldn’t leave his mother. Some people suggested that he let some neighbours take care of her while he was gone but he said that he was the one who should take care of her and turned down the opportunity to see the Prophet. This sacrifice for his mother and the way Owais (RA) had devoted himself to his mother his whole life was the reason that he was mentioned by the Prophet (SAW). Also, because of his deep faith and his lack of attachment to the material things in this world.

So when Ali bin Abu Talib (RA) left Yemen with a group of new Muslims to go back to Madinah, it was without the boy he bumped into on his way there. He had no idea that it the Owais (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) had mentioned and the boy didn’t know it was Ali bin Abu Talib (RA).

3 years later, the Prophet passed away and years after that Abu Bakr (RA) also passed away. When Umar ibn AlKhattab (RA) became Khalifah, he would go around all the people during Hajj and call out, “OWAIS, OWAIS, Is there anyone here named Owais?” He would go to the group that came from Yemen and ask them if a man named Owais (RA) is among them. But no one had heard of this man. Umar (RA) realised it was just as the Prophet (SAW) described to him, that he was a man who was unknown among the people.

Year after year, Umar (RA) would go around at Hajj and call out and ask for Owais. One year during Hajj, Umar (R A) searched for Owais (R A) for ten years. A year before the death of Umar(R A) , Owais’s mother passed away. That year, Umar (RA) stood up at Mount Arafat again and said to the people of Yemen, “Is Owais al Qarni among you?” A Yemeni man said, “He is that sheppard standing over there.” Umar (R A) became so excited and went to look for Ali (RA) . “Ali! Ali! We found him!” he called out. Umar and Ali (RA) approached Owais (R A) and asked him,“Are you Owais (R A) al Qarni?” “Yes,” replied a surprised Owais. “Show me your shoulder,” replied Umar. Owais (R A) showed them his shoulder and they were able to see the mark that the Prophet (SAW) mentioned. “Is your mother with you?” asked Umar. Owais (R A) replied that his mother had passed away. “Ah, it is just as the Prophet said it would be then,” said Umar(R A). Owais (R A) actually did not know these men so he asked them who they were. “I am Umar ibn AlKhattab (RA), the Khalifah, and this is Ali ibn Abu Talib (RA), the man who came to Yemen to spread Islam,” said Umar(R A). “Yes! I remember him! But, how do you know me?” asked Owais. So Umar (R A) told Owais (R A) the whole story about how the Prophet (SAW) had talked about him years ago and how Angel Jibreal (AS) had described him. They said how his signs were the mark on his shoulder, his care for his mother, and his lack of attachment to this world. He said how Prophet (SAW) told them that he would take 200,000 people with him into Paradise. They told him how they had been looking for him for years.

Umar and Ali (R Anhum) then asked Owais (RA) to make duaa for them and ask forgiveness for him. “You are now my friend in this life and the next,” Umar (RA) said to Owais. However, Owais (RA) was not interested in the life of fame and ease that would come with being Umar’s friend, especially when people find out what the Prophet (SAW) had said about him. He kindly refused, and asked to be left as he is. Owais (RA) said he was going to go to Kufa. “Would you like me to write to the leader of Kufa to await your arrival and look after you?” asked Umar. “No thank you. I would like to go unknown as I came,” replied Owais. “Ok then at least let me give you some money to help you out,” said Umar (R A) in an effort to do at least something for Owais. “No thank you, my wool coat has still not worn out and neither have my shoes. I have four dirhams that I have still not used. When I run out, I will figure out how to get more. I am content this way,” replied Owais. “Please stay with me,” said Umar. “Thank you Umar. But what I have is good for me and what you have is good for you and the Muslims,” said Owais.

Owais (RA) left Mecca. He participated in the battle at Azerbaijan and died during the battle. His death came about 2 years after the death of Umar ibn AlKhattab (RA). Owais (RA) was about 35 years old.

Learn forgiveness from Abu Bakr (ra)

SubhanAllah I read this and it really touched my heart and made me think how sometimes our arrogance and stubbornness doesn't allow us to forgive others.

After Ayesha (ra) was slandered in the most horrible way, Abu Bakr (ra) was very upset. The man that had began the rumour was a cousin, who Abu Bakr had been supporting financially. Abu Bakr withheld the sadaqah he had been giving to the slanderer when he learnt about the rumours. But soon after, the following verse was revealed:
"Let not those among you who are endured with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want and those who migrated in the path of Allah. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Indeed Allah is oft-Forgiving, most Merciful." (24:22)
After hearing this Abu Bakr wanted Allah's forgiveness, so he continued with the sadaqah and also increased the amount of money.

InshaAllah we are all able to react in the same manner to the words of our Creator and benefit from His Mercy and reward.

Let’s rush to be loved by Allah…

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Some people will come on the Day of Judgement & their Iman will be outstanding, its light will shine from their chests & from their right hands. So it will be said to them, 'Glad tidings for you today, Assalamu 'alaikum & Goodness for you, Enter into it (Jannah) forever!'  So the Angels & the Prophets will be jealous of the Love of Allah for them." 

So the Sahabah asked, "Who are they, Ya Rasoolullah?" 

He (SAW) replied, "They are not from us & they are not from you. You are my companions but they are my beloved. They will come after you & will find the Book (the Qur'an) made redundant by the people, & a Sunnah which has been killed by them. So they will grab hold of the Book & the Sunnah & revive them. 

They read them & teach them (the Qur'an & the Sunnah) to the people & they will experience in that path a punishment more severe & more ugly than what you (O Sahabah) have experienced. 

Indeed the Iman of one of them is equivalent to the Iman of 40 of you.  The Shaheed of one of them is equivalent to 40 of your Shuhadaa'. Because you found a helper towards the truth (the Prophet) & they will find no helper towards the truth. 

They will be surrounded by tyrant rulers in every place, & they will be in the surroundings of Bait-ul-Maqdis (Al-Quds, Masjid al-Aqsa). The Nussrah (Help & Victory) of Allah will come to them, & they will have the honour of it on their hands." 

Then he (saw) said, "O Allah, give them the Nussrah & make them my close friends in Jannah."

[Ahmad]

Some years back, a very dear sister shared this hadith with me. She told me this will help me want to work for the deen. To be honest, I listened to her, but thought that it was impossible to even try to live up to the above.

But since then, and up until very recently, I have read this hadith many times, and the more I read it, the more I want to be the Prophet’s (saw) beloved. Who wouldn’t want to be? I believe every member of this Ummah loves the Prophet more than their own family; we all crave to have even a fraction of his characteristics within us.

Prophet Mohammed (saw), the best of creation, personally made dua for the one that holds firmly to the haqq. How can we after knowing this turn away from it? What beautiful words he (saw) uses to describe the one that stays steadfast.

What is more amazing is how he (saw) compares his companions to this group of people. We know how devoted the blessed companions of the Prophet (saw) were. Imagine being compared to them, I think it’s hard for us to think that any of us can (even try to) emulate one of them, let alone be compared to 40 of them.

“So the Angels & the Prophets will be jealous of the Love of Allah for them.”

I can’t explain in words, how reading the above makes me feel -angels and prophets will be jealous of these people because of the love Allah (swt), the Creator, the One that is the only true Judge of all things living and dead will have for them. Subhan-Allah!

Therefore I wanted to share this with you now, in a time and age where society accuses the Muslim of backward-thinking if we try to speak about Islam. We live in a time that does not allow us to practise the religion the way it was brought to us. We have not lived under the beauty of Islam, and have come to believe we never can. Islam and Muslims have been under the spotlight for years now, and this has made our Ummah turn away from the essential work we can do to ensure the revival of Islam in our lands and our lives. Islam has been attacked in various ways, including the horrible insults on our dear Prophet, the man that spent nights praying for this Ummah. I feel maybe the words of the Prophet (saw) above can make us speak up for the deen, try everything in our ability to ensure Islam and its teachings are protected, and work to make Allah (swt)’s law supreme as is asked of us by the Creator.

Ya Rabb, allow us all to reach the status of the people the Prophet (saw) told his companions about, help us to bring back Islam to what it once was and let us truly be loved by You (swt).

Ibrahim (as) – the Prophet that made me think

Growing up in an Asian household in London, religion didn't play a big part in my life. But I was fascinated to know about certain other religions, especially when I compared them to Islam. Being Muslim meant nothing to me as a young girl, I only related it to going to Qur'an classes, or men with beards; neither of which I found exciting or interesting. I was a curious little girl, who lived my childhood asking a thousand and one questions a day – fortunately my parents had the patience to answer them.

Going back to my eagerness to learn about other religions, the one that stuck out for me was Hinduism, a religion that was full of colour, joy and music (well that was my interpretation anyway). I never looked at the Hindu gods, nor did I refer to what Islam says about polytheism. It was purely a shallow look at the many Hindu rituals. What I liked most about it was that, a person could enjoy themselves, unlike my own religion which seemed very boring with a couple of celebrations a year. So secretly, I told myself that I liked Hinduism better than Islam, my judgment purely being based on what looked fun, and not related to what the actual teachings of the faith were.

As I grew older, my interest in my own faith decreased, with no real increase of interest in other religions. What did bother me though was the meaning of my life. Was it all about enjoyment? If so, how would I fulfill that, and live-life-for-fun seemed a little empty. So if life wasn't only about enjoyment, then surely there was more meaning to it? And I needed to find this meaning, and understand how it all related to my life. Yes, I know, I thought a lot for a young person.

As I tried to figure out my reason for existence, I happened to go to East London Masjid and got myself a book about 'Prophets in Islam'. And this marked the beginning of my greatest comforts - reading about how beautifully Allah guides us through His Messengers. I was so excited!

In the book, 'Prophets in Islam', was the story of Prophet Ibrahim (as); the father of Prophets. His story absolutely amazed me. In particular when not even being a teenager (and I myself being about 12), he questions his father about idol worshipping. This made me think about Hinduism and the many gods worshipped by Hindus. Prophet Ibrahim (as) not only challenged the worshipping of lifeless idols, but using a great amount of hikmah (even as a child), he tried to convince his people of the flaws in worshipping mere idols. How would I even attempt to do such a thing? This famous part of Prophet Ibrahim's (as) story stuck with me for days, trying to understand why he did what he did, and what he was trying to tell people. This led me to look into Islam and what it taught us. The first and maybe a very important lesson I learnt from the story was not to follow any ideas or beliefs just because I was born into it; I was going to question it and then follow what I thought made sense! Obviously, the thoughts were not as deep as I describe them now, but it was heading along these lines.

It was difficult to understand Islam, when I wasn't around many people that actually took any real interest in it. I somehow managed to get hold of a book about the basic understanding of Islam and what it meant being a Muslim. Looking back at it now, I can’t believe such a simple book taught me the most fundamental element in life, my purpose.

“And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)”  [TMQ 51:56].

The above ayah made me think and wanted to know more. I related this ayah to the message relayed by Prophet Ibrahim (as), it gave me a clear understanding that Allah created me, He (swt) created me to worship Him (swt), and that was the meaning of my life. Hence, why I say Prophet Ibrahim (as) made me think, he made me think about my life.

It’s important to note here, that I was very young, and had very limited knowledge about Islam in general, other than how to read the Qur'an (which wasn't even the correct way). Even though, I knew the purpose of my life, it took me a few more years to make practical sense of what it actually meant (my other posts go further into these details). What it did do was take away all my doubts about religions and their relevance in a person’s life. Until then, religions were mere rituals, something you enacted once or twice in a year on special occasions. So this was the beginning of Tafkir Al-Islami, and what a beautiful and challenging path it has been spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

I would urge all to read the beautiful story of Ibrahim (as), not because it’s the perfect fairy tale, but because of the tests, the courage, the perseverance he underwent to please the Creator, to ensure the haqq was propagated. It rounds off our purpose in life, helping us to live our lives that much more devoted to Allah.