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)