Category: Short Reminders

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Let us remind ourselves of a story narrated by Ibn Mas’ud: ‘A man kissed a woman (unlawfully) and then went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and informed him. Allah revealed: And offer prayers perfectly At the two ends of the day And in some hours of the night (i.e. the five compulsory prayers). Verily! good deeds remove (annul) the evil deeds (11.114). The man asked Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), “Is it for me?” He said, “It is for all my followers.”‘ [Bukhari]

We must always ponder over Allah’s mercy for us never to lose hope. As human beings we are sinners and sometimes we get overwhelmed by the sins we commit, just as the man in the hadith. He approached the prophet extremely regretful, needing advice on how to deal with the sin he committed. The prophet remained silent for a while, then Allah revealed a beautiful ayah to him:

“And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.”

[11:114]

Notice how Allah kept the sentence “deeds do away with misdeeds” in the same ayah as salat. It tells us that the primary method of wiping out sins comes through salat, and thus one of the many reasons why it is a gift from Allah – yet just as Allah says, it is for those who remember, those who ponder over their wrongdoings. Many of us brush away a sin with excuses without feeling any remorse or any urge to expiate the sin through doing good. It is a reminder for those who recollect.

This is not to say however, that we can go ahead and sin purposely just as long as we offer the prayers or do good deeds. Allah knows what lies deep in the hearts of every living thing so He knows when we are not being sincere.

Allah has given us many forms of expiation for our sins. Here are a few hadith regarding this:

• Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “When a bondsman-a Muslim or a believer-washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes, will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water with the result that he comes out pure from all sins” [Muslim]
• The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Five prayers and from one Friday prayer to (the next) Friday prayer is an expiation (of the sins committed in between their intervals) if major sins are not committed.” [Muslim]
• ‘A’isha narrated that the prophet (ﷺ) said: “No trouble comes to a believer even if it is the pricking of a thorn that it becomes (the means) whereby his sins are effaced or his sins are obliterated.” [Muslim] – Of course this does not mean we cause self harm to expiate sins, it is to show that any kind of pain we experience in this word will do away with sins, as mentioned in another hadith: It is narrated by Ayesha (ra) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “when a Muslim is afflicted by an anxiety, pain or sickness then, because of that, his sins are atoned. So much, so that if a thorn pricks him or he suffers a simple, minor injury (His sins are forgiven)” [authenticated by al-Albaani]
• Abu Hurairah narrated that: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. And whoever spends the night of Lailat Al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.” [Nasa’i authenticated by darrusalam]
• The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Two Muslims will not meet and shake hands having their sins forgiven them before they separate” [Abu Dawud authenticated by al-Albaani]

Islam is built on repentance. Allah created human beings to return back to Him, as He says: “By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you did not sin, Allah would replace you with people who would sin and they would seek forgiveness from Allah and He would forgive them.” [Muslim]

May Allah make us of those who never take His mercy for granted, those who remember Him at all times especially after sinning, and may He forgive all our sins.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Islam teaches us through the example of the prophet that gentleness is a key aspect of the religion. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah is gentle, loves gentleness, and gives for gentleness what he does not give for harshness.” [Abu Dawud authenticated by al-Albaani]

Sheikh Bin-Baz (may Allah be pleased with him) commented on this mentioning that this applies in all aspects of life. Whether it is dealing with family matters, neighbours, people around us at work or school, whatever the situation may be – gentleness is the way to deal with matters. In another narration: “Allah is Forbearer and loves forbearance in all matters.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

Allah will grant outcomes and goodness in matters that are dealt with kindness and leniency that will simply not come from being harsh and this especially applies when calling people to Islam or advising others on the deen. The prophet (ﷺ) also said: “Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective.” [Muslim]

Our anger and ego tends to take a hold of us and we forget that Islam is built on being gentle with others. Many times in the Qur’an Allah commands His prophets to deal with situations in a lenient manner.

One of the biggest examples as mentioned in a previous post, is Musa who was sent to the Pharoah and was ordered by Allah to speak to him gently so that he may be guided, and we’re talking about the Pharoah – one of the worst human beings to have ever lived.

So much can come from simply talking nicely, choosing our words wisely, taking heed of who we are dealing with in all matters. It may be that someone is being harsh to us, but our soft words diffuse the harshness and goodness will come from it on top of the rewards from Allah.

People outside the religion look at how we Muslims deal with the world. In our time now especially with the media against everything Islamic, it is even more crucial to portray what the prophet (ﷺ) really taught us.

May Allah make us of the people that truly embrace the wisdom behind benignity and practice is it in everyday life.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Allah says in the Qur’an:

No! But you love the immediate,

And leave the Hereafter.

[75:20-21]

Allah mentions that we as human beings love to rush. We like to consume things instantly – we want all the good to be given to us right away while all the bad to removed immediately. He challenges this notion that has consumed many of our hearts.

If someone was to remind us that we must be concerned about our salvation, which is obviously a concern after we die, we immediately take over this idea with worldly matters. Jobs, finances, family issues, houses, personal issues – whatever we have right now is a higher priority than that which is coming after death.

The Qur’an gives us a bigger a picture – it shows us that nothing we do in this life is merely trivial or meaningless. Allah says:

Then did you think that We created you without purpose and that to Us you would not be returned?”

[23:115]

He links the idea that what we do in this life indeed has purpose along with the notion of returning back to Him. Meaning that our actions do not die with time. It reminds the human being that all actions are recorded and will have consequences in this life and especially repercussions in the next.

The benefits of this reminder from Allah is that it removes from us the idea that nobody saw what we did. Allah saw it; it has been recorded by the angels and we will have to answer for it. Therefore, it keeps us weary of our actions due to the fact that there will be an accountability for everything we do.

From this it further reminds us that as a result of our actions we must keep turning back to Allah for forgiveness since there are countless mistakes we make everyday; this in turn brings us closer to Him. So the notion of the afterlife drives us closer and closer to Allah, and getting closer to him is the core principle of Islam.

Whenever anything is talked about in the deen, the bottom line is always Allah the creator. Through all of this it teaches us that nothing we do in this life is trivial and thus our time is not pointless.

If we look at the bigger picture we will realise that this worldly life is the shortest stop in our lifespan as human beings. Our souls were created long before the Earth and they were created to be eternal. The dunya is merely a short amount of time between our creation before we were born into this world and the eternal life afterwards.

There are millions if not billions of people that have been in their graves for thousands and thousands of years, in the barzakh which is the life between death and judgement day. The few years they had in the dunya is nothing compared to that, let alone the life after the day of resurrection. That short period in the dunya has determined their eternal fate and will determine ours. Allah mentions before the previous ayah:

[ Allah ] will say, “How long did you remain on earth in number of years?”

They will say, “We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate.”

He will say, “You stayed not but a little – if only you had known.

[23:112-114]

Imagine our entire life will feel like merely a day or part of a day that went past.

We may sit comfortably in our homes and busy lives, thinking that the afterlife is a long way away. What does Allah say?

Indeed, they see it [as] distant,

But We see it [as] near.

[70:6-7]

This must give us a sense of urgency, to make the most of this life and to stay away from that which may keep us from eternal bliss. Strive and struggle, as eternity is a lot longer than the time we have been given in the dunya.

May Allah make us people of Jannah.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

“Allah Almighty will say on the Day of Resurrection: O son of Adam, I was sick but you did not visit me. He will say: My Lord, how can I visit you when you are the Lord of the worlds? Allah will say: Did you not know that my servant was sick and you did not visit him, and had you visited him you would have found me with him?

O son of Adam, I asked you for food but you did not feed me. He will say: My Lord, how can I feed you when you are the Lord of the worlds? Allah will say: Did you not know that my servant asked you for food but you did not feed him, and had you fed him you would have found me with him?

O son of Adam, I asked you for drink but you did not provide for me. He will say: My Lord, how can I give you drink when you are the Lord of the worlds? Allah will say: My servant asked you for a drink but you did not provide for him, and had you given it to him you would have found me with him.” [Muslim]

This is a short reminder for those who fear of the mercy of Allah due to poverty or illness. Allah has not neglected those who are ill or suffering financially – in fact He is closer to them than others.

We must remind ourselves of Allah’s love towards His people. Umm al-Ala reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, visited me when I was sick, and he said, “Be cheerful, O mother of al-Ala. When a Muslim is sick, Allah takes away his sins just as fire takes away impurities in gold and silver.” [Abu Dawud authenticated by Al Albaani]

The most beloved person to Allah himself was in poverty, Aisha reported: “We in the household of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, used to live for a whole month without cooking anything over a fire. We would have nothing to eat but dates and water.” [Muslim]

Take illness and poverty as a blessing for the afterlife. If we are inflicted with it ourselves we must remember that Allah is with us. If it is inflicted on others we must take it as an opportunity to help them and gain some good deeds along the way.

May Allah help those in poverty and heal all those who are suffering of any illness.

Allah knows best.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

So when they forgot that by which they had been reminded, We opened to them the doors of every [good] thing until, when they rejoiced in that which they were given, We seized them suddenly, and they were [then] in despair.

[6:44]

Allah reminds us in Surat Al An’am of an example He made of the nations that came before us. He explains before this ayah that they were trialled with hardships and tribulations so that they may be humbled towards Allah. This in itself is a lesson to all of us that the purpose of trial is not for us to despair but for us to get closer to Him.

The focus here though is that when these nations failed the tribulations by hardening their hearts and chasing their desires Allah opened all doors to the dunya. Once everything came to them it was either taken away in this world or their lives were taken away.

How many people have we heard about in our time that were millionaires and ended up with nothing or committed suicide? Most of these people got their wealth from haram means and you will find the majority were ungrateful to Allah; disbelief is merely an elevated state of ungratefulness.

Furthermore, how many examples have we seen of popular people that ended up passing away at the peak of their career? They were given everything in this world – the fame, the money, the following – yet none of it helped them in the end or the afterlife.

Even with the whole dunya given to them, throughout their lives you will still find them miserable.

So with hardship we as Muslims must understand that it is a temporary test from Allah; as He says:

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,

[2:155]

Just because we see others who are far from Allah gain in wealth does not mean that they are on the path of success – which brings us to the notion of baraka.

When we are given baraka – which is essentially the attachment of divine goodness from Allah – then any form of wealth we have will bring us so much more good in our lives. On top of that we will be rewarded further by Allah in the afterlife for spending as Muslims through that which is halal.

If the baraka is removed you will find that nothing satisfies the heart. Nothing we buy is enough, we will just keep wanting more and more.

Why is suicide more common among celebrities, CEO’s and creatives? Why are there corrupt billionaires in the world still stealing from others? The wealth they already own cannot be spent in 10 lifetimes yet they still chase more and are given more, until one day it will end; the day when the only thing that matters are their actions.

If we take any lesson from this, it is that we should not look at those who seem to have everything in the dunya although they are far from Allah and wish to chase what they have. Most of what we see in these people is through social media which is merely deception. What people show on these platforms is not real; at the end of the day, real satisfaction and happiness is in the heart and the hearts of others cannot be seen.

We must dig into our own hearts and remind ourselves of this beautiful ayah:

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.”

[13:28]

Allah knows best.