Jewels of iman issue 10

JEWELS OF IM AN www.aateam.org

Issue 10

August 2015 Shawwal/ Dhul Qi'dah 1436

Who do muslims worship?

Attaining Allah's Pleasure

Avoiding Shirk Al-Mannan

Sins upon Sins

Editorial: Assalamu Alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, We begin by praising Allah, and sending peace and salutations on the last of the Prophets; Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

As I was editing the articles for this issue, a matter came to mind, that I thought was of utmost importance to share with my fellow brothers and sisters. The cause for concern is, keeping our word, or fulfilling our promises.

Too often as muslims, we neglect this issue, and we don't live up to our word. We make empty promises, hiding behind 'Inshallah.' But this is unacceptable. There is no good in saying Inshallah, if we do not put in the effort, it only manifests laziness and a careless attitude.

Allah warns us sternly of this in the Qur'an, "O you who have believed why do you say what you do not do? Grievously odious is it in the sight of Allah, that you say what you do not do." (As-Saff 61:2-3) How heedless are we of what recite! Allah dislikes such a characteristic, yet every other day we indulge it in!

We enter into agreements, whether by our silent approval or by verbally committing ourselves, however we quickly forget our promises.

The least we can do in such cases, is to apologise and make excuses for ourselves. A simple, 'I'm sorry, I don't think I will be able to make it' or 'I apologise, but something has come up' will not harm anyone, and will instead only breed love and understanding between the two parties. To excuse yourself, is from good manners. To make void promises on the other hand will only decrease your reputability.

My dear brothers and sisters, the next time, you have a task, a meeting, an appointment or a deadline, that you are unable to fulfill, though you earnestly gave your word, excuse yourself out of courtesy, even if your excuses will not be accepted, it is better for you.

This is a reminder for myself, before any of you.

I ask Allah to strengthen us, and allow us to live up to our word, and to help us fulfill our promises.

Ameen.

Bibi Zainab Dowlut,

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Contents: Dawah: 5 Misconception: Who do Muslims worship 7 Attaining Allah's Pleasure

Sel f Improvement : 19 Hayaa pt 3

l ink withyour creator:

21 Life after death 23 Reflection: Ramadan future 25 Lack of composure in prayer 27 Sins upon sins

10 Al Mannan 12 Praise

journey tothe hereafter: 15

Signs of the hour # 9

17

shirk

sisterssection: 30 Safiyyah Bint Huyyay

havingfunthe hal aal way: T

33 Quiz Answers 34 Quiz Time 35 Fun summer recipe

45 Acknowledgement

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WHO DO M USLIM S WORSHIP Misconception # 9 Many people are confused as to what, or who muslims worship. Majority of religions have an image or statue which is a depiction of their god in some form or shape; often this is a representation of the founder of that religion, to whom the followers direct their acts of worship and devotion. Thus they assume that it is just the same for Muslims too.

To explain who muslims worship, it is necessary to explain what Islam; the religion adhered to by muslims, is. Islam is the total submission to the will of Almighty God. Keeping this definition in mind, Islam is a way of life; that has been in existence since the beginning of time, and is as old as history itself. Muhammad was not the founder of Islam, as Islam has been the religion of the Prophets and Messengers since the creation of the first man on earth.

Each of the apostles submitted their will to the will of Almighty God; Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, all of them surrendered themselves to the One God, hence were all muslims.

Back to the point of who Muslims worship.

Muslims worship Allah, the One Almighty God. Allah is the proper name for God in Arabic; it refers to the Supreme Being who is unlike any of the creation, who has no partners or associates, and no daughters or sons, who resembles none. Neither was He born nor, does He give birth. ?Say (O Muhammad): He is Allah the One. The Eternal, Absolute. He begets not, nor was He begotten and there is none like him.? (Surah Ikhlaas, 112:1-4) The role of Muhammad (peace be upon him) was merely that of a messenger, to convey to the people the message which Allah had entrusted him with, and that is to teach the worship of Allah alone. He communicated to us the message of Allah, and the words of Allah,

which are contained in the Qur?an.

Allah says in the Qur?an, ?O Mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous. He who made for you the earth as a bed (spread out) and the sky a ceiling, and sent down from the sky rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you.

So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know (there is nothing similar to Him).? (Al Baqarah 02:21-22) Allah informs us, that He is our Lord, our Creator and Provider. Muslims believe that Allah possesses numerous attributes which describe His being. These attributes cannot be fully understood by our limited knowledge, and nor are they similar to that of any created being.

Some of these are mentioned in the Qur?an, and some double up as His names. ?He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and witnessed. He is Ar-Rahman (The Entirely Merciful), Ar-Raheem, (The Especially Mericful). He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Al-Malik (The Sovereign), Al-Quddus (The Pure), As-Salam (The source of Peace), Al-Mu?min (The Bestower of Faith), Al-Muhaymin (The Overseer), Al-Aziz (The Exalted in Might), Al-Jabbar (The Compeller), Al-Mutakabbir (The Superior). He is Allah, Al-Khaliq (The Creator), Al-Bari (The Inventor), Al-Musawwir (The Fashioner), to Him belong the best names? ? (Al-Hashr 59:22-24) These are the descriptions and Names of Allah.

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However, we cannot see Him in this life, until the Day of Judgement. He is beyond the limitations of time, and space. He is perfect in His attributes, with no defect, fatigue does not touch Him, nor inability. He is over all things competent and able.

Muhammad was a man who lived amongst the people, who ate food, who retired to rest. Allah, on the other hand, is unaffected by ?human nature?and is above the need for nourishment and reproduction. If god were to manifest himself in human form, he seizes to be a god, for Almighty God is perfect and without need, whereas humans are flawed. How can one who is in need of support, support others? How can one who is lost, serve as a guide for others?

How can one who is weak, and prone to maladies and poverty, be a source of strength and victory for others? How can one who is needy, give to others? Such is the nature of human kind, we are in need of support, weak, frail, prone to maladies and poverty, in need, and lost. Only a being, who is above these lowly qualities, can be a Lord for us. How can we turn our attention and devotion to men who are like ourselves? They are in need like us, lost like us, weak like us. Thus it is Allah to whom we submit, for truly He has power of all things. ?And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and earth, and Allah is over all things competent.? (Surah Aal-Imran 03:189) Bibi Zainab Dowlut

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OUR MISSION: ATTAINING ALLAH'S PLEASURE When our iman is at its lowest level, we have to stop and think back, in order to boost our iman.

We have to ask ourselves: What is our mission in life?

Do we really have that many choices in life? No. Our sole mission in life is to attain Allah?s pleasure. How exactly are we going to achieve that? Are words alone enough to express this love?

Why is it important to attain Allah?s pleasure? First let?s ask ourselves this; why are we even created?

return to Allah in order to gain His pleasure.

?And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.? (51:56)

?..Allah loves those who are constantly repentant? ?

(2:222)

There are reasons for our existence. We have been created to worship The Creator, Allah alone. This reason alone is strong enough for us to obey His commands.

?The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness, and Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.? (4:17)

?Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.? (6:162) As servants of Ar-Rahman, during the journey to achieve our mission, our iman has its ups and downs. We are never far from making mistakes and committing sins. Sometimes, whilst talking to colleagues, we so easily fall into gossiping! Sometimes, without realising, we have hurt a person. For that, we always ask forgiveness from Allah Al-Ghaffar Ar-Rahim. We

Repentance. That is the keyword.

?But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, indeed, Allah will turn to him in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.? (5:39) In our journey to accomplish this mission, there will be tests and trials. It does not matter how hard our trials are, this is a sign of Allah?s love. ?The greatest reward comes from the greatest trial. When Allah loves people, He tests them, and whoever accepts it

gains the pleasure of Allah and whoever complains earns His wrath.?

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2396; Ibn Maajah, 4031; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani.

Whenever we go through hardships and calamities, remember Allah. For everything is up to Allah?s will.

The reasons behind everything is not of our knowledge, but Allah?s alone.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ?The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, although both are good. Strive to do that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allah, and do not feel helpless. If anything befalls you, do not say ?If only I had done (such and such), then such and such would have happened,?rather say: ?Qaddara Allahu wa ma sha?a fa?ala (Allah has decreed 7

and whatever he wills, He does),?for ?if only?opens the door to the work of the shaytaan.? (Narrated by Muslim (2664)).

The most important thing on our journey in earning the pleasure of Allah, is to be a good muslim. How are we going to do that? When we hear an ayah from the Qur?an, and the Sunnah of Rasulullah, we hear, and we obey them, instead of using our aqal (intellect) to look for excuses. ?The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, ?We hear and we obey.? And those are the successful.? 24:51)

?Say, [O Muhammad], ?If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.?? (3:31) To conclude, our mission is one: to attain Allah?s pleasure.

In order to achieve that, we need to be a proper muslim, by obeying the commands of Allah. Iman (faith) and Taqwa (God-Consciousness) in our acts of worship (ibaadah), in our akhlaaq (character) and our dressing (modesty and covering awrah). It also means to leave that which is forbidden (haraam). In short, let Islam be our way of life.

So, let us walk hand in hand, to achieve this mission. Let us keep on reminding each other,

without condemning or belittling the others. Let me end this post with something.

A motivation for us to be a better muslims. ?But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.? (79:40-41) ?And if they had believed and feared Allah, then the reward from Allah would have been [far] better, if they only knew.?

(2:103) May Allah guide us all and protect us from evil doings.

May He make us amongst those with whom He is pleased. Ameen.

Anisah Matasim

"And I did not creat e the jinn and mankind except to worship Me." (51:56)

Link With Your Creator

Al-M annan

Asma Was Sifaat # 8

The name of Allah, Al-Mannan is not mentioned in the Qur?an but rather in the Prophet?s Sunnah.

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said: "I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and a man was standing and praying.

When he bowed, prostrated and recited the tashahhud, he supplicated, and in his supplication he said: "Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-anna lakal-hamd, lailaha illa ant, al-mannanu badi'us-samawati wal-ard, ya dhal-jalali wal-ikram! Ya hayyu ya qayyum! Inni as'aluka?

(O Allah, indeed I ask You since all praise is due to You, there is none worthy of worship but You, t he Best ower, the Creator of the heavens and earth, O Possessor of majesty and honor, O Ever-living, O-Eternal, I ask of You.)' The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Do you know what he has supplicated with?' They said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, he called upon Allah by His greatest Name, which, if He is called by it, He responds, and if He is asked by it, He gives.'? (Sunan an-Nasa'i 1300; Sahih Darussalam) Al-Mannan refers to the One who Bestows abundantly, favours extensively. He is the One who graciously gives favours and gifts even before He is asked. He is the One who shows kindness to His creation by bestowing upon them and providing them with everything they need. His favours are upon the creation and not vice versa. He bestows His favours both on believers and disbelievers. It is also a great blessing that Allah, the All Mighty has guided His special servants to Dar us-Salam (Paradise).

He protects them from committing sins, and beautifies Iman (faith) in their hearts and makes

them repellent to transgression (fisq), Kufr, and disobedience. ?And if you should count the favours of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.? (Surah an-Nahl: 18) ?They recognize the favour of Allah; then they deny it. And most of them are disbelievers.?

(Surah an-Nahl: 83) Whoever wishes to gain insight into Allah?s favours upon us should go through the garden of the Qur?an and reflect over the countable and uncountable favours and blessings. Allah (may He be Glorified) has considered guidance towards light and protection from Shirk (polytheism) and Kufr (disobedience) as a favour, according to the following ayats: ?O you who have believed, when you go forth [to fight] in the cause of Allah , investigate; and do not say to one who gives you [a greeting of] peace "You are not a believer," aspiring for the goods of worldly life; for with Allah are many acquisitions. You [yourselves] were like that before; then Allah conferred His favour upon you, so investigate. Indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.? (Surah an-Nisa: 94) ?They consider it a favour to you that they have accepted Islam. Say, "Do not consider your Islam a favour to me. Rather, Allah has conferred favour upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you should be truthful." (Surah al-Hujrat:17) Allah has beautified faith in the hearts of those who believe, and has made disbelief repugnant 10

to them. Indeed, Allah's favours upon us are immense, and uncountable!

made to inherit for what you used to do."? (Surah al-A?raf: 43)

?And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah. If he were to obey you in much of the matter, you would be in difficulty, but Allah has endeared to you the faith and has made it pleasing in your hearts and has made hateful to you disbelief, defiance and disobedience. Those are the [rightly] guided. [It is] as bounty from Allah and favour. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.? (Surah al-Hujrat: 7-8)

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam, when one acknowledges Allah?s favours and gifts upon him/ her then it becomes compulsory to thank Allah (may He be Exalted) for the bounties and praise Allah (may He be glorified) for the favours, as stated in the following ayah:

?O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favour of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing.? (Surah an-Noor: 21) By appointing the messengers and prophets, Allah (may He be Exalted) has favoured upon us and honoured this Ummah by appointing Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). ?Certainly did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.? (Surah al-Aal Imran: 164)

?And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims."? (Surah al-Ahqaf: 15) In conclusion, Allah (may He be Exalted) commanded His servants to be grateful and obstructed them from being ungrateful. He praised the ones who are grateful and promised them Paradise in exchange. By the will of Allah, we shall look into the effects on Iman (faith) of this Name in the next issue.

Similarly, Allah (may He be Glorified) has favoured upon His faithful servants by entering them in Paradise and saving them from Hell. ?And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment, [while] flowing beneath them are rivers. And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us. Certainly the messengers of our Lord had come with the truth." And they will be called, "This is Paradise, which you have been 11

Praise If you could hear the pens of the angels as they write everything you did, how would you behave? How would you feel, if you heard them writing a down a deed you did, and classed it as a good deed. A surge of emotions would rush over you, washing over your entire being, and it would affect you to your core, just as when a wave washes over the beach, reaching deep beneath, and affecting even the tiniest particle of sand.

Now, on the same thought trail, it never ceases to amaze me that thirty angels rushed to write down the words uttered by one man in the spur of a moment. Perhaps you are unaware of the words I am referring to; nonetheless picture a scene in which thirty angels, who are perfect, sinless and in complete obedience to Allah, compete and race to note a few words; a small phrase, simply because of their happiness and the value it carries. The angels assigned to write this man?s deeds, did not simply write these words down. No. Rather, thirty angels, rushed to do so, they were eager, they hurried. I shall narrate to you the incident, Abu Rifa?bin Rafi Az-Zuraqi said, ?one day we were praying behind the Prophet (peace be upon him). When he raised his head from bowing (ruku?) he said, ?Sami?Allahu liman hamidah.?

(Allah hears those who praise Him.) A man behind him said, ?rabbana wa lakal hamd, hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan feeh? meaning, ?O our Lord, all praises are for you, many good and blessed praises.?When the Prophet completed the prayer, he asked, ?Who said these words??The man replied, ?I.?The Prophet said, ?I saw over thirty angels competing to write it first.? (Sahih Bukhari, Vol 1, Book 12, No 764) The Prophet (peace be upon him), related to us about another similar situation. He (peace be upon him), said, ?A servant of Allah once said ?O Allah, Yours is the Hamd that is suitable for the grace of Your face and the greatness of Your

supreme authority.?The two angels were confused as to how to write these words. They ascended to Allah and said, ?O our Lord! A servant has just uttered a statement and we are unsure of how to record it for him. Allah said, while having more knowledge in what His servant had said, ?What did my servant say??They said, ?He said, ?O Allah, Yours is the Hamd that is suitable for the Grace of Your face and the greatness of Your supreme authority.??Allah said to them, ?Write is as my servant has said it, until he meets Me, and then I shall reward him for it.?? (Ibn Majah 2:1249) Amazing isn?t it? Wouldn?t you want the angels to do the same for you? Such short simple words, easy to remember, and pleasing to the Lord of the Worlds. Don?t you anticipate the reward of Allah, which is incomparable to anything you have ever seen, heard or experienced before and superior to it? As human beings we love it when we are praised.

We love it when others voice admiration of us, when they compliment us, we thrive on it. Now, for Allah is the highest and best of examples.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, ?Verily, your Lord likes Al-Hamd (praise).? (Collected by Ahmad and An-Nisa?i) Many of us work hard in youth and old age to please our parents. To ensure they are happy, that they are content with what we do. If we see them sad, or unsmiling we will do everything in our power to make them smile, and will even ask what makes them frown.Their worries are 12

our concerns. Their pains are our sufferings, because we love them, because of their care and devotion to us. We will go to the ends of the world to make our parents pleased.

Shouldn?t this be even more so for our Rabb, who has taken care of each and every one of us, and not neglected us? And you know what, even our Rabb smiles, Glory be to Him! When Ali was asked about ?Alhamdulilah?he said, ?a statement that Allah liked for Himself, was pleased with for Himself, and He likes that it be repeated.? (At-Tabari 1:13, and mentioned in Tafseer Ibn Kathir, Abridged English Version,

Volume 1) Moreover, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ?The best dhikr is ?Laa ilaha illallah?and the best supplication is ?Alhamdulillah.?

(At-Tirmidhi-Hasan Gharib, An-Nisa?I and Ibn Majah) Immerse yourself in praising Allah, for ?hamd?is a general statement of praise, signifying that all praise is for Allah, alone, not any of the objects worshipped instead of Him or besides Him. It is a praise that Allah has praised Himself with, indicating that we too should participate in His praise.

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Journey tothe hereafter

SIGNS OF THE HOUR Signs of the Hour # 9 Ramadaan was with us just few days back and now it's gone. It went by so swiftly that we all must have barely felt its essence. Those moments which we spent in worshiping Allah were indeed astounding. Ramadaan is indeed a month of giving and sharing. The coherence of rich and poor, healthy and unhealthy persons, in the month of Ramadaan was just like a feather in a hat!

Before Ramadaan, our goal was to ask Allah to help us in reaching Ramadaan. Now that it is over, our goal is to prepare for the day of Judgement, though this has always been a priority on our lists. Doomsday is a day of turmoil. It is the day when the sight becomes dazed and the moon becomes dark. It is that moment when the sun and the moon are brought together.

Our beloved Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had foretold us all the signs prior to the Final Day. Have you ever thought what could be the first sign of The Overwhelming Hour? It was the death of our Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)!

"On that day, some faces shall be bright, looking to their Lord with glee whilst other faces shall be gloomy." (Surah Qiyamah 22-24) In the aforementioned verse, it is clear that the faces, that would shine, would be of the righteous Muslims who were content with what Allah (The Exalted) had bestowed upon them.

They held on to the rope of Allah, and remained firm upon the Sunnah. Whereas, those gloomy and sullen faces belong to those who disbelieved in Allah. They are those who persisted upon sinning and died without asking for repentance.

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prophesied about 1400 years ago occurrences that would materialize in the

approach of the final hour. One of those is abandonment and rejection of the Sunnah.

Sunnah is the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings of prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as well as various reports about Muhammad's companions. They are a form of guidance, steering us to the way of Allah.

Today, many have left his practices, and are unaware of its importance. "Why are we following the Sunnah?" proclaimed one of my classmates in high school. This question is peculiar and sounds eerie to practicing Muslims.

To answer it, I'd like to say, Islam is not a buffet where we can pick and choose whatever we want. Rather, we have to accept whatever Allah has prescribed upon us. It is binding upon us to follow the Qur'an as well as Sunnah. There are many references from Qur'an which shows how significant it is to follow the path of Sunnah.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): ?He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah...? [Al-Nisaa?4:80] Glory be to Allah! Allah has described obedience to Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as being a part of obedience to Him! This alone clearly justifies why being obedient to Prophet is so imperative.

In the same Surah, Allah made a connection between obedience to Him and obedience to Prophet. ?O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the 15

the Messenger ...? [Al-Nisaa?4:59]

[Abu Dawud Book 035, Hadith Number 4587]

Before the appearance of the final hour, there would be rejection of Sunnah. A hadith on this phrase can be quoted.

There are so many Sunan which we can follow throughout the day and night. Yet many of us, either forget to follow the Sunnah or abandon it. One way to salvation is by following our Prophet's sunnah, and tracing his way of life, because he was the best of all people to walk the earth.

Narrated By Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Beware! I have been given the Qur'an and something like it (i.e. the sunnah), yet the time is coming when a man reclining on his couch will say: Keep (follow) to the Qur'an; what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible, and what you find in it to be prohibited treat as prohibited.

May Allah make us amongst those who obey Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).

Ameen Bint Nayeem

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SHIRK Ways to Jannah # 10 Wearing white turbans and clad in white, as they prostrate wailing, crying out loud ?Ya Ali,? ?Ya Husayn?, to the deceased bodies of saints, singing at the top of their voices, one feels abomination creeping in, oh! Indeed what a horrible state to find some Muslims in.

Even more astonishing is the sight when some of them take it upon themselves to perform tawaf around the graves, kissing them and pleading to them. These are nonetheless but acts of shirk and as a matter of fact, grave worship is just one among the many ?varieties?by which people associate partners with Allah. The crime of associating partners with Allah is indeed the greatest of crimes and is recompensed by none other than Hell unless the person repents.

However, the coin provides a shiny surface to both of its sides and thereby a person who doesn?t associate partners with Allah The Exalted, will be rewarded with paradise as proved by the following hadith: ?It is narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Abdullah, I heard the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) saying, "He who met Allah without associating anything with Allah entered Paradise and he who met Him associating (anything) with Him entered the Fire." (Muslim Book 1, Hadith?0169) Bingo! Here we go, yet another way to Jannah But alas, shirk is of many types and we can hardly testify to knowing all of them. One might actually commit shirk without even realizing it.

Hence it?s imperative that we educate ourselves properly.

Before we continue, another hadith to mention is narrated by Anas who said, 'I was informed that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) had said to Mu'adh, "Whosoever will meet Allah without?associat ing? anything in worship with Him will go to Paradise." Mu'adh asked the Prophet, "Should I not inform the people of this good news?" The Prophet replied, "No, I am afraid, lest they should depend upon it (absolutely)." ?(Sahih Bukhari Book?3, Hadith 131) Therefore, we comprehend that it is crucial to hone ourselves in performing other good deeds as well lest we fall in the aforementioned category. I conclude by this beautiful invocation, as taught by our beloved Prophet,

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I associate anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I know not."

Bint Ayesha

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Self Improvement

HAYAA PT 3

Our Character # 8

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty..." (Qur'an Nur, 30-31) Here are some easy steps to achieve Hayaa.

1-Reflect: Every night instil a habit of reflecting upon the sins and immodest actions you did and when you wake up the next day think about how you will avoid that undesirable action.

Knowledge is food for the soul. It helps us to keep our iman at its highest peak always. This way we will be aware of immodest acts.

Modesty is a fruit of im?n and knowing Allah, the All-Mighty and Exalted will increase our Iman.

2-Say No to Fashion Hijab! The Prophet said, ?There are two types of the people of Hell whom I have not seen yet. People with whips like the tails of cattle, with which they strike the people, and women who are clothed yet naked, walking with an enticing gait. They will not enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance may be detected from such and such a distance.?

4-Remember Allah is always watching: It is narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ?Verily, Allah the Exalted is Modest and Concealing (Sitt?r); and He loves modesty and concealment. So, when any of you bathe, let him conceal himself.? Wherever you are and what time it is, we should remember that Allah is watching and He is the All-Knowing.

Also Allah mentions in the Holy Quran, ?? and not to show off their adornment? ? [An-Noor 24:31] The hadith mentions women who wear clothes but are yet naked which means that the clothes are so tight that the shape of their body is revealed. Unfortunately we see our Muslim women wearing tight fitting clothes with a little piece of cloth on their heads covering only the hair. Sisters if you want to observe hijab do it like the wives of the prophet and don?t adopt the fashion hijab, which does not fulfill the proper requirements.

3-Seek Knowledge to keep a sound heart: "The Day on which neither wealth nor sons will be of any use, except for whoever brings to Allah a sound heart." [Quran 26:88-89]

5-If you have nothing good to say, be quiet: ?Allah does not like that evil should be mentioned in public except by one who has been done injustice. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.? [S没rah al-Nis芒 04: 148] Abstain from shameless words or actions, such as foul speech. This will aggravate Satan, who beautifies these actions, and tempts people with them. So, refraining from such actions will make him hopeless, and he would in turn retract in disgrace.

6-Constantly increase your acts of worship: Allah, says: ?Verily, prayer prevents lewdness and evil deeds.?

It was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): ?So-and-so prays all night, but when he wakes up he steals!? So, he (peace be upon 19

him) said: ?What you mentioned [i.e. his prayers] will [eventually] prevent him from that.? Or he said: ?His prayers will prevent him.?

Zakah is another example. Allah, Most-Glorified, says regarding zakah: ?Take a portion of their wealth as charity [zakah] to purify them and increase them with it.? (Qur?an, 9:103) 7-Better be alone than in an ill company: Accompanying people who are immodest will not help you to have Hayaa, in fact it will do the opposite. Try to find good and modest people with high iman so that you too can benefit from them.

8-Ask for forgiveness: "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by

sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah.

Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'" (Surah Zumar 39:53) Asking for forgiveness for your past immodest acts will make you ashamed of yourself and the next time you turn to anything immodest you will think twice as to will this be forgiven again.

Verily Allah is the all-Forgiving.

Following these steps will Inshallah will make us modest people and modesty will lead us to Paradise. I ask Allah to make our youth more modest so that our future generation is more modest than the present.

Fatima Damad

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LIFE AFTER DEATH Heart Softeners # 7 I was so well absorbed into the dunya that the thought of a life after death was, well, not really a thought at all. I always thought that there was life after death, but I thought that after death a new life would start and we would keep being reincarnated into something of an animal or a human being with a better life. As I am writing this, I find myself with a smile as the thought of reincarnation is rather amusing. The thought of a new life beginning on earth after your previous death is a very entertaining thought to say the least! However, I used to think like this, and sadly many people still do.

Life after death? Yes. But the next life is either in The Gardens of Paradise or in the Hellfire. So which one is it for you? Only Allah knows.

You don't even know where you will go but all you can do is prepare for this Day. Though I just entered into Islam not long ago I already feel the need to up my good deeds and make sure that the scale over-weighs the bad deeds scale. I will tell you this much, though I struggled with different things in my past life, I now have to struggle with new things in my new life. But of course life is nothing but a test and what I like to call a "pit stop". To test us and to keep testing us to see how strong our Deen is

and how strong our desire is to meet Our Creator on The Day. Perhaps if you take everything away from the dunya and put it aside for one minute and just picture yourself on a journey in the desert. You have your camel, the map to your destination, and the pit stops to rest and recover. Along the way you will encounter things that are unnatural and displeasing.

You will discover that the weather will not always be to your liking and you may struggle many times during your journey to find a place to sit under the shade to take to a break. ?Know that the life of this world (dunya) is only play and

amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children? the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.?(Al-Hadid 57:20) Your journey is exhausting but you keep reminding yourself that the end destination is an island full of pure, sheer beauty. An island where the water is so blue it is almost white from the sun's reflection. An island where there are no worries, nothing unnatural or displeasing. An island where all the inhabitants are of the purest souls and most kind-hearted.

An island where you will be taken care of. An island called Paradise.

Umm Abdur-Rahman

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?Know that the life of this world (dunya) is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children? the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.?(Al-Hadid 57:20)

REFLECTION: RAMADAAN Thirty days of Ramadaan has passed, leaving me with lingering thoughts. Questions after questions bombarded my thinking space: Have I done enough? Will my deeds be accepted? What have I gained? Did I change? How have I benefited? ... and the last question will be, ?Will I be able to see next Ramadaan??

I keep on telling myself that Ramadaan is a test for me, for us. It is. Ramadaan is an entrance test. The real test comes after Ramadaan. The roller coaster ride will start after Ramadaan. It's the one that will determine whether I make it or not. Will I be able to keep the momentum? Will I be able to keep the changes I made during Ramadaan? Will I be able to perform all the deeds I've done during the last 30 days? Will I be able to be steadfast upon the deen? Every year, right after Ramadaan, I ask myself the same questions. This is the lesson that I've learnt every single year, and yet I am still nowhere near the level that I was during Ramadaan.

have learnt a lot during this Ramadaan.

Comparing it to the previous years, it wasn't my best performance. One thing for sure, it was a soul searching month for me. It was like waking up from a deep slumber and realising the mistakes that I have made (regretfully!) I have learnt how our well being during the other months could affect our Ramadaan. This Ramadaan made me evaluate my life, and the negativity around me. It was like seeing things from different perspective. A new perspective.

Coming out of Ramadaan as a changed person. I am looking forward to the next Ramadaan, with new hope, and my Iman intact, with new goals and fully prepared.

?If I can do this during Ramadaan, what holds me back during the other months? ?

As I leave the month, with a heart ache, I remember what the Salaf did. For now, this is what we will do.

?Why restrict reading Qur'an for Ramadaan? Do we only need guidance in Ramadaan and live freely for the rest of the year?? ?Do we only fast in Ramadaan? What stops us from voluntarily fasts in other months? ? ?Do we only pray during the night during Ramadaan? What stops us from performing the night prayer?? ?What prevents us from continuing all the good habits we practiced in Ramadaan??

Every year was a learning experience for me. I have learnt what to do, and what not to do. I

Ma?la Ibn al-Fadhl said about the Salaf (the pious predecessors): ?They used to call upon Allah for six months until Ramadan reached them, then they would call on Him the other six months that Allah may accept it from them.? (Lathaif Al Ma'arif, Ibn Rajab Al Hambali) The Salaf used to make du?a six months before Ramadhan , that they would reach it. ?O Allah, keep me safe until Ramadan, and make Ramadan faultless for me, and secure it for me as an accepted (month of virtue).? (Reported in Ibn 23 Kathir)

I wept, for Ramadaan was over.

I cried, for I know I haven't done enough.

I feared, for I wasn't sure my deeds were accepted.

I am afraid, because I didn't know whether I will get to see next Ramadaan.

I am cautious, because I know my Iman is like a pendulum - always swaying from the left to the right.

I am sad, because I know I still have a long way to go.

May Allah accept from us and from you!

Anisah Matasim

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LACK OF COMPOSURE IN PRAYER

Muharramat # 10

Khushu?or humility in the prayer, is of utmost importance and integral to the validity of one?s prayer. We rush through the prayer eager to get it over and done, as though it is a heavy burden weighing down on our backs.

How can our worries end, if we don?t communicate with Allah properly. We stand before the greatest of all kings, the king of all kings, yet we do not give Him his due attention.

We stand on the prayer mat for a few short minutes, yet somehow manage to go shopping, browsing through the isles, we even pop into the bank, check our accounts, do the washing up and clean our houses all whilst we stand before our Creator. Are we not ashamed?!

I?m not saying Khushu?is easy to achieve. No. Even the most righteous of our salaf struggled to attain Khushu?, but they put the effort in, and they were rewarded, by tasting the sweetness of iman. May Allah reward them for their devotion. Khinzib and his associates work tirelessly to distract us from our Salaah, he has been assigned specifically for the task and he does not give us a break. Nevertheless, we should take pride in our Salaah and enjoy every moment of it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ?prayer was made the coolness of my eyes.? (Ahmad and An-Nisa?i) In Salaah one finds peace and tranquillity; it is a break from the rat race, from the rushing to and fro.

One who does not observe his prayers with the correct etiquettes, is referred to as stealing from his prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ??the worst type of thief, if the one who steals from his prayer.?The people asked, ?O Messenger of Allah, how can one steal from

his prayer??He said, ?by not doing ruku?and sujood properly.?? (Ahmad 5/ 310, Saheeh Al-Jami?no 997) When one prays he should allow his bones time to settle with each move he makes. When he bows (ruku?) he should ensure that his back is flat and levelled, such that one is able to put a glass of water without it spilling over. He should hold his position long enough for him to recite the recommended supplications without rushing them. Similarly, when one prostrates in Sajdah, he should be sure that the seven parts of his body required to touch the ground do so, and he should pause long enough for him to supplicate Allah. Posture is one of the pillars of the Salaah, and the Prophet warned us severely when he said, ?a man?s prayer is not good enough until his back is straight in ruku?and sujood.? (Abu Dawud 1/ 533, and Saheeh Al-Jami?number 7224) However, posture is not limited to ruku?and sujood. Your posture throughout the entire Salaah has to be in accordance with the Sunnah.

The Prophet compared one who bows and prostrates hurriedly to a crow pecking. Abu Abdullah Al-Ash?ari reported that the Prophet led his companions in prayer, then he sat with a group of them. A man came in and began praying, but made his movements rapid. The Prophet commented saying, ?do you see this?

Whoever dies having done this has died outside the community of Muhammad and his prayer is 25

like a crow pecking blood. The person who bows and then pecks in his sujood is like a hungry man who eats no more than one or two dates; what good will that do to him?? The Prophet (peace be upon him) disassociated himself from one who prays as such!

Brothers and Sisters, many of us have a busy day scheduled, and we rush our Salaah. I urge you to take heed; plan your day and chores around your Salaah, not your Salaah around your day. Don?t squeeze in your Salaah, like it is an inconvenience. We were created for, and our sole purpose is to worship Allah, and Salaah is the core of that worship. Pray like you mean it.

I?m sure we want to be amongst the Ummah of Muhammad, and we love him dearly, but what good is love without action? Pray as the Prophet taught us to pray with Khushu?. We recently witnessed the month of Ramadaan, and through

the Taraweeh we stood long hours. So why not carry on that good, by keeping up Salaah with beautiful recitation and increased concentration?

I leave you with one last point, The Prophet once saw a man praying hurriedly. The man completed his prayer and approached the Prophet. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ?go back and repeat your prayer, for you have not prayed.?The man again prayed, and came to Rasoolullah, the Prophet repeated his instruction, and again the same thing happened.

(Bukhari and Muslim) The Prophet was not shy to tell the man to repeat his prayer, due to the defects in it. My question for you is, what would the Prophet say to us if he saw the way we prayed? How many times would he ask us to repeat our Salaah?

Bibi Zainab Dowlut

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Sins Upon Sins ?O Allah! You are my Lord. There is no god but You. You created me and I am Your slave. I am on Your covenant and promise as much as I am able. I seek refuge in you from the wrongs I have done. I admit to You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I admit to You my sins. So forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.?

The Prophet, Peace be upon Him said, ?If somebody recites it (the above duaa) during the day with firm faith in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it and dies before the morning he will be from the people of Paradise.?

Undoubtedly, it?s the human nature and tendency to commit sins and to make mistakes, for man is created weak and imperfect. The sins vary from person to person, place to place and time to time. When we look back, when we were a kid; sins, wrongdoing, disobedience to our Lord were unfamiliar concepts. Later, when we grew up, we became well acquainted with all these. We then experienced the crescendo ? the point in time where we began to sin more often? slowly we began to sin upon sin?

To err is human. But to deny it is inhumane. We are the progeny of the great progenitor Adam and every son of Adam does transgress, as it is evident from the following hadith ?

Rasool Allaah said: ?Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.? (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2499) It is imperative to know that sins have an impact on our hearts. If you knew the corollary of sins on the heart, then you wouldn?t have ever wronged yourself!

Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ?If a believer commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart. If he repents, gives it up and seeks forgiveness, his heart is cleansed, but if he does more, then (that spot) increases until

it covers his heart.? (Ahmad (8792) and Al-Tirmidhi (3334)) That is the ?raan? (covering of sin) which Allah mentioned in the Qur?an: ?Nay! But on their hearts is the Raan (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn?

(Al-Mutaffafeen 83:14) Another interpretation of this same ayat called the covering of sins and wicked deeds over the heart as rust. Here?s the analogy between rust and sins ?

Rust causes weakening of the metal bonds, which in turn causes damage to the metal structure. Likewise, sins lead to weakening of our bonds with Allah and thus detriment our Iman (faith).

Furthermore, rust decreases the aesthetic value of any metal object and similarly sins decrease the self-value of oneself in front of Allah. As soon as rust starts to develop, it spreads gradually all over the surface until it is removed. Analogously, when a person develops a habit of sinning, he persists and prolongs it until his conscience makes him aware of his actions.

The conscience of a person, in acknowledging what is right and what is wrong, is very significant. It is due to the consciousness which makes a person scrupulous. He scruples and hesitates because he regards the sin as 27

Repentance is required for all sins, great or small, apparent or hidden. Since sin puts distance between the soul and Allah, during repentance the servant turns back to Allah. And when a soul repents and returns to Him, Allah turns back to His servant in acceptance and forgiveness. Thus Allah has named Himself as At Tawwab (The Acceptor of Repentance).

A prerequisite to repentance is the knowledge and admission of sin. Here, knowledge means acknowledging the consequences and aftermath of the sin committed and it also means to consider the reason due to which he

fell into sin. Succinctly, admission of the sin means confessing about the sin to Allah.

Before repenting, a person should pinpoint the source of sin. Pondering upon the source and origin of sin will lead to its cessation if a person sincerely intends to repent.

Follow the three R?s after committing a sin ?

Regret, Repent and Reflect.

May Allah forgive the sins committed in the darkness of the night and in the brightness of the day? Ameen Maha Bint Nayeem,

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Sisters Section

WOM EN OF THE GOLDEN ERA

# 9 Safiyyah Bint Huyyay

A lady of a noble descent whose ancestry reaches up to the noble Prophet Haroon (Peace be upon him), a lady of great beauty, glamour and piety; she is Safiyyah Bint Huyayy (May Allah Be pleased with her), Mother of the Believers, and daughter of the Jewish leader, Huayayy Bin Akhtab.

She was taken as a prisoner of war in the battle of Khaibar, the Prophet (Peace and Blessings Be upon Him) married her and her Mahr was her liberty.

A very beautiful incident that occurred in her life was that once when the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon Him) was helping Safiyyah (May Allah Be pleased with her) to mount the camel, he knelt on the floor so that she could climb up, since she didn?t want to put her foot on the noble thigh of our great Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon Him) she instead placed her knee and mounted the camel whilst returning back to Madinah.

This shows her extreme reverence, respect and fondness for our Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon Him).

Safiyyah (May Allah be pleased with her) was an extremely patient, loving and kind hearted woman, another incident that really moves one is when Safiyyah?s (May Allah be pleased with her) slave girl told tales about her to the Caliph telling that she would observe the Saturday Sabbath of the Jews despite converting to Islam and would also keep good terms with the Jews.

When questioned by the caliph, Safiyyah (May Allah Be Pleased with Her) explained that once she had been enlightened about the sanctity of Friday, she had stopped giving importance to Saturday. As far as her terms with Jews were concerned, they were her relatives and she was

following the dictates of Allah and His Messenger (Peace and Blessings Be upon Him) to maintain good relations with kindred. On discovering that it was her slave girl who was responsible she asked her about it. However, when her slave girl accepted that and replied that she had been incited by the Satan, Safiyyah (May Allah be pleased with her) freed her; as Allah says "...Who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the good doers..." (3:134) What a beautiful lesson to learn dear friends, how quickly do we lose our temper and here is our Umm-ul-mumineen, a quintessence of righteousness and patience. This incident nonetheless indicates her forbearance (May Allah be pleased with her). In her life we find a lady of great protocol, benevolence, wisdom, farsightedness and kindness. Thus was Safiyyah, wife of a Prophet (Muhammad) (Peace and Blessings Be upon Him), daughter of a Prophet (Haroon) and a niece of a Prophet (Musa, peace be upon them).

By Bint Hasan

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"...Who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the good doers..." (3:134) 31

Havingfun the Halaal way

Answers t o Last mont h's Quiz: (From Lef t t o right ): 1) Zakatul Fitr 2) Eid salah should be prayed in an open musallah 3) Eid salah has 12 extra takbeers.

4) Shawwal

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Quiz Time!

W hy is grave worship, a form of shirk?

phet o r P e h t d i T o who d n: o i t a c i l p p u t each t he s i wa h a l l a n a h b " Su qi hi , l a h k a d a d a bi hamdi , ' wa , i h i s f a n a wa r i d , wa i h i h s r a ' a t zi na

H ow m

any br a nches of I man ar e t he r e?

Ref er t o ou r ar t i cl es abou t H aya a

W hat duaa d id t he Pr ophet t each us t o r ead f or cur e?

Ref er t o art ic les about A ll a h's name A sh- Shafi

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Fun Summer Reci pe Pink Lemonade INGREDIENTS -

300g caster sugar 1½ lemons, sliced 1 orange, sliced 3 x 170g/ 6oz punnets raspberries/ strawberries - ice and fresh mint, to serve (optional)

Method 1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and pour over 350ml cold water.

2. Bring to the boil, stirring often, then leave to cool.

3. Pour through a sieve, pressing down with a spoon to extract all the juices. The syrup can now be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

4. To serve, pour a little into a glass and top up with sparkling or still water, ice and mint.

Citrus Peach cooler Ingredients

2 lemons, juice only

a few sliced strawberry

2 limes, juice only

cloudy lemonade

1 lemon, thinly sliced

sparkling water

lime, thinly sliced

mint sprigs

peach nectar

Method 1. Put the lemon juice and lime juice into a large jug. Add the sliced lemon and lime, and a handful of ice cubes. Add peach nectar to fill about one-third of the jug and top up to fill with lemonade.

2. Add the strawberries and top up with sparkling water and mint sprigs.

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Founder/ CEO Dr. Rayan F. Arab Editor in chief Bibi Zainab Dowlut Layout/ Design Bibi Tasneem Boodhoo Writers

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