Spring has dawned upon us!

In the UK, the 'Isha Salah is very late and Fajr exceptionally early. At times, barely five hours have
passed between both Salaah so undoubtedly, 'Isha and Fajr require extra exertion, but if one puts their
heart and mind into performing these prayers, Insha-Allah they will be performed, without the
slightest trouble and and instead one would feel an inner exhilaration.

I present four beautiful Ahadith for your perusal, on the importance of congregational Salah in general,
and Fajr and 'Isha, in particular-:

Hadhrat Abu Bakr relates that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said:
A person who offers the Fajr Salaah in congregation, is in Allahs protection, and the person
who harasses the one who is in the protection of Allah, will be thrown into the fire of Hell by Allah subhan-Ahu-Wa'Ta'ala.
(Tabarani)

Hadhrat Uthman Ibn Affan relates: I heard the Prophet of Allah saying:
The one who offered 'Isha Salah in congregation, it was as if he remained in Salaah up to midnight,
and if he offered Fajr Salaah with congregation,it was as if he remained in Salaah all night.
(Muslim)

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet peace be upon him said:
He who guards the obligatory Salaah, will not be written amongst the neglectful.
(Ibn Khuzaimah)

Hadhrat Umar Ibn Khattab relates: I heard the Prophet peace be upon him saying:
Allah indeed admires the people offering Salaah with congregation.
(Musnad Ahmad)

See how benevolent our merciful Lord is. On such a little effort, He promises so much reward. Allah admires as per Hadith No. 4 for the little effort we make for His sake, which is certainly something to covet. For paltry worldly gains, we are willing to wake up early for work or business, and we don't feel the least reluctance, because we know that we will be recompensed at the end of the month.

In order for ones Faith/Deen to pick up speed, we must make a small sacrifice for Allah. The state of our daily Salaah can be likened to the thermometer of our Faith which shows how essential it is in our daily lives. Ponder on these and other Ahadith, and strive to be punctual in Summer and Winter.

Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi Raaji'oon

Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi Raaji'oon
By Asma bint Shameem

Yeah, sure we say this statement when someone dies. Also some of us may say this sentence when they lose something, suffer a setback or harm. But………..do you know what it means?
Sure, everyone know that it obviously means 'To Allaah we belong and to Him is our return.'

But that's not what I am talking about.

I mean ….do you REALLY, TRULY understand these words and their implications in a Muslim's life?

It means …whatever we have is not really ours. It belongs to Allaah.

Take a look around you; everything you see, all that you have and all that there is….in you, on you, around you….belongs to Allaah, alone.
It is Allah Who has given you all the property and goods you possess, and that He is the true Owner of them all.

So the cars that you own, the houses that you live in, the businesses you possess all truly belong to Allaah
The kids that He blessed you with, the health that He gave you, the time that He has allowed you are all Allah's property.
Even the bodies we live in and the life that we have belongs to Allaah alone.

"And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth…." (Surah Aal-Imraan:180)

"The kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything in them belongs to Allah. He has power over all things." ( Surat al-Ma'ida: 120)

'Say: 'To Allah belongs the East and the West…' (Surah al-Baqarah:142)

Now, since everything belongs to Allaah, then we have to include even our souls in that list.

The very souls that we think of as our "self"; our "nafs"; our "being" -- whatever you want to call it -- that very thing that distinguishes you from the rest of the world, belongs to Allaah.

It's not YOURS. In fact, YOU are not YOURS. You belong to Allaah.

And this is the essence of the concept of slavery to Allaah in Islam.

And since He is the true Possessor of everything, and everything is His property, He allots what He wills to whomever He wills…….and then He takes it away. After all, it was Allaah's to begin with.

So He may give you some thing and then take it back after a while..
He will bless you with a precious child that you love dearly…and then He may take it away.
He will grant you money, honour and status….and then He may take it away.
He will give you youth, vitality and health and then surely He will take it away.

In fact everything you have will only be with you for a very short while.
And then the Owner will claim His Right.

So when Allaah does reclaim what was rightfully His, WHY MOURN OUR LOSSES?

Just like a friend who lends you his book. And then after a few days, he wants it back and you give it back to him…no regrets…..no sorrow….no questions asked.

Similarly, if Allah takes back some of His blessings upon you for some reason….so be it.

Say Alhamdulillaah.

Don't grieve.

Be patient.

Submit to the will of Allaah, being pleased with His decision for you. For surely He will only do what is best for you.
Just think…..The Owner came and took it back.

Remember….that you're not the real owner…..you were NEVER the real owner to begin with. You only had everything because it was Allah who gave it to you in the first place. If He didn't give it to you, you wouldn't have had it in any way…in fact, you couldn't have had it.

Remember….man enters into this world empty handed…and leaves it empty handed.

Remember….that everything we have, all the blessings we enjoy, are gifts from Almighty Allah...gifts that we enjoy for a limited period until He takes them away whenever He deems fit.

They are a trust from Allah…a loan to you…to see how you respond to these gifts from Allaah and how you use them….in the obedience of the Almighty, thanking Him and worshipping Him……OR……..to the disobedience to the One Who gave then to you in the first place.

Take note of the words of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) on the occasion of the death of his son, Ibraahim:
'Our eyes are filled with tears, our hearts with grief, but we say nothing with our lips except that which pleases Allah.... Verily, to Allah we belong, and to Him we return.' (Bukhaari)

And we all know the famous incidence about the companion Abu Talha and his wife when one of the sons died and Abu Talha was not at home. She washed and shrouded him and when Abu Talha came home and asked about his son, she said, 'The child is quiet and I hope he is in peace….' (Bukhaari)
Subhaan Allaah….such patience!

And such Imaan in the statement "Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi Raaji'oon"!

She truly understood its meaning and the affect it should have on her life as a Muslimah, submitting to him and being pleased with whatever He has decreed for her.
She knew that whatever she has, is not truly hers. Rather, it is Allaah's….and He took back whatever He owns at its appointed time.
And it is because of this Imaan so strong, this understanding, that the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) made dua for them and Allaah blessed them immensely.
"'They (i.e. Abu Talha and his wife) had nine sons and all of them became reciters of the Quran (by heart)." (Bukhaari)

"Be sure we will test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives, but give glad tidings to those who are steadfast, who say when afflicted with calamity: 'To Allah we belong and to him is our return.' They are those on who (descend) blessings from Allah and mercy and they are the once that receive guidance." (al-Baqarah: 155)

The Prophet (PBUH) said 'Pass on knowledge from me even if it is only one verse'

"May Peace Be With You"
Happiness is not something you find,
It's something you are blessed with by THE OWNER OF ALL BLESSINGS

Tis the Season to be merry

Ramdan Kareem to all,
Keep this sinful slave in your duas, InshAllah..
And make the most of the Last 10days of this blessed month!

How often it is that a small action is made great by its intention, and a great action is made small by its intention. - Abdullah Ibn Al Mubarak

Forgive him who wrongs you; Join him who cuts you off; Do good to him who does evil to you; And speak the truth even if it be against yourself.

Wasalmualikum-warahmatullah
Amatullah-

Beautiful Recitation.. Shaikh Mustafa Ismail..Surah Tahrim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHPUSiSZXuE

O' Worshippers of the books of knowledge

Reminded me of 'ya abidal haramain-

O Worshipper of the Books of Knowledge

O Worshipper of the books of Knowledge!
If only you could see us,
you would know that with your knowledge you are merely playing.
For every page of your book that you turn,
We turn, in its place, a page in the chapter of history.

Whoever fatigues his body in pursuit of theoretical knowledge,
Let him know that our bodies are fatigued by the weight of our shackles.
For every ruling of fiqh that you uncover,
Our enemies uncover our modesty and shame.

Do you preach to others the categories of tawheed,
When your own lives have barely suffered for it?
Do your eyes shed tears in your lectures,
Whilst the eyes of our families weep at our absence?
Whoever is pursued by those who seek his opinion,
Let him know that we are pursued by those who bind our hands.
For every drop of ink that leaves your pen,
A drop of our blood from torture leaves our bodies

Does your eloquent speech find no words for us,
When we are the victims of your silence?
Are you still hesitating to take this trust as its bearer,
When every hour passes us by as it is an era?

Whoever of you fears the blame of the blamer,
And whoever of you fears the sword of the oppressor,
Then know that the death of the brave does not come sooner,
And nor is the death of the coward delayed until later.

Do you seek the inheritance of the prophets,
When you refuse to follow in their footsteps?
Then know claim to emulate the predecessors,
When you refuse to pay the price that they paid?

Whoever of you prefers this life to the hereafter,
Then fear the trial of knowledge more than the trial of women.
For while your theories roam with the stars,
We are like lions, caged behind bars.

Let us remind you of one last thing whilst we still live:
The ink of the scholars is not holier than the blood of the captive.
For Allah spoke the Truth, to Him be Honour:
"It is he who fears Allah who is the true scholar."*

as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Your Muslim brothers in British prisons

The amazing scenes Allah swt has created

-Amatullah

Path to Perfection

Asalamualikum warahmatullah..

I begin with the words of Peace and salutations to you all....

Firstly, Please make dua for a very very special teacher of mine, who passed away after a battle with Leukemia. Leaving behind 3 small children..May allah s.w.t..Grant her Janatul Firdaus and may Allah s.w.t make the reckoning easy for us. She has gone, now it is our turn to prepare..'every soul shall taste death'



--------------------------------------------------

I recently attended the event 'Path to perfection' hosted by Ar-Rawdah.. Mashallah T'was a brilliant event..with the likes of Shaikh Sulaiman Moola from South Africa, (his talks can be found here: http://www.sulaimanmoola.com/Home.html) Shaikh Riyad-ul-Haq and Qari Saad Nomani (madina)

I made notes, I hope they are of benefit to you..

Shaikh Sulaiman Moola (South Africa)

Reflection on the Character of Rasullah s.a.w

Qari Iyaz ashifa said I studied 71 books and I found the following quotation in all 71 books: The combined intelligence of an entire creation is no more than a dust particle. The exclusive intelligence of our beloved prophet is like the Sand. ‘My lord made me and perfected me’

Our prophet s.a.w’s pinnacle manifestation and unique manner was so amazing that in two decades he moulded a barbaric community in to rightly guided Sahaba.Anyone who reflected on the teaching of Rasullah s.a.w, the literate, illiterate alike who were no less then wild beasts were moulded and prepared to give up their life for him.A poet says: I do not think he (s.a.w) is honoured, in me praising him in my poem, but it is a privilege to my poem that it enjoins his name

He s.a.w’s merciful character that he pardons 70wouldbe assassins and the Quranic ayah was then revealed ‘It is Allah who enabled you to release them after you had power over them’Hafiz ibn Qayim in his book (pg 63 volume 3): Fudhalah ibn umair ibn mulawih, came to Rasullah s.a.w whilst he was performing Tawaf, he came with bad intent to kill the prophet s.a.w whilst in Tawaf, when he got close, he s.a.w said:

Prophet s.a.w:‘oh Fudhalah what were you thinking about?’

Fudhalah: ‘nothing’

Prophet s.a.w: speak the truth O’fudhalah; you had advanced to kill me.

The prophet s.a.w then placed his hand on the chest of Fudhalah, Fudhalah said ‘instantly my agenda to kill him vanished, and my heart was calm and my fears disappeared’

‘By Allah before he was the most hated in my eyes, but after he put his hand on my chest, I loved him the most’

I went home, on the way I passed by a girl whom I used to converse with when I passed by, she said ‘come Fudhalah, let’s talk’ Fudhalah then said to her: No! I have become a Muslim, and Islam detests immorality, O’ my sister if only you could see my prophet (s.a.w) at the conquest of makkah you would have thought that truthfulness was suppressed and falsehood had been acknowledged.


They preferred our prophet s.a.w over their own selves.Zaid Ibn Haarith was abducted and someone was selling him in the market, Khadija r.a bought him, and gave Zaid as a gift to Rasullah s.a.w.

The father of Zaid is roaming the streets distressed looking for him ‘I know not if he is alive, or has passed, I do not know but I will not seize asking people O’ Zaid have you been slain on a mountain, as the sun rises in the east, and sets on the horizon, when the birds chirp, once again the remembrance of Zaid is made fresh’

See how he gives Zaid the choice if he wants to leave: ‘Call Zaid if he accepts you, he is yours with no money, but if he wants me, no one can take him.Zaid then speaks: ‘O rasullah I will not leave you, you are a father to me, you are a companion to me, you are a friend to me. You are the world to me’

A saying goes, ‘I have not seen any one who can veil the sanity of a man, then a women’

At the time of Umar r.a, there was a young boy, who used to visit his dad occasionally, whilst he was on his way to visit his dad, a girl appeared with the intention of seduction, before he could be in seclusion with her and before shuting the door he stopped thought of a verse of the Holy Quran and collapsed.

‘When your ego tells you to sin, and then remind yourself that the creator of darkness is away with me’The girl then left him at his father’s house, where he regained consciousness, the father asked his son ‘Oh my son what verse did you remember?’ he died before relating the verse to his father.

Umar r.a was then informed of the incident, he visited his grave, and said ‘I was told you have died in fear of Allah, those who die due to the fear of Allah have secured two places in Janna’The boy spoke from his grave and said ‘O’Umar you speak on theory, I talk on Reality, I have it Allah has given it to me’

Abu Huraryrah r.a was having difficulty mounting on a camel, He s.a.w says ‘let me help you’ the prophet s.a.w helps him up but they both fall, he s.a.w again gets up and helps him to mount again they both fall, Not a frown is present on the prophets face. He S.a.w again for the third times asks to help Abu Hurairah mount the camel, Abu Hurairah refuses and says ‘by Allah No! I do not want to drop you again’

This was the kind and the compassionate qualities our beloved possessed‘Because of your unique compassion people have flocked around, if you were cruel people would have dispersed’


At the Battle of Badr, Ali ibn Abu Talib and Abu Lubabah are about to dismount, as the prophet s.a.w is walking so to allow the prophet s.a.w to ride, he s.a.w refuses and says ‘you are not stronger then me, if you can walk, I can walk, I also need the reward'

He never deprived his wives from Social interaction, Aisha r.a said he would talk to her, about her day, only after she had fallen asleep would he get up and pray.


Related in Tabrani, Anas r.a narrates: We were sitting at the house of Aisha r.a, a platter was sent from the house of Umm Salamah r.a the wife of Rasullah s.a.w the meat and bread was placed before Rasullah s.a.w, he urged us to eat; Aisha r.a was away preparing food.

She returned saw the Platter and took offence, she took the platter and dropped it, it shattered in to pieces.The Prophet s.a.w said nothing but ‘Your mother Aisha r.a. has been overpowered with emotion’Rasullah s.a.w sent the shattered platter back to Umm Salamah and he said ‘O Umm Salamah you broke the Platter of Aisha r.a’ (you broke her heart)

Whenever Aisha r.a was angry he s.a.w used to touch her nose and say ‘Ya Uwaishah’ (oh honey) whilst she was angry he would say to her ‘you are angry with me, but you will have to use my name in your salah and dua’ (o’rab of Muhammad)

Imam Ghazali, requested his advisor to advice him, the advisor said: ‘Listen you have devoted nights and days in research what was your motive? You have travelled far and wide what was your intent? If you have done so to show off, then woe on to you, but if your intent was to revive the qualities and the characteristics of The prophet s.a.w and to crush the evil and the ego and to mould the character and control your ego then o’ my son you have done the right thing, blessed be your journey’

Imam Shafi says: ‘Anyone who has insulted or ridiculed me. I will forgive them because of the countless bounties Allah has bestowed upon me. I do not want to be the reason for a person not entering Janna, It will upset my prophet. So I have given a general pardon so I don not contribute to the pain of my beloved prophet s.a.w

‘He s.a.w’s face was radiant like the 14th moon, he had thin cheeks, his eyebrows did not meet there was a vein between them that used to protrude when he became angryOnce Amr ibn As and other sahabas were sitting talking about a sensitive topic-predestination, our prophet s.a.w arrived heard us his eyes became red, he was very angry, Amr ibn As says ‘that day the people that were not present were the lucky ones’

Any Mistakes are from me alone, if you see any mistake in the notes please do not hesitate to leave a comment so i may correct it. Jazakallah khair

Duas inshallah

-Amatullah-