In the name of Allah,
All praise is due to whom in his hands is my life.
فِيهِ ءَايَـٰتُۢ بَيِّنَـٰتٌ۬ مَّقَامُ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ ۥ كَانَ ءَامِنً۬اۗ وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلۡبَيۡتِ مَنِ ٱسۡتَطَاعَ إِلَيۡهِ سَبِيلاً۬ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنِ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٩٧)
"In it are signs manifest; (for example), the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah―those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith; Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures." (Quran 3:97)
Allah's Messenger (p.b.u.h.) said, "He who is not prevented from performing the pilgrimage by an obvious necessity, a tyrannical ruler, or a disease which confines him at home, and dies without having performed the pilgrimage, may die if he wishes as a Jew, or if he wishes as a Christian." (Tirmidhi: 2535, Narrated Abu Umamah) (Darimi transmitted it)
When I was young I was told that Hajj is something you do once in a life time, and you can do it anytime in your life. They recommended to do it in the last days of life, because it will be easier to refrain from sin after that. During Hajj, there is a commitment to Allah that we repent for our sins, and repentence is only accepted if the intention is to never do that sin.
Recently, I found out that Hajj becomes fardh upon us once we are adult, and can afford it, and there is no physical limiations. This made me realize that I had no reason not to go for Hajj. So, I am intending to depart on Hajj tomorrow, InshaAllah. I would like to suggest you all who haven't perform hajj, and are able to go to make intention for next year. You don't have to follow Indian/Pakistani culture where people sin, sin, and sin, untill old age when sinning becomes difficult, then they go to Hajj. No offense intended to whom that follow this logic, but it is a little risky one.
So, what is the purpose for Hajj? Hajj rituals are very similar to what will happen to us on the day of judgement. We all will be in large crowd, moving, standing, reflecting on our lives. We will be moved to the grounds of arafat, and will stand before Allah. There will be no duties on that day except to be attentive to Allah.
Hence, it is a rehearsal for the difficult day to come. Allah, with his mercy, has allowed us the sneak preview for the movie to be released. On top of that, we are given opportunity to improve our results on that day by realizing our faults, promise to stop them, ask forgiveness, and promise to never repeat them. Practice makes perfect, so get on the practice suit and go to Hajj.
One who delays hajj intentionally is similar to the one who receives a letter of large inheritance from a distant relative, and delays responding to the letter. As a muslim, we inherited the internal knowledge of how we can ammend our lives, but this dunya keeps us distracted.
Also, like any other deeds, intention is what makes that deed count. So, if the person sincerely cut the ties from the world during the Hajj, and repent for the sins, and keeps the promise made during Hajj may have their Hajj accepted.
In fact, if you are not going to hajj this year, you also have an opportunity to gain tons of rewards by fasting on first 9 days, or atleast on 9th Dhul-Hijja (Arafat day). And, do good deeds during these days.
"By the dawn; by the 10 nights" [Noble Quran 89:1-2]
Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Ibn Kathir said: "This is the correct opinion." [Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 8/413]
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet said, "No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul Hijja)." Then some companions of the Prophet said, "Not even Jihad?" He replied, "Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allah's sake) and does not return with any of those things." (Bukhari Volume 2, Book 15, Number 86)
"...I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of 'Arafa may atone for the sins of the preceding and the coming years. " (Muslim Book 006, Number 2602)
If you beleive in Allah, and the last day, I recommend the following article in details and follow as much as you can.
http://www.islamicfinder.org/articles/article.php?id=420&lang
I ask forgiveness from you all for any sins I commited against you. Please show mercy upon me, and Allah will show mercy upon you.
If you have a specific dua that you want me to beg from Allah, please reply to this, and give me names and details, as you feel comfortable. Please pray for my Hajj to become Hajj Mabrur.
Jazakallah Khairin
AbuArman
A struggling muslim.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Loving Muhammad (PBUH)!!
In the Name of Allah,
None worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.
"Say to them: If you love God, follow (and love and honor) me, and God will love you" (3:31)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
“Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his
children.” (Volume 1, Book 2, Number 14)
As a Muslim, we know what we know because Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told us, so beleiving in him is the critical part of our faith, and everyone knows that.
I am not too much interested in that, because it becomes part of declaration of faith. I would like to talk about who Muhammad (PBUH) was.
Last few years I have been studying his life, and I have seen him in a different light than most of the Muslims. What intrigued me was the early period of his prophethood, when he received the first revelation. In early days, he wasn't too sure about the message and had doubts. His wife took him to her cousin who was a christian, and here is what they talked.
"Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died " (Bukhari Volume 1 Book 1 #3)
This shows the humanity of him, and the emotions that we all go through if we are uncertain of something. There was a pause in revelation after first one, and Prophet (PBUH) started to doubt that there will be ever another revelation. This is the period where he was starting to getting used to and convincing himself that he has to do this.
Overall the first 13 years were the most difficult of his life, specially the last year of the 13 were so depressing that it is called the year of sorrow. During this time, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had to use every ounce of his will power to keep going. It was so easy to give up and join the family. He could have become passive, and said that it is not my job. He did not. He took the taunts, the jokes, the physical humiliation, the peer pressure,... head on, and kept going.
I love Muhammad (PBUH) for that. I love him for his perseverance. I love him for his conviction. I love him for his confidence. I love him for his steadfastedness. I love him for his strength within weakness. I love him for sacrificing the honor for the truth. I love him for not compromising the principle for unity. I love him for speaking up. I love him for not second guessing his intentions. I love him for trusting Allah when all of us would have run away. I love him for going against family, friends, establishment to preach Islam.
We should not love him because he asked us to love him. It is not love when you force yourself. You have to fall in love with someone. You have to find something in that person that makes it impossible for you to think negative about them.
Our love should reflect in our action. If you love him, listen to him. If you love him, follow what he asked us to do. If you love him, be like him. If you love him, do something to show your affection, just like you would to someone else.
What have we done to show that we love him? Do we really love him? Or, do we love some half man half god figure that some present (May allah protect me for even thinking about this)? What is one thing that we don't like, but we do it becuase we love him? What do we have in common with him?
I can assure that none of us will enter Jannah, until we have an atom worth of faith, and we will have no faith until we love Muhammad (PBUH) more than we love our kids, our wife, our car, our briefcase, our jobs, our hotel, our house, our bed, our parents, our free will, our wishes, our status as Imam of the masjid, our status in the family, our money, our favourite player, our favourite sports, our favourite food...
If we truly love him, there should always be one question in our mind. Before we do this, how did Muhammad (PBUH) do this, or how did he asked us to do? Once you know the answer to that, there should be no reason to not follow his command, becuase his command is the way to Allah.
"Whoever splits from the Messenger after the guidance is clear to him and follows other than the path of the believers, We shall entrust him to what he has turned to and expose him unto Hell - an evil retreat!" (Quran4:115)
O Allah! Send your blessings/greetings (Salawat) on Muhammad and his family, the same way as You sent Your blessings/greetings on Abraham's family. You are indeed worthy of all praise, full of glory
JazakAllah Khairin
AbuArman
A struggling Muslim
None worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.
"Say to them: If you love God, follow (and love and honor) me, and God will love you" (3:31)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
“Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his
children.” (Volume 1, Book 2, Number 14)
As a Muslim, we know what we know because Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told us, so beleiving in him is the critical part of our faith, and everyone knows that.
I am not too much interested in that, because it becomes part of declaration of faith. I would like to talk about who Muhammad (PBUH) was.
Last few years I have been studying his life, and I have seen him in a different light than most of the Muslims. What intrigued me was the early period of his prophethood, when he received the first revelation. In early days, he wasn't too sure about the message and had doubts. His wife took him to her cousin who was a christian, and here is what they talked.
"Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died " (Bukhari Volume 1 Book 1 #3)
This shows the humanity of him, and the emotions that we all go through if we are uncertain of something. There was a pause in revelation after first one, and Prophet (PBUH) started to doubt that there will be ever another revelation. This is the period where he was starting to getting used to and convincing himself that he has to do this.
Overall the first 13 years were the most difficult of his life, specially the last year of the 13 were so depressing that it is called the year of sorrow. During this time, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had to use every ounce of his will power to keep going. It was so easy to give up and join the family. He could have become passive, and said that it is not my job. He did not. He took the taunts, the jokes, the physical humiliation, the peer pressure,... head on, and kept going.
I love Muhammad (PBUH) for that. I love him for his perseverance. I love him for his conviction. I love him for his confidence. I love him for his steadfastedness. I love him for his strength within weakness. I love him for sacrificing the honor for the truth. I love him for not compromising the principle for unity. I love him for speaking up. I love him for not second guessing his intentions. I love him for trusting Allah when all of us would have run away. I love him for going against family, friends, establishment to preach Islam.
We should not love him because he asked us to love him. It is not love when you force yourself. You have to fall in love with someone. You have to find something in that person that makes it impossible for you to think negative about them.
Our love should reflect in our action. If you love him, listen to him. If you love him, follow what he asked us to do. If you love him, be like him. If you love him, do something to show your affection, just like you would to someone else.
What have we done to show that we love him? Do we really love him? Or, do we love some half man half god figure that some present (May allah protect me for even thinking about this)? What is one thing that we don't like, but we do it becuase we love him? What do we have in common with him?
I can assure that none of us will enter Jannah, until we have an atom worth of faith, and we will have no faith until we love Muhammad (PBUH) more than we love our kids, our wife, our car, our briefcase, our jobs, our hotel, our house, our bed, our parents, our free will, our wishes, our status as Imam of the masjid, our status in the family, our money, our favourite player, our favourite sports, our favourite food...
If we truly love him, there should always be one question in our mind. Before we do this, how did Muhammad (PBUH) do this, or how did he asked us to do? Once you know the answer to that, there should be no reason to not follow his command, becuase his command is the way to Allah.
"Whoever splits from the Messenger after the guidance is clear to him and follows other than the path of the believers, We shall entrust him to what he has turned to and expose him unto Hell - an evil retreat!" (Quran4:115)
O Allah! Send your blessings/greetings (Salawat) on Muhammad and his family, the same way as You sent Your blessings/greetings on Abraham's family. You are indeed worthy of all praise, full of glory
JazakAllah Khairin
AbuArman
A struggling Muslim
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Is there a such thing as a Muslim but not Religous!
In the Name of Allah,
All praise due to Allah, the Creator, the Sustainer.
"And say: `My Rubb! Increase me in knowledge.'' (20:114)
"It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah.'' (35:28)
Mu`awiyah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah said, "When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 74
As I walk in late to the Tafsir class on Sunday, I saw all the people who were sitting listening, and there was something a miss. See, after some salat, there will be a person who stands up and announce that there will be a small talk on deen (religion)afterwards, and, the whole Jamat that is focused on bringing people to the Masjid, and, in some cases, take people to far masajid, was missing. [There was one from that Jamat there but that was unusual].
Then, there are some brothers who come for cricket at Asar, they were missing. Also, there are some who are huffaz, and lead salat in some cases were missing.
Then, there are some brothers who come to Maghrib on Sunday were missing.
Then, Arab brothers who come to salat regularly were missing.
Then, there are brothers who come for almost every fardh salat were missing.
Then, there are brothers who are leading the community, or on the school board were missing.
Bottom line is that everyone has one reason or the other to NOT show up in Jamah Masjid after Maghrib on every Sunday. For them, "dancing with the stars", or "NFL games", or "Chatting with friends", or "Indian Dramas", or Allah knows what else is more important than learn the meaning of Quran that took 23 years to come down with blood and sweat of our beloved Prophet (PBUH), and lives of the honorable sahaba (RA). I am not referring to people who have valid excuses, of course.
Unless we have an excuse, missing Tafsir of Quran amounts to intentional ignorance of Allah's words. If one is part of "Jamat" and don't participate in Tafsir of Quran, I am not sure what other benefit of Masjid are they inviting people to.
To people, who think that they are following Islam, and walk away after the announcement is made for Tafsir after Maghrib, I don't buy their claim.
To people who come for cricket, and spent 2 hours running after a ball, but don't seem to find time for Tafsir of Quran, I hope the skills in cricket will save them on the day of judgement.
To people who are sitting at home, and not coming for Tafsir, it does not convince me that "they worship none but allah" because Allah's words are being explained, and they are not there, which amounts to worship when convenient, and not if it is on Sunday evening.
Brothers and Sisters, seeking knowledge of Deen (religion) is not optional, but is our duty. On top of that, it is one thing to not come on Maghrib on Sunday, but it is another to walk out of the masjid as Tafsir starts. Do you have another means of learning about the meaning of the Quran? Do you find it boring to know what is in this book that has been protected by young kids with their lives?
Wallah! if my beloved Prophet (PBUH) was alive today, he would have cried at Muslims walking out after Maghrib, and not staying to listen to the meaning behind the verse read in Salat.
This is the cause of difficulty on our nation, and nothing else. Not the economy or insincere leaders, or Non-Muslims. If we make an intention, and try our best to learn our deen, I promise you that our lives will improve 10 fold, and the world will start respecting our religion, and we don't have to shave our beards to blend in, but they will grow beard to blend in with us. This is no joke!
At the root of this is two reasons, which no one talks about.
- Difference of opinion with the person teaching
- Prefer being a Muslim, but not religious
First reason is very hard to resolve, because everyone has created "Madhahib" (religions) within "Madhab" (Islam), and they identify themselves as Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbili, Shafii, Tablighi, Deobandi, Barelvi, and whatever they can find to disagree upon, they have splitted the religion. No one identify themselves as Muslim anymore. I have read many books on the lives of sahaba, and yet to find a single evidence of these divisions, although Ibn Masood and Ibn Abbas disagreed on many opinions.
Second reason is very serious, because this is very clear attitude among Muslims nowadays. We are Muslims, but not religious. For love of God, I can never undertand this term "religious". Either you are a muslim or not. If you are a muslim, you are religous, because Islam is a religion. Now, if you are atheist, I understand the term.
A person could be non-practicing Muslim, which is similar to saying that I am a lawyer but don't practice. It is kind of funny because one has to go through alot of study to become a lawyer, and it is insane to become a lawyer and work in 7-Eleven afterwards.
In my opinion, a person who thinks he/she is a muslim, but doesn't practice is either not convinced that Islam is the best way to live life, or is convinced that it is out of date, or simply not convinced that there will be retribution. For example, would anyone looking at the Police car, intentionally break the red light. On the contrary, sight of cops brings this sense of community and moral in us that we will use two hands on steering to show the cop that we are not be pulled over.
When was the last time we corrected our lives thinking there are angels writting every deed, and we will be held responsible for it. This is called taqwa with Allah. It makes us better than other creations, not the best car, or clothes, or the best profession.
If you have not understood Quran completely, please come to Tafsir of Quran, and sit under calm, and soothing environment. You may even socialize afterwards, and find it very refreshing to hear the words of Allah.
If you beleive that Quran has nothing to teach you, please avoid the tafsir program as much as you can. I will not be there on next sunday, but I pray to Allah that the Masjid will be full as it was on 27th of Ramadan to receive some fake blessings that our Rasool (PBUH) didn't know about, because he didn't had the "dua on 27th Ramadan".
Of course, tafsir has no benefit, if we don't follow it. We have to trust Allah when he tells us that Islam is good for us, and not fall into the trap that practicing Islam will harm our image. Practicing Islam is the only way, and everything else leads to a loss.
The Prophet also said: "Knowledge from which no benefit is derived is like a treasure out of which nothing is spent in the cause of God." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 108
JazakAllah Khairin
AbuArman
A struggling muslim
All praise due to Allah, the Creator, the Sustainer.
"And say: `My Rubb! Increase me in knowledge.'' (20:114)
"It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah.'' (35:28)
Mu`awiyah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah said, "When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 74
As I walk in late to the Tafsir class on Sunday, I saw all the people who were sitting listening, and there was something a miss. See, after some salat, there will be a person who stands up and announce that there will be a small talk on deen (religion)afterwards, and, the whole Jamat that is focused on bringing people to the Masjid, and, in some cases, take people to far masajid, was missing. [There was one from that Jamat there but that was unusual].
Then, there are some brothers who come for cricket at Asar, they were missing. Also, there are some who are huffaz, and lead salat in some cases were missing.
Then, there are some brothers who come to Maghrib on Sunday were missing.
Then, Arab brothers who come to salat regularly were missing.
Then, there are brothers who come for almost every fardh salat were missing.
Then, there are brothers who are leading the community, or on the school board were missing.
Bottom line is that everyone has one reason or the other to NOT show up in Jamah Masjid after Maghrib on every Sunday. For them, "dancing with the stars", or "NFL games", or "Chatting with friends", or "Indian Dramas", or Allah knows what else is more important than learn the meaning of Quran that took 23 years to come down with blood and sweat of our beloved Prophet (PBUH), and lives of the honorable sahaba (RA). I am not referring to people who have valid excuses, of course.
Unless we have an excuse, missing Tafsir of Quran amounts to intentional ignorance of Allah's words. If one is part of "Jamat" and don't participate in Tafsir of Quran, I am not sure what other benefit of Masjid are they inviting people to.
To people, who think that they are following Islam, and walk away after the announcement is made for Tafsir after Maghrib, I don't buy their claim.
To people who come for cricket, and spent 2 hours running after a ball, but don't seem to find time for Tafsir of Quran, I hope the skills in cricket will save them on the day of judgement.
To people who are sitting at home, and not coming for Tafsir, it does not convince me that "they worship none but allah" because Allah's words are being explained, and they are not there, which amounts to worship when convenient, and not if it is on Sunday evening.
Brothers and Sisters, seeking knowledge of Deen (religion) is not optional, but is our duty. On top of that, it is one thing to not come on Maghrib on Sunday, but it is another to walk out of the masjid as Tafsir starts. Do you have another means of learning about the meaning of the Quran? Do you find it boring to know what is in this book that has been protected by young kids with their lives?
Wallah! if my beloved Prophet (PBUH) was alive today, he would have cried at Muslims walking out after Maghrib, and not staying to listen to the meaning behind the verse read in Salat.
This is the cause of difficulty on our nation, and nothing else. Not the economy or insincere leaders, or Non-Muslims. If we make an intention, and try our best to learn our deen, I promise you that our lives will improve 10 fold, and the world will start respecting our religion, and we don't have to shave our beards to blend in, but they will grow beard to blend in with us. This is no joke!
At the root of this is two reasons, which no one talks about.
- Difference of opinion with the person teaching
- Prefer being a Muslim, but not religious
First reason is very hard to resolve, because everyone has created "Madhahib" (religions) within "Madhab" (Islam), and they identify themselves as Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbili, Shafii, Tablighi, Deobandi, Barelvi, and whatever they can find to disagree upon, they have splitted the religion. No one identify themselves as Muslim anymore. I have read many books on the lives of sahaba, and yet to find a single evidence of these divisions, although Ibn Masood and Ibn Abbas disagreed on many opinions.
Second reason is very serious, because this is very clear attitude among Muslims nowadays. We are Muslims, but not religious. For love of God, I can never undertand this term "religious". Either you are a muslim or not. If you are a muslim, you are religous, because Islam is a religion. Now, if you are atheist, I understand the term.
A person could be non-practicing Muslim, which is similar to saying that I am a lawyer but don't practice. It is kind of funny because one has to go through alot of study to become a lawyer, and it is insane to become a lawyer and work in 7-Eleven afterwards.
In my opinion, a person who thinks he/she is a muslim, but doesn't practice is either not convinced that Islam is the best way to live life, or is convinced that it is out of date, or simply not convinced that there will be retribution. For example, would anyone looking at the Police car, intentionally break the red light. On the contrary, sight of cops brings this sense of community and moral in us that we will use two hands on steering to show the cop that we are not be pulled over.
When was the last time we corrected our lives thinking there are angels writting every deed, and we will be held responsible for it. This is called taqwa with Allah. It makes us better than other creations, not the best car, or clothes, or the best profession.
If you have not understood Quran completely, please come to Tafsir of Quran, and sit under calm, and soothing environment. You may even socialize afterwards, and find it very refreshing to hear the words of Allah.
If you beleive that Quran has nothing to teach you, please avoid the tafsir program as much as you can. I will not be there on next sunday, but I pray to Allah that the Masjid will be full as it was on 27th of Ramadan to receive some fake blessings that our Rasool (PBUH) didn't know about, because he didn't had the "dua on 27th Ramadan".
Of course, tafsir has no benefit, if we don't follow it. We have to trust Allah when he tells us that Islam is good for us, and not fall into the trap that practicing Islam will harm our image. Practicing Islam is the only way, and everything else leads to a loss.
The Prophet also said: "Knowledge from which no benefit is derived is like a treasure out of which nothing is spent in the cause of God." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 108
JazakAllah Khairin
AbuArman
A struggling muslim
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