The Meeting with Allah ♥

And if you ask about the Day of Increase (in reward) 

and the visit of the all-Mighty, all-Wise, 

and the sight of His Face 

– free from any resemblance or likeness to anything – 

as you see the Sun in the middle of the day and the full Moon on a cloudless night, 

then listen on the day that the caller will call: 

‘O People of Paradise! Your Lord – Blessed and Exalted – requests you to visit Him, so hurry to visit Him!’ 

So they will say: ‘We hear and obey!’ 

Until, when they finally reach the wide valley where they will all meet – and none of them will turn down the request of the caller 

– the Lord – Blessed and Exalted – will order His Chair to be brought there.

Then, pulpits of light will emerge, as well as pulpits of pearls, gemstone, gold, and silver. 

The lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk, and will not see what those who are on the chairs above them are given. 

When they are comfortable where they are sitting and are secure in their places, 

and the caller calls: 

‘O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allah in which He wishes to reward you!’ 

So they will say: ‘And what is that reward? Has He not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?’

And when they are like that, all of a sudden a light shines that encompasses all of Paradise. 

So, they raise their heads, and, behold: the Compeller – Exalted is He, and Holy are His Names – has come to them from above them and majestified them and said: 

‘O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!’ 

So, this greeting will not be responded to with anything better than: ‘O Allah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty and Honor!’ 

So the Lord – Blessed and Exalted – will laugh to them and say: ‘O People of Paradise! Where are those who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? 

This is the Day of Increase!’ 

So, they will all give the same response: 

‘We are pleased, so be pleased with us!’ So, He will say: 

‘O People of Paradise! If I were not pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabitants of My Paradise! So, ask of Me!’ So, they will all give the same response: 

‘Show us your Face so that we may look at it!’

So, the Lord – Mighty and Majestic – will remove his covering and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allah – the Exalted – had not Willed not to burn them, would have burned them.

And there will not remain a single person in this gathering except that his Lord – the Exalted – will speak to him and say: ‘Do you remember the day that you did this and that?’ and He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the worldy life, so he will say: ‘O Lord! Will you not forgive me?’ 

So, He will say: ‘Of course! You have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.’

So, how sweet is this speech to the ears, and how cooled are the righteous eyes by the glance at His Noble Face in the Afterlife…

{Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, looking at their Lord…} 
(Al-Qiyaamah:22-3)

[from the book Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 193]

How to affect the hearts of listeners

Beautiful anecdotal story about how to affect hearts.

About 60 or 70 years ago scholars from all over the Muslim world were invited to a mawlid in Makkah. Scholars from Egypt, Yemen, Tunis Morocco etc. There they discussed the dire circumstances of the Ummah. Like they say, if you don't feel the pain of the Ummah then you're not part of it.

Each had a turn to say what he had. In the end the Habib from Yemen (forgot his name) got up and it was his turn. He thought to himself everyone said what he had to and now it's time for the conclusion, instead of joining in, he concluded with dua al Qunut. The one recited at the end of the witr salah.

O'Allah ! We implore You for help and beg for your guidance
O'Allah ! We implore You for help and beg for your guidance

and we ask forgiveness of You and repent to You
and believe in You and rely on You and extol You
and we are thankful to You and are not ungrateful to You
and we alienate and forsake him who disobeys You.

O'Allah ! You alone do we worship and for You do we pray and prostrate
and we betake to please You and present ourselves for the service
in Your cause 
and we hope for Your mercy and fear Your chastisement.
Undoubtedly, Your torment is going to overtake infidels

O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided, 
Pardon me among those whom You have pardoned, 
Turn to me in friendship among those on whom You have turned in friendship, 
and bless me in what You have bestowed, 
and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. 

For verily You decree and none can influence You; 
and he is not humiliated whom You have befriended, 
nor is he honoured who is Your enemy. 
Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted. 
There is no place of safety from You except with You

When he finished he saw the gathering was affected by the dua. The scholar sitting next to him said SubhanAllah we have felt the khashya of Allah descend and the gathering is awed by this dua, how could it be that we recite this dua every day without being affected by it? I bare witness that you are a descendant of Rasulullah salallahualayhiwasalam. 

Words spoken by the tongue do not go past the ears, however words spoken from the heart do not miss the hearts of the listeners, even if the words be simple, broken or in a foreign language. - Habib Ali Aljifri

Is punishment for eternity fair? A possible reason...

Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki was reflecting on the concept of eternity, asking why is it that Allah punishes people for eternity for just 60, 70, 80 years of disbelief? 

Sounds a bit harsh. Then he said death came upon the disbeliever suddenly, that is they weren't expecting it, but had they been given one day more on earth they would still have disbelieved, had they been given two days more they would still have disbelieved, they made the firm resolve to not accept the Message of Islam, so it didn't make a difference if they disbelieved for a short period of time or not, that firm resolve means they never would have accepted Islam even if they had been given an eternity to accept it. SubhanAllah, amazing way to look at it.

Why as a Muslim would we stop there? That is the case of the disbeliever, what about the state of the believer, you could extend that thought to "sins" as a means to check yourself with Allah.

If you sin and you persist on a sin, if tomorrow comes upon you would you do that sin again? If the day after tomorrow comes upon you would you do it again? Everyone knows themselves, alhamdulilah the door of repentance is always open. I suppose that's why part of tawbah being accepted is that you make a firm resolve not to do that sin again. At the same time Allah is Tawab, Rahim; as much as He knows our weakness, He still accepts our asking His forgiveness. No matter how many times we fall into sin. He still wants us to seek His Forgiveness and that is more beloved to Him than a good deed which turns us away from Him.

May Allah strengthen us all in making a firm resolve to stay away from sin and in turn elevate us.

Umar ibn Khattab teaching a lesson, Umar ibn Khattab style.

When Umar ibn Khattab radiyAllahu 'anhu was khalifa he hated any form of oppression with a passion. Although he it's known in Islamic history as being the staunch Sahabi he was in actual fact an extremely soft hearted Muslim which is nearly always overlooked and hardly spoken about. The difference between him and the average man with anger issues is he knew exactly how to correctly channel his anger. What made Allah and His messenger angry made Umar ibn Khattab angry and what made people angry never incurred the anger of Umar ibn Khattab. Whatever represented oppression and mistreatment of minors invoked a very strong response from him. He was never short of shedding tears over his state with Allah and always remained between the wings of hope with His Lord and fear.  

He had assigned a governor to take care of a distant city within the khalifate state. He found out that this governor had built himself a two story house and his office was on the top floor. He got so angry at this that he summoned him to come to him. This was a journey that took months on end. When the man arrives exhausted, drained and fatigued you'd expect that he would be helped off his ride, taken in for a drink of water, a couch to rest on or hospitality of that sort. But... When he reached Umar ibn Khattab, Umar looked at him and commanded that he dismount from his horse. So he did. Then Umar commanded him to get back on the horse.... So he did. Then he told him to dismount again. So he did. Then he told him to get back on. So he did. Then he told him to dismount again. So he did.... The man by this stage was obviously very exhausted and unsure of what to make of all this.

Umar ibn khattab then asked him if he was ok with this sort of treatment? He said no. He said so why have you built yourself a two story house and made your office on the top floor? Are there not elderly, disabled, sick people who will come to visit you and have to climb those stairs to get to you? You put them through hardship to reach you.

He wanted all his governors to be accessible to everyone, just as he the khalifa was accessible to everyone. It is said Umar ibn khattab didn't have a door to his house, he had a curtain that covered the entrance. That is how much he valued people reaching him and telling him their concerns. SubhanAllah.

The reality of physical beauty

The beauty of a Muslim woman:
Is not in the clothes she wears,
the figure that she carries,
or the way she combs her hair,
or the style she does make up.

The beauty of a Muslim woman:
Is be seen in her hijab, and her eyes,
because that is the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.

The beauty of a Muslim woman:
is not in a facial mole,
but true beauty in a woman,
is reflected in her soul.

The beauty of a Muslim woman is in her modesty.
And the real glamour of her is her honesty.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
the passion that she shows.
And the beauty of a Muslim woman,
with passing years - only grows!

Author: Nur Sakinah Thomas

How to blow out a candle...

"My father,Shaykh Sayyid Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi (May Allah satisified with him) would observe every aspect of adab even when blowing the light off a candle.

He wouldnt blow or so say 'Uff' instead he would say "Ya Latif" to which the candle would go out.

Every aspect of his everyday life was dhikr."

- Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi Hafidahullah.

Beautiful.

You are always in a state of destitution.

Asalamualaykum,

I have been thinking about this lately... Once a couple of years back we were going through reflections on Imam al Ghazzali's book about Hajj rahimahullah by Sheikh Naeem Abdul Wali in Lakemba and something he said struck me and I haven't forgotten it since. Alhamdulilah.

Hajj is a strange ritual, men women mixing together in the masjid, rules pertaining to salah and wudu and what most would term "cleanliness" are all kinda thrown out the window. Islam has a very high emphasis on cleanliness and segregation, but on Hajj it's different.

It now becomes: Come to the House of Allah in a state of destitution! With the signs of travel eminent on you, disheveled hair, uncut nails, sweaty, tired, ugly, dirt marks on your face and clothes, no perfume, no oud, no shampoo no nothing, it doesn't even matter who is standing next to you! Male or female! Essentially you are annihilated before Allah and you ask Him for forgiveness in that state because that is more important than anything else! You are ditching your nafs and seeking Allah's All-Encompassing Forgiveness! That's all that matters. Not you, just Allah the All-Merciful!

It's actually quite ironically beautiful if you think about it. He wants you to be a beggar at His door, you are the poor, destitute, needy, slave and He is the Rich, Sustainer, Provider free of all need. He wants you to feel that on Hajj let all your senses be aware of that, because you have been living a facade your entire life! Essentially this is your state all the time with Him! You just don't realise it!

Who clothes us? Who provides water for us to cleanse ourselves? Who provides us with access to clippers to clip our nails? Who is it that causes us to smell nice? Allah. It is all Allah. We are never in a state where we are free of need from Him. But as time passes and you get used to having ready access to all the above you lose sight of the fact that indeed it's not you that's sustaining you, it is Allah! It's as though on Hajj Allah drops you down to that level so you can realise it, at least once in your life.

SubhanAllah.

The cure to sadness

It is true, Allah does not overburden people more than they can bear. If you say you can't take it anymore, this verse should be the counter-response.

“Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear.” 

(Qur'an 2: 286)

We've all been there, we've all thought that. Shaytan is an extremist; he'll either try to convince you that you're perfect and everyone else has issues or that it's only you and no one else has issues.

I watched Iqraa and came upon the story of  Nabi Allah Younus peace be upon him. When it came on I realised his story is one that was sent as a comfort for everyone, because everyone experiences hardships and burdens that they *think* they can't overcome.

He preached to his idol-worshipping nation who numbered something like 100,000+, day in day out. They mocked him, they ridiculed him, they called him a liar. He told them to watch out because Allah's Wrath will descend upon them if they don't accept the Message of Tawhid (Monotheism), that their Lord is One and only He is worthy of worship. They had three days to accept the Message, or face Allah's Wrath. They didn't accept. They said bring it, he said fine. Let the Misery befall you!

Nabi Allah Younus alayhisalam was straight fed up with them, he had enough, they had overburdened him and he took off. The thing is though, Messengers can't make a move, set a foot forth unless it is by the Permission of Allah, and he had taken off without Allah's Permission. So Allah taught him a lesson- so to speak. Remember Dhan Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him (the calamities which had befallen him)! (Quran 21:87)

He traveled through Shaam and Palestine and reached the Mediteranian sea and figured he'd preach to people who would be more accepting of his Message.

Meanwhile, back in Ninoveh his hometown, the people saw Allah's Wrath about to descend upon them, the sky had changed colour as though it was set on fire; and here they realised that Nabi Allah Younus alayhisalam was telling the truth. Filled with fear and repentance; they on mass accepted the Message of Islam, all of them- the only entire nation in history to wholly, wholeheartedly accept the message of their Prophet. They wanted to find Nabi Allah Younus so they could tell him that they had become Muslim, but he was nowhere to be found.... And We sent him to a hundred thousand people or even more, and they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while.... (Quran 37:139-148).

He found people boarding a boat and he asked if he could set off with them. They allowed him to travel with them. Out in the rough seas they were tossed from side to side, their boat carrying a heavy load, they figured the only way they could survive was to lighten the load and throw someone off the boat. They drew lots and Nabi Allah Younus's name came out. They didn't want it to be him, so they drew lots again, again his name came out, they tried a third time and his name came out again. So it was to be, he was tossed into the rough seas. And, verily, Jonah was one of the Messengers. When he ran to the laden ship, he agreed to cast lots and he was among the losers, Then a big fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame. Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, he would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection... (Quran 37:139-148).

By Allah's Will a Whale swallowed him. The amazing thing about whales is although they reach 35m, and weigh up to 85 tons, that they can fit 50 men standing in it's closed mouth comfortably, they eat the smallest organism in the ocean, plankton, lol. They don't have teeth, just filters and if they take in a gulp of water and a fish is in it, they spit the fish out because they're majorly vegetarian! Lol, subhanAllah. Why Allah chose a Whale and no other sea creature is amazing subhanAllah. They reach up to the surface of the ocean every 10 to 15 mins to breath air. So that way Our Nabi Allah Younus alayhisalam never suffocated! There in the whales stomach he had been in 3 layers of darkness, the darkness of night, the darkness of the belly of the Whale and the darkness of the Sea.

Here in the depths of darkness alone and cold, he prayed to Allah. (I had to cut and paste this next bit from http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophets/yunus.html because it is so beautifully worded, I couldn't do a better job had I tried):

His heart was moved by remembering Allah. His tongue released soon after saying: La ilaha illa Anta (none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah), Glorified (and Exalted) be You (above all that evil they associate with You), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers." (Ch 21:87 Quran)

Jonah continued praying to Allah, repeating this invocation. Fishes, whales, seaweeds, and all the creatures that lived in the sea heard the voice of Jonah praying, heard the celebration of Allah's praises issuing from the whale's stomach. All these creatures gathered around the whale and began to celebrate the praises of Allah in their turn, each in its own way and in its own language.

The whale also participated in celebrating the praises of Allah and understood that it had swallowed a prophet. Therefore it felt afraid; however, it said to itself; "Why should I be afraid? Allah commanded me to swallow him." ♥

Allah Almighty saw the sincere repentance of Jonah and heard his invocation in the whale's stomach. Allah commanded the whale to surface and eject Jonah onto an island. The whale obeyed and swam to the farthest side of the ocean. Allah commanded it to rise towards the warm, refreshing sun and the pleasant earth. But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick and We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him...(Quran 37:139-148)

The whale ejected Jonah onto a remote island. His body was inflamed because of the acids inside the whale's stomach. He was ill, and when the sun rose, its ray burned his inflamed body so that he was on the verge of screaming from pain. However, he endured the pain and continued to repeat his invocation to Allah.

Almighty Allah caused a vine to grow to considerable length over him for protection. Then Allah Exalted caused Jonah to recover and forgave him. Allah told Jonah that if it had not been for his praying to Him, he would have stayed in the whale's stomach till the Day of Judgment.

The presenter on Iqraa Dr Zaghloul Najjar said that SubhanAllah he had found that this gourd plant had very high medicinal properties especially for skin conditions as those suffered by Nabi Allah Younus.

No matter how overburdened we may feel, just remember the praise of Nabi Allah Younus alayhisalam, when he called out to his Lord,  La ilaha illa Anta (none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah), Subhanaka Glorified (and Exalted) be You (above all that evil they associate with You), Inni kuntu minal dhaalimeen, Truly, I have been of the wrong doers." (Quran 21:87)

Habib Khadhim was here in Sydney and he had told us at the da'wa workshop that this invocation- along with others such as hasbunaAllah wa ni'mal wakeel, rabbi ishrahli sadri.., la hawla wa la quwatta ill billah etc. are adhkar that contain within them oceans of knowledge and mighty secrets, they have been trialed and tested! SubhanAllah. 

So if ever you're feeling overburdened, remember this story of Sayyiduna Younus alayhisalam, remember this powerful dhikr of his, remember Allah's promise that with every hardship comes ease. I hope this post is a means of inspiring others, I hope it serves as a reminder to me. May Allah grant us all strength to face our trials, may Allah ease the burdens of the Ummah. Ameen.