Choosing how we Spend our Day

Imam Ibn Qayyim Al Jawizyyah
Know that the greatest of losses is for you to be preoccupied with one who will bring you nothing but a loss in your time with Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – and being cut off from Him, a wasting your time with the person, a weakening of your energy, and the dispersing of your resolve. So, if you are tested with this – and you must be tested with this – deal with him according to how Allah would wish, and be patient with him as much as possible. Get closer to Allah and His Pleasure by way of this person, and make your getting together with him something to benefit from, not something to incur a loss from. Be with him as if you are a man who is on a road who was stopped by another man, who then asks you to take him on your journey. Make sure that you are the one who gives him a ride, and that he is not the one giving you the ride. If he refuses, and there is nothing to gain from travelling with him, do not stop for him, bid him farewell, and do not even turn back to look at him, as he is a highway robber, regardless of who he really is.

So, save your heart, be wary of how you spend your days and nights, and do not let the Sun set before you arrive at your destination.”

~ Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah

Lonely But Never Alone

I read a short status update on facebook yesterday that said something like “lonely but never alone”.. It’s so true. In this dunya, there are times when even surrounded by people, we can feel alone.

Our circumstances and life experiences can leave us feeling vulnerable and very alone, but truth is, we are never alone. We always have angels recording our deeds and we have the knowledge that each time we take a step towards our Lord He comes running towards us.

On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty said:
I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.

{He (Allaah) said: Fear not, verily I am with you both, Hearing and Seeing}, {Soorah Taa Haa, verse 46]

Evidence from the authentic Sunnah
((You call upon the one Who hears, Who is near and is with you)), [Transmitted by Muslim]

Muslims.. we can feel lonely and we so often do.. but we are never alone..

Seize the Day or Seize the Moment?

Carpe Diem. I used to use that phrase often. Seize the Day. Every day brings it’s own experiences.. some I am so thankful for and others I wish I didn’t have to experience, yet still in their own way a benefit I ought to be thankful for, yet in my human weakness, I struggle to accept.

Then I read Surah Al Asr ..

By Al-’Asr (the time). Verily, man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and recommend one another to patience.” (Quran 103)

Here Allah tells us it’s not enough to “Seize the Day”. We need to “Seize Every Second” As Muslims we understand that time is borrowed. It’s given to us to use, but we are accountable for it. Angels record our actions and our words and every second is accounted for.

Prophet Muhammad said “On the Day of Resurrection, the feet of man will not move away till he is questioned about four matters: how he spent his lifetime, how he spent his youth; from where he acquired his wealth and how he spent it, and what
he did with his knowledge.” (Tirmidhi)

Today, I’m learning we need to Seize the Moment. A friend on FB posted a poster that said “if you take a breath then it means you are a live for a reason.” Life is loaned to us, Prophet Muhammad SAW said we should take advantage of five things before 5 things happen.

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Make the most of five things before five others: life before death, health before sickness, free time before becoming busy, youth before old age, and wealth before poverty.”

He also said There are two blessings which many people do not make the most of and thus lose out: good health and free time.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6412.

It is no accident I am sitting in my room here in Melbourne contemplating my day. It is no accident I am not with my husband in Atlanta where I long to be at this time. Nothing in my life is an accident. I have choices. I can lament the qadr of Allah.. or I can “Seize the Moment”.. tie up the camel and have tawakkul “trust in Allah” as I use my every moment as a means to earn His pleasure.

Seizing the Day leaves room for wasted time. Seizing the Moment means making every moment count.

Imam Shafi one of the most well known of Muslim teachers (may Allah be pleased with him) once wrote once wrote “For some time I remained in
the company of saints, and I came to know of 2 things from their company. Time is like a sword, you should cut it (in some work) or it will cut you ( by indulging you in desires). Thus time if is not engaged in good deeds then it would be in useless or bad deeds.(Abbassi,2005)

It’s a daily struggle to be where I would prefer not to be.. but the truth is.. I have two choices.. I can “Seize the Moment” and understand the benefits of being here far outweigh the benefits of being where I would choose to be.. and make the most of this opportunity.. or i can sit and waste time and not take advantage of this time which after all . is only loaned to me and could be taken from me at any moment.

A Love Letter From God

Dear one, every one longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But I say no, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content with being alone, with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me will you be ready to have the intensely personal and unique relationship that I have planned for you.

You will never be united with anyone or anything else until you are united with me. I want you to stop planning. Stop wishing and start allowing me to give you the most thrilling plan in existence, one that you cannot even imagine.

I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you. You must keep watching me, expecting the greatest of things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am. Keep listening and learning the things that I will tell you.

Just wait. That’s all. Don’t be anxious, don’t worry. Don’t look around at the things others have or that I have given them. Don’t look at the things you think you want. Just keep looking up to me or you will miss what I want to show you.

And then when you are ready I will surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you’ve dreamed of. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready (I am working even at this moment to have you both ready at the same time). Until you are both satisfied exclusively with me and the life I have prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with me.

This is perfect love and dear one; I want you to have this most wonderful love. I want to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with me and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, perfection and love that I offer. Know that I love you utterly. Believe it and be satisfied

Strengthen Your Brain by the Power of Prayer

This is a really interesting piece of research that explores the health benefits of prayer.. to gain these benefits the research is showing that people who pray more than 5 minutes daily gain 47 health benefits.. and these are just the ones which are known.

It’s worth watching and listening to despite being an ad to promote their work and studies

Surely our Lord watches over our needs with what He compels us to do

Our bodies will speak for us on Judgement Day.. and surely our commitment to our obligatory and voluntary regular prayer is one way of ensuring we keep them healthy.

http://w3.newsmax.com/newsletters/mhr/prayer_video.cfm?PROMO_CODE=DC28-1

The Promise of Tranquility

For a long time now, many sisters (and some brothers) have asked me to write a book on marriage and relationships between husband and wife within marriage.

I intend to write this book in 2012 insha’Allah and ask you make dua for me. I hope to have a well known international teacher who lives here in Melbourne endorse the work for it’s Islamic content.

I need your help.. I want to create a topic list of A-Z questions you would like answered in the book. No topic is off limits.

Insha’Allah please post your topic suggestions on my blog under the comments section of this post which will soon have it’s own page on the blog for ease of access.

If I don’t know the answer I will find a guest who does and insha’Allah my husband will contribute from the man’s perspective.

Allah SWT has said that Marriage is half our Deen and that He has created mates for us to live with in Tranquility and Peace.. insh’Allah.

Random Acts of Kindness

Today I had a lovely experience. I had been feeling a little down and was making dua that I would return to my usual (masha’Allah) optimistic self when a colleague from a nearby office bought me in a very large bag of coffee. The person had no idea that they had just become the answer to my dua.

Random Acts of Kindness are so simple to do.. but their effect may be eternal. This simple gesture of kindness by a fellow Muslim not only was the much needed answer to my dua.. but also insha’Allah will be remembered each time I drink a cup of coffee. it’s an ongoing random act of kindness that will not only benefit me. helping me to say Al Hamdulillah despite my circumstances.. but also insha’Allah the reward for my colleague will be credited to their account eternally

Who will be the recipient of your Random Act of Kindness today? Insha’Allah

Istikhara.. How to Perform it

I found this article published on Facebook by a brother very interesting and informative and insha’Allah it will help answer questions on how to seek Allah SWT guidance on matters of importance in our life.

Istikharah (seeking Allaah’s counsel )
by Ibn Abdulfatai on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 2:46am on Facebook

Jabir bin Abdullah (ra ) said Rasul (saw) used to teach us to perform Istikharah in all matters, as he used to teach us a surah from the Qur’an,he would say “when anyone of you has an important matter to decide, let him pray two Rak’ah other than the obligatory salatul and then say…
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi’ilmika,wa astaqdiruka biqudra tika wa as’aluka min fadlikal Azeemi,fainnaka taqdiru wa la aqdiru,wa ta’lamu wa la a’lamu,wa Anta Allamul-Ghuyubi,Allahumma in kunta ta’lamu anna hadhal amra (then mention the thing to be decided) Khairan li fee deeni wa ma’aashi wa aaqibati amri,Aajilihi wa aajilihi.Faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li thumma baarik li feehi,wa in kunnta ta’lamu anna haadhal amra sharrun li fee deeni wa ma’aashu wa aaqibati amri,Aajilihi wa aajilihi Fasrifha ‘anni wasrifni ‘anhu waqdur liyal khaira haithu kaana thumma ardini bini… !

( Oh Allaah ,I seek the counsel of Your Knowledge and I seek the help of Your Omnipotence and I beseech Your Magnificent grace, Surely You are Capable and I am, You know and I know not and You are the Knower of the unseen..Oh Allaah, surely you know so if this matter (then mention the thing to be decided) is good for me, in my religion and in my life and for my welfare in the life to come, then ordain it for me and make it easy for me, then bless me in it. And if this matter is bad for me, in my religion and in my life and for my welfare in the life to come, then distance it from me, and distance me from it and ordain for me what is good wherever it is to be found and help me to be content with it )

From this hadith,it is obvious that the istikhrah is a special du’a that has the following characteristics: as
(1) It is said when intending to perform an important act and just before embarking on that act,with the expectation that Allaah will choose the best.
(2) It is preceded with a voluntary prayer consisting of two rak’at,one may raise one’s hands while saying it,as is recommended for any du’a
(3) After a person makes Istikharah,he should undertake what he was planning to do before it,if that is good for him,Allaah would surely facilitate it, otherwise, He would bring about some circumstances to hinder it.
(4) Contentment with its outcome may not be felt immediately but will surely materialize with time

Misconceptions about Istikharah..
(1) A misconception concerning Istikharah is that it is made when a person is undetermined between two or more alternatives, it is clear from the hadith that it should be made after he had decided which of the alternative to undertake
(2) Some people think that one of it important requirements of Istikharah is to perform it just before going to sleep and that some dreams should indicate what to do.
(3) Other people think that the Istikharah puts in the heart an inclination toward the proper choice.

There is no basis for either of these two assumptions (2 and 3 of misconceptions )and the hadith supports neither ,in facts the hadith indicates that when,as a result of the Istikharah,Allaah hinders an affair that a person was about to undertake,that might bring some dislike into his heart and he therefore asks Allaah to give him contentment, Whoever seeks the counsel of Allaah ta’ala will not regret it and whoever seeks the advice of the believers will feel confident about his decisions, As Allaah says “..And consult them in the affair, then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allaah …(Al-Imran159)may Allaah assist!!!!!!!!!!!

One day this Test will be but a Distant Memory Insha’Allah

As I look back over the years since my reversion, I can count on one hand the significant events that have occurred that have shaken me to the core.

Doctors say that 75 to 90% of all the reasons we go to the doctor has it’s foundations in stress.

Normal healthy individuals are faced with stress every day. Stress can be positive, like looking forward to getting married, and stress can be negative, like facing the loss of a job, or having a loved one die. Divorce and even moving house is both negative and positive stress.

Our bodies produce a hormonal response to stress known as the “Flight Fight” response. Too much stress can reduce the body’s ablity to deal with infections and other illnesses and it has been suggested that 1 in 6 people will develop cancer as a result of prolonged stress.

Emotionally when we are under great stress we lose our memory, even in simple situations like remembering a phone number or a house number. We may not be able to make sound decisions and often need others to make those decisions for us. At worse, we can face anxiety, panic attacks and clinical depression.

Learning to manage and handle stress is very important to ensure mental and physical well being. The world offers many solutions from “drowning sorrow in alcohol” to try and forget the pain of stress to relaxation and yoga classes, in an attempt to empty the mind of the cause of stress even for a short period of time.

With dramatic effects on the ability of the individual to carry out ordinary tasks and to focus and complete jobs that would previously have taken no time to complete.. how we manage our stress is essential for our emotional and spiritual well being.

Each of us will face stress in a different way and may even face it differently each time we are faced with us. Understanding our individual response to stress can help us deal with stress and to deal with the consequences of the stress.

As Muslims, we are able to face stress knowing that all is qadr of Allah and that nothing happens to a Muslim that will not benefit him or her. We also know that we are only given tests we are emotionally and physically strong enough to survive through and to benefit from. Yet, when we are in the midst of that test or trial, it is sometimes difficult to keep those thoughts in focus.

The test you are facing today that may seen impossible to deal with, will pass! After every difficulty comes ease! One day, this test will be but a distant memory insha’Allah. You will come out of the test stronger in emaan and more able to worship your Lord and to deal with the realities and stresses of life.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Nothing of fatigue, illness, distress, worry, grief or harm befalls the Muslim, not even a prick from a thorn, but Allaah will accept it as expiation for some of his sins.”

According to a report narrated by Muslim: “No illness, fatigue, sickness or grief befalls the Muslim, not even worries, but it will be an expiation for some of his sins.”

Sa’d (may Allaah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “O Messenger of Allaah, which of the people suffers the most distress?” He said: “The Prophets, then those who come after them (in terms of status), then those who come after them. A man will be tested according to the strength of his faith. If his faith is strong, then the distress with which he is tried will be greater; if his faith is weak, he will be tested in accordance with the level of his faith. Distress will keep on befalling the slave until he walks on the face of the earth free from sin.”

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “When a person spends his entire day with no other concern but Allaah alone, Allaah, may He be glorified, will take care of all his needs and take care of all that is worrying him; He will empty his heart so that it will be filled only with love for Him, free his tongue so that it will speak only in remembrance of Him (dhikr) and cause all his faculties to work only in obedience to Him.

But if a person spends his entire day with no other concern but this world, Allaah will make him bear its distress, anxiety and pain; He will leave him to sort himself out, and cause his heart to be distracted from the love of Allaah towards the love of some created being, cause his tongue to speak only in remembrance of that creation instead of remembering Allaah, and cause his faculties to work in obeying and serving them.

So he will strive hard, labouring like some work-animal, to serve something other than Allaah… Everyone who turns away from being a true slave of Allaah and obeying Him and loving Him will be burdened with servitude, love and obedience to some created being. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allaah), We appoint for him a shaytaan (devil) to be a qareen (intimate companion) to him.’ [al-Zukhruf 43:36].”

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no-one who is afflicted by distress and grief, and says: ‘Allaahumma inni ‘abduka ibn ‘abdika ibn amatija naasyati bi yadika, maada fiyya hukmuka, ‘adlun fiyya qadaa’uka. As’aluka bi kulli ismin huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsaka aw anzaltahu fi kitaabika aw ‘allamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw ista’tharta bihi fi ‘ilm il-ghayb ‘indaka an taj’al al-Qur’aana rabee’ qalbi wa noor sadri wa jalaa’ huzni wa dhihaab hammi (O Allaah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant; my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Qur’aan the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety),’ but Allaah will take away his distress and grief, and replace it with joy.” He was asked: “O Messenger of Allaah, should we learn this?” He said: “Of course; everyone who hears it should learn it.”

Taking Advantage of 5 before 5

My husband and I were discussing the effects of age on our ability to learn new things Both of us are studying and finding that what came easily to us in our twenties.. the ability to learn new things, takes more effort and concentration than it did a few years ago.

I had another discussion yesterday with my boss who works with young Muslims and we discussed that one of the many reasons that the Ummah is in a bad shape is because there is no pursuit of knowledge and of leadership in our communities any more.

We have many great plans but few eventuate because although there is plenty of desire to accomplish things.. the skill level of many Muslims is so low that many great plans go uncompleted.. to the loss of the whole Ummah.

Our Prophet SAW said that although we should have trust in Allah.. we should also tie up our camel and he also said that Allah will only change the situation of a people if they first change themselves.

The pursuit of knowledge is obligatory on all Muslims. Whilst we know that the best knowledge is that which will help us in our deen.. The Muslims of the past did dawah by example. They were the ones at the forefront of technology, business and enterprise. They took Islam where ever they went. People around the world saw the beauty and perfection of the religion and those who followed it.. and desired it for themselves. We cannot say the same thing today..

This you tube video is inspirational.. it is based on the Prophets hadith.. compelling us to take advantage of five things before five things.. what makes it so inspirational is that it is the words of a 17 year old sister who is leading the way.. may we who are older follow her example..

After all. .. Rusulullah saw began his prophethood as a 40 year old.. and was my age at the time so much that we know and love him for took place. Many of his wives were not young when he married them and had had so much life experience before he married them. We all hear of older Muslims who have been able to commit the entire Qur’an to memory.

It has been said that using our brains no matter what our age, is good for maintaining their health and also in protecting us from diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.. and whilst all is qadr of Allah, there is no doubt we must look after our bodies as they will one day speak against us or for us on the Day of Reckoning.

ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhu reported in the mustadrak of Al-Haakim, musnad Imam Ahmad, and others, with an authentic chain of narration. In this hadith the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said to a man while he was advising him:

“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.”

These words encompass us all..no matter our age or our gender or where we live.. and this simple plan of organising our daily life promises us so much.. in our achievements, seeing our intentions carried out and in staying healthy longer insha’Allah.