Showing posts with label Qur'an. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Qur'an. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan: Part 2

Asalam Aleykom!

      Let's continue with Part 2 of "Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan."


4. Be around so7ba sal7a (Good company)
سُوۡرَةُ الکهف
وَٱصۡبِرۡ نَفۡسَكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ رَبَّہُم بِٱلۡغَدَوٰةِ وَٱلۡعَشِىِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجۡهَهُ ۥ‌ۖ وَلَا تَعۡدُ عَيۡنَاكَ عَنۡہُمۡ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۖ وَلَا تُطِعۡ مَنۡ أَغۡفَلۡنَا قَلۡبَهُ ۥ عَن ذِكۡرِنَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَٮٰهُ وَكَانَ أَمۡرُهُ ۥ فُرُطً۬ا (٢٨)
“And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.”

5. Make the most of Qiyam: 
               - Have Suhoor
              - Ask Allah for anything! Beg as if you are a child who wants their parents consent on something.
               - Read Qur’an
               - Ask Allah for forgiveness

6.  There may be small bumps that will take you away from 3ibadat (practicing), so be cautious. These things may be TV shows or people that will stop you from doing good deeds. Lower your gaze to this dunya and focus on the bigger more important picture.
Use new duaas that you aren’t used to using and understand them so that you can recite them with more emotion and sincerity.

7.  Be careful of bigger bumps that may take you steps backward when you just started to move forward. Things that cause much bigger bumps include Al 3ojb (which was mentioned above).
When you start being proud of your accomplishments remember that Allah is the reason behind them. When you are blessed with a gift from Allah be thankful for the gift and don’t let it cause you to forget Who gave it to you. Always be in need of Allah, without Him we are nothing and be sincere with your actions.

8. Make the most of the last 10 days of Ramadan and await  laylit Al Qadr (The Night of Power).

9. Evaluate yourself through Ramadan and get rid of things that went wrong. To make up for the things that went wrong you can carry out zakat al fitr.

10. Husn zun bi Allah; expecting good from Allah or being optimistic towards Allah

"يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ، ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَإٍ، ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلَإٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ بِشِبْرٍ، تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ ذِرَاعًا، تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا(1) وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي، أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً"

رواه البخاري (وكذلك مسلم والترمذي وابن ماجه)
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 assembly 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."

انا عند ظن عبدي بي فليظن عبدي بي ما شاء
 
And Allah knows best.
May Allah purify our hearts and guide us to the straight path.
Ramadan Kareem and Jazakom Allahu Khayra! 



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Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan: Part 1



                           Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan: Part 1

Asalam Aleykom w Rahmato Allahu w Barakato lovely people!    
         I just attended a very beneficial Ramadan preparation lecture. Allahuma Bale3’na Ramadan! We have beautiful and blessed days ahead of us insha’Allah and we must make the most of them. I would like to thank Miss Hoda for giving a lovely lecture and I would like to thank Brother Abdulrahman Maged for helping me out,  Jazakom Allahu Khayra!

                         The lecture started out with a couple of important reminders:

- It is important to note that Ramadan is not a destination rather it is a tool that we use to improve ourselves.
- The aya that orders us to fast:
سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡڪُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِڪُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ (١٨٣)
Surah Al-Baqara
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous  (183)

- What is Taqwa?
                 According to Ali Ibn Abi Talib, “Taqwa (God-consciousness) is to fear the Almighty; to act upon the revelation; to be content with little, and to prepare for the day of travel.”
- In order to improve ourselves we must get rid of the diseases in our hearts:

                The heart must be taken care of because; as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said; "Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt, and hearken it is the heart." [Sahih Muslim]

              When the heart is sound, so are our actions which are based on our intentions; Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “When man’s love, knowledge and aspiration is directed in this worldly way, the heart becomes narrow and gloomy as it is distant from the source of its revival and life.”

              We must us the Qur’an to fix our hearts; "O mankind! There has come to you an instruction (Quran) from your Lord, a cure for whatever (disease) is in your hearts, a guidance and a blessing for the true believers."  [Yunus - 10:57]
سُوۡرَةُ یُونس
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡكُم مَّوۡعِظَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ وَشِفَآءٌ۬ لِّمَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٥٧)

                                             Tools to Change the Heart

1.     Search your heart with sidk (sincerity):
Look for the flaws such as;
1.           Riya2; doing things to show off in other words not for Allah but for people to complement you
2.     Love of worldly things
3.    7asad; Jinxing or being envious of what others have.
4.     Soo2 el zun; being pessimistic towards or questioning; others, Allah, life, etc. When you feel pessimism towards something say:
اللهم لاَ خَيْرَ إلا خَيْرُكَ وَلاَ طَيْرَ إلا طَيْرُكَ وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ ) .
5.     I7tikar el zonoob; belittling the sins that you are guilty of
6.     Al 3ojb; being pleased with oneself and actions that one becomes conceited. Ibn Qayim had a saying which basically means that if you feel that you reached a point where you perfected your faith and you have no flaws then you are in big trouble.
The things mentioned above are only a couple of the diseases of the heart. If you want help in overcoming the diseases of the heart, you can watch Moez Masoud’s show; “Thawra 3ala El Nafs.”
The diseases of the heart take are considered as cancer of the soul. They take away thawab and stop you from doing good deeds. Your heart becomes weak heart which makes its immunity weak and the smallest fitna can ruin you heart. So Ask Allah for a pure heart.
Abu Bakr (RA) asked Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) what a good duaa would be to say in prayer and the Prophet (PBUH) said:
اللهم إني ظلمت نفسي ظلماً كثيراً، و لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت. فاغفر لي مغفرة من عندك و ارحمني إنك أنت الغفور الرحيم.

2.  Decide your goal. What goals do you want to accomplish during Ramadan?

3.  Fix the heart:
   -Don't belittle the smallest sin.
-             Talk to Allah and tell Him everything.
-             Get rid of debt; for example if you owe people money pay them back. If you gossiped about someones ask for their forgiveness or make duaa for them or spend in charity so that Allah forgives you.
-             Forgive



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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Signs


      Asalam Aleykom people!!
                 So over a year ago this article was published in Help Club's Al-Qalam magazine. I had a lot of fun writing this article and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. 
                                                                            Salam (Peace)!
                  
                                                                                Signs
                                                                    By: Habiba Ghanem
                  We often pray salat estkhara when we are faced with a tough decision. By praying estkhara we seek Allah’s (SWT) guidance. Allah sends us signs that help us in making our decision. Sometimes when we pray estkhara, our hearts are leaning more towards one of the choices. It is then that we may start to ignore the signs, the very same signs that are the answers to our prayers.
                  Once you start ignoring the signs, shaytan starts playing with your head, your emotions, and your ability to make a rational decision. In other words shaytan blinds you. By ignoring the signs, who are you trying to kid? You are just being dishonest with yourself.
                  Instead of ignoring the signs put your full trust in Allah (SWT). A great example of this trust, is when the terrible rumors started about Aisha. For those of you that don’t know the story, let me briefly explain what happened. Aisha was accidently left behind after she went searching for a necklace that she misplaced. To her great fortune a young man from the Ummah, came to the site. The young man was called Safwan and he offered Aisha a ride to the place where the others went. Upon seeing Aisha’s arrival with Safwan, some terrible people blamed Aisha for committing adultery and started rumors. Despite those appalling rumors, Aisha didn’t try to defend herself, instead she was patient and put her trust in Allah.  She recalled what Abi Yusuf had said; "So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you assert."(Quran 12:18). Indeed Allah helped Aisha, He sent a revelation to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) proving her innocence.
                  When you pray estkhara and something doesn’t turn out the way that you expected, you are supposed to have reda (contentment). Didn’t you seek Allah’s guidance? Didn’t you want your prayers answered? Even if for the time being you don’t like they way something turned out, you must have reda, and know that it is part of Allah’s plan for you. “…But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (Quran 2:216)
                  If something didn’t happen as planned it’s because there really is something better on the way, you must have yaqeen. Don’t ignore the signs so you don’t end up with regret. As I mentioned before, by ignoring signs you let shaytan play with your head. When shaytan takes over, you leave room for committing wrong acts, they may be minor or major. Besides yourself, how many other people will you hurt by ignoring the signs? In the end if something is not meant to be, it won’t be. You can ignore the signs as much as you want, but if it’s not meant to be then be sure it won’t be. Always remember that, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.


                                                         Allahuma Eni Ma3’loban fa intasir



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Monday, September 10, 2012

The Path of Friendship

Asalam Aleykom everyone!

           This months SuperMuslims issue is extra special. Its theme is friendship! This is one of the greatest issues that we published so make sure to check it out! (Links provided at the bottom)
                                                              Salams (Peace)


                                                          The Path of Friendship
                                                            By: Habiba Ghanem


             "Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous"

               Take a moment to ponder over the above aya from Surat Az-Zukhruf.

             Are your friends leading you closer to paradise or closer to hell fire?
           
             When you choose your friends, you choose a path. Your friends can be people who remind you of Allah (SWT) or they can be people who lead you away from Him.

            The Prophet (PBUH) was reportedly asked: “Which of our companions are best?” He replied: “One whose appearance reminds you of God, and whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions remind you of the hereafter.”

            Do you have such friends; do you have friends who inspire you to be a better Muslim?

            To have friends whom you love for the sake of Allah (SWT) is a great gift from Him. It’s a special kind of love. Of all the people in the world Allah (SWT) chose you and your group of friends to come together for His sake. They are the people who will help you up rather then bring you down. With Allah’s guidance you can all lead each other to paradise.

لأبن الجوزي كلام وفقه جميل من الحسن البصري”
‎​إن لم تجدوني في الجنة بينكم فاسألوا عني ...

            إن أهل الجنة إذا دخلوا الجنة ولم يجدوا أصحابهم الذين كانوا معهم على خير بالدنيا فإنهم يشفعون لهم أمام رب العزة ويقولون: ”يارب لنا إخوان كانوا يصلون معنا و يصومون “معنا لم نرهم“ فيقول الله جل و علا : اذهبوا للنار و أخرجوا من كان في قلبه مثقال ذرة من إيمان


            Your friends can save you but you must pick the right ones. To have an eternal bond, one that will last even in paradise where you will gather to enjoy the fruits of your labor, you must be wise. As the aya stated; Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous. 





SuperMuslims: 

SuperMuslims Magazine Issue:
http://issuu.com/supermuslims/docs/supermuslims_friendship?mode=window&backgroundColor#222222
Facebook Group: 
 http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/supermuslims/
Twitter: 
 http://twitter.com/#!/supermuslims6    

Website: 
http://supermuslims.tumblr.com/ 

Facebook Page: 
http://www.facebook.com/SuperMuslims


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