In Allah We Must Trust

Salams everyone!

         I hope you are all doing well! The first SuperMuslims issue for the new year discussed, husn el dhun. Be sure to check out the rest of the awesome articles in the magazine. Links are provided at the bottom!

       

                                            Enjoy!!

                                      In Allah (SWT) We Must Trust

                                             By: Habiba Ghanem

           

            Many of us know that when a group of idolaters wanted to attack our beloved Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), eighteen year old, Ali Ibn Abu-Talib took his place and slept in his bed while the Prophet (PBUH) escaped.

            But did you know that the Prophet (PBUH) saw the idolaters when he was leaving, and did you know that they saw him too?

            Yep that’s right, they saw him but the All Mighty Allah paralyzed them and they weren’t able to do harm to our Prophet (PBUH). 

            Meanwhile, Ali (RA) who was expecting to get attacked, was sleeping peacefully. Ironic, right? But according to Ali (RA), it was the best sleep that he ever had. When the idolaters entered the house, they unveiled the cover of the bed only to find Ali (RA) sleeping instead of the Prophet (PBUH). 

            The idolaters could’ve killed Ali (RA), they were brutal people that were capable of such a thing. Ali (RA) was after all the Prophet’s (PBUH) companion, cousin, and son-in-law, killing him would be harming to the Prophet (PBUH). But they couldn’t kill Ali (RA).

            You, see this event took place to test Ali’s (RA) faith. He loved the Prophet (PBUH), he loved our religion, and he loved Allah (SWT), and to ensure his loyalty to the deen he was tested.

            Ali’s (RA) faith and assurance that Allah’s plan for him was the best plan, alongside his dependence on Allah (SWT), eased whatever fears he may have had. When he turned to Allah (SWT) and put his trust in Him, he was able to pass the test. His trust in Allah was the shield protecting him against the harm of the idolaters. 

            In this life we are going to be tested over and over again. It’s important to stick to your faith, and it’s important to know that whatever hardships you face, no matter how hard or immense it may seem you must remember that Allah (SWT) is greater, greater than anything imaginable. You must be sure and trust that whatever Allah (SWT) sends your way that it’s for the best. Believe that something good will come out of any hardship. Give your heart to Allah for truly He is the only one that can ease it. It’s only when we put our trust in Allah (SWT) that we will realize that nothing can harm us.

Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui17gdr8ecA

  

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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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My "Why? "

                                                             By: Anonymous

 “Man in the early times was naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved and is not regressive. It is the removal of clothes again that is regressive and back to ancient times.” – Tawakel Karmen,

Tawakel Karmen is a female Yemeni journalist. She is also the first Arab woman and the youngest person to be awarded a Nobel peace prize. On top of all of that she is also a hijabi and an inspirational figure.

The quote presented above was Karmen’s response to some journalists who asked about her hijab and how it may “not suit her level of intellect”.

            I can begin discussing my own hijab experiences from two angles. I could begin writing about the struggles that come along with wearing hijab in the West, feeling different in high school, and of clinging on to this piece of cloth for a sense of identity, or I can write about my experiences with hijab in Egypt. Ironically, all my hijab-related experiences made more sense to me in the West than they do now in Egypt. It was clear to me why I was covering myself and who I was doing it for and it was easy to reply to anyone who thought to ask me. The answer was simple, “I’m wearing this because I’m muslim.”

“Why? Why are you covering yourself?” “You can still be a good Muslim without wearing a hijab.” “When will you take it off for us?” “But you look so pretty with your hair down” “You’re still so young” “Allah will understand”

These are all comments that have been made by some of closest Egyptian friends and I have spent long periods of time pondering their answers.

I can’t count the number of times I have been asked the question “why?” in Egypt. It is a good question, one that does need to be answered sincerely. The frequency with which it is asked has brought me moments of doubt and confusion.

But I tell myself that the answers this question are still clear and to make them even clearer, I will bring in a few very good points made by Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan (a Muslim scholar).

One must, first and foremost, acknowledge that hijab does have countless numbers of social and personal benefits, and it does a lot to honor women (including warming up our heads in this freezing weather) but these benefits will not be argued. Instead of debating all these positive outcomes of hijab Ali Khan argues that a higher purpose exists; one that doesn’t involve explaining “logical reasons”. Once a person believes that the Quran is the word of the Divine, any orders from Allah should be obeyed. This is not to say that one should not question things, questions are an essential in life. However, one should trust that ultimately Allah knows best.

Nouman Ali Khan gives the prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) as a beautiful example to support this point. Allah asks the prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) for several requests. He asked the prophet (PBUH) to leave his family in the desert; obviously a difficult demand. Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) did not react by saying, “You know, I love everything about Islam, except this whole leaving my family in the desert thing”. He never asked Allah for the reasoning behind the demand, or doubted its significance, or even called it “oppressive”. Allah asked, and the prophet obeyed. Then Allah made another request and asked him to jump into a fire, he never said “You know, I love everything about Islam except this whole burning myself alive thing.” Finally, Allah asked the Prophet to put a knife to his son’s throat. Prophet Ibrahim did not say “Well, I love Islam but I also love my son,” the Prophet trusted Allah entirely and without doubt. Of course, in the end, the prophet never had to do this to his son and this is why we have Eid, but you get the point.  Whenever Allah asked the prophet to give himself up or surrender, Ibrahim (PBUH) surrendered. There is a much bigger purpose to Allah’s requests than just benefits and logical reasoning; and that is surrender. We must surrender ourselves wholly to Allah.

I’m not arguing that we should follow blindly, never question anything, and just quietly obey. I’m just answering my Why?, my why I wear a hijab. People are right, I do not necessarily need to be wearing a hijab to be a good Muslim, and my wearing a hijab does not mean I am a good Muslim. However, in the end, I made this choice because I would rather surrender to Allah than to a consumerist society where my looks determine what kind of person I am, or even my “intellect”. I will admit that sometimes I lose sight of what is important in life, I forget where my attention needs to be located, and I spend too much time doing and thinking about useless things. Yet, I am thankful I have a hijab on my head that serves as a reminder and a protector. 

I’d like to end this with a sentence I once read in a children’s book about the prophet Ibrahim’s (PBUH) life: “The moral of the story is that faith in Allah is the only thing that can save a believer in this world and the world to come”.