Living the Quran!

Reading the Quran will be of little benefit to you, it may even bring misery and harm, unless you, from the first moment, begin to change and reconstruct your life in total surrender to God who has given you the Quran. Without the will and striving to act, neither the states of heart and enraptures of the soul, nor the ecstasies of mood, nor intellectual enrichment will be of any use to you. If the Quran does not have any impact upon your actions and if you do not obey what it enjoins and avoid what it prohibits, then you are not getting nearer to it.

Reading the Quran should induce faith inside your heart; that faith should shape your lives. It is not a gradual piecemeal process, by which you first spend years reading the Quran, then understanding it and strengthening your faith, and only then act upon it. All things take place simultaneously: as you hear or recite the words, they kindle faith inside you; as you have faith inside you, your life begins to change.

What we must remember is that to live by the Quran requires a major decision on our part: we have to completely alter the course of our life, irrespective of what may be the dominant thought-patterns around us, or what our society may be dictating, or what others may be doing. This decision requires major sacrifices. But unless we, as believers in the Quran being the word of God, are prepared to take the plunge, not much good will come out of the time spent with the Quran.

Compiled From:
"QURAN: Your Gateway To A New World" - Young Muslims Publication [Download and distribute]

Trusting The Maker!

Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) use to teach us how to seek guidance in choosing the best option available in practical matters, just as he would teach us chapters from the Quran. If one of you is concerned about some practical undertaking, or about making plans for a journey, he should perform two cycles of ritual prayer, not as obligatory observance, but voluntarily. Then he should say: "O Allah, I ask You to show me what is best, through Your knowledge, and I ask You to empower me, through Your power, and I beg You to grant me Your tremendous favour, for You have power, while I am without power, and You have knowledge, while I am without knowledge, and You are the One who knows all things invisible. O Allah, if You know that this undertaking is in the best interests of my religion, my life in this world, and my life in the hereafter, and can yield successful results in both the short term and the long term, then make it possible for me and make it easy for me, and then bless me in it. O Allah, if You know that this undertaking is NOT in the best interests of my religion, my life in this world, and my life in the hereafter, then turn it away from me, and make it easy for me to do well, wherever I may happen to be, and make me content with Your verdict, O most Merciful of the merciful."

Also known as 'istikhara' in Arabic, the strength of this supplication lies in the humility of the one who seeks the guidance of his or her creator. Now, many will pray it dutifully when making big decisions. They may wait for a dream to come to them or some sort of sign that would show them without doubt what it is that they should do. And indeed that sign may come in a very tangible form. And yet, on other occasions, the answers you're looking for may not be entirely tangible. And this is precisely when you have to start trusting.

You need to start trusting in your maker, in His infinite endowments to you. You need to start trusting in your gut, your heart, and mind, because they will know the answers, by His will. We're able to start listening when we begin to trust that HE, too, is listening. And once we can believe that completely, we can become unstoppable, no matter what "unstoppable" may mean.

Compiled From:
"Release Your Inner Queen of Sheba!" - Heba Alshareef, pp. 112, 113

Hearts Filled With Fear!

Al-Muminun (The Believers)
Chapter 23: Verses 60-61

"Those who give what they have given (i.e. charity) and whose hearts are filled with fear by the very idea that they shall return to their Lord. Such people are truly racing towards their own welfare and they are the first to reach them."

Unwavering Belief in the truth of the Hereafter:

• This verse is describing the inner state of mind of the believers who are always conscious about the acceptance of their good deeds by Allah. They worry whether their charities are accepted or not. This concept of "fear" was the corner-stone that strengthened the sense of responsibility among the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
  
  
• There was a deep certainty in their hearts that one Day they would have to rise and account for all the worldly deeds, small or big. Their whole life was divided between hope for Allah’s mercy and fear of His punishment. Only Islam, unlike any other faith, is able to strike such a perfect balance between the two.

The Source of their Struggle and Patience:

They had already known that life, with all its pains, was worthless when compared with the Hereafter. Such deep convictions brought about in them a sense of indifference to all troubles and hardships that attended their life for the sake of Islam.

Examples of Umar and Hassan Al-Basri (may Allah be pleased with them):

• A concrete interpretation of this verse is given by Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Although he served Allah in a way that was exemplary, yet he was so afraid of accountability to Him, as he once said, "I shall consider it a favor (from Allah), if I am neither rewarded or punished in the Hereafter."
  
  
• Hassan Al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) once said, "A believer obeys Allah and is yet fearful of Him, whereas a hypocrite disobeys Allah and is still fearless of Him!" How ironic it is.....

Compiled From:
"The Sealed Nectar" - Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Syed Abul Ala Maududi

http://bluebell-pictureworld.blogspot.com/2009/08/ramdan-kareem.html

Qasida Burdah (The poem of the scarf)

The reason for writing this poem

The writer HAZRAT IMAAM SAALIH SHARA-FUD-DEEN ABU ABDULIAH MUHAMMAD BIN HASAN AL-BUSAIRI R.A had become paralysed. His doctors and physicians gave up all hope of his recovery. Eventually in this state of complete helplessness and despair he composed this poem expressing the grandeur and excellence of Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam. Using this as his sole means of asking Allah Ta'alaa to cure him from his illness. He isolated himself in a quiet place one Thursday night and with complete devotion, concentration and sincerity/ began reciting this poem. While reciting it sleep overcame him. He had a vision of Sayyidina. Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam. He told Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam of his illness whereupon Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam passed his blessed hand over Imam Busairi's body. Through the barakat and blessing of Sayyidina, Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam Allah Ta'alaa granted him complete cure from his paralysis. When he awoke he found a scarf or shawl on his body which he had seen Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam place on his paralysed limbs. This resulted in the poem being named "Qasidah Burdah" (The Poem of the Scarf).

In the morning when due to some necessity. he went to the bazaar, a pious dervish greeted him with salaam and requested him to recite the qasidah which he had composed in praise of Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam The poet said that I have composed many poems in praise of Rasuluallah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, which one do you wish to hear? The dervish replied: 'The one which begins with, A-min Tazak-kurin (i.e. Qasidah Burdah)". Upon this request the poet became wonder struck and said, "I take an oath that no one knows about this poem. Tell me the truth, from whom did you hear about it?" The dervish replied, "I take an oath by Allah that I heard it from you last night when in a dream you had recited it to Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, whereupon Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam became attentive towards you and because of its blessings Allah Ta'alaa granted you complete cure from your ailment".

Ramadan is on its way! Are you ready?

Soorah Al Baqarah 2:185

"Ramadhaan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur`aan

as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and

judgement (between right and wrong) ...."

Success in whatever we do depends on how clear we are on the objectives we want to achieve and how well we plan for it. Even a recreational activity such as going on a vacation takes much planning. It is not feasible for a person to simply just get up and depart to a vacation destination without planning, especially if one wants to have a good vacation or recreational activity. For example, if one is going to Disney World, usually planning is done months in advance for the trip. In addition to making traveling and accommodation arrangements, people consult friends, read literature and research on how to get the most benefit while there. Time and effort is spent deciding which rides and sites to visit, in what order and at what times of the day so that one can get the maximum benefit at minimum cost in a reasonable time. People make significant efforts to plan the trip because it means so much to them to make such a trip.

What does Ramadhân mean to you? Does it mean more to you than going for a vacation or to Disney World? Are you mentally and psychologically ready to attain all the goodness Ramadhaan has to offer? Are you then spending enough time and taking pains to plan how can you get the most benefit from the opportunity Ramadhaan affords you?

Some people do plan for Ramadhaan, but that planning is only to the extent of who to invite for Iftaar and what special foods to prepare or how to get the best deal on dates? But is this the type of outcome that is the objective of Ramadhaan?

The objectives of Ramadhaan are to:

q Increase our Taqwa

q Make us more charitable

q Prepare us for life-long Jihaad, and

q Strengthen our relationship with the Holy Qur-aan.

So, what are the action plans you want to undertake during Ramadhaan so that when it departs, you have seen significant growth in your Taqwa, you are more giving, more involved in Jihaad and more tuned to the Qur-aan?

Ramadhaan is a wonderful opportunity to help us fine-tune our normal patterns of behaviour thereby changing us for the better. We can ask ourselves the question: What areas of our personality, attitude, behaviour, daily routines and lifestyle, etc. do we need to change to bring us closer to the Islamic standard?

What aspect of your life have you decided to improve on during this Ramadhaan and what are your plans for achieving this change?

We all need many changes and many improvements. None of us is perfect and our list of proposed improvements can be exceedingly long if we were being honest with ourselves. Naturally, one cannot pick a big list and work on all those areas in one month. The best approach is to pick only a few items where the most important change is needed and to devise a plan to make a definite improvement in those area(s) this Ramadhaan. Success in making the change would make you a winner this Ramadhaan and the month will be one of great triumph and blessings for you.

If you have decided to make this a meaningful and triumphant Ramadhaan by identifying areas requiring improvement and if you have prepared a plan of action, may Allaah (SWT) assist you and bless you for taking this step in your life. Congratulations on a good start!

Cool or Fool?

Our friends can either be the rope that ties us to our faith in Allah, or the knife that cuts any connection we had with our Creator. They are blessings, they are tests. Ask yourself, who are your friends? And more importantly, what kind of friend are you?

“You can do it!”

“I have faith in you!”; “C’mon don’t be a wimp”; "Here, try one”; “If you say no, people will think you’re weird”; “Don’t hang out with those boring, ‘religious’ guys!”

Whether you are in school, college, university, or working in the corporate world, these are the voices of many of the people you interact with. In our teenage culture, which exaggerates the idea of personal freedom and excessive entertainment, you are exposed to Peer Pressure.

You know You are a Victim of Peer Pressure when….

Most teenagers fall into flirting, clubbing, smoking, cursing, cheating, stealing, bullying, gambling, drinking, drugs, pornography and other immoral practices due to negative peer pressure. You know you are a victim of this pressure when you:

• are curious to try something new because "everyone's doing it";
• want to be liked, to fit in, to look cool;
• worry that others will think you are weird or a coward if you resist;
• say and do things in the group which you would not do on your own;
• wish your parents should stay out of your ‘social life’;
• do something without questioning the outcome.

Compiled From:
"Cool or Fool? Choosing the Right Friends" - Young Muslims Publications