'Value Your Life'

Neither the existence of man nor his presence on earth is due to chance and without purpose. Its creation is a divine decree for specific purposes. Undoubtedly, and without exaggeration, he is the only creature whom the Supreme Creator, Allah has preferred to others.

“And We have certainly honoured the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things, and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of Our creation.” (17: 71).

His superiority over other creatures occurs in different ways: Allah granted him free will, and he has a spirit that allows him to distinguish good from evil. He has also a soul which has been created by Allah and which He has breathed into him to make him human, and holder of some divine attributes.

True Piety: Being Mindful of God

RIGHTEOUSNESS & SUBMISSION TO ALLAH

 

Who is a Mumin (Muslim)? How to become a good Muslim? These are questions which Allah answered in several of the verses of the Quran and which are also found in the Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Allah says in the Quran:

Righteousness (Devotion to Allah) is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, 

but (true) righteousness is (in) one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveller, those who ask (for help), and for freeing slaves; 

(and who) establishes prayer and gives Zakah; (those who) fulfil their promise when they promise; and (those who) are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. 

Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous/God-fearing. (2: 178)

Righteousness which comes from the heart and which is a vital instrument to obtain true piety (Taqwa) is found in obedience to Allah in all the commandments which He has established for His male and female servants on earth. Be them men or women, young or old, all have duties towards Allah, such duties which they have to respect so that they may become true servants of Allah.

The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has said:

“How wonderful is the situation of the believer, for all his affairs are good. If something good happens to him, he gives thanks for it and that is good for him; if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and that is good for him. This does not apply to anyone but the believer.” (Muslim)

But I have to mention also that there are stages in the types of believers, like Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) expounds to us: “A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than a weak believer”.

Despite the fact that a believer remains a believer as he believes in Allah and all that which He has prescribed, but not all believers 100 % succeed in establishing/put into practice all that which Allah has ordained him to do. There are even some who go on to lose their faith while believing that they were doing a good deed while they were on the contrary attracting the displeasure of Allah upon them. There are some who do good deeds, partly for the eyes of Allah, and partly for the eyes of people (ostentation). Therefore, this finally annuls the deed because of the weakness displayed in the fulfilment of that good deed.

Verily, someone, especially someone who says that he is Muslim, who says that he believes in Allah and all that which Allah has told him to believe (i.e., belief in Allah, His angels, prophets, divine books, destiny and the rewards and punishments of the afterlife) shall not succeed in anything if he does not submit to the will of Allah. The devotion which he says he has (towards Allah) shall become useless if he does not follow that devotion/righteousness with sincerity of the heart.

'Ruh-il-Quddus' and 'Laila-tul-Qadr'

“The month of Ramadan (is that month) in which the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear proofs of right guidance, and criterion (for distinguishing right and wrong). So whoever of you witnesses this month, let him fast it.” (2: 186)

The Quran is the living miracle revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and is the perfect Word of Allah (twa). It explains to us where we come from and where we are going to, and leads us to the path of eternal bliss, that is, paradise, but it also warns us at the same time of hell and all paths which culminate to hell. It is a means of education, inspiration, physical, mental and spiritual healing, yet the sad reality is that as we continue to preserve the text, we have lost the meaning and injunctions, due to our poor understanding.

There is no means of deliverance in this Ummah, unless we return to the Book of Allah. Indeed the Quran may be guidance for humanity, but not all those who read it are guided, for such guidance has been preserved for selected individuals (the Muttaqeen, that is, the God-fearing and those who guard themselves against evil) who wish to sincerely tread upon this enlightened path of ultimate guidance. Not only does the meaning of the Quran inspire people from all over the world, the words alone bear a magnetic force and have the ability to move people, who may not know a word of Arabic.

The Quran, revealed in the mother tongue of the best of mankind, our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and mother of all tongues has stood the test of time for more than fourteen centuries and verily no other scripture can boast of such an achievement. Rivers change their courses, kingdoms rise and fall, languages become extinct along with its people and new ones are developed, but not the Quran. Of course this preservation is due to the divine promise made in the Quran itself, and verily Allah has enabled this miraculous preservation through the love, devotion and care that generations of Muslim showed towards the Quran but most importantly Allah accomplishes this task through raising from time to time His chosen people, the messengers and reformers of Islam to uphold the sanctity of the Quran and to expound it to others.

I'tikaaf and 'Laila-tul-Qadr'

Ramadan: Supplications to Allah

Du’a is an act of worship which also acts as one of the most important and powerful weapons of a believer in this world. Du’a can help a person defend himself from any type of evil, be humble knowing that he is weak and vulnerable without Allah’s help and thus get closer to Allah (swt). A believer knows that without Allah he is nothing, and to accede to peace from every and any direction, he needs to equip himself with such spiritual weapon which shall grant him access to the Lord of the Worlds, and Ultimate Protector of mankind, so that this weapon, i.e. Du’a becomes effective as and when he uses it in his everyday life. As we are living the blessed days of the Holy month of Ramadhan, it is good to know that du’a can be of a great avail to us, and we Muslims should make use of this spiritual weapon and means for peace to accede to the stages of honour and pleasure which Allah grants to those who seek him through prayer and supplications.

Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran, right after the verse of the prescription of fasting in Ramadhan:

“And when My servants ask you, (Oh Prophet), concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me that they may be (rightly) guided.” (2: 187)

When we take into account the place this verse occupies in the Holy Quran, we will find that it is between the verses concerning fasting. This alone brings on the importance of Du’a when fasting, as fasting holds a very great importance and significance in Islam.

Abu Said narrates from the prophet (pbuh) that: “No Muslim supplicates to Allah with a Du’a that does not involve sin or cutting the relations of the womb (i.e. the blood/family relations), but Allah will grant him one of the three things. He will either hasten the response to his supplication, save it for him until the Hereafter, or would turn an equivalent amount of evil away from him.” 

They (the companions) said, “What if we were to recite more (Du’a).” 

He said, “There is more with Allah.” (Ahmad)

'Fidya' and 'Fitra' in Ramadhan

“The month of Ramadan (is that) in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.

So whoever sights (the new moon of) the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. 

Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and (wants) for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that (to) which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” (2:186).

Ramadhan is a month of countless blessings and virtues. 

The word RAMADHAN is derived “ramdh” which means “burning the feet from heat”. This is because of the fast, which burns the sins of a Muslim into ashes. Ramadhan has been given the name of blessed month because:

1)   In this month, the Quran was revealed, and the angel Gabriel used to come to make the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) recite the Quran, from beginning to end.

2)     In this month, there is the night of Qadr, which is better than 1000 months.

3)     In this month, the reward of a good deed is equal to the fardh of another month.

4)     This is the month of patience and the reward of this patience is Paradise.

5)     This month teaches the lesson of kindness towards others.

6)     In this month, the first ten days are of mercy, the second ten days are of forgiveness and the last ten days are of being freed from hell.

7)    The month of Ramadhan is a month in which the mercy and blessing of Allah (swt) descend upon us continuously if we are truly seeking the mercy of Allah and His countenance.

Ramadan: Fasting and Blessings

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil).” (2:184).

By the immense grace of Allah, we are again witnessing another blessed month of Ramadan. It is a month like no other month as it is the very special and blessed month of Allah, for Allah. From the moment that this exceptional month approaches us and welcomes us in its arms, the emotion becomes stronger and the heart becomes more sensitive. Every sincere Muslim waits impatiently for this great day. 

They all ask: “Ramadan! When will you come? We need you so much!” 

This impatience to welcome the month of Ramadan is found in the need for the believer to purify himself both physically and spiritually.

If a Muslim expresses himself with these words, certainly, he is undoubtedly aware of the true value of this month and the many benefits it contains. This is the month of blessing, whose beginning is mercy, the middle forgiveness, and whose end is freedom from hell-fire. It is a month which includes a night better than a thousand months and reward of good deeds is multiplied. The substance of the believer increases and favours coming from Allah the Exalted is constantly bestowed upon him. This is the month of endurance and forgiveness. And the reward of endurance is paradise.

When the servant realizes all that, his heart softens and his chest is opened to the acceptation of the truth. Thus, submission becomes his priority throughout this intense month of blessings.

Is the time not ripe for the Muslim to make manifest his joy, appreciation and gratitude to Allah the Exalted who kept him alive until the arrival of Ramadan? Every Muslim is recommended to welcome this month with repentance and with the preparation to fast and to spend his nights in prayer with good intention and strong determination. Is there a goal better than this?

Meditate on the following words of Allah:

“Say: ‘In the Bounty of Allah, and in His Mercy - therein let them rejoice.’ That is better than what (the wealth) they amass.” (Yunus, 10: 59)

Satanic Impulses on Human Behaviour

Due to the imminent arrival of Ramadan, I thought it would be beneficial to talk about the approaches that Satan uses against us, at every moment of our lives to get us away from the remembrance of Allah (Zikrullah). Insha-Allah, this can be for all of us - myself first - a humble reminder and contribute to our spiritual preparation for the month of Ramadan, the aim being, of course, that when the time comes, Insha-Allah, we maximize the best of these blessed days.

We can read in the Holy Quran the following words which Allah addressed to Satan:

“Excite with your voice whoever you can among them, and assault them with your cavalry and your infantry, and become a partner in their wealth and their children and make promises to them." But Satan promises them nothing but deceit. As for My (believing) servants, you have no power over them. And your Lord is sufficient to protect them!” (17: 65-66)

This verse contains information relative to the main routes used by Satan and his allies to exert power over the human being and thus mislead him from the Straight Path. They often act:

-     Through what man perceives through his sense organs, as mentioned in the verse in question: “Excite with your voice…”

-        Through the negative impact of his acts of disobedience: “…assault them with your cavalry and your infantry…”; verily, all those who acts in disobedience to Allah make up the cavalry and infantry of Satan.

-     Via natural impulses that inhabit him, those innate qualities that make his character and the feelings he develops from his own individual or his surroundings: “...become a partner in their wealth and their children…”

-        Via suggestions addressed directly to his conscience and mind: “...make promises to them…”

Satan can thus infiltrate and access the human heart by internal or external ways, exposed or concealed. Hence the need for the believer to exercise constantly for increased vigilance with respect to the multiple assaults of his sworn enemy, whom the Quran mentions the words thereof, in these terms:

“‘Because You have put me in error’, said (Satan), ‘I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path., then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful (to You).’” (7: 17-18).