azra

At a time when the rest of the world, from Greece and Rome to India and China, considered women as no better than children or even slaves, with no rights whatsoever, Islam acknowledged women’s equality with men in a great many respects.

The Quran states:
“And among His signs is this: that He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest and peace of mind in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Certainly, herein indeed are signs for people who reflect.” [Noble Quran 30:21]

Prophet Muhammad (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said:

1. Committing Sins And Not Feeling Any Guilt.

2. Having A Hard Heart (no sign of mercy and petty when it comes to own benefit/loss).

3. Being Materialistic.

4. Feeling Too Lazy To Do Good Deeds, e.g. Being Late For Salat

5. No Desire To Read The Quran.

6. Neglecting The Sunnah.

7. Having Mood Swings, For instance Being Upset about petty things and bothered and irritated most of the time.

8. Not feeling anything when hearing verses from the Quran, for example when Allah warns us of punishments and His promise of glad tidings.

1. Remember death and qabr regularly.

2. Do more and more zikr (rememberence of Allah swt).

3. Think of Allah (SWT)’s and Prophet (S.A.W.S.)’s pleasure in every action we do.

4. Recite and ponder on the meanings of the Quran. Tranquility then descends and our hearts become soft. To get optimum benefit, remind yourself that Allah is speaking to you. People are described in different categories in the Quran; think of which one you find yourself in.

And nobody said it was going to be easy,
Who said it won’t make you cry?

Did somebody tell you that you wouldn’t trip, slip or fall?
Tell me, who made you think it isn’t hard?

That your heart wouldn’t be broken?
Mistreated?
Abused?
Tired?
Used?

Who told you it was going to be easy..?,
That you weren’t going to make mistakes?
That you wouldn’t fail?

Why do you keep saying you don’t need me?
And I don’t need you?
Who told you, you have to be alone?
That this burden, you have to carry on your own?

Test after test?
Trial after trial?
No sign of the end?

Muslims constantly strive to remember and practice Islamic virtues, and put them into practice throughout their daily lives. Among these great Islamic virtues are submission to Allah, self-restraint, discipline, sacrifice, patience, brotherhood, generosity, and humility.

One of the basic prerequisites for having our dua accepted is to ensure that our way of life is devoid of haram (illegal) provision and food. This essentially means to ensure that the way we make our living doesn’t involve haram. For example, if someone sells alcoholic products to make a living, that person’s dua’s according to Islamic teachings will not be entertained.

In a hadith it says:

Wisdom provides us with the capacity to solve real life problems. So, acquiring wisdom becomes a must if we want to live meaningful lives. As we live through life and its experiences, it is vital that we reflect on such experiences to make our subsequent steps in life easier. As Immanuel Kant, a famous philosopher said that “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.”

And in the words of a distinguished American psychologist:

Abu Mas’ud Al-Ansari (RadiyAllahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) would place his hands upon our shoulders when we would form rows for As-Salat (the prayer) and say, “Stand in straight rows and do not differ among yourselves, or else your hearts will differ due to disaccord. Let those be nearest to me who are mature and endowed with understanding (of the religion), then those who are nearest to them in these respects and then those who are nearest to them”.
[Muslim]

One of the common complaints of many of us Muslims is that when we make Dua, we don’t see its immediate effects. As a result, we get disheartened and lose hope in the effectiveness and powers of our Dua.

About the matter of Dua’s not being answered. Ibn al-Jawzi in one of his books commented the following:

I think part of the test is when a believer supplicates and receives no response, and he repeats the dua for a long time and sees no sign of a response. He should realize that this is a test and needs patience.

Hadith:
Abu Mas`ud `Uqbah bin `Amr Al-Badri Al-Ansari (RadiyAllahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said:

Anas bin Malik (RadiyAllahu anhu) reported: I set out along with Jarir bin `Abdullah Al-Bajali (Radiyllahu anhu) on a journey and he served me. I said to him: “Don’t do that.” Thereupon, he said, “I have seen the Ansar doing this with Messenger of Allah (Sallellahu alaihi wa sallam), and I swore by Allah, whenever I accompany anyone of the Ansar, I would serve him”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Commentary:

On the authority of Abu Huraira (r.a.) who said: The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) said:
“Do not be envious of one another; do not artificially raise prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not turn one’s back on each other; and do not undercut one another in business transactions. And be, [O] servants of Allah, brethren. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not wrong him. He does not fail him [when he needs him]. He does not lie to him. And he does not show contempt for him. Piety is here”

– and he pointed to his chest three times.

Abdullah bin ‘Umar (RadiAllahu anhu) narrated: ‘Prophet (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said: “The finest act of goodness is that a person should treat kindly the loved ones of his father.”
[Muslim]

SELECTING SUITABLE TOPICS

In Sura Al-Haj, Allah described the believers
*”And they have been guided to the purest of speeches; and guided to the path of Him who is worthy of all praise.”*
When you talk during your visit, say only what fits the situation and be brief. If you are the youngest among those sitting, don’t speak unless you are asked to, or unless you know that your speech and words will be well received and will please the host and other guests. Don’t prolong your speech. Use a proper tone of voice.

Abu Hurairah (RadiyAllahu anhu) reported: The Prophet (Sallellahu alaihi wa sallam) said:
*”The worst food is the food of the marriage banquet from which those are left out who would like to come; and to which those are invited who refuse to come. He who rejects an invitation disobeys Allah and His Messenger”.*
[Muslim].

In another narration Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) said:
*”The worst food is the food of the marriage banquet to which the rich are invited and from which the poor are left out”.*
[Muslim].

Commentary:

Nasiruddin was the slave of a king, and very fond of hunting. One day he came across a very pretty baby deer and picked it up and rode away. The mother deer saw Nasiruddin take her baby and followed him anxiously. Nasiruddin, pleased with the baby dear, was thinking about presenting it to his children to play with. After a time, he chanced to look back and saw the mother deer following him, her expression full of grief. He noticed too that she did not seem to care about her own safety. Moved to pity, Nasiruddin set the baby deer free.

Reflect your Taqwa in your deeds:

`Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As (RadiAllahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah (Sallellahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Neglecting one’s own dependents is a reason enough for a man to commit a sin” [Abu Dawud] The narration in Muslim is: Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) said: “It is enough sin for a person to hold back the due of one whose provision is in his hand”.

Commentary:

On the road to inculcate Taqwa

Once we say “La Ilaha Illallah”, we should take a few steps to lodge Taqwa (piety, righteousness, humbleness, fear, God consciousness, etc.) in our hearts. Some of the steps we can take; include the following:

Know as a believer that it’s Allah’s (our creator and sustainer’s) right to be obeyed:

Unbelievable facts about Mosquito:

The Quranic account of a mosquito which is so different from that of all other animals. It is the only animal which is mentioned with an emphatic denial that its creation could present any cause for embarrassment to its Creator. Thus declares the Quran:

“Allah does not feel shy (or embarrassed) at mentioning the example of a mosquito because of what is carried above it . . . ”

Where Do We Fall Related To Our Taqwa And The Guidance From Allah?

If we read the first few verses of Surah Al-Baqara (almost the beginning of the Quran), we would note that Allah describes three types of people related to guidance.

*The first group:*
In the first few verses (verses 2 – 5), He clearly explains that the Quran is a guidance for those who have Taqwa in their hearts and this guidance causes them to be successful. The people described in these verses are those who:

Anas (RadiyAllahu anhu) reported: The Prophet (Sallellahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever supports two girls till they attain maturity, he and I will come on the Day of Resurrection like this”. Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) joined his fingers illustrating this.”
[Muslim].

Commentary:

A study on families of disappeared persons (DPs) in Jammu and Kashmir has thrown up some startling data: more than 72 percent of those who disappeared after being picked up by security forces or militants in the last 23 years were innocent civilians.

The term ‘DPs’ is used to describe those people who were picked up from their homes or other places in the presence of witnesses, family members or friends, on suspicion of being militants by security forces or by separatists on suspicions of being police informers and were never seen again.

More than a billion people today say “La Ilaha Illallah”, yet many of us would agree that the Muslim ummah as a whole will be quite possibly missing out on additional mercy and blessings of Allah unless we start living by those words in our lives. Many among us either don’t know how to live up to those words or simply don’t find it necessary to do so. To them, recognizing a deity called “Allah” is all that is needed to be categorized as a “believer”. As we shall see later, Quran tells us that it may be nothing short of a sign of hypocrisy.