The Boy and the Cookie

“…I knew him myself. I knew him, and I don’t say he was from the Children of Isra’il. No! He was from the sons of this land. I knew him personally.

He would weep intensely. He would weep intensely, and he would never have the Qur’an recited in his presence except that he would cry, and become humble and soft. He was an amazing, strange person.

He memorized the Qur’an when he was only twelve! However, he was older due to the Words of Allah and his knowledge of Allah, and I don’t place him higher in status than Allah would.

I tell you about him while I have placed a condition on myself that I don’t tell you other than what I saw with my own eyes. The second condition I placed on myself is that I don’t exaggerate in anything I say about him.

He memorized ‘Sahih Muslim’ with me in two weeks. He memorized ‘Sahih al-Bukhari’ with my third friend – we were three – in two weeks. Do you realize? I didn’t know that he had memorized al-Bukhari, and my friend didn’t know that he had memorized Muslim. He loved sincerity. He always loved as-Sirri as-Saqti. Do you know why as-Sirri as-Saqti in particular? Because as-Sirri as-Saqti used to pay a lot of attention to sincerity.

How to weep for fear of Allaah

Question
I am a man and I never cry. How can I make my eyes weep for fear of Allaah in accordance with the hadeeth: “Two eyes that will never be touched by the Fire” in which it mentions “The eye that weeps for fear of Allaah”? May Allaah reward you with good.

Answer

Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly your feelings of regret for missing out on this blessing is a very good sign. You should note that the Muslim can accustom himself to weep for fear of Allaah, by doing the following:

The Four Poisons of the Heart

By Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah

You should know that all acts of disobedience are poison to the heart and cause its sickness and ruin. They result in its will running off course, against that of Allah, and so its sickness festers and increases. Ibn al-Mubarak said:

I have seen wrong actions killing hearts,
And their degradation may lead to their becoming addicted to them.
Turning away from wrong actions gives life to the hearts,
And opposing your self is best for it.

Whoever is concerned with the health and life of his heart, must rid it of the effects of such poisons, and then protect it by avoiding new ones. If he takes any by mistake, then he should hasten to wipe out their effect by turning in repentance and seeking forgiveness from Allah, as well as by doing good deeds that will wipe out his wrong actions.

By the four poisons we mean unnecessary talking, unrestrained glances, too much food and keeping bad company. Of all the poisons, these are the most widespread and have the greatest effect on a heart's well-being.


Unnecessary Talking

It is reported in al-Musnad, on the authority of Anas, that the Prophet said: "The faith of a servant is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is not put right until his tongue is put right."[1] This shows that the Prophet has made the purification of faith conditional on the purification of the heart, and the purification of the heart conditional on the purification of the tongue.

Asad bin al-Furat: The Conqueror of Southern Italy

adh-Dhahabi introduced him in ‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala” (9/14):

“Asad bin al-Furat, the Imam, the ‘Allamah, the Qadi, the Amir, the forerunner of the Mujahidin, Abu ‘Abdillah al-Harrani then al-Maghribi. He was born in Harran in 144 according to Ibn Makula. Others have said he was born in 145.”

In ‘Shajarat an-Nur az-Zakiyyah fi Tabaqat al-Malikiyyah’ (p. 62), Shaykh Muhammad Makhluf al-Maliki said:

“He traveled with his father when he was two years of age with the army of Arabs under the leadership of Ibn al-Ash’ath, and he entered Qayrawan in the year 146. He then entered Tunis and dedicated himself to reciting and studying the Qur’an and its sciences. He heard ‘al-Muwatta” from Ibn Ziyad (‘Ali bin Ziyad at-Tunisi), and when he was eighteen, he traveled east. He lived in Madinah for some time, and reviewed ‘al-Muwatta” with Malik himself.

He then traveled to Iraq and met the most famous companions of Abu Hanifah, including the two leading scholars Abu Yusuf and Muhammad bin al-Hasan. He obtained much useful knowledge from them, and he then traveled to Egypt and met a group of the most famous scholars including ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin al-Qasim. He stayed with him for some time, and this is where he wrote ‘al-Asadiyyah.’

He then returned to Qayrawan, and this is where he became famous for his knowledge and his reputation became great. In the year 212, the governor Ziyadatullah al-Aghlabi gathered his army naval fleet and prepared them to invade Sicily, and the commander and judge of the army was Asad bin al-Furat. He went out as part of a huge caravan that included scholars and his supporters.

Very beautiful Quran recitation

The Sword Of Allah At Yarmuk

At dawn the Muslim corps lined up for prayers under their respective commanders. As soon as the prayers were over, every man rushed to his assigned place. By sunrise both armies stood in battle order, facing each other across the centre of the Plain of Yarmuk, a little less than a mile apart.
There was no movement and little noise in the two armies. The soldiers knew that this was a fight to the finish, that one of the two armies would lie shattered on the battlefield before the fight was over. The Muslims gazed in wonder at the splendid formations of the Roman legions with banners flying and crosses raised above the heads of the soldiery. The Romans looked with something less than awe at the Muslim army deployed to their front. Their confidence rested on their great numbers, but during the past two years the performance of the Muslims in Syria had instilled a good deal of respect in the hearts of the Romans. There was a look of caution in Roman eyes. Thus an hour passed during which no one stirred and the soldiers awaited the start of a battle which, according to the chroniclers, "began with sparks of fire and ended with a raging conflagration", and of which "each day was more violent than the day before." 2.
Then a Roman general by the name of George emerged from the Roman centre and rode towards the Muslims. Halting a short distance from the Muslim centre, he raised his voice and asked for Khalid. From the Muslim side Khalid rode out, delighted at the thought that the battle would begin with himself fighting a duel. He would set the pace for the rest of the battle.
As Khalid drew near, the Roman made no move to draw his sword, but continued to look intently at Khalid. The Muslim advanced until the necks of the horses crossed, and still George did not draw his sword. Then he spoke, in Arabic: "O Khalid, tell me the truth and do not deceive me, for the free do not lie and the noble do not deceive. Is it true that Allah sent a sword from heaven to your Prophet ? … and that he gave it to you ? … and that never have you drawn it but your enemies have been defeated?"

"No!" replied Khalid.

"Then why are you known as the Sword of Allah?"

Here Khalid told George the story of how he received the title of Sword of Allah from the Holy Prophet. George pondered this a while, then with a pensive look in his eyes, asked, "Tell me, to what do you call me?"

"To bear witness", Khalid replied, "that there is no Allah but Allah and Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger; and to believe in what he has brought from Allah."

"If I do not agree?"

"Then the Jizya, and you shall be under our protection."

"If I still do not agree?"

"Then the sword!"

George considered the words of Khalid for a few moments, then asked, "What is the position of one who enters your faith today?"

"In our faith there is only one position. All are equal."

"Then I accept your faith!" 3

To the astonishment of the two armies, which knew nothing of what had passed between the two generals, Khalid turned his horse and Muslim and Roman rode slowly to the Muslim army. On arrival at the Muslim centre George repeated after Khalid: "There is no Allah but Allah; Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah!" (A few hours later the newly-converted George would fight heroically for the faith which he had just embraced and would die in battle.) On the auspicious note of this conversion began the Battle of Yarmuk.

source: islamicawakening.com

Developing Humility in Prayer

By Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal rahimahullaah

You should know - may Allah have mercy upon you - that when the slave [of Allah] leaves his house to go to the mosque, that he is going to face Allah, the Irresistible, the One, the Omnipotent, the Exalted in Might, the Oft-forgiving, in the knowledge that nothing is hidden from Allah, wherever it might be, and that nothing is hidden from Allah and that even something as small as a mustard seed is not concealed from Him, nor even something smaller, nor larger - in the seven earths or the seven heavens, in the seven seas or the lofty mountains, fixed and firm. And verily, the mosque to which he comes is one of the Houses of Allah. He desires only Allah and he sets out to one of Allah's Houses, which:

"Allah has permitted to be raised to honour, for the celebration in them of His Name: In them He is glorified in the mornings and the evenings [over and over] by men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the practice of regular charity: Their [only] fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed." [Qur'an 24:36-37]

So when anyone from amongst you sets out from his house (for the mosque) he should say quietly to himself words of remembrance [of Allah] - words unconnected with the affairs and business of this world. He should set out calmly, somberly, for this is what the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, ordered us to do; he should set out with (his heart full of) longing and desire [for Allah's pleasure] and fear and apprehension [of Allah's anger] and with humility and meekness towards Allah.

Salman al-Farisi, the seeker of truth

This is a story of a seeker of Truth, the story of Salman the Persian, gleaned, to begin with, from his own words:

I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of Jayyan. My father was the Dihqan or chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.

Since I was a child my father loved me, more than he loved any other. As time went by his love for me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me. So he kept me at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.

I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire which we worshipped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties as dihqan in the village and he said to me:

"My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now. Go and look after matters there for me today."

On my way to the estate, I passed a Christian church and the voices at prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about Christianity or about the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians I entered the church to see what they were doing.

I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. "By God," I said, "this is better than ours. I shall not leave them until the sun sets."

I asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in AshSham (Greater Syria). I did not go to my father's estate that day and at night, I returned home. My father met me and asked what I had done. I told him about my meeting with the Christians and how I was impressed by their religion. He was dismayed and said:

"My son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better."

"No, their religion is better than ours," I insisted.

My father became upset and afraid that I would leave our religion. So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I managed however to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me of any caravan going to Syria. Before long they got in touch with me and told me that a caravan was headed for Syria. I managed to unfetter myself and in disguise accompanied the caravan to Syria. There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said:

"I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you."

The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in chanty while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything to spend in the way oRGod however, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way he amassed a vast quantity of gold. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said.

"By God, we shall not bury him." They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him.

I continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company.

Omar al-Mukhtar ,the Mug shot that spoke his legacy

We go back in history to 1862 where a young boy of a poor household was born in a town controlled by the Uthmany Khilafa. This young man was brought under the care and tutelage of one of the Shuyookh in his home town when he was at the ripe age of 16 after the death of his father. He eventually developed a lifestyle of not sleeping more than 3 hours every night in order to get up to pray to Allah at the last third of the night and recite Qur’an until fajr. He memorized the Qur’an (as all knowledgeable people begin their lives) eventually, and was known to have finished his revisions in its entirety every seven days, regardless of the sufferings he encountered in his life. His courage and wisdom was pronounced, and was an example for people to follow. This was evident on one of his caravan trails to Sudan as a young man. A lion had deterred the people from entering a particular path. Caravans were veered else where for fear of this lion. To distract this lion, people would resort giving it one of their camels, a most prized
possession, so they could pass safely. He learned of this lion during the journey, where upon he consequently took it upon himself to face this crisis head on. Unlike other men in the caravan who were dumbstruck by the situation, he carried his shot gun, rode his horse and went after the lion. He came back with the lion’s head much to everyone’s surprise and due gratitude. This earned him the name “Lion of Cyrenaica.” An upbringing of courage and upright religiosity had a massive effect on him. His character would not only change the course of his tribe, country and people, but also the world of Muslims in the Post Colonial Era. In his twenties he was known for his maturity beyond his years as well as his wisdom, for he continued to solve tribal
disputes. His people listened to him and took his regardless of village or region he found himself in. His manners were known to be great, for he was eloquent, balanced in his speech, and appealing to those who listened. This uniqueness helped him unite the tribes, and later on gather armies to fend off the colonizers. His thirties was marked by dawn of the Colonial Era, as it began to spread its cancer to the rest of the world. At the time when the world was being ravaged by European nations, this man stood firm for Islam and faced colonizers with his valor.
He fought fiercely against the French with a group called Banu Sanus, who would later be known as the Sanusies. For a brief moment, they also fought the British, who were marked by greed and attempted to conquer their land. As part of a global feast on the so-called less civilized nations, Italy joined the European nations in causing havoc in the southern part of the hemisphere by colonizing North Africa.

A Christian woman saw in her dream that she was in the mosque and she saw the Qur'aan lighting the way

ISLAM Q N A

Question

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. I decided to write this letter to you in the hope that you can help me to understand this dream I saw. First of all, I want to say that I am a Roman Catholic and I do not know much about Islam. Two months ago I saw in my dream that I was in the mosque, but I was not in the place of prayer or in the place for wudoo'; rather I was in a special place inside the mosque.
Then a man came to me who was aged between 35 and 40. He was wearing black. He was not very tall neither was he short, and his hair was curly. He was wearing distinctive black clothing, and I have never seen anything like this clothing before. He was approximately 185 cm tall and he was an Arab. He was followed by two boys, one of whom was 17 years old and the other was 20 years old. The younger one was wearing a black coat and holding in his hands a book that was shining, and I knew that this book might be the Qur'aan, but he had a black patch over his eye and the book was lighting the way for him and guiding him. Then the man who had entered in the beginning, who was the oldest of them, began to speak about Makkah and Rome and Vienna and about light and darkness, day and night and about the beginning of creation. In an instant everything became clear to me but I cannot define exactly what he was talking about because I forgot some of it but I cannot forget this dream.
What does this dream mean? What do I have to do? I hope that you can help me. Thank you.
I am waiting for your reply.

Answer

Praise be to Allaah.

And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. We were filled with joy when you asked us about this amazing dream. We may have taken a little while to reply to you, but we take this dream very seriously and we waited until we could ask more than one person who knows about dream interpretation. Not one of them differed concerning the importance of this dream for you, which may be a turning point in your life.

Receiving good in the worldly life

'Umar ibn-ul khattab (radiyAllah 'anhu) once said, " If I was not to fear my good deeds would be reduced, I would have participated in your luxurious ways, but I heard Allah rebukes some people (who are being sent to hell fire) saying : You received your good things in the worldly life and you took your gratification out of them."

Source: From the book "The characteristics of the salaf"

Shaykh Muhammad Al Arifi - Pious Young Muslim & Cardiologist

A Sister's Letter from Gaza

Sister Umm Taqi was interviewed by Islam Channel live from Gaza for their Muslimah Dilemma show. Following the interview, Umm Taqi wrote this letter to Islam Channel, which they translated from Arabic into English.

Asaalam Alaykum,

My dear sisters and brothers I wanted to take this opportunity to send you a message from the sisters in Gaza . Please hear our situation and tell everyone that you know and don't know.

Our situation is dire but our eman is strong alhamdulillah, even though we have no water to speak of, and when we do it is polluted and we have no money to buy mineral water. When we find the money those that sell it say that it is too dangerous for them to travel out to get new supplies. We have no gas, and have not had for the last four months. We cook the little food we have on real fires that we have learned to prepare.

Our men have lost all of their jobs. They spend their days at home now. My husband can spend a day just going from place to place just for the basic need of water. He usually returns empty handed. There are no schools, no banks, hardly any hospitals open. You are constantly aware that you risk your life when you go out and when you are indoors. They give us a curfew between 1-4pm. We can go out, they say, in safety to get your supplies, but that is a lie. They have often used that opportunity to add more shuhada (martyrs) to their list.

We eat one day rice and one day bread. Meat and milk are a luxury. They are using chemical warfare in the areas which are on the borders.

All this and we are being told that people demonstrate all over the world. Masha Allah. The fact that you go to embassies and leave your homes makes us feel truly that we are not alone in our struggle.

But you go home at night and lock your door. We cannot do that. I have to leave my home on the second floor every night and stay with my sister on the ground floor. Should there be an attack, it’s quicker to leave from the ground floor.

Yes, we are tired. When we hear rockets and bombs and see planes that fly too close to our building, I scream with my young son and my husband feels helpless.

In all this there is no one but Allah (swt) that can save us. But the ummah is asking where are the armies, where is the victory? Don't forget us because you are all that we have now. Your kind sadeqat (charity) is not reaching us, and when they open borders it only reaches a few. Keep up the work of Allah and pray that the victory will come soon insha Allah.

Wassalam,

Your sister Umm Taqi.

http://www.al-istiqamah.com/PP/SisterLetter1.htm

Example of a believing women

When news of the Christian army that had prepared on the horizons to wipe out Islam reached him, Abu Qudaamah Ash-Shaamee moved quickly to the Mimbar of the Masjid. In a powerful and emotional speech, Abu Qudaamah ignited the desire of the community to defend their land, Jihad for the sake of Allah. As he left the Masjid, walking down a dark and secluded alley, a women stopped him and said, "As salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullaah!" Abu Qudaamah stopped and did not answer. She repeated her salam again, adding "this is not how pious people should act." She stepped forward from the shadows. "I heard you in the Masjid encouraging the believers to go for Jihad and all I have is this…" She handed him two long braids. "It can be used for a horse rein. Perhaps Allah may write me as one of those who went for Jihaad."
The next day as that Muslim village set out to confront the crusader army, a young boy ran through the gathering and stood at the hooves of Abu Qudaamah's horse. "I ask you by Allah to allow me to join the army." Some of the elder fighters laughed at the boy. "The horses will trample you," they said. But Abu Qudaamah looked down into his eyes as he asked again, "I ask you by Allah, let me join." Abu Qudaamah then said, "On one condition, if you are killed you will take me with you to Jannah amongst those you will be allowed to intercede for." That young boy smiled. "It's a promise."
When the two armies met and the fighting intensified, the young boy on the back of Abu Qudaamah's horse asked, "I ask you by Allah to give me 3 arrows." "You'll lose them!" The boy repeated, "I ask you by Allah to give me them." Abu Qudaamah gave him the arrows and the boy took aim. "Bismillaah!" The arrow flew and killed a Roman. "Bismillaah!" The second arrow flew, killing a second Roman. "Bismillaah!" The third arrow flew, killing a third Roman. An arrow then struck the boy in the chest - knocking him off the horse. Abu Qudaamah jumped down to his side, reminding the boy in his final breaths, "Don't forget the promise!" The boy reached into his pocket, extracted a pouch and said, "Please return this to my mother." "Who's your mother?" asked Abu Qudaamah. "The women that gave you the braids yesterday."

extracted from an article by Muhamed Alshareef

The story of a man who feared

The Prophet(peace be upon him) said, "There was a man amongst the people who had suspicion as to the righteousness of his deeds. Therefore he said to his family, 'If I die, take me and burn my corpse and throw my ashes into the sea on a hot (or windy) day.' They did so, but Allah, collected his particles and asked (him), What made you do what you did?' He replied, 'The only thing that made me do it, was that I was afraid of You.' So Allah forgave him."

Narrated Hudhaifa:
Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 76 :: Hadith 487

The story of Mus'ab ibn 'Umair

He was born and brought up in wealth, and he grew up with its luxuries. Perhaps there was no boy in Makkah who was pampered by his parents like Mus`ab lbn `Umair. This mirthful youth, caressed and pampered, the talk of the ladies of Makkah, the jewel of its clubs and assemblies: is it possible for him to be one of the legends of faith?

By Allah, how interesting a tale, the story of Mus`ab Ibn `Umair or Mus`ab the Good, as he was nicknamed among the Muslims! He was one of those made by Islam and fostered by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

But who was he? His story is a pride of all mankind. The youth heard one day what the people of Makkah had begun to hear about Muhammad the Truthful, that Allah had sent him as bearer of glad tidings and a warner to call them to the worship of Allah the One God. When Makkah slept and awoke there was no other talk but the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his religion, and this spoiled boy was one of the most attentive listeners.

That was because, although he was young, the flower of clubs and assemblies, the outward appearance of wisdom and common sense were among the traits of Mus`ab.

He heard that the Prophet (PBUH) and those who believed in him were meeting far away from the dignitaries and great men of the Quraish at As-safaa in the house of Al-Arqam lbn Al-Arqam daar Al-Arqam. He wasted no time. He went one night to the Daar Al Arqam, yearning and anxious. There, the Prophet (PBUH) was meeting his Companions, reciting the Qur'aan to them and praying with them to Allah the Most Exalted. Mus`ab had hardly taken his seat and contemplated the verses of Qur'aan recited by the Prophet (PBUH) when his heart became the promised heart that night.

Surah Al- Asr

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

وَالْعَصْرِ

By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),

إِنَّ الإِنسَـنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ

Verily Man is in loss,

إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ وَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِالْحَقّ وَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِالصَّبْرِ

Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.


(Holy Quran/ Surah 103/Yusuf Ali translation)