Reformation of the Self

  “No one knows what he will earn tomorrow and no one knows in what land he will die.”_Quran 31:34   Some people say time is an equalizer, while others say knowledge is an equalizer but to me, the true equalizer is death. Think about it, humans are gifted resources in different amount and quantity, and that applies to knowledge and time. This is so because someone who dies at 60 sure has more time than the person who dies at 2o. But everyone will die one, no matter how old or young. Yes, there are different ways to die, but the indisputable fact is we are all going to die one day, the moment our time is up. Allah, the Mighty and Sublime says in the Quran. Q3:185: “Every soul will taste death. You will be paid your wages in full on the Day of Rising. Anyone who is distanced from the Fire and admitted to the Garden, has triumphed. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of delusion,” And the Lord continues in Quran 16:61: “When their specified time arrives, ...

  "And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty." [al-Hijr 15:99]   The Ummah of Muhammad (SAW) is the most favour community among all nations in history of mankind. And one of the greatest favours of Allah upon them is the gift of the BEST ten days of the year. Those days are the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah, which have been made special by Allah, the Most High. To understand this better, let’s examine an authentic hadith reported by Imam Bukhari as follows: Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." The people asked, "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?" He (SAW) said, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with n...

In all affairs, especially the ones that relate to benefits and harm, whether to humankind or animal kingdom, we Muslims firmly believe that all power belongs to Allah, SWT, alone. However, sometimes, we Muslims are affected by the naturalist orientation of the West, and as such inadvertently say things that could be detrimental to our belief system. In fact, I read a committed man of da’wah praised the attendees of an Islamic programme who managed to show up in spite of heavy rain. He wrote something like, ‘Nature dazzled us with rains today…’ He didn’t think twice about it. May Allah (SWT) forgive him and myself for all the sinful words that we have said or written, both knowingly and unknowingly. Aameen. To know the truth of this matter, let’s study the following hadith of our beloved Prophet (SAW) deeply. “It is narrated on the authority of Zaid b. Khalid al-Juhani: The Messenger of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) led the morning prayer at Hudaybi...

  “Whoever teaches some knowledge will have the reward of the one who acts upon it, without that detracting from his reward in the slightest.”— Sunan Ibn Majah   In Islam, knowledge precedes worship. Knowledge is central to righteousness and true spirituality. Islam is a religion that began with a verse about reading. We need to know the Lord and His Commandments before we can worship Him properly. In fact, seeking to know and understand His Laws is one of the highest forms of worship. Having studied many great religions of the world, I have found that no other religion in all human history places knowledge on such an apex level as Islam. For example, in our religion, the sleep of a scholar is better than the worship of an ignorant person. Now, give me an equivalent of such analogy from any other religion or creed. For further proof, let’s study the words of the Prophet (SAW) to fully understand the essence of this topic. Narrated Qais bin Kathir: “A man from A...

  In our one united and unique Muslim community (Ummah Wahda Dunna Naas), we owe certain rights and responsibilities to one another for the sake of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime. By rights, it means we are fulfilling them as our duties and not as favours   towards   the others. Duties are by their nature, things imposed; they need to be done. In Islam, everything we do sincerely to gain the pleasure of our Lord, Allah, the Mighty and Sublime will bless and reward. Now, the six rights of every Muslim to every Muslim are as follows according to an authentic hadith of our beloved Prophet (SAW). Narrated Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said: “There are six things due from the believer to another believer: {1} Visiting him when he is ill (illness). {2} Attending (his funeral) when he dies (death). {3} Accepting his invitation when he invites (invitation). {4} Giving him Salam when he meets him (greetings). {5} Replying to him when he sneezes...