MY GRIEVING SISTERS………

I have no memory of this………..as I sat by Tariq’s graveside and read Yaseen, somewhere in Pakistan there were hundreds of women who would watch their children being buried alive in an earth quake.

As the side of the mountain split open and the school went down the hill into the river, andfor many days it is reported that the children were heard screaming trapped in the broken blocks of the building, all power lines, down, roads cut and water sources blocked by the split of the mountain and the breaking rocks.
It was October 2005. Three months after Tariq died…………….I remember packing Tariq’q parka and coats for the earthquake victims in Pakistan but did not know the details. I was in a grief coma where no on else existed except me and my grief.

Today as I listened to the narration of the earthquake from an AlHuda volunteer (listen to the last part of the second tafseer , 53 minutes)  where she had gone to help the victims of the earthquake the full impact of the tragedy hit me.

I share the grief of my sisters and pray to Allah to give them solace and open the path to Him Subhanawataala.

La Taknatu mer Rahmatullah…….

TARIQ: The Star of Piercing Brightness…….

English translation with recitation from Shaykh Luhaidan and beautiful illustrations:

English translation with recitation by Shaykh Alafasy with his mesmeric voice:

and with urdu translation:

and in pashtu translation

OUTCOME OF DISOBEDIENCE IN TRADE Surah Hud 11: 94-95

وَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمرُنَا نَجَّينَا شُعَيبًا وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ  بِرَحمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَأَخَذَتِ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ ٱلصَّيحَةُ فَأَصبَحُواْ فِى دِيَـرِهِم جَـثِمِينَ (٩٤)

And when Our commandment came to pass We saved Shu’eyb and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us; and the (Awful) Cry seized those who did injustice, and morning found them prostrate in their dwellings, (94)

كَأَن لَّم يَغنَواْ فِيہَآ أَلَا بُعدًا لِّمَديَنَ كَمَا بَعِدَت ثَمُودُ (٩٥)

As though they had not dwelt there. A far removal for Midian, even as Thamud had been removed afar! (95)

BACKGROUND:
The people of Midyan were affluent, excelling in trade. However they were dishonest in their weights and measures and cheated others regarding what they said and what they actually weighed out to give them and yet they were flourishing.
Saleh (AS) was sent to warn them, and to teach them Allah’s command to stop the dishonesty in trade………….
The people of Midyan said the same things that others had before them ranging from “how can we give up how our ancestors practiced trade, you (Saleh AS) are nothing and we would wipe you off the face of the earth if it was not because of your family” etc etc.

Tafseer translated from Dr. Farhat Hashmi
Midayn and Thamud were cursed by Allah Subhanawataala……..they had all the excellence of worldly technology but nothing could save them when Allah Subhanawataala sent destruction in the form of a shrill sound that killed them and they were thrown on their faces.

Midyan was thrown away as if they never existed, all the power structure of money, material and affluence dissolved in the face of punishment for disobedience of Allah.

The example is that Allah SWT threw out the entire nation of Midyan like a small piece of trash into the revolving back of a trash truck,(my example) crushed into oblivion with not a remnant left over to even show their power and affluence…………..mixed in and buried with the trash never to be identified again, their houses left behind as an example for nations to come……………….What was their sin? Cheating in trade in measuring and weighing what they sold!

MY TAKE
We as human beings are no judge of what is right and what is wrong. Once we begin doing a wrong act and do it enough times without being objected to, or do it secretly as the nation of Midyan did,then it starts to feel all right. Especially when there is no one to see it, stop it or advise us. We may be lulled into comfort especially if we overtly appear to flourish in our trade materially.
REMINDERS
The Cry………..we must remember the cry……….we must also remember the twig in the trash, the huge, affluent, powerful nation of Midyan thrown by Allah Subhanawataala like a twig in the trash crushed into oblivion for its disobedience of Allah in trade.

TIME TO CHECK
How are our businesses? It is time to evaluate them? Do we charge for goods or services we do not deliver or deliver less than what we have contracted for?

I ‘d like to be…………..

Excerpted from Surah 59: Al-Hashr (The Gathering) Recitation By: Mishary Rashed AlAfasy

FEAR AND FAITH: PART THREE :TAQWA

For part one click here

For Part two click here

Fear is an essential part of TAQWA.

TAQWA is a complex term describing a life filled with love, fear and obedience to Allah Subhanawataala and instilled with a constant awareness that He Subhanawataala is with us every waking and sleeping moment, and that He subhanawataala is protecting us and watching us, and that nothing escapes him whether it is overt in action or covertly residing in the recesses of our mind.

This awareness modulates our behavior inside salah and outside salah.

Taqwa is the ultimate goal of every sincere Muslim.

Allah Subhanawataala gives us the prescription to overcome fear and grief by following His guidance.
For that we need an understanding of His words, their meaning, the context in which they were revealed and the method of practice as demonstrated by Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him.

He Subhanawataala gives us a choice……………an option of overcoming FEAR and GRIEF. It is now upto us if we choose to seek the cure.
“““““`

An finally sages and scholars tell us that it is best to learn from History as history repeats itself, again and yet again.

Allah Subhanawataala says in the Quran that the only reason he relates stories of people from the past, is to teach us not to repeat the mistakes they made and to learn of the consequences of those mistakes………….
Thus be guided by the moral of these stories in the Quran and change our behavior before punishment descends or Time runs out for us individually or collectively.

~~~~~~~~~

May I share with you the story of THE STRONGEST NATION IN THE WORLD?

FEAR & FAITH: PART TWO: WHOM DO YOU FEAR?

FEAR comes in many guises. There are small fears and large fears.

Let us look at the “small” fears……….

It is a Friday in little town USA. I am going to invite you to imagine yourself in this scenario and, evaluate where you stand in each of the scenarios. This exercise is to evaluate our own self on the scale of who do we fear, and how do we modulate our behavior based on that fear.

In some cases we are not even aware of whom we fear and this fear and its result is reflected in our actions.

It is Friday………………..
A.    I wake up in the morning, I slept late and thus I wake up very close to end of Fajr, and I realize I will be late for work if I pray Fajr, so I bypass it saying to myself that Allah is Ghafoor rur Raheem, and dress and go to work.

What have I done?

I have violated a right of Allah because of my fear of my boss or my fear of losing my job and my sustenance……..in this one act of fear of someone other than Allah I have relegated my boss in dunya as a small God that takes precedence over God Almighty my Creator and Sustainer.

By fearing the loss of my job and sustenance, and violating the rights of Allah Subhanawataala I have denied what we are assured in the Quran and what I as a Muslim repeat 17 times each day while reciting Surah Fatiha: which is:

Aooudobillahi minish shaytaan nir rajeem, Bismillah hir rahman nir Raheem.
Alhamdollilllahi Rabil Alameen

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (1)
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds.

Thus I have lied 17 times a day because my actions do not match what my lips say. Saying one thing and doing another. Such people have a name in the Quran and their abode is well described, in the bottom of the deepest level of THE FIRE.
In Summary:
One act of omission led to two violations of the rights of Allah and one forbidden act of lying. i.e.
1.    Not praying fajr
2.     Relegating power over my sustenance to my boss and,
3.    While in other salahs……saying one thing and doing another i.e. lying to Allah Subhanawataala.

B. Next I then go to work and being a conscientious Muslim, I take time off to pray Jooma, which is mandatory.
In Surah Jumma Allah Subhanawataala says:
062.009 YUSUFALI: O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew!

I reach the masjid and I find myself wearing clothes that outline or incompletely cover my awrah, e.g. western pants with a tucked in shirt which in both men and women are inadequate dress for prayer.

HADITH Book 47, Number 47.2.9:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Salama ibn Safwan ibn Salama az-Zuraqi that Zayd ibn Talha ibn Rukana, who attributed it to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Every Deen has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty.’ “

Why do I dress like this for Jooma?

Here my fear is……………….. that I might look out of place or strange when I leave the masjid, and therefore I succumb to that fear and compromise the rights of Allah, in appearing before Him inadequately or inappropriately dressed despite having the means to do so.

I have made someone or something other than Allah my small god whom I fear and thus wish to please more than my wish to please my Creator and Sustainer.

C. Next the adhaan is called and at the same time I see a sister I haven’t seen in a while so I get up and go up to her give her my salaam and ask about her family.

What did Rasool Allah salal lahi alayhe wasalaam do when the adhan was called?

In a hadith related from the Ummahaat e Momineen and I paraphrase: “When Rasool Allah peace be upon him would be with us and the adhaan would be called his facial expression would change, he would become a stranger and would fall silent as if he was far away and not with us anymore”

Volume 1, Book 11, Number 585: Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:

Allah’s Apostle said, “Whenever you hear the Adhan, say what the Mu’adhdhin is saying”.

In the Quran Allah Subhanawataala says and I paraphrase “obey me and obey the Rasool”  (ayah) and at another place “follow the Rasool”

008.046 And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For Allah is with those who patiently persevere

Thus when I get up at Adhaan and talk to this sister, what is the little fear in my heart? Perhaps I do not want to be excluded from her social circle, or I want to be popular, or some other altruistic reason…………..all of which pale before my disobedience of the Sunnah, and my ignoring the footsteps of RasoolAllah peace and blessing be on him.
Even though Allah Subhanawataala has put me in a place, time and people where following Rasool Allah (peace be upon him) sunnah has been made easy for me.

Of course I am either oblivious of what I am doing which means I am in Ghafala, (I am ignorant of the steps of the Rasool peace be upon him) or I am deliberately disobedient or my fear of losing my place in dunya has propelled me to ignore the sunnah of the adhaan.

D. Next the iqamaah is called and I am not sure where I should stand; I want to stand near the exit so that I can scoot out when the prayer finishes, as I have to go to lunch with a friend or have to go back to work, and in this flurry of indecision I miss my opportunity of making dua:

Book 2, Number 0521:  Hadith Narrated Anas ibn Malik: Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him said:
“The supplication made between the adhan and the iqamah is not rejected”

Thus here my fear of displeasing my boss, my friend take precedence over my desire to be in the best possible position for salah, which is directly behind the imam for brothers and the last line directly behind the imam for women if there is no separation between men and women. In addition I have lost the moment of dua……

E. During the salaah, I am uplifted to the presence of Allah Subhanawataala and I am overtaken with His words and I forget dunya. As soon as salaah finishes I begin the masnoon supplications and Dhikr of Rasool Allah saw in an attempt to follow his path.
People around me begin to talk and my attention is distracted and my intentions to do the Dhikr after salah evaporates, and with this act the angels of mercy that surround my musallah, get up and leave.

F. Abandoning my resolve to do even the briefest of Dhikr i.e. the tasbeeh Fatima (RA) I get up to do my Sunnah.  As I begin to pray I forget to place a sutrah in front of me. Partly because I am in a hurry, and fear being late for my next appointment………….again my fear of not pleasing dunya and its people supercedes my desire to please Allah SWT.

G. I start my Sunnah efficiently and with concentration. However my sisters who are in a hurry to go home, to work, or to shop or run errands pass in front of me, the hems of their dresses brushing against my head in sajdah, and I am reminded of three hadith that pertain to the sunnah prayer:

Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him instructed us as follows and I paraphrase:
1. “Place a sutrah in front of you for sunnah and nafil salah”
2. “Fight to keep a person from passing in front of you if you are praying Sunnah or nafil salah.
3. “If a person would know how detrimental it is to pass in front of a person performing salaah, they would never do it!

I have once again allowed my fears of dunya, i.e. my fear of being late for a dunya appointment interfere with my focus when I stand in front of my Lord.

To be continued……………………..

This is just the beginning of the blessed day of Jooma…………..

Whom do you fear?

THE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR………

Door in Old Damascus

I can feel it knocking on the door, and I am trying to ignore it, the methods used for ignoring are not healthy, and create more anxiety.
Sometimes the knocking becomes insistent and cannot be completely ignored and for a fleeting second I am tempted to open the door and face the consequences and then the wall goes up and deadens the sound of the knocking………….

……………………….There is a gathering at my house. The house is filled with Tariq and Shireen’s friends. Some of them are sitting at the dining table, I am also seated with them, and she is consulting him about college. He in his most “seriously considering” manner is very graciously explaining the pros and cons of the various aspects. I silently acknowledge with surprise his maturity and thoughtful evaluation of the ramifications of the choices in college…………..and just as quickly as it came the memory fades.

Time has fast-forwarded four years, she is done with college and we are all celebrating her graduation dinner. This gathering is very different from her high school graduation dinner where he had given a speech, and one could hear laughter, and sense the air saturated with joy. Today there is a void that no one wants to acknowledge.

I feel the knocking at the door. It is grief…………. insistent on wanting admittance to my heart.

Inna lil lahi wa inna elayhe rajaeown…….

FEAR & FAITH : Part One

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem, I begin with the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, and Most Merciful

FEAR is one of the most primitive instincts for survival. Fear is recognized in the thinking feeling part of the brain called the limbic system. It is then processed by the frontal lobes and if approved the hypothalamus is triggered to produces the hormones of fright, fight and flight.

Having placed the three checks and balances in our brains Allah Subhanawataala teaches us about Fear and how it will affect us, depending on what choices we make.

The word(s) “fear” appears 295 time(s) in 269 verse(s) in the Quran.

Allah Subhanawataala has taught us how to qualify, avoid and overcome FEAR. He has also taught us how to educate our frontal lobes to stop the reaction of the hormonal trigger of FEAR. In the complexity of the words of the Quran and the practices of our beloved Prophet lies the key to control Fear from Ghair Allah. (This is the topic for another day)

Allah Subhanawataala instructs us about our choices regarding fear:

1.    He says in the second ayah of Surah Al Baqarah: 2:2

ذَلِكَ ٱلتَـبُ لَا رَيبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلمُتَّقِينَ
YusufAli’s translation: This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah.
(Mutaqqeen: people of Taqwa)

Thus guidance will only be given to me in the Book of Allah’s words if I fear Allah.
Fear only Him and His words in His book (the Quran) will become guidance for us.

2. Those who reject His words they have to FEAR the FIRE

فَإِن لَّم تَفعَلُواْ وَلَن تَفعَلُواْ فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱلنَّارَ ٱلَّتِى وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّت لِلكَـفِرِينَ (٢٤)
YUSUFALI: 2:24 But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, – which is prepared for those who reject Faith.

Those who reject His Subhanawataala’s words have fear the FIRE of Jahannum

3. 002.038
قُلنَا ٱهبِطُواْ مِنہَا جَمِيعًا فَإِمَّا يَأتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدًى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَاىَ فَلَا خَوفٌ عَلَيہِم وَلَا هُم يَحزَنُونَ (٣٨)
In Surah Baqarah ayah 38 Allah Subhanawataala says:
002.038 YUSUFALI: We said: “Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

4. Who to fear?
002.040YUSUFALI: O Children of Israel! Call to mind the (special) favor, which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill your covenant with Me as I fulfill My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me.

Even though the example given here is of the Children of Israel but it is as applicable to each one of us….the command is succinct that we must Fear NO ONE but Allah Subhanawataala.

In summary Allah Subhanawataala outlines:
1.    That we should fear None but Him (ALLAH).
2.     He warns those who reject His words and commandments that they should fear the FIRE that eats up man and stones
3.    Those who obey Him shall never have fear or grief.

Usually when we read about people who disobey Allah Subhanwataala and the promise of the FIRE for them we have no fear because we never associate or include ourselves in those who disobey Him because we were born Muslims, or have a muslim name and thus we erroneously feel that we are naturally protected no matter what we do.

FEAR comes in many guises. There are small fears and large fears…………………….

To be continued in part two………….

NO FEAR AND N0 GRIEF…………Surah Baqarah

The Names of Allah:courtesy www.flickr.com

Surah Baqarah2.038
قُلنَا ٱهبِطُواْ مِنہَا جَمِيعًا فَإِمَّا يَأتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدًى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَاىَ فَلَا خَوفٌ عَلَيہِم وَلَا هُم يَحزَنُونَ (٣٨)
In Surah Baqarah ayah 38 Allah Subhanawataala says:
002.038 YUSUFALI: We said: “Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

On a personal note:

Let me share with you my journey with grief and fear.
After Tariq, and his friends died, I was in severe unremitting continuous pain and grief. I took Prophet Muhammad sallalaho alaye wasalaams advice and used every halal available means to allay my grief.
The intensity of the pain was blinding and unremitting despite all the secular and medical methods.

It was in one of these moments of blinding pain that I sought the guidance of Allah Subhanawataala’s words and tapped into His promise of no fear and no grief.
I am a slow learner so after quite a while, I realized the connection, that as long as I was in the presence of my Lord, I had no fear and no grief.

Thus ignoring His Subhanawataala’s guidance and going back to the ways of dunya, the rat race and the senseless acquisition of degrees, materialistic assets and fame became moot.

Allah Subhanawataala says………….. and it is the secret of inner peace:
Verily it is in the Dhikr of Allah that hearts do find rest.

There are so many people who spend their life in search of cure for their grief in the secular zone. The modern Muslims also, like me first search all the secular sources and yet are blind to the single ayah at the front end of the Quran, which is laden with Allah’s promise.

He or she who follows Allah Subhanawataala’s guidance shall have no fear nor shall they grieve.

When you reach out and take one step towards Him Subhanawataala He takes ten……..so goes the hadith from our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon Him.

I sincerely hope and pray that you do not wait for a catastrophe to happen and the pain of grief to  smother you before you actually seek His guidance.

Sandstorm…………..Surah Hud 11:50-60

An entire nation buried in the sand for their continuous disobedience (Major i.e. SHIRK)

of Allah Subhanawataala

courtesy http://www.marshu.com/collection-pictures-iraq-sand-storm.php

Listen to the story from the Quran:

surah_hud.mp3

Prophet (SAW)’s Supplication

Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him would make this dua when he would feel wind coming his way:

At the time of heavy winds

Recite:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهَا رَحْمَةً وَلَا تَجْعَلْهَا عَذَابَاً اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهَا رِيَاحَاً وَلَا تَجْعَلْهَا رِيحَاً

When there is a heavy wind, sit in the position of attahiyat and recite:

“O Allah, let it be a mercy and not a punishment. O Allah make it a beneficial and not a destructive wind”. (Mishkat)

If there is a darkness with the heavy wind, recite Surah Falaq and Surah Naas. (Mishkat)