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Wheat & Barley
I was listening to Muhammad al-Shareef's lecture on Jannah (Have you ever tasted Jannah?) and he related a very good story to convey the seriousness of our preparation (or lack thereof) for our meeting with Allah SWT:
A slave had a master who was very disobedient of Allah's commands. One day the slave was told by the master to plant wheat. To teach ( Read more... ) -
'Isa [Jesus (peace be upon him)] in Islam
I ran across these verses (below) the other day while reading the Qur'aan and it really amazes me at how indifferent Muslims can be when it comes to depiction of 'Isa [Jesus (peace be upon him)] in the media and in general. When I was younger, my ears would perk up whenever I'd hear the name "Jesus" because instantly I'd think: hey that's Allah's ( Read more... ) -
On Seeking Knowledge
Brotha, a conference is comin’ up,
Let’s go, so to make our hearts and minds sharp,
Tickets are this priced, for learning so sweet.
What? Have you been bought into this also?
The Sahaba never charged, don’t you know-
Of their knowledge they gave to others free!
Do you say their students sacrificed naught-
Of their wealth, physicality, and love,
To be in ( Read more... ) -
Towards Understanding Islam
By far one of the best books I've read on Islam in basic and straightforward terms. I wanted to share, especially, the first four pages as I think a lot of times we forget that Islam is a universal religion- believe it or not- it is not something that is limited to Arabia, Indo-Pak, etc. Muhammad (pbuh) came to perfect the human character, ( Read more... ) -
Two Cups of Coffee (fwd)
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with ( Read more... ) -
Between two times
Ibn al-Qayyim said: Come and be with Allaah, and draw close to Him in an abode of peace, with no exhaustion or tiredness or suffering via the closest and easiest routes. You are in a time between two times, which in fact is your life, your current time, between the past and the future. What has passed can be set right by repentance and regret and ( Read more... ) -
Humility of the Prophet (SAW)
An excerpt about prophet Muhammad (saw) from The Sealed Nectar, p.500
Once he was travelling with his Companions and when it was time to have food prepared, he asked them to slaughter a she-sheep. A man said: I will slaughter it, another one said: I will skin it out. A third said: I will cook it. So the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: I will collect ( Read more... ) -
The Fortress of Iman - Sheikh `Abd al-Qadir al-Jaylani
Another allegory :)
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source: Hanafi.co.uk
Sheikh `Abd al-Qadir al-Jaylani clarifies the importance of going beyond the bare minimum in an allegory he mentions in Ghunya li Talibi Tariq al-Haqq. One of these is al-Saffarini's Ghudha al-Albab, a commentary on general refined behavior:
The allegory of belief [iman] is that of a ( Read more... ) -
Something to erase past Mistakes
"For any adversity a Muslim suffers, Allah erases some of his sins, even though it may be no more than a thorn pricking him". (Bukhari).
"Whatever befalls a Muslim of exhaustion, illness, worry, grief, nuisance or trouble, even though it may be no more than a prick of a thorn, earns him forgiveness by Allah of some of his sins." (Bukhari ( Read more... ) -
Refuge of the Broken Hearted
A nice analogy, masha'Allah :)
Source: Alinaam.orgThe Muslim society in the time of Abdul Qaadir could broadly be divided into two classes. The first of these comprised the men of substance who were deficient in faith and virtuous behaviour. As against this, there was another class, poverty-stricken and downtrodden, but endowed with faith and a ( Read more... )