"Surely, the true religion in Allah's sight is Islam" (3:19)
Burayda reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Give good news to those who walk to mosques in the dark that they will have full light on the Day of Rising.”
[Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]
Development of personality is a duty upon all. It requires a great effort, lots of consciousness, much correction & gentle reminders. Are we people who live a life as we wish, always want things done our way, do as we please whether it is considered upright or not, courteous or not – or do we really try hard to accommodate others, respect them and speak to them politely no matter who they are, try to help others, maintain good relations with family and try our best to be as courteous and helpful as possible to all?
Time to think hard, be honest and make a positive change!
Remember, charity begins at home, so start with your spouse, children and parents!
Mufti Ismail Menk
In order to achieve contentment in life, the Messenger pbuh taught us to “Look at those who are less fortunate than yourselves”. The minute we compare our situation with those in a better position, we lose contentment and become ungrateful. This can also cause loss of even the little that we have. This applies in wealth, health, marriage, children and most other aspects of life.
However, regarding spirituality and worship, in order to achieve progress , the Messenger pbuh taught us to “Look at those who are higher than yourselves”. This will make us aim high. When we see others fulfill all their prayers, dress so appropriately, spend time and money seeking knowledge, learn the Qur’aan and quote it etc it should encourage us to to make an effort towards achieving greater closeness to the Almighty!
Mufti Ismail Menk
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah,” said the son.
“So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered:
“I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”
Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.
Appreciate every single thing you have Allah has blessed you with, especially your sincere friends!
Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their perspective and appreciation.
“Life is too short and friends are too few.”
Source: thekhalids.org
In a hadeeth reported by Imam Bukhari, Rasūl Allāh صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
والله إنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ الله وأَتُوبُ إِلَيْه في
اليَوْمِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً
By Allah I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to him more than seventy times in a day
[Tirmidhi]
A person cannot progress on the path of tazkiyah (spiritual purification) without sincere tawbah (repentance). Tawbah is to return to one’s original pure state. The Ulama (scholars) of tazkiyah say that a person should be repentant every moment of the day. Repentance is not only verbal, but more importantly, repentance should be in one’s state of heart and mind.
The proof of tawbah and it’s main component is remorse and one can never be remorseful without remembering one’s sins. A person’s character should be dripping with remorse and this inspires others to forgive. The true state of tawbah reveals itself in a person’s speech, gait and appearance.
Source: Content Soul
1. He was among the Tab-e-Taabieen having had the honour of meeting a large number of senior Tabieen.
Hunger was his salient feature. His diet was mainly dried out bread immersed in water. He would say: “One who is contented with dry bread is never dependent on others.” Sometimes extreme hunger would drive him to the home of Hadhrat Hasan Basri who would become delighted to receive him. One of his sayings is:
“Fortunate is the man who wakes up in the morning hungry, sleeps hungry and remembers Allah Ta’ala in his hunger.”
2. A man asked for some naseehat. Muhammad Waasi’ said: “Adopt abstinence (zuhd). Abandon greed. Know that all people are dependent. Do not ask your needs from anyone. If you follow this advice, you will become independent and you will acquire the kingdom of both worlds.”
3. Once he said to maalik Bin Dinaar:”It is more difficult to guard the tongue than guarding gold and silver.”
4. Someone enquired: “How are you?” Muhammad Waasi’ said: “What can I say about a man whose life is decreasing and sins increasing?”
5. He said: “A Saadiq (true saint) is not a perfect Saadiq as long as his khauf (fear) and raja (hope) are not equal. (There should be neither excess or deficiency in these attributes. A perfect balance between the two is necessary excess or deficiency leads to transgression of the limits.)
Source: Scattered Pearls
A long time ago there lived a great saint. His name was Sharafud-Din and he loved his mother very much. Once, when Sharafud-Din was still small, his mother fell very ill and had to stay in bed. One night she awoke with a burning thirst and called out to her son to bring her a bowl of water.
The young boy hurried to her bedside, but when he returned to her bedside with the water, he discovered that she had fallen asleep again. Sharafud-Din was not sure what to do. Should he wake her up or wait until she awoke, or leave the water by her bedside and go back to bed himself? He decided to wait until she awoke. Minutes passed…hours passed…the night passed…and still the small boy waited patiently with the water at his mother’s side. Finally his mother awoke a little after the first light of dawn had paled the sky, and to her surprise there was her beloved son at her side.
“How long have you been standing here?” she asked. “You haven’t been there all night have you?”
‘Yes, mother,” he replied, “I have been here since you asked me to bring you some water.”
His mother was deeply touched by his devotion, and asked Allah to pour His blessings on her son. One day he grew up to be a great saint!
Source: Madrassah Baytul Ilm
Those who do not really want to apologize for the wrong they have done choose words that make it seem to be an apology yet it is not. “I am sorry for how you felt” is neither an admission of guilt nor an apology for what was done. It is more like saying, “What I did was correct but how you felt was wrong.” The same applies to those who “apologize for how you reacted”.
Is it not foolish to apologize for a reaction by someone else, of our deed or utterance? If we were truly apologetic for what we did, we would consider ourselves wrong and put aside all pride by choosing words like “I am sorry for what I said or did”. Many times when a “but” is added to an apology it is a mere justification or a showered down apology which could be insincere.
Whenever we apologize we should consider the wording of the apology and be as clear and sincere as possible. Never allow pride to block, disrupt, delay or water down an apology owed to others. May the Almighty forgive our shortcomings and guide us to the straight path.
Mufti Ismail Menk