"Surely, the true religion in Allah's sight is Islam" (3:19)
When angered by someone, leave his presence or have him removed from your presence and drink cold water. If the anger is overwhelming then reflect: Allah Ta’ala too has rights over me and I frequently violate such rights. When He forgives us, we too should forgive the faults and errors of others. What will be my plight if He seeks to take vengeance?
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi
When you marry you have to divorce a part of yourself.
Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq
It is mentioned in a hadith that Nabi (sallalaahu alayhi wassallam) said, ” When a female child is born, Allah Ta’ala sends His angels to that house. They come to the dwellers of the house and pray that peace may be upon them, The angels then cover the newly born girl in the shadow of their wings and caressing the head of the baby with their hands they say that, this is a weak and frail person, whoever will bear the responsibility of cherishing her will go on having the blessing of Allah Ta’ala as long as that person remains alive.” ( Al-Mojam al – Saghir li Tabrani).
Source: Upbringing Children in Islam
As a right one Muslim enjoys over another, one should reply to the person who sneezes.
Hadhrat Anas Bin Malik (رضى الله تعالى عنه) narrates that two people sneezed in the presence of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He replied to one and not the other. The one who did not get the reply of Yar-Hamukullah said: “So and so sneezed and you replied but you did not do so when I sneezed?” The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied: “He said “Alhumdulillah” whilst you failed to say Alhumdulillah.” [Muslim]
One of the etiquettes of sneezing is that the sound should be stilted and the nose covered. This ensures that one’s companion are not annoyed if anything comes out of his nose. In the event of any food or person before him, one should turn his face away and sneeze to prevent the particles that emerge from sneezing from falling onto the food or person before him.
Whenever our beloved Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم sneezed, he would cover his face with his hands or with a piece of cloth, so that the sound of the sneeze could not be heard too loudly. [Tirmidhi]
Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (رضى الله تعالى عنه) said: I heard Allah’s messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) say, “When one of you sneezes and praises Allah, invoke a blessing on him, but if he does not praise Allah do not invoke a blessing on him.” [Muslim]
Source: The 40 Pathways to Jannah by Sheikh Khalid Sayyid Ali
The prophets of Allah often had a tough time getting their people to listen to them, and Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) was no exception. His people had been going very far astray, they worshipped idols, and many of them were so involved with their material well being that they forgot about their souls. Therefore Allah sent Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) to his people with a message.
The prophet Nuh’s (Alayhis Salam) message was a simple one. He said that they should worship Allah and serve none but Allah. If they wouldn’t change their ways, he feared that Allah would send down a terrible punishment on them. He reminded them of all the beauty and bounty that Allah had provided for them.
There were some people who did believe and they tried very hard to live as Allah had commanded. But most of the people would find reasons for not listening to Prophet Nuh’s (Alayhis Salam) message. Often the leaders would say that Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) was crazy. At other times the leaders of those who didn’t believe would say, “You are just a man, no different from us, no angel, so how can you carry a message from Allah?”
And Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) would remind them that he had never claimed to be anything other than a man, he had never claimed to know anything more than what he knew, and he had never tried to get anything from them in return for what he had to tell them. But he repeatedly told them that he had a message from Allah, which it was his duty to deliver, whether or not they chose to listen to him.
Many of the people who believed in Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) were not very high in social status, so the leaders of the people looked down on the followers of Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam). But he said that no one could save him from Allah’s anger if he drove away any of those who believed, no matter how poor or uneducated they were. Finally the leaders of the people would say in exasperation, “You’ve argued and argued with us for a long time, so bring on this punishment now that you’ve been threatening us with.”
Prophet Nuh’s (Alayhis Salam) answer was, “Allah will bring it on you if He so wills, and then you will not be able to stop it.”
These discussions went on for a long time. Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) lived for 950 years among his people (Sura 29,Ayat 14). He became very discouraged when not many people would listen to him. He then received a message from Allah, “None of your people will believe except those who have believed already: So don’t worry about the wrongdoers any more. Build a ship under our guidance. Those who are in sin will soon be destroyed.”
Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) and his followers built the ship out of broad planks and caulked it with palm-fibre. As they worked the non believers ridiculed them. Sometime after the ship had been completed, water started gushing out of the earth. Allah commanded Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) to get into the ship, and to take with him a male and a female of each kind of living thing, and also to take the members of his family who believed and the small number of other believers from the community.
This was Prophet Nuh’s (Alayhis Salam) prayer before the flood. “O my Lord! Leave not a single one of the unbelievers on earth. For if any are left, they will only mislead those who worship you, and they will only produce wicked, ungrateful offspring. O my Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in faith, and all believing men and women. And to the wrongdoers grant no increase except in eternal damnation.”
The waters started to rise as water poured out of the earth and rain poured down upon the earth, and the waves were very high, like mountains. But the ship floated safely on the waves. Nuh (Alayhis Salam) saw one of his sons still on the shore and called to him to join them. The son was not a believer and called back that he would be safe on some mountain top. At that moment a wave came along and swept the son away, and he was seen no more.
Now Nuh (Alayhis Salam) was concerned about his son who had been washed away by the waves, because a father never stops being a father, even if the son is not a worthy man. So Nuh (Alayhis Salam) asked Allah, “O my Lord, surely my son is one of my family. And you promised that my family would be safe.”
Allah replied, “He is not a member of your family, for his conduct is not righteous. So don�t ask me for things about which you have no knowledge.” Then Nuh (Alayhis Salam) realized that he had gone too far. He begged Allah to forgive him for asking for something about which he had no knowledge. Only Allah knew why the son had been separated from the others.
When all the earth was flooded, Allah commanded, “O earth, swallow up your water and O sky, withhold your rain!” Slowly the waters receded and the ship came to rest on top of Mount Judi. The only surviving people were in that ship. Thus did Allah do away with those who did wrong.
Then Allah said, “O Nuh! Come down from your ship with peace from us, and blessings on you and on some of the peoples who will spring from those with you. But there will be other people who will lead a life of pleasure for a time, only in the end to be punished by us.”
You can read about Nuh (Alayhis Salam) in the Qur’an, Sura 7,Ayat 59-64; Sura 11,Ayat 25-49; Sura 26,Ayat 105-122; Sura 54,Ayat 9-15; and Sura 71,Ayat 1-28.
This new enlarged and revised book is an essential Islamic step-by-step guide to marriage and marital bliss. Herein are the advices of the Glorious Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and some of the leading scholars of this era.
This book discusses the often vexed issues of when to marry; choosing a marriage partner; how to marry; how to live happily with one spouse and in-laws; what the often trampled rights are of wives and daughter’s in-law; how to avoid marital problems and the harms of divorce; and how to transfer your home into paradise.
Secondly, it openly addresses the sensitive topic of lovemaking; how to enjoy, improve, and transform this most intimate act into worship. Common sexual problems between the husband and wife and wholesome remedies and cures are shown. The spiritual and physical harms of adultery, masturbation, and homosexuality are highlighted.
Thereafter, all aspects of pregnancies, childbirth, the growing problem of caesarean births, the sunna acts upon birth, infant care, breastfeeding, and the correct sunna tarbiya (training) of Muslim children are discussed in detail.
A must for every Muslim couple, engaged person, teenager, and home.
Essential reading before and after marriage.
An ideal wedding gift.
Based upon the teachings of Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Shaykh Maseehullah Khan, Shaykh al-Hadith Ibrahim Palanpoori, Shaykh Taqee Uthmani, Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, et al.
Introduction by Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat
Islãm is a code of life which encompasses every aspect of human existence. This includes all facets of the relationship between husband and wife. MãshãAllah, my respected student/brother Muhammad Aslam has prepared one of the most comprehensive books on this subject which outlines the principles for husband and wife right from before engagement to tarbiyyah of their children-to-be. It is only through the Fadhl of Allah that this work has been granted wide acceptance and alhamdulillah the third edition of this very beneficial work is going for printing. The readers will find in it the fragrances of many flowers.
In the books of hadeeth and fiqh clear guidance on conjugal behaviour is explained in detail. Adhering to these teachings will not only be a means of acquiring a blissful marriage but it will also help in safeguarding ones health.
Nowadays, the subject of sex has been over-exposed; degraded and misrepresented through channels of mass education and the media (especially on TV and internet). Accordingly it is important to guide our youth in order to save them from sexual deviancy.
Wasalam
When Allah had created the heavens and the earth, He said to the angels, “I will create a Khalifa on earth, someone to carry out my orders.” They asked Allah, “Will you place someone on earth who will make mischief and shed blood, while we praise you and glorify your name?” And Allah said, “I know what you know not.”
So Allah created Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) out of clay, and taught him the names of all things. He placed the things before the angels and asked the angels to tell Him the names of them, but the angels answered, “You are the exalted, and we know nothing except what you have taught us.” Allah then asked Adam (Alayhis-salam) the same question, and Adam (Alayhis-salam) was able to answer correctly.
Allah ordered the angels to bow down to Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) and they did so. But Iblis, or Shaitan, did not bow down. When Allah asked, “What kept you from bowing down when I commanded you ?” Iblis answered, “I am better than he. I was created from fire while he was made from clay.”
Upon hearing this response, Allah threw Shaitan out of paradise, but Shaitan vowed that he would lie in wait for Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) and his descendants, trying to divert them from the Straight Way. To which Allah replied, “If any of them follow you, Hell will I fill with you all.”
Meanwhile, Allah had created a wife, Hawa, for Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam), and he told them to live in the garden of paradise, Jannah, but he warned them to stay away from one particular tree, lest it bring harm to them. Shaitan started whispering suggestions to Prophet Adam and Hawa (Alayhis-salam). He spoke in such a clever way that they were convinced he was only concerned for their well-being. He told them that the forbidden tree would make them immortal and that they would live forever like the angels if they ate from it. Shaitan spoke so convincingly that Adam and Hawa (Alayhis-salam) believed him. As soon as they tasted the tree, they realized that they were naked, and started trying to cover themselves with leaves from the garden, for it now seemed wrong to be uncovered.
Then Allah called to them, “Did I not tell you to stay away from that tree, and didn’t I warn you that Shaitan was your sworn enemy?”
Prophet Adam and Hawa (Alayhis-salam) were immediately full of remorse and begged for forgiveness and mercy from Allah. Allah ordered them out of Jannah and sent them to live on earth. He said, “Therein shall you live, and therein shall you die, but from it you shall be taken out at last.” Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) and his offspring began to live on earth according to Allah’s command.
And so we are all the descendants of Prophet Adam and Hawa (Alayhis-salam), the first humans to be placed on earth. Here on earth we shall all live and die, and from here we shall all be made to return to Allah. It is our choice whether we shall be taken to Jannah or join the disobedient and deceitful Shaitan in Hell. Allah, in His infinite mercy, realizes that we will sometimes be led astray by Shaitan. Allah taught Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) some prayers for repentance and seeking pardon for wrongdoing.
Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) was the first prophet to bring Allah’s message to mankind, so that we might know how to worship Allah and how to seek forgiveness for our mistakes. This message was completed to perfection by Allah through his last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The story of Prophet Adam (Alayhis-salam) can be found in the Quran, Surah 2, Ayat 30-37 and Surah 7, Ayat 10-27.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Wealth is not from a lot of money. Wealth is the independence of the self.” [Agreed upon, Riyad as-Salihin]
by Abu Abdullah Ibne Ismail
The tears that are shed due to the fear of Allah or out of his love are so great that they should be not wasted.
They are so blessed that one should wipe these tears over his face rather then letting them waste away.
Source: In Shaykh’s Company