Spiritual Advice for Hajj

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Holy Qur’an:

الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَّعْلُومَاتٌ فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الْحَجَّ فَلاَ 

رَفَثَ وَلاَ فُسُوقَ وَلاَ جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ وَمَا تَفْعَلُواْ مِنْ 

خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللّهُ وَتَزَوَّدُواْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى 

وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُوْلِي الأَلْبَابِ

The season of Pilgrimage is the months known; wherefore whosoever ordaineth unto himself the pilgrimage therein, there is no lewdness nor wickedness nor wrangling during the pilgrimage, and whatsoever of good ye do, Allah shall know it. And take provision for the journey, for verily the best provision is abstainment; and fear Me, O men of understanding!
[al Baqarah 2/197]

In the verse related to Hajj, the need to perform tawaaf (ritual walk around the Holy Ka’ba), sa’ee (ritual walk between the hills of Safa and Marwa), stoning of the shayaateen are not mentioned, rather Allah سبحانه وتعالى mentions the need to abstain from 3 acts :

1. Lewd talk
This means any talk which is rude, indecent, offensive or vulgar. To speak in such a manner violates the sanctity of Hajj. It does not befit a Muslim to speak in a lewd manner – it only suggests a filthy heart and mind. This prohibition during Hajj also includes speaking of conjugal relations between husband and wife which under normal circumstances would be permissible.

2. Sinning
This includes any act of disobedience to Allah سبحانه وتعالى especially not lowering one’s gaze. During Hajj, being such a large gathering of men and women, the need to lower one’s gaze becomes all the more important. Not lowering one’s gaze not only destroys the sanctity of Hajj, but one’s attention is diverted from Allah سبحانه وتعالى to the creation. Nothing is achieved by the stray gaze – it is an arrow which only returns to pierce one’s own heart.

3. Arguing
The Hajj journey makes the most patient and forbearing of people irritable because one’s sleeping and eating patterns are disrupted. In such a state and in such a large gathering of people one may be easily provoked and get into an argument. At such times one should exercise patience and self-discipline and remind himself by saying ‘I am in Hajj’ i.e. I am in a sanctified state.

These 3 sins reflect the 3 categories of sins a Muslim should avoid throughout his life i.e.
• Sins of the tongue
• Sins of the flesh
• Sins against fellow Muslims

During Hajj these 3 sins are especially dangerous yet so easy to commit. If a person engages in any of these there is a great danger that all of the reward for Hajj will be destroyed. As well as fulfilling all the rites and rituals of Hajj, it is necessary to refrain from the above sins for an accepted Hajj.

[This short excerpt is based on a brothers’ majlis (gathering held for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 6th February 2001].

Source: Content Soul

Divine Wonder

Quench spirit’s thirst
Satisfy soul’s hunger
Read the noble Quran
Be a part of divine wonder

It has wisdom in orders
It has knowledge in stories
Peace is its message
Having solution to worries

With its beam wants do not wander
With its shadow tongues do not waver
Countless are its benefits
A witness of Allah’s favor

Read it once, twice or thrice
It never loses its freshness
Strange tales never become old
As they stand proud in uniqueness

Lives stitched on its fabric
Homes built on its soil
Will be placed in best lands
An Honest reward for their toil

Killing the beast inside you
It brings out your purest form
Washing away waste desires
It clears obsolete norms

Never astray it will lead you
Nor wandering it will leave you
Hold on to its rope firmly; and
Your name will be in the ‘Few’.

The search man is involved in
End on its door,
Stepping into its world
He needs to search no more.

by Zoya Eitezaz Ahmed
reposted from March 2009

Divine Wonder

Make the Right Effort

This is the story of the giant ship engine that failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, from top to bottom.

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man searched into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. & instantly, the engine lurched into life & got started.

He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for £10,000.

“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”
So they wrote the old man a note saying “Please send us an itemised bill.”
The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer …..£2.00
Knowing where to hammer..£9,998.00

Total £10,000

Moral of The Story:
Effort itself is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life,
‘Makes all the difference’.  So often we see people striving, working and making effort tirelessly, often for years only for them to later on realise that they were all misplaced and how they wish they had spent the time and effort on something more fruitful.  This reminds me of a quote I once read a long time ago:

“My worry for you is not that you fail to succeed, but that you succeed in the wrong thing.”

An example that springs to mind which I have heard from our scholars is that people strive to do a lot of good a’maal but fail to refrain from committing sins, and they explained this point by using the example of a petrol tank with a hole in the bottom, we keep on filling it with petrol, little realising our loss of fuel from the hole in the tank.

May Allah give us the ability to reflect, learn and act on the above.

Beauty of the Messenger (saw)

A talk titled Beauty of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) delivered by Shaykh Ahmad Ali at the Zakariyya Jaame Masjid, Bolton in April 2011.

Hell

If only you knew the torments of hell
It is the worst of places where anyone could dwell

It is in existence even as we speak
And for its inhabitants the outlook is bleak

On the day of rising, hell will be in view
A terrible sight, if only you knew

It will be brought forward by 70,000 reigns
And 70,000 angels will be on each of those chains

After burning for a thousand years , it’s flames turned white
A thousand more years, now it’s as black as the night

You think the flames are bearable, you’re totally wrong
The flames are of hell are sixty nine times as strong

In a flash it will disintegrate all of your bones
The hellfire will be fuelled by man and stones

The thickness of your skin will greatly increase
Causing your threshold for pain to greatly decrease

The people in hell are there to stay
They will melt to nothing, 70,000 times in a day

70 years it will take, for a stone that is thrown
to hit the bottom of hell and it won’t be alone

The food of hell resembles a devil’s head
and to drink, boiling water and blood bright red

which cuts up the bowels, everything will fall out
the inhabitants of hell will scream and shout

some will be taken out by Almighty Allah’s command
but the polytheists will stay eternally damned

Take up islam, the only way to succeed
and if you don’t, you’re unfortunate indeed

Brothers and sisters, help determine your fate
Once you see hellfire, it’ll be far too late.

Author unknown

Fire of Hell

Dua When Putting on Clothing

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي مَا أُوَارِي بِهِ عَوْرَتِي وَأَتَجَمَّلُ بِهِ فِي حَيَاتِي

All praises are due to Allah, who clothed me with which I cover my body and with which I adorn myself in my life.

(Tirmidhi)

Source: Central Mosque

Back to Duas index

Pleasing Allah – Recite Qur’an

“The author of a book would be pleased to see you reading it and would pay attention to you. The Glorious Qur’an is the book of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, He turns towards the one who recites it and becomes pleased with him.”

Hazrat Maulāna Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī رحمه الله

Recite Qur'an

Marriage for two who love each other

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مَيْسَرَةَ، عَنْ طَاوُسٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم

لَمْ نَرَ لِلْمُتَحَابَّيْنِ مِثْلَ النِّكَاحِ ‏”‏ ‏ ”

the Messenger of Allah said:
“There is nothing like marriage, for two who love one another.”
Sunan ibn Majah

Intoxicants – The ‘High’ Life

This is a talk delivered by Shaykh Ahmad Ali at the London Youth Tarbiyyah conference in June 2011.  Shaykh talks about the harms and dangers of being involved in alcohol, drugs and intoxicants in Islam.  A real important message and lessons for all to take on board and act positively upon.

reposted from Dec 2011.

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