11 Benefits of Reading Books

11 Benefits of Reading Books
“From Boosting Your Brain to Soothing Your Soul”

1. Reading can help ease feelings of anxiety and grief.

2. By keeping your mind occupied with a good book, you’re less likely to fall for falsehoods.

3. Regular reading habits can prevent you from wasting time with idle or inactive people.

4. Reading regularly can help improve your speaking skills and communication clarity.

5. Reading can help develop and purify your thoughts.

6. It boosts your knowledge, memory, and understanding.

7. You can benefit from the experiences and wisdom of others by reading books written by scholars.

8. You can expand your knowledge in different fields and learn how to apply them in your life.

9. Reading books by practitioners of your faith can help strengthen your beliefs and guide you towards goodness.

10. It’s a great way to relax and unwind from daily distractions.

11. Reading helps improve your vocabulary, sentence construction, and ability to understand concepts.

Remember, nourishment for the soul comes from concepts and meanings, not just food and drink!

Source: kitaabun.com

Beginners guide to Surviving University

Source: As-Sabiqoon Monthly Magazine Issue 9 Sept 2006

Before you is a concise step-by-step guide about surviving at Uni! All I write is based upon my very own experience which has advice in dealing with it life at Uni. It’s worth noting that (as I write) I am a first year and in no way have I experienced all the problems, and due to the nature of the problems mentioned, my advice is not the only advice available. I recommend you to stick to the advice of the scholars and students of knowledge; in other words, it’s just an introduction into surviving the first year! It’s split into two main sections: general advice (which includes advice on handling the workload itself) and Islamic advice, which highlights the main problems faced by every Muslim what to do should in these positions.

General advice

Step1: know your role!
The first step is to actually understand why you are at Uni and what you want to get out of it. Whether you want to go to Uni or you’re being forced to go, make sure you have aims and objectives and actually work towards it. Have an idea of what field (roughly) you wish to go into. Carefully study the course description and individual module description so that you know what to expect and what you should achieve at the end. If you don’t like it, it’s not too late to switch courses or individual modules. Many students switch within the first semester (term) and the Universities expect this.

Step two: your surroundings!
As soon as you start Uni, it’s important that you have a good circle of pious Muslim friends- also maybe non-Muslim friends whom you can give Da’wah to. SubhanAllah, this is so important as you’ll find within a few weeks the majority of non-muslim students heading to the pubs and clubs drinking a few pints and then heading off to the library to do some work. Alhamdulillah many Unis have an ISOC and a dedicated prayer room where you’re more then welcome! In fact, ISOCs have a dedicated group to bring people to the prayer rooms and also start off their talks and Jumua’h Khutbah with short and sweet Naseeha (advice) regarding surviving Uni. The prayer room should be your refuge without distracting you from your purpose to work; so make sure you have good friends, be a regular prayer room user and have a separate place to study.

Step three: do your work!
It’s really easy to be distracted from doing your work. Many students suffer from the whole Uni-cliche lifestyle of going out, partying, having ‘fun’ and plenty of brothers and sisters organise events or invite you to eat with them at restaurants. It’s very easy to just give up and leave your work for later and join them, though quite frankly, if you don’t do your work, you will fail! Uni is very independent and it’s up to YOU to commit yourself. I found that dedicating the day for work and evening for maybe extra/remaining work and going out worked best; make a schedule try stick to it!

Step four: Do your best
Be sincere in what you do; do it to help Muslims climb the society ladder so that we can have an impact on the world again. Be the best (or one of the best thereafter) in your class so that you have good prospects and also so that you can use your position to give Da’wah. And it’s not that hard! A few words here and a few there, people will automatically flock to you to ask for help. Just do your best and remember the results is with Allah (swt):
‘Be mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. Get to know Allah in prosperity and He will know you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you, and that what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship.’
(Imam Tirmizi, Imam An Nawawi’s 40 Ahadith)

Step 5: make the most of it
If you have any problems with your work, go to your lecturers and ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask during or after the lectures and don’t pretend to understand! If something is explained to you and you still don’t get it, tell them – pound them till you finally get it. If it’s the lecturer you can’t understand then find a PhD student or someone in the same or year above and ask- there’s plenty of them in the Prayer Room.

Use the library, Internet, lab sessions, revision classes, etc. Find a few brothers and sisters who have been through the course who can help and sell you their books for proper discount prices. I bought a 40 pounds book off a brother for just 10 pounds…bargain!

Islamic advice

Uni is literally buzzing with Fitnah, from the people who go there to some of the buildings and books in the library. It’s used as an excuse to propagate false ideas and brainwash the masses…so there must be a few things to beware of:

1. The prayer room
Although (generally) the ISOC is not the problem, the prayer room is always buzzing with people with twisted views and next ideologies. You meet Muslims from many different countries and backgrounds which have influenced the way they think and many of these sects and named-groups operate in the prayer room. Some even call to their beliefs and love to argue and will spark the argument with everyone and anyone. Despite this, you meet the most amazing and sincere people you’ll ever meet who really help you in everyway possible. Not everyone who has a slight difference in mentality to yourself is your enemy and Uni is a good platform to verify all the slander you hear about these groups. If you really want to know what they’re upon… just ask them!

2. The debates
Just as we’ve mentioned, there are those who really love debating, whether it’s about Islam or worldly things. Some named-groups and sects even debate over things that are not only out of their own capabilities of understanding as a layman, but also in matters that a Muslim must not go into whether a layman or the greatest scholar. Therefore, it becomes necessary for you to learn your Deen from trusted sources and be sincere in gaining that knowledge. Learn with evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah as this not only increases your general understanding of Islam but also creates certainty and it certainly eradicates doubt.
Also, beware of speaking without knowledge. It’s easy to fall into Shaytan’s trap of disagreeing with someone based upon the fact that they belong to one of these groups or sects and not because you yourself know that. You might be arguing on an issue in which they are correct about and you are wrong.

Seeing as everyone in Uni (especially Muslims, sociology, history and philosophy students) begin to act like philosophers they will be more open to ideas. Alhamdulillah this is a great platform to give Da’wah especially collectively, like writing for the student magazines or entering writing competitions and relating it to Islam, its merits and Muslims and their positive impact upon the world. Many Muslims do this and win essay competitions and have their articles publicised; it really does work!

3. The Pubs, etc
Don’t be fooled by the fact that some Muslims hang-out in the pubs staying away from drinking alcohol only playing pool, snooker, table-football and other such activities. Stay away from the pubs and clubs otherwise there’s no doubt that eventually you will either start to ‘loosen up’ in established matters of Islam or maybe even reject it and commit Kufr (disbelief).

4. The library
The more philosophical the subjects are at your Uni are, the more ‘random’ the library materials are. Recently I found the whole set of Salman Rushdie’s books including ‘Satanic Whispers’ and even more recently I found a shockingly western-biased account on Islamic Spain. Much of the books and History are anti-Islamic although we are now seeing a slow emergence of Muslim writers being recognized in the west and having their works published and put into the bookshelves of Universities. Know your religion with certainty; make sure you are grounded in Islam if you bother with such books.

I hope that this advice helps but again I recommend you to the advice of the people of knowledge and the Islamic Societies. They know how to help and go out of their way to do so. You can also go Uni for the lectures and do your work at home. Make the most of all that’s available to you and enjoy your time there. It really does open up your mind and isn’t as bad as some people say.

May Allah (swt) raise your rank and bless you in this world and the next and may He (swt) change our condition for the better and allow us to be the forerunners in this blissful task, Ameen!

Dua for Strengthening Memory

Dua for Strengthening Memory:
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Glorified are You. We do not know except what you have taught us. Surely you are all-knowing, all-wise. My Lord, expand for me my Bosom and ease for me my task and remove the knot from my tongue (speech) so that they may understand my speech. My Lord increase me in knowledge.
O Allah, fill my heart with light and increase the strength of my hearing, my sight and my memory.

Make the difference for every child

Below is an incident that occurred in a maktab in (KZN). It was really inspirational to hear this story and the need was felt that it must be shared with all teachers, hoping that it will inspire one and all. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the taufeeq to also act in the same manner. Sometimes we are quick to write off a student. We feel that he is not capable and thus ask him to leave the Madrasah. Think for a moment, how will we answer to Allah Ta’ala if He asks us, “A child came to your door searching for ME and you turned him away. Why?” How will we answer? May Allah Ta’ala forgive us.

NOTE: The names of the children and the madrasah have been changed.

At the beginning of 2018, a new child enrolled at Madrasah Atfaal. He seemed to be very disturbed. What was really surprising about this boy was his violent behaviour. No child could pass him without being punched, slapped or kicked. The other children in his class were terrified of him. By the third day, four children left the madrasah and the Apa was now going crazy in her class. No one could control this boy. He was extremely disturbed and his behavior was beyond anyone’s control. By the fourth day, the Apa was ready to hand in her resignation saying, “Either he remains in the class or I remain. The way things are going, it seems as if all the children in the class will leave. Some drastic action has to be taken immediately.” The poor Apa could not be blamed for this, since most others in a similar situation would have probably done the same.

The principal phoned his mother and asked her if she could come in immediately. When she arrived half an hour later, her son’s behaviour at the madrasah was spelt out to her. She burst into tears saying, “I don’t know what to do with him anymore. The school principal expelled him last week. His father has a terrible temper and beats me up at home. He sees his dad behaving in this manner. What you are seeing him doing is an imitation of what he sees his father doing.”

“I’m sorry, we won’t be able to keep him in the madrasah,” said the principal. “He’s going to chase all the students away from here.” A senior Apa at the Madrasah happened to overhear this conversation. She came forward and said softly, “How can we send a child away from our madrasah when he came here to learn the knowledge of Deen? How will we answer to Allah Ta’ala for this? Let me take him in my class and I will try my best to work with him.”

The next day she took the little boy into her class and made dua to Allah Ta’ala to help her with this child. The first thing the Apa did was contact the mother. She said to her, “We are going to fight this battle together, and we are going to win Insha Allah. But we have to do this together. Are you prepared?” The mother assured her co-operation. The Apa then gave her the following guidelines;

“Firstly,” said the Apa, “I want you to wake up every night at the time of Tahajjud and make dua for your son. Remember, the duas of a mother are readily accepted. I will also wake up at the time of Tahajjud and make dua for him.”

“Secondly, I’m going to give you a book. It’s written by a great Aalim, Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (RA). The name of the book is Fazaail-e-Aamaal. Every night sit with your son and read to him the Ahaadith contained in this book. This book contains valuable advice. Reading the Hadith of Rasulullah in your home will bring about great peace and barkat in your home and in your life. Try to practice on whatever you read.”

“Thirdly, I’m going to give you a CD of Hadhrat Moulana Yunus Patel (rahmatullahi alayh). The CD contains Hadhrat Moulana’s zikr. Play the CD at home every night and sit with your son on the musalla. With full concentration make the zikr of Allah Ta’ala in your home.”

“Fourthly, I want you to take him to an educational psychologist for an assessment. Because of his unsteady childhood, he may need some medical help as well.”

With the above four advices from the Apa, the little boy’s mother undertook the arduous journey with her son to try and rectify the situation. Every night after the Esha Salaah, they sat together reading the advices from Fazaail-e-Amaal and making zikr of Allah Ta’ala. At the time of Tahajjud she would awake from her bed and make special dua for her son. Can we imagine the effect of this dua. The dua of a mother and that too, at the time of Tahajjud.

Its six months since that day and the young boy is a completely different child. He sits quietly in his class and learns his sabak every day. He adores his Apa and has all the time in the world for her. His mother says that when he comes home, the only thing he speaks about is “My Apa told me this and my Apa told me that.” He doesn’t speak anything about school or the sports he plays at school. The thing he really enjoys in life is his time at the Madrasah.

On the last day of the madrasah term before the children could leave for the holidays, his Apa bought burgers for all the children in her class as a treat for them. One child commented, “Apa you only bought us a burger. Where is the coke?” The little boy was very upset with this statement. He immediately retorted, “That’s being ungrateful. You should at least say JazakAllah to Apa for buying us a burger.”

This is the power of a maktab Apa. Outwardly it may seem that she has only 15 children in front of her whom she can make an effort on, but in reality, she has 15 families before her. She can make that difference in the homes of all these children. That is why our elders tell us that when we sit in the classroom, make niyyat (intention) for the hidaayat (guidance) of the entire mankind. Who knows that through one child Allah Ta’ala will cause the winds of hidaayat to blow on the entire mankind.

In this instance, the Apa managed to introduce ta’leem and zikr in the home of that child and also got the mother to wake up for Tahajjud daily.

No child is a Write-off. We cannot chase any child away. As a teacher, YOU can make that difference in the life of that child.

May Allah Ta’ala inspire us all to be an inspiration for our students in the classroom and guide us to be a true reflection of our beloved Rasul.

Received from Talimi Board (KZN)

Surviving at University

by a Muslim Brother

There were beer mats everywhere. The whole corridor was covered in an intriguing pattern of small cardboard squares called Carlsberg. There were eight rooms in the corridor but only one kitchen, one toilet and one shower. I had expected the place to be a bit more lively but my friend explained to me that it was always quiet on Friday and Saturday nights. ‘They invite me along with them as well,’ he said with a sigh, ‘but all I can do is laugh and politely decline.’

Welcome to the world of the university campus, the place where a significant number of Muslim students will spend at least the first year of their university life. Away from home and away from family and friends, the three years on average spent by most students pursuing a degree is a crucial time for the development or deterioration of one’s Imaan. All students whether they choose to remain at home or stay elsewhere experience the onslaught of ‘Fresher’s Week’ before they even begin their studies. Fresher’s Week is supposedly a week full of events designed to allow those beginning their university career to acquaint themselves with their new surroundings as well as with their fellow students. In reality Fresher’s Week is a hedonistic 7 days which the pubs and nightclubs utilise to attract their prospective clientele for the following year. Flyers and posters advertising nightclubs, bank loans, mobile phones and a whole host of other organisations, societies and clubs bombard students during these first few days. Even though the Islamic Societies of most universities make a determined effort to attract Muslim students away from such temptation, it is sad to say that for many Muslims the Islamic Society stall is last on their list of places to visit. Fresher’s Week is a severe trial and only those come through unscathed that have a strong bond and connection with Allah S.

When I initially applied to university I remember being told at college that university was a place of experimentation, of experience and of widening one’s views of the world. For a Muslim this experience can be extremely difficult as many of the activities used for this social experimentation are either makrooh or haram and illegal. Social experimentation and finding the ‘real you’ seem to be prime goals for many students. For Muslims, university can be quite a lonely time as many of the events and functions organised by their peers involve activities which are albeit legal under the laws of this country but illegal i.e. haram from an Islamic perspective. Promiscuous relationships, ‘pub crawls’ (whereby a number of pubs are visited in one outing) and a whole host of other unbelievable activities are the order of the day. And all this is practiced by those who the rest of society deems as being ‘the leaders of tomorrow’.

I remember my disgust when I initially visited my university at the lack of scope in the lecturer’s jokes. Alcohol and the price of alcohol were the only two topics discussed. It was quite a disturbing experience to be the only sombre person in a room full of 400 laughing 18 year olds. It was not that I did not understand the jokes, it was the fact that drinking and in reality alcoholism were deemed to be an acceptable part of the student lifestyle regardless of a person’s belief. In my opinion, this is the crux of the difficulty for Muslims studying at university; the question of maintaining and retaining a distinct Muslim identity. This is the point where many of us fail as we try to reconcile our faith with the demands and pressures of the environment surrounding us. Do you pray Zuhr Salaah during your lunch hour or do you make it Qadha and attend that lunchtime optional seminar which might look good on your CV? It is in such matters that students should turn to the ‘Ulamaa in order to find out how to reconcile these differences.

And it is during these times that one realises the true advantages of having a spiritual mentor. Having a spiritual mentor or Shaykh to which one can turn to for guidance and encouragement can make all the difference when confronted with a dilemma.

However, many students are unable to do this, mainly because of the fact that the only contact they had with the ‘Ulamaa was during their pre-teens when attending the evening maktab. No contact or relationship was maintained with the ‘Ulamaa and in many cases with the Deen of Islam after these initial few years. But, alhamdulillah there are still a significant number of students who do maintain contact, right until and after the time they enter university. Their knowledge and zeal for Islam can prove to be a boon for others searching for the truth – and there are many searching for and returning to the truth. The number of sudent reverts and Muslims whose interest in Islam is reignited while attending university and the existence of student Islamic Societies bears testimony to this.

Islamic Societies are voluntary organisations run by students to cater for the needs of Muslims who may be attending the university or living in its vicinity. They typically provide a prayer room with wudhoo facilities in most cases, and organise a variety of Da’wah and educational events. Partly funded by money from the university’s student union and partly by private donations, Islamic Societies bring together Muslims from around the world. In my first Jumu’ah prayer at university I was met with a scene which made me reminisce of how the times of the Prophet s must have been. The Imam was an African, the mu’azzin an Arab, and the remaining rows a mixture of Muslims from almost every other country in the world.

This diversity however, can prove to have a weakness in the sense that it can provide an ideal cover for deviant sects bent on spoiling the Imaan as well as ideology of Muslims. Many students are unaware of these sects and are highly impressed by the seemingly knowledgeable and sincere words of their protagonists. Once again the lack of knowledge regarding our authentic scholars and their achievements causes quite a majority of us to feel inferior when faced with such people.

Another point which surprised me very much was the little effort that was being made on the Muslims at the University. It seemed like Da’wah was to be practised on non-Muslims only. I attended one of the meetings held to discuss the organisation of the Islamic Awareness Week at the university. Even though I half expected the meeting to be mixed I had not anticipated what I saw. Many of the sisters wore scarves, but the way they and many of the brothers as well, were dressed, left little to the imagination. However most of these sisters were extremely sincere and it soon became obvious that they played a key role in the running of Islamic events at the university. On asking one of the brothers why this was the case he replied that most Muslim male students did not bother volunteering and consequently this void was filled by the sisters. In my opinion this was an extremely dangerous situation as many of the events that were being organised involved the free mixing of males and females albeit with a good intention. This is another point where most of us fail due to our lack of knowledge and correct guidance. We presume we are doing something acceptable in the Sharee’ah based upon what little knowledge we may have of the Sharee’ah ourselves.

The brother whom I quoted at the beginning of the article was a clean shaven youngster when he started university. He has since kept a beard. I asked him the reason for this and he replied, ‘I was looking for Muslims and I thought let me look for someone with a beard. The thought suddenly hit me that I myself do not have a beard, would anyone recognise me as a Muslim?’ There are many brothers and sisters who dress in full Islamic clothing when attending university and it can be honestly said that there is probably no greater form of giving Da’wah to both Muslims and non-Muslims than this; the full adoption of Islam. As many of us know Allah S has commanded us to enter into Islam totally. This is what I think is needed for the regeneration of the student community. Rather than trying to unify with university culture Muslims need to be unique, unique both internally in manners and character and externally in dress and appearance, and be proud of this uniqueness. Simplicity coupled with the adoption of the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah and the ways of the Companions y, under the guidance of the ‘Ulamaa, the experts in the field, seems to be the only way to achieve this uniqueness and in reality restore our confidence. Reliable organisations such as the Islamic Da’wah Academy and many others are already taking part in this regeneration by holding meetings with student leaders and trying to address their specific needs. More interaction such as this is needed at both school and college/university level.

For me university has proved to be quite a revealing experience in the sense that it has made me appreciate how little many non-Muslims and, in some unfortunate cases, Muslims themselves know about Islam. For a significant number of non-Muslim students the only contact they have had with Muslims is via the TV or the newspapers i.e. they have never met a Muslim before. We, as Muslim students need to be trained and given the opportunity to learn how to practice and propagate Islam adequately and to deal with situations which we may have not encountered before in our lives. Only recourse to the ‘Ulamaa and the masha’ikh can help to solve such dilemmas.

We need to take the opportunity to adopt the company of the pious, especially the ‘Ulamaa and take part in reliable religious movements so that we gain the true understanding of Islam. Only then will we become true individuals, independent and free from the shackles of a non-Islamic culture. And only then will we be able to, in the words of the Sahabi Rib’ee Ibne mir t, work towards delivering mankind from ‘the slavery of man into the slavery of the Lord of man, and from the narrowness of this world to the vastness of the Hereafter.’

May Allah S give the writer first and then the readers the ability and the inclination to practice what has been written. May Allah S help all students whether studying in religious or secular institutes to achieve their goals and cause all of us to attain His pleasure and live and die as true Muslims upon Islam. Ameen.

Source: Islamic Da’wah Academy

Etiquettes for the Seeker of Sacred Knowledge

Etiquettes for the Seeker of Sacred Knowledge and the Snare of Shaytan
Shaykh Nazim Mangera, sunniforum.com

For a long time I have wanted to discuss some etiquettes about reading Islamic literature and listening to speeches delivered by scholars. We should read and listen with the intention of benefiting from their writings and their speeches. Whatever our intention is, that is what we will get from it. If we read and listen with the intention of increasing our knowledge and trying to act upon it, Insha Allah that is what we will gain. If we read and listen with the intention of criticizing and taking out mistakes and finding faults, then we will find mistakes and faults and that is the only thing we will get from it. It’s very easy to criticize destructively and it is often said that it’s easier to haul down than to build.

Scholars elaborate this by citing the following example: Two types of animals are set free in a garden; one is a bird and the other is a swine. The bird will look for clean and pure sustenance, whereas the swine will look for filth and dirt. Whatever intention they have, they will get. So the bird enters the garden and finds clean and pure sustenance and the swine/pig enters the garden and searches for filth and garbage and dirt and finds it because no garden is filth free. They both got what they wanted.

Another point the scholars make is that we should read and listen with the desire and urge to increase our knowledge and act upon it and propagate it to others. If we have no desire to increase but rather we think we know everything, then we will hardly benefit from their writings and speeches and eventually we will only be harming ourselves.

The following example is cited:
If an empty glass is put under a tap, and the mouth of the glass is facing down, then it does not matter how fast the water is coming out, the glass will never get full for obvious reasons. But if that same glass is facing the correct way and the mouth of the glass is facing up, then it does not matter if the force of the water is low, but a time will come that the glass will be full of water.

If we have the intention of benefiting, then we will benefit tremendously. And if we have the intention of finding faults and mistakes, then we will find them. For sure, there will be times when there will be grammatical mistakes in the writings. There will be mistakes of wrong word usage. But is that a good reason to get happy over the mistake? That is nothing but the Shaytan’s method of preventing you from benefiting from a scholar’s advice. Being happy over a person’s mistake is either a sign of pride or jealousy- two of the most devastating sins of the soul. If we get happy at a mistake of another, it is a sign of a spiritual sickness. There will be times when your writings will be better than a scholar’s writings; there will be times when you will speak better than the scholar. But that gives us no reason to be put off by the scholar’s advice.

There could be many reasons why your writings or your method of speaking could be better than a scholar’s writing. One reason is usually in the Madrassah’s run by Asian scholars, very little attention is paid to the English language. The majority of our lectures were either in Urdu or Arabic. That trend is slowly changing though. Another reason could be that the scholar does not spend much time in English speaking countries. Now when the scholar will speak, there might be a stutter or an accent or the pace will be slow. But that should never be a reason to ignore the scholar’s advice. It is the content of the speech which really matters. Just because a person is an eloquent speaker does not mean that the content of the speech is correct as well. Being eloquent is one thing, and being correct is a completely different matter.

Another point I wish to clarify is that after reading an article or listening to a speech, some things might not be clear to us or go against our prior view on the matter. In this case, in a polite manner, ask the scholar that this is what I understood from your speech but I thought it was supposed to be like this. Am I correct in my understanding or not? I’m sure the scholar will not mind if we have any questions on the topic. Never hesitate to ask questions because two types of people never increase in their knowledge: A proud person and a shy person.

Also, if we think that the scholar has made a mistake somewhere, then bring up the point with the scholar in a polite manner and discuss it. We all are prone to mistakes. Only Allah is free of all blemishes and faults.

Failure

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Many students succumb to such drastic measures. Some students work and study extremely hard but fail. Due to failure, they sink into such depression that they feel they have to take or inject themselves with drugs, tranquilizers, etc. for sleep. Why ?…Because they failed.

If a person did not make Tadbeer, i.e. did not make a serious and concerted effort and thereafter fails, then he must blame himself. However, generally, we do make a reasonable effort but sometimes still meet with failure. For example : A person is fit and healthy when he started something but later becomes sick and is unable to complete what he undertook.

Tafweez is placing our matters before Allah Ta’ala, handing them over to Him, and trusting completely in Him, believing that there is goodness in whatever Allah Ta’ala has decided. Outwardly, it may appear as if there is some problem that we are faced with, but great wisdom lies in the decisions of Allah.

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has said : “Strive to acquire what is beneficial for you; seek the aid of Allah; do not lose courage and if a setback overtakes you, do not say : ‘If I had done this then it would have happened like this (i.e. not what had happened).’ Instead say : ‘Allah has ordained this. Whatever He has willed, has happened.’”
by Maulana Yunus Patel

Gender Interaction on Campus

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

The question of gender interaction on campus is one of great importance. Unfortunately, at least in many cases, it has been handled from one or two extremes. I remember visiting an MSA and finding the entire MSA was shut down because, at the first meeting a brother stood up, pointed at the sisters and said, “Why are they here? It is not allowable for you to be here!” On the other side of the coin I’ve heard of MSA’s who conduct their meetings at Starbucks! Thus, while enjoying the latest frappuccino, Fatima and Zaid are sitting together with no respect for our sacred texts and principles. Insha’Allah, it is our hope to answer this question from the perspective of Islamic activism and dawa using a few very important verses from the Book of Allah Most High.

The Responsibility of Islamic Activism

Allah Most High says:

“The believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger.”[1]

Imam Al-Tabari (may Allah be pleased with him) said, commenting on this verse, “They invite humanity toward faith in Allah and His Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) and everything that the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) was sent with by Allah.” [2] The scholars have said that, because of the wording of this verse, it is clear that the responsibility of dawa and Islamic work falls upon both males and females.[3]

The Scope of Inter-Gender Relations:

In Sura Al-Qasas we find a very interesting example of inter-gender relations found in the story of Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him).

Allah Most High says:

“And when he went towards (the land of) Madyan, he said: “It may be that my Lord guides me to the Right Way.” And when he arrived at the water of Madyan he found there a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks). He said: “What is the matter with you?” They said: “We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take (their flocks). And our father is a very old man.” So he watered (their flocks) for them, then he turned back to shade, and said: “My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!” Then there came to him one of the two women, walking shyly. She said: “Verily, my father calls you that he may reward you for having watered (our flocks) for us.”[4]

By taking a quick glance at these verses we can garner a number of lessons related to Islamic work, the personality of the Islamic caller and rules and adab for inter-gender relations:

1. The importance of d’ua. If we look at this story as large structure, we can see that supplication forms its foundation and roof. Thus, Prophet Musa began his actions with a du’a and completed it. For this reason the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Nothing is more honorable (most liked) before Allah Most High than Supplication.”[5]

2. The great mercy and compassion of the Prophets. Prophet Musa felt compassion for the two women and went to assist them. It is important for the Islamic worker have mercy and concern for those around him. For that reason the poet Ahmed Shawqi wrote:

وإذا رحمتَ فأنتَ أمٌ, أو أبٌ هذان في الدنيا هما الرحماء

“And if you (Muhammad) implement mercy, then you are a mother or father. And they, in this life, are the exercisers of extreme mercy.”[6]

3. The importance of obeying and serving one’s parents: Prophet Shu’ayb’s daughters not only served him in his old age, but obeyed him by carrying themselves with great fidelity and morality in his absence. The same can be said for the campus. Many of us live away from our parents on campus and it is important to respect them in their absence by being pious and righteous children. It is sad to see many university students drooling at the opportunity to escape to the campus environment just to disobey their parents. However, the truly righteous slaves of Allah obey their parents even in their absence. Of course, this obedience is in the good and not the evil.

4. It is well known that both of these women were eligible for marriage with Prophet Mosa. In fact, we know that later he married one of them. Thus, these verses are used to prove that interaction between non-marhams is permitted as long as they observe certain adab which will be explained shortly, inshallah.

5. Inter-gender interaction is an exception, not the rule. Meaning that such interaction should take place only under situations which are clear necessities. The proof is the statement, “Our father is a very old man.” Meaning that Musa (peace be upon him) saw them under severe duress and spoke to them in an effort to remove their hardship, and their response was based on the necessity of getting water to drink. Thus, it can be said, that the call to Islam and its propagation fall under such a necessity however, such work must be done observing the following adab.

a. Remember that any encounter involves the eyes, tongue and limbs. However, the most important component for this encounter is the heart. Thus, before any gathering check your heart and make sure that it is with Allah Most High, full of love for Him and in submission to the sunna of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him). A great du’a to say before such a gathering is the following supplication of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him):

اللهم مقلب القلوب ثبّت قلبي على دينك

Allahumma muqallibul Qulub thabit qalbi ‘ala deenek.

“O turner of the hearts! Establish my heart upon Your religion.”

b. After one’s heart has submitted and his whims have been crushed, it is logical the rest of his body will follow and this would entail:

· Lowering the gaze as everything has an entrance and one of the entrances to the heart is the glance.

· Avoid speech or actions which could be taken as flirting. I was told by one of my sheikhs that laughing and joking should be avoided between non-mahram couples. For that reason Allah described the daughter of Shu’ayb, when she approached Mosa, “Then there came to him one of the two women, walking shyly.”

· Avoid being alone as Shaytan will be the third amongst you. Try your best to meet as a group as private meetings amongst a brother and sister who are non-mahram are strictly prohibited. In addition, during group meetings there should be a good amount of distance between brothers and sisters.

· Observe the correct Islamic dress code and remember to ask yourself an important question. “Am I making dawa to myself, or to Allah and the call of His beloved (may peace and blessings be upon him)?”

· There is no better solution than asking. Thus, it is important to refer any specific questions or issues to local scholars as they are your life source for survival in the campus jungle.

I ask Allah to bless our questioner, plant her feet firm upon his obedience and make her a great caller to Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him). I would like to express my gratitude to two of my early Sheikhs, Abu Mustafa of Senegal and Shaykh Abdul Jalil of San-Diego. Most of my humble attempt at an answer came from the questions I asked them while in my university days. May Allah bless them and continue to use them as a source of benefit to the shabab in the West.

In need of your prayers and happy Eid,

Suhaib D. Webb
Source: Sunnipath.com

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[1]Qur’an 9/71

[2]Tafsir Al-Tabari, surah 9/71

[3]For and excellent Arabic reference on this refer to Sh. Faisal Malwais Darul Mara Fe Al-A’mal Al-Islamiy.”

[4]Qur’ana 28/22-25

[5]Reported by At-Tirmizi, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim graded it Sahih

[6]Al-Shawqiyat pg. 193

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A Message for Students

Today’s message is to the students, whether in school, college or university. You are in a tough situation, but thank Allah that you have parents who can buy you the things you need for school. Everything is given to you so you can learn and graduate and get a job and teach your children the way you were taught. Renew your intentions that you are studying for the sake of Allah. Allah says time and time again how important knowledge is in Islam. So concentrate seriously to succeed. Even when you come out of your house you should have the intention that you are going to gain knowledge. So that if you die before reaching school, you have died for the sake of Allah. There are hadiths that say when you go to school with the intention to learn for the sake of Allah, Allah will make the path easy for you and the angels will be with you.

Don’t listen to those who want you to fail. Look at them during the exams, they will either be cheating or staring at the page. Don’t be like those who go to school everyday but don’t learn anything. Even when cheating, a person is writing blindly without understanding anything. They haven’t gained a thing! The Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) said, whoever has cheated is not from us. Imagine that! Work hard! Don’t just study for the sake of it; I want you to be from the top students!

Respect your teachers. It is seen as “cool” to be rude to your teachers. But the Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) said those who disrespect those who teach us are not from us. We have to respect those who are passing knowledge onto us. They are giving you knowledge, so you have to respect them, not be rude to them , or make them go crazy. Imagine if you became a teacher after that? Would you like to someone to do that to you? Respect people so they can respect you.

You have to respect your school. Don’t vandalise it, why do you not keep the school in good condition for those who will come after you? Imagine if someone came to your house and started writing things on your table, would you like that? So don’t do the same at school. The Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) said, don’t damage things or harm people.

Go to school early. If you are late as a student, when you get a job what will you do? You have to respect appointments. Prepare your things the night before. Be organised. Don’t throw everything on your mother. When you come home from school, put your bag in your study area. Be organised, so that you can find everything. When you take off your clothes, hang your clothes in the wardrobe. Don’t leave everything to your mother. Be organised so that you can be an organised person. Organisation means you won’t waste your time looking for things.

Don’t rely on your private tutor. Concentrate with your teacher at school. Don’t be quick to say to your father that you want a private tutor because you don’t concentrate at school. If you depended on yourself and concentrated at school, you won’t need to spend unnecessary money on a private tutor! Then you will get used to being lazy, because you need someone to teach you.

Try to be presentable. Brush your hair, brush your teeth, cut your nails. Keep your clothes neat and clean. The Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) said, Allah loves beauty.

Make sure your speech is respectable. When you wake up, greet your mother nicely, kiss her hand. Then go to your father and greet him. You should have an Islamic personality. Help with the house chores, so you can be a positive person at home, even if you have a maid! So you can help your mother and be an active person at home.

Try to be an active student. Join groups at university or school. Join the Muslim association, poetry club or the sports club. Have interests and hobbies and develop them. Don’t be inactive, as this is not from Islam at all! Create awareness about current affairs in the school newspaper or magazine.

Choose your friends carefully. You will be going to their houses when you want to study together and they will be coming to your house. So if they have good manners, they will respect your house and the people in it, they will be decent because they have good manners, and so will you. So look at your friends and be careful that they are not of the wrong type. A good friend will want you to succeed and not do anything that will harm you. He won’t encourage you to smoke or drink or go out with girls. Give these guys advice to help them to do good and guide them to be better people. Allah will make you a person that will enlighten others if you have the right intention.

May Allah help our dear students and protect them from evil, ameen.

Wagdi Ghoneim
Courtesy: www.everymuslim.net

Muslim Uni Life?

Freedom. Young people live for the day when they can move out of the house and go to university and finally be free.

Freedom from their parents, from restrictions on their lifestyle, from everyone telling them what to do. This is why in university you find a whole generation that does what they want. Life’s short they say, let’s enjoy ourselves while we can.

So it goes for Muslims. In university you find the most amazing things, Muslims who don’t pray, Muslims who date. Why is this happening?

Religion becomes like a fairytale, when they got old enough, they knew better than to believe in it. Most have little knowledge about Islam and have maybe memorized the right rituals to get by. Why beleive something on faith, they ask. After all we cannot see heaven or hell. How do we know Islam is right anyway?

Islamic culture to them means marrying someone they never knew. It means arranged marriages and never hanging out or having fun. For girls Islamic culture has even less to offer. It would mean double standards or having to serve a husband the rest of her life.

The western alternative to this looks a lot more attractive. In western culture “love and romance” are supposedly everywhere. Everyone is out looking for love freely. Meeting someone, going out, seeking pleasure sounds alot better. But what about the downside? For love at first sight, you need to have the right image, the right hair, the right clothes. Girls have to aspire to be like the latest supermodels, they have to hold back age. Who’s going out with who, what are my friends thinking, what will happen if I don’t get the right girl or guy, what is my girlfriend or boyfriend thinking, all become important. Frustration, desperation, and unhappiness become the norm.

Imagine all the heartache youth would save if they followed the Islamic alternative. In true Islam, unlike culture, there is no gameplaying. If two people wish to be involved they are both straight with one another. Unlike what goes on today amongst some Muslims, they both meet each other and make a contract to marry. Women are treated with respect, there is no sexual bombardment like there is in western society. Sex in western culture is also often seen as a vice or a sin of the flesh. But even in religious Islam, sex is seen as natural. As long as it is in the right circumstances, when the two are committed to one another in marriage.

Drinking in college is also the norm unfortunately. If you don’t drink or party you’re seen as weird. Drinking is cool and a way for people to socialize, meet and have fun. The one who doesn’t is less of a person and ‘misses out’. Drinking and all the harms that come with it is cut off at the root in Islam. So many problems are avoided, accidents, pregnancy, violence and even rape for example.

In university and in the world, success in life is not seen in terms of religion. It is seen as what other people think, one’s careers, how much money they make. If you are religious you must have failed at life. But why do we have this seperation? and this blindness in religion?

The Quran tells us again and again not to have blind faith, not to folllow the religion of our forefathers.

Yet, we as Muslims have stopped thinking. We may think about what our friends or other people will say, but we avoid thinking about the real issues. We spend so much time on the opposite sex, thinking about careers, money etc, but we forget to think about death and how much of this we will really be able to take with us?

“Every soul shall have a taste of death and only on the Day of Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense…for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception” (Quran 3:185)

Shouldn’t we take the time to comtemplate what will happen to us after we hit the grave? After all, what is the point of life if we are not accountable for our actions? If there is no creator, what is the point of being honest or good.

If we really look at our life we see that everything is indefinate, getting a job, even living until tomorrow. In fact we could die anytime, this is a definate, the only dead certain thing in our life. Most of us believe we can make up for our actions later or we can be religious later. We are gambling. The chances of our dying today are little, but the stakes are high. Allah reminds us of the importance of this,

“O you who beleive, obey Allah as he should be obeyed, and die not except in a state of Islam” (Quran3:102)

Each of us needs to decide. Is Islam right or not? Why don’t we take the time, just once, once in our lives to find out if Islam is right. Is the Quran from God or not? We can’t see God, but is there a maker to all this? We need to study nature, and the world. We only live once. We shouldn’t go to a club thinking we are only going to ‘hang out and are not doing anything wrong’ then feel guilty about it later. We shouldn’t go on a date or drink, then feel guilty about it, worrying about hellfire.

On the Day of Judgement it will be us alone who will be asked about our actions. If we are not following this deen completely, we are injuring our own soul, both in this life and the next.

“Verily We have revealed the Book to thee in truth, for (instructing) mankind. He, then that receives guidance beinfits his own soul: but he that strays injures his own soul…” (Quran 39:41)

This is the true definition of freedom. To learn about Islam and the world openly. To contemplate about life and death. And after learning the truth, obeying the word of God.

“Those on whom knowledge has been bestowed may learn that the (Quran) is the truth from your Lord, and that they believe therein, and their hearts may be made humbly (open)to it…” (Quran 22:54)

Once students have this rock-solid intellectual beleif in Islam, the corruptness and falseness of the people around them is clear. The beauty and wisdom of the islamic way, the best alternative is clear. What other’s do is of less importance. If others think they were weird to pray or weird to be honest, they would still pray and still be honest because they know their deen.

The Prophet(SAW)’s famous hadith to ‘seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim’ (Ibn Majah) or to ‘Allah makes the way to Jannah easy for him who treads th path in search of knowledge’ (Muslim) is too often forgotten by students. Our Quran’s are left on the top shelves, gathering dust. Sometimes the most it is read is when someone dies. How is this to help, when the guidance comes too late. The Quran is for the living. The path to understanding and following Islam comes from learning first.

How many of us are Muslim, yet have never read the Quran in our native language?

How many of us are Muslim, yet have yet to open a book on hadith or sunnah?

How many of us defend Islam to non-Muslims, but do not follow it ourselves?

May Allah forgive and lead us and all those lost to the straight path, inshaAllah.

Ameen.

by Huma Ahmad
www.islambradford.com

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