Achieve Success By Coming Closer to Allah

Everyday we live our lives, hours, days and months pass by but do we ever stop and think: What does Allah think of me right now? What have I done today to please Allah and what action of mine has displeased Him? Do we ever go back and turn to Him in repentance? Do we ever make the effort to improve ourselves for the better and strive to be the best Muslims we can be? Well, the answer depends from person to person but if our answer is no, then we should be worried. Why do we have to be the best Muslims we can be? It is because our very creation, our very being on this earth is because of Allah and it is for a reason. Allah (SWT) says in the Qu'ran: “And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)” (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56). 

When we say we are Muslim, it is our responsibility to live up to what we claim. A Muslim is one who submits to Allah and obeys Him. So despite being Muslim, to what extent are we really submitting to Allah? To what extent are we obeying Him? Instead, we are just going about living a life earning Allah's displeasure and distancing ourselves from Him and His Mercy. Allah (SWT) has not left us unguided though, He gave us the answer in the Qur'an: “ ...Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery” (Ta-Ha 20:123).

Once we have the goal set in mind, we must start our self-evaluation immediately. We must figure out the stage we are at as Muslims and as individuals. We must be sincere in our intention and ask Allah (SWT) for help in undertaking this journey of coming closer to our Creator. As with many other things that we do in life, we must begin the process ourselves, we have to take the first step. As Imam Safi Khan said in one of his short lectures, “the more effort that you exert to come closer to Allah, the closer Allah will come to you.”

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (SAW) said: Allah the Almighty said: “... and if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's (forearm's) length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.” It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah). Not only did Allah (SWT) assure us that He will be there for us in our journey to come closer to Him, He also told us exactly how to do it and how to attain His Love. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: “Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” It was related by al-Bukhari. In this Hadith Qudsi, Allah (SWT) tells of two main ways that we can come closer to Him and attain His Love. I will list those to give a better idea of them insha'allah. However it is important to know that Fard (obligatory) acts come first, then do the Nafl (supererogatory) ones.

Examples of Fard Acts

• Prayer-praying 5 times a day
• Zakah-(if one falls in this category i.e. a working adult w/ enough money)
• Sawm-fasting the month of Ramadan
• Hajj-(if one has the means to do so)
• Enjoining good and forbidding evil (and of course, doing it yourself)
• Staying away from major sins (these include cursing, cheating, lying, disobedience to parents, fornication, betraying trust, false testimony, arrogance and others...)

After we do the Fard acts and come closer to Allah, we must follow up with extra acts.

Examples of Nafl Acts

• Praying Rawatib-regular Nafls that are associated with the Fard prayers e.g. 2 rak'ahs sunnah before Fajr, 2 Rak'ahs after Maghrib, etc.
  

  • Also praying Qiyam ul-Layl (the night prayers, which can include Tahajjud)
• Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as the Prophet (SAW) used to do
• Doing extra dhikr in the morning or after salah
• Giving Sadaqah (charity)-charity includes giving money, smiling, giving a good word of advice, removing a harmful object from someone's path, or helping someone out with a task

Some scholars say that one should first only focus on the Fard acts and perfect them and then move on to the Nafl ones. Others say that even while you are working on the Fard acts, you should still squeeze in some Nafl acts as they may come in handy when you need good deeds the most (i.e. on the Day of Judgment). In regards to Nafl prayers, many people underestimate their value but the following Hadith Qudsi proves otherwise: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: “The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.” It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).

All our striving and all of our efforts that we exert for the sake of Allah will never go in vain, but it is very important to always be sincere. We reap the benefits of our good actions both in this world and the next. From the Hadith Qudsi mentioned above, we know how to come closer to Allah and we even know of the benefits. Once we attain Allah's Love and Pleasure, He makes it easy on us to do good deeds and keeps us away from sin and answers our du'as. Thus, a believer is blessed with goodness all throughout his life and has Allah on his side. This is one of the biggest blessings and/or reward a person can get in this world, but what about the next? Surely, the biggest reward the believers will get will be on the Day of Judgment, as Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an: “And those foremost [(in Islamic Faith of Monotheism and in performing righteous deeds) in the life of this world on the very first call for to embrace Islam,] will be foremost (in Paradise). These will be those nearest to Allah. In the Gardens of delight (Paradise)” (Al-Waqi'ah 56:10-12)

We want to be close to Allah in this life as well as in the Hereafter because that is the greatest success. So let us achieve it by evaluating our lives today and by changing ourselves for the better, for the sake of Allah. Procrastination is our biggest enemy (along with Shaitan lol) so let's hurry up and get to work before it's too late. May Allah (SWT) guide us and always keep us on the Straight Path and may He make it easier for us to follow His Orders and stay away from the things He has forbidden. May Allah (SWT) protect us from Shaitan and from our own evil desires as well as the evil of this world. Ameen.

*Note: Beneath is a complimentary video that inspired me to write this post

Ibn Qayyum: 10 things that bring about the love of Allah

Preparing for Ramadan

Last Saturday, Imam Safi Khan of Dar-us-Salam had an awesome workshop about Ramadan. To view the powerpoint presentation along with the audio, click on the link below:
http://issuu.com/dawah/docs/ramadaan_workshop_2010?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

20 Ways to Show Off

When I saw this video, I realized that I was also indirectly a showoff and the comments on youtube by various people also showed that they also realized what they were doing wrong. I thank the person who put up this video on youtube and I wanted to share it with everyone so you all can benefit from it like I did.

Loneliness and Allah's Mercy As It Once Came to Me

Does it ever happen that you just feel so alone? Like no one is there to listen to you? I've felt like that. It's a very desolate feeling. Sometimes it has to do with people around you whether they be friends or family, but I think most of the time it has to do with your soul. The relationship that a human being craves the most is with their Creator-and why not? If Allah has created us and gave us a soul, we need to have a connection with Him. No matter what the cause of this loneliness and distress is, the solution is always Allah (SWT)-to turn back to Him, to talk to Him because He is the Only One who can solve our problems. But then it may seem like Allah (SWT) is not listening or He is too far away. These are just some of the things that may cross a person's mind due to Shaitan's incessant whispers. But when one remembers what Allah (SWT) said in a Hadith Qudsi about Him replying back to us in Surah Fatiha when we say each ayah, it makes us realize that Allah (SWT) does talk to us even if we don't hear or see Him. This is the Hadith that I always use to reassure myself and Alhamdulillah, it always works. A while back, I was going through a spiritual crisis. I felt like I was losing the connection with Allah (SWT). I felt like I was becoming a Kafir because I wasn't believing in Allah anymore and all this had happened overnight. Although I knew I was mentally insisting on something impossible, I still said "Why isn't Allah listening to me? Why isn't He replying?" I knew the answer-because we are not meant to perceive Allah (SWT)'s physical presence in this life-it is part of our faith in the unseen but whether it was my own mind or just Shaitan's whispers, I was going crazy. I just didn't know what to do but I was afraid of dying in a state of Kufr. I opened up the Qur'an and started reading from any random page but it did not help. I remembered what I once heard from someone: that you should read the Qur'an and imagine that it is directed only to you then it may feel like Allah (SWT) is talking to you directly. Even when I thought of this, I still did not believe it. Never having been a person who regularly prays, I turned to Allah (SWT) desperately and tried my best to get Him to listen to me. I cried and begged Him to give me Iman again and to guide me to the Straight Path. This continued on for a couple of days and one day at school while sitting in Algebra class, I pretended for a split second that "what if Allah did not exist? then what?" and I could not imagine the purpose of our creation then. I could not think about how and why we came into this world and who even created it? This feeling of Allah not existing made me want to just die. Earlier, I had always felt that "Allah is watching me, He is taking care of me, He knows what's in my heart this very second." Then I thought, if Allah wasn't there, these feelings wouldn't be there and without the existence of Allah , I thought, "what am I doing in this world? what is the purpose of living then? might as well everyone just die instead of wasting their life." Then I realized that the Kuffar who reject Allah (SWT) and don't believe in Him have this feeling everyday of their lives. They don't have the reassurance of someone who watches them every second and protects them. Of course, Allah does take care of the non-Muslims as well, but it just defeats the purpose of living if one doesn't acknowledge or understand Allah's existence. Then the feeling of pity that I always have in my heart for non-Muslims changed into pity for myself. Despite being born and raised as a Muslim in an Islamic environment, I was losing my Iman in a matter of days. The desperation and frustration increased in my heart until I could not take it anymore. I went straight to my Islamic Studies teacher and asked her to help me renew my faith. I told her about my problem and then the things she told me completely changed my dubious thoughts into ones of relief. She told me that just the fact that you wanted to be guided and you turned back to Allah (SWT) for help proves that you are not a Kafir. She told me that sometimes people just need reassurance for the contentment of their soul. She also told me that sometimes Allah (SWT) delays answering our du'as because He likes to see us begging Him for His Mercy and Guidance and that He likes to see how much in need we are of His Love. When she said that, I remembered the same thing that I heard from a Sheikh a few months earlier. He had given the example of a man who turned to Allah (SWT) continuously for some need of his (I forgot) and Allah (SWT) didn't answer his prayers. For a while, this went on until finally Allah (SWT) decided to answer His prayers but the reason for the delay had been the fact that Allah (SWT) wanted to see His servant turning back to Him and asking Him for his needs. When my teacher told me the things she told me and when I remembered this story from the Sheikh, I was so happy that I could not believe it. The joy that I felt was like nothing in the world upon discovering that I was not a Kafir. Of course, Allah (SWT) knows best what is in our hearts but I realized that had I not believed in Allah (SWT), I wouldn't have turned back to Him. I knew and I acknowledged that Allah (SWT) was the only One who could help me and guide me to the Straight Path. And so I left my teacher's room with a feeling of reassurance and joy that I had not been misguided forever and that Allah (SWT) is always there for me as He is for all His servants who seek nearness to Him. Later when I went home and thought of ways to get closer to Allah (SWT), I remembered a hadeeth that said that in sujud, a believer is the closest to Allah (SWT). Another thing I remembered was that my friend had once told me about an ayah in Surah Qaf that says that Allah (SWT) is closer to us than our jugular vein. When I remembered that, I felt like Allah (SWT) was the closest to me and that He was right there, just listening to me and the feeling of tranquility that I felt was like never before. I felt like Allah (SWT) loved me simply because I am His servant and because I sought Nearness to and Guidance from Him. Allah (SWT) had saved me from the whispers of Shaitan and from the misgivings of my own mind and had given me a renewed sense of belief in Him and His Everlasting Mercy. The reason for sharing this story was so that it could be an inspiration and hope for anyone who is distressed regarding their relationship with Allah (SWT). Just call to Him sincerely and you will find that He is always there to answer our prayers. May Allah (SWT) always keep us firm believers in Him and His Messenger and may He always shower us with His Love, Mercy, and Guidance. Ameen.

Let The Love Of Allah Remain In The Heart

Effect of Prayer on our Life

Salah-the second pillar of Islam and an exalted form of worship of Allah (SWT). Salah was prescribed in the heavens by Allah (SWT) when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) went up to the heavens. From forty times a day, Allah (SWT) numbered it down to only five times a day upon the request of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an:
“Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.” (An-Nisaa’ 4:103)
Why do we find it so hard to perform salah only five times a day for ten to fifteen minutes each? Allah (SWT) created us and gave us so many blessings and so much time so why can’t we sacrifice our sleep and a few minutes each day to talk to our Creator? We think we have busy schedules and that we have so much work to do, but we all forget that one day, we have to go and answer our Creator for the sins we did without repentance, for the prayers we missed without guilt, and for the time we wasted instead of doing something useful.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said that whoever does ablution excellently, prays at the appointed salah times, and completes their bows, prostration, and khushu’ (attuning heart to the prayer) has a promise from Allah that He will forgive him. And whoever does not do that, he has no promise from Allah. He may either forgive him or punish him. (Malik and Ahmad)
Allah (SWT) wants salah to be easy on us and a source of peace and tranquility, like it was for Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and also as a way to Jannah. Instead, we make it hard on ourselves by thinking of it as a chore. There is no doubt that salah is our duty as a Muslim but there are ways to make more of it than that. Think of salah as a conversation with Allah (SWT). Even if you are obviously not getting a reply, you know that Allah (SWT) is listening to you and He is always there for you. Think of salah as a way of getting your sins forgiven.
Salah helps in stressful as well as peaceful times. People get different degrees of benefits from their salah depending on how hard they tried to be sincere in their prayers. Some people feel tranquil when they pray, while others feel that they are safe from any danger because Allah (SWT) is with them, and some people haven’t been able to reach those degrees yet so they simply try hard to concentrate in their prayers. Allah (SWT) knows everyone’s feelings and intentions so they get rewarded according to how much they try to perfect their salah.
There are many ways of improving concentration in salah. Think of all the sins you did that day and ask Allah (SWT) to forgive you with fear and hope in your heart, close your eyes and think of something peaceful to help you concentrate on your salah, or try to figure out the meanings of what you are reciting. When a person actually makes an effort to perform salah on time and pray slowly with concentration, Allah (SWT) makes it easy it on him to do so, and then even when he is in trouble, he will find his peace in salah. When he is in confusion, he will find his answer in salah and when he is happy, he will find contentment in salah.
There are so many problems facing people everywhere-financial problems, medical problems, life problems, etc. but no one ever thinks of turning back to the one they need-Allah (SWT). People are so busy in their lives, whether they are happy or sad, that they forget to ask help from the one who can give it the most or they forget to thank the one who needs to be thanked the most. Humans are forgetful but if we take up a little responsibility of doing our prayers on time and then also reminding others, we can acquire more reward from Allah (SWT), form a closer relationship with Him, put an end to most of our problems, and have a much better life, which is a lot more than we ever had before.

The Balance of the 3

Ibadah consists of different actions of the heart, tongue and the body. For example, dhikr would be an action of the tongue and salah would be an action of the body. I will be discussing three actions of the heart. First, let me explain the word Taqwa. What exactly does Taqwa mean? It is often translated as “fear of Allah” which is true but it has a greater and deeper meaning than that. Taqwa means piety and self-restraint which is achieved through fearing Allah as well as loving Him.

We often read in the Qur’an or hear people say “Ittequl-allah (fear Allah)”. Some people who say this don’t even fully understand the meaning of what they are saying. Are we supposed to fear Allah because He is some ruthless God who will throw us in Hell? Or is it because He is unforgiving of those who infract His Divine Laws? The answer is no. Rather, Allah (SWT) is the All-Forgiving, All-Merciful God who is always ready to forgive us and its evidence is as follows:
“If anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul but afterwards seeks Allah’s forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” An-Nisaa’ (4:110)
Some people might say that since Allah is so Forgiving, we don’t need to fear Him anymore because loving Him is enough. They think they will be sent to Jannah simply by loving Allah. That is not the case, however. Our love for Allah should be represented through our actions which are to be done only for His sake. Usually, when a person loves someone, they are afraid, or to say, they have fear, of displeasing that person. It is the same with Allah (SWT). Our love for Allah should make us be afraid of displeasing Him. In the commentary for ayah (67:12), it is stated that immense love for Allah (SWT) makes fear arise in your heart to displease Him and this intense love obtains forgiveness for any past, and is rewarded with Allah’s love as well.
Along with the love and fear of Allah (SWT) in our hearts, there is another aspect that needs to be balanced and that is hope. Many people, when they make du’a to ask for forgiveness, feel hopeless and think that they are too sinful to be forgiven. This type of attitude is not recommended by the Prophet (SAW).
Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an:

“Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loveth not those who trespass beyond bounds. Do not mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good.” Al-A’raaf (7: 55-56)
One should be hopeful that Allah (SWT) will forgive him/her but that should not lead the person to feel confident that they will go to Jannah because no one knows that for sure. The particular Sahabah (radiallahu ‘anhum) who were promised Jannah did not even show this type of overconfidence or pride but instead, they spent time just thanking Allah (SWT) for His Bounties. The love, fear, and hope in our hearts should be balanced accordingly-one quality should help us enrich the other so we don’t end up having the wrong beliefs because wrong beliefs often lead to wrong actions.
The three aspects of Taqwa can be summarized as follows:
Love
 To obey Allah (SWT), follow His orders
 To do everything only for Him
 To please Him
 To do the deeds He loves
 Should make us do good deeds and thank Him for His favors
 Fear arises from this love
Fear
 His punishment
 To disobey Him
 His displeasure & rejection
 Stay away from sins
 Of diverging from His Will
Hope
 That Allah (SWT) will accept our good deeds and forgive our sins
Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an:
“But those who believe and do deeds of righteousness,-We shall soon admit them to Gardens, with rivers flowing beneath,-to dwell therein forever. Allah’s promise is the truth, and whose word can be truer than Allah’s?” An-Nisaa’ (4:122)
In various places throughout the Qur’an, Allah (SWT) tells the believers to have Taqwa through fasting and doing other good deeds and the more we try to improve ourselves, the more Allah (SWT) helps us, as He says in the Qur’an:
“But to those who receive1 Guidance, He increases their Guidance, and bestows on them their Piety and Restraint (from evil).” Muhammad (47:17)
May Allah (SWT) help us all to achieve this balance of the three aspects of Taqwa in our hearts and keep us safe from going astray.


1 Spiritual advancement is progressive: each step makes the next ones easier and more complete.

Ayah of the Day

"Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for (the benefit of) his ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his own self. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves."
Al-Fussilat (41:46)

Hadith of the Day

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said:
"Whoever removes a harmful object from the way of another Muslim will have his good deed recorded."

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet (SAW) said:
" The world is a prison for the believer
and a paradise for the non-believer."

Ayah of the Day

"Verily, those who disbelieve, and die while they are disbelievers, it is they on whom is the Curse of Allah and of the angels and of mankind, combined."
Al-Baqarah (2:161)

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet (SAW) said:
"The worst person before Allah (SWT) is one who fights most of the time."

Ayah of the Day

"Woe that Day to the deniers (of the Day of Resurrection)!"
 Al-Mursalat (77:49)

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet (SAW) said:
"Look carefully at the water
before you drink it."

Ayah of the Day

"Verily! Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him, but He forgives whom He wills sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away."
An-Nisaa' (4:116)

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said:
"When you feel angry, keep silent."

Ayah of the Day

"So whatever you have been given is but (a passing) enjoyment for this wordly life, but that which is with Allah (Paradise) is better and more lasting for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah-Islamic Monotheism) and put their trust in their Lord (concerning all of their affairs)."

Ash-Shura (42:36)

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said:
"The best friend is he who is good to his friends and the best neighbor is one who is good to his neighbors."

Ayah of the Day

"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster."
Surah Luqman (31:18)

In this ayah, Allah (SWT) is warning mankind not to have pride through Luqman's advice to his son. He advised his son not to turn his face from people thinking that he is better than them and also told him so walk with humility on the face of the earth. (We are studying this surah in school so I thought I should share this ayah with everyone).

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet (SAW) said:
"The best person among you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it to others."

Light Upon Light: Hadith of the Day

Light Upon Light: Hadith of the Day
lightuponlight.blogspot.com

Hadith of the Day

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said:
"Whoever leads a road seeking knowledge, Allah (SWT) will ease a way for him to Jannah."
(Collected by At-Tirmidhi)

Ayah of the Day

"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and within it a lamp: the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east (i.e. neither it gets sun-rays only in the morning) nor of the west (i.e. nor it gets sun-rays only in the afternoon, but it is exposed to the sun all day long), whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! Allah guides to His Light whom He wills. And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of everything."  Surah An-Nur (24:35)