My Islamic Knowledge blog posts

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaahaillalllahuWa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu WaRasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". Iam Satisfied with Allâh as My Rabb and Cherisher,Iam Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenge r)sallallahualaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure. Ya ALLAH! ALL the praises are for You, You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are are the Substaner of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for you; You have the Possession of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for You; You are Lightn(Nur) of the Heavens and Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the Truth, And Your word is the Truth and the Meeting with You is true, And Parardise is True And Hell is true and All the Prophets(peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) is true! And the Day of Resurrection is True. Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your promise is the truth!Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your words is the truth, Ya ALLAH! You have promise and You are the Truth! Ya ALLAH! You have created Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) to be the most truthful of men and what He(sallallahualayhiwasalam) has said is the absolute truth! Ya ALLAH! You have promise that You would send one who would revive, restore, rejuvenate Your Din(religion), O ALLAH! You have sent him and he has come and gone! O ALLAH! We Muslim people in the west and many places in the World has fail to benefit from the presence of The Mujaddid (revivers, restore, rejuvennator ) …........Ya ALLAH it is getting late and time is not with us, We are now looking for the Mahdi! …................................Ya ALLAH You have Promise! Ya ALLAH You have Promise! and Your Promise is the Truth! O Most Merciful of those who show mercy! O Most Merciful of those who show mercy! O Most Merciful of those who show mercy!" -I declare that ALLAH's Enemies as His Enemies, and I donot take His Enemies as Friends or protectors. (The Dajjal and his followers are the Enemies of ALLAH). And I also Declare that the Believers are the Friends of ALLAH, and I donot take them as enemies. I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the Dajjal.————————————— �——————————————[O Muslim people! What will you do when the Mahdi("The Guided one". ) comes forth! If you, if we are disobedient Now! If you are a hypocrite now! if you are a liar now! If you are a spy now for those who are against Islam, If you are that now! If you are against the Sunnah-Now! If you take Islam lightly Now! If you only hear what you want to hear or when talk(khutbah) is given on Friday or when the Quran is being read out during the fridayJummah! What will you be when the Mahdi appear? In this time of do as you please! Where there is No Islamic Authority ruling the Muslim world. Where The Mujaddid (revivers, restore, rejuvennator has came and gone, He has did his work as a reviver by establishing a modern model islamic society in Oman, He united his people and the warring faction and broth peace and stability to Oman.....And a return to active consciousness of Islamic life where Islam can flourishing again! ) In this time of do as you please! Where there is no fear of ALLAH andthe attitudes and disposition is, it's alright just have a Good time, that disposition that they have taken in their Hearts will probably be a permanent one in the time of the Mahdi and in the time of Isa(alyhisalam)..................... These people disposition is that they are against Islam and the Sunnah of Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam). These are the people who have been train and Education to be use as tools against Islam! In every Field of study! they have been given these Anti-Islam ideas, that has been pass on thought text books and Teachers, thought anti-Islamic assumption, thought Anti-Islamic perceptions and explanation, thought Anti- Islamic principles and Anti- Islamic values that are questionable, the scandalously hateful and bigoted material, which has been allowed to pollute the institutions of higher learning within the U.S. and around the world. This anti-Islamic material has appeared in the media, encyclopedia, books, booklets, brochures, flyers and governmental training manual. Negative propaganda against Islam and Muslims is in part based on genuine ignorance but in a greater part it is a calculated, goal-oriented campaign of smear. Its main goal is to create misapprehension of Islam and Muslims through misperception which is created through misinformation, dis-information and stereotyping.Very few Muslims realize the cost of anti-Islam propaganda World Wide, in general and in North America, in particular. The anti-Islam poison has created a condition in which many Muslims hide their identities as Muslims and in a large number of cases leave Islam altogether. And many are being Education and Train against Islam, as tools of deception, pretending to be Muslims and of course they have accepted these things without question. These Same enemies Pray with us every day! But they are the Ememys, their hearts and Actions are against Islam. A known enemy! The enemies of Islam have always attempted deceivingly to market this lie that "they are the builders of universal peace devoid of any animosity and hatred. "They do nothing but lie!" They do their best to deceive the Muslims Ummah in America and thought out the world, so that the Muslims can be easy preyed on and easy tricked, to be attacked at any time.(surah 16:45) Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the Wrath will not seize them from directions they little perceive?- Indeed, many good Muslims have fallen victims of this deceit. They have fallen victims because they were influenced by the power of the media and their deceit and because they had a severe lack of knowledge of the facts presented by the Qur'an. living in an environment where the wicked has control over every aspect of the Muslim life, and the wicked has all the resources and all the support, The Muslims people cannot pray in privacy without being secretly observe. This has become Electronic Police State! Already it is quite clear that we are in the fulfillment of Foreshadowing prophecy made by Rasulallah (sallallahualayhiwasalam)About the Great Evil and Deception in the Time of the dajjal . So much so then, for the spurious claims(Deceitful claims) of the western civilization, They claim that mankind is witnessing unprecedented progress(only in technology and in ignorance)all the while the human condition is getting worse and worse throughout the world ,they claim that the present is the best of all ages, Is this the age of technical enlightenment or the age of technical ignorance? They claim that the world keeps on growing better and better, and with the desperate condition of War and people starving all over the world, how is it better? And that modern western civilization has rendered (relinquish and over turn) all previous civilizations, including the Islamic civilizations of the pass, these claims are pure nonsense. When a ship is sinking do to negligence and carelessness and you cannot prevent it from sinking, you have to get off that ship and urge others as well to do so (This is the condition of the Western civilization). This is the Time for Hijah!!! The ship of the world is now sinking! Pure Islam is the only life Boat! There is No other life boat. Those life boats are in The Holy Quran and The Sunnah of Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam). The evidence is all around us that this evil is growing stronger and stronger each day, and as plainly visible as daylight! But those who are blind hearted cannot see that the ship is sinking because they are too caught up in distraction! Distraction that take up all their time and attention. As for the Rich with their blind arrogant, they use their checkbooks, or the barrels of their guns, to impose themselves around the world as leaders. The blind arrogant then lead the blind ignorant until all are lost and will be drowned like the people of Noah (peace be upon him).When there are Nations, when there are People and when there are Leaders in the World who are evidently powerful and dominion, but yet they turn away from the Commands of ALLAH! They become insignificant in the sight of ALLAH! When there is Nations, Leaders and People who stand up in Bold Defiant against the Commands of ALLAH, Because of Blind arrogance, Blind Ignorance,and disobedience and injustice! These are the ingredients for their Destruction. There is no excuse for Arrogance, blind or otherwise. When a people, Nations and Leaders like these Disbelieving People who have study the working in creation and they act as if they have no accountability and they also act as if they can do anything in this Life without restriction and they act as if they are above the Punishment of ALLAH, And they are already ignorance and have Become blind and Arrogance, and are presistent in Great Evil, inflicting injustice upon injustice, those people of the World, those Leaders of the world and these Nations are asking for the Punishment of ALLAH. In this time of great deception! The worst of men are in the Leadership over the Muslim Ummah, these people were call to embrace Islam wholeheartedly, but some how they stumbled and fell into the pit of hypocrite. They came to Islam seeking position of power and authority,and they are not comfortable with us the muslims people unless they are in a position of authority over us(as a bosses). Many of these people are serious when it comes to exercising Power and authority over the Muslim people, The Ummah, but when it come to the practice of Islam! They just can't seem to get it right. They put on a show pretending to be righteous in order to deceive those good Muslim people who blindly support them. { ———————And ALLAH said in the Holy Quran: And we desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams (Leaders of mankind), and to make them the heirs. (Al Quran, 28:5)

The term "MAHDI" is a title meaning "The Guided one". Mahdi is a normal man who is going to follow the true Islam. His name will be Muhammad and his father name will be 'Abdullah. He is a descendant from Ali and Fatima (daughter of the Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) so he will be descendant from al-Hasan or al-Husain. Mahdi will be very just and his capital will be Damascus. Allah told us that Jews will master the world two times and Mahdi will appear between those two periods and will rule through the last one. Mahdi is NOT a prophet but he is the final Rightly Guided Khalifa. As Muslims, we should remember that the prophecy about Mahdi is one that will come to pass. This prophecy, however, does not absolve the Muslim Ummah from its duty to strive in the cause of Allah, oppose injustice and tyranny and seek peace and the betterment for the human condition. Centuries have passes from the time of Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) and this is closer to that time of the Mahdi. Muslims who are negligent in their duty hoping for a savior are committing a grave mistake and are not following the divine decrees ordained in Quran or taught by Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam). Abu Said Khadhri quoting Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) saying, "I bring you glad tidings of Al-Mahdi, ALLAH shall send him to my nation, in a time different from your own, and after a series of earthquakes, and he shall fill the earth with justice and equity as it was filled with injustice and oppression. He shall distribute the wealth equitably among the inhabitants of the earth. We know from the prophecies of the blessed Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) that the third major 'sinking of the earth', i.e., the one that would occur in Arabia, would swallow an army that would be heading south to Makkah. That army would be on its way to attack Imam al-Mahdi, the descendent of Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam). It was foretold that he would restore the Islamic Caliphate (or Islamic model of a state) in the Arabian peninsula. It is after that sign has occurred (i.e., the third major earthquake) that the son of Mary would descend from the sky with his hands resting on the wings of two angels, and would kill Dajjal the False Messiah or Anti-Christ. The Qur'an itself has described Isa (i.e., the return of Isa) as the 'ilm (which here means the very key to the subject) of the Last Hour:
"And he (i.e., Isa) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow Me: this is a Straight Way."
(Qur'an, Zukhruf, 43:61)—————- Rasulallah(sallallahualaihi was salam) has said in one of his treasured speeches, introduced the hypocrites as Islam's most dangerous enemy. He even said that they were Islam's only enemy. The following is the text of His(sallallahualaihi was salam) speech: "I have never been frightened of any nation conquering Islam. I only worry about one group of people: the unbelievers who pretend to be Muslim, the two-faced hypocrites. They are with you in their words, but they would never take a step with you. There were also others who stand in the shadow with those, who had outwardly accepted Islam but secretly worked to destroy the Din from within. Generally speaking, the most dangerous enemy is an unknown one in the shadows. A known enemy, no matter how powerful he is, causes less damage than an unknown enemy does. In addition, the damage caused by a known enemy can be made up for. The reason is that the enemy is identified, his bad intentions are clear, his strength is recognized and his goals are well-known. On the other hand, the unknown enemy, however small and powerless he may be able to cause serious damage because he pretends to be a friend or he is standing where he cannot be seen, and pretends to be indifferent. He can cause irreconcilable damage and at the same time not lose anything. Such an enemy will remain where he cannot be seen or even if his bad intentions are made clear, he remain unseen, but his actions are seen. The reason for this is that a known one, you can see the Evil that this enemy is doing. . This enemy will then persist with his evil deeds. Never In the history of mankind have the Humanbeing ever seen such wickedness as we are seeing now in this War of deception! ibn al-Yaman said, "People used to ask Rasulullahsallallahualayhiwasallam, about good things, but I used to ask him about bad things because I was afraid that they might overtake me. I said, ' YaRasulallah!, we were lost in ignorance (jahiliyyah) and evil, then Allah brought this good (i.e. Islam). Will some evil come after this good thing?' He said, 'Yes' I asked, 'And will some good come after that evil?' He said, 'Yes, but it will be tainted with some evil' I asked, 'How will it be tainted?' He said, 'There will be some people who will lead others on a path different from mine. You will see good and bad in them.' I asked, 'Will some evil come after that good?' He said, 'Some people will be standing and calling at the gates of Hell; whoever responds to their call, they will throw him into the Fire.' I said, 'YaRasulallah, describe them for us.' He said, 'They will be from our own people, and will speak our language.' I asked, 'What do you advise me to do if I should live to see that?' He said, 'Stick to the main body (jama'ah) of the Muslims and their leader (imam).' I asked, What if there is no main body and no leader?' He said, 'Isolate yourself from all of these sects, even if you have to eat the roots of trees until death overcomes you while you are in that state.' One of the Most Biggest and the Most Dangerous of Secret Enemies in the war of deception are those Jews and Masons who pretend to be Muslim who are over Masjids and in every position. In this War of Deception there are Masonic Christians and Jews who have open up SoCall Masjids throughout America trying to deceive the Muslims by mixing Islam with christianity and twisting the truth. There are many Masonic christians and jews who know the Arabic Language, and they use it as a tool to incite hated and bitterness by stirring up the Muslims against each other and instigating - mistrust and racial tension among the Muslims. they know the arabic language, and know how to twist it, But the Masonic christians do not know Islam, they mix it with christianity (but the jews they have studies Islam)they have learn the language to deceive the Muslims and trying to hide among the Muslims with the intention of corrupting as many muslims as they can with tickes, in this time of deception a Muslim come to the Masjid for Prayer and complete his prayer then set down and talks with a person whom he think is a Muslim, but in reality this person is a spy for the Enemies who are against Islam! And this is one of their ticks, the ticked is to make the socall masjid beautiful and attractive like a fisherman Net, or A Snare used as a trapping device design to capture the believing Muslims. Also in this war of Deception there are The socall modern muslims these are the people who are openly against the Sunnah, who are doing everything they can to compromise Islam, and in trying to design islam in a way that it will be acceptable to the west. If the ignorant people of the west who claim knowledge rejected some part of Islam, then the ignorant socall Modern Muslim rejected too! When ALLAH call a people ignorant, they are Ignorant! No matter how technologically advance a society or Nations is! They are Ignorant! In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful. The Philosophy of the Ignorance.
"Is it (then that) the judgement of (the time of pagan) ignorance they desire?
And who (else) can be better than Allah to judge for a people of assure faith."(the Quran:5:50) The Holy Qur'an has told us about other nations with capabilities in science, engineering, and skills. Still, it regarded them as 'jahiliyah' (ignorant).
6. The Qur'an describes nature as equal among nations of 'jahiliyah'. In the Qur'anic viewpoint, all of these nations were ignorant. We are able to understand this equality clearly through the comparison which the Qur'an has made between the backward state of Arabs and the developed state of nations before them.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
"What! Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how was the end of those before them? They were more (in number) than those and mightier in strength, and greater are the relics (of their power) in the earth, but availed them not what they were earning. And when came unto them their apostles with clear proofs (of their truthfulness), exalted they in what they had with them of knowledge, but encompassed them that which they were wont to scoff." "Have they travelled not in the earth and seen how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than them in strength; and they dug up the earth and built on it more than what these did build; and there came unto them their apostles with clear proofs (miracles); (for) it is not Allah Who should do them (any) injustice, but they did injustice to their own selves. Then evil was the end of those who wrought evil, for belied they the signs of Allah, and at them they used to mock."

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaahaillalllahuWa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu WaRasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". Iam Satisfied with Allâh as My Rabb and Cherisher,Iam Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenge r)sallallahualaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure. Ya ALLAH! ALL the praises are for You, You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are are the Substaner of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for you; You have the Possession of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for You; You are Lightn(Nur) of the Heavens and Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the Truth, And Your word is the Truth and the Meeting with You is true, And Parardise is True And Hell is true and All the Prophets(peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) is true! And the Day of Resurrection is True. Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your promise is the truth!Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your words is the truth, Ya ALLAH! You have promise and You are the Truth! Ya ALLAH! You have created Rasulallah(sallallahualayhiwasalam) to be the most truthful of men and what He(sallallahualayhiwasalam) has said is the absolute truth! Ya ALLAH! You have promise that You would send one who would revive, restore, rejuvenate Your Din(religion), O ALLAH! You have sent him and he has come and gone! O ALLAH! We Muslim people in the west and many places in the World has fail to benefit from the presence of The Mujaddid (revivers, restore, rejuvennator ) …........Ya ALLAH it is getting late and time is not with us, We are now looking for the Mahdi! …................................Ya ALLAH You have Promise! Ya ALLAH You have Promise! and Your Promise is the Truth! O Most Merciful of those who show mercy! O Most Merciful of those who show mercy! O Most Merciful of those who show mercy!" -I declare that ALLAH's Enemies as His Enemies, and I donot take His Enemies as Friends or protectors. (The Dajjal and his followers are the Enemies of ALLAH). And I also Declare that the Believers are the Friends of ALLAH, and I donot take them as enemies. I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the Dajjal............................................ .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...Spiritual Force is when ALLAH sends the angels to help the believing Muslim! They! The Angels are spiritual beings created by Allah to obey Him and carry out His commandments. Unlike man, angels have no free will and cannot act independently. They control the forces of nature by Allah's command. Also by Allah's command angels serve as intermediaries in carrying out His will. In this sense they are also referred to as messengers (rasool) of Allah. Indeed, amongst their tasks are: to bring divine revelations to the prophets; bring punishment on the enemies of prophets and the enemies of ALLAH;

The foolish are of the belief that the angels only help prophets as long as they are in the world and when the Prophets lever the world they no longer help the believers, so the attitude of ignorant is that they can do anything to the believing muslims that they want and there will be No help from ALLAH! This is a grave mistake on the part of the foolish and ignorant people! ALLAH has promised that He would help His obedience slaves! The angels are waiting for the command of ALLAH! And when that command is given there can be no holding the angels back from their carrying out the command of ALLAH! They will descended from the heavens Quicker than the bilking of the eye! And once they descended that will be the end of that society or thought individuals who are oppressors!

It takes the prayers of the believers and the appeal to ALLAH to bring about such dynamic event! There are times when the prayers of the believing people bring about a movement in the Heavens! And the Heavens are moved and the angels descended, sometimes just one or two angels descended, and other times An Army of Angels descended!
It was on the outskirts of Taif that one of the Greatest sign of ALLAH's help was manifested! Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) left the persecution of the Quraish in Makkah, which had increased since the death of Abu Talib, And He(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) looked toward taif for help and also hope of winning them over to Islam! So Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) called upon the people of taif to accept Islam the Message of peace! But instead of accepting His(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) message, they refused and treated Him most disrespectful and rudely, they ridicule Him and made mockery of Him! And nobody would listen to Him! instead they asked him to leave the town! But they would not let him depart in peace and they set the street urchins after him and they stoned Him! He was so much pelted with stones that his whole body was covered with blood, and when He(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) left the town in this sorrowful plight! And when He was far out of the town and safe from the mob, He(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)prayed(made Du'a) to ALLAH Thus: Ya ALLAH! I complain to you alone that I am weak, that I do not have any resources and that I do not hold any significance in the eyes of the people. Ya Most Merciful of all those who show mercy. You are the Rabb of the weak, and You are My own Rabb! To whom are You going to entrust Me? To a stranger who would look at me harshly or to an enemy, to whom You have given control over My affairs. If You are not angry with me, then I do not care for anything except that I should enjoy Your Protection. I seek shelter in Your(Light)Nur which removes all sorts of darknesses and controls all the affairs of this world and the Hereafter. May it never be that You become angry with me or You are displeased with me-It is Your right that forgiveness is sought from You until You are pleased.There is neither power to turn away from evil nor any strength to do good except with the help of ALLAH.” The effect of this powerful dua’a was such that the Heavens were moved and Jibreed(alayhi salam) appeared before Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and greeting him with As-Salamu alaikum and said: That ALLAH knows all that has passed between You and these people! He(ALLAH) has deputed the Angel in charge of the mountains to be at your command!" And saying this, Jibrail(alayhi salam) brought the Angel forth before Rasulallah(Sallallahu alayhi wa salam), The Angel greeted Rasulallah (sallallahu alayhi wa salam) with As-Salamu Alaikum and said: Ya Nabiallah! I am at your service! If you wish! I can cause the mountains that is overlooking this town on both sides to collide with each other, so that all the people there would be crushed to death, or You may suggest any other punishment for them! He(The Mercy to all the worlds!)The Noble Rasulallah(sallallahu Alayhi wa salam) said: Even if These people do not accept Islam, I do hope from ALLAH that there will be persons from among their progeny who would worship ALLAH and serve His cause. But Look at the conduct of our noble Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, whom we profess to follow. We get so much irritated over a little trouble or a mere abuse from somebody that we keep on torturing them and taking revenge throughout our lives in every possible manner. Does it befit people who claim to follow the noble Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam? Look, even after so much suffering at the hands of the Taif mob, he neither curses them nor does he work for any revenge, even when he has the full opportunity to do so.-And It was only a few years later in the valley of Badr that the Nabi (Sallallahu alayhi wa salam)of ALLAH and His Sahabah received Unseen assistance when they left the material means,and held firmly on to spiritual means and at this stage the Sahabah shared the same concerns that Rasulallah(Sallallahu alayhi wa salam)had for the guidance of people and calling them toward Islam. this also highlights how the Sahabah inculcate within themselves the same character traits and noble qualities of Rasulallah(Sallallahu alayhi wa salam). And indeed Allah assisted you at Badr when you were weak, so be careful (to your duty) to Allah so that you may be of the thankful ones.When you said to the believers 'Does it not suffice you that your Rabb should assist you with three thousand angels sent down.." [Suratul Ale Imran 3:123 & 124]--The tribe of Quraysh thoughts that their numbers and their physical forces was everything in the battle of badr!-- The forces of truth and the forces falsehood faced each other for the first time in the Valley of Badr. The number of the army of truth did not exceed 313 whereas the army of falsehood was three times as big as that. The battle began on Jumu’ah morning and Maalik said, “It was the 17th day of Ramadaan.” Allah sent down, in support of Rasulallah(Sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and the Muslims, 1,000 angels! On one side, 500 angels were under the command of Jibreel, and on the other, 500 angels were under the command of Meekaa’eel. -------In the thick of the battle, Rasulallah(sallallahu Alayhi wa salam)made du'a (prayed) to Allah. Ya Allah! I invoke You for Your promise (of victory). Ya Allah! If You decide (that we be defeated), You will not be worshipped!”-- "Ya Allah! The proud and arrogant Quraysh are already here disobeying you and belying Your Messenger. Ya Allah! I am waiting for Your victory which You have promised me. I beseech You Allah to defeat them (the enemies)." Rasulallah(sallallahu Alayhi wa salam) picked up some dust and throwing it towards Quraysh, said: "May your faces be metamorphosed!" Thereafter he gave orders for general attack!--And once again the heavens were moved by the Du'a of Rasulallah(sallallahu Alayhi wa salam) and the Angels descended rank upon rank! In Surat-ul Anfal Allah gave the answer: "When you asked for help from your Rabb, He answered you. Indeed I will aid you with a thousand of the angels in rows behind rows". Suratul Anfal 8:9)-- It was at this very moment that two men belonging to the Banu Ghifaar tribe who were still mushrikeen, one of them said, when my cousin and I climbed on a(hill) mountain overlooking Badr to view the battle. we wished to see who will be defeated so we could join the victors to loot the others. As we sat on the mountain, we saw a cloud draw near to us and we heard the neighing of horses and a voice saying, Forward, Ya Hayzoom! This caused my cousin's heart to rupture and he died immediately. I was almost killed myself and just managed to control myself. Hadhrat sahl ibn sa'd reports that after he had lost his eyesight, Hadhrat Abu Usayd said, Ya son of my brother! By ALLAH! If you and I were at Badr and ALLAH restored my eyesight, I would show you the valley from where the Angle came(and descended down) to(assist) us. Rest assured that I have absolutely no doubts or uncertainties about this."- Not only do the Angels come to the aid of the Anbiya( Alayhi salam)! But They (the Angels) also aid the true believers--We are living at a time when we constantly experience fear, anxiety and apprehension About the people who are against Islam! Here below is a beautiful incident which is from Hayatus Sahabah. Anas Radiyallahu Anh narrates that there was a companion of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam called Abu Mu’liq. He was a trader who traded both his own goods as well as those of others. He was a person who was always engaged in Ibaadah and was extremely abstinent. Once whilst he was out on business an armed robber confronted him .” Put down your goods,” the robber demanded, “ because I am going to kill you’ Abu Mu’liq RA told him: “ You may have all the goods.” “ It is your life that I want,” the robber barked. “Then permit me to perform salaah,” Abu Mu’liq requested. The robber laughed, “You may perform as much Salaah as you please.” Abu Mu’liq RA made wudhu and started performing salaah. One of the Du’aas he made was: O The Most Loving! O Master of the Glorious Throne! O the One Who does as He please! By Your Honour that none can hope to have, by Your Kingdom that none can harm and by Your light that fills the foundation of Your throne do I implore You to protect me from the evil of this robber. O helper, do help me. O helper, do help me. O helper, do help me. When he had made this Du’a thrice, a rider suddenly appeared with a spear held high above his head. The rider stabbed the spear at the robber and killed him. Abu Mu’liq Radiyallahu Anhu went up to the rider and asked, “ Who are you?” He replied, “I am the one whom Allah has rescued you through me. The rider went on to explain: “I am an angel of the fourth heaven. When you first made the du’aa for the first time, I heard the doors of the heaven rattle. When you made the du’aa the second time, I heard the inhabitants of the heavens cry out. When you made the du’a for the third time it was announced that this was the du’aa of a person in distress. I then sought permission from Allah to grant me the ability to kill the robber. “ You ought to know the good news that whoever makes wudhu, performs four Rakaats Salaah and then makes this Du’a, his Du’a will be answered whether he is in distress or not,------------------ Ya ALLAH! always protect us, Ameen!----.(This is spiritual force! And these are the forces at the command of ALLAH! We find that the people of today think their technology, their numbers and their physical forces is everything! Let us describe what spiritual force is in this day and time it is the same! That is when the Angels descended rank upon rank! And whole armies are swallowed up by the Earth! And this has already been written that this would happen! And when a whole fleet of ships are swallowed up by the ocean without any trace! And when every drone that is sent is snatchs out of the skies and slam to the Earth! THAN KNOW THAT THIS IS SPIRITUAL FORCE!

-This is spiritual force! And these are the forces at the command of ALLAH!
-pray for and give glad tidings to believers; glorify Allah with His praise; and keep records of man's deeds.------------
In the Qur'an Allah tells us that most people are far removed from the morality of the Qur'an: "But most people have no faith" (Surat ar-Ra'd, 1) For this reason, some unmindful and unaware people think they are on the straight path, even though they deny Allah's existence. Feeling that their superior strength and numbers give them a sense of security, such people evaluate events superficially and act as if they were truly superior to others. But they are unaware of a great truth: Allah's promises and support to the believers:-- Allah will not give the unbelievers any way against the believers. (Surat an-Nisa, 141)--- As mentioned in the verse above, Allah does everything to their benefit for believers and supports them. In Surat al- Inshirah, He reveals the secret that, for a Muslim, every difficulty is created with the corresponding ease to bear it. Allah creates both the disease and the cure, and with every difficulty comes ease and a solution. This truth is revealed as follows:

For truly with hardship comes ease; truly, with hardship comes ease. (Surat al-Inshirah, 5-6)

Only believers know this support and assistance of Allah. Thus, whatever believers encounter, they act with a sense of contentment and security. Allah makes this promise to His believers:

Allah knows best who your enemies are. Allah suffices as a Protector; Allah suffices as a Helper. (Surat an-Nisa, 45)

Those who worship what is other than Allah and those who reject Him have much to fear; those who do not believe and associate Allah with His creatures think that everything that happens and exists has no meaning, and thus live in constant fear and tension:

And when your Lord revealed to the angels: "I am with you, so make those who believe firm. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who do not believe." (Surat al-Anfal, 12)

Allah supports and assists believers throughout their lives. Throughout history, Allah has helped them by giving miracles to the prophets, sending invisible armies and angels, and sending guardians and even natural events. Allah tells us in the Qur'an:


He sent down serenity into the hearts of the believers, thereby increasing their faith with more faith – the legions of the heavens and Earth belong to Allah. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surat al-Fath, 4)

The legions of the heavens and earth belong to Allah. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surat al-Fath, 7)

The Qur'an reveals the great support and help that the Lord of the armies of heaven and Earth gives to believers. Allah reveals the help He gives to believers in the following verses:

… that they would certainly be helped. Our army will be victorious. (Surat as-Saffat, 172-173)

We will certainly help Our Messengers and the believers both in this world and on the Day the witnesses appear. (Surah Ghafir, 51)

O believers! If you help Allah, He will help you and make your feet firm. (Surah Muhammad, 7)

That is because Allah is the Protector of the believers and because the unbelievers have no protector. (Surah Muhammad, 11)

And remember when two of your clans were on the point of losing heart and Allah was their Protector. Let the believers put their trust in Allah. Allah helped you at Badr when you were weak, so fear [and respect] Him, so that, hopefully, you will be thankful. (Surah Al 'Imran, 122-123)
-- If Allah helps you, no one can vanquish you. If He forsakes you, who can help you after that? So the believers should put their trust in Allah. (Surah Al 'Imran, 160)

No, Allah is your Protector. And He is the best of helpers. (Surah Al 'Imran, 150)

… in a few years' time. The affair is Allah's from beginning to end. On that day, the believers will rejoice in Allah's help. He grants victory to whoever He wills. He is the Almighty, the Most Merciful. That is Allah's promise. Allah does not break His promise. But most people do not know it. (Surat ar-Rum, 4-6)

Everyone will be tested concerning their belief in Allah and the Afterlife. On the surface, it seems that those who are good and those who are not live under the same conditions. However, the believers live a very different type of life than the unbelievers.

As stated earlier, Allah always makes things easy for the believers and shows them a way out of difficult situations. This is clearly a help from Allah. The Qur'an states that Allah, in His great mercy, will help His servants and support them in ways they cannot conceive, and give them ease in unexpected ways.

Allah describes this help as "a wind against them and other forces you could not see" (Surat al-Ahzab, 9) and that He will send them protectors: "…angels…" (Surat al-An'am, 61). Some of the ways that He helps people are as follows ------ By the command of ALLAH'S the ANGELS was sendeth down to Help the believer at Badr --- ((Remember) when your Lord revealed to the angels, "Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed.'')
This is a hidden favor that Allah has made known to the believers, so that they thank Him and are grateful to Him for it. Allah, glorified, exalted, blessed and praised be He, has revealed to the angels -- whom He sent to support His Prophet, religion and believing group -- to make the believers firmer. Allah's statement,
﴿سَأُلْقِى فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الرُّعْبَ﴾
(I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved.) means, `you -- angels -- support the believers, strengthen their (battle) front against their enemies, thus, implementing My command to you. I will cast fear, disgrace and humiliation over those who defied My command and denied My Messenger,
﴿فَاضْرِبُواْ فَوْقَ الأَعْنَـقِ وَاضْرِبُواْ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ﴾
(so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes.) strike them on their foreheads to tear them apart and over the necks to cut them off, and cut off their limbs, hands and feet. It was said that, ﴿فَوْقَ الأَعْنَـقِ﴾
(over the necks) refers to striking the forehead, or the neck, according to Ad-Dahhak and `Atiyyah Al-`Awfi. In support of the latter, Allah commanded the believers,
﴿فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَضَرْبَ الرِّقَابِ حَتَّى إِذَآ أَثْخَنتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّواْ الْوَثَاقَ﴾ (So, when you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah's cause) those who disbelieve, smite (their) necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, take them as captives).) ﴿47:4﴾
Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said, "In the aftermath of Badr, the people used to recognize whomever the angels killed from those whom they killed, by the wounds over their necks, fingers and toes, because those parts had a mark as if they were branded by fire.'' Allah said,
﴿وَاضْرِبُواْ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ﴾
(and smite over all their fingers and toes.)
Ibn Jarir commented that this Ayah commands, "O believers! Strike every limb and finger on the hands and feet of your (disbelieving) enemies.'' Al-`Awfi reported, that Ibn `Abbas said about the battle of Badr that Abu Jahl said, "Do not kill them (the Muslims), but capture them so that you make known to them what they did, their ridiculing your religion and shunning Al-Lat and Al-`Uzza (two idols).'' Allah than sent down to the angels,
﴿أَنِّي مَعَكُمْ فَثَبِّتُواْ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ سَأُلْقِى فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الرُّعْبَ فَاضْرِبُواْ فَوْقَ الأَعْنَـقِ وَاضْرِبُواْ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ﴾
(Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes.)
In that battle, Abu Jahl (may Allah curse him) was killed along with sixty-nine men. `Uqbah bin Abu Mua`it was captured and then killed, thus bring the death toll of the pagans to seventy,
﴿ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ شَآقُّواْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ﴾
(This is because they defied and disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.) joining the camp that defied Allah and His Messenger not including themselves in the camp of Allah's Law and faith in Him. Allah said,
﴿وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ﴾
(And whoever defies and disobeys Allah and His Messenger, then verily, Allah is severe in punishment.) for He will crush whoever defies and disobeys Him. Nothing ever escapes Allah's grasp nor can anything ever stand against His anger. Blessed and exalted He is, there is no true deity or Lord except Him.
﴿ذَلِكُمْ فَذُوقُوهُ وَأَنَّ لِلْكَـفِرِينَ عَذَابَ النَّارِ ﴾
(This is (the torment), so taste it; and surely, for the disbelievers is the torment of the Fire.)
This Ayah addresses the disbeliever, saying, taste this torment and punishment in this life and know that the torment of the Fire in the Hereafter is for the disbelievers.
﴿يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ إِذَا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ زَحْفاً فَلاَ تُوَلُّوهُمُ الأَدْبَارَ - وَمَن يُوَلِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ دُبُرَهُ إِلاَّ مُتَحَرِّفاً لِّقِتَالٍ أَوْ مُتَحَيِّزاً إِلَى فِئَةٍ فَقَدْ بَآءَ بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَمَأْوَاهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴾
(15. O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve, in a battlefield, never turn your backs to them.) (16. And whoever turns his back to them on such a day -- unless it be a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own) -- he indeed has drawn upon himself wrath from Allah. And his abode is Hell, and worst indeed is that destination!)--------- "He might fortify your hearts and steady (your) footsteps thereby." (Qur'an 8:11)
8:12 Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instill fear into the hearts of the Unbelievers: Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them."
Badr is the place where it was as if the unseen realm flooded into the world of matter. It is a place where the early Muslims learned the lesson of the power of reliance - of total reliance on Allah. And it is the place where Allah becomes a teacher to the new Muslim community - guiding them and teaching them the way of reliance on Him. Allah sends the angels from the invisible world to give firmness to the believers - their hearts became firm, their feet became firm, and then the angels, rank on rank, bring firmness to the believers at Allah's command. Here the favors of Allah, the assistance He sends have become so overwhelming, so great, that the firmness of the believers manifests itself physically, palably, to the enemy.
So Allah throws fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve (not only disbelieve, but become actively, militarily hostile to belief). As already mentioned, some among the Meccans experienced dreams that were taken as bad omens. So there was a decline in confidence as word of these dreams spread through the ranks. Before the battle, the Qurayash sent out a scout on horseback to circle around the Prophet's army and report back on numbers and weaponry. The scout reported that they had few weapons and no reinforcements but he was so taken by the presence and solidity of the soldiers that he expressed uncertainty for the Quraysh despite their numbers. By the time the Meccans lined up for battle, uncertainty and fears gnawed at them. And with the rise of uncertainty and fear their strategies became weak and their superiority in weapons was nullified. As the verse says, their heads (strategies) were cut off and their fingertips (weapons and maneouvres) were nullified. The Prophet recited verse 54:45, "Their army will be routed and put to flight..."
As the moment of battle approached, the Muslims solidified their lines, and became like an immovable wall. The Qurayash were inwardly full of fear and all the confidence which had been there as they set out from Mecca was washed out of them. Their condition was like that described in verse 8:48: "And when Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said: No-one of mankind can conquer you this day, for I am your protector. But when the armies came in sight of one another, he took flight, saying: Lo! I am guiltless of you. Lo! I see that which ye see not. Lo! I fear Allah. And Allah is severe in punishment." (8:48) The Qurayash were spiritually blind but Shaitan, being himself from the invisible realm, could see the true spiritual nature of the situation. He could see that on this spot on earth, at this time in history, the invisible world was manifesting with undefeatable power within the forces of the Muslims and he could see the hosts of angels sent to firm their ranks. "Lo! I see that which ye see not." (8:48) And so, fearing the power of Allah's presence, he fled and abandoned those that he had encouraged and instigated and brought to the place of their defeat. 8:13 This is because they acted adversely to Allah and His Messenger; and whoever acts adversely to Allah and His Messenger-- then surely Allah is severe in requiting (evil).
8:14 Thus (will it be said): "so taste it: for those who resist Allah, is the penalty of the Fire." All their ability was taken away from them - they were betrayed by their own selves - their arrogance, hatred, and ambition brought them there, they put themselves under Shaitan's influence willingly, they gave themselves over to their passions and greed and moved in arrogant opposition to the Messenger (though peace had been offered them). And so they were abandoned by that which brought them to Badr, and the spiritual presence of the Muslim army demonstrated the falsehood and the absence of any substance in the Meccan's cause. So they faced a strict punishment at Badr and those who persisted in unbelief or hostility ("Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said [to them]: No-one of mankind can conquer you this day, for I am your protector." (8:48)) face a strict punishment in the hereafter.
008.015 O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never turn your backs to them. 008.016 If any do turn his back to them on such a day - unless it be in a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on himself the wrath of Allah, and his abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed)! On a day like this when Allah has literally opened the heavens and poured down blessings and support and hosts of angels from the unseen world onto the Muslims, turning one's back is a manifest refusal of the blessings conferred as well as a danger to and betrayal of one's fellow Muslims. It is a refusal of the spiritual gift Allah has given. "Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Believers...." (8:12) Their hearts have been made firm, angels have been sent to them, blessings from the unseen world have descended upon them. Their state (given the special circumstances of Badr) should be like the magicians before Pharoah punished them with a harsh death. They said, "It will be no harm unto us; for we shall return to our Lord." (26:50) In other words, what is a harm borne by the body in comparism to a harm borne by the soul? “God gave you hands and feet to set out for Him in this direction in this way. When you are going back to the Maker of hands and feet, to the Maker of life, if you lose them and go like Pharoah's magicians, what cause is there for grief.”(Rumi) At Badr the situation is not so severe. They are promised victory and given abundant support so there is no excuse for turning back. If there was any doubt that Badr was an event of tremendous spiritual significance as well as military significance - then the following verse utterly eradicates that doubt. 8:17 It is not ye who slew them; it was Allah: when thou threwest (a handful of dust), it was not thy act, but Allah's: in order that He might test the Believers by a gracious trial from Himself: for Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).
8:18 That, and also because Allah is He Who makes feeble the plans and stratagem of the Unbelievers.


Verse 20:46 says (speaking of Moses and Haroon), "Surely with the two of you, I hear and I see." Which means through the two of you I hear and through the two of you I see, for My Presence has subdued your two existences (beings) - there is nothing here but Me. It is like the hadith which states that in respect of His true servants, He (Allah) is the sight with which they see, the hearing with which they hear, the foot with which they walk, and the hand with which they grasp. In verse 57:4 the Qur'an says, "He is with you wherever you are." This is the reality of existence, that God is present in the root of all existence and all created things, including us. In other words everything borrows its existence from His Supreme existence. This reality is veiled from us - it's invisible to us. But there are moments when this true state of affairs shows itself. It remains a profound mystery but we obtain a brief glimpse of the true state of affairs. We become fortunate to witness Allah acting through His creation - a portion of the veil is momentarily removed. So when the Prophet throws a handful of dust, his identity at that moment is dissolved in the identity of Allah. "You did not throw...." Shaitan knew the reality of what was happening at Badr and so he fled the battlefield, powerless and fearful when Allah manifests His presence in His creation. "when the armies came in sight of one another, he (Shaitan) took flight..." (Qur'an 8:48) The phrasing of this verse is fascinating. First it says "You did not throw...." So it negates the fact that the Prophet threw the sand. Then it says, "...when you threw...." So it affirms the fact that the Prophet threw the sand. It affirms what it just negated. Then it resolves this paradox by saying "...but God threw." Thus the Meccans would see the Prophet throwing the sand, but someone who can witness invisible realities (such as Shaitan at Badr) would see the spiritual reality of the situation - that at that moment the identity of the Prophet is subsumed by Allah. Here the Prophet was such a perfect servant that he had no motion of his own - he had stilled himself entirely and totally and his will was in perfect submission to the will of Allah. He was like a pebble in the hand of God - any motion was only through the motion imparted by Allah. So he threw, but he did not throw. The verse also says "You did not slay them but God slew them." Slaying was commanded at Badr. God was the commander, the command was to slay them (those who had come with extreme hostility against the Prophet at the instigation of Shaitan), and the Muslims were the commanded. So the situation is this: It is as if it were said by God, "You (Muslims at Badr) are to us as a sword is to you. For the ones who are killed they are killed by the sword. But no one says the sword was the slayer - it was merely the instrument. Rather the one who struck the blow is the slayer. So the one who strikes the blow is in relation to God like the sword is in relation to him. God is the slayer through him. He is the instrument, the sword through which God slays." (Ibn Arabi) This is the special situation of the Muslims at the battle of Badr and the verse goes on to say that this was a special gift from Allah to the believers (that He might confer upon the believers a good gift (yubla)). The whole incident of Badr was a guidance and teaching from God, and a Divine intervention, and a special and powerful gift to the Muslims. What chance did the Meccans have against the Muslims (despite their superior numbers and weaponry) - all their strategies, plans, and confidence were set in disarray. Badr demonstrated that disbelief (falsehood) is inherently weak and collapses upon itself when it faces real (not tainted or narrow and fanatical) belief. And belief (in the sense of 'iman' - belief predicated on knowledge, spiritual knowledge) will attain victory as it is infused with Truth.-- Allah sends help to believers through angels

Allah's help to believers is manifested in various ways. One of the ways He helps is by sending angels to them at difficult times. In the Qur'an, Allah gives us an example of when He helped our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace):


And when you asked the believers: "Is it not enough for you that your Lord reinforced you with three thousand angels, sent down?" Yes indeed! But if you are steadfast and guard against evil and they come upon you suddenly, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels, clearly identified. Allah only did this for it to be good news for you and so that your hearts might be set at rest by it [help comes from no one but Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise]. (Surah Al 'Imran, 124-126)

In another verse Allah tells us that He helps believers by means of invisible armies:

O believers! Remember Allah's blessing to you when forces came against you and We sent a wind against them, and other forces you could not see. Allah sees what you do. (Surat al-Ahzab, 9)

Allah's announcement that believers will always be victorious is a great blessing and promise. Indeed, believers never forget this certain truth. All help comes from Allah, and all power belongs to Him. Believers know that real assistance and victory belong to Allah. They never forget that the angels' support is a glad tidings from Allah and a manifestation of His help and support. In the Qur'an, the Lord reveals this truth:

Remember when you called on your Lord for help, and He replied: "I will reinforce you with a thousand angels, riding rank after rank." Allah only did this to give you good news and that so your hearts would be at rest. Victory comes from no one but Allah. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surat al-Anfal, 9-10)

Believers who know that Allah can help them whenever He wills have a sense of inner contentment and security in even the most difficult moments. They live a very good life in this spiritual state of mind. Allah makes it appear to their enemies that believers are more numerous than they actually are- Contrary to the unbelievers, believers achieve success through the intelligence, understanding, perception, and good moral qualities that Allah has given them. In addition, the Qur'an tells us that He has made the believers' numbers and power seem great in the eyes of the unbelievers, and thus has intimidated and scared them. In the Qur'an, Allah tells us of an event that happened in the time of Asr-i Saadat (Century of happiness—time of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace):

Remember when Allah made you see them as few when you met them, and also made you seem few in their eyes. This was so that Allah could settle a matter whose result was preordained. All matters return to Allah. O believers. When you meet a troop, stand firm and remember Allah repeatedly so that, hopefully, you will be successful. (Surat al-Anfal, 44-45)

The small community of believers was far weaker than the unbelievers. The fact that they appeared to be such a large group was one of Allah's miracles. At the same time, this fact makes things much easier for the believers, as it allows them to be successful. In some verses, Allah tells Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that He will multiply the believers' power whenever He wills. In return for their patience, He promises to give His believers far more strength and victory:

O Prophet. Spur on the believers to fight. If there are twenty of you who are steadfast, they will overcome two hundred; and if there are a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of the unbelievers, because they do not understand. Now Allah has made it lighter on you, knowing there is weakness in you. If there are a hundred of you who are steadfast, they will overcome two hundred; and if there are a thousand of you, they will overcome two thousand, with Allah's permission. Allah is with the steadfast. (Surat al-Anfal, 65-66)

As the above verses show, Allah supported our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the believers on the battlefield by making them appear stronger and more numerous. Allah, Who is always the believers' friend and helper, is the only One with true power. By saying Be, Allah can bring into existence whatever He wills. Those who rely on Allah, trust Him, and acknowledge His eternal and all-sufficient power understand this and so are at peace.

Allah sent down serenity into the hearts of believers

In Surat al-Fath, Allah tells us of the spiritual support He has bestowed on believers.


Allah sent down serenity into the believers' hearts, thereby increasing their faith with more faith – the legions of the heavens and earth belong to Allah. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surat al-Fath, 4)

Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, sent down serenity to them, and has rewarded them with an imminent victory. (Surat al-Fath, 18)-- Allah places serenity to the believers' hearts in times of difficulty, and thus they experience a sense of contentment, security, and determination.

Actually, this sense is with believers at all times, for they know that Allah is the sole ruler of all things and thus have no reason to panic or feel sad or anxious. They understand the truth of: "If Allah helps you, no one can vanquish you. If He forsakes you, who can help you after that? So the believers should put their trust in Allah"(Surah Al 'Imran, 160). All believers know that their difficulties, no matter how great they may appear, are transitory. Understanding that their life in this world, when compared to the eternal life waiting for them in the Hereafter, is very short, they realize that whatever they suffer here, regardless of how long it seems, will be well worth it, for enduring it patiently and showing their true character will cause Allah to let them enter Paradise. There, believers will suffer no anxiety, sadness, want, boredom, or hardship. On the contrary, they will live amid endless beauty and have whatever their hearts desire.
So, living in this awareness allows them to approach every event with unshakable trust in Allah. And, the resulting sense of spiritual contentment and joy is one of this world's finest blessings. It must be remembered that all hearts and strength is in Allah's hands, for He creates what, when, and however He wills. Those who seek contentment and security will never find the road to it if Allah does not give the directions. The ease that living a life of religious morality brings to people comes from the knowledge that Allah controls everything. Those who turn to Allah and expect a reward only from Him will always find His avenues of help and support close-by:
No, Allah is your Protector. And He is the best of helpers. (Surah Al 'Imran, 150)
All the traps set for believers are destroyed immediately
Those unbelievers who struggle against the believers resort to all sorts of insidious measures, such as forming alliances against believers and setting various traps for them. They think that because they outnumber the believers they will be successful. However, they forget that where there are two people, Allah is the third; where there are three people, Allah is the fourth. Moreover, they are entirely unaware that Allah is closer to a person than his or her jugular vein. But whether they hide their intentions or strike openly, "Allah knows what the heart contains" (Surah Luqman, 23), every detail of their plans, and every trap they set. Thus, He foils them from the beginning, regardless of their complexity. No matter how extensive or insidious the trap, Allah the Creator of all tells us in the Qur'an that He will destroy it:
Allah always confounds the schemes of the unbelievers. (Surat al-Anfal, 18)
They concocted their plots, but their plots were with Allah, even if they were such as to make the mountains vanish. (Surah Ibrahim, 46)
Besides this, Allah tells us that these traps will not harm sincere believers, but will turn back on those who devised them:
But evil plotting envelops only those who do it. Do they expect anything but the pattern of previous peoples? You will not find any change in His pattern. You will not find any alteration in His pattern. (Surah Fatir, 43)
Believers know that the assistance of the All-Generous is always with them and live with trust in Allah. They know that every situation contains His purpose and good, even if they cannot see it.
In His endless mercy Allah leads people on the right path and strengthens their faith As we said in earlier chapters, the Lord always calls people to follow the right path through His messengers and the books He has sent. He repeatedly sends warnings to every society urging people to cease denying Him and to turn to faith. This is a great act of generosity from the Lord.
Allah desires ease for His servants who work to strengthen their belief and thus supports them in many ways. The Qur'an tells us about this support in the following words: As for those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him, He will admit them into mercy and favor from Him, and will guide them to Him on a straight path. (Surat an-Nisa, 175)
There is nothing wrong in seeking bounty from your Lord. When you pour down from Arafat, remember Allah at the Sacred Landmark. Remember Him because He has guided you, even though before this you were astray. (Surat al-Baqara, 198)
But it must not be forgotten that people find truth only through Allah's will. The Lord of eternal mercy chooses His servants as He wills, writes the way to truth in their destiny, and guides them toward it:
No misfortune occurs except with Allah's permission. Whoever believes in Allah – He will guide his [or her] heart. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat at-Taghabun, 11)
When Allah wills to guide someone, He expands his [or her] breast to Islam. When He wills to misguide someone, He makes his [or her] breast narrow and constricted, as if he [or she] were climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah penalizes the unbelievers. (Surat al-An'am, 125)
Allah is the Light of the heavens and earth. The metaphor of His Light is that of a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp inside a glass, the glass like a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the East nor of the West, its oil all but giving off light even if no fire touches it. Light upon Light. Allah guides to His Light whoever He wills, makes metaphors for humanity, and has knowledge of all things. (Surat an-Nur, 35)-- Before finding the truth, many people exist in a state of great chaos and confusion. They are often overwhelmed by sadness, anxiety, jealousy, despair, resentment, and hatred. The slightest negative thing that happens to them drags them into deep melancholy. When they embrace belief and submit to Allah's eternal power and might, this dark spiritual state disappears immediately. This transition is called bringing out of darkness into the light.
Allah is the Protector of the believers. He brings them out of the darkness into the light. But the unbelievers have false deities as protectors. They take them from the light into the darkness. Those are the Companions of the Fire, remaining in it timelessly, forever. (Surat al-Baqara, 257)
He calls down blessing on you, as do His angels, to bring you out of the darkness into the light. He is Most Merciful to the believers. Their greeting on the Day they meet Him will be "Peace," and He has prepared a generous reward for them. O Prophet! We have sent you as a witness, a bringer of good news and a warner, a caller to Allah by His permission, and a light-giving lamp. Give good news to the believers that they will receive immense favor from Allah. Do not obey the unbelievers and hypocrites, and disregard their abuse of you. Put your trust in Allah. Allah suffices as a Protector. (Surat al-Ahzab, 43-48)
It is a great blessing that Allah has created human life with such reversals. Indeed, this makes it much easier to grasp the value of belief and good moral character.

Shi Zhengli, known as China's “bat woman” for her virus-hunting expeditions in bat caves, releases a fruit bat after taking blood and swab samples from it. Credit: Wuhan Institute of VirologyBEIJING—The mysterious patient samples arrived at Wuhan Institute of Virology at 7 P.M. on December 30, 2019. Moments later, Shi Zhengli’s cell phone rang. It was her boss, the institute’s director.The Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention had detected a novel coronavirus in two hospital patients with atypical pneumonia, and it wanted Shi’s renowned laboratory to investigate. If the finding was confirmed, the new pathogen could pose a serious public health threat—because it belonged to the same family of bat-borne viruses as the one that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a disease that plagued 8,100 people and killed nearly 800 of them between 2002 and 2003. “Drop whatever you are doing and deal with it now,” she recalls the director saying.
Shi—a virologist who is often called China’s “bat woman” by her colleagues because of her virus-hunting expeditions in bat caves over the past 16 years—walked out of the conference she was attending in Shanghai and hopped on the next train back to Wuhan. “I wondered if [the municipal health authority] got it wrong,” she says. “I had never expected this kind of thing to happen in Wuhan, in central China.” Her studies had shown that the southern, subtropical areas of Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan have the greatest risk of coronaviruses jumping to humans from animals—particularly bats, a known reservoir for many viruses. If coronaviruses were the culprit, she remembers thinking, “could they have come from our lab?”
While Shi’s team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences institute raced to uncover the identity and origin of the contagion, the mysterious disease spread like wildfire. As of this writing, about 81,000 people in China have been infected. Of that number, 84 percent live in the province of Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital, and more than 3,100 have died. Outside of China, about 41,000 people across more than 100 countries and territories in all of the continents except Antarctica have caught the new virus, and more than 1,200 have perished.



AdvertisementThe epidemic is one of the worst to afflict the world in recent decades. Scientists have long warned that the rate of emergence of new infectious diseases is accelerating—especially in developing countries where high densities of people and animals increasingly mingle and move about.

Read more from this special report:The New Coronavirus Outbreak: What We Know So Far


“It’s incredibly important to pinpoint the source of infection and the chain of cross-species transmission,” says disease ecologist Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a New York City–based nonprofit research organization that collaborates with scientists, such as Shi, around the world to discover new viruses in wildlife. An equally important task, he adds, is hunting down other related pathogens—the “known unknowns”—in order to “prevent similar incidents from happening again.”
TRACING THE VIRUS AT ITS SOURCE

To Shi, her first virus-discovery expedition felt like a vacation. On a breezy, sunny spring day in 2004, she joined an international team of researchers to collect samples from bat colonies in caves near Nanning, the capital of Guangxi. Her inaugural cave was typical of the region: large, rich in limestone columns and—being a popular tourist destination—easily accessible. “It was spellbinding,” Shi recalls, with milky-white stalactites hanging from the ceiling like icicles, glistening with moisture.
But the holidaylike atmosphere soon dissipated. Many bats—including several insect-eating species of horseshoe bats that are abundant in southern Asia—roost in deep, narrow caves on steep terrain. Often guided by tips from local villagers, Shi and her colleagues had to hike for hours to potential sites and inch through tight rock crevasses on their stomach. And the flying mammals can be elusive. In one frustrating week, the team explored more than 30 caves and saw only a dozen bats.
These expeditions were part of the effort to catch the culprit in the SARS outbreak, the first major epidemic of the 21st century. A Hong Kong team had reported that wildlife traders in Guangdong first caught the SARS coronavirus from civets, mongooselike mammals that are native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa.



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Before SARS, the world had little inkling of coronaviruses—named because, seen under a microscope, their spiky surface resembles a crown—says Linfa Wang, who directs the emerging infectious diseases program at Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School. Coronavirues were mostly known for causing common colds. “The SARS outbreak was a game changer,” says Wang, whose work on bat-borne coronaviruses got a swift mention in the 2011 Hollywood blockbuster Contagion. It was the first time a deadly coronavirus with pandemic potential emerged. This discovery helped to jump-start a global search for animal viruses that could find their way into humans.

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Shi was an early recruit of that worldwide effort, and both Daszak and Wang have since been her long-term collaborators. But how the civets got the virus remained a mystery. Two previous incidents were telling: Australia’s 1994 Hendra virus infections, in which the contagion jumped from horses to humans, and Malaysia’s 1998 Nipah virus outbreak, in which it moved from pigs to people. Both diseases were found to be caused by pathogens thatoriginated in fruit-eating bats. Horses and pigs were merely the intermediate hosts.
In those first virus-hunting months in 2004, whenever Shi’s team located a bat cave, it would put a net at the opening before dusk—and then wait for the nocturnal creatures to venture out to feed for the night. Once the bats were trapped, the researchers took blood and saliva samples, as well as fecal swabs, often working into the small hours. After catching up on some sleep, they would return to the cave in the morning to collect urine and fecal pellets.



AdvertisementBut sample after sample turned up no trace of genetic material from coronaviruses. It was a heavy blow. “Eight months of hard work seemed to have gone down the drain,” Shi says. “We thought coronaviruses probably did not like Chinese bats.” The team was about to give up when a research group in a neighboring lab handed it a diagnostic kit for testing antibodies produced by people with SARS.
There was no guarantee the test would work for bat antibodies, but Shi gave it a go anyway. “What did we have to lose?” she says. The results exceeded her expectations. Samples from three horseshoe bat species contained antibodies against the SARS virus. “It was a turning point for the project,” Shi says. The researchers learned that the presence of the coronavirus in bats was ephemeral and seasonal—but an antibody reaction could last from weeks to years. So the diagnostic kit offered a valuable pointer as to how to hunt down viral genomic sequences.
Shi’s team used the antibody test to narrow down locations and bat species to pursue in the quest for these genomic clues. After roaming mountainous terrain in the majority of China’s dozens of provinces, the researchers turned their attention to one spot: Shitou Cave on the outskirts of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan—where they conducted intense sampling during different seasons throughout five consecutive years.
The efforts paid off. The pathogen hunters discovered hundreds of bat-borne coronaviruses with incredible genetic diversity. “The majority of them are harmless,” Shi says. But dozens belong to the same group as SARS. They can infect human lung cells in a petri dish, cause SARS-like diseases in mice, and evade vaccines and drugs that work against SARS.
In Shitou Cave—where painstaking scrutiny has yielded a natural genetic library of bat viruses—the team discovered a coronavirus strain in 2013 that came from horseshoe bats and had a genomic sequence that was 97 percent identical to the one found in civets in Guangdong. The finding concluded a decade-long search for the natural reservoir of the SARS coronavirus.



AdvertisementCave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea) from Singapore. Credit: Linfa WangVIRAL MELTING POTS

In many bat dwellings Shi has sampled, including Shitou Cave, “constant mixing of different viruses creates a great opportunity for dangerous new pathogens to emerge,” says Ralph Baric, a virologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And in the vicinity of such viral melting pots, Shi says, “you don’t need to be a wildlife trader to be infected.”
Near Shitou Cave, for example, many villages sprawl among the lush hillsides in a region known for its roses, oranges, walnuts and hawthorn berries. In October 2015 Shi’s team collected blood samples from more than 200 residents in four of those villages. It found that six people, or nearly 3 percent, carried antibodies against SARS-like coronaviruses from bats—even though none of them had handled wildlife or reported SARS-like or other pneumonia-like symptoms. Only one had travelled outside of Yunnan prior to sampling, and all said they had seen bats flying in their village.
Three years earlier, Shi’s team had been called in to investigate the virus profile of a mineshaft in Yunnan’s mountainous Mojiang County—famous for its fermented Pu’er tea—where six miners suffered from pneumonialike diseases (two of them died). After sampling the cave for a year the researchers discovered a diverse group of coronaviruses in six bat species. In many cases, multiple viral strains had infected a single animal, turning it into a flying factory of new viruses.
“The mineshaft stunk like hell,” says Shi, who went in with her colleagues wearing a protective mask and clothing. “Bat guano, covered in fungus, littered the cave.” Although the fungus turned out to be the pathogen that had sickened the miners, she says it would only have been a matter of time before they caught the coronaviruses if the mine had not been promptly shut.
With growing human populations increasingly encroaching on wildlife habitats, with unprecedented changes in land use, with wildlife and livestock transported across countries and their products around the world, and with a sharp increase in both domestic and international travel, new disease outbreaks of pandemic scale are a near mathematical certainty. This had been keeping Shi and many other researchers awake at night—long before the mysterious samples landed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology on that ominous evening last December.



AdvertisementAbout a year ago, Shi’s team published two comprehensive reviews about coronaviruses in Viruses and Nature Reviews Microbiology. Drawing evidence from her own studies—many of which were published in top academic journals—and from others, Shi and her co-authors warned of the risk of future outbreaks of bat-borne coronaviruses.
RACING AGAINST A DEADLY PATHOGEN

On the train back to Wuhan on December 30 last year, Shi and her colleagues discussed ways to immediately start testing the patient samples. In the following weeks—the most intense and the most stressful time of her life—China’s bat woman felt she was fighting a battle in her worst nightmare, even though it was one she had been preparing for over the past 16 years. Using a technique called polymerase chain reaction, which can detect a virus by amplifying its genetic material, the first round of tests showed that samples from five of seven patients contained genetic sequences known to be present in all coronaviruses.
Shi instructed her team to repeat the tests and, at the same time, sent the samples to another laboratory to sequence the full viral genomes. Meanwhile she frantically went through her own laboratory’s records from the past few years to check for any mishandling of experimental materials, especially during disposal. Shi breathed a sigh of relief when the results came back: none of the sequences matched those of the viruses her team had sampled from bat caves. “That really took a load off my mind,” she says. “I had not slept a wink for days.”
By January 7 the Wuhan team determined that the new virus had indeed caused the disease those patients suffered—a conclusion based on results from polymerase chain reaction analysis, full genome sequencing, antibody tests of blood samples and the virus’s ability to infect human lung cells in a petri dish. The genomic sequence of the virus—now officially called SARS-CoV-2 because it is related to the SARS pathogen—was 96 percent identical to that of a coronavirus the researchers had identified in horseshoe bats in Yunnan, they reported in a paper published last month in Nature. “It’s crystal clear that bats, once again, are the natural reservoir,” says Daszak, who was not involved in the study.
International team of scientists takes blood and swab samples from bats at night in order to discover potential bat-borne pathogens. Credit: Wuhan Institute of VirologyThe genomic sequences of the viral strains from patients are, in fact, very similar to one another, with no significant changes since late last December, based on analyses of 326 published viral sequences. “This suggests the viruses share a common ancestor,” Baric says. The data also point to a single introduction into humans followed by sustained human-to-human transmission, researchers say.
Given that the virus seems fairly stable and that many infected individuals appear to have mild symptoms, scientists suspect the pathogen might have been around for weeks or even months before the first severe cases raised alarm. “There might have been mini outbreaks, but the virus burned out” before causing havoc, Baric says. “The Wuhan outbreak is by no means incidental.” In other words, there was an element of inevitability to it.
To many, the region’s burgeoning wildlife markets—which sell a wide range of animals such as bats, civets, pangolins, badgers and crocodiles—are perfect viral melting pots. Although humans could have caught the deadly virus from bats directly (according to several studies, including those by Shi and her colleagues), independent teams have suggested in preprint studies that pangolins may have been an intermediate host. These teams have reportedly uncovered SARS-CoV-2–like coronaviruses in these animals, which were seized in antismuggling operations in southern China.
On February 24 the nation announced a permanent ban on wildlife consumption and trade except for research or medicinal or display purposes—which will stamp out an industry worth $76 billion and put approximately 14 million people out of jobs, according to a 2017 report commissioned by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Some welcome the initiative, whereas others, such as Daszak, worry that without efforts to change people’s traditional beliefs or provide alternative livelihoods, a blanket ban may push the business underground. Thiscould make disease detection even more challenging. “Eating wildlife has been part of the cultural tradition in southern China” for thousands of years, Daszak says. “It won’t change overnight.”
In any case, Shi says, “wildlife trade and consumption are only part of problem.” In late 2016 pigs across four farms in Qingyuan county in Guangdong—60 miles from the site where the SARS outbreak originated—suffered from acute vomiting and diarrhea, and nearly 25,000 of the animals died. Local veterinarians could not detect any known pathogen and called Shi for help. The cause of the illness, called swine acute diarrhea syndrome (SADS), turned out to be a virus whose genomic sequence was 98 percent identical to a coronavirus found in horseshoe bats in a nearby cave.
“This is a serious cause for concern,” says Gregory Gray, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Duke University. Pigs and humans have very similar immune systems, making it easy for viruses to cross between the two species. Moreover a team at Zhejiang University in the Chinese city of Hangzhou found the SADS virus could infect cells from many organisms in a petri dish, including rodents, chickens, nonhuman primates and humans. Given the scale of swine farming in many countries, such as China and the U.S., Gray says, looking for novel coronaviruses in pigs should be a top priority.
Although the Wuhan outbreak is the sixth one caused by bat-borne viruses in the past 26 years —the other five being Hendra in 1994, Nipah in 1998, SARS in 2002, MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) in 2012, and Ebola in 2014—“the animals [themselves] are not the problem,” Wang says. In fact, bats help promote biodiversity and the health of their ecosystems by eating insects and pollinating plants. “The problem arises when we get in contact with them,” he says.
FENDING OFF FUTURE OUTBREAKS

More than two months into the epidemic—and seven weeks after the Chinese government imposed citywide transportation restrictions in Wuhan, a megacity of 11 million—life feels almost normal, Shi says, laughing. “Maybe we are getting used to it. The worst days are certainly over.” The institute staffers have a special pass to travel from home to their laboratory, but they cannot go anywhere else. For more than a month, they had to subsist on instant noodles during their long hours in the lab because the institute’s canteen was closed.
The researchers found that the new coronavirus enters human lung cells using a receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The scientists have since been screening for drugs that can block it. They, as well as other research groups, are also racing to develop vaccines and test promising candidates. In the long run, the team plans to develop broad-spectrum vaccines and drugs against coronaviruses deemed risky to humans. “The Wuhan outbreak is a wake-up call,” Shi says.
Many scientists say the world should move beyond merely responding to deadly pathogens when they arise. “The best way forward is prevention,” Daszak says. Because 70 percent of animal-borne emerging infectious diseases come from wild creatures, “where we should start is to find all those viruses in wildlife globally and develop better diagnostic tests,” he adds. Doing so would essentially mean rolling out what researchers such as Daszak and Shi have been doing on a much bigger scale.
Such efforts should focus on high-risk viral groups in certain mammals prone to coronavirus infections, such as bats, rodents, badgers, civets, pangolins, and nonhuman primates, Daszak says. He adds that developing countries in the tropics, where wildlife diversity is greatest, should be the front line of this battle against viruses.
In recent decades, Daszak and his colleagues analyzed approximately 500 human infectious diseases from the past century. They found that the emergence of new pathogens tended to happen in places where a dense population had been changing the landscape—by building roads and mines, cutting down forests and intensifying agriculture. “China is not the only hotspot,” he says, noting that other major emerging economies, such as India, Nigeria and Brazil, are also at great risk.
Once potential pathogens are mapped out, scientists and public health officials can regularly check for possible infections by analyzing blood and swab samples from livestock, wild animals that are farmed and traded, and high-risk human populations, such as farmers, miners, villagers who live near bats, and people who hunt or handle wildlife, Gray says. This approach, known as “One Health,”, aims to integrate the management of wildlife health, livestock health, and human health. “Only then can we catch an outbreak before it turns into an epidemic,” he says, adding that the approach could potentially save the hundreds of billions of dollars such an epidemic can cost.
Back in Wuhan, China’s bat woman has decided to retire from the front line of virus-hunting expeditions. “But the mission must go on,” says Shi, who will continue to lead research programs. “What we have uncovered is just the tip of an iceberg.” Daszak’s team has estimated that there are as many as 5,000 coronavirus strains waiting to be discovered in bats globally. Shi is planning a national project to systematically sample viruses in bat caves—with much greater scope and intensity than her team’s previous attempts.
“Bat-borne coronaviruses will cause more outbreaks,” she says with a tone of brooding certainty. “We must find them before they find us.”
Read more about the coronavirus outbreak here.

Coronaviruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface. There are four main sub-groupings of coronaviruses, known as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.
Human coronaviruses were first identified in the mid-1960s. The seven coronaviruses that can infect people are:
Common human coronaviruses

1. 229E (alpha coronavirus)
2. NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
3. OC43 (beta coronavirus)
4. HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

Other human coronaviruses

1. MERS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS)
2. SARS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS)
3. SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19)

People around the world commonly get infected with human coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1.
Sometimes coronaviruses that infect animals can evolve and make people sick and become a new human coronavirus. Three recent examples of this are 2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV.
Human coronaviruses, first characterized in the 1960s, are responsible for a substantial proportion of upper respiratory tract infections in children. Since 2003, at least 5 new human coronaviruses have been identified, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, which caused significant morbidity and mortality. NL63, representing a group of newly identified group I coronaviruses that includes NL and the New Haven coronavirus, has been identified worldwide. These viruses are associated with both upper and lower respiratory tract disease and are likely common human pathogens. The global distribution of a newly identified group II coronavirus, HKU1, has not yet been established. Coronavirology has advanced significantly in the past few years. The SARS epidemic put the animal coronaviruses in the spotlight. The background and history relative to this important and expanding research area are reviewed here..........................
Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that are typically mild, such as some cases of the common cold (among other possible causes, predominantly rhinoviruses), though rarer forms can be lethal, such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Symptoms vary in other species: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhea. There are yet to be vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections.
Coronaviruses constitute the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, in the family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales, and realm Riboviria.^[5][6] They are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-strandedRNAgenome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 27 to 34 kilobases, the largest among known RNA viruses.^[7] The name coronavirus is derived from the Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "halo", which refers to the characteristic appearance reminiscent of a crown or a solar corona around the virions (virus particles) when viewed under two-dimensional transmission electron microscopy, due to the surface covering in club-shaped protein spikes.
.Coronaviruses were first discovered in the 1960s.^[8] The earliest ones discovered were infectious bronchitis virus in chickens and two viruses from the nasal cavities of human patients with the common cold that were subsequently named human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43.^[9] Other members of this family have since been identified, including SARS-CoV in 2003, HCoV NL63 in 2004, HKU1 in 2005, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 (formerly known as 2019-nCoV) in 2019. Most of these have involved serious respiratory tract infections. The name "coronavirus" is derived from Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "wreath", itself a borrowing from Greekκορώνηkorṓnē, "garland, wreath". The name refers to the characteristic appearance of virions (the infective form of the virus) by electron microscopy, which have a fringe of large, bulbous surface projections creating an image reminiscent of a crown or of a solar corona.^{[citation needed]} This morphology is created by the viral spike peplomers, which are proteins on the surface of the virus .Coronaviruses are large pleomorphic spherical particles with bulbous surface projections.^[10]The diameter of the virus particles is around 120 nm.^[11] The envelope of the virus in electron micrographs appears as a distinct pair of electron dense shells.^[12]
The viral envelope consists of a lipid bilayer where the membrane (M), envelope (E) and spike (S) structural proteins are anchored.^[13] A subset of coronaviruses (specifically the members of Betacoronavirussubgroup A) also have a shorter spike-like surface protein called hemagglutinin esterase (HE).^[5]
Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid, which is formed from multiple copies of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which are bound to the positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome in a continuous beads-on-a-string type conformation.^[11][14] The genome size for coronaviruses ranges from approximately 27 to 34 kilobases.^[7] The lipid bilayer envelope, membrane proteins, and nucleocapsid protect the virus when it is outside the host cell.^[15]
Infection begins when the virus enters the host organism and the spike protein attaches to its complementary host cell receptor. After attachment, a protease of the host cell cleaves and activates the receptor-attached spike protein. Depending on the host cell protease available, cleavage and activation allows cell entry through endocytosis or direct fusion of the viral envelop with the host membrane.^[16]
On entry into the host cell, the virus particle is uncoated, and its genome enters the cell cytoplasm.^[17]The coronavirus RNA genome has a 5′ methylated cap and a 3′ polyadenylated tail, which allows the RNA to attach to the host cell's ribosome for translation.^[18] The host ribosome translates the initial overlapping open reading frame of the virus genome and forms a long polyprotein. The polyprotein has its own proteases which cleave the polyprotein into multiple nonstructural proteins.^[19]
A number of the nonstructural proteins coalesce to form a multi-protein replicase-transcriptase complex (RTC). The main replicase-transcriptase protein is the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). It is directly involved in the replication and transcription of RNA from an RNA strand. The other nonstructural proteins in the complex assist in the replication and transcription process. The exoribonuclease non-structural protein for instance provides extra fidelity to replication by providing a proofreading function which the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase lacks.^[20]
One of the main functions of the complex is to replicate the viral genome. RdRp directly mediates the synthesis of negative-sense genomic RNA from the positive-sense genomic RNA. This is followed by the replication of positive-sense genomic RNA from the negative-sense genomic RNA.^[19] The other important function of the complex is to transcribe the viral genome. RdRp directly mediates the synthesis of negative-sense subgenomic RNA molecules from the positive-sense genomic RNA. This is followed by the transcription of these negative-sense subgenomic RNA molecules to their corresponding positive-sense mRNAs.^[19]
The replicated positive-sense genomic RNA becomes the genome of the progeny viruses. The mRNAs are gene transcripts of the last third of the virus genome after the initial overlapping reading frame. These mRNAs are translated by the host's ribosomes into the structural proteins and a number of accessory proteins.^[19] RNA translation occurs inside the endoplasmic reticulum. The viral structural proteins S, E, and M move along the secretory pathway into the Golgi intermediate compartment. There, the M proteins direct most protein-protein interactions required for assembly of viruses following its binding to the nucleocapsid.^[21] Progeny viruses are then released from the host cell by exocytosisthrough secretory vesicles.^{[21]Human to human transmission of coronaviruses is primarily thought to occur among close contacts via respiratory droplets generated by sneezing and coughing.[22] The interaction of the coronavirus spike protein with its complement host cell receptor is central in determining the tissue tropism, infectivity, and species range of the virus.[23][24] The SARS coronavirus, for example, infects human cells by attaching to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.[25]}

A Word about Tarbiyah and Manhaj

Tarbiyah: The Key to Victory

By Shaykh ’Alî Hasan al-Halabî [1]
The Ways in which Creation Operates Jubayr ibn Nufayr said: Once, when Cyprus was conquered and its people were divided and they used to cry to each other, I saw Abûd-Dardâ sitting alone crying. So I said: O Abûd- Dardâ! What makes you cry on this day in which Allâh has strengthened Islâm and its people? So he said: “Woe be to you O Jubayr. How insignificant the creation is to Allâh when they abandon His commands. Between us is a nation, who were evidently strong and had dominion, they abandoned the commands of Allâh, so see what has become of them!” [2] So this is a clear and indisputable evidence that cultivation and education upon the commands of Allâh - with the beneficial knowledge and righteous actions - is the basis for achieving the help of Allâh; whilst abandoning this is the cause for defeat. “Indeed, Allâh - the One free from all defects, the Most High - has established certain Sunan (ways and causes) upon His creation, whosoever fulfills them will achieve success and felicity, but whosoever turns away from them has indeed gone astray. Allâh the Most High - explains this Sunan with regards to those who disbelieve: “Similar Sunan were faced by people before you, so travel through the earth and see what was the end of those who disbelieved.” [3] And He - the Most Perfect - says: “Such was the Sunnah (way) of Allâh with those who lived before. Indeed, in the Sunnah of Allâh you will find no change.” [4]” [5] This established Sunan, or way in which Allâh’s creation operates, is not only for one particular nation to the exclusion of others, nor for any one particular era to the exclusion of others. Rather, this matter was practically taught to even the first of the Muslims, the Sahâbah - may Allâh be pleased with them all - as in the battle of Uhud, when the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam commanded the archers to remain in their positions, yet they disobeyed his order; which resulted in their defeat: Lessons from the Battle of Uhud Al-Barâ’ ibn ’Âzib radiallâhu ’anhu said: “We encountered the pagans on that day [of Uhud] and the Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam positioned a group of archers and appointed ’Abdullâh ibn Jubair to be in command of them and said: “Do not leave this position, if you should see us conquer them, do not leave this position; and if you should see them conquer us, then do not come to our aid.” However, when we met the enemy they fled on their heels, until I saw their women running towards the mountain, lifting their dresses from their legs, thus exposing their ankle-bracelets. Some people started saying: The booty, the booty! So ’Abdullâh ibn Jubair said: The Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam has taken a promise from me not to abandon this position. However, his companions refused to stay. So when they refused, Allâh confused them, such that they did not know where to go; due to which they then suffered seventy deaths ... ”[6] Imâm Ibn al-Qayyim (d 751H) - rahimahullâh - said: “This calamity which struck them was caused by their own actions. So our Lord said: “When a single disaster struck you, whereas you struck them with a disaster twice as great, do you then say: from where did this come? Say: It is from your own selves! Indeed, Allâh has power over everything.” [7] And He mentioned this itself; in that which is more general than this in the Makkan Sûrahs. He said: “Whatever misfortune befalls you is because of what your own hands have done, yet for many He grants forgiveness.”[8] “Whatever of good comes to you, it is from Allâh; and whatever misfortunes befall you, it is from your ownselves.” [9] So the good and the bad here are blessings and misfortunes. So the blessings of Allâh are something which He has favoured you with, whilst the misfortunes have sprung from your own selves and your actions. So the first is from His grace and the second is from His justice. And the servant is always between His grace and His justice; His grace is upon him, His judgement in him and whatever He decrees is just. And Allâh concluded the first Âyah with His saying: “Indeed Allâh has power over all things.” After His saying: “Say: It is from your ownselves!”Thus indicating to them about the generality of His Power along with His Justice - and He is the Most Just, the All-Powerful.”[10] Disobedience Results in Defeat And the story of this battle of Uhud must give us the du’ât (callers), an important lesson by which we benefit in our lives, which is that: “When the Muslims suffer defeat in jihâd or in da’wah, then they should blame themselves and straighten their course; and they should weigh their actions with the true scales. Since Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic - has informed the Muslims that the reason for their defeat in the battle of Uhud was themselves, and this was the same reason on the day of Hunayn. And it is from the Sunan of Allâh that He does not remove a blessing from a people which has been given to them, unless they change what He has given them of îmân (faith), guidance and good. Allâh says: “That is because Allâh will never change the favour which He bestows upon a people, until they change themselves.” [11] And this verse shows us the history of our Islâmic Ummah in the best way. So our Salafus-Sâlih (Pious Predecessors) clung to the blessings of Allâh upon them, and the most important of these blessings is the correct ’aqîdah (beliefs) and noble manners; and they kept away from disunity and splitting. They took hold of those prescribed reasons which made them the best of nations ever raised for mankind, and thereby deserved through this, the victory of Allâh, establishment upon the earth and the various tribes and nations being made subservient to them. After them came a people who changed that which the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam and his Companions were upon, in ’aqîdah and methodology, with their own customs, ways and manners. They split into groups and parties and raised up the banner of jâhiliyyah (pre-Islâmic ignorance), so Allâh made them despicable, causing the lowly nations to dominate over them. So the best of them were attacked and the minds of the children were brainwashed, and they became scum, like the scum upon the waves. So if the Muslims desire good, unity and establishment upon the earth, then they should make their manners and behaviour like that of the Salaf of this Ummah and begin by changing themselves. However, he who is unable to change even himself, will not be able to change his family, not to mention changing the Ummah. And then this âyah comes between two âyât, which informs us about the people of Fir’awn - and those nations and tribes which preceded them - who disbelieved in Allâh and His Signs. There was much oppression and sin committed amongst them, so Allâh destroyed them. So take heed - O people of understanding and hearts - and beware of the punishment and the power of Allâh! And know that change begins with the soul and is not achieved through having many helpers, nor strength of information, nor the clamor of those who clap and shout, nor by the arenas and streets being filled with huge crowds. Indeed, the leaders of our Ummah - those through whom Allâh gave honour and might to His Dîn - when the conquest of a city was delayed for them, then they gathered the army and asked them two questions, for which there was no third: [i] What are the Sunnahs that you have fallen short in complying with? [ii] What are the sins you have committed?![12] Therefore, they used to take account of themselves, and they used to fear the spread of sins amongst themselves. The leader used to be a good example for his army, with regards obedience to Allâh and fear of Him. However, as regards us today, then we read the previous âyah and we read other âyât which are like it, such as the saying of Allâh - the Most High: “Never does Allâh change the condition of a people, until they change themselves. But when Allâh wills punishment for a people, then there can be no turning it back, nor will they find besides Him any helper.” [13] However, along with this, these sublime âyât do not deeply enter into our hearts. We accuse the east and the west, but we do not accuse ourselves and we take a very precise account of other people - such that it contains no pity, nor mercy - but we do not take account of our ownselves.” [14] From Where Will the Help Come? Due to all this, Allâh attached His help and assistance for His servants, to the servants aiding Him, and this does not come about except with true tarbiyah (cultivation and education) and sincerely clinging to the truth. So He - the Most Perfect - says: “Indeed Allâh will help those who help His (cause). Indeed Allâh is Exalted in Might, all-Powerful.” [15] ’Urwah ibn az-Zubayr (d.94H) - rahimahullâh - said: When the people were equipped and ready to proceed to Mu’tah, he said to the Muslims: “May Allâh accompany you and defend you.” ... Then they went on until they reached the land of Shâm (Syria, Jordan and Palestine), where they were informed that Heraclius had arrived at al-Balqâ with one- hundred thousand Romans, and added to them - from the Arab tribes of al-Hazm, Jadhâm, Balqîn and Bahrâ - another one-hundred thousand men. So the Muslims waited for two nights, considering what to do. So they said: We will write to the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam and inform him about the number of the enemy. He said: But ’Abdullâh ibn Rawâhah encouraged the people to bravery and said: “By Allâh, O people! That which you hate is what you had come out for. You seek martyrdom. We do not fight the enemy merely with what we have prepared, nor with strength, nor with large numbers. We do not fight them except with this Dîn that Allâh has blessed us with. So go forth, because it is only one of two good things: either victory, or martyrdom. He said: So the people said: By Allâh! Ibn Rawâhah has spoken the truth. So the people continued.” [16] The Mufassir and Imâm, ash-Shanqîtî (d.1393H) said: “Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic - explains in the above noble âyah that He has sworn to help and give victory to those who help Him. It is known that the help and victory of Allâh comes by following what He has prescribed, obeying His command, avoiding His prohibitions, by helping His Messengers and their followers, aiding His Dîn and fighting against His enemies and overpowering them - until the word of Allâh is made uppermost, whilst the word of His enemies is debased and made low. Then Allâh - the Most High, the Most Magnificent - explains the characteristics of those whom He has promised would receive His help and victory, distinguishing them from others. So He said, whilst explaining those to whom He swore He would aid and give victory to - because He is the one to aid and give victory: “Those who, if We establish them in the earth, establish the prayer, give the zakâh, enjoin the good and forbid the evil.” [17] And that which this noble âyah indicates is that whosoever aids Allâh, then Allâh will aid Him. This is clearly explained in other than this place, such as His - the Most High’s - sayings: “O you who Believe. If you help Allâh, Allâh will help you; and establish your feet firmly. But those who disbelieve, for them is destruction and Allâh will make their deeds vain.”[18]“Indeed, Our Word has gone forth of old for our slaves, the Messengers, that they will certainly be victorious; and that Our forces will certainly be triumphant.”[19]“Allâh has Decreed: It is My Messenger and I who will prevail.”[20]“Allâh has promised to those amongst you who believe and do righteous actions that He will grant you the Khilâfah in the land.”[21] And in His - the Most High ’s - saying: “Those who, if We establish them in the earth, establish the Prayer, give the Zakâh, enjoin the good and forbid the evil.”[22] In it is a proof that there is no promise from Allâh of His help, except by establishing the Salâh, paying the Zakâh, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. So it is these whom Allâh will establish upon the earth and will strengthen His Word through them. However, those who do not establish the Salâh, nor pay the Zakâh, nor enjoin the good or forbid the evil, then there is no promise for them from Allâh that He will aid and grant them victory. They are not from His party, nor are they his friends - those who have the promise of His help and victory. Rather, they are the party of Shaytân and his friends. So if they were to expect the help of Allâh and the fulfillment of His promise upon them, then their example is like that of a hired worker who refuses to do the job that he was hired for, yet he expects to be rewarded. So whosoever is like this, then he has no intellect! [23] The Fruits of Disagreement There is here, an important point that must be mentioned, which is that disagreement, opposing views and mutual disregard is one of the greatest causes of defeat. This - in reality - is due to a deficiency in tarbiyah (education and cultivation) and therefore it is one of those matters which prevents victory.				Imâm ash-Sha’bî (d.104H) said: “No nation differed after its Prophet, except that the people of falsehood from it, gained ascendancy over its people of truth.” [24] And this - as has preceded - is precisely what happened to the Sahâbah (Companions), those who were educated and cultivated under the shade of Revelation, with their Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam. So what is the case of those who come after them?! Indeed: “Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic - explained that one of the greatest causes for the loss suffered by the Muslims at the battle of Uhud was the differing and ikhtilâf (disagreement) of the archers, and that some of them disobeyed the order of the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam. About this Allâh - the Most High - said: “Indeed, Allâh did fulfill His Promise to you when you were killing them by His Permission; until you lost your courage and began disputing about the command, and disobeyed, after He showed you that which you love. Amongst you are some that desire this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then He made you flee from them, that He may test you. But He forgave you, and Allâh is Most Gracious to the Believers.” [25] So in all the battles of the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam, the Muslims were a single rank and a single Jamâ’ah (united body), taking orders from a single leader. Allâh - the Most High - said: “O you who Believe! When you meet an enemy, be firm against them and remember Allâh a lot so that you may be successful. And obey Allâh and His Messenger, and do not dispute less you lose courage and your strength departs. And have sabr (patient perseverance), indeed Allâh is with the patient ones.” [26] So obedience to Allâh and His Messenger means being free from defect and blemish in both ’aqîdah (beliefs) and manhaj (methodology), just as it means agreement in direction and where instructions are taken from. However, defeat is the result of disunity and disagreement between the hearts, and in having many leaders and many jamâ’ahs (groups and parties). There has - in this present age - been no battle in which we have participated, except that in it we were differing and disputing parties, having differing leaderships and having mutual hatred. So how is it possible to achieve victory and establishment?! Indeed, everyone talks about bringing about unity, and writes about it and looks forward to it. However, the results are sorrowful and destroy and frustrate the hopes. After every attempt it becomes clear that every group strove to cause difficulties for the others; and to plot against them; and to make conditions upon them which conflict with the goals of unity and harmony. So the attempt that will be effective and successful must have as its goal, corrections for the ailments of the hearts and souls ... So when the souls are changed and the hearts are filled with taqwâ (piety, fear and obedience to Allâh), then everything in our lives will be changed.” [27] Lessons from the Battle of Hunayn Thus the cause for the defeat has been very clearly manifested, and it is a deficiency in the tarbiyah (education and cultivation). Another clear manifestation of this also, is what happened in the battle of Hunayn, about which Allâh - the Most High - said: “And on the day of Hunayn, when you rejoiced at your great number, but it availed you nothing; and the earth vast as it is - was straightened for you, then you turned back in flight.” [28] Imâm Ibn al-Qayyim said: “So from the wisdom of Allâh, He first gave them a taste of the bitterness of defeat and of being overcome - despite their large number, preparation and strength - in order that heads which had been raised up due to the conquest of Makkah, should be lowered. For they did not enter His land and His Sacred Precinct (i.e. Makkah) in the way the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam entered it; lowering his head with humility, upon his horse - to the extent that his chin nearly touched the saddle - out of humility before His Lord, humbling himself before His Greatness and submitting to His Might. This was due to the fact that Allâh had made lawful His Sacred Precinct and His Land for him, and He had not made it lawful to anyone before him or after him. All of this occurred so that he should make clear to those who said: “We will not be defeated today because of our numbers!!” Explaining to them that the victory comes only from Him and that whomsoever He aids, then none can overcome him; and whomsoever He forsakes, then there is none to grant victory to him, besides Allâh. And that He - the Most Perfect - took it upon Himself to aid and grant victory to His Messenger and His Dîn - not due to their large numbers which they (falsely) delighted in, since that was of no avail to them. Rather, they fled, turning their backs. So when their hearts had become downcast, Allâh sent them the removal of their distress and a prior taste of victory, by sending down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the Believers and by sending down the unseen forces (i.e. the Angels). So from His wisdom - the Most Perfect - was that he only granted victory and its gifts to them when their hearts had become downcast and saddened: “And We desired to favour those who were weak in the land and to make them leaders and make them the inheritors, and to establish them in the land. And We let Fir ’awn and Hâmân and their hosts receive from them that which they feared.” [29] ”[30] Impatience: An Obstacle against Tarbiyah From that which negates tarbiyah and prevents its completion is: being hasty and having lack of sabr (patient perseverance). This produces a negative result, the least of which is a delay in the victory. Our Lord - the Most Perfect - said: “And what made you hasten from your people, O Mûsâ? He replied: They are close on my footsteps, and I hasten to you - O my Lord - that you might be pleased.” [31] A clear goal and a clear intention: I have hastened to you - O my Lord - to please you. So Allâh said: “Indeed We have put your people to fitnah (trial and tribulation) in your absence. And indeed as-Sâmirî has led them astray.” [32] So this is Mûsâ ’alayhis-salâm, and he was one of the Ûlul- ’Azm (foremost in resolve) from the Messengers, yet he sought to hasten the affair. So when he sought to hasten the affair, fitnah (trial and discord) occurred amongst his people which was that they began worshipping others besides Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic. Allâh - the Most High - said: “So patiently persevere, and let not those who have no yaqîn (certainty of faith) discourage you from conveying Allâh’s Message.” [33] Imâm al-Baghawî (d.555H) - rahimahullâh - said: “Meaning: do not let those who have no certain faith lead you into ignorance and into following them upon misguidance.” [34] Ibn al-Qayyim - rahimahullâh - said: “Whosoever considers the trials and discords that have come upon Islâm - the small and the great of them - will realise that they were due to abandoning this principle of not being hasty, and of having sabr upon that which is harmful, and seeking to remove the harm in a hasty manner. This in turn produces that which is greater and worse than the initial harm.” [35] So this is a word from a Scholar who has carefully and thoroughly examined the Book and the Sunnah, and has likewise carefully examined the condition of the Muslims, and therefore said what he said - may Allâh have mercy upon him. Tarbiyah and Sabr: the Key to Victory The teacher, Muhammad Qutb - may Allâh guide him - said in his book: Wâqi’unal-Ma’âsir, and he was speaking about the Islâmic Movements of Egypt, internally and externally, he said: “So with regards to within the country, then there occurred from them hastiness in showing the strength of the jamâ’ah (i.e. the Muslims) - whether in making themselves manifest, or in demonstrations, protest marches, entering into political affairs of the time - such as fighting the communists; and supporting the affairs of the country in the security council, and other than that. It is as if the jamâ’ah - each and every time - wanted to say: we are here, and we are able to do such and such.... Leaving aside the matters of the day, then was this something which was permissible for the Muslim jamâ’ah to enter into? Or was its obligation to call to the correction of the fundamental manhaj (methodology) of living, to the establishment of the firm pillars and to the perfection of the desired tarbiyah. However, seeking to hasten the movement before its time, then produced an effect upon the overall direction.” [36] I say: What will very clearly demonstrate the matter of hastiness and its many negative effects is the saying of Allâh - the Most Perfect, Most High - when He said: “Have you not seen those who were told to hold back their hand from fighting, and offer Salâh (Prayer) and give the Zakâh. But when fighting was prescribed for them, behold! a section of them fear men as they fear Allâh, or even more. They say: Our Lord! Why have you prescribed fighting for us. Would that you had granted us respite for a short period.” [37] “So those who were resolved upon Jihâd and loved it, when they were tested with it, they were averse to it and fled from it.” [38] And they were from the Companions of the Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam - those who received tarbiyah (cultivation and education) beneath the shade of Revelation and who were guided by the Sharî’ah. So how about those after them - the greatest of whom cannot even reach a handful, or even half a handful, of their calibre?! So finally: due to all that has preceded, it has been said by the Callers to Islâm and the people of culture, and the people of Movements after previously denying it: “Indeed I certainly believe in the strength of Knowledge, and I believe in the strength of culture and learning, but I have a greater belief in the strength of tarbiyah.” [39] And only Allâh guides to the Path that is straight. References 1. From At-Tasfiyah wat-Tarbiyah wa Atharahumâ fî Isti’nâfil-Hayâtil-lslâmiyyah (pp.125- 137). 2. Related by Imâm Ahmad in az-Zuhd (2/63) and Abû Nu’aym in Hilyatul-Awliyâ (l/216-217). 3. Sûrah Âl-’lmrân 3: 137 4. Sûrah al-Ahzâb 33:62 5. Qul Huwa Min ’Indî Anfusakum (p.58) of Muhammad Surûr. 6. Related by al-Bukhârî (no.4043). 7. Sûrah Âl-lmrân 3:165 8. Sûratush-Shûrâ 42:30 9. Sûratun-Nisâ 4:79 10. Zâdul-Ma’âd ( 3/238). 11. Sûratul-Anfâl 8:53 12. Such as the advice given by ’Umar ibn al-Khattâb to Sa ’d ibn Abî Waqqâs and his army - radiallâhu ’anhumâ - as occurs in ’Iqdul-Farîd (1/40). 13. Sûratur-Ra’dd 13:11 14. Qul Huwa Min ’Indî Anfusakum (pp.59-62). 15. Sûrah Hajj 22:40 16. Related by Abû Nu’aym in Hilyatul-Awliyâ (1/119). 17. Sûrah al-Hajj 22:41 18. Sûrah Muhammad 47:7 19. Sûratus-Sâffât 37:171-173 20. Sûrah al-Mujâdalah 58:21 21. Sûratun Nûr 24:55 22. Sûrah al-Hajj 22:41 23. Adwâ’ul-Bayân (5/703-704) of ’Allâmah ash-Shanqîtî. 24. Related by Abû Nu’aym in al-Hilyah (4/313) and adh-Dhahabî in Siyar A’lâmun Nubalâ (4/311). 25. Sûrah Âl-’lmrân 3:152 26. Sûratul Anfâl 8:45-46 27. Qul Huwa Min ’Indî Anfusakum (pp. 93-94) 28. Qul Huwa Min ’Indî Anfusakum (pp. 93-94) 29. Sûrah al Qasas 28:5-6 30. Zâdul-Ma’âd (3/477-478) of Ibn al-Qayyim. 31. Sûrah TâHâ 20:83-84 32. Sûrah TâHâ 20:85 33. Sûrah ar-Rûm 30:60 34. Ma’âlimut-Tanzîl (6/279) of al-Baghawî. 35. A’lâmul-Muwaqqi’în (3/4) of lbn al-Qayyim. 36. Quoted in Mawqiful-Mu’min minal-Fitnah (pp. 28-29) by Shaykh ’Abdullâh al-’Ubaylân - may Allâh protect him. 37. Sûrah an-Nisâ 4:77 38. Majmû’ul-Fatâwâ (10/690) of Shaykhul-Islâm lbn Taymiyyah. 39. The saying of Sayyid Qutb - as quoted in Majallatur-Risâlah (no.595/1952C.E.) Wise Scholars and Impatient Workers Ibn Sa’d relates in Tabaqaatul-Kssbraa (7/163-165): A group of Muslims came to al-Hasan al-Basree (d.110H) seeking a verdict for rebelling against al-Hajjaaj. So they said: O Abu Sa’eed! What do you say about fighting this oppressor who has unlawfully spilt blood and unlawfully taken wealth and did this and that? So al-Hasan said: “I see not to fight him. If this is a punishment from Allaah, then you will not be able to remove it with your swords. If this is a trial from Allaah, then be patient until Allaah’s judgement comes - and He is the best of judges.” So they left al-Hasan, disagreed with him and rebelled against al-Hajjaaj, so al-Hajjaaj killed them all. About them, al-Hasan used to say: “If the people had patience, when they are being tested by their unjust ruler, it will not be before Allaah will give them a way out. However, they always rush for their swords, so they are left to their swords. By Allaah! Not for even a single day did they bring about any good.”

Al-Ibaanah Issue No.2 Rabî’ul-Awwal 1416H / August 1995 Al-Ibaanah Online Index

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{TheKeys to the Success – Imam Ibn al Qayyim}

By Shaykh ul –Islaam Ibn Qayyim aj-Jawzeeyah as-Salafi-Rahimullaah-Translated by Abbas Abu Yahya

Shamsuddeen Muhammad bin Abee Bakr Ibn Qayyim aj-Jawzeeyah (d.751)-Rahimullaah-said:Bukhari mentions in his ‘Saheeh’ from Wahab bin Munnabih that it was said to him: ‘Is not‘Lailaha ‘illa Allaah’the key to Paradise?’He said: ‘Of course, however there is no key except that it has teeth, so if a key is brought which has teeth then it will be opened, otherwise it will notopen.’Ibn Qayyim continues:‘ AllaahSubhanahu has placed keys for everything that is necessary, and they open the way, so Allaah made purification the key for prayer, as the Messenger–sallAllaahualayhi wa sallam–said:‘ The Key to Prayer is purification.’ [Saheeh al-Jamia as-Sagheer No.5885] .Like wise

Ihram is the key to Hajj, Truthfulness is the key to righteousness, Tawheed is the key to Paradise, Asking good questions and being attentive is the key to knowledge, Patience is the key to victory and triumph, Gratitude is the key to increase of provision, Remembrance of Allaah is the key to having loyalty to Allaah and His love, Taqwa (piety) is the key to success, Fervent desire and dread of Allaah is the key to being successful, Dua’ (Supplicating) is the key to being responded to, Zuhd (Abstaining from the luxuries of the world) is the key to desiring the Hereafter, Reflecting about that which Allaah calls His slaves to is the key to Eemaan (having faith), Turning the Heart toward accepting Islaam and making it secure for Allaah and having sincerity for Himby having love and fulfilling His commands and leaving the prohibitions is the key to going in front of Allaah, Pondering upon the Qur’aan, and imploring Allaah before dawn and not sinning is the key to giving theheart life, Being kind to the worshippers of ALLAH (the Creator) and to mankind andstriving to benefit His creation is the key to obtaining mercy, Striving to seek forgiveness from Allaah and Taqwa (piety) is the key to Rizq (provisions), Obedience to Allaah and His Messenger is the key to honour, Longing for the Hereafter is the key to being prepared for the Hereafter, Fervent desire for Allaah's good pleasure and the Hereafter is the key to all goodness, Love for the world, continuously longing for it and turning away from the Hereafter is the key toall evil.

This is a great matter from the most beneficial chapters of knowledge, namely knowing the keys to goodness and evil.’[Taken from: ‘Haadi al-Arwaaha ila Bilaad al-Afraaha’ by Ibn Qayyim vol 1 p.139]

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's
auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences

, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone.

Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower
your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You
are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with Allah as My Rabb and
Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah(Messenger) sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure.

------------------------Shaykh Fawzan Explanation:

[4]:His saying, “knowledge”: what is meant by knowledge here, is al-‘ilm ash-shar‘ee the legislated (islaamic) knowledge, because that is what it is obligatory to learn, and these matters are obligatory to learn upon every Muslim, male or female, free or slave, rich or poor, a king or a pauper, every Muslim, it is obligatory upon him that he should learn these four matters.And this is what the scholars call al-waajib al-‘aynee, and it is what is obligatory upon every individual from the Muslims. So the five obligatory prayers which are upon the men and the women, and the congregational prayer in the mosques, which is upon the men, this is obligatory upon every individual from the Muslims, that he learns about them. Therefore he said, “it is obligatory upon us”, and he did not say, “it is obligatory upon some of us”, rather he said, “it is obligatory upon us”, meaning upon us the Muslims. So it is from the knowledge which it is obligatory to learn upon all individuals, because knowledge is of two categories:The first of them: that which it is obligatory upon all individuals to learn, such that there is no excuse for anyone to be ignorant of it, and it is that which is such that the religion cannot be correctly established except with it, such as the five pillars of Islaam which are the Two Testifications, and the establishment of the Prayer, and the giving of the Zakaat, and the fast of Ramadaan, and Hajj to the sacred House of Allaah. It is not permissible for the Muslim to be ignorant of that, rather he must learn it.Since learning the meaning of the Two Testifications, is to learn the ‘aqeedah (creed and belief), so the Muslim learns the creed and belief in order to act upon it, and he learns whatever opposes it in order to keep away from it – this is what is contained in the Two Testifications.Likewise he learns the pillars of the Prayer, and the conditions of the Prayer, and the obligations of the Prayer, and the sunnahs of the Prayer; he must learn these matters in detail. It is not just the case that he can pray when he does not know the rulings of the prayer. How can a person do an action when he does not have knowledge of the action which he is performing? How can he perform the Prayer when is ignorant of its rulings? So it is essential that he learns the rulings of the Prayer, and those things which nullify the Prayer, he must learn this.Likewise he should learn the rulings of the Zakaat, and he should learn the rulings of the Fasting, and he should learn the rulings of the Hajj, so when he wants to perform Hajj, it becomes obligatory upon him to learn the rulings of the Hajj and the rulings of the ‘Umrah in order to perform these acts of worship in the prescribed and legislated manner.And this category, no-one is excused for being ignorant of it, and it is what is called al-waajib al-‘aynee that which is obligatory upon every individual Muslim.The second category from the categories of knowledge, is that which is additional to that, from the legislated rulings which the Ummah (Islaamic Nation) together has need of, and it may be the case that not every individual has a need of it, such as the rulings of trading, and the rulings of dealing and transactions, and the rulings of religious endowments, and laws of inheritance and bequests and the rulings of marriages, and the rulings relating to crimes. These are essential for the Ummah. However it is not obligatory upon every individual from the Ummah that he has to learn it. Rather, if these things are learnt by sufficient number of scholars, such that what is required is attained, then that will suffice so that they can fulfill the need of the Muslims for legal judgments and for religious verdicts and for teaching and other than this. This is called waajib al-kifaayah (the communal obligation), such that if a sufficient number of people carry it out, then sin falls away from the rest, and if all of them leave it, then they will all be sinful.So the Ummah must have people who learn this category since they are in need of it. However, it is not said to every individual, “it is obligatory upon you to acquire knowledge of these matters”, because this may not be possible for every individual. Rather this is specific to the people of ability and the people of capability from the Ummah. And if this is learnt by some of the Ummah, then the obligation has been established, contrary to the first category, for there, every individual is accountable for it himself, because it is not possible for him to perform these actions except with knowledge. And therefore the Shaikh said, “it is obligatory upon us”, and he did not say, “it is obligatory upon the Muslims”, or, “it is obligatory upon some of the Muslims”. Rather he said, “it is obligatory upon us”, meaning upon everyone from us as an individual obligation.And we should know, before entering into the matters, that what is meant by knowledge, which it is obligatory upon the Ummah – whether it be that which is obligatory upon every individual, or whether it be that which is obligatory upon some, then it is al-‘ilm ash-shar‘ee the legislated (islaamic) knowledge, that which the Messenger sallallaahu‘alaihiwasallam came with.As for worldly knowledge, such as the knowledge of industries, and professions, and arithmetic, and mathematics, and engineering, then this knowledge is permissible – it is permissible to learn it and it can be obligatory if the Ummah has need of it, then it will be obligatory on those who are capable. However, it is not the knowledge which is intended in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, that which Allaah the Most High has praised and commended its people, and that which the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said about it:العلماء ورثة الأنبياء

“The ‘ulemaa, (the scholars, or the people of knowledge) are the inheritors of the Prophets.”[1]What is meant is al-‘ilm ash-shar‘ee the legislated (islaamic) knowledge.As for worldly knowledge, then whoever is ignorant of it, then there is no sin upon him, and whoever learns it, then it is permissible for him, and if he utilises it to benefit the Ummah, then he is rewarded for it. And if a person died, and he was ignorant of this knowledge, then he would not be taken to account for it on the Day of Resurrection.However, whoever died and he was ignorant of al-‘ilm ash-shar‘ee the legislated (islaamic) knowledge, particularly essential knowledge, then he will be asked about it on the Day of Resurrection, “Why didn’t you learn? Why didn’t you ask?”. The one who says when he is placed in his grave, “My Lord is Allaah, and Islaam is my religion, and my Prophet is Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam”, this person will be saved. It will be said to him, “Where did you acquire this from?”. So he will say, “I read the Book of Allaah and I learnt it”.As for the person who turns away from that, then when he is questioned in his grave, then he will say, “Haa, haa, I don’t know, I heard the people saying something so I said it”. Then this person, his grave will be made to blaze with fire upon him – and Allaah’s refuge is sought – and it will be crushed upon him, to such an extent that his ribs will cross over, and he will come to be in a pit from the pits of the hell-fire, because he did not have knowledge and he did not read. So it will be said to him:لا دريت ولا تليت ) أو لا تلوت )

“You did not know and you did not read (or you did not follow)”.[2]So he did not learn and he did not follow the example of the people of knowledge, rather he was wasted and lost in his life, so this is the person who ends up in wretchedness, and Allaah’s refuge is sought.So his saying, “Knowledge”, this is the legislated knowledge that is required from us as a body and as individuals, and it is knowledge and awareness of Allaah through His Names and His Attributes, and knowledge of His right upon us, which is to worship Him alone ascribing no partner to Him, so the first thing that is obligatory upon the servant is knowledge and awareness of his Lord the Mighty and Majestic, and how to worship Him.

Footnotes:

[1] This is reported by al-Bukhaaree in disconnected form in the Book of Knowledge, Chapter, “Knowledge comes before speech and action”, it follows on from hadeeth 67; and is reported by Aboo Daawood, and ibn Maajah and at-Tirmidhee from a hadeeth of Aboo Ad-Dardaa radiyallaahu‘anhu. [Al-Albaanee declared the hadeeth of Aboo Daawood saheeh].[2] Reported by Al-Bukhaaree in abridged form as a hadeeth of Anas 1338, and also reported by Muslim in abridged form also as a hadeeth of Anas 2870, and reported by Aboo Daawood as a hadeeth of al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib in a long hadeeth 4753. [Al-Albaanee declared the hadeeth of Aboo Daawood saheeh].

Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
—
Listen to the Full Audio Series:
Sharh Usool-ith-Thalaathah – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank
Book Study Resources – Three Fundamental Principles
Related Links:

• https://abdurrahman.org/knowledge
• https://abdurrahman.org/belief/aqeedah

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's
auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences
, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone.
Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower
your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You
are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with Allah as My Rabb and
Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah(Messenger) sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure.----------------------------Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
وَهُوَ مَعْرِفَةُ اللهِ ، وَمَعْرِفَةُ نَبِيِّهِ

And it is knowledge and awareness of Allaah and knowledge of His Prophet5

---

[5]:His saying, “And it is knowledge and awareness of Allaah”: How does the servant come to have knowledge and awareness of his Lord? He knows of Him through His Signs and His created things, so from His Signs are the night and the day, and from those things which He has created are the sun and the moon, as will be explained later on inshaa’ Allaah.He knows of Allaah by means of His Aayaat-ul-Kawneeyah (Signs within the creation) and His Aayaat-ul-Qur’aaneeyah (The aayahs of His Qur’aan). If he recites the Qur’aan, then He knows that Allaah the Perfect and Most High – He is the One who created the heavens and the earth and that He is the One who made subservient whatever is within the heavens and the earth, and that He is the One who gives life and gives death, and that He has full Ability over everything, and that He is Ar-Rahmaan the Extremely Merciful One, and Ar-Raheem the One Who bestows mercy. So the Qur’aan provides knowledge and awareness of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and that He is the One Who bestowed all favours upon us, and that He is the One who created us and gives us provision, so if you recite the Qur’aan, then you will know your Lord, the Perfect and Most High, by way of His Names and His Attributes and His Actions.And if you look into the creation, then you will know and be aware of your Lord, the Perfect and Most High – that He is the One Who created this creation, and who made this creation subservient, and Who caused it to proceed by His Wisdom and His Knowledge – He the Perfect and Most High; this is knowledge of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.His saying, “And knowledge of His Prophet”: he is Muhammad sallallaahu ’alaihi wa sallam, because he was the one who conveyed the message from Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, he is the intermediary between us and Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, with regard to conveying the message, so therefore it is essential that you know him, you know who he is, and you know his lineage, and you know his city, and you know that which he sallallaahu ’alaihi wa sallam came with. That you know how the revelation first came to him, and how he established the call to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, in Makkah and in Al-Madeenah. That you know the life history of the Messenger sallallaahu ’alaihi wa sallam even if it is in abridged form.The Messenger sallallaahu ’alaihi wa sallam, he is Muhammad the son of ‘Abdullaah, the son of ‘Abdul-Muttalib, the son of Haashim, the son of ‘Abd-Manaaf, all the way to the end of the noble Prophetic lineage, which goes all the way back to Ibraaheem ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam. And you know how he lived before he was raised as a Prophet, and how the revelation came to him from Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, and what did he ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam do after his being raised as a Prophet – you know that through study of his seerah (of his life), and it is not befitting for the Muslim that he should be ignorant of the Messenger sallallaahu ’alaihi wasallam. For how can you follow a person when you do not have knowledge of him? This cannot be comprehended.

---

وَمَعْرِفَةُ دِينِ الإِسْلامِ

And knowledge of the religion of Islaam6[6]:His saying, “Knowledge of the religion of Islaam”: which is the religion of this Messenger sallallaahu ’alaihi wasallam. Indeed, it is the religion of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, which He commanded His servants with, and which He commanded you to follow, and you are required to follow it, so you must have knowledge and awareness of this religion. And Islaam is the religion of all of the Messengers. All of the Messengers, their religion was Islaam, with the general meaning. So everyone who followed a Messenger from the Messengers, then he is a Muslim, one who submits in Islaam to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, one who submitted to Him and one who singled Him out with all worship – this is Islaam with the general meaning, that it is the religion of all the Messengers. So Islaam is:الاستسلام لله بالتوحيد والانقياد له بالطاعة والخلوص من الشرك وأهله

“To submit to Allaah with tawheed, and to comply to Him with obedience, and remaining free of shirk and its people” As for Islaam with the specific meaning, then it is that which Allaah sent His Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu’alaihiwasallam with, since after the sending of the Messenger sallallaahu’alaihiwasallam then there is no religion except for his religion ‘alaihissalaatuwassalaam. And Islaam is confined to following him sallallaahu’alaihiwasallam, so it is not possible for a Jew to now say, “I am a Muslim”, or a Christian to say, “I am a Muslim”, after the sending of the Prophet sallallaahu’alaihiwasallam, if he does not follow him. So Islaam, after the sending of the Prophet, is following him sallallaahu’alaihiwasallam. He the Most High said:Say: If you people truly love Allaah, then follow Me, then Allaah will love you [3:31] This is Islaam with its general meaning and with its specific meaning.

---

بِالأَدِلَّةِ

With the proofs.7[7]:His saying, “With the proofs”: not due to taqleed (blind following), but rather with the proofs from the Qur’aan and from the Sunnah – this is knowledge.Ibn ul-Qayyim said in Al-Kaafiyat-ush-Shaafiyah:Knowledge is Allaah said, His Prophet said, The Companions said – they are the possessors of knowledge and awarenessKnowledge is not that you foolishly raise up a disagreement Between the Messenger and the opinion of so-and-so.This is what is knowledge, knowledge is the knowledge contained in the Book and the Sunnah. As for the sayings of the ’ulemaa (the scholars), then they only explain and clarify the speech of Allaah and the speech of the Messenger sallallaahu’alaihiwasallam, and some of them may contain a mistake, and the proofs are not the speech of the ’ulemaa, rather the proofs are the aayahs of the Qur’aan and the Prophetic ahadeeth. As for the speech of scholars, then it explains and clarifies that, except it is not a proof in itself.This is the first matter, and it is the foundation, the Shaikh rahimahullaah began with it because it is the foundation, and one should begin with ‘aqeedah (creed and belief), and with the foundation in learning, and in teaching, and in calling to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. ‘Aqeedah should be begun with, because it is the fundamental basis, and it is the foundation.—
Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah. Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles of Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab by Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan al-Fowzaan hafizahullaah. Translated by Daawood Burbank, rahimahullaah
Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
—
Listen to the Full Audio Series:
Sharh Usool-ith-Thalaathah – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank
Book Study Resources – Three Fundamental Principles
Related Links:

• https://abdurrahman.org/knowledge
• https://abdurrahman.org/asma-wa-sifaat-com
• https://abdurrahman.org/muhammad

Jazakallah khayran.

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's
auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences

, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone.

Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower
your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You
are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with Allah as My Rabb and

Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah(Messenger) sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure.----------------------------------------------------

{THE ULTIMATE CONCERN}

By Shaykh ’Alî Hasan al-Halabî [1]
The Loftiest Goal It will not be hidden from the one who has knowledge of the Book and has studied the Sunnah, that the loftiest goal and the highest aim which the Muslim works to implement in himself and amongst the people is: The worship of Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic. There is no way to keep this worship pure and unblemished, except by knowing true Tawhîd of Allâh (to single out Allâh alone for worship). The dâ’î (caller) who knows this way will find it very difficult to implement, yet he does not make this an obstacle in his way, since day and night in his da’wah (call), he is an embodiment of the saying of our Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam: “The people who receive the severest trial are the Prophets, then those most like them and then those most like them.” [2] How can this not be the case whilst he is following His sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam’s, path, taking His life as an example and following His way! The Hardships “So the ones most like them, then those most like them, are the pious who follow their method and approach in calling to Allâh, and who call to what they called to: Tawhîd of Allâh and making worship sincerely for Him alone, and rejecting Shirk (associating partners with Allâh in those things that are particular to Him). So they will meet with similar harm and misfortune as was met by their example, the Prophets(Alayhi Salam). Because of this, you see many of the dâ’îs (callers) turning away horn this difficult way and rugged path. Since the dâ’î who follows it will meet opposition from his mother, his father, his brother, those whom he loves and his friends; and he will have to face the community and its hostility, its mockery and harms. Instead, they deviate and turn their attention to aspects of Islâm which do have importance - and will not be denied by anyone believing in Allah. But these areas do not carry the difficulty, hardship nor ensuing mockery and harm, particularly in Islâmic societies. Since the majority of the Islâmic Ummah (community) rally around this type of dâ’î, surrounding them with a ring of respect and honour - not mockery and harm - unless they threaten the rulers, or their authority, in which case they are restrained by force - such as the political parties, which oppose the rulers and threaten their positions. So when this is the case, the rulers show no affection for them, whether they are ones near to them or related, Muslim or kâfir. Whatever the case, we say to those dâ’î, that however much noise they make and however much they raise their voices in the name of Islâm, check yourselves, because you have deviated from Allâh’s way and His Straight and clear Path which was followed by the Prophets and their followers, in calling to the Tawhîd of Allâh and making the Dîn sincerely for Him. So however much you move around and raise your voices in the name of Islâm, then still you are deviating from the way of the Prophets which Allâh laid down. Whatever your efforts to cause your da’wah (call) and your way to materialise - then you are preoccupying yourselves with the means at the expense of the end - and the means is useless if it harms the end; and is given undue importance at its expense!” [3] The Prophetic Methodology Islâm has many branches and various parts, so it is essential: “To begin with what is of greatest importance, then that which follows in importance. Thus, the first thing to give da’wah to is the correction of ’aqîdah (belief) by ordering that worship be made sincerely for Allâh and forbidding Shirk, then ordering the establishment of Prayer and payment of Zakâh and carrying out the obligatory duties and avoiding forbidden acts. This was the way of all the Messengers, as He - the Most High - says: “We assuredly sent to every people a Messenger (commanding): Worship Allâh and turn away from at-Tâghût.” [4] “Not a Messenger did We send before you, except that We revealed to him: That none has the right to be worshipped except Me, therefore worship Me.” [5] The life of the Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam and His way in calling to Allâh is the best example and His method the most perfect. Since He remained for years calling the people to Tawhîd and forbidding them from Shirk, before ordering them with Prayer, Zakât, Fasting and Hajj; and before He forbade them from usury, fornication, stealing and unlawful killing.” [6] Planting the Correct ’Aqîdah Thus, the most fundamental principle is to establish the worship of Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic - as He - the One free from all defects - says: “I did not create Jinn and man except to worship Me.” [7] This cannot be except through realising the Tawhîd of Allâh - the Majestic - in knowledge, action, in everyday life and in Jihâd. You will find many dâ’îs calling to Islâm - and groups and parties within Islâm - using up their lives and wasting their youth [apparently] gasping for the rule of Islâm, or seeking establishment of the Islâmic State.				However, if you examine them, you will find them immersed in acts contrary to the Sharî’ah (Islâmic Laws) and Shirk and Bid’ah (innovation), except for those upon whom my Rabb - the One free from all defects - has had mercy upon. Forgetting, or pretending to forget; ignorant or feigning ignorance that: “Establishing the rule of Islâm in any land will not come about by the likes of these ways. And that it will not be except through a long and slow way - which keeps in mind the rule and not the summit; and begins with planting ’aqîdah (beliefs) anew and cultivation of Islâmic manners. This way, which appears slow and very long, is the shortest and quickest.” [8] “Achieving implementation of the Islâmic order and rule by the Sharî’ah (Law) of Allâh is not a short term goal, since it cannot be achieved until whole societies - or at least a good portion of them, having sufficient weight in the society - are taken to a correct understanding. of the Islâmic ’aqîdah, then of the lslâmic system; and to correct Islâmic training upon the manners of Islâm, however long that takes and however slow the stage.” [9] In summary “Establishment of the Sharî’ah, application of the Hudûd (prescribed punishments), establishment of the Islâmic State, avoidance of what is forbidden and carrying out what is obligatory, all of these things are from the rights of Tawhîd and things that render it complete; and they follow on from it. So how can secondary matters be given such importance that the primary matter is neglected? It is my view, that the contradictions of the groups and parties to the way of the Messenger, in calling to Allâh, occurs due to their ignorance of this way - and the ignorant person should not be a dâ’î. Since the most important condition for da’wah (calling to Islâm) is knowledge, as He - the Most High - says concerning His Prophet: “Say: This is my way. I do call to Allâh upon knowledge, I and those who follow me. Glory be to Allâh! Never will I associate partners with Him.” [10] The most important attribute of a dâ’î is knowledge ... The followers of the Messenger are upon a single way and do not differ. Rather those who differ are those who diverge from this way, as He - the Most High - says: “Verily this is My Straight Path, so follow it; and do not follow other paths, they will take you away from His Path.” [11]” [12] The Muslim’s Aim and Purpose In conclusion: “Tawhîd is the starting point for da’wah to Allâh and is its goal. There can be no da’wah to Allâh without it, even if it takes upon itself an Islâmic name and attributes itself to it. Since all the Messengers - and at their head, the most noblest of them and their seal, Muhammad sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam - had at its beginning, goal and end of their da’wah, the Tawhîd of Allâh. So every Messenger sent to his people began by saying: “O people! Worship Allâh. None has the right to be worshipped except Him.” [13]” [14] This is the highest goal for the Muslim and his loftiest aim, for which he strives all his life, exerting himself and propagating it amongst the people and implanting it amongst the creation. “And the Creator, who made ready for His servants, everything required for their well-being of their world, is the same One who prescribed the Dîn of Islâm for them and guaranteed its preservation forever. And His care in preserving the Dîn is greater, since that is the purpose of this world. Allâh - the Mighty and Majestic - says: “I did not create Jinn and Man except to worship Me.” ”[15] References 1. Taken from Ad-Da’wah Ilallâh Baynat-Tajammu’il-Hizbî wat-Ta’âwunish-Shar’î (pp.33-39) by the Shaykh - from the first chapter: “The Muslims’ Aim and Purpose.” 2. Reported by at-Tirmidhî (no.2400), Ibn Mâjah (no.4023) and others - from Sa’d ibn Abî Waqqâs. The isnâd is Hasan. 3. Manhajul-Anbiyâ lid-Da’wah ilallâh fîhil-Hikmah wal-’Aql (p.31) of Shaykh Rabî’ ibn Hâdî. 4. Sûrah Nahl 16:36. 5. Sûrah Anbiyâ 21:25. 6. Slightly adapted from the introduction of Shaykh Sâlih ibn Fawzân to Manhajul-Anbiyâ (p.9). 7. Sûrah adh-Dhâriyât 5156. 8. Limâdba A’damûnî (p.67) of Sayyid Qutb. 9. Limâdba A’damûnî (p.29). 10. Sûrah Yûsuf 12:108. 11. Sûrah An’âm 6:153 12. Slightly adapted from the introduction of Shaykh Sâlih ibn Fawzân to Manhajul-Anbiyâ (p.8). 13. Sûrah A’âf 7:59, 65, 73, 85 14. Manhajul-Anbiyâ (p.11) of Shaykh ’Abdur-Rahmân ’Abdul-Khâliq. 15. At-Tankîl (1/48) of ’Allâmah al-Mu’allamî al-Yaman

I read a story about Imam Hanbal. He was travelling to Shaam, and came across town on his way, where he decided to spend the night. He went to a mosque, offered prayers. Since he did not know anyone in the town, he decided to spend the night at the masjid. As he was resting, a guard approached him and scolded him for sleeping in the masjid, and threw him out. Imam Hanbal kept saying I am a traveller, I don't know any one here, where would i go? But since the guard did not know the old man was, he didn't listen. So the imam decided to sleep on the stairs, outside the masjid. The guard again came, and said to him that he cannot sleep there either. Imam Hanbal again said, I have no where else to go. I just want to spend a night here and leave in the morning. But the guard didn't listen and dragged the old man on to the road.
A baker in the nearby shop saw this, took pity on the old man, and offered Imam help. He said that you can spend the night at may bakery. So Imam Hanbal went with him. As the baker went back to his work, kneaded the dough, baked the bread, he kept reciting ""astaghfirullah"" through out.
Imam Hanbal was shocked and asked, has this helped you in any way, except for getting you a home in jannah?
so the baker responded: There is no dua I made that God didn't accept, except for one.
so Imam Hanbal Asked: Which is that dua?
The baker said, I wish to meet Imam Ahmad Hanbal.
So Imam Hanbal replied: So it was your dua that got me thrown out of the masjid and dragged me to your door step.

format_quote Originally Posted by k.ibrahim

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's
auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences
, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone.
Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower
your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You
are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with Allah as My Rabb and
Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah(Messenger) sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure.------------------------------- People often forget the importance of the simple yet powerful dua (supplication) – Istighfar i.e., saying “Astaghfirullah” (I seek forgiveness of Allah). Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) recited this at least 100 times a day. Let us see the benefits and virtues of reciting this simple beautiful supplication insha Allah.Istighfar (Astaghfirullah) is the gateway of relief and happiness. Whenever you are in distress start reciting it and Insha Allah it will take you out of your anxiety and will put you in a peaceful situation and will give you happiness.Istighfar removes anxiety and duas are answered.Istighfar opens the door of sustenance.Istighfar opens the door of mercy.Istighfar opens the door of knowledge.Istighfar is also gateway of productivity.Istighfar relieves you. When you feel that sadness within you, when you are disturbed and frustrated, when anxiety surrounds you, say “Astaghfirullah” “Astaghfirullah”…Reciting Astaghfiruallah is an effective method of calming our self and wipes away the variety of worldly worries from our mind and body. It may also help us, if we are suffering from depression, it calms us and lessens our depression.Astaghfirullah also helps us to refrain from all forms of sins. Regularly saying this reminds us that Allah is everywhere and in this way there is very small chances of doing wrongful actions.Ibn Abbas (RadiyAllahu Anhu) said: The Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:“If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not.”
[Abu Dawud] In another hadith, Abdullah bin Abbas (RadiyAllahu Anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:“The one who (regularly) says Istighfaar, that is, frequently repent to Allah Ta’aala for sins committed, Allah Azza Wa-Jal will open a path from poverty and difficulties. All sorrow and hardship will be removed, and in its place prosperity and contentment granted. One will receive sustenance from unimagined and unexpected sources.”Rasulullah (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) has said in another Hadith:“The one who seeks forgiveness for Muslim males and females from Allah Ta’aala twenty six or twenty five times every day, Allah Ta’ala will count that person among those whose Du’a is accepted, and through the barakah of whom those on earth gain Rizq (sustenance).”Do Tasbih of Astaghfaar at least 100 times daily as it is the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam).In one minute, you can say “Astaghfiru Allaah” more than 100 times! The virtue of seeking forgiveness is well-known, it is a reason of obtaining forgiveness, entering Paradise, having good provisions, increasing one’s strength, repelling harm, having affairs facilitated, the descent of rain, and increasing in wealth and children.The doors of repentance are always open therefore don’t delay your repentance in a hope of tomorrow, as tomorrow is uncertain , Repent now and make it a habit to ask Allah’s forgiveness by reciting “Astaghfirullah”.Say I believe in Allah’s mercy, I have sinned, I have gone astray, I have been negligent, but still I believe in Allah’s soothing mercy and forgiveness, I’ll not despair!

No no. This is weak prayer. Better try Sayyidul Istighfat which is the Best prayer for forgiveness and as far as I remember, if you recite Sayyidul Istighfar in the morning and die in that state, then you will be among the People of Paradise and if you recite at night and die in that state you will be among the People of Paradise.

This prayer is much better than the prayer you quoted, because it has more weight than other prayers.

1. Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's
   

1. auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences , All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone.Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with Allah as My Rabb and Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah(Messenger) sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure.---------------------Abu Hurairah reported that Rasulallah (sallallahualayhewasallam) said, "There are angels standing at the gates of Madinah; neither plague nor the Dajjal can enter it." (Bukhari, Muslim.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Abu Bakr reported that Rasulallah (sallallahualayhewasallam) said, "The terror caused by the Dajjal will not enter Madinah. At that time it will have seven gates; there will be two angels guarding every gate." (Bukhari.)
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anas said, "Rasulallah (sallallahualayhewasallam) said, 'The Dajjal will come to Madinah, and he will find angles guarding it. Neither plague nor the Dajjal will enter it, in shaAllah." (Tirmidhi, Bukhari.)----- No real Plague! No real Plague! Can enter Madina... So how is it possible for this coronavirus((Covid-19) to enter Madina? Because it is not a natural virus it is a man made virus manufacturers in many laboratorys in the 1960's .................................................. ...............
   
   It has been proven in the Sahih Ahadith that the Dajjal will not enter Makkah or Madinah, because the angels will prevent him from entering these two places which are sanctuaries and are safe from him. When he camps at the salt-marsh (Sabkhah) of Madinah, it will be shaken by three tremors - either physically or metaphorically - and every hypocrite will go out to join the Dajjal. On that day, Madinah will be cleansed of its dross and will be refined and purified; and Allah knows best. The Life and Deeds of the Dajjal The Dajjal will be a man, created by Allah to be a test for people at the end of time. Many will be led astray through him, and many will be guided through him; only the sinful will be led astray...............No Plague! No Plague! can enter Madina... So how is it possible for this coronavirus(Covid-19) to enter Madina? Because it is not a natural virus it is a man made virus manufacturers in a laboratory in the 1960's .................................................. ...............
   
2. 
   

The Corona Virus isn't a Plague. If it was anything like a Plague, there would be much more havoc than what we see now. People would be dying left and right and you'd see bodies piling up on the streets. The Corona Virus is just a "Beefed Up" flu virus, that may or may not have been engineered by humans. It really mainly just effects those with weakened immune systems the most. The biggest thing this virus has done is that it has shown us how ill equipped the world is to handle a real disaster. It is scary to think of what it would be like when it finally hits us.