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A beautiful poem taken from SunniPath blog:

Fire and Garden

When the fire of rage screams madly its din,
consuming its fuel of angry chagrin
and tempts you to drink from the poison of sin
then gaze at the Fire and the Garden within.

Feel how revenge and contempt fan its flame,
how it explodes and then spits out its shame,
how choking its smoke, how burning its blame,
how scorching its sneer as it plays Satan’s game.

Then surrender prostrate and feel how its coal
sputters, then whispers, then gives up its goal.
Its ashes turn green as you hear them extol
praises and hymns from the depths of your soul.

Gratitude, too, as it sings like a bird,
praises and worships for what He conferred
of blessings untold, of favors unheard,
of freedom from fire wherein it interred.

Contentment and joy and Almighty Power
nourish and cool what fires devour,
like rivers of milk, like merciful shower,
turn fragrant its ashes with beautiful flower.

Orchards of love drink rain from the sky
Shady and lush, expansive and high.
Gone are the tight-fisted tantrums of “my”.
Beginningless Beauty extinguishes “I”.

The Fire of Hell is kindled by you
within you, without you, around you, and through.
You light it in This Life, then it blazes anew
forever in Next Life, for you let it brew.

Surrender your nafs, for eternity pine.
Water your flower and tend to your vine.
Your worshipful heart will joyfully shine
with pleasure on earth, then pleasure divine.

– Hamza Karamali, November 5, 2009 [Sunnipath instructor]
 
nice toolbar, it has everything you want, tell your frns n relatives abt it
 
Salah: Life’s Forgotten Purpose​

Man has taken many journeys throughout time. But there is one journey that nobody has ever taken.

Nobody—except one.

On a vehicle no man has ever ridden, through a path no soul has ever seen. To a place no creation has ever before set foot. It was the journey of one man to meet the Divine. It was the journey of Muhammad, prophet of God, to the highest heaven.

It was al Israa wal Miraaj (the magnificent journey).

On that journey Allah took his beloved prophet to the seventh heaven—a place not even angel Gibreel could enter. In the Prophet’s mission on earth, every instruction, every commandment was sent down through angel Gibreel. But, there was one commandment that was not. There was one commandment so important, that rather than sending angel Gibreel down with it, Allah brought the Prophet up to Himself.

That commandment was salah (prayer). When the Prophet was first given the command to pray, it was to be fifty times in a day. After asking Allah to make it easier, the commandment was eventually reduced to five times a day, with the reward of the fifty.

Reflecting upon this incident scholars have explained that the process of going from fifty to five was a deliberate one, intended to teach us the true place salah should hold in our lives. Imagine for a moment actually praying fifty times a day. Would we be able to do anything else but pray? No. And that’s the point. What greater way than that to illustrate our life’s true purpose? As if to say, salah is our real life; all the rest that we fill our day with…just motions.

And yet, we live as if it’s exactly the opposite. Salah is something we squeeze into our day, when we find time—if that. Our ‘lives’ don’t revolve around salah. Salah revolves around our ‘lives.’ If we’re in class, salah is an afterthought. If we’re at the mall, the Macy’s sale is more urgent. Something is seriously wrong when we put aside the very purpose of our existence in order to watch a basketball game.

And that is for those who even pray at all. There are those who have not only put aside their life’s purpose, they have abandoned it completely. What we often don’t realize about the abandonment of salah is this: No scholar has ever held the opinion that committing zina (fornication) makes you a disbeliever. No scholar has ever held the opinion that stealing, drinking or taking drugs makes you a disbeliever. No scholar has even claimed that murder makes you a non-Muslim. But, about salah, some scholars have said he who abandons it, is no longer Muslim. This is said based on ahadith such as this one: “The covenant between us and them is prayer, so if anyone abandons it, he has become a disbeliever.” [Ahmad]

Imagine an act so egregious that the prophet would speak about it is such a way. Consider for a moment what satan did wrong. He didn’t refuse to believe in Allah. He refused to make one sajdah. Just one. Imagine all the sajdahs we refuse to make.

Consider the seriousness of such a refusal. And yet, think how lightly we take the matter of salah. Salah is the first thing we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment, and yet it is the last thing that on our mind. The Prophet said: “The first thing which will be judged among a man’s deeds on the Day of Resurrection is the Prayer. If this is in good order then he will succeed and prosper but if it is defective then he will fail and will be a loser.” [Tirmidhi]

On that Day, the people of paradise will ask those who have entered Hell-fire, why they have entered it. And the Quran tells us exactly what their first response will be: ”What led you into Hell Fire? They will say: ‘We were not of those who prayed.’” (Qur’an, 74:42-43)

How many of us will be among those who say “we were not of those who prayed, or we were not of those who prayed on time, or we were not of those who made prayer any priority in our lives?” Why is it that if we’re in class or at work or fast asleep at the time of fajr and we need to use the restroom, we make time for that? In fact, the question almost sounds absurd. We don’t even consider it an option not to. And even if we were taking the most important exam of our lives, when we need to go, we will go. Why? Because the potentially mortifying consequences of not going, makes it a non-option.

There are many people who say they don’t have time to pray at work or school, or while they’re out. But how many have ever said they don’t have time to go to the bathroom, so while out, at work or school have opted instead to just wear Depends? How many of us just don’t feel like waking up at Fajr time if we need to use the bathroom, and choose instead to wet our bed? The truth is we’ll get out of bed, or leave class, or stop work, to use the bathroom, but not to pray.

It sounds comical, but the truth is we put the needs of our body above the needs of our soul. We feed our bodies, because if we didn’t, we’d die. But so many of us starve our souls, forgetting that if we are not praying our soul is dead. And ironically, the body that we tend to is only temporary, while the soul that we neglect is eternal.
 
Protecting the Eyes
.
by Faqih al-Ummah Shaykh Mahmud al-Hasan al-Gangohi (ra)


SUMMARY OF LETTER:

Hazrath Mufti Saheb,

I cannot protect my eyes (from sin). Please advise me on how to overcome this malady.


REPLY:

Beloved Brother

Allah Ta’ala has created natural means for the protection of the eyes from all sin. With every eye Allah Ta’ala has created two shutters — one at the top and another at the bottom. When one’s sight falls in the wrong place, immediately close both these shutters.

There is also another means of uprooting this disease (of gazing at ghair mahrams — women with whom marriage is permissible). Sit in solitude, close your eyes and recite the following verse:

Does he not know that verily Allah is watching. [96:14]


(the Arabic should be recited — Surah 96 Verse 14).

While reciting this verse ponder over the following: "If I am in the presence of my father, Ustaadh, or spiritual mentor and a strange woman (ghair mahram) had to pass, would I look at her? Most definitely not. How can I then look at any woman in the presence of Allah who is watching at all times???"

Practice this for ten minutes every day. Over and above that whenever you get the opportunity ponder over this until it becomes firmly embedded in the heart.

May Allah Ta’ala help you.


(Maktoobat Faqihul Ummah V.1 pg. 42)

Source: http://attalib.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post.html
 
The five categories of people who pray

Posted By Hafiza Iffath Hasan | Ibn al Qayyim

The first: The category of the oppressor to himself, the negligent one, one who is deficient in performing ablution for it, negligent with its appointed time periods, its boundaries and its pillars.

The second: One who preserves it appointed time periods, its boundaries, its outward pillars and ablution for it. However, he forsakes striving against his own self from whisperings and thinking to himself, and so is preoccupied with whisperings and thoughts.

The third: One who preserves its appointed time periods, its pillars as well as strives against himself in repelling whisperings and distracting thoughts that overcome him, he is busy in striving against his enemy in order to prevent him from stealing his prayer, he is in prayer as well as Jihaad.

The fourth: One whom when he stands for prayer perfects its rights, its pillars and its boundaries. His heart is occupied with preserving its boundaries and preventing anything of it being lost, rather all his attention is directed to performing it as it should be, in its most complete and perfect form, his heart is occupied with the prayer and worshiping his Lord the Elevated with it.

The fifth: One who performs the prayer like the previous person, but in addition to this, he has taken his heart and presented it to his Lord. He looks at his Lord with his heart, fully concerned with Him, in utmost obedience out of love and reverence for Him, it is as if he sees and witnesses his Lord. All distracting thoughts and whisperings fade away and the veil between him and his Lord is removed. The difference between this person in his prayer and others, is greater and better than all that is between the heavens and earth, he is fully occupied and overjoyed with his Lord in his prayer.

The first category is punished, the second is held accountable, the third is pardoned, the fourth is rewarded and the fifth is brought close to his Lord, because he gains a portion of what made the prayer a delight to him. For whoever is delighted with his prayer in the life of this world, will be delighted by being close to his Lord in the afterlife as well as being delighted with his Lord in this life, and whoever is delighted with Allaah, everything would be delighted with him, and whoever is not delighted with Allaah the Elevated, his soul will be torn apart for the life of this world in loss.

It is narrated that when a servant stands for prayer, Allaah the Glorified says; “Remove the veil.”, and if the servant turns away He says: “Replace it.”

This ‘turning away’ has been explained as the turning of the heart away from Allaah the Mighty to other than Him. So if he turns away, the veil is replaced between him and his Lord and Shaytaan enters and presents worldly affairs to him, he shows them to him in the image of a woman. But if he turns with his heart to Allaah and does not turn away, Shaytaan would not be able to come between Allaah and that heart, he only enters if the veil is replaced. If he returns to Allaah the Elevated with his heart, the Shaytaan would escape, and if he turns away, the Shaytaan would return, such is his state with his enemy in prayer.
 
Characteristics of a Muslim Husband

Posted by Nabeel Khan

I received the following from a dear friend, Mufti Nawaz Ahmed Khan Sahib (DB), and I thought it was an interesting read. Towards the end of the email, it said in all caps, “NOW BE BRAVE AND SEND THIS TO ALL YOUR MALE FRIENDS!” So, I thought, forget my male friends, I’ll just let everyone read it. Those who would like to benefit from it may do so. For the women who read, please do not rub this into your husbands’ faces because it won’t work to fix the situation. In fact I believe many things here are applicable to women also respectively. This should be read with the intention to rectify ourselves and not knit-pick and find faults in others.

No one ever thinks about the characteristics of a Muslim husband. It is always what a wife should do for the husband…and the list never ends; home management, tutoring, ferrying the kids, caring, cooking, cleaning, washing, working, you name it, she is doing it. So what about the brothers?
Our beloved Prophet SAW was not like this. So, why should the men of this Ummah? It is quite interesting. So I thought I’d share it with you!!! What a Muslim husband should be like…

1. Dress up for your wife, look clean and smell good. When was the last time you went shopping for the best clothing? Just like the husband wants his wife to look nice for him, she also wants her husband to dress up for her too. Remember that the Prophet (PBUH) would always start with Miswak when returning home and always loved the sweetest smells.

2. Use the best names for your wife. Call your wife by the most beloved names to her, and avoid using names that hurt their feelings.

3. Don’t treat her like a fly. We never think about a fly in our daily lives until it ‘bugs’ us. Similarly, a wife will do well all day – which brings no attention from the husband – until she does something to ‘bug’ him. Don’t treat her like this; recognize all the good that she does and focus on that.

4. If you see wrong from your wife, try being silent and do not comment! This is one of the ways the Prophet (PBUH) used when he would see something inappropriate from his wives (R.A). It’s a technique that few Muslim men have mastered.

5. Smile at your wife whenever you see her and embrace her often. Smiling is Sadaqah and your wife is not exempt from the Muslim Ummah. Imagine life with her constantly seeing you smiling. Remember also those Hadeeth when the Prophet (PBUH) would kiss his wife before leaving for Salah, even when he was fasting.

6. Thank her for all that she does for you. Then thank her again! Take for example a dinner at your house. She makes the food, cleans the home, and a dozen other tasks to prepare. And sometimes the only acknowledgment she receives is that there needed to be more salt in the soup. Don’t let that be; thank her!

7. Ask her to write down the last ten things you did for her that made her happy. Then go and do them again. It may be hard to recognize what gives your wife pleasure. You don’t have to play a guessing game, ask her and work on repeating those times in your life.

8. Don’t belittle her desires. Comfort her. Sometimes the men may look down upon the requests of their wives. The Prophet (PBUH) set the example for us in an incident when Safiyyah (R.A) was crying because, as she said, he had put her on a slow camel. He wiped her tears, comforted her, and brought her the camel.

9. Be humorous and play games with your wife. Look at how the Prophet (PBUH) would race with his wife Aisha (R.A) in the desert. When was the last time we did something like that?
10. Always remember the words of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH): ‘The best of you are those who treat their families the best. And I am the best amongst you to my family.’ Try to be the best!

In conclusion: Never forget to make Dua to Allah Ta’ala to make your marriage successful.
 
Assalamualikum,
jazakallah khair for this amazing information
 
A Thought to Bring Life to Your Prayer
Posted by Hamza Karamali

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

Imam Bukhari narrates that a certain Companion heard a man recite qul huwa allahu ahad repeatedly at night. When morning came, he went to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and told him about what he had heard, deeming slight and paltry the repeated recitation of such a short sura. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said in response, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, it indeed equals a third of the Quran.”

Scholars mention that variegating what one recites in prayer helps increase one’s focus and presence of heart. It takes effort, though, to prevent a recalcitrant nafs from “just getting it over with” by quickly reciting qul huwa allahu ahad for the hundredth time instead of pausing to select another sura.

Intelligent diplomacy will often achieve more than war, and with less effort to boot. If you find an urge to recite qul huwa allahu ahad, use this hadith to bring Allah’s tremendous generosity to your mind, and recite the sura with grateful veneration instead of impatient exasperation, and diplomacy may improve your prayer more than war.
 
New Urdu Channels have been added : Quran Urdu tv, Quran Urdu Tafseer tv 1 & 2 and Learn Arabic Grammar Urdu tv
 

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