Asalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
Allahu akber! Allahu akber! Allahu akber! Laa Ilaaha Illallah!
Allahu akber! Allahu akber! Wa Lillahil Hamd!
Alhamdolilah, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blessed us to see yet again another Eid.
We here at Ilm Fruits just wanted to send out the warmest Eid greetings to you and your families, whichever day you celebrated on! May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) accept our good deeds and continue to shower us all with His Mercy, ameen!
EID MUBARAK!!!
On the Authority of the Mother of the Faithful, Umm Abdullah Aa’isha (رضي الله عنها) who said:
“The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, ‘Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not from it will have it rejected.’” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Holy Qur’an:
“This day, those disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected you religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
- Al – Ma’idah 5:3
The basic conclusion behind the above stated hadith and ayah is very clear. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has already established everything and there are no additions and deletions necessary to this deen — it has been completed and perfected by Allah, The Creator and Owner of all the worlds. Thus, to introduce anything into this religion is to say the Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and His Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) lied.
Breaking it Down…
Our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) very concisely picks his words when speaking, and such is the thing to notice in the above mentioned hadith. Why did the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) say “this matter of ours” rather than saying “Islam?” The significance is that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) is claiming ownership over this deen for himself and his Ummah. It implies that living out this deen must be in accordance with what The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) established as his sunnah, or else at the end of the day it will bring no value to us as we, “will have it rejected.” You can’t get more straight forward than that; the Qur’an and the Sunnah are inseparable! But unfortunately we do see problems in our day and age. May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) shower His Mercy upon the Ummah and guide us all to The Straight Path.
We cannot go around making up our own ways of worshiping Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). He wants us to come close to Him. He wants us to reach Him, but we can’t go around making up our own rules in doing so when He has given precise directions and guidelines to us. Its like a student going to his highschool guidance councilor and saying, “I’m going to take 1 science credit, 2 English credits, 2 art credits, and 15 gym credits and earn my high school diploma.” The guidance councilor will look at him foolishly and say , “NO! Thats not how it works, if you want to graduate you must follow the rules.”
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an:
“And verily, this is My Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Mutaqun (the pious).”
- Al-An’am 6:153
Think about it. May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) grant us all the ability to take the lessons out of this and establish our lives based purely upon Qur’an and Sunnah.
Do you control your eyes? If so, then stop yourself from blinking. Do you control your heart? If so, then stop yourself from feeling. Do you control your brain? If so, then stop yourself from thinking.
Can’t do it, can you? If we’re not in control then who is?
Who else besides Al-Khaliq, The Creator — Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)
Reality Check … this dunya is not what it percieves to be, so next time we think we got things under control, we should think again, because more than likely we don’t.
There are many times throughout our daily activities that we do things without clarifying the intention to ourselves. We may buy a new car but end up doing it to raise our status in society or for pride. At the same time though, we may buy a car and do it solely for Allah’s cause, and in this there is good.
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an:
“So whomsoever does good equal to the wieght of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.”
- Surah Az-Zalzalah V.7
In an explanation of this ayat it is narrated by Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) and collected in Sahih Bukhari that Allah’s Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said:
“Horses are kept for one of three purposes: A man may keep them (for Allah’s cause to receive a reward in the Hereafter); another may keep them (as a means of his livelihood) protection (from begging others) and a third may keep them (out of pride and to show off) to be a burden for him…”
The hadith in and of itself is quite long, but Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) continues to narrate:
“As for the man for whom the horse is a source of reward, he is the one who keeps it for Allah’s Causes, and he ties it with a long rope in a pasture…whatever it eats or drinks in that pasture…will be added to his good deeds. And if it breaks its rope…for all its footsteps and its manure, good deeds will be written for him. And if it passes by a rive and drinks of its water, though its owner had no intention to water it from that river, even then he will have good deeds written for him. So, the horse will be reward for such a man”
Subhanallah! This goes to show the true Mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and it shows how Gracious and Giving our Lord really is. Can you imagine the reward piling up for such a person who commits to having something and using it for the sake of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? Surely, on the Day of Judgment such a man will be astonished to see the amount of his good deeds.
Continuing the hadith, Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
“…But if a man ties (the horse) out of pride and to show off and to excite others, then that horse will be burden (of sins) for him.” Then Allah’s Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) was asked regarding donkeys. He replied, “Nothing has been revealed to me except this comprehensive verse which includes everything:
“So whomsoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whomsoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall it”
- Surah Az-Zalzalah V.7-8
Can you imagine? Subhanallah, may Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) make us amongst those whose good deeds out-wiegh the evil deeds. May He make us amongst those who are able to make our wealth, our lives, our death, our everything for His sake and His sake only.
Be of those who desire to do everything for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) because He will not disappoint you on The Day it will matter the most
Abu Hurayrah, Abu Qatadah and Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported, Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) stated ” He who saw me in a dream in fact saw me, for Satan can not assume my form.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The hadith clearly states that the Rasool of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) can be seen in a dream, as Satan (may Allah’s curse be upon him) cannot take his form. However, some points which should be noted concerning its meaning are as follows:
Nowadays we come across people who claim that they have seen Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) in a dream. They become so happy then they boast about it, or sometimes boast how religious they are (may Allah protect us from such claims). And even sometimes people claim that Rasoolullah has commanded him/her to do something new in the religion of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
The point to be noted here, is that Satan can take the form of somebody else and can come in one’s dream who is unfamiliar with Rasoolullah’s appearance and claim that he is Allah’s messenger.
Therefore, of the people who claim to see Rasoolullah, and also claim that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) commanded him to do something new CONTRADICTS the basic principle of Islam. Because such a claim implies:
Such claims are absurd, as ISLAM is complete and perfect by the grace of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). And it also shows that the poor chap who claimed so (and so) was successfully misguided by Satan. May Allah save us form such traps of Satan, ameen.
Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. The Fundamentals of Tawheed. 2nd ed. Riyadh: IIPH, 2005. 166-168.
To continue our series of ways to purify our salaah, a very important aspect is to take some time and to actually reflect and think about the ayaat being recited.
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an:
(This is) a Book (the Qur’an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.”
- Surah Saad 38:29
Now the word ponder has strong implications in this translation of the verse quoted above. The reason for that is because for one to ponder over the verses of the Qur’an, as a prerequisite he/she must have ilm of the meaning of what he/she is reciting. Looking at that, we realize that to be able to ponder upon the verses of the Holy Qur’an we must take the initiatve to gain ilm of the verses through various channels: learning the Arabic language, tafseer of the verses, the translation of the verses, seerah of our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), and more.
Another way to really help in the thinking process is to repeat the ayah being recited. By repeating a certain ayah, you will be able to really think deeply about the words of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and you will begin to feel that connection within your heart. This was a practice of our Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) as it is reported that he spent an entire night repeating the following ayat until the morning (reported by Ibn Khuzaymah 1/271, Ahmad 5/149, Sheikh Alabani’s Sifat al-Salaah):
“If you punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are Al-Aziz, Al-Hakim (the All-Mighty, the All-Wise).”
- Surah al-Maa’idah 5:118
Another way to get your thinking caps rolling and to get those eyes shedding with tears is to interact with the ayat being recited.
It is reported by Muslim (#772) that Hudayfah (رضي الله عنه) said:
“I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) one night … he was reciting at length. If he recited an ayah that mentioned tasbeeh, he would say subhanallah; if it mentioned a question, he would ask a question; if it mentioned seeking refuge with Allah, he would seek refuge with Allah.”
Surely these actions are amongst the greatest means of increasing ones khushoo in salaah as our Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:
“And they fall down on their faces weeping and it adds to their humility [khushoo’]“
- Surah al-Isra’ 17:109
O Allah! Giver of Peace, grant us slaves of yours the highest level of khushoo and help this ummah attain the highest levels of Jannah. O Allah! Bring victory to this ummah, and let the believers who firmly testify in La Illaha Illallah attain Your Blessings and Your Love in this life and in the hereafter.
Lets all work together to build a relationship with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and a perfect way to begin is with Salaah.
“Be not like those who forgot Allah, as a result Allah caused them to forget themselves, it is they who are the transgressors”
- Surah Hashr V.19
A very powerful ayah in the Qur’an, very powerful indeed for those who ponder and reflect upon the words of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). This one ayah speaks to many amongst our ummah in this day and age at the same time shows us the results of their doings.
The one question I ask all of you reading this, is this not the situation the world is in right now? Do we not see this ayah evident throughout the ummah? Do we not see those students who are so crammed in their books that they forget to nurture their souls with true remembrance of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? Do we not see those parents who are so worried about money and wealth that they have taken their jobs to be greater than the remembrance of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? This list goes on and on and unfortunately it is the state of our ummah and it is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) at work; they forgot Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) so He caused them to forget themselves and their own souls. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has made these people so busy within the useless aspects of this duniya that they are oblivious of the damage that they are doing to themselves.
You can remind these people over and over again, but Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has made them blind to the reality of the world and has made them ultimately forget themselves. So how do you remind someone of something that he/she doesn’t know he/she has forgotten? This is something to ponder about.
Ask yourself, look through your life, and you will surely notice that if there was any point that you forgot Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) — by neglecting His commands — you were caused to forget yourself. You decided to intentionally miss the obligatory salaah once, and then again, and again, and ultimately over time not only did you miss your salaah but you started committing sins. Then over some more time, instead of the words of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) on your tongue the words of the kuffar took over. At this point, you’ve forgotten Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and He has surely caused you to forget yourself by letting you harm yourself and your soul by doing such sins.
When in this condition only du’a can bring us back. Pleading to our Lord, pleading to Ar-Rahman for forgiveness and guidance inshallah ta’ala.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) keep us all on the Straight Path, may He NEVER let us forget Him and may He grant us with the blessing of keeping our hearts and tongues in remembrance of Him, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
Bismillah Ir-Rahmaan Ir-Raheem
Many years ago, during the time of the Tabi’een (the generation of Muslims after the Sahaba), Baghdad was a great city of Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire and, because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the center of Islamic knowledge.
One day, the ruler of Rome at the time sent an envoy to Baghdad with three challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger reached the city, he informed the khalifah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to answer.
The khalifah gathered together all the scholars of the city and the Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said, “I have come with three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I have brought from the king of Rome.” As for the questions, they were: “What was there before Allah?” “In which direction does Allah face?” “What is Allah engaged in at this moment?”
The great assembly of people were silent. (Can you think of answers to these questions?) In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam was a man looking on with his young son. “O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!” said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the khalifah to give the answers and he was given the permission to do so.
The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question, “What was there before Allah?”
The boy asked, “Do you know how to count?”
“Yes,” said the man.
“Then count down from ten!” So the Roman counted down, “ten, nine, eight, …” until he reached “one” and he stopped counting
“But what comes before ‘one’?” asked the boy.
“There is nothing before one–that is it!” said the man.
“Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic ‘one’, then how do you expect that there should be anything before the ‘One’ who is Absolute Truth, All-Eternal, Everlasting the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?”
Now the man was surprised by this direct answer which he could not dispute. So he asked, “Then tell me, in which direction is Allah facing?”
“Bring a candle and light it,” said the boy, “and tell me in which direction the flame is facing.”
“But the flame is just light–it spreads in each of the four directions, north, south, east and west. It does not face any one direction only,” said the man in wonderment.
The boy cried, “Then if this physical light spreads in all four directions such that you cannot tell me which way it faces, then what do you expect of the Nur-us-Samawati-wal-’Ard: Allah – the Light of the Heavens and the Earth! Light upon Light, Allah faces all directions at all times.”
The Roman was stupified and astounded that here was a young child answering his challenges in such a way that he could not argue against the proofs. So, he desperately wanted to try his final question. But before doing so, the boy said,
“Wait! You are the one who is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the answer to these challenges. It is only fair that you should come down to where I am standing and that I should go up where you are right now, in order that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions.”
This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down from where he was standing and the boy ascended the platform. Then the man repeated his final challenge, “Tell me, what is Allah doing at this moment?”
The boy proudly answered, “At this moment, when Allah found upon this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the Oneness of Allah, He raised him up and established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal) power (Surah 55 ar-Rahman, Verse 29).”
The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated. Meanwhile, this young boy grew up to become one of the most famous scholars of Islam. Allah, the Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom and knowledge of the deen. His name was Abu Hanifah (rahmatullah ‘alayhi-may Allah have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imam-e-A’dham, the Great Imam and scholar of Islam.
[Adapted into English from "Manaqib Abi Hanifah", written by Imam Muwaffaq Ibn Ahmad al-Makki (d. 568 Hijri). Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabiy, Beirut, 1981/1401H.]
Once, a women came to Abu Hanifa (رحمالله) to sell a silk garment. Abu Hanifa asked ” How much is it?” She replied, “one hundred.” He said, “It is worth more than a hundred. How much?”
So the woman increased the price by hundred, and again, and when it reached four hundred, Abu Hanifa said, “It should be more than that.” The woman said, ” you are mocking me.”
So, Abu Hanifa said, “bring a man to value it.” She brought a man, and he valued it at five hundred.
It shows the heedfulness of Imam Abu Hanifa in buying in trade: where one can easily deceive the selling party, he played a role to the advantage of the woman.
In another incident, a woman came to buy garment from Imam Abu Hanifa (رحمالله) and stated, “I am weak and I put myself in your hands. Sell me this garment for what it costs you.”
Abu Hanifa replied, “take it for four dirhams.” She retorted, “do not mock me. I am an old woman.”
Then Abu Hanifa said, “I bought two garments, and sold one of them for the cost of both, less four dirhams. This garment is then worth four dirhams.”
It shows another quality of Imam Abu Hanifa, he would sometimes forgo profit if the buyer was weak.
And thus it shows the quality of a TRUE tradesman, one in purchasing, the other in selling. And it also proves that scholars are the ones who TRULY fear Allah.
Abu Zahra, Muhammad. The Four Imams. Aligarh: Millat Book Centre. 135.
How do we attain money, power, and respect?
The path is easy, you follow the way of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and the commands of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), then inshallah you will attain the money, the power, and the respect. Now it is up to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) whether He blesses you with such things. However, with sincerity in your actions, the chances are high.
The overlying goal is to keep Islam in your heart; thrive for it, live to please Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), do all your actions in accordance to the sunnah, and follow the commands of The Al-Mighty, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Do not keep these dreams and aspirations in your heart, because surely this is a disease and a footstep towards Shaytan. You may get the wealth and maybe even the power, but the true respect will be lacking, as only Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has the ability to grant someone with respect.
Live in this life with the Duniya in your hands and Islam in your hearts.
Let’s look at our examples, let’s look at people such as Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه), Umar Ibn al-Khattab(رضي الله عنه), Uthman bin Affan (رضي الله عنه), Ali (رضي الله عنه): These people kept the duniya in their hands, and surely kept Islam in their hearts. It was these people who strived to do all they could fi sabillillah (for the sake of Allah), and they definately got their reward, they definately got that respect. Look at how Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) raised to status of the beloved khulafa, alhamdolilah! To this date, and to the end of time, these people will be looked at with great dignity, with great honour, with much love by the ummah and only because they sought respect from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and no one else.
Know, that if you seek respect, it will only come from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). How many before us have come and gone, but how many of them have truly been dignified and respected to the point that they are still remembered with high rankings?
