Sunday, August 31, 2008

15 things to Earning Rewards from Allah...

1- Avoid Things that Allah has forbidden, including the great sins as well as continually performing the lesser sins, and perform what Allah orders us to perform: The prophet peace be upon him said: "Allah has recorded the good deeds and the evil deeds. Then he made them clear: He who has intended a good deed and does not do it, Allah writes it down with Him as a performed good deed; but if he intends it and does perform it; Allah records for him from ten good deeds to seven hundred times that or more than that. If he intends to do an evil deed and does not do it, then Allah writes it down as a good deed; but if he intends an evil deed and performs it, Allah records it as one evil deed" (Sahih Al-Jami)

2- Reciting the Quran and pondering over it's meanings: The Prophet peace be upon him said, "Whoever recites one word from the Book of Allah will be rewarded for a good deed and ten more like it; and I don't say that Alif Lam Mim is a word but Alif is a word and Lam is a word and Mim is a word" (Alif Lam Mim is 3 Arabic Characters.)

3- Guiding people to righteous deeds: The prophet peace be upon him said, "Whoever guides one to a good thing will get the same reward as the person who performs the deed" (Sahih Al-Jami)

4- Enjoining good and eradicating evil: Allah revealed in the Quran, {Those of the children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to transgress. They restrained not one another from the wickedness they did. Verily, evil was that they used to do} (Al-Maida:78)
This is one of the obligatory duties that many people fail to perform today. Due to this reason, sins are being committed openly and without shame and no one is saying anything about them. The prophet peace be upon him said, "If the people see an evil deed and they do not change it, then Allah may inflict them all with a punishment".
Allah says in the Quran: "And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another, they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong .. "

5- Supplications to Allah: It's the best act of worship as the Prophet peace be upon him said, "The most virtuous act of worship is supplication" (Sahih Al-Jami). It's very important to be certain that Allah will answer your supplication, the Prophet peace be upon him said: "There is no Muslim on this earth who supplicates to Allah except that Allah will give him what he asked or He will remove some evil from him, as long as he does not supplicate for something evil or as long as he does not supplicate for cutting of the ties of kinship and as long as he does not become impatient and say, 'I supplicated and supplicated and I was not responded to'"

6- Marrying religious women: The prophet peace be upon him said, "A woman is married for her religion, wealth or beauty; marry the religious women and you will prosper". He also said, "A thankful heart, a tongue that remembers Allah and a pious wife that helps you in your worldly and religious matters, is better than what the people are amassing" (Sahih Al-Jami)

7- Bringing up pious children and training them to have good Islamic character: The prophet peace be upon him said, "A man will be raised some degrees in Paradise and he will say, 'For what reason am I receiving this ?' He will be told, 'Because of your son asking forgiveness for you'"

8- Having good manners and character: The prophet peace be upon him said, "The most beloved of you to me and the closest of you to me in the Hereafter are those of you who have the best manners; the most hated of you to me and farthest from me in the Hereafter are those of you who have the best manners, those who speak and do not even care about what they are saying" (Sahih Al-Jami), and he also said, "The person of good manners will get the same reward as the person who prays during the night and fasts during the day" (Sahih Al-Jami).

9- Performing many voluntary prayers: This is particularly beneficial during the last third of the night in which the gates of the heavens are opened and the supplications are responded to. The prophet peace be upon him said, "Allah waits until one half or two-thirds of the night has passed and He says, 'My slaves, shall ask from no one except Me. Whoever asks from Me, I shall respond to him. Whoever asks Me for something, I will give it to him. Whoever asks for my forgiveness, I shall forgive him. And this continues until the dawn" (Sahih Al-Jami).
Similarly, performing the Sunnan prayers, is also a way of gaining Allah's pleasure and reward. These Sunnan prayers are two rakats before the dawn obligatory prayer, four before the noon obligatory prayer and four after it, two after the sunset prayer and two after the night prayer and the witr prayer.

10- Being obedient and respectful to one's parents: This is one of the greatest ways to attain Allah's pleasure and reward. Allah mentions worshipping Him together with obeying one's parents. Allah says in the Quran, "Your Lord has decreed that you worship none save Him, and that you show kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain to old age with you, say not 'File' unto them nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word. And lower unto them the wing of submission through mercy and say, 'My Lord, have mercy on them both as they did care for me when I was little'" (Al-Isra)

11- Jihad in the way of Allah: A hadith of the Prophet peace be upon him says, "Being on guard in the way of Allah for one month is better than perpetual fasting for a year. Whoever dies while guarding in the way of Allah will be safe from the great frightening. And he will be provided his provisions, and smell the scent from paradise, and receive the reward of the one who guards until Allah resurrects him" (Sahih Al-Jami)

12- Remembering Allah at all times: The prophet peace be upon him stated that Allah said, "I am as My slave thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself. I make mention of him to Myself and if me makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it." (Al-Bukhari).

13- Speaking the truth and not fearing punishment of anyone: The prophet peace be upon him, "The leader of the martyrs is Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib and a person who faces an unjust ruler and advises him to do good and he is killed because of his speech" (Sahih Al-Jami)

14- Giving charity and spending in the way of Allah: Allah says in the Quran, "Those who spend their wealth by night and day, privately and publicity, verily their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve" (Al-Baqara 274). And Allah also says, "And spend of that which We have provided you before death comes to one of you and he says, 'My Lord if only You would reprieve me for a little while, then I would give alms and be among the righteous.' But Allah reprieves no soul when its term comes, and Allah is aware of what you do" (Al-Munafiqoon).

15- Learning the beneficial knowledge: One should learn that knowledge that will benefit him in the Hereafter and act by it in order to be a good example for others. The authentic knowledge is the one that is based on Quran and Sunnah.

Allah Hu Aalam

May Allah forgive us ...

Fee Aman Allah please keep me in ur duas, verily the angels ask for what you ask for a brother /SIster

Friday, August 29, 2008

....

In the intricate paths of life when difficulties and hardships confront a man, and the darkness of difficulty and suffering becomes long, it is patience only that acts like a light for a Muslim, that keeps him safe from wandering here and there, and saves him from the muddy marsh of disappointment, desperation and frustration

---abu hamid al-Ghazali

Please Forgive me...

Asalaamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu,

This is just a short message asking everyone (friends & family alike) to forgive me for anything I may have done, said or thought of, that might have offended any of you, whether it be intentional or unintentional or in front of or behind your back. Please forgive me. Ramadan is almost here and I would like to start it off with a clean record! And if there's anything you need me to do in order to gain forgiveness, don't hold back, please do let me know. With the Holy Month of Ramadan right around the corner I want to remind us to never to be hopeless... InshAllah ... Lets not forget that we stand infront of the Allah who has said the meaning of which is more or less, Oh my creations do as much sin as you can, fill the oceans the seas, the earth from the ground to the skies ...'If a person has sins equivalent to the foams of the sea and pebbles on a desert, Allah's mercy is so encompassing that He will forgive every sin.' In another narration, it is mentioned that Allah will speak secretly to one of His slaves on the day of Qiyaamat and remind him of all his sins. After the person will confess his sins, Allah will say to him, 'I concealed your faults in the world, today too, I will conceal your faults. Go in Jannah, I have forgiven you.' (and this is amount of sin isn't everyone put together its asking from one person alone) If one person does that much sinning and then after all that he turns to Allah and asks for forgiveness Allah will forgive all his sins as if they never happened... SubhanAllah,... that is the mercy of our Lord... Now which one of us is willing to let this chance go by unnoticed? The doors of Allah's Rehmat are open, it's up to us to knock onto them....Take good care and please keep me in your khaas duas this upcoming sacred month of Ramadan. Remember to make the most of your time! Walaikum assalaam warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu!

Reminder.....

Each morning when the limbs awaken in the spiritual world, they shudder and say to the tongue, “Fear God concerning us! For if you are straight, then we are straight, and if you deviate, we too deviate.”
This is such a strong reminder…our limbs are going to testify for us or against us on the DAY OF JUDGEMENT....

There is an unseen aspect of the heart that contains a seed that has the potential of becoming like a cancer that can metastasize and overtake the heart.
RasulAllah (sws) said: If a son of Adam sins, a black spot appears in the heart. And if the person makes repentance, it is erased. But if he does not (repent), it continues to grow until the whole heart becomes pitch black.
We know we don’t want our hearts to become like this…so why even let it get to that first spot of blackness?

Imam Mawlud emphasizes that its impossible to rid oneself of these diseases without a trace…This implies that purification is a life long process. It is not a passive relationship, one must GUARD his heart.
It is not in human nature for a man to remain stationary in one state or place. If we can imagine ourselves as a little rock on the side of a mountain. The rock can never stay in the same place, it can easily fall backwards but the only way it can move forward is if a strong force is put on it…That force is us avoiding passiveness and attempting to better ourselves for the sake of pleasing Allah SWT.

HERE BEGIN THE DISEASES OF THE HEART…

MISERLINESS (bukhl)
This is comparable to a person who fulfills his obligations without good cheer. A person who doles out difficulty without cause strips away the veils of dignity…
This is soooo true. If we have truly made the intention in our heart to do something for Allah SWT, then HOW can we not be pleased in carrying out the task? We should feel more than glad because we are doing so with the intent of making our Lord pleased with us.
A cure for this is generosity…

WANTONNESS
Wantonness is excessive mirth or excessive exuberance.
“batar”—inability to bear blessings, bewilderment, dislike of something undeserving of dislike, reckless extravagance…
A common belief is that people who eat too much become hard hearted. Literally those who eat rich foods become hard hearted! (Arterial sclerosis—hardening of the arteries).
The cure for ‘wantonness’ is intentionally engaging in hunger and reflecting on death.

HATRED (bughd)
RasulAllah (sws) once asked the companions if they wanted to see a man of Paradise. A man passed by and RasulAllah (sws) pointed him out as being one of the people of Paradise. One companion wanted to learn what deeds gave this man such an honor, he noted that the man did nothing extraordinary. He told the man what the Prophet (sws) had said and the man replied that the only thing he could think of was that he slept with no rancor in his heart towards another.
We are often taught to go through and think about our day when we are about to sleep…ask forgiveness for whatever sins we committed and also go through and forgive whoever may have said or done something to offend us… Think of how much benefit actually putting this into action will bring us…
The cure for hatred is fairly straightforward, pray for the person towards whom you feel hatred.

Something to Ponder Upon...

It is narrated that Allah Ta’ala revealed to Hadhrat Moosa (alayhis salaam): "O Moosa! There are some of My servants, if they ask of Me the entire Jannat, I will give it to them, and if they ask Me anything from this world, I will not give it to them, not because they are contemptible to Me, but because I desire to store up the treasures of bounties for them in the Aakhirah. I save them from the world like a shepherd protects his flock from a wolf." The world, Rasulullah-sallallahu alayhi wasallam- said, is carrion.

Allah always accepts prayers but only He knows where that treasure is best to be given,,,

Please keep me in ur duas