Wise to Share

  Pray. Keep praying. Never give up prayer. Never stop asking Allah. Prayer is the strength at the time of hardship. Prayer is the solace at the time of loss. Prayer is the sweetness at the time of blessings. Allah has many attributes that we understand only when we seek knowledge about them. Allah is the Giver, He is the Sustainer and the Provider. He is the One Who Protects and Guides. He is the Watchful and the All Seeing and Knowing. He is free from all kinds of imperfections like the need, dependency and weakness. Unlike His Creations He is free from all wants and needs and nobody can dictate or dominate Him. When we ask Him we should have all these great attributes and more of Allah the Almighty in mind. We are asking the One Who is not in need of anyone. Who is the Master, the Originator, the Planner and the Disposer of all affairs of the whole Universe that we know and that we do not know due to our limited knowledge. Prayer gives us strength because it helps us build a dir...

Bismillahir Rehmanir Raheem Who spend [in the cause of Allah ] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good; Surat 'Āli `Imrān (Family of Imran) - سورة آل عمران 134 My husband tells me that life comes in phases. We learn that life is a test and we all are being tested with different things. This is the teaching from the Book about which there is no doubt, the Noble Quran. It also tells us that we must run toward good deeds. Every good deed matters. One missed opportunity haunts you for the rest of your life but it also teaches you a good lesson! It was one of those chilly December nights. I was comfortable and cosy in my new red quilt. My mother got it stitched for me as each year it was getting colder. That night, as I was about to fall sleep, I heard someone shivering and moaning on the street which was right below the first floor balcony of our flat. That balcony was attached to my room.  I could not get my ears of...

How a courageous believer in Pharaoh's time addressed his nation:

Here's a true story of the tribe of Saba from the Noble Quran, mentioned in Chapter named Saba, signs 15-19:  There was for [the tribe of] Saba' in their dwelling place a sign: two [fields of] gardens on the right and on the left. [They were told], "Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord." But they turned away [refusing], so We sent upon them the flood of the dam, and We replaced their two [fields of] gardens with gardens of bitter fruit, tamarisks and something of sparse lote trees. [By] that We repaid them because they disbelieved. And do We [thus] repay except the ungrateful? And We placed between them and the cities which We had blessed [many] visible cities. And We determined between them the [distances of] journey, [saying], "Travel between them by night or day in safety." But [insolently] they said, "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys," and wronged themselve...

The questions coming to the mind of any thinking individual mostly revolve around the origin of his existence, his being in this world and his death.  Where have I come from?  Who created me?  Why am I here on this earth?  What will happen to me after death? Any rational person can make out that this whole creation is not without any plan or purpose. But most of the time he is unable to direct his thoughts to the correct source. Just as we are created beings and we can not control our births or deaths, in the same way we can not select or choose just anything to help us lead our life on this earth. The Creator has created us and has not left us unguided.  Our souls belong to the Creator so they need guidance divine;  guidance that is pure, unadulterated, unchanged and completely trustworthy,  guidance which is for the whole of mankind from the first to the last person on the face of this earth, guidance that can claim that it is intact from the time it...

Thanks to Saima Faisal, an amazing blogger, for giving a review of this book! Do visit her blog for fabulous and practically useful blogs!  Islam is a complete way of life; it indicates to us the entire and proper system of our every day lives and we Muslims know that following each and every of its principles and obligations will lead us to a successful life in this world and an even brighter one in the Akhirah!  Author Shumaysa Faruqi has, in this book, Every Day Islam, talked about how exactly we can inculcate an Islamic lifestyle and has narrated numerous Hadith and Verses related to every day activities such as waking up, going out, going to bed and so on. The book is a gem; for surely it contains a vast collection of Dua’as and short incidents as they occurred in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). These incidents guide us to what exactly must be done if we were to encounter a similar situation. http://www.randombytesfromlife.com/book-review-everyday-islam-by-shumay...

  In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful It is a great Blessing and Grace of Allah sub'hanahu wa ta'aala that we completed the Obligatory Hajj in the year 2010 (1431 Hijri). My husband and I could perform the Hajj with all its rituals properly only with the help of Allah. On the eve of 7th Dhul Hijjah 1431 which is 13th November 2010 we set our for Mina after Isha by bus. We were in Ihram and saying Talbiah when we started out from our home. We were doing Hajj al Ifrad in which the sacrificial animal is not necessary and one can directly wear the Ihram clothes for Hajj. We had to go directly to Mina and perform the five obligatory prayers. Our bus crossed the check point and headed towards Mina. We could see a lot of Hajis going toward Mina on foot from Jeddah. I could not believe that Allah had called me for this Great act of Hajj...I felt that a sinful and disobedient servant of Allah like me was given a chance to purify myself through this great d...

It is indeed very important to establish a balance in one’s daily life regarding one’s faith and world. Get involved in both but in moderation. Not to neglect the faith for one’s worldly affairs and vice-versa. It was narrated by Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (SAWS)  said, “Be moderate and adhere to moderation, for there is no one among you who will be saved by his deeds.” They said. “Not even you O’ Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Not even me, unless Allah encompasses me with Mercy and Grace from Him.” http://sunnah.com/urn/1293030 Most of us start too many projects at a time and then end up completing none. Some of us have high spirits at the beginning and then the spirit dies out or fades away with the passage of time. In the end we are unable to achieve anything. Many of us plan things, think of doing many good deeds and set up many great targets but what happens? Eventually we see ourselves at the same point and we have not improved upon anything or achieve...

لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّـهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ ۗ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّـهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا  فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَالٍ  For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah. Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron. Everything good and bad that we encounter in our lives is decreed to happen but those who understand the Message of Allah can comprehend the wisdom behind the trials and tests of life to an extent. For example, those who argue about the issue of destiny do not take any pain to understand that ultimately everything is in the Hands of Allah and one can never get hopeless if he has fa...

These days, on a daily basis, we witness disturbing and heart breaking news of violence and oppression, injustice and intolerance against people. The people who are mostly the victims of this injustice are Muslims and others who belong to the weaker sections of society. As human beings we should raise our voice against this hatred and intolerance now becoming prevalent in the country. Not only should we raise our voice but we should also do every possible thing to stop this. We as Muslims have a greater responsibility toward these weak and helpless people. Our religion teaches us to help the oppressed and the oppressor.  Narrated Anas, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):  Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ...

Ustaza Dr Farhat Hashmi's Jeddah Session-5th of June 2019  الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ ﴿٧﴾رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدْتَهُمْ وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٨﴾ وَقِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ وَمَنْ تَقِ السَّيِّئَاتِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمْتَهُ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿٩﴾ Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those around it exalt [ Allah ] with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], "Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire. Our Lo...

Yesterday I was invited at a friend’s place to a dars (a talk that involves remembering Allah and giving good advice to the audience). Her mother had passed away a few days back and this gathering would serve as a condolence meet as well. There were many ladies present. Some of the ladies who are teachers at different Islamic institutes in Jeddah gave very inspiring talks. One lady shared her personal story of her mother’s last days with her. The host  Shahjahan’s daughter Ayesha recited Chapter 84 Al Inshiqaq from The Noble Quran. The ladies had gathered with the intention of remembering Allah, taking time to remember the destroyer of all pleasures; death, and to pay condolences to the host on her mother’s demise. One of the teachers started her talk by reminding us that we all should have Taqwa (consciousness) of Allah and should focus more on preparing for the Hereafter. Then she related a very interesting story from Israelite traditions in which the moral was to be content...