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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Real tears are not those that fall from the eyes and cover the face,
but those that fall from the heart and cover the soul...
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
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How to Erase Our Sins
Following is a compilation of Ahadîth that speaks of ways in which we can erase our sins, InshaAllâh!
Repenting
| A servant [of Allâh's] committed a sin and said: O Allâh, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you. [Hadîth Qudsi] |
| O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. [Hadîth Qudsi] |
Abû Bakr radhiAllâhu `anhu reported:
| "I heard the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam saying: 'Allâh forgives the man who commits a sin (then feels ashamed), purifies himself, offers a prayer and seeks His forgiveness.' Then he recited the 'ayyah: 'And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allâh and implore forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allâh? - and will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did. The reward of such will be forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever- a bountiful reward for workers."' [al-'lmrân: 135-136]. [Abû Dawûd, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, al-Baihaqi, and at-Tirmidhî who calls it hasan.] |
Performing Wudhû
Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:
| When a bondsman - a Muslim or a believer - washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water ; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water, with the result that he comes out pure from all sins. [Sahîh Muslim] |
Narrated Uthmân ibn AffânradhiAllâhu `anhu:
| The Messenger of Allâh sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said: He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails. [Sahîh Muslim] |
Performing Prayer
Narrated Uthmân ibn Affân radhiAllâhu `anhu: "I heard Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam say:
| When the time for a prescribed prayer comes, if any Muslim performs ablution well and offers his prayer) with humility and bowing, it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this applies to for all times. [Sahîh Muslim] |
Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: "Allâh's Apostle said,
| "The congregational prayer of anyone amongst you is more than twenty (five or twenty seven) times in reward than his prayer in the market or in his house, for if he performs ablution completely and then goes to the mosque with the sole intention of performing the prayer, and nothing urges him to proceed to the mosque except the prayer, then, on every step which he takes towards the mosque, he will be raised one degree or one of his sins will be forgiven. The angels will keep on asking Allâh's forgiveness and blessings for everyone of you so long as he keeps sitting at his praying place. The angels will say, 'O Allâh, bless him! O Allâh, be merciful to him!' as long as he does not do Hadath or a thing which gives trouble to the other." The Prophet further said, "One is regarded in prayer so long as one is waiting for the prayer." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu:
| "The Messenger of Allâh sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said: He who purified himself in his house, and then he walked to one of the houses of Allâh for the sake of performing a fard (obligatory act) out of the Fara'id (obligatory acts) of Allâh, both his steps (would be significant) as one of them would obliterate his sin and the second one would raise his status. [Sahîh Muslim] |
Attending the Jumu'ah Salâh
Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Messenger of Allâh sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:
| Five prayers and from one Friday prayer to (the next) Friday prayer is an expiation (of the sins committed in between their intervals) if major sins are not committed. [Sahîh Muslim] |
Narrated by Salman Al Farsi radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "Whoever takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds (for the Jumua prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together (in the mosque), then prays as much as (Allâh has) written for him and then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the Khutba, his sins in-between the present and the last Friday would be forgiven." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Doing good deeds
Narrated Ibn Masud radhiAllâhu `anhu: A man kissed a woman and then came to Allâh's Apostle and told him of that, so this Divine Inspiration was revealed to the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam:
| "And offer Prayers perfectly at the two ends of the day, and in some hours of the night; (i.e. (five) compulsory prayers). Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (small sins). That is a reminder for the mindful." (Qur'aan : 11.114) The man said, Is this instruction for me only?" The Prophet said, "It is for all those of my followers who encounter a similar situation." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Performing Umrah and Hajj
Narrated by Abû Huraira : The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "Whoever performs Hajj for Allâh's pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radhiAllâhu `anhu narrated that the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:
| "Alternate between Hajj and 'Umrah (regularly), for these two remove poverty and sins just as the blacksmith's bellows removes all impurities from metals like iron, gold and silver. The reward for Hajj Mabrur is nothing short of Paradise." [Nasa'i and Tirmidhi, who regards it a sound hadîth ] |
Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "(The performance of) 'Umra is an expiation for the sins committed (between it and the previous one). And the reward of Hajj Mabrur (the one accepted by Allâh) is nothing except Paradise." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Saying 'آmîn'
Narrated by Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "When the Imâm says 'Aamîn', then you should all say ‘Aamîn’, for the angels say ‘آmîn’ at that time, and he whose ‘آmîn’ coincides with the ‘آmîn’ of the angels, all his past sins will be forgiven." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Fasting and performing prayers in the night of Qadr in Ramadân
Narrated by Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadân out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allâh, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allâh, then all his previous sins will be forgiven ." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Sending salutations
Abû Talha Al Ansari radhiAllâhu `anhu said, "The Prophet, sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam, woke up one day cheerful and beaming. His companions exclaimed, 'O Prophet of Allâh, you woke up today cheerful and beaming.' He replied,
| 'Yes! A messenger of Allâh, the Mighty and the Glorified, came to me and said, "If anyone from your ummah sends you a salutation, Allâh will record for him ten good deeds, wipe off ten of his sins, and raise him thereby ten degrees in rank, and He will return his salutation with a similar salutation".' [Ahmad] Ibn Kathîr considers this a sound hadîth ] |
Being kind to animals
Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, 'This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allâh thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him." The people asked, "O Allâh's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?" He replied, "Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "A prostitute was forgiven by Allâh, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allâh forgave her because of that." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Leaving grey hair
Amr ibn Shu'aib related on the authority of his father from his grandfather that the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "Do not pluck the grey hairs as they are a Muslim's light. Never a Muslim grows grey in Islam except that Allâh writes for him, due to that, a good deed. And he raises him a degree. And he erases for him, due to that, one of his sins." [Related by Ahmad, Abû Dawûd, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah] And Anas said, "We used to hate that a man should pluck out his white hairs from his head or beard." [Sahîh Muslim] |
Some simple supplications through which we can erase our sins, Insha'Allâh!
Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle said,
| "Whoever says, 'Subhan Allâh wa bihamdihi,' one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,
| "Whoever says: 'La ilaha illal-lah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahu-l-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli shai'in qadir,' one hundred times will get the same reward as given for manumitting ten slaves; and one hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and it (his saying) will be a shield for him from Satan on that day till night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than he." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari] |
Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:
| If anyone extols Allâh after every prayer thirty-three times [SubhanAllâh], and praises Allâh thirty-three times [Alhamdulillah], and declares His Greatness thirty-three times [Allâh hu Akbar], ninety-nine times in all, and say to complete a hundred: "There is no god but Allâh, having no partner with Him, to Him belongs sovereignty and to Him to praise due, and He is Potent over everything," his sins will be forgiven even if these are as Abûndant as the foam of the sea. [Sahîh Muslim] |
Abû Hurairah radhiAllâhu `anhu reported that the Prophet, sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam, said,
| "If anyone sits in an assembly where there is much clamor and says before getting up to leave, "Subhanaka Allâhumma wa bihamdika, ashadu an-la illaha illa-anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka" (Glory be to You, O Allâh, and I begin with declaring all praise is due to You, I testify that there is no god but You; I ask Your pardon and turn to You in repentance), he will be forgiven any sin that he might have committed while in that assembly. [Tirmidhi and Al-Baihaqi, (Kitab ad-D'wat Al-kabir)] |
Mu'adh b. Anas radhiAllâhu `anhu reported that the Prophet, sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam, said,
| "If anyone wears a new garment and says, "Alhamdu lillahillazi kasaabi hazaa wa razakabehi min ghairi hawlin minna walaa kuwwata" 'All praise be to Allâh, Who clothed me with this garment and provided it for me, with no power or strength from myself' Allâh will forgive all his previous sins." [Abû Dawûd, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah] |
How Good Should You Be To Your Parents?
Among the verses which we hear the most in our sermons, seminars and
personal advices is " Be good to your parents" Can goodness be
measured? Can you take a stock of your goodness? NO ! But can Allah
take stock of my goodess? Yes. If you study the verses related to the
the rights of parents you will come across many injuctions that gives
us a good parameter to atleast analyse how good we are to our parents,
rather how bad we are to them.
In Surha Baqarah verse
83, Allah says : We taook a promise from the Bani Israel that they will
not worship any one besides Allah and will be kind to their parents...
The arabic phrase is : Wabil Walidayn ihasana...Ihsan in Urdu means to
oblige someone. But in Arabic it means : To offer the best. The root
word "Ha Seen Noon" has another word " Husna" which means "To beautify".
Now if study the phrase again, we read it " and "Beautify your conduct
towards your parents" How does one beautify his conduct. or offer a
best conduct?
Ihsan also means better response for
good , good for evil and it reflects in speech and action. In speech,
the Qur'an gives and example inn Surah Nisaa..And when a courtesou
greeting is offered to your respond it with better.. the Arabic phrase
for better response is..with ahsan...Ahsan is a superlative degree of
good.. and the Hadith explains this verse : when some body says
Assalamualaikum.. you reply him : walaykumussalam warahamtullah
wabarakatuhu... Rahmatullahi and Barakatuhu are better reponse...
So how can we do ihsan with parents in speech? Surah Isra , verse 23
says : Waqullahuma qaulan Kareema.. and talk to them in an honourable
manner. ..Dont' instruct them but request them. Respond them politey.
Correct them respectfully. This is what the Qur'an instructs us when it
says: do not say even "UFF" to them. Even a harsh father of Prophet
Ibrahim was responded by his son by the term " Yaa Abaati " O my dear
father ". This ihsan was towards a father who is one of the biggest
obstacle in his passion of Touhid. Compare this with our corrections of
our parents who are regular in salah and nice people!
Even body language is a form of communication, isnt it? Looking
harshly at parents can give you negative grades. Aisha r.a.a said : A
man looking harshly at his father is not a man of rightous conduct ( In
spite of his being a regular in the masjid, giving charity....) Ibn
Abbas said : Ihsan towards parents also include, not to shake one's
clothes before them so as to prevent the dust from our clothers fall on
them !
Allah loves kindness to parents says a popular
Hadith from Bukhari. But many of us exclude spending on parents . Let us
check from the Qur'an : They ask you what should spend? Say : What
ever you spend is good.. on parents.. So spending on parents is an act
that qualifies you to stand in the ranks of those who do Ihasan with
parents. A father has right to spend the money of his son. This is an
Islamic ruling with no second opinion. Today we run out of our money in
buying expensive gadgets for our wives and kids, while our parents run
short of money for their medicines. Let me whisper one more thing..
wasting your parent's money is also a bad conduct towards them.
Inspite of doing all these things have we really thanked our parents ?
No not possible. Refer to Surha Luqman, verse 14 : In travail upon
travail did his mother bear him.... means when we wereint he womb of our
mothers she carried us with utmost care....and two years of weaning,
says the verse..Can we carry our mother continuosly for 24 hours day and
night? No. Then how do we thank her? Since we are not able to return
their obligation with Ihsan, with better conduct then they did to us,
so we continue doing best to them and yet leave the matter to Allah to
reward them...Note this Qur'anic verse : (Pray for them ) My Lord
! Bestow on them your mercy as they cherished me in childhood...
Author : Nisaar Nadiadwala
BEWARE OF Shaytan's work (Beautifying Falsehood-Satan's mission)
And whosoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (i.e. this Qur'aan and worship of Allah), We appoint for him Shaytan to be a Qareen (an intimate companion) to him. And verily, they (Shayateen) hinder them from the Path (of Allah), but they think that they are guided aright!'[Qur'an (43): 36-37]
This verse determines the task of Qareen;
a) Hindering from the path of Allah,
b) and confusing the person into believing that he is upon the truth.
Hindrance from the path of Allah cannot be done except by beautifying falsehood and making it look good in one's eyes. Not letting one realize that the Sharee'ah of Allah is being opposed. Man spends his whole life with this waswasa until he recognizes the truth but it is too late!! On that day, he will complain and,
'he says (to his Qareen), 'Would that between me and you were the distance of the two easts (or the east and west)' a worst (type of) companion (indeed)!'[Soorah az-Zukhruf (43): 36-37]
Imam Ibnul-Qayyim said in this context, 'One of his (Shaytan) plots is that he always bewitches people's mind until they are deceived. No one is saved from his sorcery except those whom Allah Wills. He makes attractive to the mind that which will harm it, until a person thinks of something as most beneficial, and he (Shaytan) discourages him from that which is the most beneficial, until he thinks that it will harm him. La ilaaha illAllah, how may people have been tempted by this sorcery!' [Quoted from, �Aalam al-Jinn was-Shayateen by Umar S. Al-Ashqar]
Shaytan made the idea of eating from the forbidden tree appear attractive to Adam by giving it a beautiful and attractive name. He kept claiming to Adam that the forbidden tree was 'the tree of eternal life,' and that eating from it would make him live forever in Paradise, or would make him one of the angels
Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals.
[(7):20] until Adam obeyed Shaytan, and was subsequently expelled from Paradise.
Shaytan may beautify a sinful action between a man and woman
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, 'Men are not tempted by anything more than women.' [Agreed upon] For this reason, women are commanded to cover their bodies and men are commanded to lower their gaze. He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) forbade being alone with a non-mahram woman and said that no man is ever alone with a non-mahram woman but Shaytan is the third one. This is because Shaytan may beautify a sinful action for them and thus, we must try to subdue Shaytan and drive away his deception and act in accordance with the guidelines of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), who said, 'The woman comes in the form of a Shaytan and goes in the form of the Shaytan. So if one of you sees a woman that pleases him, he should go to his family and that will get rid of what is in him.' [Saheeh Muslim]
The Qur'aan relates a number of examples of how Shaytan beautifies falsehood and Kufr for his enemies and they go along what he intends for them, like Saba and her kingdom. The hoopee bird informed Suleiman (alaihis-salaam) about their condition,
'I found her and her people worshiping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaytan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and has barred them from (Allah's) Way, so they have no guidance,'
[Soorah an-Naml (27): 24]
This trick of Shaytan is very dangerous, because if falsehood is made to appear attractive to a person, how would he strive towards achieving the good and repelling the evil?
Allah says in the Qur'aan about Thamud, the people of Salih (alaihis-salaam),
'And We have assigned them (Shayateen) intimate companions (in this world), who have made fair-seeming to them, what was before them (from the Hereafter that there is no resurrection, Paradise or Hell) and what was behind them (he beautified for them that the world was very old, and there was no Creator except nature).'[(41): 25] [See, Tafseer al-Kabeer of Rajhi 27/103]
And this beautification of the world leads to turning away from the Deen and mocking at the believers,'Beautified is the life of this world for those who disbelieve, and they mock at those who believe.'((2): 212]
SubhanAllah, is this not what we witness today from the Darwinists.
The people of Thamud were, in fact, the most famous people for their intelligence, and Shaytan approached them through this door and enticed them, so they became stubborn and argued and were destroyed,
'And Ad and Thamud (people)! And indeed (their destruction) is clearly apparent to you from their (ruined) dwellings. Shaytan made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and turned them away from the (Right) Path, though they were intelligent.'[(29): 38]
How many intelligent people have been fooled by Shaytan today, and from their false thoughts are communism, secularism and feminism!! This is because Shaytan has beautified the falsehood for them.
This has been the way of Shaytan with every nation as Allah says,
'By Allah, We indeed sent (Messengers) to the nations before you (O Muhammad), but Shaytan made their deeds fair-seeming to them. So he (Shaytan) is their Wali (helper) today (i.e. in this world), and theirs will be a painful torment.'
Imam Ibn Katheer writes in the Tafseer of this verse, 'He sent Messengers to the nations of the past, and they were rejected. You, O Muhammad, have an example in your brothers among the Messengers, so do not be distressed by your people's rejection. As for the idolater's rejection of the Messengers, the reason for this is that the Shaytan made their deeds attractive to them.'
So he (Shaytan) is their Wali (helper) today,
' meaning they will be suffering punishment while Shaytan is their only helper, and he cannot save them, so they have no one to answer their calls for help, and theirs is a painful punishment.'[ (16): 63]
With this trick, Shaytan befools mankind into deceiving their own selves and making the prohibitions of Allah lawful for themselves. An interesting story is mentioned in the Qur'aan about the people of Sabbath among the Jews, whom Allah forbade to fish on Saturday (Sabbath) as a trial for them.
And ask them (O Muhammad) about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath. Thus We made a trial of them for they used to rebel.'
[Soorah al-A'raf (7): 163]
So, 'They began using deceitful means to avoid honoring the Sabbath by placing nets, ropes and artificial pools of water for the purpose of fishing before the Sabbath (i.e., on Friday). When the fish came in abundance on Saturday as usual, they were caught in the ropes and nets for the rest of Saturday. During the night, the Jews collected the fish after the Sabbath ended. When they did that, Allah changed them from humans into monkeys, the animals having the form closest to humans. Their evil deeds and deceit appeared lawful on the surface, but they were in reality wicked. This is why their punishment was compatible with their crime. Imam Abu Abdullah bin Battah reported that Abu Hurayrah (radhi allahu anhu) said that the Messenger of Allah said, 'Do not commit what the Jews committed, breaching what Allah has forbidden, by resorting to the lowest types of deceit.' [See, Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
Imam Ibnul-Qayyim writes, 'From him (Shaytan), his followers learned the method of calling haraam things by names which people find attractive. So they called wine - the mother of joy, and they called intoxicants - morsels of delight, and they called Riba (usury) business dealing' (end quote from Wabil as-Sayyib). Similarly, today singing, dancing, acting, making statues are all called, 'art!' But with such devious behavior man can only fool himself and none can deceive Allah, the All-Wise.
Shaytan corrupts people's heart and souls through singing and music
Imam Ibnul-Qayyim (rahimahullah) writes in Igaathat al-Lahfaan (1/242), 'Among the plots and traps of the enemy of Allah, with which he seeks to trap those who posses little knowledge, reasoning and religious commitment and trap the ignorant is the listening to whistling and clapping of hands and singing accompanied by forbidden musical instruments, which closes people's hearts to the Qur'aan and makes them devoted to immorality and sin. This is the 'Qur'an' of the Shaytan, an impenetrable barrier which blocks them from the Most Merciful. This is the means that leads to sodomy and fornication, by means of which the Shaytan ensnares the hearts of those who follow falsehood and makes it appear attractive to them by way of deceit and trickery. He inspires them by means of specious arguments to regard it as something good, so they accept this idea and for the sake of argument to regard it as something good, so they accept this idea and for the sake of singing they forsake the Qur'aan.
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