September 26, 2011

A masjid close to my heart

Whenever I go to the masjid at road no# 7, i feel so amazing! Al hamdulillaah! Every time I go there I just want to keep on praying subhan Allaah and the best thing is when you go there you don't feel bored or fatigued but rather you feel this energy inside of you each time you stand for prayer subhan Allaah.

The environment of the masjid is just awesome, it's just so green around the masjid complex. And if you could just feel the cool breeze that blows all the time around the clock, it's almost as if Allaah welcomes His slaves to His house in a unique way by turning on this natural air conditioner subhan Allaah!

I found comfort and tranquility when I was praying in the balcony of the masjid today, i was able to let go of this world and focus on something way beyond a transitory existence! It was a surreal feeling!

Yes, i was very upset today as I was missing Raiiq, my brother in Islam who flew to the UK this morning to study medicine ma sha Allaah. And going to that particular place reminded me of him and just for a moment I found it hard to believe that he wasn't around.

Yes brother, we don't know the future and we don't know whats there in store for us. Hence I don't know whether I will be alive the next time you come to Bangladesh or not.

I apologize to you if I ever have hurt your feelings. Please do forgive me and keep me in your prayers in sha Allaah.

September 02, 2011

Tafsir Surat al Fajr- based on a lecture by Br. Nouman Ali Khan Part4

Assalamualaykum folks! I'm back after a long break, couldn't post earlier for some unavoidable reasons. Now insh A Allaah I'd try to speed up a bit and finish it off really quickly. So without further ado let us start with our next ayah which is-



Alam Tara Kaifafa ala Rabukka bi ad



Did you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) not see (thought) how your Lord dealt with 'Ad (people)? [ ayah-9]



Here, Allaah azza wajjal basically brings the point home by saying if you dont believe in the unseen then at least believe in what you can see. Now we have to understand the fact that whenever Allaah addresses Rasulullaah(s.a.w) in regards to reminders it also in a way addresses us. So believing in the unseen Aoudhubillaah is not an issue for the prophet (as) but it is an issue for us sometimes. Hence we can say it's a reminder to Rasulullaah (s.a.w) and a food for thought and a reminder for the ummaah at large.



The word Tara means understanding, the ayah is questioning the understanding of the people. And if we stick to the literal translation it would say ' did you not see'. Here 'see' doesn't refer to a visual experience but rather it refers to the thought process or understanding.



Now what understanding is Allaah talking about? Why did He bring forth this example in the first place?



well, He wants us to appreciate that these people (Ad) were very strong people. And Allaah especially brings forth their example because Arabs were a strong nation themselves and Allaah says these people were even more stronger than you and we have destroyed them like a fly! And you would get it straight if you have any understanding.



And subhan Allaah Allaah has preserved their ruins as to make us understand what He does to the disobedient and the arrogant ones. When the Arab would pass by Ad and Thamud they will see the ruins and get terrified.



Allaah goes on narrating their legacy...



Irama thatil ImAdi



Who were very tall like lofty pillars [Ayah 10]



Iram is considered by some the earlier generation of Ad. Others say Iram was a man or an ancestor of Ad.



Now Iram means to make a sign with pillars. Another explanation of this is that the nation of Iram possessed a body strength like that of pillars.



Ash Shawkani Rahimahullaah says- The affair of ad and thamud is very well known to the Arabs, because their town was very close to the Arabs.





To be continued.........

Reflections on Surah Fajr Part3 based on a lecture by Br. Nouman Ali Khan

We now start with the last oath ' Wa laili idha yasri' meaning "... And by the night when it departs".(ayah 4) the general ruling of the Arabic language is to use a 'ya' after 'asr' but only a ' kasra' has been used. So the word sara yasri means to take stroll at the night. A famous muhaddith and scholar al Akhfasha (rah) was asked why the 'ya' has not been used, he didn't answer but rather asked him to come after a year if he was serious. So he came after a year and al Akfasha answered- " sara yasri doesn't refer to the night but it refers to the people. In other words, people take stroll at the night but the night doesn't." See it means people have control over themselves but they don't have control over the night. Who has control over Himself? Only Allaah!



There are four oaths in total in this surah. The 1st and the 4th and the 2nd and the 3rd are connected to each other. The middle two oaths refer to the coming of Rasulullaah(s.a.w). The 1st oath is 'wal fajr' and the fourth oath is 'wal laili.....yasri'. Now chronologically speaking we'd be expecting the night/lail to come at first but here it is the opposite. As it's a given that fajr comes when the night drifts away, but fajr refers to the major sign of the day of judgment even though the light hasn't broken out yet and lail refers to the coming of the messenger of Allah sallalahualayhyssalam. So the priority has been mentioned first. We know that the coming of the messenger of Allah (s.a.w) is the greatest sign of the day of judgment, but as a minor sign it is mentioned later.



Allah continues to the next 'Halfi dhalika qasamullidhi Hijr" meaning



"There is indeed in them (the above oaths) sufficient proofs for men of understanding (and that, they should avoid all kinds of sins and disbeliefs, etc.)!"

(ayah 5)



Now, the word 'Hijr' means intellect. To an Arab "Hijr" would mean control, power. Allah azza wajjal here uses this statement to awaken His slaves. Allah doesn't normally repeat like this. So it is an exceptional verse in the Qur'an. Also by referring to our intellect Allah is telling us if we have intellect to understand His Message. In other words, Allah is saying don't just move on, reflect on the oaths. I say, we are the 'ashraful makqhlukat', we are the only beings created with an intellect and by referring to our intellect Allah is honoring us. And now it is upon us how we use our intellect and if His Message doesn't effect us then we are nothing better than an animal.



Al Alusi and Ash Shawkani Rahimahullah said- " The ones who are blessed with this intellect would immediately understand the lessons of the surah."



Now if you have read my previous notes you have seen how profound and unique were the oaths of Allaah azza wajjal. The lessons that He has attached to such few and simple words, is phenomenal subhanAllaah!

July 14, 2011

Reflections on Surah Fajr - Part2 - based on a lecture by Br. Nouman Ali Khan

Today inshAllaah I’m gonna start from where I stopped in my previous post. We talked a little bit about the first object by which Allah starts a series of oaths. Now let’s move onto the next thing by which Allah continues. Allah says- ‘Wal fajri walaiyalin ashri’.



Wal Ashr means 10 nights. So basically Allah is taking an oath by 10 nights. There is difference of opinion on which 10 nights is it referring to. The first group says it is the last 10 nights of Ramadan and the second group says it is the first 10 nights of Jull Hijja while some say it is referring to Muharram and others. However, the majority opinion is it is the last 10 days of Ramadan.



Now, there is a very interesting point to be noted here.-



If you read the seerah of the prophet you will find the victory of the prophet's mission was in the month of Dhul Hijja and the conclusion of his mission was in the month of Ramadan.



Look how Allaah takes oath by the mission of the Messenger (sa.w.). Allaah would not take an oath by something which is insignificant aoudhubillaah. Appreciate how important was the mission of the messenger that Allaah brings it in right at the beginning of the Surah.



And then Allaah continues ‘Washaf’I wal watri’

* Shafa’a literally means even, one part of another. [ Eludes to all the creation]

* Watr means odd [ Refers to Allaah azza Wajjal Himself]

There are two things in everything, some are even and some are odd.



Al Qatadaa (RadhiAllahu’anhu) comments- Ash Shaf means every day and al watr means the last Day.

Even though I don’t speak or know much Arabic but if I call it something in Arabic I’ll name it ‘ Al Yawmul Wahid’. Which literally would mean ‘The One and Only Day’. Because in reality that is the true day and Allaah testifies it in the Qur’aan. Allaah says- “That is without doubt the True Day, so, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with (or a way to) His Lord (by obeying Him in this worldly life)!” (Surah 78, Ayah 39)



Look how the word ‘watr’ focuses on ‘one’. What about the pairs? Every one of the pairs is one. First you have to look at every single thing individually before you get a pair subhanAllaah! And here Allah pairs this life with the next life thus he reminds us of the Day of Reckoning.



You know just this single word ‘watr’ is a refutation to the kuffar who ask why there is so much injustice when Allah is Just? By taking oath on the word ‘watr’ Allaah says everything will be put into place on that One Day. You have to believe in Allaah’s perfection, you have to believe that Allaah will do justice on the Day of Judgment. Again this life is just a test, if you don’t go through tests how do you expect to be rewarded? Do you expect to become a graduate without even giving your final exam? Of course not!



And Allaah says in Surat Al Mulk – “Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving;”. ( Surah 67, Ayah, 2)



To be continued.....

July 11, 2011

Reflections on Surah Fajr - Part1 - based on a lecture by Br. Nouman Ali Khan

Bismillah wassalatu wassalam ala Rasulillaah

Surah Fajr is the 89th surah of the Glorious Qur'an. Like other surahs it also has some unique characteristics. However, in the Qur'an we have different types of Surahs. In some surahs Allah focuses on core Aqeedah issues and in some other surahs fiqh, seerah and so on and so forth. This particular surah falls on the type of surahs where Allaah takes oaths. In other words, these types of surahs are commonly known as 'wa' surahs. And when Allaah takes oaths then we really have to grow an ear as there are several reasons why Allah takes oaths in the first place. Also to better understand the message of the surah we have to consider the wisdom behind these oaths.


The reasons behind Allah's taking of oaths

1. When Allaah takes an oath then the severity of the matter is very heavy.
2.Oaths create intention.
3.Allaah wants us to understand and reflect on the message.


Word for Word take on the Surah

Now let's inshAllaah do a bit of word for word meaning of the surah. Let's take the first word 'fajr' with which Allah starts the series of oaths. 'Fajr' basically means something which rips away completely. Or in other words, we can say it tears away the darkness of the night. Like as you know the Fajr is the Arabic of dawn. SubhanAllah notice 'fajr' is one word and how big a message it conveys in English. By using the word fajr Allaah refers to a beginning of life. How?


You know what Rasulullah (s.a.w) used to recite when he woke up? Yes, he used to recite 'Alhamdulillahilladhi ahyaina badama amatana wailahin nushur'. Which basically means Praise be to Him who has given you second life. Because we all know sleeping is minor death. As Allaah says in Surat an Naba, Ayah 9 - "....and have made your sleep as a thing for rest."

So the lesson we find from it is that when we wake up at fajr and recite the du'a then it reminds us of resurrection. That the one who has the power to resurrect us from minor death then He also can resurrect us on the day of judgment after we have spent countless number of years in the grave.


Al Biqai Rahimahullaah commented - "When Allaah swears by the morning time then He reminds us of His creative Power to create life out of death."

Now this is something very beautiful subhanAllaah, appreciate this inshAllaah. Some Ulema commented when the animals and birds set out from their nests in search of provision they make a lot of noise and these noises are nothing but the dhikr of Allaah! But you cannot understand it as we human beings cannot grasp the unseen. You know what I find more beautiful from this little piece information? That is every soul is at sleep at this period of time except for the animals and........us the believers Alhamdulillaaah!!!!!!!! :D

The Ulema went further and commented - that the heart is most fearful of before its at fajr. Why because at this time we are leaving our homes only with the intention of worshiping Allaah alone.

In commenting on the word fajr Ash Shawkani Rahimahullah says - " This is not just a reference to the time of fajr but dawn of Islaam." In other words, victory of Islam will come at the time of fajr. It's like saying when fajr comes wait for Allaah's desicion, our victory is just around the corner subhanAllaah!


To be continued.......

July 10, 2011

How my daughter Ashfeen passed away

My seven-month old daughter began to choke on the noon of June 9 and turned blue. We rushed her to United hospital and were told that she has aspiration. We also found out later on the day that she had secretion in her lungs from pneumonia. You don’t need Doogie Howser MD to realize that since the Aspiration pneumonia's effects will probably stick for a while, the ventilator should not be removed at least till it subsides.
However, it was done on June 10. Initially, she had troubled breathing and then she reached "spontaneous breathing". We thought everything was well and we returned home. The next morning we went back to learn that after 13 hours she had an apnic attack and had to be put on the ventilator again.
The duty doctors and the consultants realized all of a sudden, that maybe the hypoxia/anoxia has hurt her brains and on the fourth day decided to do a CT scan on her. Please note, the fourth day.
This bright idea did not come to them on the first or the second day. So, we were ready for the CT scan but we soon learned that it won't happen that day because there was something wrong with the scanner. My friend Tanim was pissed and he wrote a nasty status update on the day which caught the eyes of someone who happens to be a partner of the board that owns United. He was sincere and tried to help. Finally we found out that the CT scanner is working. But since the AC isn't working the doctors do not want to administer the scanning.
So it happened the next day.
But even before the CT scan the doctors were literally banging on the tables saying my daughter had global development delay and that she has cerebral palsy and even if she survives, she will have a disability for the rest of her life. I was ready to live with my daughter in anyway she was. But the really informed doctors, who seemed to be even more informed then GOD Himself, were still trying to tell us that we are not thinking about the Quality of life she might have. Rather than her survival we should think about this.....YES, these are doctors we are talking about. So I basically counted on ALLAH.
Finally the CT scan mentioned three things, all of which basically meant that my daughter is a goner. I'd no confidence in these doctors and so I went to Apollo for second opinions and also sought the help of other neuro surgeons from DMCH and so on. These doctors initially after seeing the reports said that, yes her case is critical. However, when two of them actually came to the hospital to examine her they reverted their stance and said there is still hope because she was responding to painful stimuli and even trying to take off the vent pipe when she was not sedated. One of the neurosurgeons prescribed a steroid which he said should have been given to her. This was the fifth or sixth day and already before he arrived, my daughter had two cardiac arrests when the duty doctors tried to bring down the Fractional Oxygen setting from 80% to 70%. As soon as the steroid was given, they were able to bring the setting down to 50%. Question to United lovers: Why couldnt the doctors, the bright Selim Shakur and the oh-so-learned Nargis Ara not give these steroids to her on the first day?
Moving on, Dr Narayan Saha of DMCH came in and said that weaning her off the ventilator should be the prime concern now and it can be done. All this while, the doctors at United told me it's because of her secretion that she cannot be weaned off. A week later when I called Dr Narayan again he tells me 'Ask them to decrease the secretion'. I was dumbfounded and told him that there is no such drug. He said, 'Key bolsey. Glycopyrrolate ditey bolen. Apollo r pharmacy tei pawa jai.' Now any normal human being would think that maybe, just maybe, the doctors at United did not know about this. But they did! Dr Narayan had prescribed the same drug for another patient earlier. Mind you, this is the third week and my daughter has been pricked thousands of times already. Her veins are becoming hard to find. I find Glycopyrollate by myself from Apollo. All by myself...no help from the United doctors. I give it to them on the 25th of June. They start giving it on 25th night. Selim Shakur tells me the next day that they'll start it from the next day. The duty doctor tells me they started it the previous night. What co-ordination!
Also, since my daughter has a lung problem and the Pediatric doctors are claiming that she has a neuro problem, should they not have contacted their specialists in these fields? We, the family, had to request them to do so. It's a very bureaucratic organisation, you see. They have to be told things!
Finally, on June 28, Selim Shakur tells us that there is some hope. Her secretion is clearing out. However, he is leaving for USA the next day. So, Nargis Ara, will look after her while he is gone. On June 29, she is apparently getting better. We are feeling better also. On the night of June 30, the Pediatric ICU doctors call us at 2:45 to tell us she had her second cardiac arrest and could not be revived.
Now you tell me, ALLAH hayat disen. Being a devout muslim, I accept that and I accept her leaving us. But being a journalist, I ask each and every single one of you, 'amar chotto meye ta ei type er bejonma doctors aar hospital staff er birudhhe kotokhon lorto?'
Final question to everyone: If the glycopyrrolate was given to her on the second or third day, could the outcome not have been better? What if she was given steroids on the first week and not on the second or third week? They could not find her veins to push the IV saline and other medications a day before she had the cardiac arrest.
Even when we were taking her body out of that hellhole, the doctors wrote she had septicimia, that she died at 3:30am and made other mistakes.
My Afsheen died with a smile on her face. And I am not making this up. She actually did have a smile on her face. As a parent I was glad she did not have to go through the torture anymore. She would have turned eight months on June 30, the day she passed away.
I know my daughter is better off dead than leaving in this Godforsaken country where hospitals like United can easily manipulate the dailies and the ministers to get their way. I am happy for my daughter. However, as a parent and a journalist, I feel I should share my ordeal with everyone. Maybe, just maybe it will save some people from making the biggest mistake of their lives.


Taken from journalist Syed Tashfeen Chowdhury's facebook note

May 25, 2011

Making the best use of your time

I don't really think I have been able to make the best use of free time. I actually didn't know how could I use my time for the betterment of my Islaamic knowledge. How I realized the difficulty of seeking knowledge without a teacher, I badly need a teacher to do it the right way. Because sometimes when someone doesn't have a teacher it's tough for them to keep themselves motivated. You'll be okay if you feel you are trying to learn whatever you can by yourself but if you are not content with it then you'll try to justify the obligation of learning knowledge and slack off saying 'knowledge is only for the scholars' or 'I'm not learning much'. Well knowledge wouldn't come to you if you weren't giving your full commitment to it.


Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd said: Whoever tries to acquire knowledge wholesale will have it slip away wholesale. It is also said that, Trying to pack too much knowledge into the ears at one time leads to misunderstanding.

To be honest, I have committed to this mistake many many many times. I never was sure where to start how to start and what to start. However, whenever I tried to punctuate myself with a single topic at a time I succeeded Alhamdulillah. Also starting to study at this matured age was a bit tough & it's still tough as I'm growing older & older.

And as I got a job recently now it has become way more tough for me to acquire knowledge. I have wasted much time thinking about the process of learning but now it's time to act I guess. Yesterday I registered for the upcoming course of alkauthar titled 'Lord of the worlds' by Shaykh Towfique Chowdhury. I'm very excited about it, I guess it will be more beneficial when I sit with the brothers & study about it inshAllah. I missed the last course due to some unavoidable reasons but inshAllah soon I'll get the audio lectures of it & listen to them.


By the way, if you are thinking about studying knowledge then I strongly recommend you the alkauthar courses, because it's perfect for the people that are extremely busy. They are basically tertiary level one weekend course & they'll leave you with a good solid foundation on the subject taught in the course inshAllah.

:)

SO I gotta stop now lol, talk to you later inshAllah
happy learning
Nahiyan.

May 22, 2011

Second day at Work :D

Hey folks!
Whats up?
I'm doing super-cool Alhamdulillah :P Sorry couldn't write to you after my first day at work which was pretty much exhausting,now Alhamdulillah even on my second day I'm getting the hang of it. I completed my work for today and now getting ready for dhur prayer inshAllah :)

May 11, 2011

The fitna of Islaamic forums :-

Listen up ppl! Recently I noticed something on the internet forums. I'm sure you'll also notice if you look at the forums that there is access for the non Muslims & reverts alike.

Well what this does is it confuses the hell out of them. Because in those forums if you want to register you'd have to show that you are following some school of thought. However, this is not the main problem. The problem is different people from different school of thoughts engage in unnecessary debates which confuse the less knowledgeable Muslims & it scares the non Muslims as well as the new Muslims big time.

My question is if you would debate & call others names why letting the non Muslims know what you are! If you have decided you are not going to be humble then why speaking this out loud to some revert who have known Muslims to be good humble people?

I mean really, we do dawaah to assure the non Muslims that Islam is not complicated & then we complicate things ourselves. As we are on the topic now just today I was listening to a lecture by shaykh Riadul Haq & he said we should not look at others but rather we should think what our contribution is in that fitna.

SubhanAllah more often than not you'll understand what school of thought the person is by noticing the way they put their words. Although there are mash a Allah brothers/sisters who don't go to the extremes in their madhahib, nonetheless; for the most part these days belonging to a school of thought has become a matter of pride. And these people, they just find a way to exalt their Imams over the other, as if they were kind of rivals.

Wake up people while you can, because prophet sallalahu alayhissalam said in an authentic narration - Who has an atom's amount of pride wont smell Paradise. Just look at the severity of pride. SubhanAllah I remind myself first & then all others inshAllaah.


May Allah give us a heart that is free from arrogance, ameen

May 09, 2011

Learning Arabic!

I've been trying to learn Arabic for quite a while now, but with no success. For me,the intent of learning this language is not to be able to converse in it but rather to better understand the Qur'aan inshAllah. Unfortunately, it's not possible for me to go to an Arabic language teacher hence I've been trying it online. AS I said I wed through a lot of Arabic language programs online & each time I start the course & later on lose the enthusiasm in the middle of nowhere.


Recently in Kalamullah.com I found a series of books on Arabic grammar & morphology. So I downloaded them & started reading the first volume & found that it's extremely easy! The author explained the concepts so simply with very little words subhanAllah. May Allah reward him abundantly for his effort, ameen. :)

After reading this book it finally occurred to me that I can also learn Arabic & I can also understand the Qur'aan like many others inshAllah. So I was very excited about it & I still am. However, I'm still not sure how long this euphoria will last lol. NEED DUAS!!! Please, inshAllah!

Oppss! By the way, the name of this series is Arabic Tutor. It's divided in four volumes. I strongly recommend it as I saw people saying they largely benefited from this book Alhamdulillah.

So you start learning now!!I'm also learning inshAllah. And since language is for communication, I need people to communicate with me in my new language :). So anyone who is interested lemme know, we'll talk. Oh brothers of course :)

May 06, 2011

To talk about experience

We get a lot of lessons from life, whether they be very significant or simple. However little or big the lessons are they work as our umbilical cord. History is our umbilical cord. We learn lessons from history, but, unfortunately man is never good at learning from history.

there is, however, a subtle difference between history & experience. Experience is a part of history but not the other way round. For something to be history it has to be significant & in general history is made so that we all can ponder upon it. But experience is completely different here because experience is an individual thing.

Unfortunately, it sounds far-fetched to say that people will learn from their experience when they do not learn from history. However, interestingly some people do learn from their experience. But these people are very few in number.

I'll give you a short example. You know, I mostly go to two masjids in Dhanmondi. One is at road no 7 & the other one is at road 6/A. Well, that's just beside the point. So I was saying both these masjids are mashAllaah very well decorated & beautiful. But you would get shocked to see the lack of common sense in some of the worshipers there.

You see lecture after lecture year after year the Imams are requesting the worshipers to switch off their mobile phones once they get into the masjid. But in vain. Is this not lack of acting upon experience?

The irony of the matter is we come into masjid to remove the thoughts of this world & submit ourselves to our Lord, the Merciful. But do we not see the contradiction in our own selves? How come it's so tough on ourselves to switch off the mobile phone for only about 10-15 minutes only?

And the thing is, you see, the most embarrassed in this situation is the one whose phone rings in the middle of our prayer. Why do we put ourselves in situations where we wouldn't naturally like to be in?

On the other hand, here we are who have some experience on learning knowledge. We haven't yet learned how to deal with these people. We don't know how to lovingly advise them while not offending at the same time. We get all arrogant when talking to the general people. Yeah! Thus we create a safe distance from these people so that we don't have to deal with them.

We see their doing the salaah incorrectly, we say nothing. We see them talking during khutba, we say nothing. We think about their reaction, but concealing the knowledge is not the correct methodology. We have to tell them the right way, no matter what. We are here to please Allah not the people. However, we are not displeasing them for the sake of doing it but rather we do it for their own sake.

I have seen how we tend to avoid the Imams, why because they do not open up for the most part. And more often than not their scholarly image will keep you from asking them questions.

You don't pray according to the maddhab of this Imam or that Imam he will come up with different ways of ridicules to demean the 'other'. Whereas, there was a time when four of the school of thoughts respected each other although they differed.

So is it really that we are Muslims first or salafi, hanafi, hanbali or whatever first?

So at the end of the day it all goes back to our experience which we do not use for our betterment but rather to grow in arrogance.

March 13, 2011

World Cup Cricket 2011: Curse of a Blessing !

I wont be judging whether it's a good or a bad thing that the world cup cricket 2011 is takin place in Bangladesh. As for us Muslims, it indeed is on the negative side considering the times we waste on these cricket matches. Well, my intention is definitely not blowing things out of proportion, it's not! So relax lol. Basically the intent of this post is just to remind myself and you that if we were to be a little wise bout our time management then we could easily watch these games without a doubt.

But we have to admit the fact that we never give much thought to the importance of time management. And as it's a problem with pretty much everyone I know, it's better if we don't watch all the games of this world cup. Is it really necessary? I mean we could only watch the games that involve Bangladesh or may be some of your other favorite teams for that matter.

However, I do realize some people will watch every single game of this tournament sayin that 'I think we should not miss any game at all, since they are all so competitive.' My reply to them is if you are so gung-ho bout this world cup which merely happens once in a four years then what bout the prayers you say to Allah continuously at least 5 times a day?

See When your team wins it's not gonna give you its share of the prize money, but you get all euphoric bout their victory. Have you ever realized the fact that for each prayer Allah expiates your sins? Im sure you haven't if you fall into the category of the people who have prioritized sports in their lives.

Here, I would like to repeat that I'm not against sports at all! Really playing or watching sports can be a healthy alternative to the forbidden things we often commit to. But if that sports waste our time then even this innocent activity becomes forbidden.

However, if we would like to watch every single game anyway then we can! But we have to make sure we are not stuck into the tv all the time, we could/must take a break once in a while. In addition, we could read the Qur'an or hadith for at least 5 minutes if not more by the will of Allah.

February 26, 2011

Reality of Allah in our lives

Sometimes we mix belief with hypocrisy and I don't mean anyone else when I say this since it's a reminder to myself first then to others inshAllaah.

So what is belief? The word Belief can be synonymous to certainty, when we are certain about something we call it belief. A lot of things around us are taken for granted (in eg.cars,keys,cats,dogs etc.)whereas the Islamic belief is based on an entity who is beyond any form or likeness. Therefore, to say that 'we believe' is not as easy a thing as it may sound to us. Because to really believe we must attain certainty that HE exists.

However, Allah being the Most Merciful has made it easier for His slaves. In the Qur'an He has talked about different categories of Muslims. Some have actually raised to a level from which they can literally see Paradise or Hell or even God for that matter. Hadhrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) can be a very good example of this, look what he had to say bout his belief- "If either the Paradise or the Hell was brought near to me it would not make a difference....."

Now going back, hypocrisy! It's something which is quite common in the present day Muslims. And the lack of certainty in the existence of Allah actually paves the way for hypocritical behavior. The fundamental problem about this issue is it's really tough for us to reach to a level of the likes of hadhrat ali (m.A.b.p.h). So we have to manage with whatever ability we have inshAllaah to get closer to Allah, The most Merciful. Now let's face it, we do not really have the certainty in the existence of Allah and I believe you'll have to agree with me considering the lack of Muslims in the masjids and even the ones present not experiencing the sweetness of prayer. Yes my dear brothers and sisters, we do believe in Allah and we love Him and We believe in His messengers (M.P.B.U.T.A.) but we have not given the correct estimate to Allah. Why, for instance, we sin proudly yet we don't feel any kind of remorse in our hearts? Trust me oh my brother or sister in Islam, sometimes we are not any better than a disbeliever cause he doesn't know Allah whereas we know Allah yet there is no sign of it. We are disobeying our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, The Fashioner, The Creator of the heavens and the earths. Yet we do not hesitate to say that we love Allah, woe to us!

We have to identify the reality of Allah's existence in our lives. I mean really, Allah wants us to believe and act in addition to that. But we have taken our 'Muslimness' for granted, as if we have a guaranteed ticket to Paradise, no my brothers and sisters it's not your problem alone it's the same with me, a lot of times I do things and later on I regret. However, feeling remorse is a mercy from Allah if you feel remorse then know that it's a sign of imaan/faith. Allah says- my servant has committed a sin and He knows He has a Lord and He has turned to me. Listen to What our Beloved Lord says at the end of His statement, " Do what you do, I will forgive you so long as you do not associate partners with me."

This is a light of hope for us when there is no hope. And I also believe this is an invitation to the non-Muslims to come to know Our Creator, The true God, who Created everyone. The Immense power and Infinite Mercy that He has is Unexplainable, Unimaginable.


For us to really take care of our belief we have to constantly ask Allah for guidance,and don't think just because we are Muslims we are guided and that's it. No absolutely not! If it was that easy then whats the point asking Allah for guidance in prayer at least seventeen times a day?

There is nothing compared to a sincere du'a or supplication. Allah accepts the prayer only if it's sincere and done in accordance to the way of the prophet Rasulullaah(S.a.W.).

I ask Allah to guide us, forgive our sins, accept us as His Mukhlisin or the sincere ones, ameen.

Subhanakallahumma wa bihamdik ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk'.

February 08, 2011

The harsh reality of life

There is a 10 year old boy named hope. He never wanted an extravagant life, his demands to his parents are very little. It is only that they live together in peace and harmony. This boy hope never gave his parents a hard time, he never bugged his mom or dad for any material thing. Still he doesn't want anything except that he longs to be with his mom and dad.

Since the time he was born he had seen his parents ranting and raving at each other. Calling names and doing all the crazy and abnormal things one could ever imagine. The elders of the families of hope's parents were fed up dealing with it anymore, can you think of the predicament hope himself was going through?

And today, he is a bigger kid. Hence he understands a lot more than before. He knows the nature of his parents. He knows none of his parents is ever going to humble themselves for good. So everything he has been seeing all his life is going to continue.

But he loves his parents very much, they mean the world to him. But the fact of the matter is, his parents are so selfish that they don't care involving him in their crap. Thus in the process he has become 20 years older than his original age. He has been forced to grow up. And you can imagine what happens when the natural process of growth is disturbed.

God! He asks you when will this world come to an end and he will sleep forever. You and I are very fortunate that we had a normal life in our childhood. We can never realize his sufferings, but for sure we can pray for him.

His entire life is ahead of him and he still doesn't know how in the world is his wound going to heal!

At the end, I would like you to think of this little life for one minute please. Later when you go to pray bring all your emotions in front of the Creator to guide this boy and give him more strength to face up this challenge.

( it's not an imaginary character, I used a fake name for him)