Nabi ﷺ informed us to keep our weddings simple, and if you look at all the Prophet's marriages, he conducted the walima in accordance to his wealth, which depended on what he could afford at the time.
Here is a lesson for us from our beloved teacher and master: weddings should not be over extravagant and we should do them according to our abilities. So no need to take out massive loans!
It's unfortunate that people actually delay marriage because they believe that they need to have a a certain amount of money and that the wedding has to be a certain way for it to be "acceptable" among family and friends.
what we must realize is that each time we go away from the Sunnah, it can have a negative effect on us and every time we come closer to the Sunnah, there is always much more barakah.
This is not an attack to say don't enjoy your wedding, these are celebrations that are supposed to be enjoyed. However, there are limitations and they are in place for the best of reasons.
The main thing that we need to focus on firstly, is our intention: why are we doing this wedding?
The main reason why we perform the walima is because it was a Sunnah of our beloved Prophet ﷺ because he did and encouraged it, we follow in his footsteps, in order to become closer to him and in turn become closer to Allah. and what a beautiful intention this is!
Let the walima be a means of pushing you towards Allah, let it become an action where you seek his pleasure only.
It's truly sad when we look at some of our weddings, we should seriously ask ourselves: is the intention here to please Allah? the kind of weddings we have, are we really putting Allah first?
A lot of the weddings are mainly to please other people, possibly because of social pressure and it's always an issue about what are other people going to say.
So, if you do something for the creation and forget your creator how can you expect to have barakah in the wedding and married life? there is no obedience to the created where there is disobedience to the creator.
The answer is very simple: the more halal there is in a gathering, the more barakah. As Allah says: remember me and I will remember you. So, if you remember Allah on your wedding day then he will remember you, but if you forget Allah on this day, then how do you expect to have barakah in your life? how do you expect not to have martial problems?
We must therefore ensure from the beginning till the end and constantly tell ourselves that we're doing everything for Allah's sake, no matter what people think of us. We often put people at the forefront of our minds, but until Allah becomes the priority in our lives we will not see change.
Maybe you have family pressure and you're the only one standing up. Well the Sahaba had much pressure from the Quraysh when they became Muslim, but you have to stand your ground and always do the right thing, even if you are the only one with this belief. Speak out and say: "I don't think this is going to pleasurable to Allah, Allah will not be pleased with this. This is my day, I only want to get married once, so I want as much barakah and blessings as possible. So, I'm going to do everything in accordance of what Allah wants from me, no matter what anyone thinks"
If you do that, with the difficulty it comes with I guarantee you that you will have barakah in your life I guarantee your married life will be successful by the will of Allah.
May Allah guide us and protect us all. May he give us the strength to follow the teaching of our beloved Messenger ﷺ and may Allah bless us with spouses who remind us of him.
Remember me in your duas :)
اللهم صل على سيدنا محمد
Wednesday 10 August 2016
Friday 13 June 2014
You’re an Author
Aisha (radi Allahu anha) narrated: “Once I began to cry at the thought of Hell. The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) asked me, ‘What makes you cry?’ and I answered, ‘The thought of Hell frightened me. Will you remember your family on the Day of Judgment?’ At that, the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) replied, “There are three occasions when no one will remember anyone else: first, when the Scales of Justice are set up to determine whether the weight of one’s good deeds is heavier or lighter; second, when the Books of Deeds are delivered until the time it is determined in which hand the Book of Deeds will be delivered to each person – in his right hand or in his left hand or from behind – and upon receiving it in the right hand, a truthful believer will joyously show it to others and say, ‘Read it’; and third, when the Bridge will be placed over the pit of Hell, and everyone will be commanded to walk over it.’” [Abu Dawud]
We each write our own Book of Deeds. We are all authors... even the illiterate! We each write our own books in life; non-fiction, non-stop, from scene to scene until our deaths.
Our books remain in edit for as long as we live. We can erase with repentance and write over bad deeds with good deeds. The Day of Judgement is our Day of Exposition (Yawm al-Ardh); that is the day we have our books published; that is the Day of Viewing, Accounting and Recompense. We do not sell our literary works to publishers; rather, we are the sole buyers of our masterpieces. Its contents are put in the Scales of Justice and they determine whether we will be able to cross the Bridge to Paradise or not.
You’re an author too. So take note of what you’re writing.
Our books remain in edit for as long as we live. We can erase with repentance and write over bad deeds with good deeds. The Day of Judgement is our Day of Exposition (Yawm al-Ardh); that is the day we have our books published; that is the Day of Viewing, Accounting and Recompense. We do not sell our literary works to publishers; rather, we are the sole buyers of our masterpieces. Its contents are put in the Scales of Justice and they determine whether we will be able to cross the Bridge to Paradise or not.
You’re an author too. So take note of what you’re writing.
Saturday 22 February 2014
Dealing with Pain
This pain you have, you can either deal with it right now and get closer to Allah, or you can delay dealing with the pain; seeking the pity of others, seeking the help of others and prolonging this pain you have inside. So many times we feel on the ultimate low and ask so and so "please make dua for me" but who is the actual one that needs to turn to Allah in dua?
Whether you have lost something that you love, or feel betrayed, neglected or whether its a lifetime build up of pain, your very first instinct will be to isolate yourself. You want to be alone. You have to understand that this is exactly not what you want to do, this is shaitaan telling you that you will "feel better" when you're alone because you're the only one who understands what you're going through. It's such a vulnerable time for you and you become such an easy target for shaitaan and he's only going to deceive you.
After you've been knocked down, you've cried buckets full and gotten over the initial pain the initial anger then you need surround yourself with good and pious people. People who remind you of Allah.
Turn your pain into something positive use, it as a motivation to bring you back to Allah, to fix your relationship with him and his beloved and this is what all of us who are going through pain and suffering need to realize. That this pain and suffering is not a punishment from Allah, rather its a calling! Allah is calling you to come back to him and this calling comes through trials and tribulations. None of it is supposed to break you rather its supposed to shape you and make you
So there are two ways you can go. You can turn to Allah swt straight away, pouring your heartache to him, asking for his help and drawing nearer to him or you can restrict that pain all to yourself not doing anything about it and then see what it does to your Imaan...
When you isolate yourself you Imaan starts to get lower and lower and at times you feel rebellious and you fall into sin. Where did you go wrong? you gave into the shaitaan and shaitaan has promised that he will lead you away from the path of Allah.
By Allah there is so many blessings and wisdom in trials and tribulations that we can't even see. They're a form of purification from sins from ones self, ones desires so you can reach the purest of places- Jannatul Firdous InshaAllah and this is why Allah inflicts you with pain and hardship.
You see nothing in this life will make you truly happy. Nothing. True contentment and satisfaction will come in the next life when one is with Allah in the most Beautiful of gardens.
In the end, it is all about perspective and how you deal with the situation because the remedy is there so easy for you to do all you have to do is just take a step towards Allah and he will come running to you. So it is very important that when you're inflicted with a trial that you change you perception of it. It's not a punishment its not meant to kill you inside or hurt you but its a means to get closer to your Rabb and nothing is more important at this moment in time than patience.
Things are already difficult for you so don't be impatient and incur the wrath of Allah. If you are patient and you remember Allah he will remember you, he will shower you with his infinite mercy and he'll mention you among the angels saying I love so and so! among the angels! SubhanAllah
So in times of hardship just submit to Allah, open the Quran and drown your sorrow in it, recite salwaat on the best of creation to calm you heart. Never sit and gloat feeling sorry for yourself, because you're only going to create your own destruction. The choice is yours.
للّهُمّ صَلّ عَلَى مُحَمّدٍ
Whether you have lost something that you love, or feel betrayed, neglected or whether its a lifetime build up of pain, your very first instinct will be to isolate yourself. You want to be alone. You have to understand that this is exactly not what you want to do, this is shaitaan telling you that you will "feel better" when you're alone because you're the only one who understands what you're going through. It's such a vulnerable time for you and you become such an easy target for shaitaan and he's only going to deceive you.
After you've been knocked down, you've cried buckets full and gotten over the initial pain the initial anger then you need surround yourself with good and pious people. People who remind you of Allah.
Turn your pain into something positive use, it as a motivation to bring you back to Allah, to fix your relationship with him and his beloved and this is what all of us who are going through pain and suffering need to realize. That this pain and suffering is not a punishment from Allah, rather its a calling! Allah is calling you to come back to him and this calling comes through trials and tribulations. None of it is supposed to break you rather its supposed to shape you and make you
So there are two ways you can go. You can turn to Allah swt straight away, pouring your heartache to him, asking for his help and drawing nearer to him or you can restrict that pain all to yourself not doing anything about it and then see what it does to your Imaan...
When you isolate yourself you Imaan starts to get lower and lower and at times you feel rebellious and you fall into sin. Where did you go wrong? you gave into the shaitaan and shaitaan has promised that he will lead you away from the path of Allah.
By Allah there is so many blessings and wisdom in trials and tribulations that we can't even see. They're a form of purification from sins from ones self, ones desires so you can reach the purest of places- Jannatul Firdous InshaAllah and this is why Allah inflicts you with pain and hardship.
You see nothing in this life will make you truly happy. Nothing. True contentment and satisfaction will come in the next life when one is with Allah in the most Beautiful of gardens.
In the end, it is all about perspective and how you deal with the situation because the remedy is there so easy for you to do all you have to do is just take a step towards Allah and he will come running to you. So it is very important that when you're inflicted with a trial that you change you perception of it. It's not a punishment its not meant to kill you inside or hurt you but its a means to get closer to your Rabb and nothing is more important at this moment in time than patience.
Things are already difficult for you so don't be impatient and incur the wrath of Allah. If you are patient and you remember Allah he will remember you, he will shower you with his infinite mercy and he'll mention you among the angels saying I love so and so! among the angels! SubhanAllah
So in times of hardship just submit to Allah, open the Quran and drown your sorrow in it, recite salwaat on the best of creation to calm you heart. Never sit and gloat feeling sorry for yourself, because you're only going to create your own destruction. The choice is yours.
للّهُمّ صَلّ عَلَى مُحَمّدٍ
Wednesday 5 February 2014
Doing what's right
In life always try to do what is right not what is easy. look at a situation and think what does Allah require me to do? And how would RasulAllah ﷺ act?
Acting In such a way has got to be the most difficult thing you can ever do because it completely breaks you in inside. You say it kills you but what is it killing? Your nafs.
Being so strong does sometimes comes at the cost of having to break down every now and again when you find yourself knocked down. No one understands the pain but Allah and you help yourself find this self motivated strength to get back up again. It's a cycle of pain, but that's the life Allah had planned for you. Just turn to Allah whatever the situation may be and if you have Allah know you will always be okay. and that's this thing you will always have Allahs! He's closer to you than you jugular vein. So remember him and he will remember you.
Every time your heart feels heavy and you want to breakdown recite the beautiful praises of our beloved RasulAllah ﷺ to help calm your heart.
Just don't ever give up try and try and try again no matter how many times you get knocked down. Allah swt loves those who try!
InshaAllah if you don't see the rewards of your perseverance in this life you will surely see it in the next. You will feel so at peace with Allah you'll forget everything you ever went through
And remember Jannah is forever..it's this wordly life that will one day, eventually come to an end.
Please remember me in your Duas
Monday 2 December 2013
Sin after Sin
I can guarantee you oh struggling believer just like you, there are so many other people walking on this Earth who commit sins on a daily basis. Whether major or minor, openly or hidden, intentionally or unintentionally. What you must remember is that you aren't perfect, and you will never be perfect.
You can never reach the ranks of the Prophets or beloved mothers of our Ummah, so accept that you will sin and continue to sin because Allah made you imperfect. All that he requires you to do is turn to him in repentence, to sincerely seek his forgiveness. For everyone sins but the best of those turn back to Allah.
Perhaps Allah allows you to commit such sins because of the way you turn back to him each time. Every sin you do followed by a sense of realisation teaches you a valuable message, like a sense of humility
Repent before the day ends before your deeds are sent to Allah and repent before your life ends before you are made to stand in front of Allah.
Know that the road to mercy is always there to walk upon. Know that the doors to forgiveness are always open. Even if your sins piled as high as the sky Allahs forgiveness comes so easily. His mercy will always outweigh his wrath.
If you think you're such a constant sinner it should make you rush towards doing good at every opportunity you get.
Be watchful of your mind. Dont let your thoughts become actions. Rectify your mistakes and move forward. Have the fear but likewise have the hope. Try, try and try again because surely Allah loves those who try.
You can never reach the ranks of the Prophets or beloved mothers of our Ummah, so accept that you will sin and continue to sin because Allah made you imperfect. All that he requires you to do is turn to him in repentence, to sincerely seek his forgiveness. For everyone sins but the best of those turn back to Allah.
Perhaps Allah allows you to commit such sins because of the way you turn back to him each time. Every sin you do followed by a sense of realisation teaches you a valuable message, like a sense of humility
Repent before the day ends before your deeds are sent to Allah and repent before your life ends before you are made to stand in front of Allah.
Know that the road to mercy is always there to walk upon. Know that the doors to forgiveness are always open. Even if your sins piled as high as the sky Allahs forgiveness comes so easily. His mercy will always outweigh his wrath.
If you think you're such a constant sinner it should make you rush towards doing good at every opportunity you get.
Be watchful of your mind. Dont let your thoughts become actions. Rectify your mistakes and move forward. Have the fear but likewise have the hope. Try, try and try again because surely Allah loves those who try.
اللّهُمّ صَلّ عَلَى مُحَمّدٍ
:)
Me, My Life and Tribulations
Sometimes there comes a point in your life when you feel like you just can't go on. Everything in life is a mess and nothing seems to be going right. Every mistake you ever made comes back to haunt you and brings your faith (Iman) to an all time low. Then the ultimate dilemma, what if your soul was taken away this very second?
You feel as if you're in such a sorry state that Allah can’t be pleased with you and a great punishment awaits. If you've felt like this and then revived your faith say Alhamdulilah - All Praise be to Allah - because Allah has given you chance after chance. He has been so merciful towards you.
The fact that you're feeling so down is not because your not religious enough and it's certainly not because Allah is angry with you. Remember its all a test from Allah.
When Allah intends good for His slave, He puts that slace to trial in this world so say Alhamdulillah 'ala Kulli Haal - Praise be to Allah in every state. And that’s why you should not despair, because no matter what you've done Allah will always love you and is always ready to forgive you. You've just got to take that step and repent.
So when you feel like you've hit rock bottom ask for Allah's help to use this hardship as a tool to get closer to Him and then be sure to hold tight to your new found Iman.
Below is a translation of Shaykh Izzuddin bin 'Abdussalam As-Sulami's booklet on "17 Benefits of Tribulation" - it is a very beneficial read for everyone
http://www.scribd.com/doc/104822966/Seventeen-Benefits-of-Tribulation-Izzudeen-Abdussalam
اللّهُمّ صَلّ عَلَى مُحَمّدٍ
:)
Complete the Quran in 7 days
Ahmad and Abu Dawud narrated from Aws b. Hudhayfa, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: 'We came to the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, as part of the delegation of Thaqif.'
He said: 'The Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, would come to us every night after 'isha and speak to us.'
He said: 'One night he was late from (coming to see us at) the time he would come to us.'
We said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you have come to us late tonight.'
He said: 'I had my portion of the Qur'an to read and I did not want to come until I had finished it.'
Aws said: 'I asked the companions of the Messsenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, about how he divided up his reading of the Qur'an.'
They said: 'Three, five, seven, nine, eleven, thirteen and the Mufassal.'
Thus, the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, would complete the Qur'an weekly. His reading would be as follows:
Day 1: Fatiha to Al-'Imran (three suras)
Day 2: Al-Nisa to Al-Anfal (five suras)
Day 3: Al-Tawba to Al-Hijr (seven suras)
Day 4: Al-Nahl to Al-Nur (nine suras)
Day 5: Al-Furqan to Al-Fatir (eleven suras)
Day 6: Ya Sin to Al-Fath (thirteen suras)
Day 7: Al-Hujurat to Al-Nas (Mufassal)
So, here's a suggestion for those able to read the Qur'an fluently, who is up for following a Prophetic sunna. Who is up for the challenge of finishing the Qur'an in a weeks as the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, would do regularly and then who will continue that and do four readings of the Qur'an in one month? Who is up for it?
---
By Shaykh Haroon Hanif
اللّهُمّ صَلّ عَلَى مُحَمّدٍ
:)
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