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Sleepy Eyes
O sleep head!
Do not make haste for bed
But after salatul Isha
Crave for even more sawab
And stand with me for a night prayer
O sleepy eyes!
Do not fail to realise
As your lids start to close
Your last breath may be near-just suppose
Better then, to stand for night prayer
O sleepy soul!
What burdens do you hold?
This longing for respite
To sleep all through the night
Your night prayer will revive you untold
O weary self!
You are bestowed with good health
You are passing though life
With wealth and keen sight
Owe Allah a little thanks then this night
O supple bed and carrier!
You stand as a barrier
Between me and My Lord
Your comfort stirs discord
Do not kindle your warm welcome for me!
I have preferred the head floor
Therein lies comfort much more
On the dust hard ground
Allah’s nearness is found
How blessed is the nightly prostrations
Ayesha bint Mahmoud
The prophet, sallalahu alayhe wa sallam said:
“The eyes commit Zina by looking (at unlawful things). The ears commit Zina by listening (to unlawful things such as illicit speech). The tongue commits Zina by talking (about unlawful things). A hand commits Zina by touching (something prohibited), and the legs commit Zina by walking (towards the performance of unlawful acts). The heart has desires and wishes, but the private parts confirm or deny.”
“O young men, those of you who can support a wife should marry, for it controls the gaze and preserves one from immorality; but those who cannot should fast, for it is a means of suppressing the sexual desire”
Many people would laugh at the idea of marrying at a young age, but would accept having illegal relations at any age! This is the state of people, which is a sign of day of judgement, where truth will be called false and where the righteous deeds will be laughed upon, yet the evil deeds will be accepted.
The prophet (saw) told us that when we seek to marry a woman:
“A woman may be married for four qualities, for her property, her rank, her beauty and her religion; so get the religious one and prosper”
[Agreed upon]
Social Interaction between men and women
This brings about the greatest possibility to commit Zina. That is why allah commands us:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts. That is purer from them, Verily Allah is All-aware of what they do.
“Tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts. That is purer from them and not to show of their adornment only that which is apparent and to draw their veils all over………….”
[Surah Nur:30-31]
“…….and when you ask them (females) for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen” [33:53]
Some may say that is not practical for living in the west, but we can try our best to fulfil this ayah but lowering our gaze, which people will then say I will look like a fool. People will think of me like this and so on. Think of what Allah will say to you on the day of judgement rather than what people will do. Nobody can help you on that day, your parents, your friends or your close ones. The only thing, which will help you, is your good deeds.
Allah has made the eye as a mirror for the heart. When one lowers his gaze, the heart will lower its desires, and its will to follow that desire. On the other hand, if the gaze is not controlled the heart will rush towards desires and lusts.
Look at the verses brothers and sisters. Allah knows our weaknesses. He tests Mankind whether they can resist these temptations and that is how you distinguish between the pious and the weak. So let us try and follow the quran and sunnah.
Some people may complain and say everything is forbidden, you did not leave a thing but made it forbidden and disliked. Allah made whatever he wanted forbidden, you don’t see the pious people complaining saying why is this forbidden, they realise that this life is short and to sacrifice these minor things are worth it. To obey Allah will make you enter Jannah. What a great reward, in comparison to fulfilling your desires, yet still at the end of doing haram you will not be content, yet the true muslim believer will be content whatever the situation is.
We live in a world that will, one day, cease to exist. We come into this world, not by our choice, and we will leave it very soon, once again, not by our choice. There is a lesson to be learned here, a one which very few will argue!
We are no more than a speck of dust in a universe that is so vast and complicated that the human faculties are only beginning to understand! Indeed the human intellect endowed onto uis is a great blessing from allah, and lead man to his intended position if it is coupled with guidance.
We might get caught up in the matters of this World to an extent that we start to rely too much on our intellect and reason. We tend to see only as far as skewing our objectives in this World. This is the beginning of the phenomena known as modernism, which has infected many of us, through varying degrees.
Currently we find a wave of muslim scholars, who try to explain everything through intellect, and when they cannot explain something put forward by the Sunnah or the Quran, they look for ways to deviate from these absolute truths. Examples include their attitude towards Hijab and the mixing of sexes.
We find a lot of muslims in the west, who are very well educated. Also most of the muslims never had the opportunity to be raised in ideal Islamic homes. They are quick to accept and praise the virtues of equality, non-discrimination, honesty and credit the Western world for making it possible to live in a just society. Muslims argue in public that:
It is not necessary for the woman to
observe hijab.
It is OK to have mixed gatherings.
It is OK to indulge in interest.
Polygamy is forbidden in our times.
Both spouses have the same right to
divorce.
Muslim men don’t have to grow a beard.
Most modernists refrain from discussing matter on aqeedah. They concentrate of issues like the authenticity of the sunnah and try to negate the role of sunnah in the life of a muslim. The prophet (saw) said that each generation would get worse, yet we have some people saying the present day people are better than those in the past. Progress in Islam means attaining taqwa and getting closer to allah; this can only happen if our laws were subservient to Shariah. Clearly such is not the case. The present times are taking us back to Jahiliyyah as sexual promiscuity is rampant and crimes of the past like homosexuality and usurty are being considered as acceptable and one who opposes this is seen as being discriminatory.
Modernists believe that religion changes with time and hence we need to reinterpret the Quran and Sunnah in the light of modern science.
There is only one Islam and that is accordance with the Quran and sunnah.
“And be not like those who forget Allah, so he made them forget themselves. Thos are the definitely disobedient” [59:19]
Abu Musa narrated that the prophet said, “the example of the one who remembers Allah in comparison to the one does not remember Him, is that of a living creature compared to a dead one” [Bukhari]
He who would not be deterred from sins by the Quran and the anticipation of death, would not care even if he saw the mountains collapse before his eyes” [ibn taimiyyah]
Grab Hold!
This is your life. But everyone wants to tell you what to do with it, everyone else seems to think they know what is best for it. But, wait just a minute. It is YOUR life, right?
Yes, that is right, it is. And you have been given the free will, the choice, of how you will live it. Parents and friends can only offer you guidance, but the ultimate choice you make is entirely yours.
At the end of the day you the plan maker or breaker. You will decide what type of friend and spouse you will be and so on. Our prophet (saw) said that allah said:
“seek guidance from me and I will guide you. O my servents, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins. Therefore seek forgiveness from me and I will forgive you”
the special place,of comfort can be found in the cover of your salah and each dua.
Abdullah ibn Abbas said. “one day I was with the prophet (saw), and he said to me, ‘young man, I shall teach you some words (of advice): Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask Allah; if you seek help, seek help of allah. know that if the world wouold benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried”
[tirmithi]
It is your life, and he has offered you the rope of salvation. So grab hold and never let go.
How to live and Let Go and start living
Learning to forgive those who have wronged you is one of the greatest human characteristics there is
People spend most of their lives completely submerged in a mournful state of hate about life circumstances. As a muslim you forget what happened in the past, as you will then not be able to live in the present. Feeling sorry for oneself and dwelling on past tragedies robs us of one most amazing gift-life! Allahs has given us this life so that we can earn his pleasure and the ultimate of all rewards, paradise. Part of a muslims character is being able to put the past behind us and accept life for what it is. We should not keep grudges for the sake of it.
Be grateful for what allah has given you. Compare yourselves to those who are less fortunate. Do not look at those who are higher than you in status, but look at those who are lower in status to you. Look at muslims in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir and Palestine. Do they have the time to have arguments will their fellow muslims? They are thinking about their death, will they remain alive till the next day, where will I find food. Yet we have muslims who are living comfortable lives in the west arguing over minor matters, who want to increase problems for eachother, by spreading rumours and wanting disunity to be present. They don’t realise their faults, and remain in ignorance and arrogance. They will be quick to judge you from what they have heard from other people, will they ever wonder whether it might be a wrong judgement? Do they not fear Allah? Can we call our own muslim brothers and sisters, hypocrites. As we know hypocrites are worse than kafirs, so to call a Muslim that is a serious mistake. Let us Muslims unite on one thing, which is the Quran and Sunnah. When allah commands us to forbid the evil and enjoin the good….those who carry it out are they wrong? As the saying goes ‘truth hurts.’ Nobody is ready to accept the truth.
“I benefited from my enemies more than my friends. For my enemies would point to my shortcomings and hence alerted me to them, while my friends beautified my mistakes”
Today we don’t know who our friends are, and who our enemies are. Those who love eachother for the sake of Allah, will gain the shade of Allah. Who is ready to do that? we are all ready to do haram, we are all ready to get back at one another, yet where is the mercy and compassion for one another. Let us ponder over these things, as muslims in a college, we cannot unite. What about Muslims as a whole, we will be doomed. The prophet (saw) never kept grudges with any Muslims. He would be ready to forgive them. We want to be more compassionate towards the kafirs, and less compassionate to the Muslims. Its upside down. This all stems from leaving the teachings of allah, and listening to your ego’s. do you feel comfortable when sleeping? Do you ever think, what did I do today….what if I don’t wake up till the next day. Have I done enough good, or have I wasted my time?
Remember rumours and accusations cause fitnah. We should always ask from everybody, whether what you have heard is right or wrong. To just bring your whole emotions out will not solve anything, you will suffer and lose out! Everybody is a human, he will sin at the end of the day. This should Inshallah make them learn and not do the same thing again. Do we expect everybody to be perfect?
The person who spread lies and rumours and spread everything they hear are really evil people, as they wish to see their brothers quarrel. Let them either repent if not they shall see a great punishment!
Fatwa :
Q: I was treated unjustly by a Muslim friend, so I deserted him and severed my relationship with him a year ago. Another muslim friend tried to reconcile us but was unsuccessful. What is required from me by the shariah
Answer by sheikh ahmad al-khudayri
It is not permissible for two muslims to quarrel and desert eachother for that long a period of time. Love and brotherhood should be the dominating affection among muslims. The prophet (saw) said: ‘it is not lawful for a believer to desert another believer for more than three days: when they meet, they turn away from one another. But the better of the two will be the one who faces and greets the other first with salaam” Bukhari and muslim
When quarrels take place between two people, another person may reconcile between them, bring together after removing the cause for the fight or quarrel. In the process of reconciliation, this person may mention things that are not true if they are useful in removing the causes for hatred. The prophet (saw) said, “he is not a liar who settles disagreements between people as such speaks well and conveys well” [Bukhari and muslim]
This type of action will not be seen as deplorable, because his intention is to bring reconcilement between two parties by what is said.
Unfortunately we find many quarrels and fights among muslims over worthless and minor things. they desert one another for lengthy periods of time. This is the action of the satan, to divide the muslims and incite enmity and hatred amongst them.
You can see from this fatwa, the lessons we can learn is firstly brotherhood and not to quarrel over minor issues. Another thing is that a person who starts to tell a brother about something, for revenge or enmity is like the satan! A person who sits quietly and then conveys what he heard to another brother, to cause enmity is also like satan! Also the other thing would be that the person exaggerates what he has heard, and conveys it in a way that the person would over-react, so therefore let those type of people beware, they are following the ways of the munafiqs in the past, who would go around quietly and then look for ways to cause arguments between other muslims.
Hijab Raiment of righteousness
Sumayyah and ruqayyah bint joan
The word hijab comes from the Arabic word ‘hajabah’ meaning to hide from view or to conceal. Women, who conceal their beauty in society and do not give into its oppressive system are looked upon as invincible, without sexuality and backward. Because im often mistaken for a nun, an Islamic fundamentalist terrorist, who maybe hiding god knows what up under all that stuff, or the post-child for oppressed womanhood everywhere. I feel the hijad for many women, is the truest test of being a Muslim. In instructing us to wear the hijab, allah has given the muslim women what they can bear as injunctions and obligations. For allah says’ and we do not lay on any soul a burden except to the extent of its ability, and with us is a book which speaks the truth and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.[23:62]
Unfortunately, Satan and his cohorts are calling the muslims woman to enslave herself to the creation, and to forget about her servitude to her creator. Chastity, modesty and piety are deceptively marketed as shackles on personal freedom. Allah warns the believers that they should not let satan deceive them, as he deceived their parents, adam and eve. Under the guises of fashion, culture and modernism however, satan is succeeding to the muslim woman into immodesty.
From the dawn of civilisation, flowing dresses and headscarves have always been assosicated with ‘godliness’ or ‘god conciousness.’ Even the Christian pictorial representation of the earlier prophets and their women folks bear a familiar likeness to the dress ordained for muslim men and women. This tradition of modesty is reflected in the quran wherein allah says ‘o children of adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves and as an adornment. But the raiment of righteousness, that is better. [7:26]
But since the hay-days of the feminist movement there has been an increasing amount of scrutiny placed on the dress and status of muslim women. According to these liberated women, the hijab not only covers the head, but also covers the mind, will and intellect. They say that our dress code is outdated and oppressive, and that it stops us from being productive human beings. They speak out of ignorance when they say that our hijab does not belong in these modern times, when due to the constant decrease in moral values in the world today, circumstances make the hijab even more necessary. More than ever before sex crimes are rampant and liberated women in the larger society now face increasingly higher chances of being raped or sexually harassed. In America a rape crime is committed every six minutes.
The women who uncover their beauty and show off their bodies and made-up faces for all to enjoy, expose themselves to be harmed by these wolves in human clothing. Allah enjoined the hijab on the muslim woman to protect her from harm. He know his creation and that when women make dazzling displays of themselves with immodest clothes, perfumed bodies and make up, that it serves to increase the sexual deviance of the overall society. Many of those who are misguided would have us think that the hijab is a portable prison that restricts our minds, lives and hearts. It is none of these things, and in order not to fall victim to their plots we must begin to understand what the hijab truly is.
To be continued.
