From the Teachings of the Prophet

In the Hadith al-Qudsi, Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him narrated:

أوصانى ربى بتسع أوصيكم بها أوصانى بالإخلاص فى السر والعلانية والعدل فى الغضب والرضا والقصد فى الفقر والغنى وأن أعفو عمن ظلمنى وأعطى من حرمنى وأصل من قطعنى وأن يكون صمتى فكرا ونطقى ذكرا ونظرى عبرا

"My Lord commanded me to command you to observe nine virtues:

He commanded me to:

• be sincere and purify my intention in all what I do in secret and in public.

• be just and fair when angry and when contented,

• spend in moderation when I am poor or rich.

• forgive those who oppressed me,

• give those who deprived me,

• keep contact with those who broke their relations with me,

• contemplate when I am silent,
• make sure what I say is in accordance to what pleases Allah,
  
• learn from what I see.

This hadith shows us the importance of sincerity and seeking Allah's pleasure alone, in all what we do. Doing any thing to please others, show off, gain praise or claim status or any worldly thing for ourselves will be rejected by Allah. To be true Muslims means all aspects of our life should be devoted to Allah as it is said in the Qur'an: "Say, my prayers and sacrifice, my life and death are all for God the Lord of the worlds."

Allah wants us to be fair and just with everyone all the time. He does not want us to be biased; we should not allow enmity or friendship to interfere with our decisions and judgements.

Allah wants us to be wise and generous not spendthrifts or misers.

Allah wants us to keep our hearts clean and pure devoid of hatred and enmity. So, He wants us to learn to forgive, and give up the desire to take our revenge.
He wants us to lean to give those who refused to help us when we wanted help; and to keep good relations even with those who once broke their contacts with us.
By doing so, our hearts will be clean and pure and also our minds. With clear minds and clean hearts we can spend our time and energy in anything that is good and useful to us and to others, instead of thinking of hatred or spreading it.

Allah wants us to elevate ourselves by acquiring the best of characters, and by connecting ourselves with our Creator all time. When we are silent, we think and we reflect. When we are engaged in talking, we say what pleases Allah. He also wants us to learn from what we see in this life, which is full of messages of guidance for those who can see.

This hadith clearly reflects the true nature of Islam and its Prophet who gathered all these virtues in his character. This hadith also shows the true reality of submission to Allah. It makes us realise the connection between the word Islam, which means submission to Allah, and the Arabic word salam, which means peace. All these nine virtues are keys to peace with one self and peace with others.

All these nine virtues depict the picture of the devoted Muslim as Allah wants him/her to be.
Any fair person, when approaching such teachings, can easily grasp the reality of the religion of Islam. And he can easily realise how some persons claim false accusations about Islam and its Prophet in order to mislead many people in the world, who do not know the Islamic teachings.

Imagine when all these nine virtues, that are mentioned in the hadith, are gathered in one person, what a wonderful person he/she will be!
When these virtues are adopted by a society, what a wonderful society it will be!
When the world adopts these virtues, what a lovely peaceful world it will be!

The Main Sources of Islamic Teachings

The main sources of legislation and guidance in Islam are the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, which is known as sunnah. The prophet's teachings include two types:

• The Hadith al-Nabawi, which constitutes the main part of the Prophet's teachings. It is narrations by the companions that tell us the sayings and/or doings of the prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. Both wordings and meanings are from the Prophet.
  
• The Hadith al-Qudsi, which is narrations by the Prophet (PBUH) telling us of divine messages directly inspired to him in meanings only from Allah, in most instances without the intermediate role of the arch angel Gabriel. The meanings of this type of hadith are from Allah, while the wordings are the prophet's way of expressing these meanings.
  

There is a greater difference between the Qur'an and the-Hadith al-Qudsi. The Qur'an is Allah's own words and unmatched speech revealed to the Prophet by means of the arch angel Gabriel. It is a living miracle that proves the Prophet-hood of Muhammad, (PBUH) to the world and continues to guide mankind to the truth. The role of the angel in the case of the Qur'an, was conveying the message exactly as he received it from Allah to the Prophet, including the mode of its recitation, which is known as tajweed. The role of Prophet Muhammad (BPUH) was to commit the Qur'anic verses to memory exactly as it was revealed to him, and recite it to people. This is, in addition to understanding the message, living by it and teaching people what it implied and how to implement it.

As appears, the Hadith al- Qudsi is different from the Qur'an; it is not Qur'an, and it does not acquire the status of the Qur'an in any way.

Darwin 200th anniversary

يا أيها الناس اتقوا ربكم الذى خلقكم من نفس واحدة وخلق منها زوجها وبث منهما رجالا كثيرا ونساء

(النساء 4 : 1)
"O mankind, be mindful of your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide;
(Qur'an 4: 1)

The 12th of February marked the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth. This event is widely celebrated by universities and the BBC. It also marked the 150th anniversary of his famous work 'the origin of species', that had its effect on particularly the western scientific communities as well as the religious, at the same time it provoked a lot of controversy in the past and nowadays.

Darwin's theory researches the origin of life of creatures on earth. In summary, it denies the creation of man and living creatures by God; it denies divine purpose behind life on Earth; it suggests that all living creatures on earth started from one cell and evolved from there, with 'natural selection' behind diversity of all living creatures! The main point, which this theory communicates is that God is excluded from His creation. Going back in history to the time of the ancient struggle between the Western church and science sheds a light on the roots of Darwin's theory.

After the advance in technology, and accordingly the advance in scientific research in different fields of knowledge, scientific communities are now deeply divided over Darwin's tree of life and the claim of common origin of species. The true unbiased science proves creation by an intelligent designer, Allah.

(For more details on the theory and social side in Darwin's life please refer to the following documentaries: this theory is explained by the pro-Darwinian Sir David Attenborough in a recent video, here is its address: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hd5mf/Charles_Darwin_and_the_Tree_of_Life
The social side of Darwin's life as told by his great grand-daughter in the program 'Darwin my ancestor' you can listen to it on this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/darwin/

This article is not written to participate in the celebration of Darwin's anniversary. Rather, it aims to draw attention towards the subtle danger of this theory, which is taught to our children at schools as if it is a fact! The matter that risks distorting their believe in God, particularly if parents are not aware.

What is alarming is the use of an old technique in imposing the anti-God ideology. It is the technique employed in the well known story of the 'Emperor without cloths'. By that way, some believers accept the theory as if it is a fact, at the same time they claim that they still believe in God, otherwise they would be thought of as pseudo scientists!

A few weeks ago, on radio 4 in 'beyond belief' broadcast, three religious figures representing the three Abrahamic religions, including a Muslim academic, who is a part time Imam as well, were invited. the main idea that the three representatives agreed on is that each of them believes in Darwin's theory, yet each is a religious person who teaches his/her faith. My concern is how a Muslim who believes in the Qur'an can believe in such theory at the same time? The second thing is that such person in addition to being an academic at one of the universities, he also works as a part time imam who teaches Islam perhaps to children!

Every one is entitled to his/her own beliefs, but Muslim parents have the responsibility of nurturing their children's belief and tawhid..

ما أشهدتهم خلق السماوات والأرض و لا خلق أنفسهم وما كنت متخذ المضلين عضدا
الكهف 18 : 51

"I did not make them witnesses to the creation of heavens and earth, nor to their own creation; I do not take as my supporters those who lead others astray"
(Qur'an 18; 51)



الله الذى خلق السماوات والأرض فى ستة ايام ثم استوى على العرش ما لكم من دونه من ولى ولا شفيع أقلاتتذكرون

يدبر الأمر من السماء إلى الأرض ثم يعرج إليه فى يوم كان مقداره ألف سنة مما تعدون
ذلك عالم الغيب والشهادة العزيز الرحيم
الذى أحسن كل شئ خلقه وبدأ خلق الإنسان من طين
ثم جعل نسله من سلالة من ماء مهين
ثم سواه ونفخ فيه من روحه وجعل لكم السمع والأبصار والأفئدة قليلا ما تشكرون

السجدة 32: 4-9
"It is Allah who created the heavens and earth and everything between them in six days
Then He established Himself on the throne. You, mankind, have no one but Him to protect you and to intercede for you. So, why do you not take heed?
He runs everything from heavens to the earth, then everything ascend to Him on a Day that measures one thousand years in your reckoning.
such is He who knows all that is unseen as well as all what is seen, the Almighty, the Merciful.
He is the One who perfected everything He created, and He started the creation of man from mud. Then He made man's descendants from an extract of underrated fluid,
Then He moulded him and breathed into him from His [God] Spirit;
And He gave you hearings, sight and minds, how seldom you are ungrateful.
(Q32: 4-9)

، ولقد خلقنا الإنسان من سلالة من طين ، ثم جعلناه نطفة فى قرار مكين ثم خلقنا النطفة علقة

فخلقنا العلقة مضغة فخلقنا المضغة عظاما، فكسونا العظام لحما ثم أنشأناه خلقا آخر فتبارك الله أحسن الخالقين

المؤمنون 23: 12-14
"We created man from essence of clay, then We placed him as a drop of fluid in a safe place, then We made that drop into a clinging form, and We made that form into a lump of flesh, and We made that lump into bones, and We clothed those bones with flesh, and later we made him into other forms - Glory be Allah, the best of creators"
(Qur'an 23: 12-14)

والله خلق كل دابة من ماء فمنهم من يمشى على بطنه ومنهم يمشى على رجلين ومنهم من يمشى على أربع يخلق ما يشاء إن الله على كل شئ قدير
النور 23 : 45

"God created each animal out of [its own] fluid: some of them crawl on their bellies, some walk on two legs, and some on four. God creates whatever He wills; God has power over everything"
(Qur'an 23: 45)


أمن يبدؤا الخلق ثم يعيده ومن يرزقكم من السماوات والأرض أءله مع الله قل هاتوا برهانكم إن كنتم صادقين
النمل27: 64
"Who is it that creates life and reproduces it? who is it that gives you provision from heavens and earth? Is it another god besides Allah? Say, Show me your evidence then, if what you say is true"
(Qur'an 27: 64)

"ذلكم الله ربكم خالق كل شئ فاعبدوه وهو على كل شئ وكيل "

الأنعام 6: 102
"This is God your Lord, there is no God but Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him; He is in charge of everything"

Supplication when Feeling Pain

When one needs help from others, it feels heavy inside the person who asks.
When people are approached to offer help they might be fed up with the person who repeatedly asks. This is part of human nature and the limited ability of mankind.

On the other hand, this is not the case if we turn to Allah asking for help, which is called du'aa' or in English supplication or prayer.
The Prophet (PBUH) taught us that supplication is a worship that is beloved by Allah. It is part of remembering Him the All-Mighty, and it is at the heart of monotheism, tawhid.
In other words, one gains rewards and blessings just by turning to Allah asking any thing he/she wants for this life or for the other life in the hereafter (provided it does not contradict Allah's guidance).

Allah our God, is so generous. He loves us to ask him anything, any time. And He the All-Mighty responds to us until we stop asking, as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings) taught us:

"إن الله لايمل حتى تملوا"
"Indeed Allah does not stop responding to your prayers until you stop asking"

That is why we find in the Arabic poetry some poets describe this unique relationship with Allah that does not need making appointment or any hassle:

حسب نفسى عزا أنى عبد
يحتفى بى بلا مواعيد رب
It is my greatest pride and honour to be a slave to the Lord,
Who welcomes me with pleasure whenever unto Him I call

This is part of the beauty of being believers in Allah!



Every day in life we usually need help of different kind; we might be sad, ill, depressed; we might be stressed before tests or exams; we might feel unsure what to do or what decisions to take; we might be afraid or feeling insecure; we might feel helpless or lost; the list is endless.
But the gist is that we need Allah all the time in almost all what we do or go through every day all our life.
All praise be to Allah as prophet Muhammad had taught us beautiful prayers or supplications for different occasions to recite and ask Allah what we want. Every now and then I will write us some of these prayers. In this post I will translate some of the authentic prayers of the Prophet that deal with feeling ill or being in pain.

• When feeling pain

It is narrated that the companion Uthman ibn Abi-l'as complaint of pain in his body to prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet advised him to put his hand on the part of body that hurts, then repeat the following prayer seven times:

"أعوذ بعزة الله وقدرته من شر ما أجد وأحاذر"
"A'udhu bi-'izzatillahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa uhadhiru"
"I seek refuge in Allah's ultimate power and capability from the harm of what upsets me and what I am wary of."

• Prayer for fever, headache and all types of pain:

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, taught them a prayer to recite when having fever or any pain. He taught them to say :

"بسم الله الكبير، نعوذ بالله العظيم من شر عرق نعار ومن شر حر النار"

"bismillahi alkabiri, a'udhu billahi al'athimi min sharri 'irqin na''aar, wa min sharri harri alnar"
"In the name of Allah the most Grand, we seek refuge in Allah the Greatest from the harm of agonizing veins, or agitating nerves, and from the harm of the heat of the fire."

the great scholar alNawawi added that it is advisable, according to the teachings of the Prophet, in such cases to recite: alFatiha, surat al-Ikhlas, surat al-Nass and surat al-Falaq. This should be done while raising both hands near the mouth of the person who recites. Then massage the part of body that hurts with both hands. Repeat this three times.

• When you have pustule, papule, blister or pimple

One of the Prophet's wives had a blister in her finger, on which the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings upon him, taught her to recite a prayer. After she did so, the blister relieved

He taught her to say:

"اللهم مصغر الكبير ومكبر الصغير صغر ما بى"

"Allahumma musagh-ghira alkabir wa mukabbira alsaghir, sagh-ghir ma bi"

"O Allah you can make smaller whatever is big, and you can make bigger whatever is small, I ask you to make the blister (or whatever lesion) I have smaller."

These prayers by Allah's will should help. But we have also to seek medical advice, knowing that it is Allah who gives cure. May Allah give all of us good health and increase our Iman, faith in Allah.

The History of Palestine

The slaughter of the people of Gaza, which we all witnessed recently, is not the first incidence. Since the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the Palestinians have been suffering tremendously. They have been subjected to several incidences of mass murder by the Israelis. The struggle of the Palestinian people started more than 6 decades ago.

For some of us today, particularly young generations, this history is obscure, to the extent that some people believe that it was Palestine that occupied Israel!! Thus, learning the history of Palestine is very important to appreciate the size of the suffering.

My very dear sister Dominique Safeeyah summarized the history of Palestine and published it in her web site at:
www.thelittlemuslimslibrary.co.uk

please go on her website to read the details.