Rays of Knowledge

The Image of Islam and its Prophet

2010-02-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

Islam, the last Divine message sent to the salvation of mankind, is the fastest spreading religion in recent history. On the other hand, its real picture is greatly misunderstood by many people. There are many factors that led to disfiguring the image of Islam to the world in the past and nowadays. One of the recent factors is the 9/11 catastrophe in addition to other incidents of violence that led to correlating Islam to terrorism.

The image of Muhammad (PBUH), the last messenger sent by the Creator to mankind, was and is also greatly disfigured, mostly by people who felt that Islam threatens positions they gained through religious leadership among their own people. To protect their own gains, they started to spread lies about Muhammad and Islam, these untrue stories, in turn, acted as a barrier that is still separating nations from the truth sent to them through the Qur'an.

Actually these are not the only factors that played an important role in giving a wrong perception of Islam. Muslims themselves participated, and still are participating, to a greater extent in giving a bad image to their religion.
Many Muslims who do not take their religion seriously, and who are mainly interested in worldly gains, and those who spend little or no effort in understanding their faith and applying it, share a great part in portraying a wrong image of Islam. Muslims who are drowned in their cultural heritage that contradicts Islam; those who oppress women because of their ignorance and their cultural believes are actively disfiguring the Divine message of Islam and are preventing truth seekers from approaching the reality they search for.

Apart from those sincere Muslims who take Islam seriously and live up to its high morals and try to spread its message, there are others who have Islamic knowledge, but they twist the truth and direct their followers away from the straight path. Also, there are others who are indulged, knowingly or unknowingly, in dividing Muslims into groups instead of uniting them, the matter that weakens the international Muslim Nation, and opposes the teachings of the Qur'an.

The danger induced by these factors lies mainly in building a great wall that prevents the light of the Divine message from entering the heart of every human being; it also prevents many people in the world from reaching the truth.

It is the right of every single person in this world to receive the divine message sent to him/her from the Creator through the Qur'an which was revealed to Muhammad, PBUH; the Qur'an that tells them the real purpose behind their creation, and which shows them the right path that leads to their liberation and happiness in this life and in the Hereafter.

The effort done by Michael Wolf and others to give the American community and the world a correct image of Islam through the documentary 'Muhammad: Legacy of a prophet' is really a great work that we need to spread for the sake of having a better peaceful world.

The Legacy of the Prophet

2010-02-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
A very valuable documentary produced by an American convert to Islam Michael Wolf, which portrays the right picture of Islam to the American community. . It is a good work, You can watch it on Youtube on the links below:
Part 1

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=cR7Ea8T8sTQ&NR=1

part 2

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=drjWoOhwv7c&feature=related

part 3

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=7CIfRWJ_ Scc&feature=related

Part 4

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=AXUhpXh- -wA&feature=related

Part 5

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=0dTihDNYtuY&feature=related

Part 6

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=ZDAkMwwDar4&feature=related

Part 7

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=wcdxB8GT3VM&feature=related

Part 8

http://www.youtube.. com/watch? v=XMvyUV4Yqpw&feature=related

Part 9

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=2fdZZfmOBs8&feature=related

Part 10

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=em-DeY0e2dg&feature=related

Part 11

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=B2A69Vv5h5o&feature=related

Part 12

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=G1GJf0OCMkg&feature=related

They are Dressed yet Naked

2009-05-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

The Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, once told his companions about two categories among the inhabitants of Hell-fire, as narrated by the companion Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him: the Prophet of Allah PBUH said:

صنفان من أهل النار لم أرهما بعد: نساء كاسيات عاريات، مائلات مميلات، رؤسهن كاسنمة البخت المائلة، لا يدخلن الجنة ولايجدن ريحها. ورجال بأيديهم سياط كأذناب البقر يضربون بها الناس

"There are two categories among the inhabitants of Hell-fire whom I have not encountered yet: women who are clothed yet naked, swaying, may be in the way they walk, or diverted from the straight path and enticing others, their heads look like the humps of swaying camels, they will neither enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance. the other category are men who carry whips like the tail of cows with which they beat people." (Sahih Muslim)

This post focuses on the first type which is the women who are dressed but naked. WE see these days Muslim girls or ladies who fulfil this description told by the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. Sadly, out of lack of religious knowledge these sisters wear head covers believing that this is the 'Hijab' that they are meant to wear. The truth is that either they are deceiving themselves or deceived by others who led them astray. Those sisters, without knowing it, give bad name to Islam and disfigure the whole concept of the Islamic dress for women. Non-Muslims would think that the Islamic dress is a symbol of the religion rather than its reality as a worship to Allah by being chaste.

I believe that part of this malpractice lies in the court of parents particularly mothers. I suggest the following steps for mothers who want their daughters to cover properly; the first step should be to encourage your daughter to wear modest clothes since her early childhood, such clothes must neither be skimpy nor revealing particularly as she reaches her teens; second step to train the daughter to behave modestly; it is important to take necessary measures to increase the daughter's Iman through reciting and learning the Qur'an and increasing her religious knowledge, then at the appropriate age, the mother encourages her daughter to cover her body and hair properly. And for sisters who want to cover, first thing please start by changing the style of your clothes into an appropriate outfit before covering your hair.

Muslim women who believe in Allah and love to be among the inhabitants of paradise should cover their bodies, and avoid attracting the opposite sex both in behaviour and appearance.

Please note that in this hadith, the description of women's heads is the sign for this category, not the reason for them being among the inhabitants of Hell. This description has nothing to do with the hair style a woman wears in her in her home, she can choose whichever hair style she wishes, so long the sister is not trying to imitate men.
Allah knows best

This illustration shows an example of what I am talking about.
The illustration is taken from an Arabic site, but I cannot remember exactly its address.

Hijab and the signs of the Last Day

2009-04-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Translation of the cartoon above:
Lady in red top: "Look at that lady-doesn't she feel ashamed going out without a hijab? How indecent!"
Lady wearing large yellow headscarf: "Tell me about it..."

Dear readers, particularly sisters who need to be aware of what to wear and what not to wear. The Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, described two types of Muslims that will be among the inhabitants of the Hellfire, among them a type of women who are dressed but are nevertheless naked. These days, we see many Muslim ladies and girls who cover their hair, believing that the Islamic dress is only hair covering. This is while they wear skimpy or revealing clothes. And even in their behaviour, one cannot miss the fact that they want to attract other people's attention. Please read the article in the link below to protect your self, your daughters or any of your sisters and friends from being one of the inhabitants of the Hellfire.

The title of the article: “…their heads like the swaying humps of camels…”
Copy the the link and past it in web address, or on my blog just click the site named:IslamToday, it should lead you there.

http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=33&sub_cat_id=817

Cartoon taken from the site below:
http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v140/59/123/544010783/n544010783_211904_9737.jpg

Supplication to Make Things Easy

2009-04-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him said:

اللهم لا سهل إلا ما جعلته سهلا فأنت تجعل الحزن إذا شئت سهلا
allahumma la sahla illa maja'altahu sahla fa anta taj'alul hazna idha shi'ta sahla
O Allah nothing is easy except what you have made easy, for it is You who makes difficult things easy if you wish

Dear reader please recite this prayer before starting any thing, so that it may become easy for you by the will of Allah. Try saying it before studying, before you start your exam, before your training on any thing be it driving, learning a new skill even before starting your work in the kitchen, just any thing. May Allah make our life easy.

Also for things to be easy it is advisable to pray the prayer of al-hajah (when needing something from Allah or from any one). All you do is pray two rak'ah and then read the following dua as mentioned in the following hadith:
Al-Tirmidhi and ibn Majah narrated that Abdullah ibn abi Awfa said that the prophet may Allah's peace and blessings said: Whoever needs anything from Allah or from any one, should make ablution, wudu', and he should perfect it. Then he should pray two rak'a. After that he should praise and glorify Allah and send salutations to the prophet PBUH, then he should say:

لا إله إلا الله الحليم الكريم
la ilaha illallahu alhaleemul kareem
There is no God except Allah the Gentle and the Generous

سبحان الله رب العرش العظيم
Subhanallahi rabbil 'arshil 'adheem
Faultless is Allah the Lord of the Great Throne

الحمد لله رب العالمين
Al-hamdulillahi rabbil 'aalameen
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds

اسألك موجبات رحمتك
As'aluka mujibati rahmatika
I ask you all what brings us your mercy
وعزائم مغفرتك
wa 'azaima maghfiratika
And all what grants us your forgiveness
والغنيمة من بر والسلامة من كل إثم
wal ghaneemata min kulli birr, wassalamata min kulli ithm
And make us gain from all that is good, and save us from all that is bad
اللهم لاتدع لى ذنبا إلا غفرته
Allahumma la tada' li thanban illa ghafartah
O Allah, do not leave any of my sins without forgiveness
ولا هما إلا فرجته
wa la hamman illa farrajtah
and do not leave any of my grieves or sorrows without removing
ولا حاجة هى لك رضا إلا قضيتها
wa la hajatan hiya laka ridan illa rdaytaha
And leave nothing that I need and which it pleases You without being granted
يا أرحم الراحمين
yaa arhamarrahimeen
O You the most Merciful of all who have mercy

when you finish this supplication at the end of the two rak'a prayer, name what you want from Allah or what you want from others. then praise Allah and finish by sending salutations to the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him (Allahumma ssally 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad: May Allah's oeace and blessings be upon Mohammad PBUH and his family). All this canbbefore you say salaam and finish the prayer. But remember that we should not ask Allah something that is forbidden or something that would displease Him the Almighty.

A Useful Link

2009-04-27T03:25:00.000-07:00

Dear readers I added a very useful link called 'The Islamic Workplace'.please visit it. All you need is just click on the link in my Useful links titled; The Islamic workplace
Or type http://makkah.worspress.com

Wake up, Muslim Ummah (2)

2009-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, in circulation there is an Iranian film that claims to present the Islamic point of view of the life of Mariam mother of Jesus, may Allah be pleased with both of them. This claim is not true for the following reasons:

1-From its start till the end, this film stresses the concept of Jesus as the saviour, which is not an Islamic concept. Muslims do not believe that any human being, even Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, is our saviour. Rather, he, Muhammad, is our teacher and guide to the straight path. Every Muslim is responsible for his/her choices and actions. The concept of the saviour is the core of Christianity. Christians believe that Jesus is their saviour as they believe that he was crucified and suffered to save them from Hell-fire.

The idea of the saviour originates from the Christian belief of Jesus being crucified. On the other hand, this idea or claim is strongly rejected in The Qur'an in surah 4, verse 157-158:

وقولهم إنا قتلناالمسيح عيسى بن مريم وما قتلوه وما صلبوه ولكن شبه لهم وإن الذين اختلفوا فيه لفى شك منه مالهم به من علم إلا اتباع الظن وما قتلوه يقينا* بل رفعه الله إليه وكان الله عزيزا حكيما* وإن من أهل الكتاب إلا ليؤمنن به قبل موته ويوم القيامة يكون عليهم شهيدا
"They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them; they certainly did not kill him. Allah raised him up to Himself. Allah is Almighty and all-Wise. Then there is not one of the people of the book who will not believe in him [as a messenger of Allh] before his [Jesus] death, and on the day of Resurrection he [Jesus] will be a witness against them."

It is clear in the above verses, that the Qur'an firmly negates the crucifixion, confirming that Allah the Almighty did not allow it to happen, and saved Jesus by raising him up to Himself. It is also clear that Jesus, may Allah's peace be upon him, will be a witness against those who will claim other than the truth about him as is communicated in the Qur'an.

2- Muslims reject the symbolising of Prophets via acting, pictures or illustrations, etc.
In this film, the characters of Prophet Zachariyyah, the honourable Mariam, mother of Jesus as well as others, were played by acters, which is absolutely unacceplatble from the islamic point of view.

3- Most of the events in this film are not authentic from the Islamic point of view, as they were taken from Scriptures other than the Qur'an. This is despite the fact that the Prophet PBUH, has ordered us not to take information from Scriptures other than the Qur'an; he said:

"لا تصدقوهم ولا تكذبوهم"
"Neither believe them nor accuse them of lying."

My dear readers , it is important to note that highlighting the false concept of the saviour in this film simulates the tactic that is used by those who published the booklet, al Siratul Mustaqiim and the website, which the previous post warned Muslims against. We should therefore be careful of similar material which has an Islamic cover, but the contents may not necessarily be the same as what is advertised.

Wake up, Muslim Ummah (1)

2009-04-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sadly, nowadays, many Muslims are busy with this life; some are competing for the worldly gains, some are wasting their lives on all sorts of pastime and amusements; some are just being lazy and doing nothing useful, while others are fighting or killing each other, all of those are averting from the light of the Qur'an and the prophet's teachings. This is, while Christian missionaries are hard at work to convert Muslims to Christianity in the Muslim world. A new cunning method was devised to deceive those of us who have a little or no knowledge of their religion apart from its name; A booklet titled Al-Siratul Mustaqiim, is being published and has been in circulation for years in different languages in many Islamic countries. Through wrong translation, the booklet twists the meaning of Quranic verses referring to Jesus AS, particularly his return near the time of the Dajjaal to convince people to believe in him as their saviour and their way to the straight path. These missionaries also have a website that is designed to look as an Islamic site.

So, please be aware of this booklet and all the Islamic materials you and your family read from. Please pay extra attention to the sources from which youth and children gain Islamic knowledge.

Below is an Islamic site that warns Muslims against this booklet

http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/al-siratul-mustaqiim-the-missionary-book-of-deception/

We need to increase our faith and get back to our religion by studying the Qur'an and the sunnah of the prophet SAW. We need to take great care of our children and youth, spend more time with them, help them solve their problems, nurture their faith, encourage them to study, understand and practice Islam properly. Also, we need to encourage them to build their future and be good citizens wherever they are.

How to Purify and Improve your Islam

2009-04-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

Dear friends I have come across a very good article, it is a translation of a very good talk by one of the scholars of al-Madina al-munawwarah. It tells in a comprehensive way how to improve your Islam and how to benefit from the knowledge you learnt in establishing Islam in yourself your family then, how to implement that to your community. It also focuses on Muslims in the non-Muslim communities. It is a must for every one who really loves to be good Muslim

The article is titled

Establish the Deen in Your Self and Your family … Then Call Others to it.

the site is: this is the life of ummaslam. you'll find it among useful links in my blog

Taqwaa of Allah (From the teachings of the Prophet)

2009-04-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

عن العرباض بن سارية رضى الله عنه قال: وعظنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم موعظة وجلت منها القلوب ، وذرفت منها العيون، فقلنا: يارسول الله كأنها موعظة مودع، فأوصنا، قال صلى الله عليه وسلم:
"أوصيكم بتقوى الله، والسمع والطاعة، وإن تأمر عليكم عبد، وإنه من يعش منكم بعدى فسيرى اختلافا كثيرا، فعليكم بسنتى وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين، عضوا عليها بالنواجذ، وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور، فإن كل بدعة ضلالة " رواه أبو داوود والترمزى, وقال حديث حسن

The Prophet's companion Ibn al-'Irbad ibn Sariyah, may Allah be pleased with him said: "The messenger of Allah gave us an admonition by which our hearts became frightened and our eyes flowed with tears, so we said to him: "O messenger of Allah, this sounds like a farewell admonition, so advice us."
The prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him said:
"I advise you to have taqwa of Allah, [be mindful of Allah], and to hear and obey even if a slave is given command over you. Whoever of you lives after me will see many disagreements [changes will be introduced in the application of the deen], so you must take hold of my sunnah, and the sunnah of the rightly guided khalifs who follow the right way. Bite on it with your molar teeth [held tight to it]. And beware of matters that are newly introduced [in your religion], for each of these newly introduced matters is an innovation [bid'ah]. And each innovation in religion is straying from the straight path, and every straying is in Hell-Fire."
Narrated by abu dawood and al-Tirmidhee,who said 'it is a sound authentic hadith'.

Words of Wisdom (2)

2009-04-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

Prophet Mohammad used to say:

مالى وللدنيا، إنما مثلى ومثل الدنيا كمثل راكب قال فى ظل شجرة ثم راح وتركها
"What have I to do with this life? The likeness of me and this life is like a rider who rests in the shade of a tree [for a while], and then departs and leaves it."

Ali ibn Abi-Talib. the companion of the Prophet , may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, used to say:

إن الدنيا قد ارتحلت مدبرة، وإن الآخرة قد ارتحلت مقبلة، ولكل منهما بنون، فكونوا من ابناء
الآخرة ، ولا تكونوا من أبناء الدنيا. فإن اليوم عمل ولا حساب، وغدا حساب ولا عمل
"This life is departing from us, and the Hereafter is travelling towards us, and each of them has children. So, be children of the Hereafter, and do not be children of this life. Today, there is action without reckoning, and tomorrow there will be reckoning without action."

The Permanent Abode

2009-04-02T00:56:00.000-07:00

In the Qur'an, in surah Ghafir, verse 39, Allah, exalted is He, quotes the words of the believing man from amongst the people of the Pharaoh, :

يا قوم إنما هذه الحياة الدنيا متاع وإن الآخرة هى دار القرار
"My people, the life of this world is only fleeting enjoyment. It is the Hereafter which is the permanent abode"

Words of Wisdom (1)

2009-04-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

One day, Prophet Mohammad took hold of ibn Umar's shoulder and said:

عن بن عمر رضى الله عنه قال: أخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بمنكبى، فقال: كن فى الدنيا كأنك غريب إو عابر سبيل

"Be in this world as if you were a stranger or someone traversing away."

وكان بن عمر رضى الله عنه يقول: إذا أمسيت فلا تنتظر الصباح، وإذا أصبحت فلا تنتظر المساء وخذ من صحتك لمرضك، ومن حياتك لموتك. رواه البخارى

Ibn Umar used to say: "When you enter upon the evening do not await the morning, and when you get up in the morning, do not await the evening. Take from your health for your sickness, and from your life for your death"
Narrated by Al-Bukhari.

Prophet Jesus, may Allah's peace be upon him said to his disciples about this world:

اعبروها ولا تعمروها

"Cross it and do not inhabit it."

Prophet Jesus one day asked his disciples:

من ذا الذى يبنى على موج البحر دارا؟ تلكم الدنيا فلا تتخذوها قرارا

"Who is there who would build a house on the waves of the sea? That is the likeness of this life; so do not take it as a permanent abode"

Islam in China

2009-03-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Dear readers, I have just discovered a very nice blog and website about Islam in china. It gives the reader very interesting information, which many of us lack. It gives a very clear historical account about Islam and Muslims in the far East. I enjoyed visiting this site, and hope you will enjoy it as well

the address: http://islaminchina.info

Motherhood

2009-03-30T04:26:00.000-07:00

Kizzi the cat became a mother for the first time on 22nd of March, which coincided with Mother's Day here in England. She gave birth to five lovely kittens. Amazingly kizi's personality has changed dramatically since then.

Kizzi used to spend more hours of her day outdoors hunting for mice, teasing birds, chasing leaves moved by the wind, or just sitting in the garden reflecting

Kizzi is very affectionate and grateful. She always rubs her nose against each of us. And she cannot start eating whithout giving me a kiss, her way of saying "thanks for the food, mum". During our meal-time, Kizi would come to the table to taste what we eat and remains in our company for sometime

Since giving birth to her babies, she spends nearly 22 hours breast feeding, licking and cleaning them and of course sleeping while the kittens feed on her milk. She would not go out more than once or twice, probably for her natural needs. As soon as she returns home, she gives us a short meow, her way of saying salam. Then, she rushes to her babies straightaway. Now, busy Kizzi hardly shares with us our food during our meal time.

Though very busy, she does not forget to give me my thank you kisses for the food. Actually, since being a mum, Kizzi became more affectionate and a lot more grateful! Amazingly, among all this hard work on her side, while the babies are sleeping she comes out from the nest to stretch her muscles and play with the children just for few minutes, then back again to her kittens. Peeping my eyes through to see her in her nest, I can see a very dedicated happy mother, who seems contented to play her role in life

Kizzi's behaviour is not like that of robots. Rather, she pauses when we offer her food to taste during meal time. She seems to think for few seconds, then makes up her mind to resume to her new job, looking after the babies. This dedication to her role in life brings to minds Qur'anic surah 20, verse 50:

"قال ربنا الذى أعطى كل شئ خلقه ثم هدى"

Moses said, 'Our Lord is He who gave everything its form, then gave it guidance

Reflecting on the dramatic change in Kizzi's behaviour; the sense of responsibility, the way she religiously attends to her babies, the way she balances her life according to her new responsibility make me wonder:

How honest, responsible and dedicated these animals are to the duties ordained upon them by Allah

Comparing Kizzi's dedication to her duities with some of the modern mums reminds me how has modern life changed the minds of many mothers and made them ignore their instinct, forget and detest their main role and duty in life?
This also reminds me of verse 72, surah 33

"إنا عرضنا الأمانة على السماوات والأرض و الجبال فأبين أن يحملنها وأشفقن منها وحملها الإنسان إنه كان ظلوما جهولا"

We offered the trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, yet they refused to undertake it and were afraid of it; mankind undertook it - they have always been inept and foolish

Sincerity

2009-03-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

The companion of the Prophet, Umar Ibn al-Khttab, may Allah be pleased with him narrated that the Prophet Peace be upon him said:

إنما الأعمال بالنيات وإنما لكل إمرء ما نوى، فمن كانت هجرته لله ورسوله فهجرته لله ورسوله ومن كانت هجرته لدنيا يصيبها أو إمرأة ينكحها فهجرته إلى ما هاجر إليه
Indeed, all actions are [done] by intentions, and for each individual is that which he intended for. So, whoever migrates for Allah and His messenger, then his migration is for Allah and His messenger, and whoever migrates to gain worldly matters or to marry a woman, then his migration is for that which he migrates for

Before explaining this teaching it is essential to clarify three key concepts:
1- al-niyyaat, is the plural of niyah, which means different motives, and intentions behind doing anything. In other words, it is what we deliberately intend in our hearts, either good or bad.

2- al-a'maal, is the plural of the Arabic word 'amal, which means any act in general. From the Islamic point of view, acts can be broadly classified into three categories:

Wrong-doings or sins which incur punishment, if people meet Allah without repenting.
Good deeds; include obligatory deeds of worship which one gets rewards for doing them and earns sins for ignoring them, and recommended deeds, which one earns rewards for doing them and no sins for not doing them
Permissible acts such as habits or acts like eating, sleeping, having rest etc. Doing or ignoring these acts earns the individual no rewards or sins.

However, good and sincere intention can transform permissible acts into good deeds. On the other side, good intention cannot in any way transform wrongdoings or sins into good deeds.

3- al-ikhlas, means sincerity, which implies purifying one's intention for Allah's sake. So, al-ikhlas or sincerity in Islamic understanding means that one does things purely to please Allah and in accordance to what He the all-Mighty ordains.

Explanation of the previous hadith
Indeed, all actions are [done] by intentions,
This sentence implies lots of meanings;

all actions of mature rational persons are done according to different motives or intentions. In other words, people have different intentions behind their actions.
The accountability before Allah will be on actions that are founded by intentions. This is confirmed in the Qur'an in surah 2 verse 225:

لا يؤاخذكم الله باللغو فى أيمانكم ولكن يؤاخذكم بما كسبت قلوبكم والله غفور حليم
"Allah will not call you to account for oath you uttered unintentionally, but He will call you to account for what you mean in your hearts. Allah is most forgiving and forbearing."

and in surah 33, verse 5

ليس عليكم جناح فيما أخطأتم به ولكن ما تعمدت قلوبكم
"...You will not be blamed if you make a mistake, only for what your hearts deliberately intend"

Allah's acceptance of any action depends on the intention and motive behind doing it, not just the nature or the category of that act.

'and for each individual is that which he intends for'
This sentence is not a repetition of the previous sentence. Rather it refers to the rewards for one's actions:

This sentence implies that each individual should expect to get what he intends for by his actions. So, if he intends to please Allah by his actions, he expects to gain Allah's pleasure and consequently Paradise, provided that his actions are in accordance to Islamic rules and laws. But, if the person intends by his actions worldly gains, he should expect to get what he intends for. He should not expect to gain Paradise, which he did not work for. For example, if someone planted daffodil bulbs, logically he expects to get daffodils, not roses. Logically, if one studies at the school of medicine, he expects to graduate as a medical doctor not a lawyer or an engineer.

It also implies that Allah's acceptance of deeds depends on the intention behind them not just their nature or classification. The good deeds that are done for reasons other than pleasing Allah do not count as good deeds in the hereafter. This meaning is reflected clearly in the previous verse 114 in surah 4. This fact is also confirmed in another teaching by the Prophet, who said:

إن الله لا يقبل من العمل إلا ما كان خالصا لوجهه
"Indeed, Allah accepts only the deeds that are done purely for seeking His pleasure"

In the other half of this hadith, the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, confirms the meanings of the previous two sentences by giving us an example of the same act (migrating), which is done for different motives. The individual who migrated to please Allah and follow His messenger, he should expect to be rewarded by Allah. But the individual who migrated to earn worldly gains, or to marry a woman he should expect to get what he worked for. So, it is not sensible to work for your own worldly gain and expect to be rewarded paradise for it.

Thus, in order to be successful in our life and make the most of it we need to purify our intention and be sure that everything we do is purely done to please Allah. Then, we expect to be drawn nearer to the King of the Worlds, the owner of the Heavens and Earth, and the Owner of Paradise.

From the Teachings of the Prophet

2009-02-24T13:20:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T01:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

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.

Behind Hardships

2009-01-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

The atrocity on innocent civilians in Gaza shows an ugly face of mankind. On the other hand, the solidarity and the amazing support by the people in Britain to get the humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, to reduce the sufferings of fellow humans on the other side of the world, highlights the bright side of mankind. This side is what makes us humans!

Well done people of Britain!

Can We Learns from Animals

2009-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Regardless of their differences some animals can get on well together. They can forget their differences and show passion and mercy towards each other.

in May 2002, one of the newspapers published a true story of a kind dog who lived with a cat, for some years, in a household. Both the dog and the cat were good friends. The dog did not have puppies of her own, but she took a lot of interest watching the cat nursing her kittens.
One day, the mother cat was run over by a car. Since then, the dog stepped forward to nurse the orphan kitten, clean them and above all she started to produce milk and suckle her friend's babies!

Man was given the intellectual power with which he was made a khlifah on earth. And he was honoured above other creatures. But, some of us mankind cannot even do like the hero dog of our story. Some humans, all over history of mankind on earth, in all corners of our planet, take differences in race, sex, religion or tongue and nationality as a reason for discrimination up to wars and fighting; they do not only kill fighters, but children, mothers and elderly people. Can we learn from animals!

the photo top right is taken from blogspot.usatoday
(the story does not belong to this particular photo)

Night Prayers

2009-01-26T10:51:00.000-08:00

Prophet Muhammad taught us

Duaa' as the sun sets and the night starts:

"اللهم هذا إقبال ليلك وإدبار نهارك وأصوات دعاتك فاغفر لى"
"Allahumma hadha iqbalu lailika, wa idbaru naharika, wa aswatu du'atika, faghfir li"
"O Allah, this is the start of the night, the end of the day, and the sound of those who pray to you, so forgive me"

Duaa' after the sunset and performing maghrib prayer

The Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him said that whoever recites the following supplication after maghrib prayer, Allah sends guards to protect him/her from Satan until the morning. And when he/she repeats this prayer 10 times, he/she gains 10 rewards and 10 of his/her sins will be cancelled:

"لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد يحيى ويميت وهو على كل شئ قدير"
"la ilaha illa Allahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu almulku, wa lahu alhamdu, yuhyi wa yumiitu wa hua ala kulli shay'in qadir"
"There is no god but Allah, the only One, He has no partners. all Sovereignty is His. He gives life and He takes it. He is able to do everything"

Duaa' before you go to sleep:

There are several forms of prayers to read at that time just before you sleep. I selected one of them;

باسمك اللهم وضعت جنبى وبك أرفعه

Bismika allahumma wa da'tu janbi, wa bi ka arfa'uhu

إن أمسكت نفسى فارحمها

In amsakta nafsi farhamha

وإن ارسلتها فاحفظها بما تحفظ به عبادك الصالحين

wa in arsaltaha fahfazha bima tahfazbihi ibadika assalihiin

"O Allah, with your name I laid my side, and with your name I raise it.
O Allah, if you withhold my soul, make it die, grant it your mercy,
But, if you release it, leave it to live, protect it as you protect your righteous servants.

The Power of Prayer 'Duaa' (2)

2009-01-26T02:58:00.000-08:00

Remembrence of Allah is generally called dhikr in Arabic. It can be:

reciting Allah's own words,which is the Qur'an,
reciting any form of praise, or glorifying Allah.
praying to God asking for anything, which is called duaa'.

Duaa', which is prayer or supplication, acquires a high status in Islam. It is known to be at the heart of worship as the Prophet, salla Allahu alihi wasallam,(SAW), taught us:

"الدعاء مخ العبادة"

By analysing the act of duaa' , prayer/supplication , we find that it implies:

acknowledging the presence of Allah,
acknowledging that He is the God with ultimate power,
acknowledging that He hears what we say- in secret or in public, and
acknowledging that He is fully able to grant us what we request. Thus, making prayer or supplication to God is definitely a practical way of expressing our tawhid, which is affirming that Allah is the Only God and Creator.

Duaa', prayer/supplication, is a key that leads to our happiness in this life and in the hearafter. Once we engage in prayer and remembrance of Allah, straightaway we become in His presence. Allah said in the Qudsi Hadith:

"أنا جليس من ذكرنى"

"I am with whoever remembers me"

We are never alone once we start making prayer. So, in times when you feel lonely, in need of help, depressed or afraid, turn to Allah at once; pray and speak to Him. At the very moment you start praying, Allah will be with you. Never be shy to ask Him as much or as frequently as you can. Allah loves you to do so.

In the Qur'an Allah encourages His servants to turn to Him and ask what they want.
In chapter,40 (ghafir): 60, He says:

"وقال ربكم ادعونى استجب لكم إن الذين يستكبرون عن عبادتى سيدخلون جهنم داخرين"
"Your Lord says: 'Call on Me and I will answer you; those who are too proud to worship me will enter Hell humiliated"

In this verse, Allah promises to answer prayers of those who turn to Him and ask. It is important to note that in this verse, duaa' is also described as worship.

Then, in the same chapter, 40, in verse 65, Allah tells us one of the conditions that are necessary for our prayer to be answered:

" هو الحى لا إله إلا هو فادعوه مخلصين له الدين الحمد لله رب العالمين"
"He is the Ever Living, there is no god but Him, so call on Him with sincerity and devotion of your religion entirely to Him, Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds"

As seen, purifying our tawhid and devotion to Allah, is necessary for answering our prayers.

Also, in chapter 2 in the Qur'an, Allah informs us more about answering our prayers;
chapter 2, al-Baqarah: 186, Allah says, speaking to Muhammad SAW:

"وإذا سألك عبادى عنى فإنى قريب أجيب دعوة الداعى إذا دعانى فليستجيبوا بى وليؤمنوا بى لعلهم يرشدون"
"If my servants ask you about Me, [tell them that] I am near; I respond to those who call Me, so they have to respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be rightly guided"

We see from this verse, how Allah is very close to us. actually He is closer to us than our own jugular veins (the veins in our necks). All we need to do is just turn our hearts to Him and call Him. He always responds.
But, we need to respond to His guidance and believe in Him and obey Him so that our prayer would be answered. Thus, believing in Allah, responding to His guidance by obeying Him is another condition we need to fulfill for our salvation and for our prayers to be answered.

Once, the companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waaqqas asked Prophet Muhammad SAW and said:

"يا رسول الله ادعو لى أن اكون مستجاب الدعوة"

"O Prophet of Allah, ask Allah to grant me a status that all my prayers would be answered"

The Prophet then replied:

"يا سعد أطب مطعمك تكن مستجاب الدعوة فوالذى نفس محمد بيده فإن العبد ليقذف اللقمة الحرام فى جوفه ما يتقبل الله منه عمل اربعين ليلة

"O Sa'd, make sure that what you eat is lawful and wholesome, then, you will be in such a high status where your prayers will be answered. Then, the Prophet continued: 'By Him whom my soul is in His hands, the deeds of any person who swallows an unlawful morsel of food will not be accepted by Allah for forty days."

To summarise, in order for our prayers to be answered we need to:

Be devote and sincere in our worship, deeds and our relation with Allah.
be obedient to Allah, by following His book and the Prophet's teachings
make sure that what we eat, including the food itself and the means by which we get it or buy it should be lawful, halal. In other words, we should obey Allah and eat in accordance to His guidance. If we do that, our bodies will be built from wholesome lawful stuff, the energy we consume in every movement will be from lawful sources, then Allah will accept our deeds and our prayers will be answered by Him. We can add to this list what we have learnt from the previous article of 'the power of prayer':
being patient
being God mindful
remembrance of Allah.

(This subject will be continued in another article another week, in sha'Allah)

the photo at the top right is taken from www.ummah.com

news from Gaza

2009-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Dear readers, I came accross a very good blog written by a doctor from Gaza. She documents what is going on. If you are interested to follow the news from its people, please visit this blog: from Gaza with Love
the address of the blog fromgaza.blogspot.com

The Power of Prayer Duaa' (1)

2009-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

When we are faced with hardship of any kind, we tend to turn to Allah asking His help and support. However, some of us might not be sure how prayer, duaa', can be effective?

Just listen to the following true story that occurred at the time of the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.

'Aof ibn Malik was one of the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) from the tribe of Ashja'. He had many children and was very poor. It appears that he had a son on whom the family relied for support. One day, this son was taken captive by the enemy. This was very hard for the family; in addition to losing their son, they were in great need for financial support.
So, Aof went to the Prophet (PBUH) complaining about their situation, asking for help. Instead of giving him money or food, the Prophet (PBUH) assured him saying that Allah will relieve their hardship. Then, he told Aof that he and his wife should be patient, mindful of Allah and increase in remembering Allah by saying' la hawla wa la quwata illa billah', which means 'neither strength nor power can be gained except from Allah'.
'Aof informed his wife of what the prophet told them to do. They both realised that they had to accept their difficulty with more patience. They kept on repeating this form of dhikr most of the time. During that time, while they were praying to Allah, repeating ' la hawla wa la quwata ila billah', Allah made it easy for their son to escape from his captivity, while the enemy were not taking notice.

As the parents were engaged in repeating the remembrance of Allah, the family was surprised to see their son could escape from the enemy and came back leading about forty of the enemy's sheep!

Because Aof was keen to follow the orders of the Prophet of having 'taqwa', which means to be mindful of Allah in everything we do, Aof was not sure if these sheep were lawful for the family to take and eat from.
It is amazing how God-mindful Aof was! Despite his poverty and the great need his family was suffering, he did not take his children's hunger as an excuse to eat or take what might be unlawful. So, instead of taking the sheep his son brought, he went to Prophet Muhammad to check. For his joy, the Prophet declared that it was lawful for them to make use of the sheep.

To summarise, three factors here were in action to hasten Allah's blessings;

please Allah by being mindful of Him in all what one does,
remember Allah most of the time, here the special form of dhikr was la hawla wa la quwata illa billah, لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله
and be patient with the difficulty you are facing. of course depending on the difficulty, you will need to act in accordance. This is where being mindful of Allah comes in action; your actions must be in accordance to what Allah has ordained, this is called 'taqwa'.

My very dear reader, try to implement this triad; of being steadfast, mindful of Allah in all what you do, and remember Him most of the time. To draw yourself nearer to Allah and have your prayers answered, you need not just to learn what to do, but to act upon that, to live by what you have learnt. The life of our Prophet Muhammad is not a story to enjoy and tell others about it, rather it is a way of life we need to follow and live by to gain success and happiness this life and in the hereafter.
Try this form of dhikr and remember the innocents in Gaza and the oppressed all over the world. You never know the power of this prayer;

لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله

'la hawla wa la quwata illa billah'

Here are some useful information about this special prayer and form of remembrance we learnt this article:

Abu Dharr the companion of the Prophet narrated, that one day he went to sit with Prophet Muhammad in the mosque. The Prophet ordered him to pray first, then to seek refuge from the devils of humans and Jinn. Then Prophet Muhammad told Abu Dharr: Would you like me to teach you one of the treasures of Jannah, Paradise? Abu Dharr, said: "Yes." Muhammad (PBUH) said to him; "Say la hawla wa la quwata illa billah,

لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله

In another narration, Abu Dharr said:

أوصانى خليلى صلى الله عليه وسلم بسبع: " أمرنى بحب المساكين والدنو منهم, وأمرنى أن أنظر إلى من هو دونى, وأن لا أسأل أحد شيئا, وأن أصل الرحم وإن أدبرت, وأن أقول الحق ولو كان مرا, وألا أخاف فى الله لومة لائم, وأن أكثر من قول لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله: فإنهن

من كنز من تحت العرش

My beloved companion, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, advised me of seven things:
He ordered me to love the people in need and to draw my self closer to them,
To compare myself to those who are less fortunate than me. By doing so, one would be able to appreciate the numerous blessings he already has.
Not to ask anything from anyone,
To keep contact with my relatives even if they averted from me,
To say the truth, even if it was bitter,
Not to fear criticism while doing what pleases Allah,
And to increase remembering Allah by articulating this form of dhikr, la hawla wa la quwata illa billah, These words are among a treasure placed just below the Throne of Allah.

From the Teachings of the Prophet

2009-01-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

Looking after our community and environment

In the Qur'an, Prophet Muhammad was praised by Allah as having a great sublime character. Anyone who values morality will find it lived by throughout the life of Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Through his actions and sayings, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught his followers the great morals humanity need to live by. Here, I selected for you some of Muhammad's teachings that reflect his character and teach us how to acquire it.

My method in displaying this will be through writing the exact words of the Prophet's sayings in Arabic, then explain and interpret the meanings rather than literally translate the words. This is because literal translation, particularly between two languages such as Arabic and English, is insufficient in conveying the meanings.

Muhammad (PBUH) used to encourage his followers to interact positively in their community. The Prophet's companion, Abu Hurayrah narrated:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من اصبح منكم اليوم صائما؟ " فقال ابو بكرأنا .
فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من أطعم منكم اليوم مسكينا؟" فقال أبو بكر : أنا.
فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم:" من تبع منكم اليوم جنازة؟ فقال أبوبكر : أنا.
فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من عاد منكم اليوم مريضا؟" فقال أبوبكر: أنا.
فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: "مااجتمعت هذه الخصال قط فى رجل إلا دخل الجنة

One day the Prophet asked his companions: who of you is fasting today? His best friend Abu Bakr replied: Me.
Then, the Prophet asked: "Who fed someone in need today? Abu bakr answered: Me.
The Prophet Peace be upon him asked: "Who followed a funeral today?" Abu bakr said: Me.
Then, the Prophet asked: "Who visited an ill person today?" Abu bakr also answered: Me.
Then Prophet Muhammad who considered each of these good deeds as a good trait, told his companions: "A person who combines all these traits will certainly enter Paradise."

Here, Muhammad (PBUH) linked between performing acts of worship like fasting with participating in the community in charity acts such as in feeding the needy; with having good social relations, such as showing condolence and sympathizing with others in the time of sorrow - as in following a funeral; and visiting people when they are ill.
Here, the Prophet wanted to show his followers how a Muslim should be; and how our relation with our God through worship should be reflected in our personal behaviour in a positive way in the communities we live in.

His teaching did not stop at caring for our fellow humans, it extended to caring for the environment including plants and animals. He said:

ما من مسلم يغرس غرسا أو يزرع زرعا فيأكل منه طير أو إنسان إلا كان له به صدقة"

'A Muslim who sows a seed or cultivates a plant, will gain rewards for every bird or human who eats from it- this will count for him as a charity'

He also, said:

"ما من مسلم يغرس غرسا إلا كان منه له صدقة ، وما سرق منه له صدقة، ولايرزوه أحد إلا كان له صدقة يوم القيامة "

'Some of what a Muslim plants will be counted as charity for him on the Day of Judgement- if some of it was stolen or if people benefited from it in any way.'

Some of us might feel unhappy when we plant something and find out that others steal from it, or benefit from it without our permission- like people get shaded under one of our trees while passing by our lands, or animals eat from our crops. This might even discourage some people from planting, or lead others to build fences around their property. So, in order to encourage the trait of sharing with others among his followers, Prophet Muhammad praised the people of Madina for the generosity they were known for; they used to help the needy, spend in charity from their wealth and be generous to the wayfarers. He then wondered why when Allah blessed them with Islam and having Allah's messenger to live amongst them, they started to build fences around their gardens and fields? So, He taught them and us: 'There is a reward for you for every human who eats from what you plant. Also, you will gain rewards, on the Day of Judgement, for every beast or bird that eats from your crops.'

the prophet wanted to encourage people to be generous with every body including those whom they do not know, and extended this generosity to care for the creatures who have habitat near them.

From these teachings we see that a true believer does not retreat and live for himself. Rather his/her belief in Allah should transform him/her to have warm relations and a positive impact on those around him/her- not only humans but also living creatures.

To be a true Muslim and enter Paradise, one needs to follow Muhammad's sublime character all the time.

Unacceptable Behaviour

2009-01-04T01:38:00.000-08:00

People feel outraged by the slaughter of innocent civilians; children, women and elderly people in Palestine. They feel angry, which is a natural part of being a human. It is no sin to feel angry, but one has to control his/her anger, because everyone is responsible for his/her own way of expressing it. If we want Allah to respond to our prayers, we must behave in a way that pleases Him. Also, we have to remember that Allah is Just and Fair, He does not like transgression or the transgressors whoever they are. Also, Allah does not like oppression or the oppressors whoever they are. So if we want Allah to respond to our prayer we should never be transgressors or oppressors.

There is no blame on anyone for having feelings such as anger or sadness, etc. At the same time, we need to remember that we will be held accountable before Allah for our actions. Some of the people who took part in one of the demonstrations threw shoes! Now this is unacceptable behaviour. People who do such very demeaning acts are only representing themselves. But the problem is that they give a false and bad image of those whom they belong to. Such a way of expressing anger is considered very low in the eyes of respectable people in the Arab world. Those who do it for whatever reason are looked upon as behaving in a very low way. It is not acceptable.

The way we behave reflects who we are. We should learn from the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. He was the most decent and polite person with everyone in all circumstances -when he was angry and when he was pleased. Allah praised His Prophet for his great character in chapter 68 verse 4:

( و إنك لعلى خلق عظيم )

"Truly, you have a great and noble character"

If we really love our Prophet and respect our religion, the communities we belong to and ourselves, we must take the Prophet as our example and behave in accordance to the code of behaviour he taught us.

Did the world Learn From the Past

2008-12-30T02:52:00.000-08:00

Let us remember the holocaust and learn the lesson. I write for those who love justice and believe in human rights; the holocaust, or Shoah in Hebrew, was the genocide of millions of European Jews by the Nazi regime during the World War II (read the details of the holocaust on Wikipedia to inform yourself of the oppression of man to his fellow men).

Read about the kristallnacht--literally, "Night of Crystal," that occurred in November 1938.
During that time, great calamity and oppression befell thousands of Jews of Polish citizenship living in Germany (read about it from the Wikipedia).

I also ask you to read about the gas chambers and the extermination camps, I urge you to read about the Jewish resistance represented in the Jewish partisans or fighters who as quoted from Wikipedia "The partisans engaged in guerilla warfare and sabotage against the Nazi occupation, instigated ghetto uprisings and freed prisoners."

Read about the calamity done by humans against humans tens of years ago, and watch the calamity that is going on today. Read about the holocaust and picture the past against what you see today going on in Palestine by the hands of yesterday's victims! The same calamity is being repeated today but with different people- the victims of today are innocent palestinians.

Ironically, commenting on the calamity that is going on in Palestine, Mr Obama said: "if someone was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I am going to do everything in my power to stop that" he added: "And I would expect the Israelis to do the same thing."
I ask Mr Obama: what would you do if someone takes over your house, claiming to own it, forcing your daughters to a corner, terrorising them, starving them, and depriving them of their human rights!"

People commemorate the catastrophe of the past to learn lessons so that the world would enjoy peace in our present time and future. But alas, do we reflect? Do we learn?

I want to ask leaders of all nations of the world, specially leaders of the nations that participated in this tragedy of Palestine now and in the past, do you consider yourselves as just people? Do you really believe in human rights? I want to ask what is your definition of peace? what is your definition of justice?

If the world justifies and blesses the killing of the innocent, then what did we learn? What is the use of memorizing the calamities of the past?

Shame on a world that justifies or supports oppressing and killing of the innocent!
Shame on a world that hears cries of oppressed children and turns deaf ears!
Shame on a world that sees injured innocent children and turns blind eyes!
Shame on humans who claim morality while exterminating other innocents!
Shame on politicians and media who play with words to fool their audience and readers!
Shame on the audience and readers who accept to be fooled!
Shame on the civilized man of the twenty first century who witnesses such calamity and justifies it!
Shame on every person who participated in the genocide of the innocent Palestinians!

Let us do our best and pray to Our Creator to help and save the oppressed of the world.

Light from the Qur'an

2008-12-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

In life we might wish badly for things that we are almost certain are good for us. Then, we pray to Allah begging Him to grant us what we want. It might happen that we do not get what we ask for, so we become angry or frustrated. We may wonder why Allah does not grant us what we want. But we may forget to ask ourselves, is what we asked for really good for us?

I selected for you four verses of the Qur'an that give us an answer:
in surah al-Baqarah 2, verse 216

كتب عليكم القتال وهو كره لكم وعسى أن تكرهوا شيئا وهو خير لكم وعسى أن تحبوا شيئا وهو شر لكم والله يعلم وأنتم لا تعلمون
"Fighting, to defend yourselves, is ordained upon you though you dislike it. You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not"

Here, the highlighted part is the focus of our discussion. Although the verses speak about an order by Allah to Muslims in certain situations, but the rule is general for all Allah's orders. For instance, five prayers a day might seem a lot by some, while in truth it is just what we need to balance our spiritual needs and material needs in our daily life. Also, observing these daily prayers should lead us to Paradise.
.
Surah al-Nisa' 4, verse 19

يأيها الذين ءامنوا لايحل لكم أن ترثوا النساء كرها ولا تعضلوهن لتذهبوا ببعض ما ءاتيتموهن إلا أن يأتين بفاحشة مبينة وعاشروهن بالمعرف فإن كرهتموهن فعسى أن تكرهوا شيئا ويجعل الله فيه خيرا كثرا

"You who believe, it is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will, nor should you treat your wives harshly, hoping to take back some of the bride-gift you gave them, unless they are guilty of something indecent (like adultery). Live with them in accordance with what is fair and kind: if you dislike them, it might well be that you dislike something in which Allah has put much good."

This verse deals with family issues when things go wrong between husband and wife. It sets certain rules to ensure justice for women. Also, Allah reminds husbands who might dislike their wives of the fact that 'not everything we hate is bad for us; there might be lots of good in what we dislike'!

In surah al-Nur 24, verse 11

إن الذين جاءوا بالإفك عصبة منكم لاتحسبوه شرا لكم بل هو خير

"It was a group from among you who concocted the lie - do not consider it a bad thing for you [people]; it was a good thing..."

Here the verse refers to the event when Ayshah the wife of the Prophet was falsely accused of indecency by some of the Muslims. This incident created such a hard time for the Prophet, his innocent wife, and the whole of the community for a month! However, it disclosed the hidden danger of the hypocrites who were secretly keen to spread evil in the society, attack Islam, and hurt the Prophet. Also, because of this incident Allah laid to the Muslims rules that create mutual love and trust between members of the community.

Surah Al-Imran 3, verse 180:

ولا يحسبن الذين يبخلون بما ءاتاه الله من فضله هو خيرا لهم بل هو شر لهم سيطوقون ما بخلوا به يوم القيامة ولله ميراث السماوات والأرض والله بما تعملون خبير

"Those who are miserly with what Allah has granted them out of His grace, should not think that it is good for them; on the contrary, it is bad for them. For whatever they meanly withhold will be hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. It is Allah who will inherit the heavens and earth; Allah is well aware of everything you do."

Here the verse shows us a picture of some people who are so mean and do not spend in charity for the sake of Allah. They like collecting money, which Allah granted them. They think that what they do is good for them, out of ignorance. But Allah confirms what they do not know; this money will be held around their necks and burn them on the Day of Resurrection

Looking at these verses that deal with different incidents, we can clearly see that not everything we consider as bad is always bad, and not everything we think of as good and winning is always so. When Allah orders us to do something like, for instance, women to be covered, we should not receive this with hate and dislike; it is definitely good for us. When things do not go the way we plan in our family life, we should not base our reaction on hate and love. We should fear Allah and refer to Him in solving our problems. If something bad befalls upon us, we should not lose hope or blame it on Allah. We need to return to Allah, ask His help and guidance, and do our best to remove the harm, then search for what good we can gain from what has happened. When we try to disobey Allah, thinking that we are clever, and that we can get away with something, we have to know that we are wrong and on the losing end; pleasing Allah is the winning card that we should use.

The Message of Hajj

2008-12-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Once every year, at around this time, the hearts of millions of Muslims yearn to visit al Ka'bah, the first house built for worship on Earth. These feelings are like a code carved on the hearts of millions of people all over the globe. Although performing hajj, pilgrimage, is one of the pillars of Islam and a duty ordained upon those who have the physical and financial abilities to do so, these feelings are a lot deeper than an urge to do what should be done; there is more to this worship than being an obligation that needs doing.

The first ten days of thi-lhijjah are the best days of the year; Allah made an oath by the nights of these days at the opening of surah 89, al-Fajr. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mentioned that no days in the year surpass these ten days of the month of thi-lhijajah and that good deeds in these days are loved by Allah more than deeds done in any other time of the year. That is why, in the first ten days of thi-lhijja, the Prophet (PBUH) taught us to increase remembrance of Allah such as tahmid (praising), takbir (glorification) and tahlil (articulating that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone).

It is important to note that the 9th of thi-lhijja, the day of Arafat, is of an even higher status than the rest of these ten days. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mentioned that no day is viewed by Allah as greater than Arafat. In that day Allah descends to the lowest heaven, in a manner that suits Him the Almighty, praising the Earth's inhabitants, those who came travelling from every corner of the Earth, hoping to be granted Allah's mercy and be spared His wrath. The Prophet (PBUH) confirmed that no other day of the year would witness more people being exempt from Hell-fire than on the day of Arafat. As we can see, during this time of the year, there is a big chance for our sins to be forgiven if we work for it.

A question arises: why has Arafat attained such a high status? Each year, the season of hajj revives many noble meanings and memories of the Prophets of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon them all) who journeyed to the Ka'bah, showing submission and declaring their devotion to the Creator of the universe; the words of Prophet Muhammad's last advice in his farewell khutbah; the lessons from the life of Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hajar and their son Prophet Isma'il. These days also revive an unexplained, overwhelming sense of longing to this place that seems to run in the blood of millions of people. Pondering upon the reasons behind these special emotions that we feel during this season brings forth some important scenes from the past that this article will highlight:

The scene of Ibrahim (PBUH) prostrating to Allalh in a wild desert with no signs of life in it, leaving his young wife and only baby, whom he had always longed for. In doing so, Ibrahim was obeying his Lord's command. So he did not question this divine order that may seem to be harsh according to our logic; his wife and baby could perish. But it did not seem so to Ibrahim who was a living example of absolute trust and submission to Allah. With all the trust he had in Allah, he took the possible measures to protect his family in this situation; he prayed to Allah. He could do no more.
The scene of Hajar hurrying after Ibrahim asking him: ''why are you leaving us alone?'', responding to her human logic- she feared she and her child would perish in that desert. But the moment she received Ibrahim's answer that it was Allah's will, she surrendered her heart to Allah and assured herself saying: ''He would never leave us to be harmed''. Although Hajar was certain that neither she nor her baby would perish in the lonely desert, she took all the measures she could in these circumstances to save her child's life; she kept searching hard for a source of water. She showed the positive and correct way of submission to Allah, as her husband did.
The last scene we recall here of this family, is that of the old, exhausted, loving father accompanying his son, now in his teens. Both Ibrahim and Isma'il were going through another test. Ibrahim knew for sure, from a repeated inspiration, that Allah was ordering him to kill his only son. Ibrahim was not worried about the wisdom behind the divine order; he knew his Lord well. He was worried about his son-how would he receive this difficult test? To Ibrahim's joy, his son, who was mainly raised by such a wonderful, believing mother, was another example how Islam to Allah should be. Calmly, he said to his father: ''O father do what you are ordered to do, I'll be patient''. Isma'il did not ask Allah, Why? What is the wisdom behind this seemingly hard test? Putting all of his trust in his Lord, Isma'il accepted the divine order without hesitation. The faith of both Isma'il and Ibrahim was tested to the last minute. They took all the steps to carry out the order. Just as the blade of the sharp knife fell upon the neck of the boy, an angel was descended with a sheep to offer as a sacrifice instead. This season, bringing to mind scenes from the life of this family, reminds us each year of how our Islam to Allah should be.

Could these great lessons be the reasons for the deep longing to that place? Actually, the answer is that this season and its place of occurrence, particularly the place called Arafat, where the pilgrims spend the whole of the 9th day of thi-lhijjah, brings forth to the eye of humanity another event that occurred thousands of years ago, or maybe a lot more as we have no records. It concerns and involves the whole of humanity. It connects the very start of mankind to their very end. It clarifies the main purpose of our creation. This great event occurred upon the creation of the father of mankind: Adam and is mentioned in verses 172-174 of chapter 7, 'al-A'raf:

وإذ أخذ ربك من بنى آدم من ظهورهم ذريتهم وأشهدهم على أنفسهم الست بربكم قالوا بلى شهدنا أن تقولوا يوم القيامة إنا كنا عن هذا غافلين * أو تقولوا إنما اشرك ءاباؤنا من قبل وكنا ذرية من بعدهم أفتهلكنا بما فعل المبطلون * وكذلك نفصل الآيات ولعلهم يرجعون

These three verses tell us about the very first moments of our own existence in life, when Allah our Lord extracted the offspring from the backs of Adam's children, then He made them bear witness each other's acknowledgement as they were asked: ''Am I not your Lord?'' and they testified: ''Yes, we bear witness''. Then Allah warned them, lest, on the day of resurrection, they deny the truth that they testified, or blame their disobedience on their forefathers who falsely ascribed partners to God, so that they, the offspring, would escape from being punished for ascribing partners with God by blindly following their people or cultural practices. Then Allah affirms in the last verse that He explains His message clearly to mankind in the Qur'an, so that they may return to the right path. This is a glimpse of the scene of our very first existence that the Qur'an highlighted, leaving, as usual, the details to be explained by the Prophet (PBUH).

The Prophet (PBUH) mentioned that this event of taking the pledge of the offspring of Adam, all members of the human race, occurred in Arafat. It dated to after the descent of Adam and his wife to earth from paradise. This testimony of the human race when Allah brought them into existence as al-tharr (which means the size of the smallest particles), is known as the pledge of natural instinct: mithaq alfitrah. This pledge could explain the deep feeling of the existence of God that is experienced by many people, while for others it might be covered or hidden by many factors.

In the Hadith, the Prophet mentioned that Allah took out from the back/loin of Adam his offspring; then, He took from each of Adam's children to be, their own offspring and so on until He, the All mighty, extracted all those who would live on Earth until the last day, in the form of al-tharr-in the size of very small particles. (After the knowledge we have of how the plan of a whole human is stored in very tiny chromosomes, and how genes are passed from one generation to the other, it becomes easy to grasp this concept).Then, Allah made the offspring in that tiny form able to speak . So, when He asked them ''am I not your Lord?'', they acknowledged that He is their Lord. It was then that they made their pledge to believe in and obey Allah. They said: 'labayka Allahumma labayk' ''O Allah, we responded and obeyed you''. After that, Allah returned them back from where He extracted them. This sentence, 'labayka Allahumma labayk', is the same call which Allah taught Ibrahim to say during hajj and is the same call that Muslims have been taught to repeat a lot during hajj.

The flow of pilgrims each year, during these days, summoned in Arafat on the Day of Hajj, appears to be a replication of the moments when we took the pledge to worship Allah alone. There, thousands of years ago (or even more) all humans, those who are living today, those who were living in the past and those who will be living in the future, all repeated 'labayka Allahumma labayk'. Those same words are repeated every year, in the same place at the same time of the year on the greatest day of the pilgrimage-the day of Arafat.

Thus, this season represents not only the unity of the Muslim Ummah and the universality of Islam, but also the unity of mankind who share one origin, one purpose of creation, one destiny and One Creator; the brotherhood of mankind, men and women of all races and colours. The hajj is a call for peace between all nations.

''O people, We created you all from a single man and a single woman and made you into races and tribes so that you should recognise one another. In Allah's eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him: Allah is all knowing, all aware.'' (Surah 49: verse 13)

Picture taken from opiejoe.blogspot.com