Akhlaaq

Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, “the best amongst you are the ones who are best to their wives.” So dear Muslim brother! Your obligations towards your wife are not limited to earning money and supporting her financially. A wife needs love from her husband, and emotional support too! 10 Tips on How to Be a Successful Husband Note: Additions in brackets are notes from a sister. Prepared by Muhammad Alshareef, reprinted from Islamway.

Human Nature is Insatiable Human nature is insatiable. No matter how much you get, you will never be happy with it. That is the way we have been created. The key to happiness is not to get it all, but rather, to be content with little. “O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from incapacity, from sloth, from cowardice, from miserliness, from decrepitude, and from the torment of the grave.

The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said to his cousin: “And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship. 1 Even in the battle of Qadisiyyah, after fighting through the whole day, the Muslim leader said “just be patient, and keep fighting.” Even into the night, when most armies stop fighting at night! But subhanallah, what happened? By the next morning, the Muslims had won.

Those of you who haven’t heard of the AlMaghrib institute, you’re missing out–they give some mashallah amazing double-weekend Islamic classes. Qabeelat Majd (QMajd) is the Toronto branch. Mashallah, through the dedicated efforts of some dozen or so people, they finally published their first newsletter! It’s for the Rules of Engagement class (click to learn more about the class), so it covers the subject of akhlaaq–manners, etiquettes, dealings with Allah, with people, with yourself–and contains such fruitful topics as:

I walked by as I noticed a bunch of people moved by music, indulged in gossip, purchased tickets from each other … until I spotted my younger sister, Ayesha. I signed, looking at them, as I commented to her, “…bunch of losers.” “What makes you think they are all losers?” questioned Ayesha. “Well, look at all the things they are indulged in? They’re obviously losers,” I responded, as we both noticed other people carrying on with their activities disapprovingly.

Once, a women came to Abu Hanifa (رحمالله) to sell a silk garment. Abu Hanifa asked ” How much is it?” She replied, “one hundred.” He said, “It is worth more than a hundred. How much?” So the woman increased the price by hundred, and again, and when it reached four hundred, Abu Hanifa said, “It should be more than that.” The woman said, ” you are mocking me.” So, Abu Hanifa said, “bring a man to value it.

One of the diseases we experience in our culture is cheap talk. People say things all the time, whether they mean it or not. Worse, people lie as easily as they breathe–sometimes, even as often–and sometimes, under the guise of “just kidding!” But is talk cheap? Let’s look at some evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Shahada: People enter Islam when they take the shahada–in other words, when they say certain words.

Once a young man from the Muhajiruwn and a young man from the Ansaar quarreled. So the muhajirun called out for help stating: “O Muhajiruwn!” And the ansaari said: “O Ansaar!” The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) heard this and said: ”Is it with the call off jahiliyyah that you are calling out, and I am present amongst you!” (Bukhari) Allah loves Muhajiruwn and Ansaar. Allah states (interpretation of the meaning) : “And [those Allah grants mercy on includes] the first to embrace Islam from the Muhajiruwn and the Ansaar, and those who followed them in goodness, beliefs and actions.

The following is an excerpt from “Don’t be Sad” by Shaykh Aaidh ibn Abdullah Al-Qarni. Extract the Honey, but do not break the Hive Everything that has gentleness within it is beautified, and whatever lacks it is spoiled. When you meet someone, giving them a bright smile and a kind word, you are displaying a characteristic of the truly successful person, a characteristic that even a bee exhibits. When a bee lands on a flower (doing so for a practical purpose) it does not destroy it, because Allah rewards gentleness with that which He does give for harshness.

Rules of Engagement Rules of Engagement is an AlMaghrib Institute course taught by Muhammad ibn Faqih. The course teaches and emphasizes ethics, morality, rights, character attributes, and manners–everything from the rights of children before they’re born to the cause for the decline and destruction of socieities to the literally dozens of virtues one earns from sabr! The course focuses a lot on self-development, self-improvement, and dealing with others, as well as improving oneself.