Aqeeda

Now that you know what barakah is, you might ask, how can one increase the barakah in his or her life? Aside from visiting the places with barakah, and making use of times with barakah, what else can you do?

The answer is very simple. If you want Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to bless you, then do anything for the sake of Allah, upon the sunnah (methodology) of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم).

Thus every act can become a candidate for more barakah. Even things like going to work and shopping for food–properly done, with the right intention, can become something blessed. You’ll be more productive at work. The food you buy feeds you for a longer time. And so on.

Most of the ayat in the Qur’an that are directed to non-Muslims, are directed to mushrikeen–those who commit shirk. In fact, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) spells out, in painful detail, just how dangerous shirk is. Read and remember.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, in Surah Nisaa:

Translation: Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin. (Surah Nisaa, verse 48)¹

In Surah Ibrahim, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gives us the metaphor of the kalimah (la ilaha ilallah) as a beautiful tree. The verse is:

Translation: Have you not seen how Allah has given the parable of a beautiful kalimah, like a beautiful tree, whose roots are firmly established, and whose branches tower in the sky? (Surah Ibrahim, verse 24)¹

Check this out. The mushrikeen, now and in the time of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), believed in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Remember, these are the people who rejected Islam, and who are among the worst of people.

In Surah Ankabut, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, “Allah”. […] And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death, they will certainly reply, “Allah!” (Surah Ankabut, verses 61-63)¹

Answerer: Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

A: Strive. Show interest in the deen. Come closer to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and He will come closer to you. There is a hadith on how to gain knowledge: ‘ilm is only gained by studying. It’s not gained by hiding in a cave and worshipping Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Studious study is the only way to gain knowledge. Don’t sleep with your head on a book and expect knowledge to osmosize into your brain!

Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah can be roughly translated as “Unity/Oneness of Lordship”. It pertains to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and His lordship.

Rububiyyah is from rabb (ربّ), which has three linguistic meanings:

1. Owner: The rabb is the true and complete owner. In one hadith, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “if you find a camel in the desert, leave it till it meets its rabb (owner)”.
2. Obediance: The rabb is the one who is to be obeyed. In Surah Yusuf, Yusuf (عليه سلام) said to one of the prisoners: “you’re going to give your rabb khamar (the king) …”
3. Nourisher: The rabb is the one who nourishes and takes care of everything.

We combine these to get the Islamic definition of rabb: Allah is the one who creates, sustains, and owns the entire creation. He alone is the Master, the Controller, the Nourisher, the one who creates from nothing. He has the right to each and every atom of creation.

The Qur’an and sunnah both praise knowledge. There are many blessings of knowledge–but first, we must define, “what IS knowledge?”

The Prophet said, in one hadith: “If Allah wants to do a favor to somebody, He bestows on him, the gift of understanding the deen.” [Bukhari 9/92/415]¹ From this hadith, we know that knowledge, as defined in the Qur’an and Sunnah, refers to knowledge of Islam, and not secular knowledge (such as Chemistry or Meteorology. Which is not to say secular knowledge is not important–Muslims need it to live in a halal way).

Continuing our discussion of barakah, you might ask “what times has Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blessed with barakah?”

There are six blessed times:

1. Ramadan: The month of Ramadan, in general, is blessed. Also, the night of Laylatul-Qadr is specifically also very blessed. These are ideal times to worship Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), because the reward is greater. The last ten nights of Ramadan are the most blessed nights of the year–more then the days of Dhul Hijjah.
2. Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah: The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are the most blessed days of the year–more then the days of Ramadan.
3. Sacred Months: These are the months of Dhul Qa’dah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab. Allah has forbidden any kind of agressive hostilities against enemy nations in these months (this applies to Islamic state when it comes into existance inshaAllah). For details, consult tafseer of Surah Tawbah inshaAllah.
4. Friday: Friday, the day of jum’ah, is also blessed: in one hadith, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: On Friday, Adam (عليه سلام) was created; on Friday, he was expelled from Paradise; on Friday, the trumpet for the day of resurrection will be blown; and on Friday, the people will resurrect. [Muslim]¹.
5. Last Third of Each Night: In another hadith, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “Our Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, descends every night to the heaven of this world when the last third of the night is still to come and says, ‘Who will call on Me so that I may answer him? Who will ask Me so that I may give him? Who will ask forgiveness of Me so that I may forgive him?’” [Bukhari]²
6. Early Each Morning: The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) made du’a for Allah to bless the early mornings for the Muslim ummah. (You’ll notice your productivity increases sharply in the morning. Memorizing Qur’an is also easy in the morning. Subhanallah.)

Make use of the blessed times, and perform good deeds in them. And remember, a morning lost is a morning lost (same for a month, or a Friday)–once that time has gone by, it’ll never return.

Continuing our discussion of barakah, you might ask “what places has Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blessed with barakah?”

To start, the three blessed massajid:

1. The Ka’bah: it is the most blessed place on the Earth, more-so then the surrounding holy sites.
2. Medina: The city is blessed with barakah, and also, masjid an-nabawi has been blessed with barakah.
3. Masjid al-Aqsa: the masjid, located in Jerusalem, in blessed, as well as the surrounding area of Sham in general.

How do we know Allah put barakah in these places? Because of the hadith of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) where he said: “Do not set out on a journey except for three Mosques i.e. Al-Masjid-AI-Haram, Masjid an-Nabawi, and the Masjid of Al-Aqsa.” [Bukhari]¹

Continuing our discussion of barakah, you might ask “so what has barakah in it?”

1. The Qur’an: In many verses, the Qur’an itself is called “mubarak”. There is nothing but good in it–every letter, every verse, every surah, every prohibition, every command. The revelation, the recitation, the understanding, and the memorization, as well, are blessed–because they are the speech of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
2. The Prophets: All prophets have barakah, especially the last, Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم). In particular:
3. His Teachings: Every statement, hadith, commandment, sunnah, everything he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) did has barakah. To get more barakah in your life, follow the sunnah. The teachings of Islam are all sources of barakah–the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
4. His Actions and Du’as: Whenever he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) prayed, or made du’a, etc. that action is not like our action. Undoubtedly. How can you compare his du’a to ours? No, his has more barakah.

One year, during a drought in Medina, a bedouin came in for jum’ah, interrupted the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) during the khutba, and said “Ya rasulullah, the animals have died, the children are starving, the fruits aren’t giving crops, so **make du’a Allah blesses us with rain**.”

Anas bin Malik (the narrater of the hadith) said: We could see the whites of his armpits (i.e. he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) raised his hands high) and he made du’a. Not a cloud in the sky. Before he lowered his hands, **clouds like dark shields came** and it poured. **It rained for a week straight.**

So the next week, during the same khutba, the same bedouin came in and said “Ya rasulullah, make du’a that the rain stops, the cattle are drowning etc.” and the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) made du’a that it rain around them, not on them. Anas bin Malik says: we never saw the sun for a week until then.

_That’s_ barakah. May Allah increase us all barakah, ameen.

3. His Person: The body of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) exhuded barakah. There are many occasions when people could not eat or drink enough–like the treaty of Hudaybiyyah. A cupful of water was all they had for the entire army of Muslims. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) put his hands in the cup, made du’a, and when he removed his hands, water gushed out from between his fingers. The whole army drank plenty and made wudoo and so on. And there are many other occasions like that.