Gems

Often, non-Muslims question us about aspects of our faith. “Why do you wear hijab” or “why don’t you eat pork” or “why don’t you drink or date”. And we get defensive and mangle our explainations. “Well alcohol’s not good for you” or “pigs are dirty” and so on. Which is not correct. The answer to all these questions is very, very simple: Because Allah or His Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said so.

Imagine you are a boat, and the dunya is the sea. Far off in the distance, is land — the akhira. “You are a boat. You sail the waters of the dunya towards the lands of Jannah.” –Abdur-Rahman What happens if the sea floods into the boat? You sink. So be like the best Muslim leaders: they ditched the dunya for the akhira. In particular, I refer to the governers in the time of the Khulafa Rashideen (i.

In Surah Nisaa, Allah says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ خُذُواْ حِذْرَكُمْ فَانفِرُواْ ثُبَاتٍ أَوِ انفِرُواْ جَمِيعًا Translation: O ye who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth in parties or go forth all together (Surah Nisaa, 4:71).1 The message: prepare, and fight in groups. A related incident: after the battle of Uhud, many tribes targeted the Muslims to take them down once and for all. The day the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) returned from battle, he slept, prayed ‘Isha (alone), and the next day, after Fajr, said “we’re going after [the fleeing army].

We often make empty du’as–they lack in sincerity, but hey, we don’t expect them to be answered. But why do it? Are you just testing Allah? Think with certiny that Allah will answer your du’a. Make the most sincere, heart-felt du’a of your existance. And have hope that Allah will answer it. Before Islam, there was a man named Jurayj, a worshipper of Allah. The people around him had intense jealousy of him for this.

The king’s companion pointed out the boy. Why didn’t he remain silent? For that matter, why does the boy point out the monk later? Resolve. Ibn Tamiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said “much of your resolve disappears when tortured”. Your determination and strength of will plummets. So the man pointing out the boy, well, his determination couldn’t withstand the torture. So the king’s soldiers brought the boy to the king, who said “O my boy, your magic heals the blind and cures the lepers …” Then he used flattery.

The king’s companion returned to the king. They knew he was cured–previously, people had to help him find his way in, but now, he waltzed right in. The king said: “Who gave you back your sight?” His companion said: “My Lord.” The king said: “Do you have a Lord other then me?” His companion said: “My Lord and your Lord is Allah.” So the king tortured him until he pointed out the boy.

The boy used to heal the blind and the lepers and the people. (He wasn’t a prophet: see the next post for more details.) The king’s blind companion (jalees bin malik, or the one who sits next to the king) went to the boy with gifts, and said “these are all for you if you heal me”. The boy said “Truly Allah heals. If you believe in Him, I will pray to Him, and He will heal you.

Storytelling is a fundamental da’wah technique. It effortlessly communicates a message in a memorable medium. Storytelling is so powerful that you see it in the Qur’an (Surah Baqarah and Surah Yusuf, for example), in ahadith (The People of the Ditch). Among the benefits: storytelling communicates a message without spelling it out. Human beings recall stories more easily then they recall other forms of teaching. With a story, you can continually extract lessons and benefit from it.

From the teachings of the khulafa rashideen: when you’re about to do something, ask yourself: “Would I be happy and unregretful of how I spent my time today?” If the answer is “no”, then find something better to do with your time. And remember: Time is one of the ONLY irreversable resources. Money comes and goes, status builds, but time, once it’s gone, it never comes back. The Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, said: Two things about which people are deceived are their health and their time.

The true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more, and nothing less. When you can influence people, you’re a leader, even if nobody recognizes you. And when you can’t influence people, you’re not a leader — even if the masjid says so, or the organization says so, or your friends say so, or your car says so. And remember the command of the Prophet, peace be upon him: Do not covet leadership, for it entails blame, regret, and punishment on the Day of Judgement — except for the just ruler.