Islam

We praise someone under two circumstances: for the excellent attributes they possess, or for the deeds they perform towards us, such that we feel gratitude towards them. [1] The only one who deserves praise in all these levels is the Creator of excellence, the Perfect Being who showers us with abundant favors again and again! الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ Translation: All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. [Surah Al-Fatiha, verse 2]

Every specific Islamic rule originates from a law maker. Here, we investigate who can say, in Islam, that something is the law. Allah is the Law Maker! Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), Lord of the Worlds, is the law maker. None can dispute His laws. What’s the proof? In Surah Yusuf Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلاَّ لِلّهِ أَمَرَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ Translation: the command is for none but Allah: He hath commanded that ye worship none but Him: that is the right deen, but most men understand not.

Last month before summer ends, we let the days go by or wrap up summer courses before it all starts over again! To get that degree, we consistently keep up with projects, homework, study for tests, etc. And sure enough, most of us accomplish this ‘goal’ within the time we aimed for. But do we have similar goals for learning the deen? It might be something we admired–and perhaps desired–but never really worked for.

On the authority of Abu al-‘Abbas Sahl bin Sa’d al-Sa’idi (رضي الله عنه) who said: A man came to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and people to love me.” He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) answered: “Be indifferent to the world and Allah will love you; be indifferent to what people possess and they will love you.

Learning Arabic? Trying to memorize the Qur’an? Then inshaAllah you’ll find this Yahoo Groups beneficial: Qur’anic Word of the Day. Every day, the administrator sends out a word–Arabic and english–as well as references to two ayat in the Qur’an that contain the word (transliteration and translation). Very beneficial mashaAllah. Also, for those new to Yahoo! Groups, they’re like public mailing lists. You can configure your settings so you receive an email daily, or a digest weekly, or no email (and you browse from the site).

Allah says, in Surah Al-An’aam: وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنشَأَ جَنَّاتٍ مَّعْرُوشَاتٍ وَغَيْرَ مَعْرُوشَاتٍ وَالنَّخْلَ وَالزَّرْعَ مُخْتَلِفًا أُكُلُهُ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَابِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ كُلُواْ مِن ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَآتُواْ حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ Translation: And it is He Who produces gardens trellised and untrellised, and date­palms, and crops of different shape and taste (its fruits and its seeds) and olives, and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in taste).

The following is an explaination on zakaah as it applies to business. In short, it’s 2.5% of marketable items. Narrated Samurah ibn Jundub: The Mesenger of Allah used to order us to pay the sadaqah (zakaah) on what (goods) we prepared for trade. [Abu Dawud 9⁄1557]1 “Goods from what we prepared for trade” means business inventory. So if someone owns a clothing store full of leather jackets, they pay zakaah on all the jackets not sold after a year.

The following is a beautiful little speech by Shaykh Abdullah Adhami, entitled “A Wife”. Read it inshallah ta’ala and benefit from it. Props to Beautiful Islam for the original. By getting married you are not just getting a wife, you are getting your whole world. From now until the rest of your days your wife will be your partner, your companion, and your best friend.She will share your moments, your days, and your years.

Zakaah is paid on assets–things that bring in money. This is important, because it means zakaah is not on things you use–like your only car, or your house. More on that next post inshallah ta’ala. There are three requirements before zakaah becomes due: Islam: The person has to be Muslim. (Non-Muslims don’t pay zakaah.) We deduce this from the hadith of Mu’ad ibn Jabal (رضي الله عنه), who the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) sent to Yemen.

What is Tawassul? Linguistically, it means that which brings you closer to an object. The Arabic is tawassul (توسّل) or wasiylah (وسيلة). Islamically, it means any good deed that brings you closer to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)–so every single good deed can be called tawassul–though scholars use it specifically to mean things that increase our chances of having our du’a accepted. The Qur’an and Sunnah only sanction four types of tawassal (with a difference of opinion on the fifth).