Islam

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).

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. The Unforgivable Sin Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, in Surah Nisaa: إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا 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.

Scholars say: there are no major sins with tawbah, and there are no minor sins with repetiton. What does that mean? The one who commits major sins and performs tawbah is forgiven; and the one who commits minor sins repeatedly is overcome by them, and they reach the level of major sins. Ibn Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه) said: A believer treats a sin as if it is a mountain over his head that may fall on him any moment; whereas a dissolute person looks at it as a fly that hovers around his nose and he waves it away with his hand.

In many places in the Qur’an, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) makes this statement: لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُون Transliteration: Laa khawfun `alayhim wa laa hum yahzanuwn Translation: No fear upon them and they will not grieve. You can locate this in many ayat of the Quran, such as: Surah Baqarah verse 38, Surah al-An’aam verse 48, and Surah Yunus verse 62, and others. We’ll break this statement into two parts inshaAllah: the first part, it deals with fear (laa khawfun `alayhim), and the second deals with grief (wa laa hum yuhzinuwn).

In Surah Ibrahim, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gives us the metaphor of the kalimah (la ilaha ilallah) as a beautiful tree. The verse is: أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللّهُ مَثَلاً كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاء 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

Kindness to parents is pre-emptive–you fulfill their needs and wants before they can ask, before they even know it themselves. Kindness to parents is pre-emptive–it means you fulfill their needs before they ask. It’s not antagonistic, where they ask and ask and ask until you give in and do what they say. It’s not passive, where they have to tell you every little thing they need. It’s active, so take the initiative and do what needs to be done, in order to earn the pleasure of Allah.

Belief in Allah 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: وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ […] وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّن نَّزَّلَ مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ مِن بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ 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”.

Answerer: Shaykh Yasir Qadhi Q: Allah grants knowledge to those He loves. What do you do to be among these people? 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.

Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah can be roughly translated as “Unity/Oneness of Lordship”. It pertains to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and His lordship. Definition Rububiyyah is from rabb (ربّ), which has three linguistic meanings: 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)”. Obediance: The rabb is the one who is to be obeyed.

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.