Tazkiyyah

One of the best things about Islam is that it’s a deen–a total, comprehensive, complete, and perfect way of life, and it governs every aspect of life from large-scale social phenomena (such as marriage) to the way you eat and sleep. For people who are dating, subhanallah, they say they’re looking for that “special someone” or “the right person.” But they continue dating for 6 months, a year, two years, five years, TEN years, they have kids–they’re still just dating–and they STILL don’t know!

Breach of Covenant Surah Baqarah. The name conjures to mind the story–the cow, Bani Israeel, Prophet Musa (عليه السلام), the creation of Adam (عليه السلام), the origin of magic, and others. The longest surah in the Qur’an. Breach of Covenant is an AlMaghrib Institute course taught by Muhammad Alshareef. It teaches tafseer–the text, the lessons, the gems. Explore Surah Baqarah in a light you’ve never seen it through before. Learn, ayah by ayah, the meanings of the first juz of the Qur’an, and open your eyes to the deeper patterns, the deeper lessons, the deeper benefits.

Salmaan Al-Farasi (رضي الله عنه) said: I expect Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to reward me in my sleep as he rewards me in my tahajjud. Why would he expect that? Because he unlocked the secret: Allah rewards all normal deeds, if done with the intention to please Him, the same as acts of ‘ibaadah. Why? Because the right intention upgrades it to the next level! “So,” you might ask, “what kind of intentions might someone have to reap this reward in their sleep?

The day the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) died, what was the last thing he did? He used siwak to clean his mouth. Then he raised his hands and said “Allahumma ar-rafeeq al-‘ala” (o Allah, the highest friends — the closest companions to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) in the Hereafter)–and then he died (صلي الله عليه وسلم). Commenting on this, his beloved wife ‘Aisha (رضي الله عنها) said: no Prophet lives except he is given a choice between the dunya (this word) and the akhira (the next life), and all of them chose the next life.

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.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه), the second khalifa, had four beliefs that made it easier for him to bear calamities: The situation could have been worse. It didn’t strike him in his religion. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will reward him with Jannah in return inshallah. When he remembered the hardship of losing the Prophet(صلي الله عليه وسلم) everything else faded away. Subhanallah, these are profound beliefs from the second khalifa that we can all benefit from!

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.

Allah says in the Qur’an: فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً Translation: So verily, with the hardship, there is relief; Verily, with the hardship, there is relief! [Surah Ash-Shrah, verses 5-6] Two for the price of one! How’s that for a deal? So if you find yourself in a position of hardship, ask yourself: What ease am I forgetting? And also, the use of with, shows that the two are so closely related as to be companions–they are together!

Not enough time to do what you want in life? Are you over-worked, over-stressed, and over-tired? Looking for that one key element that’ll make everything fall into place time-wise? Schedule around salaah. Try it–plan your day around your salaah. “I’ll do x, y, z after Fajr.” “I can fit these things in before Dhur …” “Sorry bro, I can’t meet up until after Isha” etc. And see the difference it makes.

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: