Islam

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?” Allahu ‘alim, you can try these on for size, and see which one fits you best:

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.

When the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) appeared on the scene in Mecca to proclaim the message of Islam, the Muslims faced ridicule, mockery, opposition, propoganda, and even severe torture up to the point of death–to the point where Muslims would walk through the streets, see their brothers and sisters being severely tortured in front of their eyes.

And Allah revealed the commandment not to fight back. Not in Mecca, not for ten years until they migrated to Medinah.

When the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) arrived in Medina, he built a masjid before doing anything else! The masjids the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) built were more than places to pray! Their functions included:

1. A place for children: not a place where they cried and ran around but a place where they were accommodated. There are several narrations of how when the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) was praying, the children would come and climb on his back or he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) would hold them while praying salah. The masjid was a cool place to hang out, it was where they learned the basic adaab and akhlaaq and principles of the Muslim society.
2. Educational Center: The masjid acted as a school where the Sahaba were educated and were encouraged to learn more.
   • Organization of the community: the masjid is where all the organizational events took place. It was in the masjid where the Sahaba learnt to become organized people – how the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) would walk between the saff of the Muslims before every salah, to straighten and correct their saffs.
   • Hospital: Many who were wounded or sick were tended in the masjid, such as Sa’d ibn Mu’adh (رضي الله عنه) after the Battle of Khandaq.
   • Shelter: it was a shelter for the poor and needy (nicknamed As-Saffa). This is where people would bring in dates and hang them on the wall of the masjid, so any hungry person could eat from them.
   • Social life: The Muslims met each other at the masjid five times a day, they got to know each other and were able to actively participate in each others’ lives. If someone was missing, they understood that there was a problem, so they would ask about it. Likewise, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) used to sit with the companions after Fajr sometimes and ask them about their dreams.
   • Think-Tank: The masjid is where shura and brainstorming took place.
   • Welcome Centre: Chiefs, delegations and visitors were all met and welcomed at the masjid.
   • Serenity Spa: if someone had anything bothering them, they would go to the masjid. Like the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم)–when he was upset with his wives, he went to the masjid. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) would call to Bilal (رضي الله عنه) to make the adhaan and start the prayer.
   • Bedouin Retreat: Bedouins would come, sit in the majalis, learn the Qur’an, ask their questions, go back home, and teach their people the deen. Whole tribes became Muslim from one or two bedouins!

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  References
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<p class="reference">
  Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. <a href="/shepherds-path/">The Shepherd&#8217;s Path</a>. University of Ryerson, Toronto. March 2007.
</p>

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. O Allah, grant to my soul the sense of righteousness and purify it, for Thou art the Best Purifier thereof. Thou art the Protecting Friend thereof, and Guardian thereof. O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from the knowledge which does not benefit, from the heart that does not entertain the fear (of Allah), from the soul that does not feel contented, and the supplication that is not responded to.” [Muslim Book 035, Number 6568]

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه), the second khalifa, had four beliefs that made it easier for him to bear calamities:

1. The situation could have been worse.
2. It didn’t strike him in his religion.
3. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will reward him with Jannah in return inshallah.
4. 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! Reflect on them often inshallah in times of ease and hardship, until they spring to mind automatically.

The word kaana is the past-tense masculine singular third-person (he) form of the verb to-be. So you can translate it as “he was”. (And the khabr takes the same rules as with any other verb.)

So what does it mean when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) uses kaana to describe Himself? For example, in surah Nisaa, He says:

Translation: And seek the Forgiveness of Allah; surely, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful [Surah Nisaa, 4:106]

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:

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! [1]

Allah says in the Qur’an:

You might ask, why do rabb, Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem, and Maalik all have kasra on them? Why not dumma (the default), or fatha?

The answer is that, wallahu ‘alim, they are na’at (adjactives) for Allah–words that describe His greatness.

For example, Ar-Rahmaan means “the source of mercy” (that’s why, scholars say, you cannot name your son Rahman). Ar-Raheem is the one who shows mercy to the creation.