Islam

Patience is active, not passive.

What does this mean? It mains patience doesn’t just “happen”. You must strive for it. You have to actively remind yourself and make yourself patient.

Also, remember that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tests you with what you are not patient with. If He (سبحانه وتعالى) tested you with things you already succeed at, how could you ever learn and grow?

For a classic example of patience, consult Surah Yusuf. In Yusuf (عليه سلام) is an excellent, excellent example of patience. Every test becomes increasingly more intense, and yet, you see Yusuf (عليه سلام) bearing with patience, through to the end. (I suggest you read it with tafseer from tafsir.com.)

Continuing our discussion of barakah, you might ask “what times has Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blessed with barakah?”

There are six blessed times:

1. Ramadan: The month of Ramadan, in general, is blessed. Also, the night of Laylatul-Qadr is specifically also very blessed. These are ideal times to worship Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), because the reward is greater. The last ten nights of Ramadan are the most blessed nights of the year–more then the days of Dhul Hijjah.
2. Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah: The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are the most blessed days of the year–more then the days of Ramadan.
3. Sacred Months: These are the months of Dhul Qa’dah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab. Allah has forbidden any kind of agressive hostilities against enemy nations in these months (this applies to Islamic state when it comes into existance inshaAllah). For details, consult tafseer of Surah Tawbah inshaAllah.
4. Friday: Friday, the day of jum’ah, is also blessed: in one hadith, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: On Friday, Adam (عليه سلام) was created; on Friday, he was expelled from Paradise; on Friday, the trumpet for the day of resurrection will be blown; and on Friday, the people will resurrect. [Muslim]¹.
5. Last Third of Each Night: In another hadith, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “Our Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, descends every night to the heaven of this world when the last third of the night is still to come and says, ‘Who will call on Me so that I may answer him? Who will ask Me so that I may give him? Who will ask forgiveness of Me so that I may forgive him?’” [Bukhari]²
6. Early Each Morning: The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) made du’a for Allah to bless the early mornings for the Muslim ummah. (You’ll notice your productivity increases sharply in the morning. Memorizing Qur’an is also easy in the morning. Subhanallah.)

Make use of the blessed times, and perform good deeds in them. And remember, a morning lost is a morning lost (same for a month, or a Friday)–once that time has gone by, it’ll never return.

Continuing our discussion of barakah, you might ask “what places has Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blessed with barakah?”

To start, the three blessed massajid:

1. The Ka’bah: it is the most blessed place on the Earth, more-so then the surrounding holy sites.
2. Medina: The city is blessed with barakah, and also, masjid an-nabawi has been blessed with barakah.
3. Masjid al-Aqsa: the masjid, located in Jerusalem, in blessed, as well as the surrounding area of Sham in general.

How do we know Allah put barakah in these places? Because of the hadith of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) where he said: “Do not set out on a journey except for three Mosques i.e. Al-Masjid-AI-Haram, Masjid an-Nabawi, and the Masjid of Al-Aqsa.” [Bukhari]¹

In the first hadith in Sahih Bukhari, the messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.”¹ The majority scholarly opinion is that this hadith applies to all actions, natural or religious (read more about the distinction here).

Continuing our discussion of barakah, you might ask “so what has barakah in it?”

1. The Qur’an: In many verses, the Qur’an itself is called “mubarak”. There is nothing but good in it–every letter, every verse, every surah, every prohibition, every command. The revelation, the recitation, the understanding, and the memorization, as well, are blessed–because they are the speech of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
2. The Prophets: All prophets have barakah, especially the last, Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم). In particular:
3. His Teachings: Every statement, hadith, commandment, sunnah, everything he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) did has barakah. To get more barakah in your life, follow the sunnah. The teachings of Islam are all sources of barakah–the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
4. His Actions and Du’as: Whenever he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) prayed, or made du’a, etc. that action is not like our action. Undoubtedly. How can you compare his du’a to ours? No, his has more barakah.

One year, during a drought in Medina, a bedouin came in for jum’ah, interrupted the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) during the khutba, and said “Ya rasulullah, the animals have died, the children are starving, the fruits aren’t giving crops, so **make du’a Allah blesses us with rain**.”

Anas bin Malik (the narrater of the hadith) said: We could see the whites of his armpits (i.e. he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) raised his hands high) and he made du’a. Not a cloud in the sky. Before he lowered his hands, **clouds like dark shields came** and it poured. **It rained for a week straight.**

So the next week, during the same khutba, the same bedouin came in and said “Ya rasulullah, make du’a that the rain stops, the cattle are drowning etc.” and the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) made du’a that it rain around them, not on them. Anas bin Malik says: we never saw the sun for a week until then.

_That’s_ barakah. May Allah increase us all barakah, ameen.

3. His Person: The body of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) exhuded barakah. There are many occasions when people could not eat or drink enough–like the treaty of Hudaybiyyah. A cupful of water was all they had for the entire army of Muslims. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) put his hands in the cup, made du’a, and when he removed his hands, water gushed out from between his fingers. The whole army drank plenty and made wudoo and so on. And there are many other occasions like that.

Tabaarak (تَبَارَك) has many meanings. The root word (ba-ra-kaf; like barakah) means:

1. To Remain/Linger. This is why a pool of water is called birkah in Arabic. Same word.
2. To Nurture/Generate. Connotations are that it increases.

Under Shari’ah, the divine law of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), tabaarak means: the presence of divine blessings in an object, and an increase of those blessings. It also means: an increase in the amount of good in something.

Question: What is the best way for a person increase his or her eman?

Answerer: Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

The single greatest way to increase your eman is to gain knowledge.

Study what eman is, study tawhid, the pillars of eman, etc. It automatically increases your eman.

Good deeds also increase eman–each and every single good deed and act of worship you perform increases your eman. Fast a day. Read Qur’an. Pray Tahajjud.

Towards the end of Judgement Day–a day that will last 50 000 years (Surah Al-Maarij, verse 4)¹, after the judgement has been decreed, the people will have to cross the Sirat–a bridge sharper then a sword and thinner then a hair², that runs over Hell–in order to get to Jannah. People will fall off–there will be hooks like thorns of a size known only to Allah, to snag people into the Fire. Some people will be cut up into pieces as they fall into the Fire³.

Continuing our study of the fruits of eman, here are some additional fruits that spring from the tree of eman:

In Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: And continue to remind, for surely the reminder profits the believers. (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, verse 55)¹

Notice, here, who benefits from the reminders–not all humankind, but believers. Why? Try this hypothethical situation on for size: there’s a guy who’s sinning–say he’s drinking beer in front of you inside his home. You give him advice to stop drinking–and remind him of the rewards, punishments, etc. of good deeds and bad deeds. What happens? He’ll cry and acknowledge your advice and inshaAllah move to practical steps.

Continuing our study of the fruits of eman, here are some additional fruits that spring from the tree of eman:

In Surah Maryam, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, (Allah) The Most Gracious bestows love. (Surah Maryam, verse 96)¹

That is: on those who have eman and perform good deeds, Allah decrees for them love. We know from another hadith (does anyone know the source?) that when Allah loves them, he tells the angels, who love them, and the angels tell the creation, and all the creation loves that person.