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.

In Arabic, there is the letter Ya: ي. It is pronounced similar to the letter Y in English.

However, there’s also another type of ya–the ya without dots, which looks like this: ى. As for that ya, sometimes pronounced as a ya, and sometimes, as an alif (ا).

For example, the word على (ayn-lam-ya) can be read as ‘ala (on top: عَلَى) or as ‘Ali (as in the name: عَلِي). So how do you know when to pronounce it as a ya, and when to pronounce it as an alif?

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.

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

In Surah Hujraat, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: The Believers are but a single Brotherhood … (Surah Hujraat, verse 10)¹

If you’ve ever been to a different city, you walk into the grocery store, and nobody says anything. People just buy their own stuff and ignore you. Probably the most you’ll get out of the cashier when you check out is a “hi”.

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

In Surah Noor, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, , inheritance (of power), … [when] they worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. (Surah Noor, verse 55)¹