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Ok, so you parents have rights upon you while they live. Most of us know that. What about after they’ve left this life? Is it possible they might still have some rights due from you?

The answer is a resounding yes! Their rights, after they die, are:

1. Janaazah: That you (or someone in the community) washes their body, buries them, etc., and you pray their janaazah prayer with the community.
2. Istighfaar: Among the few surprise good deeds a person finds after they die are from a child who prays for them and seeks forgiveness for them. Provided they’re Muslim, of course–in the Qur’an, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) prohibited praying for dead non-Muslims.
3. Oaths: If they made any (halal) pledges or oaths, or if they wrote a will, fulfill it on their behalf.
4. Friends: Honour their friends. Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه), while riding his donkey, saw an old bedouin man walking. He got off his donkey, said salaam, gave the man his turban, his donkey, and his garment! People asked, why? He said, he used to be my father’s friend. Subhanallah! Visit their friends! Bring them gifts sometimes! The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) used to visit the friends of Khadija (رضي الله عنها), his first wife, after her death.
5. Kinship: Keep the ties of the womb (i.e. kinship) for the sake of our parents.

So fulfill their rights if you outlive them. May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to be a mercy for our parents and to earn his mercy through them, ameen!

We’ve all been there…You’re just chillin’, chatting on MSN with your buddies, and then you take a look at the time. Its 12:13am and you still haven’t prayed Isha. O mannn! You get off MSN, go make wudoo, and then perform your prayer. However, as we all know, our laziness and tired state takes over us, and this reflects in our prayer.

You finish praying at 12:17am and you find yourself in the same position you were no more than five mins ago, on MSN. This time, something doesn’t feel right. As you’re chatting, you feel your heart cringe, you feel your heart ache, as if you just committed a sin. I prayed Isha, why am I feeling this way? You think to yourself.

One day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat with his companions, early in the morning. He asked, “who among you is fasting this day?” Abu Bakr said “I am.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, “who amongst you followed the funeral bier (i.e. a janaazah) today?” and Abu Bakr said “I have.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “who amongst you served food to the needy?” Abu Bakr said “I have.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “who amongst you visited a sick person today?” Again, Abu Bakr said “I have.”

Never, ever, EVER say such-and-such is haram/halal/fard/etc. without knowledge. To say so, is to sign on behalf of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). And who dares to do that without knowledge?

This is the job of the mujtahiduwn — those who research fiqh issues and then issue fatawa. Notice, the best of them always say, “this is the final ruling, and Allah knows best.” Why? Because they are signing on behalf of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). They are really saying, “Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and his Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم), want you to perform/avoid this action.

Today I have learned a valuable lesson, and I believe its a lesson that all of you readers can benefit from. The lesson itself is very simple, but realizing the importance and understanding the implications it may have in one’s life is what matters the most. The lesson is: you can‘t please everyone. Sounds so simple, right? Many of us are reading this and saying, well duh! So then, if its so obvious why do we keep persisting in our efforts to doing so? It’s not possible!

Anytime Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), or the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) mention Paradise for an action, it means that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) holds that action in high regard. So perform these activities regularly, and with ihsaan!

Inshallah in the coming days, we will expound and narrate some instances where Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), or His messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم), promised paradise — keys that we can use to unlock the doors and, inshallah, enter!

Want to learn Arabic–or for that matter, any language–quickly? Transcend beyond what you learn in class? Fly past your peers in terms of knowledge and understanding? Want to achieve all this without spending hours of time or hundreds of dollars?

Well, the solution is here–and it’s already available to you! All you need is a pen, some paper, and a mushaf (copy of the Qur’an)–and, most importantly, your brain!

Read and recite the Qur’an. Every day (which you should already be doing anyway–it came down as guidance, not an ornament for your bookshelf). The key here is before you turn to a translation, pick out constructs you know. Recgonize a couple of words? Maybe that looks like a feminine plural? Did you spot that harf ul-jarr that gave the noun kasra? What about that word, does it look like a verb conjugation? And so on. Maximize your efforts to understand before you translate.

We feel the pain. We are hurting. We are crying. Reality has kicked in. Up until a month ago, everything was just a blur, didn’t know the effect and seriousness of the situations around the world. Up until a month ago, don’t even know if I felt for those around the world. However, when it creeps up into your own country, your own city, your own community, your own family–you feel everything. You feel the cries of the orphans, you feel the pain of the oppressed, you feel the anguish of the mothers, you feel the sorrow of the ummah.You start to think, why? Why has Allah put us in these conditions?

We all are sitting in a world in which the value of knowledge is at its all-time high. Many of us, or our parents, invest a good amount of income towards this so-called “educational system” entitled “University” or “College”. Many of us invest hours upon hours, days upon days, week after week indulged in books and lectures learning about Limits, Laws of Neutrality, Psychological Human Behaviour, or, my favourite, Pareto Optimal (:S). We wake up early in the mornings, get ready, maybe eat a little something, and then spend anywhere from ten minutes to two hours to reach our University/College so we can be among the elite of society who are educated. Mashallah!

For those who have a little bit of understanding about the Arabic language, or wish to deepen their understanding, you may wish to venture into the ArabicGems blog.

This blog covers different gems gleaned from the Qur’an based on the Arabic language. Subhanallah, it really helps you realize the miraculous nature of the Qur’an–how every phrase or even word articulates waves of meaning, and how translations don’t even begin to convey everything. It really should motivate us to learn the language of the Qur’an.