Thursday, October 27, 2011

Perfect days for perfect Ibaadah

By Asma bint Shameem
(From my mail box - excerpt)


What are these magnificent days?

These blessed days are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

Just like the last ten nights of Ramadaan are the best ten nights out of the whole year, the Ulama tell us that out of the 365 days of the year, these first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are the best days of the year and the most beloved to Allaah as they combine acts of worship in a way unlike any other times.

The Prophet testified to that. He said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allaah than these ten days." The people asked, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah?" He said, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." (Bukhaari)

Subhaan Allaah wal-Hamdulillaah!

What a blessing!

The question is.....what do I do on these magnificent days and how can I make the most of this perfect, golden, golden opportunity to earn rewards and Jannah?

Obviously, Hajj is one of the best deeds that one can do during these ten days. However for those of us who were not invited to His House this year, there are still many, many good deeds that one can do and earn the Pleasure of Allaah.

Some of these are:

1) Fast all nine days and especially fast the Day of 'Arafah

The Prophet said: "Anyone who fasts for one day for Allah's pleasure, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years." (Bukhari, Muslim)


The Prophet used to fast on the ninth day of Dhu'l-Hijjah and he said: "Fasting the Day of 'Arafah (ninth Dhul-hijjah) is an expiation for (all the sins of) the previous year and an expiation for (all the sins of) the coming year." (Muslim)


2) Do a LOT of Dhikr and Takbeer

The Prophet said: "There are no days on which good deeds are greater or more beloved to Allaah than on these ten days, so recite much Tahleel (saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah), Takbeer (saying Allaahu akbar) and Tahmeed (saying al-hamdu Lillaah)." (Ahmad -Saheeh)

Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurayrah used to go out in the marketplace during the first ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah, reciting Takbeer, and the people would recite Takbeer when they heard them. (Bukhaari)


Takbeer at this time is a Sunnah that has mostly been forgotten, especially during the first few days. So say it in the masjid, in your home, on the street and every place where it is permitted to remember Allaah. Revive the Sunnah that have been virtually forgotten and earn great rewards for doing so.


The Prophet said: "Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that is forgotten after my death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward." (Tirmidhi- a hasan hadeeth)


Obviously, men should recite these phrases out loud, and women should recite them quietly.


3) Stand in Night Prayers:


Remember the virtues of spending the night in prayer, and its sweetness in Ramadan?! Why not revive this beautiful act of worship during these nights as well?!


Remember, how in the last third of every night, Allah Almighty calls out to us, His servants:

"Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to his invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?"


4)Make Sincere Repentance.

One of the best and most important things to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allaah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin right away because we do not know when we will die, and also because one evil deed leads to another.

But what does 'repentance' exactly mean?

It means that you come back to Allaah and give up all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes.... that you regret whatever you did in the past, giving it up immediately and be determined never ever, to return to it, and resolve to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing whatever Allaah loves.


"But as for him who repented, believed and did righteous deeds, then he will be among those who are successful." [al-Qasas 28:67]


5) Come back to the Qur'aan

It is time now to dust off your copy of the Qur'aan and return to its refuge.Make it a daily habit, using these 10 days the beginning of a strong and beautiful relationship with it. Read it with meaning, understand it, and then implement it and change your lives for the better, as much as you can.

Remember that reading one letter of the Qur'aan earns you 10 rewards.

In this way, reading Surat Al-Fatihah,which doesn't take more than two minutes will give you more than one thousand rewards!

This is on ordinary days, so what about these magnificent days! Certainly the reward will be far greater, Insha Allaah.


6) Generally increase in doing ALL good deeds

We should strive in doing more good deeds in general, because good deeds are loved by Allaah and will bring us closer to Him. So if we are not able to go to Hajj this year, we should occupy ourselves during these blessed days by worshipping Allaah, praying extra prayers, reading Qur'aan, remembering Allaah, sending Salaams on the Prophet , making dua, giving charity, honoring our parents, upholding ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of worship.


"So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it; And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it."[al-Zalzalah 99:7-8]


7) Get the reward of Hajj wherever you are:

You may be unable to do Hajj this year, and you may feel sad because you are deprived of the great reward of Hajj. But you can achieve a similar reward in whatever place you may be.


The Prophet said: "Whoever prays Fajr Prayer in congregation, and then sits and remembers Allah until the sun rises, then (after a while) prays two rak'as, he will gain a reward equal to that of making perfect Hajj and Umrah." [He repeated the word "perfect" thrice.] (At-Tirmidhi)

Isn't that easy, Alhamdulillah?


8) Slaughter an animal and distribute the meat

Ibn Umar said: The Prophet lived in Madeenah for 10 years and every year he slaughtered an animal." (Ahmad-Saheeh by al-Albaani)


9) Attend Eid prayers

But remember that Eid prayer is a form of worship and we shouldn't be doing things that are unIslaamic (especially) during these times, such as listening to music, women going out for prayer without proper Hijaab, mixing of men and women, etc.


10) Thank Allaah

One of the biggest forms of worshipping Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala is to thank Him, deeply, sincerely and continuously. After all, it is He who gave you every single thing that is in you, on you or around you. In fact, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the Mercy of your Creator.


So thank Him for ALL that He gave you, the Islaam that He gave you, the very life He gave you. And thank Him for the chance that He gives you in these ten days, to ask for forgiveness and guidance.


Alhamdulillah, there is much to be gained in these days. So make the most of this perfect opportunity offered by these invaluable and irreplaceable ten days.


Hasten to do good deeds and appreciate this blessing and make the most of it, striving hard in worship .


"And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (death)." [al-Hijr 15:99]

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Hajj - A Symbol Of Submission

Talk by Sheikh Hazem Rajab at Fanar, Doha, Qatar.






(youtube : here)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

AL-ASMA-UL-HUSNA.

AL-ASMA-UL-HUSNA (NAMES of ALLAH)

By- Mishary Al-Afasy



From Youtube (here)



"Allah! there is no god but He! To Him belongs the Most Beautiful Names." (Qur'an 20:8)


1. Ar-Rahman

* The One who has plenty of mercy for the believers and the blasphemers in this world and especially for the believers in the hereafter.
* The Most Merciful


2. Ar-Rahim

* The One who has plenty of mercy for the believers.
* The Most Compassionate


3. Al-Malik

* The One with the complete Dominion, the One Whose Dominion is clear from imperfection.
* The King, The Monarch


4. Al-Quddus

* The One who is pure from any imperfection and clear from children and adversaries.
* The Holy One


5. As-Salam

* The One who is free from every imperfection.
* The Peace, The Tranquility


6. Al-Mu'min

* The One who witnessed for Himself that no one is God but Him. And He witnessed for His believers that they are truthful in their belief that no one is God but Him.
* The One with Faith
* The Faithful, The Trusted


7. Al-Muhaymin

* The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.
* The Protector
* The Vigilant, The Controller


8. Al-'Aziz

* The Defeater who is not defeated.
* The Mighty
* The Almighty, The Powerful


9. Al-Jabbar

* The One that nothing happens in His Dominion except that which He willed.
* The All Compelling


10. Al-Mutakabbir

* The One who is clear from the attributes of the creatures and from resembling them.
* The Haughty, The Majestic
* The Imperious


11. Al-Khaliq

* The One who brings everything from non-existence to existence.
* The Creator, The Maker


12.Al-Bari'

* The Creator who has the Power to turn the entities.
* The Artificer, The Creator


13.Al-Musawwir

* The One who forms His creatures in different pictures.
* The Fashioner
* The Organizer, The Designer


14.Al-Ghaffar

* The One who forgives the sins of His slaves time and time again.
* The Forgiving, The Forgiver


15.Al-Qahhar

* The Subduer who has the perfect Power and is not unable over anything.
* The Almighty, The Dominant


16.Al-Wahhab

* The One who is Generous in giving plenty without any return.
* The Donor, The Bestower


17. Ar-Razzaq

* The Provider, The Sustainer


18. Al-Fattah

* The One who opens for His slaves the closed worldly and religious matters.
* The Opener, The Revealer


19. Al-'Alim

* The Knowledgeable; The One nothing is absent from His knowledge.
* The All Knowing, The Omniscient


20. Al-Qabid

* The One who constricts the sustenance.
* The Contractor, The Restrainer, The Recipient.


21. Al-Basit

* The One who expands and widens.
* The Expander, He who expands


22. Al-Khafid

* The One who lowers whoever He willed by His Destruction.
* The Abaser, The Humbler


23. Ar-Rafi'

* The One who raises whoever He willed by His Endowment.
* The Raiser, The Exalter

24. Al-Mu'iz

* He gives esteem to whoever He willed, hence there is no one to degrade Him;
* The Honorer, The Exalter


25. Al-Muzil

* Degrades whoever He willed, hence there is no one to give Him esteem.
* The Abaser, The Degrader, The Subduer


26. As-Sami'

* The One who Hears all things that are heard by His Eternal Hearing without an ear, instrument or organ.
* The Hearer, The All hearing, All knowing.


27. Al-Basir

* The One who Sees all things that are seen by His Eternal Seeing without a pupil or any other instrument.
* The Seer, The discerning, The All seeing.


28. Al-Hakam

* He is the Ruler and His judgment is His Word.
* The Arbitrator, The Judge


29. Al-'Adl

* The One who is entitled to do what He does.
* The Justice, The Equitable. The Just.


30. Al-Latif

* The Most Gentle, the Gracious.
* The One who is kind


31. Al-Khabir

* The One who knows the truth of things.
* The Aware. The Sagacious, One is who is aware.


32. Al-Halim

* The One who delays the punishment for those who deserve it and then He might forgive them.
* The Gentle. The Most Patient, The Clement.


33. Al-'Azim

* The One deserving the attributes of Exaltment, Glory, Extolment, and Purity from all imperfection.
* The Great, Mighty


34. Al-Ghafoor

* The One who forgives a lot.
* The Forgiving, The Pardoner.


35. Ash-Shakur

* The One who gives a lot of reward for a little obedience.
* The Grateful, The Thankful


36. Al-'Ali

* The One who is clear from the attributes of the creatures.
* The Most High, The Exalted.


37. Al-Kabir

* The One who is greater than everything in status.
* The Great, The Big.


38. Al-Hafiz

* The One who protects whatever and whoever He willed to protect.
* The Guardian, The Preserver.


39. Al-Muqit

* The One who has the Power.
* The Maintainer, The Nourisher


40. Al-Hasib

* The One who gives the satisfaction.
* The Noble, The Reckoner


41. Aj-Jalil

* The One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status.
* The Majestic. The Honorable, The Exalted.


42. Al-Karim

* The One who is clear from abjectness.
* The Most Generous, The Bountiful.


43. Ar-Raqib

* The One that nothing is absent from Him. Hence it's meaning is related to the attribute of Knowledge.
* The Guardian, The Watchful. Watcher.


44. Al-Mujib

* The One who answers the one in need if he asks Him and rescues the yearner if he calls upon Him.
* The Responder. The Respondent, One who answers.


45. Al-Wasi'

* The Englober. The Enricher, The Omnipresent, The Knowledgeable.


46. Al-Hakim

* The One who is correct in His doings.
* The Most Wise, The Judicious.


47. Al-Wadud

* The Affectionate, The Loving.


48. Al-Majid

* The One who is with perfect Power, High Status, Compassion, Generosity and Kindness.
* The Glorious, The Exalted.


49. Al-Ba'ith

* The One who resurrects for reward and/or punishment.
* The Resurrector, The Raiser from death.


50. Ash-Shahid

* The One who nothing is absent from Him.
* The Witness


51. Al-Haqq

* The One who truly exists.
* The Truth, The Just.


52. Al-Wakil

* The One who gives the satisfaction and is relied upon.
* The Guardian, The Trustee


53. Al-Qawee

* The One with the Complete Power.
* The Powerful,Tthe Almighty, The Strong


54. Al-Matin

* The One with Extreme Power which is un-interrupted and He does not get tired.
* The Strong, The Firm


55. Al-Walee

* The Supporter, The Friend, The Defender the master.


56. Al-Hamid

* The Praised One who deserves to be praised.
* The Praiseworthy , The Commendable


57. Al-Muhsi

* The One who the count of things are known to him.
* The Counter


58. Al-Mubdi'

* The One who started the human being. That is, He created him.
* The Beginner, The Creator, The Originator


59. Al-Mu'eed

* The One who brings back the creatures after death.
* The Restorer, the Resurrector.


60. Al-Muhyee

* The One who took out a living human from semen that does not have a soul. He gives life by giving the souls back to the worn out bodies on the resurrection day and He makes the hearts alive by the light of knowledge.
* The Bestower, the Life Giver.


61. Al-Mumeet

* The One who renders the living dead.
* The Bringer of Death. The Death Giver.


62. Al-Hayy

* The One attributed with a life that is unlike our life and is not that of a combination of soul, flesh or blood.
* The Living. The Alive, the ever living.


63. Al-Qayyum

* The One who remains and does not end.
* The Self-Subsistent, The Eternal, the Self Sustaining.


64. Al-Wajid

* The Rich who is never poor. Al-Wajd is Richness.
* The all perceiving, the Opulent, the Finder.


65. Al-Wahid

* The One without a partner.
* The One, the Unique.


66. Al-Majid

* The One who is Majid.
* The Noble, the illustrious.


67. Al-Ahad

* The Only, the Unique.


68. As-Samad

* The Master who is relied upon in matters and reverted to in ones needs.
* The Perfect, the Eternal.


69. Al-Qadir

* The One attributed with Power.
* The Able, the Capable, the Omnipotent.


70. Al-Muqtadir

* The One with the perfect Power that nothing is withheld from Him.
* The Capable, The all Powerful


71. Al-Muqaddim

* He makes ahead what He wills.
* The Presenter, The Advancer, The Expediter


72. Al-Mu'akhkhir

* The One who delays what He wills.
* The Fulfiller, the keeper behind, The Deferrer


73. Al-'Awwal

* The One whose Existence is without a beginning.
* The First


74. Al-'Akhir

* The One whose Existence is without an end.
* The Last


75. Az-Zahir

* The Apparent, the Exterior, The Manifest
* The One that nothing is above Him and nothing is underneath Him, hence He exists without a place.


76. Al-Batin

* The Hidden, the Interior, the Latent


77. Al-Wali

* The One who owns things and manages them.
* The Governor, The Ruler, The Master


78. Al-Muta'ali

* The One who is clear from the attributes of the creation.
* The Exalted, The Most High, one above reproach.


79. Al-Barr

* The One who is kind to His creatures, who covered them with His sustenance and specified whoever He willed among them by His support, protection, and special mercy.
* The Benefactor, The Beneficent, the Pious.


80. At-Tawwab

* The One who grants repentance to whoever He willed among His creatures and accepts his repentance.
* The Acceptor of Repentance, The Forgiver, the Relenting.


81. Al-Muntaqim

* The One who victoriously prevails over His enemies and punishes them for their sins. It may mean the One who destroys them.
* The Avenger


82. Al-'Afuww

* The One with wide forgiveness.
* The Forgiver, The Effacer, The Pardoner


83. Ar-Ra'uf

* The One with extreme Mercy. The Mercy of Allah is His will to endow upon whoever He willed among His creatures.
* The Merciful, The Ever Indulgent.


84. Al-Muqsit

* The One who is Just in His judgment.
* The Just, the Equitable


85. Aj-Jami'

* The One who gathers the creatures on a day that there is no doubt about, that is the Day of Judgment.
* The Collector, The Comprehensive, Gatherer


86. Al-Ghanee

* The One who does not need the creation.
* The Rich, The All Sufficing, Self-Sufficient


87. Al-Mughnee

* The One who satisfies the necessities of the creatures.
* The Enricher, sufficer, the bestower.


88. Al-Mani'

* The Supporter who protects and gives victory to His pious believers. Al-Mu'tiy
* The Withholder
* The Preventer, The Prohibiter, The Defender.


89. Ad-Darr

* The One who makes harm reach to whoever He willed.
* The Distresser , The Afflictor, The Bringer of Adversity.


90. An-Nafi'

* The One who gives benefits to whoever He wills.
* The Beneficial Benefactor


91. An-Nur

* The One who guides.
* The Light


92. Al-Hadi

* The One whom with His Guidance His believers were guided, and with His Guidance the living beings have been guided to what is beneficial or them and protected from what is harmful to them.
* The Guide


93. Al-Badi'

* The One who created the creation and formed it without any preceding example.
* The Wonderful, The Maker, Incomparable


94. Al-Baqi

* The One that the state of non-existence is impossible for Him.
* The Enduring, The Everlasting, The Eternal


95. Al-Warith

* The One whose Existence remains.
* The Inheritor, The Heir


96. Ar-Rashid

* The One who guides.
* The Rightly Guided, The Conscious, the Guide


97. As-Sabur

* The One who does not quickly punish the sinners.
* The Most Patient, The Enduring.


98. Malik Al-Mulk

* The One who controls the Dominion and gives dominion to whoever He willed.
* The Ruler of the Kingdom, King of the Universe


99. Zul-l-Jalal wal-Ikram

* The One who deserves to be Exalted and not denied.
* Lord of Majesty and Generosity


Source from IslamCan.com (here)

Sunday, October 9, 2011

A beautiful Hadeeth about Hajj



It is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar - radiAllaahu 'anhuma - who said: I was
sitting with the Prophet - sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam - in the Masjid in Mina when a man from the Ansaar came and a man from the Thaqeef, they gave salaams and said, "O Messenger of Allaah, we came to ask you questions."


So the Messenger (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "If you want I can inform you why you came and what you want to ask, and I will do so, and if you want I will hold back and you can ask me and I will answer you."


They said: "Tell us O Messenger of Allaah!"


The man from Thaqeef said to the Ansaari: "Ask." So the Ansaari man said: "Inform me O Messenger of Allaah!"


The Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "You came to me, to ask about leaving your house and aiming for the Bait-ul-Haraam and the reward for it; about praying two Rakah after Tawaaf and the reward for it; going between as-Safa and Marwa and the reward for it; your staying the evening in Mina, and the reward for it; stoning the Jamarah and the reward for it; slaughtering an animal and the reward for it; and the Tawaaf of al-Ifaadh."




The man said: "I swear by the One who sent you with the truth! This is what I came to ask you about."


The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "As for you leaving your homes aiming for the Bait-ul-Haraam: then your she-camel does not place its foot nor does it raise it except that Allaah writes for you a reward due to it, and wipes off one of your sins.


As for the two Rakaah after the Tawaaf, then it is equivalent to freeing a slave from the Children of Ismaeel.


As for your circuiting of as-Safa and al-Marwa, then it is the same as freeing 70 slaves.




As for you staying till the evening in Arafah, then Allaah descends to the sky of the Duniya and He boasts about you to the Angels, and says: 'My slaves have come to Me, looking rough, from every deep valley hoping for My mercy, so if their sins were equivalent to the amount of sand or the drops of rain or like the foam on the sea I will forgive them. So go forth My slaves! Having forgiveness and for what or who you have interceded for.'


As for stoning the Jamaar (the pillars), then for every stone that you throw, it removes a big sin from the deadly sins.



As for your slaughtering, then it is saved for you with your Lord.


As for shaving your head, then there is a reward for every strand of hair that you shaved, and a sin is wiped off by it.


As for you performing Tawaaf of the House after all this, then by this time you are performing Tawaaf with no sin upon you and an Angel comes and places his hand between your shoulders saying:"Perform good deeds in what you face of the future, for verily your past sins have been forgiven."





(Reported by at-Tabarani in his book "al-Kabeer" and by al-Bazaar. Shaykh Al-Albaanee graded it Hassan. Taken from 'Saheeh al-Targheeb wa Tarheeb'. Volume 2, Page 9-10,hadeeth no. 1112)

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Last Moment / The Hereafter

Imam Al Ghazali - The Last Moment


On Monday the 18th December IIII Abu Hamid Muhammad or known as Imam Al Ghazali awoke. At dawn he performed prayer and prepared himself for his death. He asked his younger brother, Ahmad Ghazali to bring his burial shroud, kissed it, stretched himself full length; breathed his last.

And underneath his head rest they found the following verses; composed by him, probably, during the night.



Say to my friends when they look upon me dead
Weeping for me and mourning me in sorrow
Do not believe that this corpse you see is myself.

In the name of God I tell you it is not I
I am a spirit and this is nothing but flesh

It was my abode and my garment for a time.
I am a treasure, by a talisman kept hid,
Fashioned of dust which served me as a shrine.

I am a pearl which has left it’s shell deserted
It was my prison where I spent my time in grief.

I am a bird and this body was my cage
Whence I have now flown forth and it is left as a token,




Praise be to God Who has now set me free
And prepared for me my place in the highest of the heaven.

Until today I was dead though alive in your midst.
Now I live in truth with the grave-clothes discarded.

Today I hold converse with the saints above.
Now with no veil between I see God face to face



I look upon the tablet (Lawh Al-Mahfuz) and therein I read
Whatever was and is and all that is to be.

Let my house fall in ruins. Lay my cage in the ground.
Cast away the talisman. It is a token, no more.

Lay aside my cloak. It was but my outer garment.
Place them all in the grave. Let them be forgotten.

I have passed on my way and you are left behind
Your place of abode was no dwelling-place for me.

Think not that death is death. Nay, it is life,
A life that surpasses all we could dream of here.

While in this world we are granted sleep.
Death is but sleep, a sleep that shall be prolonged.

Be not afraid when death draws near.
It is but the departure for this blessed home




Think of the mercy and love of your Lord,
Give thanks for His Grace and come without fear.

What I am now even so shall you be
For I know that you are even as I am.

The souls of all people come forth from God.
The bodies of all are compounded alike.
Good and evil alike it was ours.

I give you now a message of good cheer.
May God’s peace and joy for evermore be yours.



-This is only a translation.
Wallahu a’lam - Allah Knows best -
والله أعلم



The Hereafter In Islam Serie(English)


The Hereafter in Islam [ENG] Intro (here)






The Hereafter in Islam [ENG] Ep.1 (here)





For full series (here)

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