MyISLAM

Wednesday, 29 April 2026

Your Smile Tells a lot About Your Health

One of the most well-known characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (SWS) was his positive, peaceful demeanor, often his smile. In fact, he was quoted to have said in one of his hadiths:

‍“Smiling in your brother’s face is an act of charity” (At-Tirmidhi; Declared Authentic by Al-Albani). Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Book 1, Hadith 1956

Modern dentistry has made mending teeth a common and relatively easy thing. You get a cavity, you head out to the dentist and it gets fixed. A tooth breaks and it can be easily replaced.

But teeth trouble goes well beyond what the dentist can do for them because they say more about your overall heath.

For examples, studies have shown that the risk for heart disease increases with the number of teeth lost. The reason for this is that researchers believe that some people get heart disease not because of clogged arteries, but due to inflammation.

This is where your teeth, or more importantly where your gums come in. Gum disease, or what dentists call “periodontal disease”, raises your chances of having heart disease by 19%. This risk increases with age. After age 65, the risk rises to 44%. (Sok-Ja et. al)

What Teeth Tell Us

There is an old saying for buying a new horse: “Always check the teeth.” Teeth can tell you a lot about the health of a horse and of humans as well. Nutritional deficiencies, poor digestion, and weak immunity all show up on our teeth and gums.

Some people have stronger immune systems. The work of the dentist Weston A. Price in the 1930’s discovered that there were many traditional societies that did not experience cavities, did not need braces and had excellent oral health. What he found through his research and travels was that diet played a huge role in oral health.

As these traditional societies moved away from their normal diets and ate more Western style diets, they fell prey to poor oral health and degenerative diseases. (Price)

Every day we rebuild ourselves with the food we eat, and if we are not taking in the appropriate nutrients in the right amounts it will eventually weaken all the systems of the body.

Women have an additional challenge with pregnancy and nursing. If a woman does not have adequate amounts of nutrients in her body during pregnancy, the body will release stores from the bones and teeth. This is where we get the saying that a woman loses a tooth for every child.

Heart of Matter

Not everyone with the well-known, well-accepted risk factors (smoking, obesity, high serum cholesterol, and hypertension) develop coronary artery disease, so there must be some other factors at play.

Dr. Sebastian Ciancio, Doctor of Dental Surgery, states that factors like diet and stress may trigger “a hyper-inflammatory state” and “this predisposes the individual to develop both atherosclerosis and periodontitis.”

The human mouth, like the rest of the body, is teeming with non-native organisms, or ‘passengers’. Some of these passengers are just along for the ride, some are helping us out, while others are just a bunch of troublemakers. The last sort is a drain to our immune system. When we have an abundance of cavities, it means that we have many pathogenic passengers and that oral hygiene is compromised.

So what is the problem with that? Can’t we just set off to the dentist and have it all fixed up? True enough, but that is only a cosmetic fix, it does not clean out the blood that is now infected with bacteria.

That infected blood does not stay confined to your mouth; it passes to and through your heart with very few other organs to infect along the way. This continual flow of bacteria-laden blood is continually shuttled by your heart and your immune system.

This constant exposure can trigger the immune system to start an inflammatory cascade. This is where your body causes cells and tissues to become inflamed in an effort to literally block a pathogen from getting by.

The body does this in response to injury or infection. This is a very good thing. However, when this is overused it can cause all types of problems in the body – one being heart disease. This can happen because the inflammation caused by a bacterial infection causes the arteries to become narrow.

Researchers found that people who were missing nine teeth or less, had 44 % arterial plaque and those missing between 10-19 teeth had 61%. After missing 20 teeth, the incidence of plaque buildup in the arteries did not increase (Gilbert). Although the missing teeth were the most obvious indication, it is gum health that is more important.

Tooth loss could have been avoided if more attention was paid to the health of the gums. The signs of gingivitis and periodontal disease many times are present before the pain of tooth decay. Bleeding and sore, tender gums are all early signs of poor oral health.

What Is Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal Disease is a disease of the gums. It can start off as gingivitis and from there progresses if it is not treated. It is caused by a bacterial infection of the gums and causes inflammation and eventually bone loss around the teeth. The symptoms associated with periodontal disease are:

Redness or bleeding of gums
Reoccurring gum swelling
Bad breath and/or a metallic taste in the mouth
Teeth appear longer (due to gum loss)
Deep pockets between the teeth
Loose teeth

A survey conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey involving nearly 10,000 people found that the risk of Coronary Heart Diseases (CHD) was increased by 25% amongst those with periodontal inflammation.

Dr. Ciancio adds, “in males younger than 50 years, the link between periodontitis and the incidence of coronary heart disease was even stronger.”

Your thyroid gland, located about the middle of your throat, can also be greatly affected by bacterial infections in the mouth. The close proximity of the thyroid to the mouth places it at greater risk.

Many people who suffer from hypothyroidism have also have lost many teeth or suffer from reoccurring cavities.

Diet for Healthy Teeth

A contributing cause to poor oral health may be a poor diet. Healthy teeth require more than just calcium. It was found that selenium, not commonly associated with healthy teeth, turns out to be very important in the prevention of gum disease (Nishida).

In addition to selenium, here are a few other nutrients to help keep teeth and gums healthy:

Selenium
Vitamin C
Magnesium
Vitamin D
Calcium
Zinc
Trace Minerals

Natural Dental Care

Taking good care of your teeth is a relatively easy way to maintain heart health. It is important to establish a routine, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly, to insure proper oral hygiene. The following preventative measures can help prevent periodontal disease:

Brushing properly on a regular basis (at least twice daily) making sure to brush at the gum lines as well
Use miswak at least once a week to help remove plaque from the gum line and strengthen gums and teeth
Flossing daily
Using a mouthwash. Avoid products like Listerine and Scope; they kill the beneficial bacteria in your mouth and are loaded with sugar and sometimes alcohol. There are many herbal mouthwashes available that are naturally antibacterial
Using a ‘soft’ toothbrush to prevent damage to tooth enamel and sensitive gums
Regular dental check-ups and professional teeth cleaning (Dr. Ciancio recommends every 3-6 months)
Do not share toothbrushes
You can use blackseed oil as a mouth rinse every few weeks. Use one tablespoon and swish the oil around in your mouth. Hold it in your mouth and do not swallow. After 15-20 seconds spit it out

Dr. Ciancio also recommends using Colgate Total, the first toothpaste approved for the prevention of bacterial plaque and gingivitis and Crest Pro-Health.

Smile more, it’s sunnah 🙂

References:

Barnes, Broda, M.D. & Lawrence Galton. “Hypo-Thyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness.” ThomasCrowellCompany: New York. 1976.
Emingil, Gülnur Dr, Eralp Buduneli, Abbas Aliyev, Azem Akilli , Gül Atilla, “AssociationBetween Periodontal Disease and Acute Myocardial Infarction.” Journal of Periodontology: December 2000, 71:12, 1882-1886.
Desvarieux, Moïse MD, PhD; Ryan T. Demmer, MPH; Tatjana Rundek, MD, PhD; Bernadette Boden-Albala, DrPH; David R. Jacobs, Jr, PhD; Panos N. Papapanou, DDS, PhD Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, ” Relationship Between Periodontal Disease, Tooth Loss, and Carotid Artery Plaque.” Stroke: 2003; 34:2120.
Gilbert, Susan, “Oral Hygiene May Help More Than Teeth and Gums.” New York Times: Tuesday, August 5, 2003.
Janket, Sok-Ja DMD, MPH a; Baird, Alison E. MD, PhD b; Chuang, Sung-Kiang DMD, MD c; Jones, Judith A. DDS, DSc d, “Meta-analysis of periodontal disease and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.” Oral Medicine: May 2003, 95:5.
Loesche WJ, “Periodontal disease as a risk factor for heart disease.” Compendium: Aug;15 1994 8:976, 978-82, 985-6.

- aboutislam.net

Tuesday, 28 April 2026

Trust Allah – Always Expect Goodness from Him

Look at Allah’s wisdom! Sometimes we see something negative in our own minds, but then afterwards we look back and we actually realize that it was a really positive outcome.

Even in negative times, Allah only does good things. Even the death of loved ones has goodness in it. And we have to see it in this way.

Hajar’s Trust in Allah’s Plan

Abraham and his wife Hajar and son Ismail travelled from Palestine to Makkah; it was a very long and difficult journey.

It’s a very similar to the journey that Abraham and Sarah had taken many years earlier when they were fleeing from Nimrod.

This is a key point. This sacrifice that Hajar has made for her husband is such a beautiful thing.

Hajar is a woman of faith. She has trust in Allah.

Now, why didn’t this happen earlier?

Because she had to have that time with the family in order to accept the oneness of Allah, to learn what this is all about and to accept it in her heart.

This will have been a time of spiritual building for her, where her faith is being built up. Because what is to come if she didn’t have this strong faith would have been too difficult for her to bear.

So, Allah has trained her for those years living in the family for what is to come afterwards.

-aboutislam.net

Monday, 27 April 2026

The Story of Moses’ Foster Mother – Asiya

A great woman who raised a great man despite the difficulties and pressures she faced was Asiya.

She is more often remembered as the wife of Pharaoh; however this great lady was also the foster mother of Prophet Moses.

Like Mary the mother of Jesus, God chose Asiya to care for a child who would grow up to be a prophet of God.

What qualities did Asiya have with which to support and influence Moses?

It was, once again, as we will discover her complete and total trust in God. As the wife of the most powerful and arrogant man in all Egypt, Asiya was surrounded by luxury, wealth and beauty, yet she was able to recognize that without God, human beings were lost bereft and incomplete.

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Many men reached the level of perfection, but no woman reached such a level except Mary, the daughter of Imran and Assiya, the wife of Pharaoh. (Al-Bukhari)

When Moses’ birth mother was compelled by circumstances to put her tiny new born baby in a basket and float him down the waters of the Nile, her heart was nearly broken beyond repair.

But God is the best of planners.

Asiya’s maidservant drew Moses from the river and presented the tiny bundle to Pharaoh’s wife. Asiya, in contrast to her arrogant, proud husband was a righteous, merciful woman.

God opened her heart and Asiya looked down up on the tiny baby and felt overcome by her love for him. She asked her husband to accept him into the family.

The wife of Pharaoh said, a comfort for the eye, for me and for you; kill him not. It may be that he may be of benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son.” And they perceived not (the result of that). (Quran 28: 9)

The Quran tells us very little about Asiya and even less about her relationship with her foster son Moses. However, as a woman of faith, she must have had a profound influence on her foster son.

Moses was forthright and believed in speaking his mind and standing up for the weaker members of society. Whenever he witnessed oppression or cruelty, he found it impossible to stop himself from intervening.

Today psychology tells us that this sense of justice, and the ability to empathize, is learned at a very early age. They are skills that are often not able to be acquired in later life.

Asiya must have helped instill these qualities in her foster son.

As Moses grew up, he was considered a wise young man; in all respects regarded as Pharaoh’s son. We do know from the words of the Quran however that Moses’ birth mother was his wet nurse.

Ibn Kathir believes that Moses’ birth mother lived in the palace while she was breast feeding him and that as he grew up she was allowed the privilege of visiting him. Her influence must also have played a part in shaping Moses’ character.

So did We restore him to his mother, that she might be delighted, and that she might not grieve, and that she might know that the Promise of God is true. But most of them know not. (Quran 28:13)

Moses was quite possibly a child that was loved by both his real mother and Asiya. There is little doubt that before he reached manhood, Moses knew about the Children of Israel and the political situation in Egypt.

A number of circumstances, the details of which can be found in the Quran, forced Moses to flee Egypt. From royal son to common criminal, how must Asiya have felt?

We can surmise that Asiya knew the danger inherent in allowing Moses to understand the differences between his life in the palace and his birth family’s life in an impoverished district.

Eventually Pharaoh discovered that his wife was secretly worshiping the God of Moses. He was incensed and raged with anger.

Pharaoh both threatened and cajoled his wife Asiya, but her heart now belonged to God Alone.

Pharaoh offered his wife a choice, to accept him as her God or to continue to worship the God of Moses and be tortured until death. Asiya chose torture and death and in her last painful moments she could be heard calling out to God.

O my Lord! Build for me, a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings, and save me from those that do wrong. (Quran 66:11)

As the primary caregiver and educator, the mother has many heavy responsibilities. The most important one is her responsibility to teach the children entrusted to her by God.

It is the mother who first teaches her children how to know and love God. The best way to instruct children is by example because from the moment they can interact with their surroundings they are learning.

As mothers, both Mary and Asiya taught the boys in their care to have complete trust in the One most worthy of Trust – God.

Source: Islam Religion.

Sunday, 26 April 2026

Is It Halal to Clock In Before Work Opens?

You must adhere to the terms of your employment contract, and claim pay only for the hours and conditions your employer has clearly defined. If the company considers work hours to begin only when the store opens, and you officially clock in, you cannot clock in before you officially arrive at the store.

However, if your employer explicitly allows your paid time to start when you arrive—even if the store is still closed—then it is permissible to clock in at that time, as they are knowingly compensating you for waiting and being available.

You should have a respectful conversation with your manager or HR. Inform them that you arrive on time but lose 15–20 minutes because the store is not yet open. Ask if your schedule can be adjusted or if they can approve paid waiting time from your arrival.

This approach safeguards your income, ensures it remains halal, and advocates for your rights in a respectful manner. May Allah grant you clarity, fairness, and Barakah in your work.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Source: AsktheScholar.com

Saturday, 25 April 2026

Were All Prophets Direct Blood Descendants of Abraham?

Why Did God Send Prophets?

To begin with, Allah, the Most Gracious, sent down prophets to mankind from time to time in order to serve as warners and guardians to the people.

Each messenger had a unique message of calling to the worship of Allah alone and averting the worship of false deities.

This tradition of sending prophets to their people arose after the innovation of ascribing partners with Allah.

Then Allah chose an anointed servant – a prophet among the people – in order to warn them of the evil consequences of their actions.

They called them to monotheism, which is the worship of the One true God.

And this is the purpose of our creation – to worship Allah.

And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): Worship Allah (Alone) and avoid (or keep away from) Taaghoot (all false deities etc. do not worship Taaghoot besides Allah). Quran 16:36

Abraham: An Honored Prophet

Indeed Allah honored Ibrahim (Abraham) with prophethood and made it a successive tradition among his progeny.

He made him distinctive among the prophets and chose him above all mankind and jinn that existed during his time.

Indeed, Abraham was one prophet whose sons were prophets as well; he was the father of Ishmael and Isaac.

From the lineage of Ishmael arose the messenger – Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

Isaac had a son, Jacob, who was a prophet. Among the sons of Jacob was Joseph, who was, as well, an apostle of God.

And a prophetic generation continued in that ancestral order.

So this may be the basis of your point with regards to all prophets being blood descendants of Abraham

However, we don’t find in the Qur’an, the sunnah, or in books of Islamic history any statement saying that all prophets were descendants of Abraham.

Prophet Lot, A Descendant of Noah, Not Abraham

Prophet Lot, for example, lived during the time of Prophet Abraham, but in a different land.

They both were sent on different missions to different people.

But how did we come to know this?

When Allah sent the angels to Abraham to give him glad tidings of a son, they equally mentioned that they have been sent to punish a people who had transgressed.

These were the people of Lot, according to the story found in Quran 15:51-70.

And the most likely genealogical tree of Lot took its root from Noah, who was also a messenger who came before Ibrahim.

So this tells us that not all prophets were blood descendants of Ibrahim.

However, all of mankind are descendants of Adam and many prophets were from the genealogy of Ibrahim.

God Sent Prophets Based On Need

So Allah sent prophets to people based on their location, their traditional practice, language, and so on.

Each prophet had a mission, an objective, and a set of people to reach out to.

For instance, Prophet Moses’ (Musa) mission was to debunk Pharaoh’s call to divinity and guide the children of Israel away from idolatry.

Aaron (Haroon), his brother, on the other hand, was just a supporter of the mission of Musa.

The majority of the prophets were sent to the children of Israel, owing to their transgression and willingness to oppose Allah’s injunctions.

It’s only Allah’s Apostle, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) who has been sent to all of mankind and jinn.

Say [O Muhammad]: ‘O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah.’ Quran 7:158

The universality of his message is sufficient as a proof for all of mankind.

The message of Islam has reached every nook and cranny of the world.

Regarding Buddha

As to your question on Buddha, the majority of the scholars do not ascribe prophethood to him, nor did Allah ordain him on a mission for tawhid.

History tells us that Siddhartha Gautama was his real name. He was said to be a prince and a monastic saint.

Gautama renounced his royal life and spent many years in meditation.

He sought a way for people to become liberated from their problems and attain lasting happiness.

As a result of his intense compassion for others and his deep understanding, he was able to overcome his shortcomings, limitations, and problems.

This was what led to a realization of his potential, and thus he became the Buddha.

On the contrary, Hamid Abdul Qadir in his book: “Buddha the Great: His life and Philosophy” postulates that Buddha was Dhu’l Kifl mentioned in the Qur’an.

However, the majority of the scholars identify Dhu’l Kifl with Ezekiel from the Hebrew scriptures.

This is to the best of our knowledge at this time.

Allah knows best and He is the Only One who is able to dispose of affairs.

- aboutislam.net

Friday, 24 April 2026

What is the Significance of 5 Daily Prayers Postures?

There are two parts to your question: your desire to improve your prayer, feel what the Sahaba felt and close the missing link as you mentioned, and thinking that knowing the answers to the questions you proposed is what will help you accomplish that purpose.

So, it’s important to discuss both parts in order to correct a seeming misconception there.

Submission and Peace

Since we just celebrated Eid, I’m reminded with the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty ordered Ibrahim to slaughter his son.

Imagine if Ibrahim started asking Allah, “But what’s the wisdom behind slaughtering my son? Okay, I’ll do it, I don’t mean anything, but if I know the wisdom, I’ll be able to follow this command more happily and slaughter my son in good conscience”.

Ibrahim (peace be upon him) could have said so, and these questions “make sense”. But he didn’t.

He submitted to the instruction of Allah out of complete trust in Him.

What happened as a result?

• Allah saved him and his son from this test.
• Allah ransomed his son with a great sacrifice, “A ram which had grazed in Paradise for forty years” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir).
• Allah not only protected his son, but He gifted him with yet another son!
• Allah made him a role model for all believers until the end of time.

And Allah said something very powerful and beautiful; He said:

“peace upon Ibrahim”. (Qur’an 37: 109)

We all seek and desire peace. The Creator showed us that peace from Him –the Ultimate Source of Peace- showered Ibrahim internally and externally when his heart was in true submission to Allah.

We needed to mention this to correct the idea that we will get peace in prayer if we know the exact wisdom behind the number of raka’as…etc. This isn’t correct; we get peace when our hearts, minds, and bodies submit lovingly and humbly to Allah. This is the feeling we need to capture, and this is the missing link.

Brief answers

Having said that, we can discuss some wisdom regarding the questions you proposed. But this isn’t to say that the Prophet told us that these are the exact answers. Even though the Prophet spoke at length about almost everything, but matters of worship are Divinely instructed and should be practiced as they are instructed.

In any case, you asked, “why do we recite the Quran in prayer?”

I want to ask you, if we don’t do so, then what do we do, do we just speak in prayer? So it becomes a monologue? We just talk talk talk… And is it a loving relationship if we just talk and don’t listen?

Of course not.

So, in prayer, we do both. We listen to the words of Allah. We recite His words because there are no better, more powerful, more wise, more soothing words than the Words of Allah. So we recite His words that remind us of our purpose and our destination. Then, we speak to Him. We are encouraged to speak to Allah and ask for all we want in sujood and before tasleem.

So, first we listen to the Master, and then we speak to Him and ask of Him. It’s a communication that involves listening and speaking.

You asked, “why sajdah?”

In sajdah (prostration) as we put our forehead on the ground, we are in the most submissive state to Allah Almighty. We humble our ego and put our highest point (our forehead) at the lowest point in the ground. In this state of submission, the slave is the nearest to His Creator. As the Prophet said:

“A slave becomes nearest to his Lord when he is in prostration. So increase supplications while prostrating.” [Muslim]

And some of the scholars say about the wisdom in repeating sujood twice is that sujood is the peak of submission, and that after the worshipper has fulfilled the command of His Master by standing up in prayer, then bowing down, then prostrating, then sitting down from prostration the first time, he/she goes back again in prostration out of gratitude and humbleness before the Master for allowing them to complete the rites of worship and for empowering them against their ego and Shaitan by completing their servitude to Him. Other scholars mentioned how prostration twice reminds us that we came from the earth, and we will go back to it again. And other scholars say that it is an affirmation of our humble servitude to Allah that we prostrate to Him twice.

And from experience, truly the most wonderful, most peaceful most pleasing experience is in the humble sujood to Allah and speaking to Him in this state.

You asked: “Why do we say “sami’ Allahu li man hamdia”?”

Abu Hurairah narrated that Allah’s Messenger said:

“When the Imam says: (Sami Allahu liman hamidah) ‘Allah listens to those who praise Him. Then (all of you) say: (Rabbana wa lakal-hamd) ‘O our Lord! And to You is the praise for whoever’s saying concurs with the saying of the angels, then his past sins will be forgiven.” [Jami at-Tirmidhi]

In short, why we pray the way we pray? Because Allah instructed us to do so, and we submit to Him. If it was in any other form, some people would have still questioned why it was in that form not the other. If it wasn’t the prescribed units of prayer, you would have also asked “why one prayer instead of units? Why do we just speak not listen to Allah…etc.” If we open room for questioning the prescribed acts of worship, we will not reach the satisfaction we want. Just like the people who kept asking Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) about the shape and color of the cow (Quran 2: 67- 74) until their hearts hardened, instead of softening.

So, to achieve peace, one needs to submit his/her will to the Will of Allah, do what He instructed and ask Him for peace. It is in this state of submission that Allah will envelop and shower the person in His peace.

And Allah knows best.

- aboutislam.net

About Dina Mohamed Basiony

Dina Mohamed Basiony is a writer based in Cairo, Egypt. She specializes in Islam and spirituality. Dina holds an MA and BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from the American University in Cairo.

Thursday, 23 April 2026

Is Making False Claims Against Husband Allowed in Islam?

You have the right to get your rights through the legal channels available to you. However, at no time you are allowed to make false allegations or claims against your husband.

Your lawyer is acting immorally by making you do it. As a Muslim woman, you must never make allegations that you know are false. If you do that, then you are equally guilty before Allah, in which case, there is no difference between you and your husband.

You may do well to remember the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Be truthful always; truthfulness leads to virtue and virtue leads to paradise. Shun lying (in all forms), for lying leads to sins, and sins leads the way to hellfire. A person continues to lie until his or her name is entered as a liar in the Register of Allah.” (Muslim)

I pray to Allah to include us among those who seek to remain steadfast in truthfulness and virtue.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Source: www.askthescholar.com