Remembering Allah Goes Beyond Repeating His Name

 

A believer’s heart should always be filled with the remembrance of Allah. Forgetfulness and negligence are the main weaknesses of human beings. The only remedy is that the believer should develop God-consciousness and be constantly aware that Almighty Allah watches him.

All acts of worship aim at drawing man closer to Allah. The Qur’an says, {Establish prayers for My remembrance} (Ta-Ha 20:14). The Friday sermon, too, constitutes the commands and remembrance of Allah (Al-Jumu`ah 62:10).

But we must be clear that the remembrance of Allah is not restricted to certain acts of formal worship. The point is that one should always remember Him: {Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying on their sides} (Aal `Imran 3:191).

Thabit Al-Banani (may Allah have mercy on him) once exclaimed, “I know when my Lord remembers me.” Upon hearing this, those present trembled in fear and asked him how he knew this. In response he recited from verse 152 of Surat Al-Baqarah, {Remember Me. I will remember you.} It is recorded in the hadith:

I come up to the expectations of My servant.I am with him when he remembers Me. When he makes mention of Me in his heart, I make mention of him to Myself. When he mentions Me in a gathering, I mention him in a better gathering (of the angels). (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

It is the height of felicity for a human being that Allah remembers him and mentions him in the blessed gathering of the angels.

We have taken note of the important and blessed nature of the remembrance of Allah. By the same token, one’s neglect of it is fatal, bringing disgrace upon oneself. Those who forget Allah are forgotten by Him (At-Tawbah 9:67). Allah then lets them wander in the web of their own self (Al-Hashr 59:19). One’s disregard for Allah culminates in the ruin of the self.

The universe remembers Allah

It is worthy to note that everything in the universe is preoccupied with remembering and glorifying Allah. This point is explicitly made in the first verse of Surat Al-Hadid (surah 57) and in many other places in the Qur’an.

As one is engaged in remembering, praising and glorifying Allah, one becomes at one with the entire universe and the gate for all goodness and success is opened.

The remembrance of Allah should permeate one’s life in every respect. It should not be restricted to reciting certain formulas in private at an appointed hour. Prayers, zakah, fasting, and Hajj are the practical manifestations of remembering Allah.

Moreover, the remembrance of Allah is not confined to utterance and speech—one’s whole mind and process of thinking should be constantly imbued with it, as the Qur’an teaches,

{They reflect deeply about the creation of the heavens and earth, saying: “Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose. Glory to You. Preserve us from the torment of the Fire.”} (Aal ‘Imran 3:191)

The remembrance of Allah that is most rewarding involves our thoughts and prompts us to think about our accountability in the Hereafter. This, in turn, motivates the measures needed to protect ourselves against Hellfire.

Besides acts of worship, study of the Qur’an is another effective means for remembering Allah. Allah speaks of the Qur’an itself as remembrance (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:50 and Al-Hijr 15:9). It is further said,

{And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember; then is there anyone who will receive admonition?} (Al-Qamar 54:17)

One should recite the Qur’an with utmost devotion and reflect over its contents.

24-Hour Connection

Other modes of remembering Allah are reciting the supplications recorded on the Prophet’s authority. These constantly remind one at every stage of life that one should turn wholly to Allah and maintain a close relationship with Him.

These supplications should not be merely uttered, they should be reflected in one’s thoughts and actions. The Qur’an says,

{O you who believe! When you meet an enemy force, take a firm stand against them and remember Allah much so that you may be successful.} (Al-Anfal 8:45)

The point here is that constant remembrance of Allah facilitates one’s engagement in jihad. The Qur’an further states,

{O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah, for whosoever does that, then they are the losers. And spend in charity of that with which We have provided you before death comes to one of you.} (Al-Munafiqun 63:9-10)

In this context, the remembrance of Allah consists of spending in His cause. One of the benefits of remembering Allah is that man is always mindful that he will die, and so spends generously for the sake of pleasing Allah.

Protection from Heedlessness

The objective of all the prescribed duties of worship is to train us to prepare against and to remedy human weaknesses. We can attain the goal of self-purification by fulfilling these duties properly.

Forgetfulness is a major weakness of man; the effective remedy for it is prayer. Man is liable to be swayed by the glitter of worldly life; he is drawn to amass wealth and may develop a strong love for it; the remedy for this is zakah and spending for the pleasure of Allah in His cause.

Similarly, man is vulnerable to the base desires of the self. He is gratified by eating, drinking, living to excess in luxury, and indulging his lower appetites; the remedy lies in fasting, which trains and disciplines these appetites and desires. Hajj, too, cures man of these weaknesses because its rituals effectively prefigure the proceedings of the Day of Judgment.

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Excerpted with some modifications from Tazkiyah: The Islamic Path of Self-Development. Courtesy of The Islamic Foundation.

- aboutislam.net

About Abdul Rashid Siddiqui

Abdur Rashid Siddiqui gained an honors degree in Economics and Politics from the University of Bombay and has a law degree from the same University. He completed his postgraduate study in Librarianship in London and was elected to the Associate ship of the Library Association. He worked as an Information Librarian at the University of Leicester from 1966 until his retirement in 1997. He is the author of number of books and articles on a variety of subjects

How to Explain Our Ideas?

 

By: Dr. Tarek Alghannam

Many of us may have ambition and hopes to skip the reality of working along with its difficulties and routines to a broad and new horizon, where a person can achieve his aspirations, realize his ambitions and dreams, and contributes to the development of his country. However, not all of us can fulfill our hopes; some of us stop at the limits of these hopes, their imagination takes them away and then brings them back to where they started; their dreams go in vain.

Some of us may have new ideas that were generated from such hopes, set out possibilities for changing the reality of working without taking any steps to apply these ideas, and stay helpless. While some others analyze the reality and visualize the variables; thus, the idea shall be generated in their mind and they enthusiastically seek to apply it, because they were believing in that idea and are determined to bring it to life. In fact, in our time, the journey that starts with the emergence of an idea to its implementation goes through many hitches, as implementing new ideas still depends on the fact that their owner can break through all the difficulties and constraints facing him/her.

Therefore, a lot of people use preliminary action to implement their idea; they begin by studying the work environment in which their idea would be implemented, and carefully analyze their ideas. Then, they predict a ratio of acceptance of their idea and a ratio of rejection. They try to make acceptance more likely than rejection and then analyze their personal acceptance by others’ emotional perspectives; trying to win the hearts of the recipients of the idea.

Reality has proven that the more the personal acceptance of the owners of new ideas is widened, the easier those ideas are adopted and accepted by their recipients.

If the owner of the new idea got the opportunity for his idea to be heard, he/she should choose the simplest means to convey his idea to others, he/she should be prepared to answer their questions which he shall expect in advance; moreover, he/she sets a logical analysis to address the risks generated by the implementation of his/her idea and the plans by which these risks are managed, as well as taking into account the financing capabilities available to implement the idea, and the benefits yielded thereof. He/she shall also set criteria for assessing the idea in terms of implementation to achieve its feasibility, as well as setting a future plan, in which his idea overcomes its application hinders.

Nonetheless, if the road to presenting new ideas is not paved, and if the world searches for the means that unleash the new ideas…etc., then this provokes contemplation. Ideas come to our minds with inspiration from Allah; it may be caused by a certain motive, whether moral or immoral. In fact, ideas are a translation of the values we adopt; they ignite in our minds in response to the things we perceive as a method to reach the truth, as it is the result of our interaction with what we perceive, whether tangible or intangible, and their implementation may be faced by many difficulties.

Therefore, this means that some owners of new ideas are not capable to pave the way for others to accept their new ideas, because the acceptance by others may be linked to unethical behavior; like fawning on decision-makers, so, the owner of the idea may prefer to quit the matter so he/she wouldn’t compromise his moral values from which his ideas are generated.

So, the reality is that the implementation of ideas in developing countries suffers from mind narrowness... The solution to this problem is either to entrench values in our society so that the owners of new ideas can find a paved way to present their ideas or to work on the implementation of new means of presenting ideas without hindrance, such as implementing the idea of the "idea incubator" by which ideas are presented and studied well to determine the means of their implementation and the ratio of acceptable risks, to be applicable. - islamweb.net

3 Questions About Islam’s Stance on Male and Female Virginity

 

3 Questions About Islam’s Stance on Male and Female Virginity

Allah says in the Quran,

“If any do deeds of righteousness be they male or female and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them.” (4:124)

The beauty of this concept is that one has to be sincere, to himself and his Lord, and not need to prove anyone else their self-worth. Allah is just and rewards the believing servant for his or her effort. Allah will judge individuals based on piety and not according to one’s gender. This is true gender equality.

Even today in most societies women are being harassed. Whether it be a shopping mall, a workplace or anywhere else. Also, women are being treated unfairly compared to men. According to Glamour Magazine women exhibited more ambition compared to men to reach the top roles of a company by 17%, however, only 5% were able to actually get promoted.

In many places, men are reaching position easily while a woman needs to demonstrate her potential. Glamour Magazine states, “men at every level reported getting more regular feedback about how to advance their careers. At junior levels, men were slightly more likely than women to get promoted without asking. At senior levels, the gap grew to 18% of men saying they’d gotten a promotion without asking, versus just 5% of women.”

The discrepancy mattered since almost every female interviewee, “even those who described themselves as assertive and highly ambitious,” the study said, had struggled with asking for promotions. Many felt lucky to be promoted at all. Often they were unclear how to advance, and wound up doing jobs without the title and pay that should have accompanied them. This is the sad reality of this world.

Equally Responsible

Allah has made such a beautiful balance for humankind. Allah judges each and every individual based on his or her own deeds. Meaning whether you’re a male or a female you will be held accountable! No ifs and buts.

It’s true that Allah has designated different obligations for the male and the female.  Allah has given the men elbow grease cut out for them and the women work according to their capability. Allah is our Creator and He has full knowledge of our inner workings.

Does the matter whether virginity belongs to females only? This is not an Islamic view. In Islam, both male and female are responsible for their chastity.

Allah orders the men in the Quran saying,

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All‑Aware of what they do.” (24:30)

Alongside Allah orders the women saying,

“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)” (24:31)

Chastity

The Prophet Muhammad has given a very stern warning to the believing men when it comes to dealing with women. It was narrated that Ma’qil ibn Yassaar said:

the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is better for him than that he should touch a woman who is not permissible for him.”

Also, Allah says in the Quran,

“The believers, men and women, are allies (awliya) of one another. They enjoin the ‘common good’ (al ma‘ruf) and forbid the bad (al munkar), they observe prayers (salat) and give charitable alms (zakat) and obey God and his Prophet.” (9:71)

According to this verse, men are just as responsible as women for their actions. Also, the verse implies that men and women assist one another. This means that they are helpers of one another. This equality translates, in everyday life, into concrete actions. It builds an environment in which the only criterion for evaluating each other is integrity and moral values.

Caution

Allah has specified punishment for Zina (illicit sex) for both men and women. Allah says in the Quran,

“The fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment” (24:2)

So the verse clearly states the fornicatress separately than the fornicator. Hence both the man and the woman will be punished for this sin.

I must add that this is a terrible sin. A person should know that Allah has specified a grave punishment for the fornicator. Prophet Muhammad said,

“… So we went on, and came to something like a tannoor (a kind of oven).  – I [the narrator] think he said: In it there was much noise and voices. We looked into it and saw naked men and women. A flame of fire was reaching them from underneath, and when it reached them, they cried out loudly. I said to them, ‘Who are these?’ They said to me, ‘Move on, move on.’ … ‘As for the naked men and women whom you saw in a structure that resembled an oven, they are the adulterers and adulteresses.’”

May Allah help guide us all towards righteousness. 

And Allah knows best.

- aboutislam.net

About Umm Muadh

Umm Muadh is a student at AOU university studying Islamic studies and currently resides in Texas, USA with her husband and four beautiful children!

Watch Your Way

 

By: A group of articles by Mr. Mahmoud Mohamed Shaker

Since Islam religion was revealed on Earth, it spread north, south, east, and west, crossing the boundaries of the surrounding countries. Islam has cleansed and purged many countries from polytheism, atheism, and calling for gods other than Allah. However, enmity has always gathered against Islam and continued fighting the soldiers of Allah year after year whenever they have a chance.

These enemies have gathered in one alliance at the loopholes of Islam, starting by successive invasions known in history like the Crusades. These wars had been raging for centuries and had been led by arms, armies, and positions.

Afterward, the war of arms and armies ended, and the Islamic world laid down its weapons. To be more accurate, the Islamic world at that time did not have a weapon to lay down or raise. Even if there was a weapon, it was useless compared to the modern weapons that came with the invaders. Ever since, the Crusades moved from the battlefield to another field; life itself.

The plan of the new Crusades was to destroy the whole Islamic world: destroying this world’s building process, knowledge, literature, morality, history, language, and past. Their plan was to build a new scheme for this Islamic world with different knowledge, literature, morality, history, language, and past. The day came when defeat occurred as it had occurred on battlefields, the Islamic World has become very weak as it was once on the battlefield; all it has are remains of weapons that are useless.

The new Crusades have come in a fast-paced sequence, spreading their first vanguards everywhere, equipped with understanding and knowledge of the nature of this new field. You can find nations whose understanding, perception, and knowledge of the nature of this field were very poor. However, by nature, they knew that those vanguards were their enemy. Some of them fought them by the force of nature that made them hate and distrust the enemy, no matter how they pretended to be peaceful advisers. Some others fell apart, deceived by the false peacefulness and advice of the enemy. These wars have been raging between us for over a hundred and fifty years, in quietness and silence, stubbornness and precaution, strength and attentiveness, knowledge and insight, until the enemy achieved a goal that was not expected to be achieved before; the whole structure of the Islamic world was suddenly destroyed and has been like ruins, with no resistance.

Everything that could be a cornerstone for human life has gone, such as knowledge, literature, ethics, language, and history, and the invaders replaced them with different knowledge, literature, ethics, language, and history.

The teachings that were derived from the Quran, the life of the Muslim nation, and the Sunnah have gone and were replaced with others from the ancient Pagan life and modern Christianity. The heritage that used to be inherited as a legacy has gone, and there comes to those teachings like a torrent that destroys everything; one thing went away, and another came. Our perspective, thoughts, cognition, knowledge, feeling, and language have changed. Our perspective towards Quran, Sunnah, and the traces of the ancestors have changed; some of us denied what was found in them all; some put them behind their back and didn’t care, and some others got afraid and didn’t know what to do. Some others didn’t deny nor felt afraid and asked for a way out from that thing that they deny lightly; they used the past heritage, and they came to conclusion to renew the past heritage to match with the new world and denied the old one.

Since then, the Arab and Muslim world was divided into two sects: A sect that cares nothing for the whole past, and a sect that did not care to deny, they sought to renew the past based on new grounds. Those grounds are in essence derived from the life created by the crusader among us.

This is a miniature picture of life in the present Muslim world, which one does not realize until he knows that the Muslim world is at a greater risk than the First Crusader conquest with arms, and will be subjected to a fatal defeat, followed by the complete conversion from Islam so that only the true Christian shadow of the present Christian world remains.

The advocates of this conversion, who knew or did not know, have called for this conversion everywhere in the name of the defense for Islam, in the name of the revival of Islam, and the name of the renewal of Islam, and are striving to spread their new religion – as it should be called – by all means what they believe will lead them to the defense, revival, or renewal of Islam. Over time, they will leave a profound mark on the current life of the Muslim world, and they will be followed by followers who will follow their traces, away from the first approach on which Islam was built, which they defend, greet, or renew!

In fact, those were the successors of a generation before them, blinded by the life that fascinated their eyes and shook their creed. They asked as they are asking, to defend, revive and renew Islam on a basis that was not derived from the true basis of their religion, but from the distant origin of the life of the Crusader world, which had prevailed, vanquished, and emerged their glory in this land.

This pandemic that invades the Islamic mind and Islamic life, has spread everywhere in the world, and its fever has severely infected a lot of Islamic preachers.

The tongues set off in a hurry aiming at building a new mental structure for this old Islam, whose old structure has been destroyed. Everyone wants to introduce many unstoppable talks without caution and believes that what he/she introduces is the true material that will build this destructed world.

Unfortunately, some preachers who in fact deny the first life of Islam have appeared, but they resist the non-being by extracting from this life what they are convinced of and convincing some people of what they are convinced of: there are matters in the past of Islam that may be similar to the present life, or that may correct some of the mistakes of the present life. However, they only reach this conclusion through their point of view, through their understanding, in a manner that satisfies them, and they don’t bother if their reasoning is misplaced, or that they may have interpreted things other than what they should be or different from their truth.

The works of those preachers, in fact, are nothing but a rash of this fever-ridden pandemic, with no origin other than a reaction to that fever.

If Islam continues to be like this, everything will be over. If this Muslim world is destined to have a sect that would denounce this nonsense and reconsider the true origins of their religion, that fought and destroyed polytheism and disbelief and built a solid ground that fought the non-being for 13 centuries, then, the first stage of a long and hard Jihad would begin, defying the disbelief of the tyrants by true belief, away from the whims of the heretics. It is the obedience of Allah and His Messenger that will avail. Allah Says (what means): {The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.} [Quran 26: 88-89]

Finally, I say: Whoever thinks that this is pessimistic and discouraging, then let him think whatever he wants! It avails nothing against the truth in saying to the blind: you see with perfect eyesight, and it avails nothing against the truth to convince the one who has indulged himself in the doom of sin that he is immortal and that death will have no authority over him. - islamweb.net

Is Ghusl Required after Spotting?

 

If the blood spotting occurred after you had performed ghusl following the complete cessation of menses, then you need not worry about it. The cessation of menses is marked by the appearance of white streaks as mentioned in the report from the mother of the faithful Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her).

Otherwise, the spotting is considered as part of menses; you just need to perform ghusl again and resume prayers and conjugal relations only after the spotting stops completely.

Allah Almighty knows best.

- aboutislam.net

It’s Original Mercy…Not Sin

 

The Glorious Quran is full of glad tidings with which Almighty God soothes distressed and troubled souls, and nourishes the hearts of believers with hope of guidance and light. In one of these verses Allah says:

{We said: Go down all of you, from hence, but verily there cometh unto you from Me a guidance; and whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve} (Al-Baqarah 2: 38)

According to the scholars of tafseer (Quranic exegetes), this verse explains what became of man after his first deviation from guidance: he got expelled out of the Paradise, an abode of bliss and comfort, to the earth, an abode of loitering, hardship and discomfort.

But still, and despite all this, the Almighty Creator, out of His mercy, always opens His gate towards salvation for those whoever wish to trek that path.

{…verily there cometh unto you from Me a guidance; and whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve}

More Than a Story

To me, according to my humble perception of this glorious verse, it has a general and wide-range application. It is not a mere narration of the story of man in the Garden of Eden during the genesis of life and creation.

It aims to open up our hearts and educate us about our nature as humans, created to offer a total submission to the will of the Almighty Creator and obey His orders.

The verse also warns that whenever we allow Satan to overpower us and drive us from that path, this will inevitably drive us towards God’s wrath and expulsion from His mercy and blessing, leading us to degradation and falling to the bottom pit of discomfort and lack of peace:

{We said: Go down all of you, from hence…}

But still, and in line with the fact that the divine Will of God is never for making us suffer, even though our relentless stubbornness often drives us to that point, as He has made clear in other verses of the Quran:

{Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for you difficulty…} (Al-Baqarah 2: 185)

All-Embracing Mercy

So in line with this, Allah, the almighty always comes to our rescue, spraying on us His blessing and directing us back to the root, to the foundation of our existence, when He first created us and placed us in the Garden of Eden, it was mercy.

Yes, man’s existence on earth is based on the divine mercy and blessing of God, and that is the source of his guidance. We cannot obtain guidance save through God’s mercy.

But does that mean the origin of man’s creation is blanketed with sin?

I see that the answer is no. Man’s first disobedience and henceforth fall from heaven does not make his origin sinful; it’s rather a deviation from guidance, which is a product of divine mercy bestowed on man, even before his creation.

Can’t we observe this in God’s address to angels when He referred to man as His “vicegerent on earth”? What an honor!

And later, after creating the man, He blessed him with knowledge, i.e. full comprehension of many things. This lifted up the rank of man, earning him another great honor of angels prostration, in an act of showing respect. This is another instance of divine mercy.

Then he was placed in the Garden of Eden, and provided with abundance of bliss, comfort and pleasure. Was this by coincidence or chance?

Nay, it’s a product and sign of God’s divine mercy and blessing. Nothing in this earth is by chance or coincidence, as everything has been predestined and gets directed by His Supreme Will. But what I want to emphasize here is that even with this Supreme Will, Divine Mercy walks and moves side by side.

Not Original Sin

So this is not a matter of original sin, with which we have enslaved ourselves to the whims of Satan, and rendered ourselves further incapacitated by its insinuations.

It is rather the original mercy man has completely forgotten, thus surrendering himself to what he takes as his fate, and pointing always, out of ignorance, to the first sin and disobedience.

Man should always remember the “original mercy” with which he started his first life in the Garden of Eden; everything was at his reach and beckon; he was blessed with everything, even before being tasked with worship.

He even had the honor of being ranked above the angels. Through this, man will be able to always rise up after fall, he will be able to stick to that divine rope connecting him with his Creator.

So it is man who always runs away from his Lord.

Yes, it is man, out of his naivety and ignorance, who chooses to fall to Satan, despite a direct and clear warning from His Lord, thus subjecting himself to the control of the the Devil.

So it’s a matter of running away from blessing, despite its abundance and constant beckoning to whoever wishes to get the sign.

Seize the Chance

Have you ever asked yourself, my friend: how many times you have been blessed with this chance and you squandered it?

Don’t you remember that gracious hand which miraculously rescued you from the grave of debt you buried yourself in, due to usurious transactions, only for you to turn afterwards against that hand and strive to cut it?

Do you ever remember to give just only 5 minutes to say “ thanks to you my God”, after waking up every morning, without knowing where your spirit had been, throughout that darkness of long frightening dreams and nightmares?

Follow the Example of Adam (PBUH)

So it’s man, who’s running away from mercy despite its being at his beckon, only if he knew; and if we really want to be freed of daily bondage and displeasure of life, we really need to get back to Him, submitting to its will, and following its guidance.

This is exactly what Adam (peace and blessings be upon him) did after the disobedience, he returned to his Creator seeking His mercy. But what strikes me here also while reciting the Quran is that, even Adam’s effort of seeking forgiveness came from the fountain of divine mercy, it was through guidance from God, as the Quran says:

{Then Adam received (certain) words from his Lord, and He turned towards him mercifully, surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful} (Al-Baqarah 2: 37)

Let’s behold the level of mercy here! The moment Adam thought of repenting, he earnestly turned to his Lord wholeheartedly, with regret and remorse. And in reaction to this, the divine mercy descended on him, guiding him to certain effective words through which Allah would accept his repentance, subhanallah! And thus in the footsteps of Adam followed all the Prophets after him, and we should try to take them as example, {Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example… } (Al-An`am 6:90)

- aboutislam.net

How To Raise Good Children

 

In today’s world our children are more exposed to things we never were. Internet leads them to another world. Here is how we can raise good children.

- aboutislam.net