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AL-HADIYAH
Vol. 1, Issue 2 A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

SPECIAL FEATURES
31
The Sweetness of
14

10

Not “Just For

Over The World

Exclu
The Soul Cries

Divine Link

Laughs”

INTERVIEW WITH
POEM

Savor

SHAYKH YASER BIRJAS

WORDS TO ADVISE, NOT SHAME-

SHAYKH MOHAMMED HUSSEIN

8 11 28
10 Things Reality
CAN SOME Check: Confused
Muslim Men
KNOWLEDGE With All The
Find
Attractive In
MAKE YOU Info Out There?
Muslim Women UGLY WHO ARE THE TRUE
INTELLECTUALS?
 CONTENTS
From The Editor- 3

Words To Advise, Not Shame- 4-5

Tales Of As-Suffa– 6-7

10 Things Muslim Men Find Attractive In Muslim Women– 8-10

Savor The Sweetness Of Divine Link- 10

Can Some Knowledge Make You Ugly– 11-12

Got Dhikr?!- 13

Poem – The Soul Cries Over The World– 14-15

INTERVIEW WITH SHAYKH YASER BIRJAS– 16-17

Your Neighbor And You– 18-19

You Will Not Believe Until You Love Each Other– 20-22

Amazingly Ordinary– 23

ASK HEBA– 24

Lessons From The Letter– 25-26

Call Of Duty– 27

Reality Check: Confused With All The Info Out There?- 28-29

Taqwa; True Success– 30

Not “Just For Laughs”- Why do you need to attend “Fiqh Of Love”- 31
 FROM THE EDITOR
In The Name Of Allah, Ar-Rahman; Ar-Raheem
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Dear Readers,

Alhamdulillah, the second issue of our quarterly magazine AL-HADIYAH is out now. And I am excited
about it! Because this issue has richer content than the first one which shows we are improving mashAllah
walhamdulillah. We have articles written by students of Shaykh Jamaal Zarabozo and still better, we have
a featured article written by Shyakh Muhammed Hussain, the Imam of our community in Santa Clara
(may Allah preserve them all). We have in this publication an interview with Shaykh Yaser Birjas, taken
when he had come here for our previous seminar– Divine Link: Fiqh Of Salah. Read some random points
compiled by me, in this edition.

InshAllahu Ta’ala, our next class is “Fiqh Of Love” taught by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni and I would like
to invite you to attend this class so that you can taste the sweetness of beautiful knowledge presented beauti-
fully by our highly-esteemed Shaykh Waleed. This class is important for you, whether you are married,,
single and looking to marry, or divorced (or think you need a divorce– may Allah protect you from all
evil). Shaykh will be educating us about Love and Marriage in Islam and you will benefit a lot if you have
been happily married for the last 10-25 years– this is a guarantee from the Shaykh himself mashAllah. For a
taste that will tickle your intelligent brains for more, read the article compiled by one of his students, “Can
Some Knowledge Make You Ugly”

We have our “ASK HEBA” featured too, where Sr Heba Alshareef graciously answers questions related
to personality development, time management and other personal issues. MashAllah, she is a very wise
woman who has been mentoring women all over the world. If you would like to ask her a question, please
post them as comments under “ASK HEBA” in our website and it will be answered in our next edition in-
shAllah.

I would also like to thank the Co-Editor, Br Turner Schafer who manages the AL-HADIYAH website
mostly, and also happens to write well mashAllah. Flip through the pages to find“Tales of As-Suffa”.

Last but not the least, I would like to share a lesson I learnt while involved in this project as Editor. And that
is, no matter how carefully I would have scrutinized and tried to make this beautiful, it is always going to be
imperfect. It is said about a great scholar that he edited and made changes to his book atleast 40 times, and
still he was able to find mistakes afterwards. SubhanAllah, man is indeed imperfect; we need to humble our-
selves constantly. Only Allah Azza Wajal is Perfect and The Omniscient! And so are His Book, His Kalam–
The Noble Qur’an. Isn’t it the Greatest Blessing that Allah has revealed for us, His Perfect words– for the
imperfect mankind?! Let’s turn to it with sincere gratitude!

“If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from
fear of Allah . And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought.” (Surah Al-
Hashr: 21)

Jazakum Allahu khayr! I hope you will find this effort beneficial! Your continued support will not go unre-
warded on the Day of Judgment. May Allah increase us in Taqwa and make us among the dwellers of Jan-
nah. Aameen.

Fathimah Zainulabideen

Chief– Editor
http://qhaadi.org/alhadiyah/
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

WORDS TO ADVISE, NOT SHAME

Shaykh Muhammad Hussein was born in 1964. He finished his undergraduate degree in Agri-
cultural Engineering from Cairo University in 1986. He finished memorizing Quran in 1988
and got his Ijazah in Hafs the same year. He went to Saudi Arabia and taught Quran there for
seven years in Imam Muhammed Bin Saud University of Islamic Studies (now King Khalid
University) in Abha. During his time there, he earned ijazah in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim,
Imam Malik's Muwatta, Sunan An Nisai and Sunan Abi Dawud. He came to the US in 1994. He
earned his Master's degree in Islamic studies. His Master's thesis was titled "Tareeqa as
shadhiliyya fee Amreeka as shimaliyya".(The Shadhili Tareeqah in North America). He is cur-
rently defending his Phd thesis in Aqeedah wa Akhlaq this summer inshAllah. He has 25 years
of counseling experience for youth and adults alike and counsels community members all year
round.

Shaykh Muhammad has four children mashAllah. He gives regular Quran Halaqaat in Masjid
An-Nur and MCA. His students love him and pray that Allah Subhanahu wata’ala accept his
efforts.

Verily, all praise is due to Allah, we thank Him, ask Him for help and forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allah
from the evils of ourselves and from the evils of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides is indeed guided, and
whomsoever Allah misguides won't find anyone to guide him.

Allah Subhanahu wata’ala says, "O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die
except as Muslims [in submission to Him]" (Surah Aal Imran: 102), "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created
you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear
Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer." (Surah
An-Nisaa’: 1). Allah also said, "O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He
will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has
certainly attained a great attainment." (Surah Al-Ahzaab: 70-71).

As for what follows, this article is written for my brothers, sisters and children, in hopes that Allah Subhanahu
wata’ala benefits us with it in this world and the hereafter, and that it is a running charity (sadaqa jaariya) for us
after we have moved to the grave.

Why have I chosen this topic of research?

1. Due to the increase in divorce rates amongst Muslims.

2. To maintain and protect the Islamic identity.
3. So that the new generation can benefit from the experiences of those before them.
4. Due to many of the youth becoming addicted to drugs.
5. It is an obligation upon myself and others to give advice to the Muslims.
6. Due to the need of the Muslim ummah to face its problems internally, before doing da’wah to other nations.
7. To leave no room for the innovators and secularists to attack Islam and Muslims.
8. For leadership of the world (especially with the world being driven by carnal desires, materialism, and the
spilling of innocent blood).

As thus, it is critical to have those who return mankind to the origins in terms of monotheism and character.

4
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

I will thus discuss, in detail, some of the most important social problems and how to solve them, while asking
Allah, the most Elevated, the Exalted in Might, for His help, and while following the footsteps of our beloved
Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam and his beloved companions, especially Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali
(radhiyAllahu anhum), may Allah gather us with them and make us from those who follow them, not the ones
who innovate.

It is known that if we want to begin fixing, we have to start at an individual level. An individual is a natural by-
product of a family that was established based on shared responsibilities between two spouses. As thus, I will
focus on marriage and what is related to it, along with the benefits of it and how to maintain this relationship as
long as we remain on the surface of the earth, and then we will talk about the most important problems and how
to solve them. With Allah's permission, I will give real examples of some of the most important problems I have
come across in my life and how to solve them.

First: Why should we get married?

Unfortunately, many people don't understand why they get married. Most women, Muslims or non-muslims,
have a goal of wearing the white dress, receiving gifts, having parties without understanding what comes after
that. The strange thing is that this lack of understanding transfers to men, especially the Muslims, so they don't
understand the reality of marriage in the Islamic law.
As a result, I'll focus on five reasons for marriage.

1. To search for affection and mercy. Humans are created as emotional beings, and so they need a way to fill
these emotional needs or they would end up going away from the straight path. The human needs belief in Allah
as a Lord, with Islam as a religion, and with Muhammad Sallallahu alaihiwasallam as a Prophet and Messen-
ger. These are the most important things that a human needs - belief with love.

The Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam said, "None of you shall believe until I become more beloved to him than
himself, his family, his wealth, and all the people."

Allah Subhanahu wata’ala says, "Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will
love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."" (Surah Aal Imran: 31)

So the love of Allah with monotheism and without ascribing partners with Him, and loving the Prophet Sallallahu
alaihiwasallam) by following him and not by innovating, and the love of all of the messengers, and the righteous
people, the companions, and whosoever follows them with good deeds until the Day of Judgment.

After this, the normal human needs love from a special kind between men and women, the seed of which grows
in marriage, which Allah calls, "a solemn covenant." Allah Azza Wajal said, "And of His signs is that He created
for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and
mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought." (Surah Ar-Rum: 21)

So the successful marriage relationship is built off affection and mercy.

To Be Continued.....

Jazakum Allahu Khayr, brothers

(Shaykh’s students) who translated these
wonderful words of wisdom!

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AL-HADIYAH
Tales of As-Suffa
This is the story of the Slaves of Ar- get a bit comfortable, just enough to One of the Sahabah Tufayl bin Amr
Rahman. This is our story- the story
of the converts; stories of Hijra, ex-
treme poverty and sacrifice, stories
of the orphans and our love for our
mothers. These are our stories From
Darkness to Light, from a boy to a
man, so come with me; let me take
you back 1400 years to a particular
night. The night, the crisp desert air
is snapping in and out of the lungs;
gravel cracking under bare footsteps.
The moon illuminating the faces of
the faithful, visibility low but the
familiarity lets one find the way with
ease. On this particular night one of
the sahabah, Abu Bakr As-Siddeeque
Radhiya Allahu anh hungry comes
out into the night looking for food
and he sees the Prophet Sallallahu
alaihiwasalam- he came out of his
house too and he sees Umar Radhiya
Allahu anh, he came out of his house
too and they had stones tied to their
bellies suffering, burning inside and
when they showed the Prophet Sal-
lallahu alaihiwasallam their stone he
pulled his up and showed them two;
he was suffering twice as much as
his ummah always . One of the com-
panions saw them and they were
invited and the man went in and told
his wife, “offer them everything.
What do we have?” They had some
ripe dates, some unripe dates, some
bread, some milk and they had a goat
that couldn’t produce milk; so they
slaughtered everything they had and
gave it, sacrificed for Rasoolullah
Sallallahu alaihiwasallam. They
wept thinking our Prophet is hungry,
fed him and as soon as the food was
prepared Rasoolullah took meat and
put it in the bread. He said, “quick
get this home, for Fatimah has not
seen the likes of this for days. Take
this to her”, and then they ate and
when he Sallallahu alaihiwasallam
ate just enough for the stomach to
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
By Turner Schafer
come to his senses from the pain of accompanied by his slave set out
hunger he immediately remembered: intending to embrace Islam. They
lost each other on the way. The slave
then came while the Sahabi was sit-
Then, on that Day, you shall be ting with the Prophet Sallallahu alai-
asked about the delight (you in- hiwasallam. The Prophet said,
dulged in, in this world)! “Your slave has come back." The
Surah At-Takathur: 8 Sahabi said, "Indeed, I would like
you to witness that I have emanci-
How much Rasolullah Sallallahu pated him." The Sahabi then recited
alaihiwasallam and his companions the following poetic verse: “What a
endured, sacrificing knowing they long tedious tiresome night! Never-
will meet their Lord. theless, it has delivered us from the
Striving for the hereafter; a Sahabi land of Kufr (disbelief).”
said “I divided my nights into three
parts: in one third I would pray, in Here we are traveling along this
another sleep, and in the last third I Sirathul Mustaqueem not content
would recollect the hadith of the with this worldly life; sacrificing the
Rasoolullah”, and on his death bed halal pleasures of this life for the
he was found weeping and when sake of Allah. Picture if you will,
questioned why? He replied “Lack the lifestyle of one of the Sahabah
of provision and the hardship of the who made hijra to Rasoolullah Sal-
journey ahead.” We see even with lallahu alaihiwasallam in Medina
the sacrifice of the dunya the Sahabi reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari. “You
was worried that his good deeds and could see me at times faint from hun-
sacrifice for the sake of Allah would ger between the house of Aisha and
not shelter him from shame on the the Pulpit [in the Prophet’s mosque].
day of Resurrection. I would wake up to see someone
recite something over me and I
What a journey it is for those who would say to him: “I am not [insane]
embrace Islam. Many converts are as you may think—only hungry!”
rejected by their families; others
leaving their home for a Muslim Still the true Salaf, those that con-
community searching for support in verted at the time of Rasoolullah did
establishing the prayer. not forsake their Mushrik parents but
rather made dua that they would be
guided to the truth. A well known
hadith narrated in Sahih Muslim: A
Sahabi came to the Prophet weeping
one day and said: “O Messenger of
Allah, I have been inviting my
mother to Islam and she always re-
fuses. Today I asked her again and
she said something about you I hated
to hear. Ask Allah to guide my
mother!” Whereupon the Prophet
said: “O Allah! Guide his mother.”
Then I returned home cheered up by
6
AL-HADIYAH
the Prophet’s supplication. When I arrived at the door of
the house I found it closed. Hearing my footsteps, my
mother said: “Son, do not come in yet.” I could hear the
sound of water. She washed herself and wore her robe
and head cover then she opened the door and said: “I
bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Mu-
hammad is the servant and messenger of Allah!” I re-
turned at once to the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam
weeping for joy, and said to him: “Messenger of Allah,
good news! Allah has answered your request and guided
my mother!” He glorified and praised Allah, thanking
Him and saying good things. I said: “Messenger of Al-
lah! Ask Allah that He make me and my mother be-
loved to His believing servants and that He make them
beloved to us.” The Prophet said: “O Allah! Make Your
little servant here and his mother beloved to Your be-
lieving servants, and make the believers beloved to the
two of them.”
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
own actions. Allah is the Most Merciful, best of Plan-
ners. He shows us examples so we do not have to stray
from the straight path. Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
alaihiwasallam is the best of examples but I share with
you my love for one of the Sahabah, a convert to Islam,
from Darkness to Light, from boy to man. He made
Hijra and endured extreme hardship out of love for Al-
lah and His Messenger.
Allah says in Surah Yusuf: 3 “We relate unto you
(Muhammad) the best of stories through Our Revela-
tions unto you, of this Qur'an…” The meaning of this
ayah is that Allah reveals the most entertaining stories
and the stories with the most benefit and lessons and I
think if we look deep into the lives of the Sahabah this
same message transcends. May Allah be pleased with
all of the Sahabah and righteous predecessors.
Born in Baha, Yemen into the Banu Daws tribe from the
region of Tihamah on the coast of the Red Sea; he was
an orphan with only a mother and no other relatives. His
name at birth was Abd-u-Shams (Servant of the Sun).
After embracing Islam and making hijrah, the Prophet
renamed him Abdur Rahmam; from the Slave of the Sun
to the Slave of Ar-Rahman Radhiya Allahu anh.

This was the story of a great muhaddith; the quotes and

narrations were from or referring to him Radhiya Allahu
anh. He was the one there that night 1400 years ago
accompanying Rasoolullah. That night when Rasoolul-
lah was driven out from his home due to hunger. He was
also suffering from the hunger, but still accompanied the
Prophet out of his deep love for learning everything
from the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam. Ya Ummah,
I appeal to you, who amongst you will shun this world
and be an inheritor of the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasal-
lam and follow in the footsteps of the best of genera-
‘O slaves of Ar-Rahman take to heart, the story of the tions?
Sahabah; the best generation as they learnt the religion
directly from our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallal- You people say that Abu Hurairah tells many narrations
lahu alaihiwasallam. We see our stories are without the from Allah's Apostle and you also wonder why the Mu-
sacrifice of money, food and time seeking knowledge. hajir and Ansar do not narrate from Allah's Apostle as
As reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari a Sahabi stated: “I was Abu Hurairah does. “My emigrant brothers were busy
raised an orphan and immigrated to Medina moneyless. in the market while I used to stick to Allah's Apostle
I was one of the needy people of the Suffa.” Also re- content with what fills my stomach; so I used to be pre-
ported in Sahih Al-Bukhari, “I asked the Prophet: sent when they were absent and I used to remember
“Messenger of Allah! Who is the most blessed person to when they used to forget, and my Ansari brothers used
obtain your intercession on the Day of Resurrection?’ to be busy with their properties and I was one of the
He said: ‘O [Abdur Rahman]! I knew that surely no one poor men of Suffa. I used to remember the narrations
would precede you in asking such a question, due to the when they used to forget. No doubt, Allah's Apostle
persistency I have observed in you in obtaining hadith. once said, "Whoever spreads his garment till I have fin-
The most blessed person to obtain my intercession on ished my present speech and then gathers it to himself,
the Day of Resurrection is he who said ‘la ilaha illAllah’ will remember whatever I will say." So, I spread my
sincerely from his heart.” colored garment which I was wearing till Allah's Apos-
tle had finished his saying, and then I gathered it to my
We will be judged by our intentions, accountable for our chest. So, I did not forget any of those narrations.”
7
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

10 Things Muslim Men Find

Attractive In Muslim Women
1. Her Obedience to the Creator: whose heart is a disease (of hypoc-
risy, or evil desire for adultery)
By Mansoor Aleem
A practicing Muslim man loves to should be moved with desire, but
have a practicing Muslim wife; who speak in an honorable man-
knows that the life of this world is ner” (Surah Al-Ahzaab:32)
nothing but a test from her Lord;
giving her an opportunity to come Her haya in her gaze is that she does
closer and closer to Allah, doing not look at what Allah subhanahu wa
more and more good deeds to please ta’ala has prohibited for her to look.
Him Azza wa jal, restricting herself Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says
from the desires of her inner self that (interpretation of the meaning):
go against the will of her Creator. And tell the believing
But as for him who feared women to lower their gaze (from
standing before his Lord, and re- looking at forbidden things), and
strained himself from impure evil protect their private parts (from
desires, and lusts. Verily, Paradise illegal sexual acts)… (Verse contin-
will be his abode. (Surah An- ues) (Surah An-Nur: 31)
Naaziyaat: 40-41)
Her haya in her clothing is that she (interpretation of the meaning):
2. Her Haya (Modesty/Shyness): does not reveal to others what Allah ...And let them not stamp
subhanahu wa ta’ala has forbidden their feet so as to reveal what they
Haya is one of the most significant for her to reveal. Allah subhanahu hide of their adornment. And all of
factors of a woman’s personality. wa ta’ala says (interpretation of the you beg Allâh to forgive you all, O
Haya according to a believer's nature meaning): believers, that you may be success-
refers to a bad and uneasy feeling ...And not to show off their ful. (Surah An-Nur: 31)
accompanied by embarrassment, adornment except only that which is
caused by one's fear of being ex- apparent (like both eyes for neces- Abu Usayd al-Ansari narrated that he
posed or censured for some unwor- sity to see the way or outer dress heard Allah’s Messenger Sallallahu
thy or indecent conduct.[1] like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, alaihiwasallam say to the women on
etc.), and to draw their veils all over his way out of the mosque when he
Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, saw men and women mixing to-
said: "Haya comes from Eman; faces, necks and bosoms,) and not gether on their way home: ‘Give way
Eman leads to Paradise. Obscenity to reveal their adornment except to (i.e., walk to the sides) as it is not
comes from antipathy; and antipathy their husbands, or their fathers, or appropriate for you to walk in the
leads to the fire." (Sahih Al-Bukhari) their husband's fathers, or their middle of the road.’ Thereafter,
sons, or their husband's sons, or women would walk so close to the
A Muslim woman feels shy to do their brothers or their brother's wall that their dresses would get
anything that would displease her sons, or their sister's sons, or their caught on it. (Narrated by Abu Da-
Lord in any aspect. She has haya in (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in wood in "Kitab al-Adab min Su-
her talk, she has haya in her gaze, Islâm), or the (female) slaves whom nanihi, Chapter: Mashyu an-Nisa
she has haya in her clothing, she has their right hands possess, or old Ma’ ar-Rijal fi at-Tariq)
haya in her walk. Her haya in her male servants who lack vigor, or
talk is that she is not soft in her small children who have no sense of A woman who has the knowledge of
speech but speaks honorably. Allah the feminine sex.. (Verse Contin- Allah’s commandment to preserve
s u bh a n a h u wa t a ’ a l a s a ys ues) (Surah An-Nur: 31) her modesty, submitting herself to
(interpretation of the meaning): the will of her creator, even after
“O wives of the Prophet! Her haya in her walk is that she having the desire to be praised for
You are not like any other women. walks modestly without attracting her beauty, is without doubt beloved
If you keep your duty (to Allah), others attention towards herself. Al- to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and as
then be not soft in speech, lest he in lah subhanahu wa ta’ala says well as to all good believing men.

8
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
3. Her Beauty: tle said to me, "O Jabir! Have you married?" I said,
"Yes." He said, "A virgin or a matron?" I replied, "A
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala made women beautiful in the matron." he said, "Why not a virgin, so that you might
sight of men. It’s just that some human beings are more play with her and she with you, and you might amuse
attracted towards some than others. her and she amuse you." (Hadith continued) (Sahih Al-
Bukhari)
Aishah RadhiyAllahu anha said: “I heard the Prophet
Sallallahu alaihiwasallam saying: ‘Souls are like con- 5. Her Truthfulness:
scripted soldiers; those whom they recognize, they get
along with, and those whom they do not recognize, they Being truthful and honest is an essential quality of a
will not get along with.’” (Sahih Al-Bukhari) believer.

Al-Qurtubi said: “Although they are all souls, they differ ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood RadhiyAllahu anh said: The
in different ways, so a person will feel an affinity with Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alaihiwasallam said: “I
souls of one kind, and will get along with them because urge you to be truthful, for truthfulness leads to right-
of the special quality that they have in common. So we eousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man
notice that people of all types will get along with those will continue to be truthful and seek to speak the truth
with whom they share an affinity, and will keep away until he is recorded with Allah as speaker of truth
from those who are of other types. [This is like the old (Siddeeq). And beware of lying, for lying leads to im-
saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together”] morality and immorality leads to Hell; a man will con-
tinue to tell lies until he is recorded with Allah as a
For a believing man, a Muslim woman’s beauty is not liar.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
just how her nose looks or how big her eyes are, but her
modesty, purity of heart, and innocence make her look A person who is known to lie repeatedly loses his trust.
beautiful as well. Also Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala makes And if that happens in case of a marital relationship the
people whom He loves, pleasing to others. whole relationship falls apart. A woman who is known
to be a “Siddeeqah” certainly has a higher status in a
“When Allah loves someone he calls to Jibreel Alaihis- Muslim man’s heart.
salaam saying, ‘O Jibreel, I love such and such a person,
so love him.’ Then Jibreel will call to the (angels) of the 6. Her Obedience:
heavens, ‘Allah loves such and such a person so love
him.’ And the angels will love [that person]. And then Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala made man protector and
Allah will place the pleasure in the hearts of the people maintainer of the woman and enjoined upon her to obey
towards this person.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim) him in all the matters that do not go against Quran and
Sunnah. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says (interpretation
4. Her Intellect/playfulness: of the meaning):
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of
Intellect and playfulness are two qualities of women women, because Allah has made one of them to excel
highly liked by men. Every man likes to have an intelli- the other, and because they spend (to support them)
gent wife who can advise and support him in day to day from their means” (Surah An-Nisa’: 34)
matters. Khadija bint Khuwaylid RadhiyAllahu anha
was one of the most beloved wives of Prophet (peace The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alaihiwasallam said,
and blessings of Allah be upon him). She supported Al- “The best women is she who when you look at her, she
lah’s messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon pleases you, when you command her she obeys you, and
him) at the very beginning of his Prophethood when when you are absent, she protects her honor and your
Jibreel alaihissalaam brought the first revelation to him. property.” (At-Tabarani, Ibn Majah)
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) al-
ways admired her and remembered her even long after 7. Her Patience:
her death.
Patience is a characteristic that can never be praised
A playful wife is a joy and pleasure to a man’s heart. enough. A woman who remains patient at the times of
Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam recommended Jabir hardship and relies on the help and mercy of Allah is
bin 'Abdullah to marry a virgin so that the two could without a doubt a beloved servant of Allah subhanahu
play with each other and amuse each other. wa ta’ala. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: "My father died and left “And Allah loves As-Saabiroon (the pa-
seven or nine girls and I married a matron. Allah's Apos- tient)” (Surah Aal Imran: 146)
9
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
8. Her Cooking: Sallallahu alaihiwasallam said, "Richness is not the
abundance of wealth, rather it is self-sufficiency.'' (Sahih
Delicious food is without a doubt weakness of men. It’s Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
an old saying that “The Way to a Man's Heart is through
his Stomach”. We also know that one of Prophet’s 10. Good Manners:
(Sallallahu alaihiwasallam) wives used to cook food that
he liked a lot and due to that Aishah radhiyAllahu anha A woman of good manners is a blessing from Allah sub-
would get jealous, because she didn’t know how to cook hanahu wa ta’ala. When she speaks, she speaks honora-
that. bly, why she deals with others she deals with them
kindly. She is polite with elders, loving to children, and
9. Her Contentment with Rizq: good to her fellow folks.

No man likes to have a woman who is always complain-
ing about how less her husband earns or how rich her
other friends are. A good Muslimah is the one who
thank Allah for what He has blessed her with and she is
thankful to her husband for what he provides her with.
Abu Hurairah RadhiyAllahu anh reported: The Prophet
It is related by 'Abdullah bin Amr that the Prophet Sal-
lallahu alaihiwasallam said: "The best of you are those
who possess the best of manners." (Sahih Al-Bukhari
and Muslim)
[1] http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/Haya.htm

Savor The Sweetness

Of Divine Link
By Umm Aisha
Savor the sweetness of the History of Salah:
We see from many ayaat from the Qur’an that Salah was
prescribed for Prophets and messengers before Prophet
Muhammed Sallallahu alaihiwasallam. Salah was al-
ways an act of worship that represented humility and
devotion in front of The Lord Almighty. And today we
find some orthodox Jews and Christians, who are the so-
called followers of Prophet Moses and Jesus alaihumas-
salam, pray in a similar fashion as our Salah.
This is something that we, as Muslims, can take pride in.
Among all the nations, it is only we who still pray the
way we were taught by our Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwa-
sallam; while the other nations have adopted practices
that didn’t exist in the original form of prayer.
With the coming of Islam, the five prayers at their ap-
pointed times was established in stages. In the begin-
ning, Qiyam-u-layl (night prayer) was mandatory for a
year till the ruling was abrogated. In Surah Al-
Muzzammil, Allah commands:
O you wrapped up! Stand (to pray) all night, except a
little. Half of it, or a little less than that. Or a little Salah serves the purpose of constant remembrance
more; and recite the Qur’an (aloud) in a slow, throughout the day. If done sincerely, with Ihsaan- with
(pleasant tone) and style. (73: 1-4)
And in the end of the Surah, “Verily, your Lord knows
o Continued on Pg. 26...
10
that you do stand (to pray at night) a little less than two
-thirds of the night, or half the night, or a third of the
night, and so do a party of those with you, and Allah
measures the night and the day. He knows that you are
unable to pray the whole night, so He has turned to
you (in Mercy). So, recite you of the Qur’an as much
as may be easy for you.... (73: 20)
Salah (specifically, the five times fardh) was the only act
of worship and command given to our Prophet Sallal-
lahu alaihiwasallam and to his Ummah during his night
journey (Mi’raj) to the heavens. This just shows the
status, value and importance of this Divine Link.
Savor the sweetness of different variety of Salah:
Variety like the fard, witr, qiyam-u-layl, rawatib, tahiy-
yatul masjid etc adds to the beauty and makes salah col-
orful and diverse. Other than the obligatory, we can
choose from this variety and excel in one type, to start
with, and then broaden the horizon of our goal. The
Salawaat in different times, on different occasions re-
minds us to be in constant remembrance of Allah. Al-
hamdulillah, we have different ways of Salah in invok-
ing Allah for our different needs.
Qiyam-u-layl is, indeed a special retreat and the supple-
ments needed for our spiritual need. Just like we have
our main meals of the day for basic nutrition and then
extra smaller meals, we need to satisfy our spiritual
needs by adding on to our five main meals of Salah.
the thought that you are facing Allah Subhanahu wa-
ta’ala during Salah- it will put haya and shyness in our
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

A Summary of a Talk by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

By AbooZaid
Back in 2008, when Sheikh Waleed came to the Bay can be a means for prolonged life and its fruit is un-
Area for “Rays Of Faith”, we had arranged for a matched in satisfaction compared to other achievements
“bonus” session to be held on Monday, since it was a in dunya. Imaam Ash-Shafi RahimahUllah said: I don't
holiday. I remember: know anything more beloved to Allah after the 5 pillars
than seeking knowledge.
I found myself feeling proud and relaxed; after all, this
was a bonus session, extra credit. Yet I had come to the The shaykh, may Allah bless him, mentioned a hadeeth
masjid on my day off to sit and review the material after of the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam- the Hoot and
more than 16 hours of study the previous two days. the ants make istighfaar for the one who seeks knowl-
Since I felt confident that I knew most of the material edge. Interestingly Hoot has two different meanings in
we had studied, I figured I would coast through the ses- the Arabic language. It can mean Whale or can also be
sion and just soak in the Shaykh's unique, warm charm. used to describe a very small fish. Either meaning lends
Holiday mode had overtaken my mood. itself elegantly to the illustration.

Shaykh Waleed took his seat and looked out In the case of the Whale, we get the idea that
at us with a fairly serious look on his face, Ibn Mubarak RA two creatures on complete opposite ends of
displaying a new, weighty demeanor, not the spectrum in their size, are making istigh-
seen during the course the previous two days. was asked: If you faar, possibly meaning that all of the crea-
As if the doctor knew the patient's ailment were brought back tures in between are doing the same. As for
before even taking the vitals. Instead of the meaning of very small fish, this paints a
opening up a light review session, he pro-
to life after death, picture of two extremely minuscule, abun-
ceeded to deliver a very profound advice to what act would you dant creatures, one from the land and one
the student of knowledge. from the sea, are seeking forgiveness for
do? He replied: you. Both meanings work and serve as yet
Immediately he advised us about the great Seek Knowledge another testimony to the miraculous quality
importance of seeking knowledge. As if to given to Rasoolullaah Sallallahu alaihiwasal-
tell us that knowledge is not a weekend phe- lam: Jawaam al Kalim (succinct speech with
nomenon. The message resonated: Do not expansive meaning.)
think that you are absolved by a two week-
end seminar. Striving in the path of knowl- Shaykh Waleed then proceeded to articulate
edge should be a continuous struggle according to an a beautiful classification of the Uloom ash-Shareeah.
individual's capability. Most of the audience was com- For me it was my first time hearing this. Understanding
prised of people with families, full of responsibilities. these categories, I believe, would eliminate a lot of con-
Many of us might feel that serious pursuit of knowledge fusion in our communities. This framework is especially
is something for the youth. We feel that if our own critical for the aspiring student of knowledge with lim-
youth has escaped us without seeking knowledge, that's ited time, wondering how to prioritize his study. Uloom
it. We now have nothing to do with 'ilm and are content ash-Shareeah has been divided into three categories by
to rely on the other avenues of doing good. the scholars.

The Shaykh started with a quote from Al-Hasan Rahi- Certain types of knowledge are foundational knowledge,
mahUllah smashing that notion for those of us who had Usooliyaat. From the Usooliyaat are Creed and Fiqh, the
fallen prey to it. Hasan AlBasri was asked, “Should antwo main pillars of Islamic knowledge. These two are
old person seek knowledge?” The Imaam answered, derived from the Quran and Sunnah according to the
“Yes if he loves to live.” understanding of the first three generations of Muslims
and of the scholars that followed their footsteps. Tafseer
So if we like life then seek knowledge. Righteousness and Hadeeth fall under this category.

11
AL-HADIYAH
Uloom al Alaat: Knowledge of
Tools. These sciences are named
tools because they enable you to deal
properly with textual evidences, to
access the texts and analyze them
properly. From these sciences are:
Usool ul Fiqh, Mustalah al hadeeth,
Ilm ul rijaal, knowledge of the qiraat,
al lugha: grammar, and balaghah.
Uloom al Kamaaliyaat: Accesso-
ries beautify you. From this type of
knowledge are: ilm of tajweed, his-
tory, biography of scholars, and po-
etry.
This categorization helps a person in
priorities and also in determining the
true status of a scholar or student of
knowledge. It is WRONG for a per-
son to have a lot of information in
tools and kamaliyaat, but very little
in fiqh or aqeedah. The Student of
Knowledge must focus on founda-
tions, and may pursue as much de-
tails as he would like to in these sci-
ences. General knowledge of Uloom
ul Alaat is needed for a student of
knowledge, but he should not go
very deep in a particular tool, unless
he is dedicated to Islamic knowledge
full time.
Shaykh Waleed expanded on this
later when I asked him, that many of
the experts in the tools are not sound
in the fundamentals. And this dispro-
portion makes that knowledge ugly.
Because the fundamentals are the
most immediately applicable and
helpful in coming close to Allah, the
Alaat are useless by them-
selves. And this becomes a fitna
because the laymen are most im-
pressed by tools. It is a dazzling type
of knowledge to possess. When these
types of scholars flex their knowl-
edge, we watch their actions and
imitate them. We assume that they
must have a good reason for shaving
or skipping different sunan in the
prayer. This is a logical conclusion
for a spectator to arrive at for some-
one unaware of these categories of
knowledge.
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
The student of knowledge needs to to learn knowledge for the sake of
have some basic knowledge in the accumulating ammunition against
tools, but should focus on the Usool. others, because our own problems
Only the specialists should go very would take priority.
deep in any of the tools. Conversely, Also, the seeker should know that
the student of knowledge can learn
as much details as he wants from the
Usooliyaat. The more knowledge
and details you posses from the
Usool, the more your emaan will
increase. A person will get lost and
could do serious damage to himself
by going deep into any of the Alaat,
wit h out st r on g foun da t i on s.
Out of the fairness of Ahl Sunnah,
they accept sound research and
scholarship, even if it might have
come from other than Ahl Sunnah.
But this means someone diving into
the tools will be exposed to foreign ASKING is a very important tool.
concepts indirectly, because a Use it wisely and ask for the purpose
scholar's world-view will often of benefitting. Ibn Abbas Radhya
manifest itself one way or another. If Allahu anh was asked what the key
someone is exposed to deviant be- to his knowledge was. He replied: I
liefs without being founded upon the have a heart that can absorb the
correct Usool, he would be suscepti- knowledge and a tongue that knows
ble to them. The Alaat help you ac- how to ask questions.
cess the Usool in a more profound
and complete way. That is why the We should keep in mind, as much as
student of knowledge needs Alaat, you learn, it should affect your
but he should not go too deep in akhlaaq. First the seeker should have
them unless he is full time and is good manners with Allah in terms of
very sound in the Usool. Kamaali- His Book and Shareeah. The shaykh
yaat are what beautify a person. No asked, “Do you have good manners
one can be considered a student of with the people close to you?” How
knowledge by having knowledge of about etiquettes with the scholars
the Kamaaliyaat alone, regardless ofthat you read? What about manners
his expertise in any of them. with your parents, wife, son, son-in-
Kamaaliyaat complete and beautify a law, daughter-in-law, brothers and
person's knowledge. sisters? The student of knowledge
should use hikmah in dealing with
Lastly, Shaykuna briefly advised us people, have concern of how to help
about some practical matters the people, make people feel better, and
seeker should bear in mind. be a mercy to the people around him.
Our intention while learning should These are the main points the
be to increase ourselves. Imam Shaykh conveyed, inter-spliced with
Ahmad, was asked: what is the sin- some of my own reflections as a live
cerity of seeking knowledge? He recipient. I hope that they add a
answered, “To remove the ignorance worthwhile personal dimension to
from your own self.” That should be this summary. May Allah preserve
our intention. We have gaping holes Shaykh Waleed, bless him and his
that if we really put them out on dis- family with all that is good, save
play, it would be so humiliating to them from all that is evil, and reward
us. It would prevent us from wanting them with the best.
12
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

Got Dhikr??!
By Umm Zubayr
O ne of the most neglected and under- every opportunity to draw closer to Him subhanahu wa
appreciated methods of gaining the forgiveness of Allah ta’ala and be amongst those who are enveloped by His
Azza wa jal and increasing our emaan is none other than mercy.
performing dhikr. We can do it anytime anywhere and in
different forms yet our excuses are many and efforts In a Hadith Qudsi- “Narrated by Abu Hurairah Radhya
few. We are reminded numerous times in the Quran to Allahu anh: The Prophet said, “Allah says: ‘I am just as
be steadfast in the remembrance of Allah, for it strength- My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what
ens our hearts. Allah says: he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He re-
members Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too,
“Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a
and in the alternation of night and day, there are in- group of people, I remember him in a group that is better
deed signs for men of understanding.” (Surah Aal Im- than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go
ran: 190) one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit
nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms
The more Dhikr we engage in, the more our surround- nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to
ings remind us of Allah. Every time the wind blows, the him running.’” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
sun sets, or a star glimmers in the sky, our hearts and
mind automatically think of Al Khaliq, the Creator. All we have to do is take small yet consistent steps such
as remaining seated after our salah to finish our ad-
Amongst the benefits of Dhikr is that it keeps off shay- hakaar, saying our morning and evening adhkaar or say-
tan far from you and if this was the only benefit dhikr, ing the dua before entering the restroom, before sleeping
then this, in and of itself, is sufficient. When one is con- etc, and bi idhnillahi ta’ala with the more adhkaar we
stantly engaged in the dhikr of Allah, then it follows that make, we will be counted amongst the Dhakireen, those
they will be less inclined to follow the whispers of shay- who Remember Allah, and what can be better and
tan, for we know that the accursed has no physical sweeter than be counted amongst them?
power over us rather, his influence over us is limited to
whispers. -Ilm Summit ’09, “Fiqh Of Adhkaar”
By Shaykh Waleed Basyouni
Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Tayimiyyah RahimahUllah, one of
the greatest scholars of Islam, is reported as saying, Check this proportionality out:
“dhikr for the heart is like water for fish because without
it the heart will die.” The early scholars of Islam truly
understood the value of adhkaar, it helped them reach Quran: Allah SWT:: Dhikr/ Dua’:
the heights and levels that they did.
Us
Another Benefit of performing dhikr is that it wipes out
our sins. It is narrated in Sahih Al-Bukhari 7/168 and Qur’an is the Speech of Allah Azza
Muslim 4/2071, that if someone says “Subhanallahi wa
bihamdhi” a hundred times a day, his sins will be for- Wajal. Qur’an is how Allah commu-
given, even if they are like the foam of the sea. Many nicated to
miss out on this opportunity for forgiveness because mankind. How can we communicate
they assume it will take too long to do. However, con-
trary to popular belief, it takes about an average of three with
minutes to say and four minutes if you say it really slow. Our Lord?
That’s it. In a maximum of four minutes we can poten-
tially wipe all of our (minor) sins away! Only Allah
Through Dhikr and Dua’!
knows which deed will make it for us, which deed will
be the one which He accepts and out of His mercy ad- Establish communication both ways!!
mits us into Paradise and thus we should strive and take
13
The Soul Cries Over The World
The first in a series of original translations of statements and writings by pious
people of the early generations of Islam: A poem attributed to
`Ali ibn Abi Talib Radhiy Allahu anh
– Translated By Asma Saloom -

***
The soul cries over the world, although it knows
That well-being in it comes from leaving what is in it.

***
There is no abode, after death, for a person to live in
Except the one he was building before death.

***
So if he built it with good, how wonderful is his abode
And if he built it with evil, then woe to its builder.

***
We amass our wealth for those who will inherit it
And we build our homes for the destruction of time.

***
Where are the kings who were entrenched in power? --
Until they were served drink from the cup of death.

***
And how many cities have been built across the horizons? --
They ended up as rubble and death annihilated their people.

***
Every soul, even when terrified of death, has hopes that strengthen it.

***
Man stretches them out, and time constricts them
The soul spreads them out, and death swallows them up.

14
 ***
Indeed, noble traits lead to pure character:
The first of them is the deen, and intelligence is the second.

***
Knowledge is the third of them, and patience is their fourth
Generosity is the fifth of them, and grace is their sixth.

***
Devotion is the seventh of them and thankfulness is their eighth
Patience is the ninth of them and gentleness makes up the rest.

***
My soul knows that I do not entrust myself to it
And that I do not follow the right way except when I disobey it.

***
Do not rely on this world and what is in it
For death, no doubt, will destroy us and it.

***
So work for tomorrow’s abode, and the happiness of its owner
Where the neighbor is Ahmad ( ) and the Most Merciful is its
founder.

***
Its palaces are gold, and its mud is musk
Its grass is saffron, sprouting within it

***
Its rivers are of pure milk and of honey
And wine flows as a nectar in its streams.

***
Birds skip along the tree branches, dwelling there,
Glorifying Allah openly in their songs.

***
So who will buy a house in the Firdaws to dwell in?
With a rak`ah in the darkness, bringing life to the night.

15
AL-HADIYAH
Interviewed and Transcribed by Turner Schafer
Alhamdulillah I had the opportunity to interview A.The most important thing you learn from the shaykh
Shaykh Yaser Birjas while he was in town teaching Fiqh
of Salah. During the 2nd weekend of class on Novem-
ber 1st 2009 before class started Alhamdulillah I was
able to conduct the following interview. I had been con-
templating what to ask the sheikh for a week. Should I
stick to the topic of Fiqh of Salah? Adab (manners) of
the student of knowledge? I kept sitting in class and
new topics kept popping into my mind to ask. In the
end I decided on asking an array of questions that may
not commonly be asked of the shaykh, trying to benefit
from his wisdom.
Q. Salaam Alaikum Shaykh. What do you see lack-
ing in the Al-Maghrib student body and do you have
any advice regarding this?
A. Ask the students themselves what do they themselves
lack and what they don’t see in Al-Maghrib classes that
they would like to see, that would help them develop
themselves in a specific direction. I personally think
that our classes provide ilm and knowledge information,
so it’s kind of a information and knowledge culture but
what we need to work on is the issue of tazkiyah and
tarbiyah; which is how to bring this spirituality the sense
of self -discipline mannerism and so forth to the student
body. This is something very hard with the Al-Maghrib
style where we just go for double weekends and so on.
That’s why until this time it’s kind of self initiatives,
personal initiatives from students as well as qaba’il. The
qaba’il can find a mechanism, can find a tool, an instru-
ment, an educator someone who can be onsite with them
after the class is over to continue with them. We are
trying to keep, you know, motivating the students to be
together there to work on their personal growth and try,
you know, to stay together, help one another, assist one
another inshallah but without an onsite mentor who
would be with them it would still be difficult, that’s why
the importance of engaging with the local community is
very important and we keep inviting the students that
once the classes are over to go back to their imams, their
leaders in their community and try to connect with them
at that level so they could inshallah with the knowledge,
gain some sort of spiritual experience, mentorship.
Q. Besides studying under Shaykh Uthaymeen, be-
sides the ilm, the book knowledge what was the most
beneficial thing about him, being in his presence, and
what can the Al-Maghrib students take away from
being in the presence of the shuyookh in the class
that they can’t get from books?
16
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
is his code of conduct, his mannerisms, you learn how
he talks, how he deals with people. You can hear the
shaykh give talks as much as you want but it’s how he
handles the issues when an average person comes to
him, approaches him, when he walks in the street like
any other human being. How he behaves with the
masses, with the public, when he deals with the students
of knowledge when he presents himself in the halaqa
and the class.. Even his style of educating people and
presenting the knowledge -so all of this you learn from
engaging on a personal level with the shaykh or the in-
structor. Also with Shaykh Uthaymeen I learnt his sys-
tem; how he designs his classes, the topics he chooses,
how he does it. So for instance the shaykh doesn’t like
to give classes longer then 35 minutes, 30-35 minutes
unless it’s an exclusive group of students of knowledge.
That’s when the class takes one hour or so. Or he just
gives a 25 minute short session for the public and then
he opens it to Q & A for hours because when it comes to
Q & A people are not obligated to stay, they just...at
their convenience stay, but when he talks, he talks for 20
-25 minutes giving them a very exclusive session- very
concentrated dars, dose of ilm and then that’s it they
walk away. Also the organization of the classes in terms
of being punctual, the beginning of the time to the end
of the time, because the shaykh he was very very very
punctual and he hates students coming late and you
learn the system, you learn the way he represents his
knowledge as well as how he deals with people. That’s
the most important thing. Allah A’lam.
Q. Shaykh, you recently moved from El Paso to Chi-
cago mashallah. How did the El Paso community
take that and did you set up any leadership with that
community?
A. Actually in the last few years when I was in El Paso I
was, I was almost.. they were prepared basically. They
knew I was leaving anytime I had an opportunity. I
would be leaving so they were already prepared for my
departure. I also, ya’ni, my involvement with the El
Paso community went to the minimum during the last
couple of years because I traveled most of the time and I
teach outside the city so when I come back I just do
what I can do and try to help around in the community.
I wasn’t the official Imam for the past two years anyway
so, therefore they were kind of prepared for that. Al-
though no one liked it. I, myself didn’t like just leaving
the community that way but, subhanallah whenever
there is a chance or opportunity where you believe that
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
Muslims, because I remember in Heavenly Hues you
mentioned it’s not a religious conflict yet.) and that’s
what I’m saying if the non Muslims can see the injustice
in this conflict they would be supportive of the cause,
the just cause of the Palestinians, it’s a great injustice
and it’s completely overlooked by the masses.
So a bunch of quick questions.

Q. What is your favorite story from the Seerah?

A.From the Seerah? (yeah, starting from Ibrahim
(alayhissalaam) ). Hmmm there are a lot of stories, you
start from Ibrahim alayhissalaam (you don’t have to tell
the story). Well there are a lot of stories I really love
subhanallah, from the history and the Seerah. The story
of Ibrahim in general, I love it and that’s why I named
you might be more beneficial ...inshallah... for the com- my son Ibrahim. After the Prophet Ibrahim
munity- the larger community in America, we’ll take it (alayhissalaam), I love in the Seerah, the stories of
inshallah. Umar al-Kattaab (radiallahu anhu) and from the life of
the Prophet (Sallahu Alahyi Wa Salaam), his personal
Q. So now that you have taught all the classes that human stories.
you teach in Qabeelat Haadi, are you planning on
developing another class? Q. Who is your favorite Sahabah -male and female?
A.I have three or four classes in my mind that I’m think- A.Umar al-Kataab (radiallahu anuhu) That’s why I
ing of right now inshallah. Right now I’m going to be named my son Umar and from the female, ‘Aisha
developing one of these classes and hopefully it will be (radiallahu anha) no doubt ya’ni, hands down.
ready by 2010, it’s a secret though. (now with the ac-
quisition of Shaykh Abdullah Hakim Quick, he also Q. What’s your favorite Surah and ayah?
teaches the history of Spain right?) Na’am. (You guys A. My favorite surah? I have a lot of favorite surahs
are fighting over that?) No, it’s his specialty, it’s his but one of my favorite surahs...One of my favorite
field and I’m just conceding. (ok mashallah jazakllah surahs is Surah Al-Ankabut, basically the beginning of
khair) Surah Ankabut (that’s good enough, favorite ayah?)
there is no doubt -Allahu la ilaha illa huwa alhayyu
Q. What’s the advantage of Al-Maghrib institute
over other Islamic learning institutes in northern Q. Favorite book besides the Quran?
California? A. Besides the Quran? (yeah) Sahih Bukhari. (Not Ri-
A. Why don’t you ask the students this question. It yadah Salaheen?) Al- Bukhari.
wouldn’t be fair if I talked about this subject, I’m sure
that every institution has it’s own unique style and we Q. Favorite Fard Salah?
are trying our best inshallah to provide ilm and knowl- A. Fard Salah? (yeah) Fajr
edge. That’s what we are trying to do. Our main focus
is to bring ilm and knowledge to students to try to give Q. Favorite Sunnah Salah?
the students, the average person the taste of knowledge. A. It’s Witr
We don’t want them to underestimate their level of in-
tellect; we are trying to upgrade that level of intellect for Q. Any last words?
them inshallah. A. Jazakallah Khair. Time to start.

Q. What is one point about the Palestinian situation
that the Muslims should know and the non-Muslims
should know?
A.It’s a great injustice. A great overlooked injustice. I
was reading today.. even in the news.. Just read the arti-
cle on CNN, it’s ridiculous about Clinton’s announce-
ment -putting pressure on the Palestinians, they just as-
sume all the pressure always comes from lobbies they
have here in the country. (The Muslims know this, that
it’s an injustice, so that would be the message to the non
17
Q. How was an interview with no marriage ques-
tions?
A. Alhamalhamdulillahi rabbil ‘alameen!
Jazakallah Khair Shaykh. (May Allah Bless Our Be-
loved Shaykh and his family, aameen.)
Visit www.qhaadi.org/alhadiyah/ to listen to the in-
terview.
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

Your Neighbor
local mosque. All those who pray in
the same mosque are considered your
neighbor.
4. Those who live in a particular dis-

And
trict or a city.

Is there a contemporary definition?

There is no authentic evidence back-

You
ing any of these opinions. Neighbors
are a culturally defined thing. That
doesn’t lessen the obligation of ful-
filling the rights of the neighbors.
Compiled By A Student of Shaykh Jamaal Zarabozo
One should be aware of who his
This article is based on a class by neighbors are, and treat them well. In
Shaykh Jamaal Zarabozo on the general, those closest (in distance) to
Commentary of the Forty Hadith of you have more rights on you than
Nawawi. Shaykh Jamaal discussed those further away.
some aspects of the neighborly rela-
tions that touch our everyday life. Ahadith regarding good treatment
Worship Allah and associate nothing of neighbors
Muslims, wherever they lived, had a with Him, and to parents do good, There are a number of ahadeeth in
very positive impact on the societies. and to relatives, orphans, the needy, which the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi-
There are many lands where Islam the near neighbor, the neighbor far- wasallam stressed the importance of
spread by the mere observance of the ther away, the companion at your dealin g properl y with on e’s
Muslims who went there as traders. side, the traveler, and those whom neighbors. In one hadith, the Prophet
This is due to their adherence to the your right hands possess. Indeed, Sallallahu alaihiwasallam said:
principles in the Quran and the Sun- Allah does not like those who are
nah. As Muslim, we have certain self-deluding and boastful. (Surah
obligations to the people who live An-Nisaa’: 36) Jibreel kept advising me concerning
close to us. Are we fulfilling our the neighbor to the point that I
obligations towards them? Are we There are three interpretations for thought he would inherit [from his
having a positive impact on the soci- the words: neighbor] (Sahih al Bukhari)
ety? These are questions that each
one needs to ask himself. 1. Neighbor who is near of kin In another hadith, Prophet Sallallahu
(relative) and neighbor who is not a alaihiwasallam said:
In a hadith in Musnad Ahmad which relative
Al Albaani declared as saheeh, the 2. Neighbor who is close to you (in …Whoever believes in Allah and the
Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam distance) as opposed to a neighbor Last Day should not harm his
said: who is more distant neighbor … (Sahih al Bukhari)
The Imaan of an individual will not 3. Neighbor who is a Muslim and
be sound until his heart is sound, neighbor who is a non- Muslim In addition to not harming our
and his heart will not be set aright neighbors, we should be courteous
until the tongue is set aright. No What is a neighbor? and generous to our neighbor.
individual will enter Jannah if his We need to define neighbor from a
neighbor is not saved from his af- Shariah perspective, since the
fairs. Shariah gives them specific rights. … Whoever believes in Allah and the
Last Day should be courteous and
In Islam, being a good neighbor does The jurists have differed concerning generous to his neighbor … (Bukhari
not simply mean that we do not the exact definition of ‘neighbor’. and Muslim)
harm our neighbor, but in fact we 1. A person’s neighborhood extends
need to take positive steps towards forty houses in each direction. And,
our neighbor, like bringing assis- 2. Only those whose houses are ad-
tance and help to them. Allah gives joining, either from the front or the
us the general relationship of the back
believers towards others: 3. In most Muslim areas, there is a The Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasal-

18
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
lam said, “By Allah, he is not a believer. By Allah, he is apartments are built here. It is upon us to take the
not a believer. By Allah, he is not a believer.” It was needed precautions even if your neighbors don’t knock
said to him, “Who is that, O Messenger of Allah?” He at your door to complain.
said, “The one from whose affairs his neighbor is not
safe.” (Sahih al Bukhari) It is part of our da’wah too to be good neighbors. It is
very unfortunate that many people cannot stand Muslim
One time the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam was neighbors. Some of the common complaints about Mus-
asked about a woman who performed lots of prayers, lim neighbors are – children, noise, up late at night,
fasted and gave charity but she used to harm her leaving toys outside, leaving trash outside.
neighbor by her speech. The Prophet Sallallahu alaihi-
wasallam said that she is in the Hell-fire.[1] Then the It is important to know what is the ‘urf (custom) and
Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam was asked about a standard. It is an obligation; at the very minimum, one
woman who did not fast, pray or give in charity much should not harm his neighbors. You cannot expect them
[more than what was obligatory upon her] but she to understand the standards and customs of where you
would not harm her neighbors. The Prophet said that come from. They would say – ‘Now he lives here, he
she is in Paradise. (Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and Al-Haakim; needs to know’.
Ali Hasan al-Halabi states that its chain is sahih)

In another hadith, the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam

has described three people whom Allah loves:
Worship Allah and associate nothing
with Him, and to parents do good, and
“There are three people who Allah loves… [One of them to relatives, orphans, the needy, the
is] a man who is being harmed by his neighbor but he is
patient until they are separated by death or one moves
near neighbor, the neighbor farther
away.” (Musnad Ahmad; Shuaib al-Arnaoot says that it away, the companion at your side, the
contains an unknown narrator. According to Abdul
Hameed, it is hasan.)
traveler, and those whom your right
hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not
This shows how important it is to be polite and behave
properly to one’s neighbors. Even if the neighbor is
like those who are self-deluding and
causing a great deal of harm, if the person is willing to boastful.
be patient – Allah loves that individual.
(Surah An-Nisaa’: 36)
Some practical aspects related to our everyday life
Much of what it means to behave properly with one’s
neighbors is defined by the customs of the people. When
a person moves from one country to another and
chooses to live in the new society, it is imperative on
If we understand the limits of being a good neighbor
them as a Muslim to know what it means to be a good
here – in addition to meeting the minimum requirements
neighbor in that society and imperative on them to live
and do things which Islam tells us; then we would be
up to that standard. Many Muslims fail to understand
having a positive impact on our relationships with
this aspect. What is acceptable in the societies they came
neighbors. If we don’t meet the minimum requirement
from is not acceptable here. One has to act according to
of the customary habits of a neighbor and show good
the standards and the conditions where he lives at the
gestures to our neighbors, the end result still will be
time.
negative. Let us make a positive impact especially upon
our Non-Muslim neighbors and become good da’ees
American culture is very different than other cultures.
even through simple acts.
The standards are very different with respect to children,
noise and property – maintaining front yard and back
[1] This doesn’t mean that she is outside the fold of Islam or
yard among other things. For example: if you are living that she is in Hell-fire forever. It is such a grievous action that
in an apartment and the children are running around she has committed which causes her to enter Hell-fire to pu-
during the night, there is a good chance that you are rify her of her sin.
harming your neighbors. This is due to the way that the

19
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

By Umm Sulaym in al-Muwatta from Mu'adh ibn Jabal radhiyAllahu anh

You may have experienced a joy that you could not
describe at a time when you were filled with love for a
person and it gave you great warmth inside, a joy that
made you say, "I love you for the sake of Allah."
No, this is not a romantic love. This is an enduring love.
It is a love without stigmas and no strings attached save
the Rope of Allah. It is a love that few have for many,
but most have for few, if any. It is a love to rejoice
about, for which the rewards are numerous and grand,
for the one who has this love has tasted the sweetness of
emaan.
The Prophet sallallahu alaihiwasallam said, "There are
three qualities that whoever has them will taste the
sweetness of emaan; to love Allah and His Messenger
who reported in a beautiful story narrated from Abu
Idrees al-Khawlaani; "I entered the mosque of Damas-
cus, where I saw a young man who had a bright smile,
and I saw the people gathered around him. When they
disagreed on a matter, the referred it to him, and ac-
cepted his opinion. I asked who he was, and they told
me, 'This is Mu'adh ibn Jabal.' Early the next day, I went
to the mosque but I found that he had arrived earlier
than I. He was praying, so I waited until he had finished,
then I approached him from the front, greeted him and
said, 'By Allah I love you.' He said, 'For the sake of Al-
lah?' I said, 'For the sake of Allah.' He repeated his ques-
tion, 'For the sake of Allah?' and I said, 'For the sake of
Allah.' So he took hold of my collar and pulled it to-
wards him and said, 'Rejoice! I heard the Prophet salla
Allahu alaihiwasalaam say, "Allah the Almighty says,
'My Love is granted to those who love one another for
My sake, who visit one another for My sake, and who

more than any other, to love a man only for the sake of spend on one another for My sake.'"
Allah, and to abhor returning to kufr after Allah has
saved him from it as he would abhor to be thrown into What great news indeed! Can you imagine being from
the Fire (of Hell)." (Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim) amongst those beloved to Allah for a love that you have
for another, only for His sake? Perhaps there is someone
Allahu Akbar! Between loving Allah and His Messenger that you love for the sake of Allah. Have you told him or
and hating to return to kufr is loving one's brother for her of that love? If not, tell them. For the Prophet salla
the sake of Allah! And the Prophet sallallahu alaihiwa Allahu alaihiwasallam said, "If a man loves his brother,
sallam spoke the truth! For a love to be granted such a let him tell him that he loves him." (Abu Dawud, At-
beautiful reward, how noble such a love must be in the Tirmidhi, saheeh)
sight of Allah!
One might wonder why the Prophet sallallahu alaihiwa
Indeed the Prophet sallallahu alaihiwasallam said, as sallam said this. It is because it increases the bonds and
reported by Mu'adh ibn Jabal, "Allah the exalted has the love within the Muslim ummah. If a brother or sister
said, for those who love one another for the sake of My of yours informed you of their love for you, wouldn't
Glory, there will be seats of light and they will be envied this increase that love? You would be filled with love
(with ghibta or a positive type of envy) by the Prophets for them and wish to tell them the same and when some-
and martyrs." (At-Tirmidhi, graded hasan saheeh) one tells you of that love you should say, "May He for
Whose sake you love me, love you" (Abu Dawud).
In the explanation of this hadith, some have clarified
that it's not that the status of Prophets and martyrs will This is just another of the many beautiful sunan that we
be less than who loved each other for the sake of Allah, can implement and because it has to do with our rela-
but rather it is to highlight the superiority and excellence tionship with others, it is an act that continues to give
of this act of worship. and increase. The Prophet sallallahu alaihiwasallam
said, "No two men love each other, but the better of
But even greater than this reward is what is mentioned them is the one whose love for his brother is
20
AL-HADIYAH
greater" (Bukhari, al-Adab al-
Mufrad). So compete in this noble
act of worship and 'spread the love'
for this is a concept inherent to Islam
that came long before many other
movements in the present day, and it
is of the purest and truest of loves.
In another hadith the Prophet salla
Allahu alaihiwasallam said, "Allah
will ask on the Day of Judgment,
'Where are those who loved one an-
other for My Glory? Today I will
shade them in My shade[1] on the
Day when there is no shade but
Mine" (Sahih Muslim).
those whom we claim to love, and
less shy to do so before those with
whom we are less familiar. At this
point, it is very important to check
our intentions and make the neces-
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
lah?” He said, “When you meet him,
greet him with salaam; when he in-
vites you, accept his invitation; when
he seeks your advice, advise him;
when he sneezes and then praises
Allah, invoke Allah’s mercy upon
him; when he falls ill, visit him;
when he dies, follow his fu-
neral” (Sahih Muslim).
This is the least that we must do for
our brother or sister in Islam. Espe-
cially if we claim to love that person
for the sake of Allah, we should ful-
fill these rights to them lest that love
become compromised or false.

When we read the Qur'an and 4. Spreading the Salaam!

ahadeeth, we know how desperate Although it was mentioned in the
we will be on that Day, how in need hadith above, it is worth mentioning
of any type of relief we will be, so that the Prophet sallallahu alaihiwa
such a reward is definitely worth sallam said, "By Him in Whose
working for! sary adjustments to make sure that Hand is my soul! You will not enter
we are doing it in the manner com- Jannah until you believe, and you
Do not belittle this essential deed manded by Allah and His Messenger shall not believe until you love one
and recognize that on That Day, you and for the pleasure of Allah alone. another. May I inform you of some-
will desire even one hasanah. You thing, if you do it, you love each
will wish you loved more of your 2. Loving for your friend what you other? Spread the salaam amongst
brothers for the sake of Allah. You love for yourself. one another."
will wish that you had put forth more When loving for the sake of Allah,
than what you earned. we must remember the hadith in Alhamdulillah! So simple, yet nowa-
which the Prophet sallallahu alaihi days we even find ourselves unable
As we have come to know of the wasallam informed us, "None of you to fulfill this right to other Muslims.
noble status of the one who loves for believes (perfectly) until he loves for This is a simple ingredient to loving
the sake of Allah, it is necessary to his brother what he loves for him- one another for Allah’s sake.
clarify some of the conditions for self" (Sahih Al-Bukhari and Mus-
this love. What constitutes love for lim). 5. Smiling in the face of your
the sake of Allah? friend
This is a well-known hadith, yet we We can all attest to the good affects
1. Enjoining the Good and Forbid- are seldom able to implement it. As of a smile in the face of our brother
ding Evil loving for the sake of Allah is free of or sister. The Prophet Sallallahu alai-
When loving for the sake of Allah, the interest in personal gains or de- hiwasallam said, “Do not view any
we must recall the statement of our sires, this would often require us to good act as insignificant, even the
Rabb in Surah al-Asr, "Surely man is prefer others over ourselves and this act of meeting your brother with a
in a state of loss. Except for those is very difficult indeed, but this is the cheerful face” (Sahih Muslim).
who call to the truth and call to pa- sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alai-
tience." hiwasallam and we must make the Do not be stingy with smiling as
necessary sacrifices to perfect our there are many Sahaba who claimed
In our dealings with those whom we emaan. to always having seen the Prophet
claim to love for the sake of Allah, it sallallahu alaihiwasallam smiling.
should be in the interest of fulfilling 3. Fulfilling your friend’s rights Then isn’t it no wonder that he be-
these noble duties that we love them. upon you. came the most beloved to them?
This should be the Muslim's role The Prophet sallallahu alaihiwasal-
amongst any and all Muslims. Yet lam said, “A Muslim has six rights 6. Thinking good of your friend
we often find that we are shy to en- over another Muslim.” They asked, It is well known that a Muslim, just
join the good and forbid evil before “What are they, Messenger of Al- like he should have “Husn adh-
21
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
Dhann” (good expectation/thinking) with his Lord, he
should have it with his Muslim brother as well.
“I LOVE YOU
Fudayl ibn Iyaadh said, “He who seeks a brother pure of
shortcomings will remain brotherless!” We must seek FOR THE SAKE OF
the good in one another and focus on the good qualities
of each other while working to correct our shortcom- ALLAH”
ings, but in the best of ways.

7. Making du’a for your friend “MAY HE FOR WHOSE

If you truly want for your brother what you want for
yourself, just as you make du’a for yourself, you should SAKE
supplicate for him as well.
YOU LOVE ME,
The Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam said, “A Mus-
lim’s supplication for his brother in secret is answered. LOVE YOU”
At his head an angel is appointed, and whenever he sup-
plicates for his brother with something good, the angel
appointed to him says, ‘Ameen, and likewise for
you’” (Sahih Muslim).
OPEN YOUR HEART TO
YOUR BROTHERS/
Make sincere du’a for another, so that you will be
granted the same. This is a good protection against SISTERS IN ISLAM AND
hasad between friends as well.
LOVE THEM!
8. Giving Gifts
Lastly, the Prophet sallallahu alaihiwasallam said, “Give
gifts, it will increase love” (Sahih al-Bukhari).
This is a very special one because it has done so much
for many relationships between Muslims, even between
strangers. Surely almost everyone can attest to the love
that one feels when giving something to someone that
they love and likewise, the love that is felt when receiv-
ing a gift from someone who you know is giving out of
love alone and with no expectations except reward from
Allah.

With the above and by the guidance of Allah and His

Messenger sallallahu alaihiwasallam, we can begin right
now to cultivate this love and continue to learn of new
ways to increase the love between Muslims. I pray that
this is of benefit to the Muslims and that its benefit will
be one noticeable and apparent to those in the communi-
ties we live in. I ask Allah the Most High, I enable us to
love one another for His sake alone so that we will be of
those loved by Him, and that we will be gathered in the
shade of His Throne on that Day, when there will be no
shade except His. Ameen.

[1]Scholars have explained that this shade is from the shade

of the Throne of Allah. As mentioned in the hadeeth in Buk-
hari and Muslim of the 7 under the shade of the throne.

22
AL-HADIYAH
Amazingly
Ordinary
By Umm Umar
There are many times when we in
our lives will look upon a person or
group of people with envy. Ok,
maybe not envy in the purely evil
sense, but we may actually just wish
to be in someone else’s shoes, or
wish to have the same wonderful
opportunities, to have some of the
same or all of the same blessings
another person may have been be-
stowed with. However, we are re-
minded in the Qur’an:
And do not wish for that by which
Allah has made some of you ex-
ceed others...... And ask Allah of
his bounty. Indeed Allah is ever, of
all things, Knowing.
[Surat an-Nisaa': 32]
Instead of wishing for what others
have, and thus eventually harboring
evil feelings, we are told to instead
go to the source of these blessings
and ask Allah for His Bounty.
Along the same lines, there are many
instances in the stories of the Qur’an
when we might ask, “Couldn’t Allah
have just done this instead and then
the matter would have been settled in
a shorter time? Couldn’t Allah have
ju st saved Musa
miraculously and put an end to
Pharoah likewise? Why the whole
hiding the baby in the basket, send-
ing him upon the Nile River, being
raised under Pharoah’s nose, etc.?
What about ‘Isa? Why not just be
born even more miraculously and
save his mother from all that hard-
ship?” And many, many instances
like this.
To make it short, it is simply more
miraculous. To have gone through
the ordinary means appeals to human
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
nature much more powerfully. It world. Amongst the resources avail-
reveals the exquisite planning of
Allah, His Wisdom and His far-
able to us also, and a great opportu-
nity, is the number of Institutes that
reaching power. And along the way, have sprouted all across the country,
the people involved attain virtues offering knowledge of the Deen with
which would not have been attained just the click of a button. Indeed,
had things been done differently: the
patience of the mother of Musa, the
these are the blessings we will be
asked about!
wife of Pharoah, and Maryam,
mother of ‘Isa, and many more. The Then, on that Day, you shall be
struggle of Patience and Persever- asked about the delight (you
ance, belief and absolute trust in indulged in, in this world)!
Allah are probably the most miracu- [Surat at-Takathur: 8]
lous aspects of the entire story. And
only those people who have the true Success is effort. It is hard work,
belief are blessed with such virtues, taking hold of the opportunities that
because it is only Belief in Allah come our way, and the Tawfeeq of
which makes such virtue grow, and Allah that renders our goals fulfilled.
not belief in any other deity. And if anyone embodied this, it was
the Sahabah—who took hold of
So what does this have to do with opportunities and became amongst
wishing for what others have? Well, those who were praised by Allah:
we might wish for the opportunities
awarded to others, the blessings, and And the first forerunners [in the
basically the “ease” that others have, faith] among the Muhajireen and
but ultimately, however the fact that the Ansar and those who followed
we have reached our destinations them with good conduct - Allah is
from sometimes ordinary means is pleased with them and they are
what makes each of our lives so spe- pleased with Him, and He has pre-
cial. None of us is given all that life pared for them gardens beneath
has to offer in a silver platter–and which rivers flow, wherein they
thus, if we have struggled to reach a will abide forever. That is the
goal, it is that struggle and reward great attainment.
for hard earned work which makes it [Surat at-Tawbah: 100]
a l l t h e m or e s p ec i a l a n d
“miraculous.” For example, many of And thus, when a person is given the
young Muslims today thirst for those tidings to eat and drink on the Day of
once in a life time opportunities to Judgment as Allah says:
study Islam overseas, or to learn the
Arabic Language, to study under a They will be told, “Eat and drink
renowned Scholar, in Makkah, at the in satisfaction for what you put
Haram, etc. However, if a person forth in the days past.”
were to reach all of these goals with- [Surat al-Haaqqah: 24]
out these opportunities, isn’t that
much more “miraculous”? This has special meaning to the one
who is about to enter the gates of
We will also be asked about the cir- Paradise. To have struggled for it
cumstances we are already in, about and worked hard, the reward is
the opportunities and resources that just…more rewarding. And Allah
are already available to us. Amongst says many times that He could have
these resources is the Internet, which just destroyed us for our evil, or He
has made learning our Deen so easy, could have made us one nation, but
that one can study Islam or Arabic all matters are carried out in perfec-
from the comfort of home while tion, and this befits the Lord of the
one's teacher is half way across the Worlds.
23
AL-HADIYAH
Assalamualaikum Sr Heba,
I am very happy with my husband alhamdulillah,
except that he has a bad temper. And sometimes, I
fail to be patient. And if I am patient at least out-
wardly (without fighting back with him), I feel frus-
trated inside. Even though I am happy with him oth-
erwise, sometimes I fear that this one problem can
lead to unhappiness. Please advice.
Walaikum assalam,
I think that what many partners in marriages don't real-
ize is that the person they are with is usually a product
of a variety of experiences and unique reactions to those
experiences - things they weren't around for, things that
they might not understand. And depending on how long
they may end up being married for, may never under-
stand. Not surprisingly, because men are less likely to
"talk" about their past or their feelings, it's the woman
who may never really know what makes him tick or
what doesn't. On the other hand, because women usu-
ally do like to share their feelings with (may even need
to do so in order to feel fulfilled), the husband would
usually have an idea of where her reactions and person-
ality traits stem from.
Regardless, if both parties take the time to open the lines
of communication, to talk without being judgmental, to
place themselves in the other's shoes, then the chance for
happiness greatly increases.
Being patient is one thing - but even the most patient
have a limited supply. What's more concerning is the
fact that the unhappiness is simmering underneath the
surface. If you're saying that your husband is otherwise
a great guy and you do love him, I think it would be-
hoove the relationship (and your own happiness) to open Work like you mean it :) And Allah knows best.
those lines of communication and really get to know Hope that helps.
him and what makes him get angry and why, you're on
your way to understanding. And through understanding,
your patience reserves are refilled.
Once you start to understand what sets off his temper,
you can feel for him, maybe even match his mood
through your compassion for what he's going
through. And then once you've come to his level, you
can actually be the calmness and the coolness -
and bring him back to a good place.
Consider the example of the Prophet SAW, when he
returned to his wife Khadija after the first revela-
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
tion. He said to her "cover me, cover me!" and after she
met his mood, and sympathized with his feelings of the
unknown and then comforted with words of support.
And Allah knows best.
Assalamualaikum Sr Heba,
When do I know when to stop committing to things?
I always feel overwhelmed with things to do. Is it
because I am not managing time well, or is it because
I have too much to do?
Walaikum assalam,
This is a dilemma I commonly hear about and to tell you
the truth, I don't know what you're doing so I can't really
answer for you :) But here's the thing, if you can take a
look at your ultimate life plan (or at least your goals for
this year) and then ask yourself if the projects you've
committed to are, in fact, serving that plan - then you're
on your way to finding the answer.
There are those who thrive on busy schedules, who work
better when they are doing so much and being so in-
volved in everything. And that's nice if: a) they're not
avoiding dealing with some issue in their own life and b)
they're not at risk of burn out and then giving up on all
the projects they're participating in.
So, in essence, to determine if you are doing too much:
1) Consider your schedule and list out all the tasks/
projects/events you are dealing with
2) Match up that schedule to your goals and question if
there is compatibility of the two
3) Determine if you're running away from dealing with
some other issue
4) If the answer is yes - figure out how are you going to
deal with it.
5) Gently drop the things that don't fit in
6) Work with ihsan (excellence) on the things that do.
Heba Alshareef is a teacher and author of
“Release Your Inner Queen of Sheba!”
She has been mentoring women around
the world to discover their unique talents,
act on their aspirations to achieve great
things, and find authentic happiness.
You can send your questions for
personal advice to “Ask Heba” at:
http://www.qabeelathaadi.org/alhadiyah/
24
AL-HADIYAH
LESSONS FROM THE LETTER
ABOO MAAHI
We all are aware of the Hadith reported By Abu If we carefully look at this letter it has instrumen-
Sufyan which is recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari
[Hadith #7] - a dialogue between Abu Sufyan and
Heraclius. Perhaps, the most important part in this
hadith would be the Letter in which Prophet Sal-
lallahu alaihiwasallam addresses Heraclius. This
letter is very profound as it highlights the impor-
tant principles of giving Da’wah to the non-
muslims. There are a lot of lessons that can be
drawn out of this letter and this gives us the in-
sight of how Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam
gave Da’wah to the People of book. This is rele-
vant to our place and time as we live in the land
where its majority is the people of the Book.
During the period after the incident at Hudaibiyah,
when the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam ac-
cepted the treaty of peace, he sent letters to differ-
ent kings in Persia i.e. Khusroo, Heraclius- Em-
peror of Byzantine and Najashee, Emperor of
Ethiopia. To mention briefly the response by the
three kings, Khusroo rejected the message and
killed the messenger who brought to him the mes-
sage and Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam made
dua’ for the destruction of the Persian Empire and,
if we look at the Emperor of Ethiopia, Najashee,
he accepted the message and protected the Mus-
lims and Islam. He died a Muslim and Prophet
Sallallahu alaihiwasallam prayed Janazah prayer
for him. And the last letter was the letter sent to
Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius.
The content of the letter was as follows
"Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem (In the Name
of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merci-
ful. (This letter is) from Muhammed, the slave of
Allah and His Messenger; to Heraclius, the ruler
of Byzantines. Peace be upon him, who follows
the Right Path. Then after I invite you to Islam,
and if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and
Allah will double your reward, and if you reject
this invitation of Islam you will be committing in
a sin (by misguiding your) 'Arisiyin' (peasants)
And (I recite to you Allah's Statement) 'O people
of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Come to a
word that is just between us and you, that we wor-
ship none but Allah and that we associate no part- From his letter there can be important lessons that
ners with Him, and that none of us shall take oth- we can relate to :
ers as lords beside Allah. Then, if they turn away,
say: Bear witness that we are Muslims" [3:64]
25
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
tal teaching and principles of Da’wah.
1) He starts the Letter with Bismillah.
2) He addresses the king in polite manner and he
shows the respect to the king by addressing him as
"’Adheem Ar-Rum" as the Romans recognized
him by that title. So it is really required by us
when we are addressing the leaders of the commu-
nity, we address them in the respectful manner
that they deserve and by the title they are recog-
nized by.
3) He does not greet the Emperor with “Assalamu
Alaikum” as this has got a significant meaning
and cannot be applied to everyone, rather
he greets him with "Salamun ‘Alaa Manittaba’a-
alHuda" (Peace be upon him, who follows the
right path). This is one of the forgotten sunnah
which need much attention and revival while ad-
dressing the people of Book.
4) Straight away, he invites him to Islam without
getting into any other matters. He says "if you
become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will
double your reward". If you look at the wording
used, it is "Aslim Taslim" Aslim is in the form of
Amr i.e command. So basically he is telling that
you have to submit and if you do so Allah Sub-
hanahu wata’ala will double his reward.
5) Then he continues "and if you reject this invita-
tion of Islam you will be committing in a sin (by
misguiding your) 'Arisiyin' (peasants/servants/
farmers)". At that time it was common that if
leader of nation follows a certain religion then, his
subjects would follow him as they trusted their
leaders. Also we know that: “La thaziru
waazirathan vizra ukhra” (And no bearer of
burdens will bear the burden of another) [17:15]
and if you are the cause for someone turning
away from Islam then, not only do they bare the
burdens of their own disbelief but also the burden
of all the people who are turning away from Is-
lam.
6) Then Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam quoted
the verse of the Quran.
1) The primary topic of Da’wah is to call people
to Tawheed and not clear the misconceptions.
AL-HADIYAH
Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam started his message
by inviting him to the Islam right away.
2) Book and letters are means of Da’wah. If you go to
any book store today, you will find books on Islam,
books from an academic point of view and most of them
are not written by Muslims.
3) One of the category to whom we need to make
Da’wah are the Christians as they need guidance.
4) We have to make it clear that there is a difference
between them and us that we are following the correct
message and they have diverted from the message and if
they do not revert and accept the straight path, they are
going astray and will not succeed.
5) Da’wah includes two aspects- good news and warn-
ing, targeeb and tarkeek. It is not only enough that we
pass on the good news so as to be politically correct
when we speak but, it is equally important that we warn
them about the consequences of not following the mes-
sage. In this letter Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam
after giving him good news that he will be rewarded
doubly, he warns him that if he rejected the message that
he would be sinning. Da’wah is not about public rela-
tions or being politically correct. If we look at the exam-
ple of Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam, he used the
command form- "Aslim". If anyone had to speak diplo-
matically and politically correct, and still be kind in
speech, it would have been Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwa-
sallam. Imagine the political condition of Muslims then-
it was before Makkah conquest, they were under the
treaty of Hudaybiyah and the Prophet had to be very
careful not to breech it, as breeching it would mean war.
Moreover, he was dealing with the superpower of the
time- The Romans. Yet he addressed them with the clear
and complete message with both Targeeb and Tarkeek.
The concept of targeeb is also very clear in the Ayah
that the Prophet referred in this Hadith: "Then, if they
turn away, say: Bear witness that we are submitting to
Allah”.
6) We also learn that each one of us needs to set a good
example, as there will always be someone who follows
you, and you don’t want to be the one misguiding oth-
ers. You don’t have to be the Roman Emperor; even
your siblings, children will follow your example.
7) As da’ees, it is a good idea to concentrate on giving
da’wah to people of authority and influence. If Allah
grants them hidaya, then the ripple effect could be
greater. People always look up to influential people.
8) A very important lesson to note is: while giving
Da’wah, let the Quran speak. It is ironic that we are
afraid to talk anything which we might think the person
wouldn’t like but we happily hand over the Quran to
them which has more warning in it than what we can
speak. While speaking to the people, let the Quran be
the source of guidance for your da’wah. This is also
sunnah of Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwasallam which is
clear from this Letter.
26
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
Continued from Pg. 10....
hearts to commit any sin. Additionally, even though this
should not be our intention, Salah acts as a self-
discipline tool and organizer.
The fard Salah is the only act of worship that has a ritual
call- the Adhan and Iqamah to let people know of its
time and call people to it. No other act of ibadah, be it
fasting or hajj, has a “call” to mark its time. And this
call has a profound meaning and beauty that goes be-
yond the sound of it. Not to mention the amazing story
of how the adhan was established.
Savor the sweetness of the anatomy of Salah:
Let me just share two amazing gems in the anatomy of
Salah. When we start Salah, we begin with “takbeerathul
ihram” or “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is The Greatest!) In the
midst of our happening day with all the happiness,
pleasures, sorrow and troubles attached with it, we stand
before Allah, in a state of ritual purity (Wudu’ and ghusl
as required). Allah is the Greatest, greater than anything
in our life, greater than anyone in our life. And so, we
leave all other thoughts behind because Allah is The
Greatest and worthy of this complete submission with-
out our mind being occupied by anything else. Salah is
when we are most connected with Allah Subhanahu wa-
ta’ala. And in case, we forget this, and we allow shaytan
to steal our thoughts, Salah has repeated utterance of
“Allahu Akbar” in its format.
Secondly, when we begin our Salah, we are standing. In
this position, our brain is above our heart. Man is an
intelligent animal, and his intelligence is what distin-
guishes himself from other animals. His intelligence if
often his reason of his arrogance and pride that enters
his heart ultimately. While in ruku’, we put our intelli-
gence in the same level as our hearts. And further, we
submit with the most humility with our intelligence and
head on the ground, where it is at the lowest. If we un-
derstood and pondered upon this hikmah in the anatomy
of Salah, we would be successful in humbling ourselves
at least a degree higher bi idhnillah.
Savor the sweetness of difference of opinions:
When it comes to issues of Fiqh, we often see many
differences. Divine Link was one of the classes that
taught me it is okay to have these differences, as long as
they are based on valid evidences (daleel) and opinions.
This shows the Mercy and Wisdom of Allah in allowing
these differences to exist. Only Allah knows the absolute
right; we choose opinions with sincere intentions and
then leave the rest to Allah to judge. One is not entitled
to judge others’ actions or label another person wrong,
especially based on small issues in Fiqh. Allahu a’lam.
AL-HADIYAH
Every year, during the last 10 days of Ramadan, some
brothers sacrifice their comfort by waking up before
everybody and missing their Tahajjud prayer to prepare
and serve breakfast for about 300 people before the time
of Fajr. Every year, the same exact brothers! They
would do the planning, shopping, cooking and serving.
Have you ever wondered why? Why are they going
through these hassles? Are they getting paid? Are they
hopping to get some benefit from you and me? We all
know the answer (or at least we hope we know): they
are doing it for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala.
They want to get the ultimate rewards on the Day of
Judgment.
At work, we have a special month where the employees
are encouraged to volunteer at least half a day in differ-
ent organizations to make a difference in someone’s life.
Some choose to help a school, some will clean a park
and some choose to pack food for the needy. At the end
of the project, most of the participants will feel good
about themselves, knowing that they did something no-
ble, beyond their own needs. What’s their motivation?
Most of the people don’t act for the rewards in the after-
life, but to give some meaning to their life. If they con-
tribute to the society, it’s a reward by itself.
Most people believe that if everybody was doing his
part, we would live in a better world. So why aren’t
more people making it happen? Why do we see the same
people doing all the work, and the rest continue to be on
the sidelines? Let’s try to explore the different reasons
and what we can do about it:
VOLUNTEERISM IS NOT SOMETHING
TO BE OFFERED IF AND WHEN YOU
HAVE NO OTHER ACTIVITIES. IT IS
NOT A SECONDARY THING TO BE
DONE, IT HAS TO BE ONE OF THE
PRIORITIES IN A MUSLIM’S LIFE!
AND WHEN YOU DO SO, IT IS NOT
SOMETHING TO BE BRAGGED
ABOUT, OR SOMETHING FOR WHICH
YOU ACCEPT SOMETHING IN RE-
TURN, AS YOU ARE DOING IT “FEE
SABEELILLAH” (FOR THE SAKE OF
ALLAH)
27
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
By Nadim Sohail
1. I am too busy. Work? Education? Family? We all
have a life to manage. What makes our day is how we
prioritize our goals we want to achieve. If we need
training to advance our career, we will find time. If we
need to go to the gym because we need to lose weight,
we will find time. There is no such thing as time man-
agement; it’s all about goal management. Write down
your goals you want to achieve during the month, the
week, the day and prioritize them so that you can fulfill
all your responsibilities, including volunteering for the
community.
2. I want to help but don’t have any special skill. It’s
very common to find people who think they have little
or no value for the community. Allah subhanahu wa-
ta’ala has given to all of us very special skills that are
unique. We need to identify them and need to know our
strengths and weaknesses. I agree that it is sometime
difficult to realize what we are really good at. For that, I
would recommend talking with a life coach, or do some
self-assessments questionnaire online. However, irre-
spective of your skills, you can always volunteer for
easier tasks and later propose your help where you think
you can benefit others the most.
3. I wish I could help but… I love video games too
much. I guess that’s a first step to recognize where the
problem is. Do you enjoy playing “Call of Duty”? Well,
this is the real life call of duty, so get your gears on and
score some points on how many meals you can serve to
the homeless people.
Let’s not forget that the most important is not the great-
ness of the act, but what your motivation is. Sometime,
the simplest act can lead to the greatest reward if it’s
done for the sake of Allah Azza Wajal only. So next
time, when you are asked if you would like to volunteer
to distribute some flyers, or send a few emails, don’t
think twice and do it with your best intention, this might
be your pass to enter Jannah:
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Once, a
man saw the branch of a tree in the middle of a road.
So, he said, 'By Allah, I will remove this from the path of
the Muslims so they may not be hurt.' For this action, he
was put in Paradise." (Sahih Muslim).
AL-HADIYAH A HAADI PRESS RELEASE

Reality Check: Confused with all the

Info out there?
By Zahra Murtuza In the current “It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are
age, humans verses precise-they are the foundation of the Book- and
claim they have reached unsurpassable heights on many others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts in devia-
levels. From iPods to satellites to architectural majesties, tion, they will follow that of it which is unspecific seek-
the progress we seem to be living in is characterized by ing discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to
much understanding of the world. With understanding, it them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except
is assumed, one can better the world. Others may think it Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, “We believe in
is a chance to control the world and its resources. Others it. All of it is from our Lord.” And no one will be re-
want to understand and absorb this information just for minded except those of understanding. [Who say],
the sake of information itself. We constantly read our “Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have
twitters, facebook updates and the news all throughout guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed,
the day, sometimes overwhelmed with all this informa- You are the Bestower.” (Surah Aal Imran: 7-8)
tion. Does it give us a sense of peace? Doesn't it make
us feel good about ourselves that we know more than In the eyes of Allah, the true intellectual or one deeply
before? Does it anchor us and give us a grasp on reality rooted in knowledge is one who knows his or her limits.
when reality is changing oh-so-quickly these days? They believe in the Quran fully and, they believe that all
Well...what is the true reality? So many questions come of it is from Allah, the parts they understand and the
to mind. parts they do not fully comprehend. Their emaan and
belief in the validity of the Quran and the Messenger-
Unfortunately knowing is such a relative term and con- hood of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihiwasallam
cept. Some people will know more about a subject and gives them a deep humility when faced with the true
others will just read the headline and think they knowledge from their Lord- the knowledge of His
know. Teachers, researchers and professors in all fields words.
are hailed as role models and seen as timeless emblems
of knowledge. Similarly, shuyookh and 'ulamaa are re- The root ‘albaab’ comes from ‘lub’ which refers to ‘aql
spected for their knowledge of Qur'an, hadith, fiqh, taf-as-saalih’ or ‘a sound mind.’ In other words, you cannot
sir and more. If they are sincere and dedicated and fol- become a person of deep knowledge or thought unless
low the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu you become a person of a pure mind. In the world we
alaihiwasallam) to seek knowledge, they must be know- live in, we are bombarded with so much information.
But did we ever make a distinction between that infor-
ing the reality, right? But is this status of knowing lim-
ited to them only? How about those studying secular mation which is useful and that which is not? They are
sciences? What about us average people flipping not the same. If an individual consistently becomes de-
through San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times and sensitized to information, it will all look the same to him
twitter daily? What is it that the average human really or her. And when the truth is coming to them, they will
needs to know to benefit themselves in this life and think, “oh, just some more ‘info’”. Not only is it infor-
Hereafter? mation but these venues of harm to the intellect come in
forms of senseless media, gossip and tale bearing, music
If we truly want to understand the condition of human and overexposure to shamelessness, all things which
beings and what knowing actually means, who better to Allah has not allowed for us for our own good.
turn to than our Creator, exalted is He? He has praised
those of knowledge in the Qur'an. If Allah praises some- Thus, Allah lays out a simple formula to become a true
thing, we can rest assured that this thing or person or intellectual:
idea is magnificent. It is unlike other average things
because truly it is He, the One who is All-Knowing, All- 1. Become a person of a sound mind so you will retain
Wise and Knower of the seen and unseen who has given the knowledge. You cannot become a person of knowl-
it this status. edge or understanding without purity of mind. Get rid of
the clutter in there. Detoxify yourself from those influ-
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says about the Ulul Albaab ences, and you know best which ones they are.
(people of understanding/people of pure essence) in the
Qur'an : 2. Drop your ego, period. Only the humble ones will
28
AL-HADIYAH
such purified thought and pondering
over His signs? Let’s backtrack a bit
and make some time for such reflec-
tion.
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
ourselves on the proper etiquettes of
making du’a as well so we may at-
tain the status of Ulul Albaab in the
sight of Allah.

4. Allah clearly says that the intellec- Overall, purifying our minds from
tuals are those who remember Allah rubbish, controlling our egos, reflect-
at all times- standing, sitting or ly- ing and remembering Allah are the
ing. They are not praising their own keys to becoming the true intellec-
selves or their knowledge but their tual in the sight of Allah. If an indi-
praise is for the One to Whom all vidual studies different areas of
praise is due. Their praise is towards knowledge in life such as mathemat-
the One Whom all of creation ics, history, science, psychology,
praises. They remember Him alone economics, Islamic sciences, law,
in their supplications and prostra- you name it- all of these can be re-
tions and prayers, because it is only warded, InshAllah, given the inten-
He who can answer. And it is He tion is to please Allah and the
Who will bring them to account on method is done according to the Sun-
truly appreciate the knowledge and the Day of Judgment. The intellec- nah of Prophet Muhammad Sallal-
intellect because they know the lim- tual in the sight of Allah knows his lahu alaihiwasallam. But, what’s the
its of their intellect. When true place humbly before his Lord. bare minimum? Will everyone be-
knowledge from Allah comes, they come a haafidh-ul-Quran? Or a PhD
say, “We hear and we obey” with 5. Not only do we see the character- in Chemistry? Or a Nobel Peace
pure submission of hearts and minds. istic of humility but the action of Prize winner? Maybe not. Shall we
When they prostrate in prayer, they du’a is very prominent for the Ulul try? Of course. But the foundation
put the most important part of their Albaab. When a person knows his or should be strong.
body- their head, their intellect, their her place before their parents or
mind- on the ground, humbling their teacher or elder, they will immedi- If we keep in mind as our foundation
ego towards He Who is the Origina- ately run to show them their grati- the definition of intellectual and pure
tor of it. tude. More worthy of praise, love mind our Creator has set for us, we
and admiration is Allah, the One will find nothing else more refresh-
Finally, Allah ends the Surah with a who has guided us despite our short- ing for our emaan, uplifting to our
reminder on Ulul Albaab once again. comings, the One who gives without spirit and relevant to our purpose.
Just as He starts the surah, He ends it asking. There are so many ayaat and
with their praise and mentions their ahadith regarding du’a. Sources: Saheeh International Qur'an
simple yet profound qualities. Translation, "Ulul Albaab" Lecture- Nou-
For example, `Ubadah bin As-Samit man Ali Khan - The Quran Conference,
“Indeed, in the creation of the heav- RadhiyAllahu anh said: The Messen- 2009.
ens and the earth and the alterna- ger of Allah Sallallahu alaihiwasal-
tion of the night and the day are lam said, "Whenever a Muslim sup-
signs for those of understanding- plicates Allah, He accepts his suppli-
Who remember Allah while stand- cation or averts any similar kind of
ing or sitting or [lying] on their trouble from him until he prays for
sides and give thought to the crea- something sinful or something that
tion of the heavens and the earth, may break the ties of kinship.'' Upon
[saying], “Our Lord, You did not this someone of the Companions
create this aimlessly; exalted are said: "Then we shall supplicate
You; then protect us from the pun- plenty.'' The Messenger of Allah
ishment of the Fire.” (3:190-191) said, "Allah is more plentiful (in
responding).''
3. The people of intellect ponder [At-Tirmidhi].
over the creation of Allah. Such a
magnificent creation it is, all of it is a It is up to us to make sure we make
sign of our Creator’s Majesty and du’a from our hearts with sincerity,
Perfection. Wait a second, does the in our sujood, throughout our day
information in our time lead us to and more. It’s up to us to educate
29
AL-HADIYAH
T AQWA
RUE SUCCESS
I must say if you truly want to understand “Purification So I sat their contemplating, subhanAllah, today we
of the Soul– and its means” in the light of Qur’an and
Sunnah, you have to read Shaykh Jamaal Zarabozo’s
book on Purification of the soul. Very well written and
very detailed. On top of that I am learning from him
when he adds his comments and anecdotes. So Alham-
dulillah for all this. Yesterday, as I was sitting and lis-
tening to the Shaykh my eyes fell on page 90 of his book
“Purification of the soul”. Here is what it had:
Sulaiman ibn Buraidah narrated from his father that
whenever the Messenger of Allah (SAW) would send a
general over an army he would advise him about himself
to have fear (taqwa) of Allah and to treat those of the
Muslims with him well. Then he would say, “Fight in
the Name of Allah for the sake of Allah and fight who-
soever disbelieves in Allah.”.In the famous letter that
Umar ibn Al Khattab(R) wrote to Saa’d bin Abi Waqas,
Umar stated,
“I order you and the soldiers who are with you to be
aware of Allah under all circumstances as taqwa (fear
and awareness) of Allah is a better weapon against your
enemy and a stronger strategy in battle. And I order you
and those with you to be very much on the defensive
against any sins, more then your enemies are , for the
sins of an army are more feared than their enemies. Ver-
ily, Allah helps the Muslims due to the sins of their ene-
mies; if it were not for that we would not be able to
overcome them for our numbers are not like theirs and
our power is not like theirs. If we are equal in sins to
them, they will be able to overtake us due to their
(military) power. If we were not aided by our virtue we
would not be able to overcome them solely due to our
power….And ask Allah to help yourselves in the same
way that you ask Allah for help against your enemies.”
Alif Lam Meem. This is the Book, wherein there is no doubt, a guidance for the
Muttaqin.....They are on guidance from their Lord, and they are the successful.
Surah Al-Baqarah
30
A HAADI PRESS RELEASE
have become so ignorant of our deen that we fail to
comprehend what is expected of us as an ‘Abd (slave) of
Allah. (Just a side note I am a huge fan of Umar(RA).
The level of Iman he had is amazing!) So like Umar( R)
said, if we are overcoming an enemy then it is a moment
that we should be thankful to Allah and increase our
taqwa because their sins are greater then our sins!. This
is exactly why the Muslim Ummah was so successful -
they had that level of iman and fear of Allah in their
hearts plus their enemies had more sins on their hands
than the Muslims. Contrast that with present day. Today
we see that we are humiliated and very unsuccessful. So
what happened? This statement can change our perspec-
tive on how we look at things. Many times I have seen
people arguing saying that economically we should be
strong etc. These people should really stop debating this
issue. If you have put the Book of Allah aside then what
do you expect? Allah(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) is not in
need of us, we are in need of Him. So we must instill
this fear and awareness of Allah in our hearts. This will
govern our limbs which will make us successful bidinil-
lahi ta’ala. Allah has used the word muttaqueen numer-
ous times in the Quran and how they will attain salva-
tion by going to Jannah. So this taqwa is very important.
Those that dont have taqwa can just follow their desires
and live and do as they want. They are an open target for
Shaytan. He knows this person is weak and can be ma-
nipulated easily to do evil. We must compare ourselves
to the Prophet (Sallallahu aalihiwasallam) in this aspect
as he is our role model. Compare today with the time of
the our beloved Prophet and the difference stands out
very clear. Something to ponder about and keep us
awake in the remembrance of Ar-Rahman!
May Allah give increase our iman and our taqwa!
-
...
 Harvard

At the matrimonial exhibit...

Story and Illustration by Umm Aisha

Don’t miss “Fiqh Of Love” coming up soon in the Bay Area, California
Double Weekend Seminar Taught by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni
@ MCA, Santa Clara, CA
On Feb 12-14 & 20-21/ 2010
Register at http://www.almaghrib.org/seminars.php
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