Virtues of the Day of ‘Arafaah

Praise be to Allah.

1. It is the day on which the religion was perfected and Allah’s Favour was completed.

In Al Saheehayn it was reported from ‘Umar ibn al Khattaab (radiallahu 3anh) that a Jewish man said to him, “O Ameer al Mu’mineen, there is an aayah in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as an ‘Eid (festival).” ‘Umar said, “Which aayah?” He said: “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [al Maa’idah:3 – interpretation of the meaning]. ‘Umar said, “We know on which day and in which place that was revealed to the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam). It was when he was standing in ‘Arafaah on a Friday.”

2. It is a day of Eid for the people who are in that place.

The Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Yawm ‘Arafaah (the day of ‘Arafaah), Yawm al Nahr (the Day of Sacrifice) and Ayyaam al Tashreeq (the 3 days following Yawm al Nahr) are Eid (festival) for us, the people of Islam. These are days of eating and drinking.” This was narrated by the authors of al Sunan. It was reported that ‘Umar ibn al Khattaab said: “It – i.e., the aayah ‘This day I have perfected…’ was revealed on a Friday, the Day of ‘Arafaah, both of which – praise be to Allah – are Eids for us.”

3. It is a day by which Allah swore an oath.

The Almighty cannot swear by anything except that which is mighty. Yawm ‘Arafaah is the “witnessed day” mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“By the witnessing day [Friday] and by the witnessed day [the Day of ‘Arafaah].” [al Burooj:3].

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (radiallahu 3anh) that the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said: “The promised day is the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of ‘Arafaah, and the witnessing day is Friday.” Narrated by al Tirmithi and classed as saheeh by al Albaani.

It is the “odd” [i.e., odd-numbered, Witr] by which Allah swore in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“And by the even and the odd” [al-Fajr:3]. Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “The even is the Day of al Adhaa [i.e., 10th Thul Hijjah] and the odd is the Day of ‘Arafaah [i.e., 9th Thul Hijjah] This is also the view of ‘Ikrimah and al Dahhaak.

4. Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years.

It was reported from Abu Qutaadah (radiallahu 3anh) that the Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) was asked about fasting on the Day of ‘Arafaah. He said, “It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.” Narrated by Muslim.

This (fasting) is mustahabb for those who are not on Hajj. In the case of the one who is on Hajj, it is not Sunnah for him to fast on the Day of ‘Arafaah, because the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) did not fast on this day in ‘Arafaah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of ‘Arafaah in ‘Arafaah.

5. It is the day on which Allah took the covenant from the progeny of Adam.

It was reported that Ibn ‘Abbaas (radiallahu 3anh) said: the Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Allah took the covenant from the loins of Adam in Na’maan, i.e., ‘Arafaah. He brought forth from his loins all his offspring and spread them before Him, then He addressed them, and said: ‘Am I not your Lord? They said, ‘Yes, we testify,’ let you should say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Verily, we have been unaware of this.’ Or lest you should say: ‘It was only our fathers aforetime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah, and we were (merely their) descendents after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practised Al-Baatil (i.e., ploytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshipping others besides Allah)?’ [al A’raaf:172-173 – interpretation of the meaning].” Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al Albaani. And there is no greater day than this and no greater covenant than this.

6. It is the day of forgiveness of sins, freedom from the Fire and pride in the people who are there:

In Saheeh Muslim it was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (radiallahu 3anhaa) that the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said: “There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of ‘Arafaah. He comes close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, ‘What do these people want?’”

It was reported from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Allah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of ‘Ishaa’ on the Day of ‘Arafaah, about the people of ‘Arafaah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty.’” Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al Albaani.

And Allah knows best.

Shaykh Mohammad Saalih al Munajjid

IslamQA

Virtues of Sorah al Baqarah
Tafsir Ibn Katheer

In Musnad Ahmad, Sahih Muslim, At Tirmithi and An Nasaa'i, it is recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,

«لَا تَجْعَلُوا بُيُوتَكُمْ قُبُورًا فَإِنَّ الْبَيْتَ الَّذِي تُقْرَأُ فِيهِ سُورَةُ الْبَقَرَةِ لَا يَدْخُلُهُ الشَّيْطَان»

(Do not turn your houses into graves. Verily, Shaytan does not enter the house where Sorah al Baqarah is recited.) At Tirmithi said, Hasan Sahih.

Also, `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "Shaytan flees from the house where Sorah al Baqarah is heard." This Hadith was collected by An Nasaa'i in Al Yawm wal Laylah, and Al Hakim recorded it in his Mustadrak, and then said that its chain of narration is authentic, although the Two Sahih did not collect it. In his Musnad, Ad Darimi recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said, "Shaytan departs the house where Sorah al Baqarah is being recited, and as he leaves, he passes gas." Ad Darimi also recorded that Ash Sha`bi said that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "Whoever recites ten Aayaat from Sorah al Baqarah in a night, then Shaytan will not enter his house that night. (These ten Aayaat are) four from the beginning, Aayat Al Kursi (255), the following two Aayaat (256-257) and the last three Ayat." In another narration, Ibn Mas`ud said, "Then Shaytan will not come near him or his family, nor will he be touched by anything that he dislikes. Also, if these Aayaat were to be recited over a senile person, they would wake him up."

Further, Sahl bin Sa`d said that the Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said,

«إِنَّ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ سَنَامًا، وَإِنَّ سَنَامَ الْقُرْآنِ الْبَقَرَةُ، وَإِنَّ مَنْ قَرَأَهَا فِي بَيْتِهِ لَيْلَةً لَمْ يَدْخُلْهُ الشَّيْطَانُ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَهَا فِي بَيْتِهِ نَهَارًا لَمْ يَدْخُلْهُ الشَّيْطَانُ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّام»

(Everything has a hump (or, high peek), and Al Baqarah is the high peek of the Qur'an. Whoever recites Al Baqarah at night in his house, then Shaytan will not enter that house for three nights. Whoever recites it during a day in his house, then Shaytan will not enter that house for three days.) This Hadith was collected by Abu Al Qasim At Tabarani, Abu Hatim Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Ibn Marduwyah.

At Tirmithi, An Nasa'i and Ibn Maajah recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, "The Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) sent an expedition force comprising of many men and asked each about what they memorized of the Qur'an. The Prophet came to one of the youngest men among them and asked him, `What have you memorized (of the Qur'an) young man' He said, `I memorized such and such Sowar and also Al Baqarah.' The Prophet said, `You memorized Sorah al Baqarah' He said, `Yes.' The Prophet said, `Then you are their commander.' One of the noted men (or chiefs) commented, `By Allah! I did not learn Sorah al Baqarah, for fear that I would not be able to implement it. The Messenger of Allah said,

«تَعَلَّمُوا القُرْآنَ وَاقْرَءُوهُ، فَإِنَّ مَثَلَ الْقُرْآنِ لِمَنْ تَعَلَّمَهُ فَقَرَأَ وَقَامَ بِهِ كَمَثَلِ جِرَابٍ مَحْشُوَ مِسْكًا يَفُوحُ رِيحُهُ فِي كُلِّ مَكَانٍ، وَمَثَلُ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَهُ فَيَرْقُدُ وَهُوَ فِي جَوْفِهِ كَمَثَلِ جِرَابٍ أُوكِيَ عَلى مِسْك»

(Learn Al Qur'an and recite it, for the example of whoever learns the Qur'an, recites it and adheres to it, is the example of a bag that is full of musk whose scent fills the air. The example of whoever learns the Qur'an and then sleeps (i.e. lazy) while the Qur'an is in his memory, is the example of a bag that has musk, but is closed tight.)

This is the wording collected by At Tirmithi, who said that this Hadith is Hasan. In another narration, At Tirmidhi recorded this same Hadith in a Mursal manner, so Allah knows best.

Also, Al Bukhari recorded that Usayd bin Hudayr said that he was once reciting Sorah al Baqarah while his horse was tied next to him. The horse started to make some noise. When Usayd stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving about. When he resumed reading, the horse started moving about again. When he stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving, and when he resumed reading, the horse started to move again. Meanwhile, his son Yahya was close to the horse, and he feared that the horse might step on him. When he moved his son back, he looked up to the sky and saw a cloud radiating with light that looked like lamps. In the morning, he went to the Prophet and told him what had happened and then said, "O Messenger of Allah! My son Yahya was close to the horse and I feared that she might step on him. When I attended to him and raised my head to the sky, I saw a cloud with lights like lamps. So I went, but I couldn't see it." The Prophet said, "Do you know what that was" He said, "No." The Prophet said,

«تِلْكَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ دَنَتْ لِصَوْتِكَ وَلَو قَرَأْتَ لَأَصْبَحْتَ يَنْظُرُ النَّاسُ إِلَيْهَا، لَا تَتَوارَى مِنْهُم»

(They were the angels, they came close hearing your voice (reciting Sorah al Baqarah), and if you had kept reading, the people would have been able to see the angels when the morning came, and the angels would not be hidden from their eyes.)

This is the narration reported by Imam Abu Ubayd Al Qasim bin Salam in his book Fada'il Al-Qur'an.

If you cant become a scholar

'Umar ibn 'Abdul 'Azeez (ra7imuhullah) said:

إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ فَكُنْ عَالِماً

Become a scholar if you are able.

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَكُنْ مُتَعَلِّماً

If you are not able, then be a student.

وَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَأَحَبَّهُمْ

If you can not, then show love for them.

وَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَلا َتَبْغَضُهُمْ

If you are unable to do that, then (at least) do not hate them.

(جَامِعُ ْبَيَانِ الْعِلْم وَ فَضْله #١٤٣)

Ghurabaa -غرباء

ليس الغريب هو الذى فارغ الديار ودع الآن
The stranger is not the one who empties the house and bids farewell now

و لكن الغريب هو الذى يجد و الناس من حوله يلعبون
But the stranger is he who is serious while the people around him play

و يصحو و الباس من حوله ينامون
And is awake while the people around him sleep

و يسلك درب الخير و الناس في ضلالهم يتخططون
And follows the best path* while the people around him plot and plan in their misguidance
*also means 'narrow mountain pass'

و صدق الشاعر اذ يقول
And truthful was the poet when he said:

قال لى صاحب اراك غريبا
My friend said to me, I see you as a stranger

بين هذا الأنام دون خليل
Amongst these people without a close friend

قلت كلا! بل الأنام غريب انا في عالم و هذه سبيلى
I said nay! But the people are strange, I'm in the world and this is my way

هذا هو الغريب
This is the stranger

غريب عند العابثين من البشر
Strange in the view of those who jest and mock from amongst mankind

و لكنه عند ربه في مقام كريم
But in the Sight of his Lord, he is at a Noble Station

غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`

غرباء ولغير الله لا نحنى الجباة
Ghurabaa` do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah

غرباء وارتضيناها شعارا للحياة
Ghurabaa` have chosen this to be the motto of life

غرباء ولغير الله لا نحنى الجباة
Ghurabaa` do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah

غرباء وارتضيناها شعارا للحياة
Ghurabaa` have chosen this to be the motto of life

إن تسأل عنّا فإنّا لا نبال بالطغاة
If you ask about us, then we do not care about the tyrants

نحن جند الله دوما دربنا درب الأباة
We are the regular soldiers of Allah, our path is a reserved path

إن تسأل عنّا فإنّا لا نبال بالطغاة
If you ask about us, then we do not care about the tyrants

نحن جند الله دوما دربنا درب الأباة
We are the regular soldiers of Allah, our path is a reserved path

غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`

لن نبال للقيود بل سنمضى للخلود
We never care about the chains, rather we'll continue forever

لن نبال للقيود بل سنمضى للخلود
We never care about the chains, rather we'll continue forever

فلنجاهد ونناضل ونقاتل من جديد
So let us make jihad, and battle, and fight from the start

غرباء ... هكذا الأحرار في دنيا العبيد
Ghurabaa`, this is how they are free in the enslaved world

فلنجاهد ونناضل ونقاتل من جديد
So let us make jihad, and battle, and fight from the start

غرباء ... هكذا الأحرار في دنيا العبيد
Ghurabaa`, this is how they are free in the enslaved world

غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`

كم تذاكرنا زمانا نحن يوم كنّا سعداء
How many times we remembered a time when we were happy

بكتاب الله نتلوه صباحا و مساءا
In the book of Allah, we recite in the morning and the evening

كم تذاكرنا زمانا نحن يوم كنّا سعداء
How many times we remembered a time when we were happy

بكتاب الله نتلوه صباحا و مساءا
In the book of Allah, we recite in the morning and the evening

غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`

غرباء ولغير الله لا نحنى الجباة
Ghurabaa` do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah

غرباء وارتضيناها شعارا للحياة
Ghurabaa` have chosen this to be the motto of life

غرباء ولغير الله لا نحنى الجباة
Ghurabaa` do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah

غرباء وارتضيناها شعارا للحياة
Ghurabaa` have chosen this to be the motto of life

إن تسأل عنّا فإنّا لا نبال بالطغاة
If you ask about us, then we do not care about the tyrants

نحن جند الله دوما دربنا درب الأباة
We are the regular soldiers of Allah, our path is a reserved path

إن تسأل عنّا فإنّا لا نبال بالطغاة
If you ask about us, then we do not care about the tyrants

نحن جند الله دوما دربنا درب الأباة
We are the regular soldiers of Allah, our path is a reserved path

غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
غرباء غرباء غرباء غرباء
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`
Ghurabaa`, ghurabaa`, ghurabaaa` ghurabaa`

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : بدأ الاسلام غريبا وسيعود غريبا كما بدأ فتوبى للغرباء
The Prophet salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam said "Islam began as something strange, and it will return as something strange the way it began. So Tooba (a tree in paradise) for the Strangers."

♥ Ways to keep your husband's love insha Allah ♥

1. Behave like a female, i.e. all the tenderness of a female… a man doesn’t want a man for his wife.

2. Dress pleasantly/attractively. If you are a home-maker, don’t stay in your sleeping suit all day.

3. Smell good. (does that need further explanations?)

4. Don’t lay out all your problems on your husband as soon as he walks in. Give him a little mental break.

5. Don’t keep asking him, “what are you thinking?”… because unlike women, men’s thoughts are as random as the results of a google search. Women on the other hand have thoughts as organized as a labeled file-cabinet!

6. Stop nagging non-stop before Allah Ta’aala gives you something really to complaint about.

7. Absolutely no talking about your spousal problems to anyone you meet under the pretense of seeking help, even if you are the victim.

8. Be kind to your mother-in-law the same way you would like your husband to be kind to your own mother.

9. Learn all the rights and obligations of each other in Islaam.

10. Race to the door when he comes home, as if you were waiting for him. Smile and hug.

11. Keep your house clean, at least to the level that he wants it.

12. Compliment him on the things you know he’s not so confident about (looks, intelligence) etc. This will build his self-esteem insha Allah

13. Tell him he’s the best husband ever.

14. Call his family often.

15. Give him a simple task to do at home and then thank him when he does it. This will encourage him to do more.

16. When he’s talking about something boring, listen and nod your head. Even ask questions to make it seem like you’re interested.

17. Encourage him to do good deeds.

18. If he’s in a bad mood, give him some space. He’ll get over it insha Allah.

19. Thank him sincerely for providing you with food and shelter. It’s a big deal.

20. If he’s angry with you and starts yelling, let him yell it out while you’re quiet. You will see your fight will end a lot faster. Then when he’s calm, you can tell him your side of the story and how you want him to change something.

21. When you’re mad at him, don’t say “YOU make me furious”, rather, “This action makes me upset”. Direct your anger to the action and circumstance rather than at him.

22. Remember that your husband has feelings, so take them into consideration.

23. Let him chill with his friends without guilt, especially if they’re good guys. Encourage him to go out, so he doesn’t feel “cooped up” at home.

24. If your husband is annoyed over a little thing you do (and you can control it), then stop doing it. Really.

25. Learn how to tell him what you expect without him having to guess all the time. Learn to communicate your feelings.

26. Don’t get mad over small things. It’s not worth it.

27. Keep things light and have some humor.

28. Tell him how well you do certain things as a wife without purposely praising yourself.

29. Learn to make his favorite dish.

30. Don’t ever, EVER talk bad about him with friends or family unnecessarily. If they end up agreeing with you, you will see that it hits you back in the face because you get more depressed that you have a bad husband and other people also think you have a bad husband.

31. Use your time wisely and get things accomplished. If you’re a housewife, take online classes and get active in your community. This will make you happy and a secondary bonus is that it impresses your husband.

32. Do all of the above fee sabeelillah and you will see Allah will put barakah in everything you do insha Allah.

33. Husband and wife should discuss and communicate with wisdom with each other to convey what they like and dislike of each other to do or not to do. NOT give command or instruction like servant. “They are garment to each other”

34. Tell your husband you love him many many times just like Aaishah radiallahu 'anhaa and the Prophet salla Allahu 'alaihi wasallam.

35. Have a race with your husband and let him win, even if you are much fitter and stronger than him. (well sometimes let him win...)

36. Keep fit and take care of your health so you will remain a strong mother, wife, cook and housekeeper insha Allah.

37. Refine and cultivate good mannerisms, i.e do not whine, don’t laugh or talk too loud or walk like an elephant.

38. Do not leave the house without his permission and certainly not without his knowledge.

39. Make sure all his clothes are clean and pressed so he is always looking fresh and crisp.

40. Ask Allah to strengthen and preserve the bonds of compassion and love between the two of you, every day, every prayer. Ask him to protect that bond from Shaytaan. When a lesser devil destroys the love between spouses, he is the most beloved of Shaytaan. Nothing works like do3aa, and love only exists between spouses where Allah instills it. Masha Allah.

41. They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach..this may be true.

42. Always let him know that you appreciate him working and bringing home the dough. It makes it easier for him to go to work.

43. Make sure you ALWAYS have something for dinner.

44. Brush your hair.. everyday.

45. Don’t forget to do laundry.

46. Surprise him with gifts. Even necessities can be gifts.. ex: new shoes, books, pillows, etc.

47. Listen to him.

48. Try (hard as it might be) to take interest in his hobbies. Try very hard not to go shopping too much…and spend all his money.

49. Prepare special dinners for your family.

50. Take care of your skin, esp. facial. Face is center of attraction.

51. Don’t discuss important/controversial matters with him when he is tired or sleepy. Find right time for right discussion.

52. Learn to compromise.

53. Continue to do things for your husband and don’t take him for granted.

57. Respect his rights.

58. Whatever you do for him, intend it for the sake of Allah so you can get even more blessings insha Allah for doing so.

والدتنا

لا تبخل على والدتك بقراءة هذا الدعاء

وقضى ربك ألا تعبدوا إلا إياه وبالوالدين إحسانا

اللهم يا ذا الجلال و الإكرام يا حي يا قيوم ندعوك باسمك الأعظم الذي إذا دعيت به أجبت ! !، أن تبسط على والدتي من بركاتك ورحمتك ورزقك

اللهم ألبسها العافية حتى تهنأ بالمعيشة ، واختم لها بالمغفرة حتى لا تضرها الذنوب ، اللهم اكفيها كل هول دون الجنة حتى تُبَلِّغْها إياها ..برحمتك يا ارحم الراحمين

اللهم لا تجعل لها ذنبا إلا غفرته ، ولا هما إلا فرجته ، ولا حاجة من حوائج الدنيا هي لك رضا ولها فيها صلاح إلا قضيتها, اللهم ولا تجعل لها حاجة عند أحد غيرك

اللهم و أقر أعينها بما تتمناه
لنا في الدنيا

اللهم إجعل أوقاتها بذكرك معمورة

اللهم أسعدها بتقواك

اللهم اجعلها في ضمانك وأمانك وإحسانك

اللهم ارزقها عيشا قارا ، ورزقا دارا ، وعملا بارا

اللهم ارزقها الجنة وما يقربها إليها من قول اوعمل ، وباعد بينها وبين النار وبين ما يقربها إليها من قول أو عمل

اللهم اجعلها من الذاكرين لك ، الشاكرين لك ، الطائعين لك ، المنيبين لك

اللهم واجعل أوسع رزقها عند كبر سنها وانقطاع عمرها

اللهم واغفر لها جميع ما مضى من ذنوبها ، واعصمها فيما بقي من عمرها، و ارزقها عملا زاكيا ترضى
به عنها

اللهم تقبل توبتها ، وأجب دعوتها

اللهم إنا نعوذ بك أن تردها إلى أرذل العمر

اللهم واختم بالحسنات أعمالها....اللهم آمين

اللهم وأعنا على برها حتى ترضى عنا فترضى ، اللهم اعنا على الإحسان إليها في كبرها

اللهم ورضها علينا! ! ! ، اللهم ولا تتوفاها إلا وهي راضية عنا تمام الرضى ، اللهم و اعنا على خدمتها كما ينبغي لها علينا، اللهم اجعلنا بارين طائعين لها

اللهم ارزقنا رضاها ونعوذ بك من عقوقها

اللهم ارزقنا رضاها ونعوذ بك من عقوقها

اللهم ارزقنا رضاها ونعوذ بك
من عقوقها

اللهم آمين
اللهم آمين
اللهم آمين

وصلي الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله و أصحابه ومن تبعهم باحسان الى يوم الدين

Dear son/daughter,

The day that you see me old, have patience and try to understand me.

If I get dirty when eating..if I can not dress..have patience. Remember the hours I spent teaching it to you.

If, when I speak to you, I repeat the same things a thousand and one times..do not interrupt me...listen to me.

When you were small, I had to read to you a thousand and one times the same story until you got to sleep..

When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame me nor scold me..
Remember when I had to chase you with a thousand excuses I invented, so that you would want to bath..

When you see my ignorance on new technologies. give me the necessary time and not look at me with your mocking smile..

I taught you how to do so many things..to eat good, to dress well.to confront life..

When at some moment I lose my memory or the thread of our conversation. let me have the necessary time to remember..and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous..as the most important thing is not my conversation but surely to be with you and to have you listening to me..

If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well when I need to and when not.

When my tired legs do not allow me to walk...give me your hand...the same way I did when you made your first steps.

And when someday I become moody, and say a few nasty things..do not get angry..some day you will understand..

Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived.

Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the best thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you..

You must not feel sad, angry or impotent at seeing me near you. You must be next to me. Try to understand me and help me as I did with you when you started your life.

Help me to walk...help me to end my way with love and patience. I will pay you with a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.

I love you my child,
Your father

A story about a sister reverting to Islaam, beautiful masha Allah!

I, Michelle Krebs, was born on the 22nd of December 1985, into a Christian family. I was born prematurely at 24 weeks, while my parents were on holiday in Brisbane, in fact I was born so early that the doctors told my parents that I probably wouldn’t survive. But Allah Subhanahu wa Ta ‘aala had other plans for my life, as I obviously did live. My parents at this stage in their lives were Assemblies of God Christians of the Protestant sub division, and from my birth we attended church on a weekly basis. My father was a carpenter and furniture maker, and my mother was his secretary. Two years after I was born my brother David was born and 18 months after that Andrew was born. I miss my brothers so much, as almost all my good childhood memories go back to playing with them, they were my best friends.

By the time my sister Rebeckah was born when I was seven years old, my father wasn’t really going to church very much any more. I can remember my father and mother arguing about him not going to church as my mother was worried and upset with him becoming less religious. Finally my mother gave in, and this is when their beliefs really started to change. Up until this point in time, they had been pretty normal Christians, but as they slipped further and further away from the normal, they slipped into a form of Christianity that few people have ever heard of. My life at this stage was pretty tough, I was nine years old, and working in my father’s business, beatings and being yelled at was a normal part of my life then, I suffered from the beatings and being yelled at and to this day when I remember it, it hurts my heart, but I know that they were only trying their best to be good parents. My mother had lost two babies in pregnancy that year, and my father got drunk sometimes and beat my mother. My parents were considering divorce. I never went to school as my parents religious beliefs prohibited the education of children, instead I cooked and cleaned the house and looked after the farm animals, and worked in my father’s business.

My father ran his own church by this time and my parents no longer followed any particular religious order in the church, instead my father would read the Bible and command us what we had to do. My parents got rid of the television, as they believed it was full of evil, and once I reached the age of twelve, we moved thousands of kilometers from our house in Cairns to a large farm in Bundaberg, joining a New Covenant group there.

I woke up to religion at a very early age, and by the time of puberty, I had some very hard questions to ask of Christianity. I wanted to know why the Bible had so many contradictions, how Jesus could be God and the Son of God when he was a man and ate and used the toilet and even died? I couldn’t accept that God the Almighty could behave in such ways, and how if God says in one part of the Bible that if man sees God he will die how can Jesus be God then? And how can Jesus be God or the Son of God if he pleaded with God before his alleged crucifixion to spare him from death? And how does God pray to himself? And how come God had to trick Satan when He is the Almighty One, and Satan was created by Him? On and on my questions went, but no one could answer them apart from saying that it is a mystery of God and we just have to accept it as it is or otherwise you will go to hell. So I searched deeper into Christianity, thinking that maybe there was something I was missing, maybe I was misunderstanding the whole matter, maybe there was something in Christianity that would explain to me how a man could be God. But instead of answering my questions and quelling my doubt, my search actually fired it up, and my questions grew. Why did the Christian bible have so many books that had been removed from it, and certain books added to it, and whole chapters added to it ect… and how come no one questioned this? WHY? I wanted to know, I had to know. Why was the Catholic Bible different to ours? Why were the Jews commanded in the Bible to commit genocide? How could King David, peace and blessings be upon him, commit adultery and murder if he was such a holy man of God? The sheer amount of evil and sin in the Bible shocked me, and I read it as much as possible to try to find answers to my questions.

I studied Greek and Hebrew, so that I would be able to read the Bible in its original language, or what I thought was the original language at the time. I soon discovered however, that Greek was not the original language of the New Testament, instead that the New Testament consisted of a mixture of Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew, and that no consensus had been arrived to as what the Bible actually consisted of until 300 years after Jesus died, when one Christian group became by Constantine’s decision to be the only acceptable form of Christianity, all other Bibles were destroyed other then the ones that conformed with the codex that the leading party had decided was the correct version. How could this be the truth then, I thought, how can the Bible be the True word of God when no one even really knows what it originally was, and when there is so much proof to show that so much had been added and removed from its texts. I even found evidence from the modern times of Biblical corruption in the Thomas Jefferson Bible, where Thomas Jefferson had corrupted the Bible, making his own Bible removing anything he disagreed on and adding anything he wished. When I showed my parents about the Thomas Jefferson Bible, they laughed about it, saying that corruption had taken place many times in the history of the Bible.I gave up Christianity, and started my search of the other religions.

My mother was losing a baby every year in pregnancy by this stage, as they didn’t believe that any form of contraception was allowable in Christianity, even though my mother would get cirrhosis of the liver and sever kidney problems due to pregnancy. They also believed that medical intervention of any sort is evil, so my mother gave birth at home, with me delivering my dead brothers and sisters.

At our new farm, we lived in tents, and ate in the open air, and bathed in the creek. Our toilet was a hole in the ground, and we had no privacy. We used to get up early to farm the earth for our food, and then I would come back to the tent to cook the porridge that we would eat for breakfast. We had little time to do anything else apart from farming, cooking, cleaning and clearing trees from the land. We were also building a house out of trees we cut down, and it was very hard work. I remember I was proud as my father would tell people who visited us that I worked like a man, and that in the building of the house, I was worth a man’s labor. I don’t think I was a lazy person, as I always tried to make my mother and father happy by working as hard and fast as I could.

My father was a very good man in that he had high morals, but when he lost his temper, he was really dangerous to be around. One time, my brother David was working in the field mowing the grass, and my father suddenly lost his temper because my brother wasn’t working hard enough. So my father grabbed my brother by the head and dragged him over to a tree and started bashing David’s head against the tree over and over again, eventually my brother managed to escape, and ran as fast as he could to get away from my dad, my brother screaming and crying. My father, grabbed a long thick stick and jumped on his motorbike, and chased after him. My father beat my brother all the way home with that stick, while on his motorbike, my brother running ahead. When they got to the tents, I ran out to stop my father, standing in front of him to protect my brother. So I got the beating instead.

One time, my father threw a very dangerous machine at my brother because he made a mistake in his work, another time he threw a pizza knife at us, just missing us by centimeters. He used to be very cruel to the animals, beating them very badly, one of our dogs he hated so much because he said it was a coward dog. So he used to kick it over and over again just for fun, while the poor dog would be yelping out extremely loud. That dog was very scared of my father, but saying all this, my father was also a very good man, he always loved me very much, and was very proud of me upuntil I became muslim.

My mother also had a very bad temper, but she was angry almost all the time. All day every day, you had to be careful not to say or do anything, because she might get angry at you. Even if I said, “I love you Mummy”, or “I’m sorry Mummy”, or anything nice, if she was angry she would make you suffer by beating or yelling. I think though that she was angry because she was always sick from the pregnancies. She was very good to my father, and she was a very intelligent person and I miss her so much.By the time I turned 15 years old, I had looked through all the religions I could find except Islam. They all had problems with them, as they all committed shirk in one form or another, and I could tell that they were defected. For example Hinduism has over 3000 gods, Mormonism believes that God has wives, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus came to forgive our sins (and according to logic only God forgives sins), Buddhism in it original beliefs holds that there is no god, Taoism has no real god, and on and on the list goes.

I didn’t even want to consider Islam as I thought that all muslims raped women, and chopped off the finger tips of Christians and Jews, etc… and my father when I told him at the age of twelve that I wanted to marry an Arab when I grew up (I didn’t even know of such a thing as Islam or muslims at that age), he started yelling, saying that muslim men beat their wives and treated their wives worse then dogs, implying that all Arabs are muslim.

Although I thought that Islam was a bad religion I thought that it would only be fair and just and right for me to investigate into it and see if it was the true religion or not. Besides, I thought, maybe they were all lying to me when they told me all that stuff about how evil Islam is, they told me so many lies about Christianity so why wouldn’t they tell me lies about Islam too. So early march 2001 I took down two books on my parents’ bookshelf about Islam and an encyclopedia letter I. And I read them all. The two books on Islam were truly evil, the Christian books lying through their teeth about Islam. They used stupid silly arguments to prove that Islam couldn’t possibly be the true religion, such as saying that the Prophet Muhammed peace and blessings be upon him, was a womanizer because he had nine wives. What a stupid argument I thought, King David had 22 wives and yet you would never say that about him. And that Islam is a terrorist religion simply because it has such a thing as warfare in it, however I noted the hypocrisy in this statement as the Bible has numerous accounts of genocide and God telling them supposedly to commit genocide. I didn’t accept their pointless baseless arguments and instead read through the lies in the book to try to understand what Islam really was about. Instead what I found was a religion that joined no partners with God, a religion free of defect. A religion that accepted God as being the Creator and not the created.

So I accepted Islam there and then in my bedroom on the 24th of March 2001. I tried to find out as much about Islam as possible, and seeing as I didn’t know any muslims or have any other books about Islam, nor did I have internet access, I had to find out about Islam through articles in books. It was very hard, as I had never told my family about my giving up of Christianity, and never told them I was looking through other religions and I had definitely never told them I had converted up until this stage. But I couldn’t keep it a secret as I hated lying so much especially when I was keeping this religion a secret.

So a month after I had become muslim, I told my mother and father I had become muslim. They were furious, and at first they thought that I was just going through a phase. But after a couple of weeks they realized that I was serious, so they started to try to get me back to Christianity. They started a campaign against me, first by threatening me and mocking muslims and Islam, and by mocking me saying that I was being so immature and babyish by becoming muslim, and that I could never be a true muslim as I was Australian and white, not an Arab. And that this was just some stupid game I was playing. Then they became really mean, starving me for a week to get me to give up and depriving me of sleep and threatening to kick me out of home. So I decided to hide my Islam and pretend to be Christian, as I was scared that I would give Islam up altogether if I kept on trying to be strong in front of them. I was really scared that Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘Ala would be very angry at me for not showing Islam on the outside and for pretending to be Christian and for saying all the evil things I had to say in order to make my family think I was Christian, but I didn’t know what to do and I thought that hiding my Islam until I was old enough to be muslim in public without being tortured for it was better than losing Islam altogether.

So began my long three years pretending to be Christian. I tried desperately to learn as much as I could about Islam but it was increasingly difficult to find any information on islam, as my parents watched my every move like a hawk. But I did manage to find some things about Islam. For example I had known that muslims have to pray five times every day. But how do they pray, and how long for? I couldn’t find any information at all for a long time, so I tried my best. I divided my day up into fifths and would spend fifth teen minutes five times a day praying in my own words, and I felt guilty for not spending more time praying as I thought real muslims must spend hours every day praying. As I learnt more through different non-muslim literature, I found out that muslims put their heads on the ground during prayer, so I would spend the whole fifth teen minutes five times a day with my head on the ground praying in my own words.

One time my sister caught me praying and said, “What are you doing with your head on the ground, Michelle?” I told her that I was exercising. Slowly but surely I picked up more information, learning more and more. For some reason I thought that muslims prayed only two rakahs in each prayer, so I would pray dhur and asr and maghrib and isha as two rakah. I didn’t know about wudhu for along time, and when I found out it was a bit of aproblem as the only water I had access to in the mornings was the dam water, and the walls of the dam were so steep that I couldn’t wash my face or hands or feet in there without falling in, so I fixed my problem by taking an early morning swim each morning for wudhu. Imagine, the middle of winter when there was ice on the ground, and I used to take a swim every morning in the dark. My family were impressed as I told them that there are health benefits to swimming in freezing cold water early in the morning, little did they know that I was actually trying to prepare for prayer.

I also managed to get an English interpretation of the meanings of the Qu’ran when I was 17 years old. How I got hold of it is a miracle in itself, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘aala was so kind to me giving it to me, but it is a long story to tell so I will shorten it somewhat. What happened was that I was really desperate to get a Qu’ran to read, so I prayed to Allah subhanahu wa ta'aala that if He gave me an English Qu’ran I would memorize the whole of it. The next day, I was allowed to go into Bundaberg alone for the first time in my life, and I got my Qu’ran for $17.95. I had to hide it,and as my mother did a search of my room daily, I found it hard to think of anywhere to hide it. So I prayed, and I thought of a great place to hide it, my mattress. My mattress was an army mattress, so it was plastic and thin and hard, so I undid some of the threads between two of the seams at the end, and exposed the foam. I then took a knife and cut out a cube shaped hole big enough to fit my Qu’ran, cutting myself several times in the process by an accident, and then covered it back up with the mattress. My parents never found my Qu’ran even when the turned my bedroom upside down looking for it later on just before they kicked me out.

I was becoming such a good person because of Islam, and my whole family were amazed at my transformation. I read in the Qu’ran that you have to be kind to my parents, so I tried to be the kindest I could ever be. I would spend time with my mum now, instead of trying to run off like I used to. I would clean the house the best I could, doing extra than what I was told to do. I would try to work triply hard in my fathers business, trying to make as much money for him as possible. I no longer spoke back to my mum and dad, and tried to make them happy. My brothers and sister were very happy with me as I now cleaned their rooms for them to try to make them happy as the Qu’ran tells us to keep ties of kinship. And I read somewhere about the Ansari who offered a muhajireen half of everything he owned, and offered to divorce his wife so the other guy could marry her, so I tried to do that too. I would give half of every meal to my brothers, and half of my possessions away, and half of my money. I read in the Qu’ran about how you have to give charity, so I gave away all of my possessions except for my Qu’ran and notebooks and china doll. My actions although not really correct in totality in Islam were done because I was trying my best to be the best muslim I could be and please Allah Almighty as much as possible....

26th November 2004.

4:00am
I got up and took my daily washing in the dam, prayed, read my Qu’ran, chopped the firewood, made the fire, and put on the porridge to cook. Then I went to work in the shed. Had breakfast, swept floors, washed dishes, cleaned table, and went out to work again.

11:30am
Told my dad about me being muslim, “ I believe that Islam is the true religion dad. I’m really sorry dad, I love you so much and don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God any more.”He didn’t say anything, he just looked white with anger, and he finished his work quietly and walked away. He went to the house, Oh My God, he went to the house. My heart is beating so fast, I can’t breathe, what is going to happen? What are they going to do this time? I cry to Allah silent tears of help. My sister comes running to the shed from the house looking pale and scared. “Mum and Dad want you all” she yells to my brothers and I. We walk over to the house with my sister. “Did they say anything to you?” I ask my sister, “No” she says, “Mum just trashed our room and they both look very angry”. I walk into the house, seeing my bedroom door open as I do so. All the cupboards are tipped over, all my papers and books and everything is everywhere. My bed is all messed up, the curtains ripped down. I give a little gasp, its bad really bad, they are going to kill me.

My mum and dad are seated at the table, looking serious. “Sit down all of you” my dad barks at us. We all sit down, my brothers questioning each other with their eyes. My father stands up, “Michelle, I command you to renounce Allah” he says to me in a strong tone . My brothers give a gasp, so this is what has happened, our sister has become an infidel. “I’m sorry Daddy but I can’t do that, there is no one worthy of worship but God, and Mohammad is His Servant and Messenger” I say, and I’m shocked at how calm I’m feeling. My father takes a step towards me, and slaps me hard across the ear, “Say that Jesus is the Son of God” He yells, “No daddy, I’m sorry, but there is no one worthy of worship except God and I can’t say that Jesus is the Son of God anymore”. He hits me again, hitting me and hitting me, repeating the same command, and when I fall silent hoping that he won’t hit me, he hits me yelling “ Answer me Michelle, who’s God, Allah or Jesus?”, “Answer me!!!” So I answer him, “ There is no one worthy of worship except God”. I can hear my brothers in the background yelling for me to give up, and asking me why I have done this to them. My mother is screaming at me that I am a lying Muslim #####, screaming that I have betrayed the family by becoming muslim. My sister is screaming because she thinks they are going to kill me. My sister, I’m so sorry my darling little sister. My father grabs me by both my wrists in one hand, and drags me over to the wood stove and opens it with the other. The fire is blazing, and he trys to shove both my hands in the flames, I am screaming, “ALLAH!!!ALLAH!!!ALLAH!!” with all my might. I can feel the tip of the flames touching my hands, I am struggling with all my strength to get away, but he has my hands firmly in his grip and wont let go. He is yelling at me to give in to say that Jesus is God, and I refuse and he is trying to put my hands in the fire, but my crying out to Allah seems to have shocked him, and he lets go. I run for he door, but my mother runs in the way, so I turn around and go for the window, I get up on the bench, and am about to jump down even though I know I might break my leg as it is a long way down the hill. My father grabs my legs, and pulls me to the floor, kicking me and kicking me.

I can’t breathe, I can’t cry, all I can do is try to protect my face and stomach. My mother is kicking me as well now, they are both at it, and my brothers are yelling at me “Infidel! Infidel!” I think I’m going to die, I try to escape once more, but they keep grabbing my legs and kicking me. My father puts his foot on my neck, and starts to press down, I can’t breathe, I think I am going to die today, but I don’t mind, I feel this sense of peace come over me. Islam is all that matters, Allah, make Him happy, dying, what is that when Allah the Almighty is happy with you and you speak the truth. I will not give in, I will not blaspheme against God the Almighty by ascribing Him a Son. So I refuse their commands to go back to speaking disbelief, and they keep on with the kicking. Nothing works anymore, I feel I am going unconscious, my hands and arms are refusing to work anymore, I don’t have any strength left, all I have is Islam. “GET UP! GET UP YOU MORON!” My father yells at me, I try but my legs don’t work anymore, “GET UP!” He yells again, but now he knows that either I can’t get up or won’t get up, so he grabs me by my shoulders and yanks me up against the bench, leaning onto me so I can’t move. “Its either Jesus or Mohammed, you can stay here if you come back to Christianity, or you can get out if you are muslim.” So I choose Islam, there being no point in me explaining to him that muslims love Jesus, and that we don’t worship Mohammed peace and blessings be upon him, as I had tried countless times before to no avail.

They beat me a lot more after that, and organized for me to go and live with some Pakistani orientalist Christians in Brisbane. My mother made me show her where my Qu’ran was and then burnt it. My mother also came to the toilet to further humiliate me saying that I deserved no respect, and she watched.The hardest moment of all that day, was when my father and I left in the four wheel drive and my sister was wailing outside the car, crying, “Michelle! Michelle! Michelle! When are you coming back?” and my mother told her, “When she becomes Christian again.” And my sister was trying to grab onto my window of the car as we drove away, crying and pleading with me to stay, but she never asked me to give up Islam. They let me leave with my handbag (no money inside though), the clothes I was wearing, and a Bible (they made me take that). My father and I didn’t speak the whole journey.Indeed this story reminds us of the same fate faced by great sahaba such as Bilal and Ammar and Sumaya, when they chose to follow the right path, and paid the price for it, not giving up and not stepping back a millimetre from the way of truth. I would recommend everyone who reads this to pass it on to everyone they know.

Here's the last part of sister Michelles' (or Humeyra) story, may Allah reward her for her patience, and guide on her hands, her family insha Allah.

....................................................

I arrived at Daniel and Mariat Scots’ house that night. They were orientalist Christians, whose career, was to put fear and hatred into the hearts of Christians towards Islam, and to cause any weak muslims or new converts who didn’t know anything about Islam to apostate. I lived with them until the 24th of December when they kicked me out, because I wasn’t responding the way they wanted to their brainwashing. Instead of causing me to apostate, they cause me to get stronger in Islam, because now I had a wealth of knowledge at my finger tips. They had every hadith book, Islamic book, Qu’ran you can imagine, but they used to lie about Islam and twist hadith and Qu’ran to try to make me go back. But I knew not to trust someone without proof, and I knew they would lie to me. They quoted Qu’ran to me saying that homosexuality is condoned in Islam because the Qu’ran speaks about how there will be servant boys in Jannah to serve the people and that they will look like pearls in beauty, but they didn’t know however that I knew that the Qu’ran actually says that they will be there to serve the wine to the people, not to perform homosexual acts. They lied to me so much, and were so rude, that Daniel Scots’ children and the other young people at his house were becoming interested in Islam. They hated the way he would talk about muslims and Islam, and he never stopped.

I put on hijab two weeks after I moved there, and a week after that I put on niqab. Daniel and Mariat and my family were furious with me, but I told them that to obey God is better then pleasing man. I loved covering up, and it was the best day when I put on niqab, to please Allah, what more can you want?Daniel was so rude that one day he even overstepped the physical line. I was in the kitchen having a drink of water, when he stepped in behind me and put his arms around me, I was wearing hijab and he knew that Islam prohibits such a thing as a non-mahram touching a woman, but he continued to hug me anyway saying that he loved me so much. I was horrified, and I told him off for touching me and removed his arms and ran out of the house.

He was so rude, I couldn’t believe it. On the 22nd of December 2004, my birthday, My mum gave birth to a baby boy, my 19th sibling, and he was also dead, but I never got to see him, nor them, and my father told me over the phone that I had brought the Spirit of death over the family.

Then they kicked me out because instead of getting weaker I became stronger in Islam. I found a muslim sister to stay with, and lived with her until I got married. That sister was like the Ansar to me because she was so kind to me to open up her own home to let me live with her, may Allah reward her with Firdous al ‘alaa. Amin.

I got married on the 15th of February 2005 to a young Palestinian man, named Wael Hamad. All praise is due to Allah, who has given me a man who fears Allah so much, and tries so hard to please Him, and Allah knows best his character. May Allah reward him and grant him Firdous al a'laa and to die as a Mutaqee (someone who fears Allah) .

I have the most wonderful little girl now, masha’Allah tabarakAllah, who makes each day easier, and I hope and pray that she will be of the righteous, and an ‘aalimah (a scholar).Life is hard, and my family refuse to speak with me, calling me the darkness, and shout at me and hang up the phone, but I pray for them of course, and hope they will soften in time insha’Allah. I have been able to overcome my lack of schooling problem, and have started a bachelor of Communications, and I hope insha’Allah that I will do well in it and please the Most High Almighty in it. I am studying two Islamic Shariah Courses at the moment, and am trying to learn Arabic and Tajweed so that I can memorise the Qu’ran as I promised Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘aala, insha Allah. I hope to become an Alimah like the great scholars, and pray for such, but I know that it isn’t likely, as I am now 21 years old (almost anyway), and I am a woman, and Saudi Arabia and such countries are hard to get into. But anyway, my dearest hope of hopes, is that I please my Creator, and die Pleased with Him and Pleasing Him.

Ameen.

Respectfully yours,
Humeyra Bint Paul Krebs (Michelle Krebs).

All praises and thanks be to Allah, Lord of everything that exists.The most Gracious, the Most Merciful.Master of the Day of Judgment You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help.Guide us to the Straight Way The Way of of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor those who went astray. Ameen

أي القلوب قلبك ؟

:القلوب ثلاثة

الأول : القلب السليم : وهو الذي تمكَّن فيه الإيمان ، وأصبح عامراً بحب الله ورسوله ، وهو الذي سَلِمَ من كل شهوة تخالف أمر الله ونهيه ، ومن كل شبهة تعارض خبره ، وهو الذي لا ينجو يوم القيامة إلا من أتى الله به ، كما قال تعالى : ( يوم لا ينفع مال ولا بنون إلا من أتى الله بقلب سليم ) .

الثاني : القلب الميت : وهو ضد الأول ، فلا حياة فيه ، وصاحبه لا يعرف ربَّه ، ولا يعبده بأمره وما يحبه ويرضاه ، بل هو واقف مع شهواته ولذاته ، منقاد لها ، أعمى يتخبط في طريق الضلالة ، إن أحب أو أبغض فلهواه ، وإن أعطى أو منع فلهواه ، فهواه مقدِّم عنده على رضا مولاه.

الثالث : القلب المريض : وهو الذي غزته الشبهات والشهوات حتى شغلته عن حب الله ورسوله ، فأصبح معتلاً فاسداً ، وهو قلب له حياة وبه مرض ، وهو لما غلب منهما ، إن غلب عليه مرضه التحق بالقلب الميت ، وإن غلبت عليه صحته التحق بالقلب السليم

"By Allah, it is the supplication that I make for my Ummah in every prayer."

'Aaishah radiallahu 3anhaa narrated: "Once, when I saw the Prophet in a good mood, I said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate to Allah for me!"

So, he said: "O Allah! Forgive 'Aa'ishah her past and future sins, what she has hidden, as well as what she has made apparent."

So, I began smiling, to the point that my head fell into my lap out of joy.

The Messenger of Allah said to me: "Does my supplication make you happy?"

I replied: "And how can your supplication not make me happy?"

He then said: "By Allah, it is the supplication that I make for my Ummah in every prayer."

[Reported in 'Sahih Mawarid adh-Dhaman' (# 1875), and it is in 'as-Silsilah as-Sahihah' (# 2254)]

Your eyes and ears - عيونك و أذنيك

سُئِل أبو حازم:
Abu Haazim (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:

ما شكر العينين
How does one thank for the blessings of eyes ?

قال: إذا رأيت بهما خيرا أذعته
He said: " When you see good you should spread it".

وإذا رأيت بهما شرا سترته
and when you see something which does not please you you should hide it.

وسُئِل : ما شكر الأذنين
And he was asked: How does one thank for the blessings of the ears ?

فقال: إذا سمعت بهما خيرا حفظته
He said " When you hear something good then you should memorize it.

وإذا سمعت بهما شرا نسيته
And if you hear something which does not please you then you should forget it.

(جَامِعُ ْبَيَانِ الْعِلْم وَ فَضْله)

www.albaseerah.org/forum

Visiting the sick - عيادة

Praise be to Allah.

Visiting the sick is called ‘iyaadah in Arabic (from a root word meaning return) because people come back time after time.

Ruling on visiting the sick

Some of the scholars are of the view that it is a confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah mu’akkadah). Shaykh al Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) favoured the view that it is a communal obligation (fard kifaayah), as stated in al-Ikhtiyaaraat (p. 85) and this is the correct view. It is proven in al Saheehaayn that the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) said: “There are five duties that the Muslim owes to his brother Muslim,” one of which is visiting the sick. According to another version: “The rights of one Muslim over another are…” Al Bukhaari said: Chapter on the obligation of visiting the sick, and he narrated the words of the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam): “Feed the hungry, visit the sick and free the captives.”

This hadeeth indicates that it is obligatory, and may be understood as meaning that it is a communal obligation, like feeding the hungry and freeing the captives. Al Nawawi narrated that there is scholarly consensus that it is not waajib (obligatory). Al Haafiz said in al-Fath (10/117): i.e., it is not obligatory for individuals.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (ra7imuhullah) said in al-Sharh al Mumti’ (5/173):

The correct view is that it is a communal obligation, and the Muslims are obliged to visit their sick.

The virtue of visiting the sick

There are many ahaadeeth which speak of its virtue, such as the words of the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam): “When the Muslim visits his (sick) Muslim brother, he is harvesting the fruits of Paradise until he returns.” Narrated by Muslim, 2568.

The reward attained by the one who visits the sick is likened to the harvest reaped by one who gathers fruit.

According to al Tirmidhi (2008), the Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Whoever visits a sick person or visits a brother in Islam, a caller cries out to him: ‘May you be happy, may your walking be blessed, and may you occupy a dignified position in Paradise’.” Classed as hasan by al Albaani in Saheeh al Tirmidhi.

Imam Ahmad narrated that Jaabir (radiallahu 3anh) said: The Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Whoever visits a sick person is plunging into mercy until he sits down, and when he sits down he is submerged in it.” Classed as saheeh by al Albaani in al Silsilah al Saheehah, 2504.

Al Tirmidhi (969) narrated that ‘Ali (radiallahu 3anh) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) say: “There is no Muslim who visits a (sick) Muslim early in the morning but seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.” Classed as saheeh by al Albaani in Saheeh al Tirmidhi.

Visiting the sick does not involve only those whom you know, rather it is prescribed for those whom you know and those whom you do not know. This was stated by al Nawawi in Sharh Muslim.

Definition of the sick person whom it is obligatory to visit

It is the sick person whose sickness is preventing him from seeing people. If he is sick but he is still going out and seeing people, then it is not obligatory to visit him.

Al Sharh al Mumti’, 5/171

Visiting a non-mahram woman

There is no sin in a man visiting a non-mahram woman, or a woman visiting a non-mahram man, so long as the following conditions are met: proper covering, no risk of fitnah, and no being alone together.

Imam al Bukhaari said: “Chapter on women visiting (sick) men. Umm al-Darda’ visited one of the Ansaari men from the mosque.” Then he narrated a hadeeth from ‘Aa’ishah (radiallahu 3anhaa), who said that she visited Abu Bakr and Bilaal (radiallahu 3anhumaa) when they fell sick when they first came to Madeenah.

Muslim narrated from Anas that Abu Bakr said to ‘Umar (radiallahu 3anhumaa), after the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) died: “Let us go to Umm Ayman and visit her as the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) used to visit her,” so they went to her.

Ibn al Jawzi said: This is to be interpreted as referring to one from whom there is no fear of fitnah, such as an old woman.

Visiting a kaafir

There is no sin in visiting a mushrik kaafir who is sick, if that serves an interest.

The Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) visited a Jewish boy and called him to Islam, and he became Muslim. Narrated by al Bukhaari (1356).

And the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) was present when his paternal uncle Abu Taalib was dying, and he called him to Islam but he refused. Agreed upon.

The purpose in that case may be to call the person to Islam, or to restrain his evil, or to soften his heart, and so on.

See Fath al Baari, 10/125

Should the visit be repeated?

Some scholars are of the view that one should not visit every day so that it will not become burdensome for the sick person. The correct view is that it varies according to the situation. Some people may be dear to the sick person and it may be hard for him if he does not see them every day. In that case it is Sunnah to visit continuously, so long as they do not know that the sick person dislikes it.

Haashiyat Ibn Qaasim, 3/12

One should not sit too long with the sick person

The visitor should not sit for too long with the sick person, rather the visit should be short so that it does not cause any hardship to him or his family. The sick person may pass through periods when he suffers pain because of his sickness, or he may do something that he would not like anyone to see, so sitting with him for too long will cause him embarrassment.

However, it depends on the situation; the sick person may like some people to sit with him for a long time.

Haashiyat Ibn Qaasim, 3/12; al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 5/174

Time for visiting

There is nothing in the Sunnah that suggests that there is a specific time for visiting the sick. Ibn al Qayyim said: The Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) did not specify any particular day or time for visiting the sick, rather he prescribed that for his ummah by night and by day, at all times.

Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/497

Some of the salaf used to visit the sick at the beginning of the day or in the early evening, so that the angels would send blessings upon them for the longest time, based on the hadeeth quoted above: “There is no Muslim who visits a (sick) Muslim early in the morning but seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.”

But we should pay attention to the condition of the sick person and what is easiest for him; the visitor should not choose the time that suits him best, if that is going to cause hardship to the sick person or his family. That can be worked out with the sick person himself or with his family. Frequent visits from people who do not take care to keep their visits short or choose the right time may make the sick person’s sickness even worse.

Making du3aa for the sick person

Du3aa should be made for the sick person in the manner narrated in the Sunnah: “La ba’s, tahoor in sha Allaah (No worry, it is a purification, if Allah wills).” Narrated by al Bukhaari.

Du3aa for healing should be said three times. The Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) visited Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas and said: “O Allah, heal Sa’d,” three times. Narrated by al Bukhaari (5659) and Muslim (1628).

The Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) used to place his right hand on the sick person and say: “Adhhib al-ba’s Rabb an-naas, wa’shfi anta al-Shaafi, laa shifaa’a illa shifaa’uka shifaa’an laa yughaadir saqaman (Take away the pain, O Lord of mankind, and grant healing, for You are the Healer, and there is no healing but Your healing that leaves no trace of sickness).” Narrated by Muslim, 2191.

It was narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawood (3106) that the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Whoever visits a sick person who is not yet dying, and says seven times in his presence: ‘As’alu Allaahal 3atheem Rabbal 3arshil 3atheem an yashfiyaka (I ask Allah, Lord of the mighty Throne, to heal you), Allah will heal him of that sickness.” Classed as saheeh by al Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

The visitor should ask him how he is and how he is feeling, etc. That is proven from the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam), as narrated by al Tirmidhi (983) and classed as hasan by al Albaani.

It is also narrated in Saheeh al Bukhaari that ‘Aa’ishah did that when she visited Abu Bakr and Bilaal (radiallahu 3anhumaa).

Reassuring him and giving him hope of a long life

A hadeeth concerning that was narrated by al Tirmidhi (2087) but it is a weak hadeeth: “When you enter upon a sick person and reassure him that he is going to live, that does not change anything, but it lifts his spirits.” It was classed as da’eef (weak) by al Albaani in Da’eef al Tirmidhi.

But it is supported in meaning by the words of the Prophet (salla Allahu 3alaihi wasallam): “La ba’s, tuhoor in sha Allaah (No worry, it is a purification, if Allah wills).” So we should try to cheer him up and give him glad tidings of healing in sha Allah, for that will comfort the sick person.

See al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 5/171-176

IslamQA

The virtues of the First Ten Days of Thul Hijjah - فضل العشر من ذي الحجة

Makkah friday khutbah

By: 'Abdur Rahmaan Sudais

www.alminbar.com

Slaves of Allah! You are approaching virtuous days; they are the best days as the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said in an authentic hadeeth: “The best days in this life are the (first) ten days of Thu’l-Hijjah”. Furthermore, Allah swore by them in His Book, and when Allah swears by something, it is a reflection of its great importance. Allah says that which translates to: “By the dawn. And the nights of the ten days” (Al Fajr:1-2). These are the first ten days of Thu’l-Hijjah and they include the day of ‘Arafah, about which the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “There is no day in which Allah frees more of His slaves from The Fire than the day of ‘Arafah” (Muslim). These ten days are concluded by the day of An Nahr (sacrifice); then follows the day of Al Qarr. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “The greatest days in the scale of Allah are the days of An Nahr and Al Qarr” (Abu Daawood). The day of An Nahr is the major day of Hajj and the day of ‘Eid; the day of Al Qarr is the following day. Virtuous deeds have a magnified position during these days. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than the (first) ten days of Thu’l-Hijjah” (Ad-Daarimi), in another narration the companions asked: “Not even Jihaad for the sake of Allah?” he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “Not even Jihaad for the sake of Allah, except for a man who loses (sacrifices) both his wealth and life in a battle” (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah, At-Tirmidhi).

What great virtues and what a great season! What an opportunity this is to collect greater rewards than that of Jihaad, which is the best deed after sound belief and punctual salaah. This season represents a wonderful opportunity for those who want to compete in collecting rewards and a miserable loss for the idle, who shun such opportunities.

Slaves of Allah! Compete for and rush towards the forgiveness of Allah and paradise which is as wide as the heavens and earth and do not slacken and be unhurried, because the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “Being laid-back is best in every matter except for good deeds” (Abu Daawood & Al-Haakim). One must compete and march forward when it comes to working for the hereafter as Allah says that which translates as: “… So for this let the competitors compete” (Al Mutaffifeen:26) and also, “…So race to (all that is) good…” (Al-Baqarah:148).

In this season, the roads leading to goodness are numerous, so do not miss out on any of them. The intelligent ones are those who exhaust themselves during this season to gain abundantly; you see many of them joining their days with their nights, continuously doing righteous deeds and hardly sleeping in order to get the most out of this season. On the other hand, you see those who put all their efforts into the attainment of worldly gains. The sad fact is that the result of all this effort would be, at most, the doubling of their capital - if indeed they do not actually lose it. As for the wise believers, nothing is dearer to them than increasing their efforts and righteous deeds that please the Lord, get them closer to Him and elevate their ranks; Allah told us what pleases Him in His Book and through His messenger; Allah will guide those who truly wish for goodness (if He Wills).

Salaah is one of the ways leading to goodness and something that Allah loves. The slave must be keen to perform it in congregation as Allah says that which translates to: “…And bow (in rukoo’) with those who bow” (Al Baqarah:43), and the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said, “He who hears the Athaan (call for Salaah) and does not respond, his Salaah is not accepted, except with the congregation, unless he has a (valid) excuse” (Ibn Maajah) The excuse is either fear, sickness or rain.

A slave of Allah who is guided would supply himself with optional salaah in these ten days, because it is a path to goodness and something that Allah loves. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “Salaah is the best thing that one can do, so perform as many as you possibly can” (At-Tabaraani) and he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam also said: “Two light rak’aat which you may think as insignificant to add to you deeds, is better for you than possessing the whole world” (Ibn Al Mubaarak) he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam also said, as narrated by Abu Hurayrah, “The son of Aadam could not do anything more beneficial for himself than salaah, reconciliation (between Muslims) and being well mannered” (Al Bayhaqi and others).

These were three examples of good deeds that lead to righteousness, salaah, reconciliation and being well mannered which are better than anything else that the son of Aadam can do, yet you see some people slight the performance of obligatory salaah, let alone optional salaah; you see them instigating disputes between people; and you see ill-mannered people who have lost out on the great reward for having a good character. So let us repent to Allah from our sins, reform our situation and improve our manners.

A woman was praised in the presence of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam for her salaah, fasting and other good deeds; her only flaw was that she harmed her neighbours. Upon hearing the praise, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “She is from the people of the Fire” (Ahmad). In reality, the guided ones are those who do all those things which please Allah and refrain from all those things that cause His wrath, as some of the scholars said: “Wisdom is to perform what you are obliged to, in the correct manner and on time; he who is granted wisdom has attained a great deal of good”.

Some of the Ahaadeeth which mention the virtues of optional salaah are as follows: “Prostrate as much as you can, because whenever you prostrate, Allah elevates your rank by a degree and wipes out a sin from your record” (Muslim) and in another narration: “Whenever a slave prostrates to Allah, Allah writes a reward for him, wipes out one of his sins and elevates his rank by one degree; so prostrate as much as you can” (Ibn Maajah). The way to perform salaah is as the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam described: “The night salaah is done two (rak’aat) at a time” (Al Bukhaari) and in another narration: “The optional salaah at night and during the day is done two Rak’ah at a time” (Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and others).

Slaves of Allah! Another of the paths to righteousness and fields of competition is reciting the Qur’aan. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “The best amongst you are those who learn the Qur’aan and then teach it” (Al Bukhaari) he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam also said: “He who recites a letter from the Book of Allah will get a reward and each of these rewards will be multiplied ten times. I do not mean ‘Alif Laam Meem’ is one letter, but rather ‘Alif” is a letter, ‘Laam is a letter and ‘Meem’ is a letter” (At Tirmidhi) and he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam also said: “If one of goes to the masjid and learns a verse or reads two verses from the Book of Allah, is better for him than owning two she-camels, (reading) three are better than (owning) three, (reading) four are better than (owning) four and so on” (Muslim) and also, “Let him who wants to attain love for Allah and His messenger read from The Book of Allah”.

Another of the fields of goodness is fasting as the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam encouraged us to “Fast on Mondays and Thursdays” (Ahmad & Nasaa’i) and “Fast the day of ‘Arafah” (Muslim) also: “Fast like the Prophet Daawood (who fasted every other day)” (Bukhaari & Muslim). I do not know of any specific reference that relates to any special virtue for fasting these ten days in particular, but, having said this I would add that one should still fast during these days because of the general texts encouraging good deeds during these ten days.

Another way is giving in charity; ‘Abdur Rahmaan Ibn Saburah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “(Every day) An Angel calls out in the heavens saying, ‘O Allah! Bless and compensate for the wealth of the one who spends (for your sake) and ruin the wealth of the one who holds back (from spending)’” (At-Tabaraani) Also he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said to Bilaal, may Allah be pleased with him: “Spend (charitably) O Bilaal! - and do not fear that Allah will decrease your provision (due to your spending)” and he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam addressed Asmaa’, may Allah be pleased with her, saying: “Spend (charitably) and don’t count (i.e. don’t be cautious in spending in this manner) otherwise your provisions will become limited and don’t hold back (from spending in charity) otherwise your provisions will be held back” (Bukhaari & Muslim) The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam also said: “I swear that these three things are true: That giving in charity does not decrease the wealth of the slave …..…” (Ahmad & Tirmidhi). Giving in charity enables one to be among the seven categories of people who will be protected under the shade of the Throne of Allah; regarding this, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “… and a man who gave charity so secretly that even his left hand would not know how much his right hand had spent” (Bukhaari & Muslim) also, “Charity given in secret extinguishes the wrath of Allah”. One of the best forms of charitable giving is to give someone a drink of water as the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “The best form of charity is giving someone water (to drink)” (Ahmad, An Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah).

O slaves of Allah! One of the best deeds in these days is to initiate Hajj as a way of drawing closer to Allah and fasting the day of ‘Arafah for those who are not performing Hajj. Allah willing we will talk about the virtues of Hajj in another Khutbah. Offering a sacrificial animal is also one of the most virtuous deeds that one can perform. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “He who does not offer a sacrifice while being financially able to, let him not come close to our masjid (i.e. pray with us)” and he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam also said: “When the ten days (Thu’l-Hijjah) have begun and one of you intends to offer a sacrifice, then let him not cut any of his hair or remove anything from his skin” (Muslim) in another narration he sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said: “Let him not cut anything from his hair or nails until he sacrifices” (Ad Daarimi).

These are examples of virtuous deeds, so take advantage of them; beware of laziness and neglect and know that Allah has favoured certain seasons over others, so let us take advantage of these opportunities and increase our righteous deeds; perhaps Allah will forgive us for our sins and shortcomings.