Daily Reflections - Be Humble

It is a natural desire of human beings to want their achievements and good qualities to be recognized. We can inside ourselves privately be quite insecure and vulnerable and we desire validation from the outside world, from others, to make us feel good about ourselves and so raise our self-esteem and feeling of self-worth.

Whilst feeling worthless and having low self-esteem can be detrimental to mental health and general wellbeing, arrogance and over confidence can also be detrimental to ones character and more importantly, ones standing before Allah(swt).

Allah(swt) gives the example of Luqman(as) in the Quran when he told his son:
“do not turn your face away from people in contempt, nor go about in the land exulting overmuch; surely Allah does not love any self-conceited boaster;” Quran 31:18

In our desire to be commended or recognized and admired in the world we can fall into the trap of drawing peoples attention to ourselves and attempting to gain the praise of admiration of others. We can start displaying traits that are arrogant and boastful and in gaining peoples pleasure, add more and more pride to our egos.

Ibrahim at-Taymi reported that his father said, "We were sitting with 'Umar and one man praised another man to his face." He said, "You have wounded the man. May Allah wound you." (Bukhari: Al-Abad Al Mufrad)

If we believe peoples praise it may be detrimental to our character, not only can it make us complacent to our faults and stunt our character development as a result, but it can also make us believe things about ourselves that are not true.

Allah(swt) will judge us and we may think we are good Muslims because we hear praise from others whom we try to impress, but in reality we have no right to hold such an opinion as Allah(swt) tells us Himself in the Quran:

So do not claim purity for yourselves. He knows best those who have fear of Him (Quran 53:32)

Humility is highly valued virtue in Islam, it is something that is encouraged in every facet of our life. Islam prescribes humble clothing, men roll up their trousers so as to be humble rather than prideful, women cover their bodies and even their faces out of humility.

The prophet(saw) set forth for us an example of pure humility in character and action, from the home he lived in, the food he ate and the state of poverty in which he left this world, despite being a powerful statesman and of noble lineage and status.

People attempt to use their arrogance and boastfulness to get themselves a higher status in this world, when in reality it is humility with elevates your status in the manner that is most important:

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Sadaqa does not decrease property and Allah only increases a slave in might by forgiveness and no one is humble for the sake of Allah without Allah elevating him." (Muslim)

It is essential to bear in mind that it is Allah(swt) who bestows honour on people, it is Allah(swt) who gives people wealth or high status in this world, it is He who makes people loved in this world and it is He who will hold us to account in the next.

Allah(swt) instructs us to be humble, so if we truly want success we should take heed of the words of Allah(swt) and the example of his messenger rather than chase worldly recognition and allow that pursuit to ruin our character by staining it with pride and arrogance.

Instead we should do our very best to develop humility in our character and try to be humble.

Read rest of entry

Tests from Allah

Allah tells us that we will be tested. He also makes it clear to us what is expected from us when we undergo these trials and what our reward will be if we are successful.

He says: “Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives and the fruits (of your toil) but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who, when misfortune strikes them, say: ‘Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him is our return. Those are the ones upon whom are blessings and mercy from their Lord and it is those who are rightly guided.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 155]

The Prophet (peace be upon him)said: "No fatigue, illness, anxiety, sorrow, harm or sadness afflicts any Muslim, even to the extent of a thorn pricking him, without Allah wiping out his sins by it." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

In another narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No Muslim is afflicted by harm, whether it is but the prick of a thorn or something worse, without Allah expiating his evil deeds on account of it and his sins falling away from him like leaves off a tree.'" [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When Allah desires good for someone, He tries him with hardships." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]

The Muslim may be tested by all sorts of difficulties like sickness, lack of income, and disobedience from his children. In fact, the many afflictions that may beset a person are incalculable. This is the point that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was stressing when he mentioned: “fatigue, illness, anxiety, sorrow, harm or sadness …even to the extent of a thorn pricking him”.

All of these afflictions, if endured patiently by the believer, are a means of attaining Allah’s forgiveness as well as His reward.

Every one of us is being tested by Allah. He tests us all in different ways. We should not assume that the difficulties that we face in life are punishments or are signs that Allah is displeased with us. Likewise, we should never construe the success and pleasures that others enjoy as signs that Allah is pleased with them or that they are privileged. Sometimes, quite the opposite is true.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If Allah wants good for his servant, He hurries on His punishment in this world, and if He wills ill for a servant, he holds back punishing him for his sin so He can give it to him in full on the Day of Resurrection.”

Allah makes it clear that everything in our lives – the good and the bad of it– is a trial for us. How will we cope in the situation that Allah has placed for us? Will we be grateful in prosperity and patient in affliction or will we be arrogant and disobedient?

Allah says: “Every soul shall taste of death. And We will test you with evil and with good by way of trial. And to Us is your return.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 35].

Allah says: “Know that your wealth and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a mighty reward.” [Sûrah al-Anfâl: 28]

Many people do not realize that they are tried just as severely with the good that they are given as they are by the misfortunes that befall them. Allah says: “And as for man, whenever his Lord tries him by honoring him and makes him lead an easy life, he says: ‘My Lord honors me’. But when He tries him by straitening his means of subsistence, he says: ‘My Lord has disgraced me’.” [Sûrah al-Fajr: 15-16]

Some people are blessed to be born and raised in good Muslim families then turn their backs on Islam, while others are born and raised in non-Muslim countries to unbelieving parents and grow up to be among the best of Muslims.

We are tried with wealth as well as poverty. If we are wealthy, will we hoard our wealth or spend in charity? Will we use it for lawful purposes or squander it in vice? Will we trust in Allah in our investments, or will our avarice and fear of losing our wealth make us take recourse to unlawful means to preserve it and increase it?

If we are poor, will we be content and patient and seek lawful means to attain our sustenance or will we resort to unlawful means to meet our needs? Will we accept the fact that Allah gives more to some people than he does to others, or will we grow hateful and vindictive?

We are tested with health as well as sickness. A man with good eyesight is tested with regards to his use of it. Will he use the blessing of his sight to good purpose or to gaze at unlawful things? His good eyesight may be what takes him to Hell. A blind man is tested whether he will bear patiently with his disability. His patience in affliction may be what earns him his place in Paradise. Our goal is the Hereafter and we are all being tested.

Allah says: “It is He who created death and life that He may try you as to which of you is best in deeds.” [Sûrah al-Mulk: 2]

We may also be tested through others. We know from experience that even a small child can experience suffering as well as a person who is mentally handicapped to such a degree that he cannot understand the concepts of Islam and is not legally accountable. Though it may not be that such a person is not undergoing tests of his own; however his plight may very well be a test for those his life affects. How will they treat him? Will they care for him, respect him, and give him his rights?

We may not be able to fathom the wisdom behind why Allah decrees what He does for us or for others of His creatures. However, we must know that Allah does everything in accordance with His wisdom and bear our trials patiently.

Ultimately, we must remember the words of Allah in the Qur’ân: “He cannot be questioned for what He does but they will be questioned.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 23]

Read rest of entry

How to Learn from Mistakes

Nobody likes making mistakes. But, unless you want to go through life as a complete recluse, you are guaranteed to make one every now and then. If you learn from mistakes correctly, they can propell will you forward.

You must also realise that mistakes are an essential part of self improvement. Don’t be overwhelmed with guilt and regret, analyze how you can learn from them.

Apologise with Dignity

If you’ve made mistakes that harm other people, it is important to offer a dignified apology. Be clear that it was an unfortunate incident that will not be repeated. A good apology can go along way to restoring trust.

If you don’t apologize, out of embarrassment or unwillingness, the offended person will hold it against you. If your apology is sincere, the other person is likely to forgive you.

It is more effective to apologize to a person, rather than through a curt email. However, once you have apologised, it is mistake to repeatedly say sorry for the same mistake. Some people keep apologising over and over again. This becomes irritating. It is better to sincerely apologize once and then move on.

Don’t be a Perfectionist

If you go through life afraid to make a mistake, you’ll spend most of your life doing absolutely nothing. There is no harm in making mistakes, it is an essential part of going forward. The more responsibility you take on, the more likely you will make mistakes.

If you feel the need to avoid mistakes at all costs, it becomes a psychological barrier to taking risks. If you make a mistake, don’t retreat into a shell.

Don’t Waste Time Trying to Justify Mistakes

Unfortunately, it is our natural instinct to try to justify our actions. When you make a mistake, the initial reaction is to blame someone else.

“Yes, I drove my car into the wall, but it was all my partners fault for distracting me with her incessant gossiping…”

When mistakes are made, the boss is unlikely to be interested in justifications. We justify mistakes for the sake of our ego. Sometimes it is best to say, very simply — yes, I made a mistake.

Understand Why The Mistake Occurred

Mistakes occur for various reasons. To avoid repeating them, you need to understand the underlying reason.

For example, you may have spoken in anger and haste; the mistake here is to say unkind words. However, what led you to be angry in the first place? Perhaps you were chronically tired, or perhaps you were nursing an unrelated grievance. If you make mistakes because you are permanently tired, try to get more sleep; if you are permanently stressed, look at ways to relax and detach from the stress of work.

Avoid Repeating Mistakes

You should avoid feeling guilty about making mistakes, but at the same time, you should make a resolution to learn from them. If you repeat the same mistakes, it shows you aren’t making progress and causes repeated suffering.

Often mistakes are caused by bad habits. To avoid making the same mistakes you need to break these bad habits. This requires careful consideration and sustained effort to change your way of thinking. However, the sooner you change your habits, the sooner you will avoid making the same mistakes.

Mistakes are Opportunities to Learn

From your own mistakes you can gain wisdom and accelerate self-improvement. Mistakes, because of their relationship with risk taking, are essential to success. The important thing is to view mistakes as a useful stepping stone to a higher reality and better outlook on life.

Read rest of entry

Concept of friendship in Islam

Humans are social creatures by nature; they re always in need of friends and companions. Most of our lives depend on interaction with others. Strong individuals are the core of a strong community, something that Muslims should always strive for.

We all know that Allah the Most High has brought us to life in order to test us. Thus we are here for a relatively short period of time and that we shall meet Allah one Day, so we need to use our present life for what is best for us in the Hereafter. Once we know our purpose and our goal in life, we should seek ways to achieve them so as to benefit our own selves.

In an authentic Hadith, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said:

A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so look whom you befriend.

Prophet Mohammad ( pbuh) who has the most noble character and dealings with fellow humans gave us a very clear and simple message and advice in regard to friendship.

How should we choose our friends?

We should choose the friend that believes in and abide by our religion (Islam) and gives great respect to what Allah and Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) had ordered us. And we should stay away from the one who is not well mannered and gives no attention to what Islam is about or what pleases or displeases Allah, for he ll surely affect us negatively. There is no good if the companion drowns us in sins and displeasing Allah. The bases for the actions of those who follow the evil ways are corrupt; their actions are built upon misguidance and deviation. Their deeds are worthless to them as Allah said:

And We will turn to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them to scattered floating dust. Qur an (25:23)

Their actions, even if we see them as righteous and noble are of no value to them, so how can they be useful to us? Good friends are those who share with their companions both happiness and sadness. If we share our feelings with the wrong-doers whose actions are worthless and based on corruption, then we are following the same ways and standards as they are doing, and we ll end up being as corrupt as they are, and then we re in a big trouble, how can we face Allah s dissatisfaction and displeasure? Instead of making friends with the misguided ones we should befriend the righteous, yet treat the rest in a gracious and just manner. Staying at sufficient distance is necessary; yet treating everybody in a noble and kind manner is required.

In another Hadith, Prophet Mohammad ( pbuh) said: The example of a good companion and a bad companion is like that of the seller of musk, and the one who blows the blacksmith s bellows. So as for the seller of musk then either he will grant you some, or you buy some from him, or at least you enjoy a pleasant smell from him. As for the one who blows the blacksmith s bellows then either he will burn your clothes or you will get an offensive smell from him.

When choosing our friends we should ask ourselves first: Are they going to help us achieve the purpose for which we were brought to life? or will they take us away from it? Will they desire for us Allah s pleasure or is that completely irrelevant to them and not their concern at all? Are they leading us to Paradise or to the Hell?

Allah says in the Qur an: O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow the right guidance and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong no hurt can come to you from those who are in error. The return of you all is to Allah, then He will inform you about (all) that which you used to do. Qur an (5:105) (angelfire.com)

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/sgazette/Data/2004/6/21/Art_118353.XML

Read rest of entry

Forgive and Win Divine Forgiveness

Forgive and Win Divine Forgiveness By Islamic-world.net.Staff Forgiveness is an attribute that has always received due attention in Islam as it has been widely mentioned in the noble Qur'an and the Sunnah. True Muslims have always adopted a forgiving attitude towards others. Nowadays, however, this noble trait is often forgotten and it seems very hard to see it practiced in everyday life. That is the reason why we hear news of wars everywhere where people are fighting and killing each other. Every side blames other parties and neglects the virtue of forgiveness. It is therefore important for us to re-inculcate the value of forgiveness in our lives, but before learning how to do that, we first need to know what forgiveness really is and why it is important to forgive. Defining Forgiveness To forgive an enemy or someone who has done wrong to you is to avoid taking revenge or inflicting punishment while you have the ability and the means to do so. A forgiving person treats kindly those who have committed a mistake or done him or her injustice. Another meaning of forgiveness is to forgo something you are entitled to. Also, a person who overlooks the faults in others is a forgiving person. Thus, forgiveness signifies overlooking the offence and injustice of a person who has purposefully or mistakenly done you wrong, such as insulting you, beating you up or taking your property unjustly. There are two aspects of forgiveness: divine forgiveness, which is shown by Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Forgiving, and human forgiveness, which people show to one another with the aim of attaining the pleasure of Almighty Allah. We cannot expect to be forgiven by Allah unless we also forgive those who do wrong to us. Forgiving each other and even forgiving one's enemies is a highly commendable principle in Islam. In the Qur’an, Almighty Allah says [those who avoid major sins and acts of indecencies and when they are angry they forgive.] (Ash-Shura 42:37) We may forgive someone because we are unable to take vengeance or inflict punishment on them. This kind of forgiveness is, in fact, tantamount to patience and forbearance. It is not real forgiveness, but rather a kind of tolerance. The real meaning of forgiveness, however, is manifested when we have the means to take revenge but prefer to forgive and pardon. The noble Qur’an describes forgiveness in the following terms: [Turn to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from the ignorant.] (Al-A`raaf 7:199) [Those who spend (benevolently) in ease as well as in straightness, and those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men; and Allah loves the doers of good (to others).] (Aal `Imran 3:134) Importance of Forgiveness A servant who hopes that his sins and offences shall be forgiven by Almighty Allah should also learn to forgive others and overlook their errors. Hating that their faults and weaknesses should be exposed, every Muslim should also screen the faults and weaknesses of others, unless otherwise necessary. Such attitude is referred to in a hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he wishes for himself." (Al-Bukhari) Indeed, seeking forgiveness from Almighty Allah is a sign of humility in the servant and forgiving others is a sign of nobility. Moreover, forgiveness creates an atmosphere of kindness and ease among people and it improves their mutual relationships. Reliable Witnesses When we commit a sin, the following four witnesses are established against us: 1. The place where the sin is committed. [On that day, she (the earth) shall tell her news.] (Az-Zalzalah 99:4) 2. The organ used in the commission of the sin. [Until when they come to it, their ears and their eyes and their skins shall bear witness against them as to what they did.] (Fussilat 41:20) 3. The angels who record our deeds, good and evil alike. [Honorable recorders; they know what you do.] (Al-Infitar 82:11,12) 4. And above all, the Witness over all things: Almighty Allah. […We record that which they send before them, and their footprints, and all things we have kept in a clear register.] (Ya-Sin 36:12) From the foregoing, it becomes clear that none of our deeds can go unrecorded and that we will give account for all what we do and say. No matter how serious our sins were, if we sincerely repent to Almighty Allah, He, out of His boundless mercy, will accept our repentance and erase our bad deeds-as promised in His noble Qur’an and the Sunnah of His Prophet. Unforgivable Sin & Unbounded Mercy In the Qur’an, Almighty Allah says: [Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases…] (An-Nisaa’ 4:116) As the verse suggests, disbelief in Allah is the only sin, or rather crime, that Almighty Allah does not forgive. Apart from it, He gracefully forgives all kinds of sins. Moreover, it should be noted here that the meaning intended in the above Qur’anic verse is when one dies in a state of disbelief; that’s to say, even this heinous sin is forgiven if one sincerely repents before death and believes in the One and Only God: Allah. In a hadith qudsi (Divine Hadith), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that Almighty Allah said, “O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not care (of the enormity of what you did). O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins as great as the earth, and were you then to face Me ascribing no partners to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it is.” (Al-Mundhiri, and classed as hasan by Al-Albani) This article has been taken with modifications from Islamic-world.net.

Read rest of entry

EID MUBARAK!

Read rest of entry

RAMADHAN WILL BE LEAVING SOON!!! .....Goodbye RAMADHAN......

Ramadhan will end soon..Maybe it is our last Ramadhan or will we be able to meet RAMADHAN again next year.? .Only ALLAH knows.. EVERYTHING...


It is really sad getting to know that Ramadhan is ending…How much have we gained?How much have we changed?How much better and stronger are we now? Whatever should it be,let us not stop fighting for the right thing,let us not stop doing the good deeds.let us not stop from changing and improving ourselves to be better and let us upgrade our devotion to Allah..


May Allah reward us whatever we deserve,
May Allah show us the right path to HIM,
And may Allah unite us and give us strength to defend ISLAM,
Insya-ALLAH……


To all…visitors of this blog(brothers,sisters,sons and daughters) I apologise ,if there is/are 'words'/phrases/sentences in this blog which might scratch/hurt your feelings…which I might not realize…

The GOOD things are from Allah…the bad ones come from me…

Read rest of entry