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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Modesty is From Faith[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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A talk by Dr. Imad with reflections on this hadith:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]‘Among the early prophetic teachings that have reached people is this: if you do not feel shame, do what you wish.’”[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hadith 20 || Modesty is from Faith[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](7 minutes)

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Be Optimistic... Stay Positive:

Depression vs. Contentment: What Does Islam Say?

Contentment is Contagious

Surround yourselves with people who are happier who make you feel better with yourself and who always look on the bright side when dealing with challenges, even minor ones, like (silly as it may sound) not being able to find a parking space. Then consider how you would react in the same situation. Even if you have to pretend, try to adopt their optimism and persistence in the face of difficulty.

Bear in mind that happiness and contentment are contagious. It's not a state of mind, but rather a skill that becomes stronger with practice (trust me I know). I like to adopt this stance, when we are hunting for the glad things, we sort of forget the other kind of things that make us unhappy and discontent and it is sort of looking at the half cup policy.

I understand that feeling down or blue is a natural part of life. When people let us down, things go wrong, or we lose people we love, or the dreams we've valued, it appears this sadness becomes a problem when it fails to pass and we don’t bounce back. That is why we must take care of ourselves rely on God and know that He is always with us and only He can give us strength in difficult times.

Hard as it may be, remain true to yourself and try not to forget that God will help us come out of a trying situation as a better person if we deal with it positively. The proverb reads ‘what won’t kill you will make you stronger’, I know I am that person. The key is to start small, keep the faith, learn through contentment and build from there. Although feeling better takes time, we can get there if we make positive choices for ourselves each day.

Something I read recently triggered my thoughts, it explained that our heart also has seasons, so if it is winter, do not lose hope and keep going, after all spring always comes.

Depression vs. Contentment: What Does Islam Say? - Growing in Faith - Reading Islam - OnIslam.net

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Five Cs of a Happy Marriage: Legacy of the Prophet[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My recipe for a successful marriage comes from reflections on the Prophetic legacy:
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The prophet’s exemplary character has guided my efforts in building a blissful marriage.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Prophet is indeed the greatest benefactor for me, second only to God, in this as well as in all other aspects of my life.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I would distill this Prophetic wisdom, into a few key words all starting with ‘C’: connection, companionship, compassion, compromise and contentment...
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Five Cs of a Happy Marriage: Legacy of the Prophet - Family - Reading Islam - OnIslam.net

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prayers: Surrendering to God

Q: I am a newly-converted Muslim from Christianity.

How do I surrender myself to Allah, knowing that I do not know how to pray; and there's one more thing that is bothering me. Every time I pray to Allah, I see the image of Jesus. Is it haram? I want to be a good Muslim.

A: May Allah Almighty shower you with His choicest blessings and make the path easy for you as you take your first steps as a Muslim.

In fact, this theme of taking things slowly and taking small steps is a very important one. It is true in life that we cannot run until we know how to walk.

In the same way, in accepting Islam as your religion and way of life, you must learn the basics before going on to more difficult things...

[/FONT]Prayers

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 16
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Brother Abdel Rahman Murphy reflects in this video on this hadith:
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Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"If your good deeds make you happy and if your bad deeds make you sad, then that is a sign of a believer"

[youtube]n8vXSEjmA_c[/youtube]
Content of Character | Hadith 16 | Ustadh AbdelRahman Murphy - YouTube
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(5 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How to Start the Journey Back to Allah[/FONT]
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Once upon a time, we were not here.[/FONT]
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Once upon a time, we were in Jannah (Paradise).[/FONT]
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Our father, Adam, and our mother, Hawa (Eve), were at home in the Divine presence. Then, by the decree and wisdom of Allah, they had to leave

Paradise. But out of His Mercy, Allah showed them the way back to Him...
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How to Start the Journey Back to Allah? - Growing in Faith - Reading Islam - OnIslam.net

 

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Prophet Muhammad's Words of Wisdom:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Take Advantage of Five Before Five[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We are advised to take advantage of what time we have.

When we are young we take our youth and energy for granted. We feel as if we have all the time in the world, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.
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But tomorrow creeps up on us slowly and one of the first things we lose is our youth. A grey hair appears, there is a niggling pain in our back, or our shoulder or a knee. As old age approaches people find it harder to fulfill even their obligatory acts of worship.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When it is impossible to bend our knees and put our head on the ground in submission, we want only to be able to go back and pray one extra prayer, fast one extra day the way we did when we were young and full of energy.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The young must take advantage of their youth before old age strips it away. Boundless energy should be used to help others, and to collect as many rewards as possible.[/FONT]
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Health before Sickness [/FONT]
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A believer must also take advantage of health before being overcome by sickness, with or without old age.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Even young people are affected by ill health and injuries that make it impossible to worship in the way that they would like. Both God and Prophet Muhammad have emphasized the benefits and rewards that come from a believer experiencing pain and suffering...[/FONT]

Take Advantage of Five Before Five - He Said - Reading Islam - OnIslam.net

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 25: Knowledge & Charity

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:
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Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Of the best and most virtuous charities is that a Muslim would learn knowledge and then will teach it to their brother or their sister"

[/FONT]Knowledge is light
[youtube]y0iacITt_9I[/youtube]


(6 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 27: Levels of Spirituality (Ihsan)

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Ihsan (your highest level of Islamic development and excellence in religion) is that you worship Allah as though you can see Him, and even though you will not see Him you know that He can see you."
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[youtube]g7YZygy76AA[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YZygy76AA

(9 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 29: Inner & Outer Beauty

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"The things that will enable people to enter Paradise the most are two things: God consciousnous (taqwa) and good conduct"
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[youtube]9LAU2MDOIIs[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LAU2MDOIIs

(7 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 30: Bite Your Tongue

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"The majority of sins that the son of Adam will commit will come from the tongue."

[/FONT][youtube]hd8AAeYFDq4[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd8AAeYFDq4

(7 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 31: Honor the Scholars

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:
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Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Honor the scholars, for verily they are the inheritors of the prophets. For whoever honors the scholars has indeed honored Allah and His messenger. "
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[youtube]zv6N-m17kjA[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv6N-m17kjA

(7 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What Are the Implications of God's Attributes?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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When discussing the oneness of God this in itself provides a base for humanity to unite.

That is talking about one common Lord of the universe. The whole issue of religious, racial or any other prejudice that stems from the mindset of ‘your God vs. my God’ no longer has a place because we’re talking about the God of the entire universe- the whole of humanity. It follows from this, also, that since you have one Lord then you also have one humanity.[/FONT]
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The oneness of God also leads to the oneness of humanity and this understanding of the oneness of humanity is also a very profound basis in removing all the artificial barriers of racial, tribal and any other sense of superiority and all other false methods that people have devised to distinguish between one group of the creatures of God and the others...[/FONT]

What Are the Implications of God

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Advice of the Wise Man in the Palace [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT](Secrets of Happiness)

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Once upon a time, a prosperous merchant sent his son to a wise man to learn the secret of happiness.[/FONT]
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The lad walked for forty days until he reached a great palace built on a mountaintop. This was where the wise man lived.[/FONT]
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He waited two hours in a long queue.[/FONT]
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When it was his turn, the wise man told him there was not enough time at present and he should take a tour of the castle in the meantime and come back in two hours.[/FONT]
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The wise man gave him a spoon in which two small drops of oil were placed and told him to hold the spoon carefully throughout his walk so the drops do not run off the spoon.[/FONT]
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So the lad started his walk throughout the palace...

[/FONT] Advice of the Wise Man in the Palace - Growing in Faith - Reading Islam - OnIslam.net

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 34:

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Allah (SWT) verily does not look at your image, your externals and your money and belongings, rather He looks at your heart and the content and character of your deeds."
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[youtube]VdDRmcR5c_w[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdDRmcR5c_w

(7 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 35:

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Verily Allah is Beautiful and He loves beauty"
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[youtube]XE2ajwSRh3k[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2ajwSRh3k

(6 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 36:

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:
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Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Verily, the most beloved to Allah's servants to Allah are the ones who are the most sincere to Allah's servants"
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[youtube]D-jh16MOE_w[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-jh16MOE_w

(8 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 37:

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:
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Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Verily charity that is given to those who are near or closer in relationship it doubles its reward."

[/FONT][youtube]LV4K9cH1H34[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV4K9cH1H34

(8 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ethical Sayings of Prophet Muhammad - Hadith 38:

Brother Abdel Rahman reflects on this hadith:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"Beware of suspicion, for verily suspicion is the most deceitful of thought and of speech"

[/FONT][youtube]QiBqD9P61lM[/youtube]

(8 minutes)

 

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fasting Ramadan for the First Time?
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The very first thing to remember is why we fast at all. Muslims fast during Ramadan for no other reason than they have been commanded to do so by Allah Himself. We read in the Quran:

{O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye that ye may ward off (evil)} (Al-Baqarah 2:183)

There is nothing more disheartening for those who are new to Islam to be told by everyone else how great the month of Ramadan is going to be, when all they are feeling is hunger and thirst...

[/FONT]Fasting for the First Time? - Fasting - Reading Islam - OnIslam.net