Until They Change Themselves.

[Sajdah]

This is a title of a programme by Dr. Amr Khaled. And I'll quote the steps which were mentioned in the programme Insha'Allah, as an answer to The solutions thread . They are very long, that's why I thought that they deserve a separated thread.

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number One: We must always humble ourselves towards Allah

Tadaru' is a term that means exaggerated humility and humbleness caused by despair and is expressed when a person reached his final resort. Imam Ahmed ibn Hambal explained it saying, "Imagine a man drowning in the middle of the sea and all he has is a piece of wood that he is clinging onto. He is getting weaker and weaker and the salty waves are pulling him closer to death. Imagine him with his eager eyes looking desperately at the sky crying out loud ‘O Lord, O Lord!!!’ Imagine how desperate he is and how sincere he is asking for Allah's help. That is tadaru’ in front of Allah".

Allah teaches us in the Quran that tadaru' is a form of worship a believer uses during emergencies and crises. It requires a person to remove the veils of arrogance and ego covering his or her heart. It implies sincere begging to the Lord of the Worlds. It demonstrates that a person has realized how weak he is and how Powerful our Lord is. Sometimes when Allah sees that His servants are becoming distracted with this worldly life and have strayed from the Straight Path, He puts them in a severe situation so that they realize their weakness and run back to Allah for protection. Therefore calamities falling upon Muslims are to make them wake up and turn back to Allah. We must be intelligent enough to understand these messages and act according to them.

Allah The Almighty says, "Verily, We sent (Messengers) to many nations before you (O Muhammad). And we seized them with extreme poverty (or loss in wealth) and loss in health (with calamities) so that they might humble themselves (believe with humility)." (6:42). This verse shows that Allah uses calamities as a routine method to wake people up and encourage them to run to Him for protection. It is as if a calamity is a bitter medicine for us to become better believers. Allah does this for our benefit, because we need to maintain a close relationship with Him. Allah expresses our need for this form medicine in the following verse, "And if We had mercy on them and removed the distress which is on them, still they would obstinately persist in their transgression, wandering blindly." (23:75).

In another verse Allah says, "When Our Torment reached them, why then did they not humble themselves (believe with humility)? But their hearts became hardened, and Shaytan (Satan) made what they used to do seem fair and correct" (6:43). We must not make this mistake and close our eyes and hearts in front of Allah's call to humbleness and humility to Him. We must not let Shaytan trick us into believing that our problems have nothing to do with our relation with Allah.

Allah says, "Say (O Muhammad) ‘Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and the sea (dangers like storms), (when) you call upon Him in humility and in secret (saying): If He (Allah) only saves us from this (danger), we shall truly be grateful.’ Say (O Muhammad): ‘Allah rescues you from this and from all (other) distresses, and yet you worship others besides Allah.’" (6:63-64). No one will rescue us from the darkness we Muslims are in today except Allah, but first, we must call upon Him in humility.

How to achieve tadaru’:

It is necessary to realize the grave calamity that is falling upon us. Our children are being pounded by missiles that are weighed in tons, our brothers and sisters are being oppressed and tortured all over the world. It is not so distant back in time that tens of thousands of our sisters were raped in the Balkans and until this day our brothers are falling in Palestine with Israeli bullets. Our homes are being demolished and our dignity is being stepped on ever day. Its not just about Iraq, and believe it or not, its not just about our Muslim Ummah, Its about our whole planet. Our world is heading straight towards a cliff and its not slowing down. If you think you are far from the danger, you are wrong. If you think you could ignore it, dream on! The destruction will reach you and your children. If your children or friends are not killed in another war, they will die by an over dose or hit by drunken driver. Things will only get worse for everyone. We are drowning, and no one can help us except Allah. If you can't realize the severe situation, then you have an additional problem, read verse (6:43) above. We need Allah's help and protection!

When the whale swallowed Prophet Yunus (Jonah) after he was thrown off the boat, he was in a terrifying situation. Imagine yourself for a second being locked up in a small closet, its dark, and there is no hope of getting out. Now imagine yourself in a whale’s stomach, imagine the darkness, and the difficulty in breathing. The whale is in the storming sea and its night. Imagine how Prophet Yunus felt, and imagine how he was when he prayed to Allah in humility saying, "None has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)!! Glorified (and Exalted) be You!! Truly, I have been of the wrong doers!" (21:87). Imagine a Prophet, a role model for human beings, saying that and referring to himself as a wrong doer, then imagine how you should beg Allah.

The night before the battle of Badr, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw how the army of the Pagans had out-numbered them and was so well equipped. Then he looked at the Muslim army and how few they were with poor weaponry. Badr was the first military confrontation between the Muslims and the Non-believers. It was a critical event in the history of Islam. If the Muslims lost this battle, Islam would have disappeared forever. Realizing this, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) started to pray to Allah in humility and humbleness. He raised his hands up high, stretching his arms to the extent that his armpits appeared. He engaged in sincere supplication to Allah and his body was shaking causing his cloak to fall off his back. He was begging Allah crying, "O Ever Living!! O Sustainer and Protector!! I beg You for Your mercy!!! O Allah!! I am waiting for Your victory which You have promised me. I beseech You Allah to defeat them (the enemies)."

This is the level of humility we should try to reach when praying to Allah to help our Ummah. Lets try to practice this form of worship this whole week. Lets beg Allah for His help as if we are really drowning and there is no one there to rescue us except Him. Lets get up in the middle of the night to pray keyam layl (night prayer), and lets break down in front of Allah begging Him, as we have never done before. Lets gather each other and do it together. Lets pray to Allah in humility in groups. Lets cry to Him together, lets run to Him with our families and friends. Lets all beg him for His help and protection.

Tadaru '.... that's the first thing we should go back to. We need to achieve tadaru' so that Allah may change our situation, because...

"Verily Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change themselves"​

 

[Cordoba]

Jazakum Allah Khairan sister

This is an excellent and practical thread

Please continue

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Two: Unity. We are ONE Community

One of the main factors that lead to the rise of this Ummah is its unity and that’s why Islam has organized our lives in a way that maintains this unity and develops it. This is a Divine Law "If you are united, you will become powerful". The non-Muslims discovered this Divine Law and they have applied it, which in turn lead to their rise and power. Look around you and read the names: The European Union, The United Kingdom, The United States of America, Euro, Shengen (Europe-wide traveling visa) etc. They have applied the Law of Unity. But because they have neglected other Divine Laws, like faith in Allah for example, their power is only temporary, and they are already overwhelmed with different internal problems and weaknesses. You must apply the whole system, the whole matrix of Divine Laws, and only then will you be able to lead the whole world to prosperity, security, and happiness.

Unity is demonstrated in Islam at four different levels:

1- The level of the Ummah: Wake up Muslims!! We are ONE Ummah, and we worship ONE GOD. It doesn't matter if your father is from China or if your mother is from Jamaica, we are one body, one entity, ONE Ummah! Allah the Almighty says: "Verily, this community of yours is a single community, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me (and no other)" (21:92).

2- The level of the Country:
Love for one's country does not contradict with one's loyalty to the Ummah or to one's Faith in Allah. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) demonstrated this form of bonding when he was migrating from Mecca to Medina. With Mecca now behind him, he looked back and said, "Oh Mecca, how much I love you, and if your people did not drive me out of you, I would have never lived in any other place."

3- The level of the Neighborhood:
Neighborhood ties are very important in Islam, to the extent that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Jibreel kept on telling me to take care of my neighbors and strengthen my relationship with them until I thought that they would inherit me."

4- The level of the Family:
The importance of uterine relationships (Silat Al-Arham) and family ties are constantly referred to in the Quran, and they form a small-scale level of domestic unity.

Now what have we done with these levels of unity? First it started with drifting away from the sense of unity with the rest of our Ummah. How many of us actually feel the bond that is supposed to exist with our brothers and sisters in Western China or in Turkey. How many of us even think of them? Ask your friends how they feel about the Ummah. How many of them will ask you "What? Ummah? What is that supposed to mean?” We have destroyed the first level of our unity and therefore we started to drift away from each other. Then comes the sense of belonging to one's country. How many of us actually feel that they love their countries (of course aside from supporting it during international sport events)? How many of us have feelings of patriotism? Many of us have no idea about these feelings. How many Muslims when living in a foreign country try to avoid contact with their brothers from the same country fearing that they might be a burden on him. There goes the second level of unity.

Look at our neighborhoods, how many neighbors living in your building do you know by name? How is your relationship with them? Is there mutual care and trust or is there isolation and avoidance? O Muslims have you forgotten how important your relationship with your neighbor is in Islam? We have even lost our third level of unity. Sadly, the final level of unity in Islam was not in a better case than those mentioned before. Look at our families, how many of us actually sit with their parents and talk with them and benefit from their experiences? How many of us feel eager to be with their parents? How is your family? How often do you get together? If you live away from them, how often do you call? Is your family really still united? You know, that was our last level of unity we just lost.

O Muslims, what then do you expect??? We did not obey the Divine Law! We lost every single level of unity and therefore there was no escape from the result, a terrible decline in all aspects of society. We need to build those bridges once again. We have to unity again on each of these four levels! Enough selfishness because its killing us! Enough thinking only about yourself because its suicide! Wake Up Muslims! We Are ONE Body! ONE Ummah! We Need Each Other!!

How Islam promotes Unity:

All Islamic rituals help maintain and develop unity amongst Muslims. We pray five times a day, preferably in congregation so that everyone living on the same street, working in the same place, or studying at the same school could get together in a straight line and pray to their Lord. Then there is a weekly gathering for the whole neighborhood during the Friday Prayer (Jumuah), this helps maintain the neighborhood's unity. Another larger scale of unity maintenance and development is during the month of Ramadan. All Muslims around the world spend the same month fasting. In a single city they cease from eating and start eating at the same time. This is another form of unity. And of course, there is the Pilgrimage (Hajj), the manifestation of Muslim unity. Muslims from all around the globe come to same place, wearing the same clothes, worshiping the same God, repeating the same sentence, walking in the same direction at the same time, having the same goal, and getting the same reward. It’s unity at its highest levels. See how Islam helps us maintain and develop our unity? And see how separated we are today?

During the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims were racing against time trying to finish digging a trench that would prevent the entry of some 10,000 Pagans into Medina in order to fight them. The Muslims were experiencing great hunger so they used to put a rock in a cloth and tie it around their abdomen so that the rock would press against their stomach and give it a sense of fullness. On the other hand, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was tying two rocks against his stomach. When Jaber ibn Abdullah (rAa) saw this he ran to his wife and asked her what food they had. She replied saying that all they had was one chicken and some bread. So Jaber went to the Prophet and secretly invited him alone to his house for some food. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) looked at him and asked, "Alone Jaber? You want me to come to your house and eat alone?" So Jaber replied saying that there was only a very little amount of food, but the Messenger of Allah only repeated, "Alone Jaber? Alone? I was never to eat alone when the rest of the Believers are hungry." This is how the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) felt towards the rest of the community. They were one body. This feeling of unity and care about his people is also manifested in his constant plead to Allah. He would cry, "O Allah, my Ummah, my Ummah." He constantly asked Allah to mercy us. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wasn't living for himself, he was living for us also, and for all of humanity.

All immigrations throughout history lead to tensions that most of the times turned violent between the native inhabitants and the immigrants. This is clearly demonstrated between the Europeans and the Native Americans in North America, the Turks and the Germans in Germany, as well as many other examples. The only immigration that was totally peaceful was the one the Muslims of Mecca made to Medina. A Muslim from Medina would take his brother coming from Mecca into his house and literally split the house into two by building a wall in the middle. He would give the immigrant, willingly, half of his wealth and possessions. Can you imagine the extent of unity that these people were experiencing? That's how we should try to be, enough selfishness, enough living just for yourself. Make a promise today; “I won't live for myself anymore. I belong to this Ummah and I will live for it!” Do you want to practice that? Do you want to start building those bridges of unity? Go home, hug and kiss your parents, or pick up the phone and call them. Ask Allah to flourish your family ties and bless you with mercy amongst one another. Invite your neighbors over and rebuild those bridges! We got lots of work to do, but at least we have a clear path ahead of us. We’re learning the Divine Laws that control the rise of our Ummah, so lets apply them!!

​

 

[Sajdah]

Jazakum Allah Khairan sister

This is an excellent and practical thread

Please continue

May Allah reward you with all good too, brother.

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Three: Sins destroy our Ummah

We all commit sins, but we have to start being more serious at minimizing them to the least. You are not asked to be perfect or sinless, but today we want to promise Allah and ourselves that we will never insist on a disobeying Him. Search within yourself for the sins you do and you know that they are wrong and be determined to stop them. It is understandable if you forget or get weak and do them again, but quickly repent and ask Allah for His forgiveness and renew the promise. We Must Not Insist On Disobeying Allah. Its a Divine Law "When people insist on disobedience, they are destroyed."

Imam Ali (rAa) said: "No calamity has descended except by disobedience, and no calamity is repelled except by repentance." The woman that was killed two days ago in Baghdad was because of the sins of her sister on the other side of the globe. The man that was killed yesterday in Jerusalem was a result of his Muslim brother's sin in the country next to his. The whole status of our Muslim Ummah is the result of accumulating sins for the past 100 years. It has to stop because if the disobedience goes on at this rate we will never rise up again. It’s a Divine Law and there is no way around it.

Look back in history. Why did Adam and Hawwa (Eve) leave Paradise? It was because of disobedience. Why was Shaytan (Satan) cursed and expelled from the mercy of Allah? It was because he insisted on a sin (arrogance). Look at the people of Lut, what happened to them? They were destroyed because of their sins. They refused to follow the guidance of Allah and insisted on committing their enormous sin (sodomy). Allah the Almighty says, "But the (mighty) Blast overtook them before morning, And We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay. Behold! in this are Signs for those who by tokens do understand" (15:73-75). Muslims!! Do you see the danger of insisting on disobeying Allah? Try your best not to commit sins, and if you do, quickly repent and be determined not to do it again.

Anas ibn Malik asked A'isha (rAa) the wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the Mother of the Believers: "O Mother, when does the Earth shake and quake (zalzala)?" She replied, "O Son, its when drinking intoxicants spreads, as well as adultery and other forms of disobedience. Then Allah tells the Earth to shake and quake." So Anas asked, "Is it as a punishment?" She replied, "No! But it is mercy for them (so they may wake up)." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "If disobedience spreads in my Ummah, Allah will overwhelm them with calamities."

Never think that tiny sins don't matter because they accumulate and cause grave consequences on the long run. Like a drop of water that might seem harmless, but when these drops of water get together, they make a flood that wipes out cities.

Let tonight be a night of sincere repentance. Ask Allah to forgive your sins and promise Him and promise yourself that you will resist committing sins with all the power you have. Ask Allah to make our Ummah rise with your repentance to Him, ask Him to make our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Palestine and all over the world victorious with this repentance that you have made. We need to change, because unless we change, Allah won't change our Ummah's condition.

How to hate disobedience:

Ibn Al-Qayim described the consequences of disobedience. Learning these consequences will help you resist committing sins in shaa Allah. Print them out and hang them in your room, next to your computer screen, and in any place you frequently disobey Allah.

The consequences of disobedience:

1- The prevention of Knowledge. Knowledge is a light, which Allah throws into the heart, and disobedience extinguishes this light. Imam Al-Shaafi'e said, "I complained to Wakee' about the weakness of my memory, so he ordered me to abandon disobedience. And informed me that the knowledge is light. And that the light of Allah is not given to the disobedient."

2- The prevention of Sustenance. Just as Taqwa brings about sustenance, the abandonment of Taqwa causes poverty. There is nothing that can bring about sustenance like the abandonment of disobedience.

3- The prevention of obedience (to Allah). If there were no other punishment for sins other than that it prevents one from obeying Allah then this would be sufficient.

4- Disobedience weakens the heart and the body. Disobedience does not stop weakening the heart until its life ceases completely, rendering the body dead.

5- Disobedience reduces the lifespan and destroys any blessings. Just as righteousness increases the lifespan, sinning reduces it.

6- Disobedience sows its own seeds and gives birth by itself until separating from it and coming out of it becomes difficult for the servant.

7- Sins weaken the heart’s will and resolve so that the desire for disobedience becomes strong and the desire to repent becomes weak bit by bit until the desire to repent is removed from the heart completely.

8- Every type of disobedience is a legacy of a nation from among the nations which Allah (swt) destroyed. Sodomy is a legacy of the People of Lut, taking more than one's due right and giving what is less is a legacy of the People of Shu'ayb, seeking greatness in the land and causing corruption is a legacy of the People of Pharaoh and pride/arrogance and tyranny is a legacy of the People of Hud. So the disobedient one is wearing the gown of some of these nations who were the enemies of Allah.

9- Disobedience is a cause of the servant being held in contempt by his Lord. Al-Hasan al-Basree said, “They became contemptible in (His sight) so they disobeyed Him. If they were honorable (in His sight) He would have protected them. Allah the Exalted said, "And whomsoever Allah lowers (humiliates) there is none to give honor." (22:18).”

10- The servant continues to commit sins until they become very easy for him and seem insignificant in his heart and this is a sign of destruction. Every time a sin becomes insignificant in the sight of the servant it becomes great in the sight of Allah. Ibn Mas'ood (rAa) said, "Indeed, the believer sees his sins as if he was standing at the foot of a mountain fearing that it will fall upon him and the sinner sees his sins like a fly which passes by his nose so he tries to remove it by waving his hand around."

11- Disobedience inherits humiliation and lowliness. Honor, all of it, lies in the obedience of Allah. Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak said, "I have seen sins kill the hearts. And humiliation is inherited by their continuity. The abandonment of sins gives life to the hearts. And the prevention of your soul is better for it."

12- Disobedience corrupts the intellect. The intellect has light and disobedience extinguishes this light. When the light of the intellect is extinguished it becomes weak and deficient.

13- When disobedience increases, the servant's heart becomes sealed so that he becomes of those who are heedless. The Exalted said, "But no! A stain has been left on their hearts on account of what they used to earn (i.e. their actions)." (83:14).

14- Sins cause the various types of corruption to occur in the land like corruption of the waters, the air, the plants, the fruits and the dwelling places. The Exalted said, "Mischief has appeared on the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have earned; that He may give them a taste of some of (the actions) they have done, in order that they may return." (30:41).

15- The disappearance of modesty which is the essence of the life of the heart and is the basis of every good. Its disappearance is the disappearance of all that is good. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Modesty is goodness, all of it." A Poet said, "And by Allah, there is no good in life or in the world when modesty goes."

16- Sins weaken and reduce the magnification of Allah, the Mighty, in the heart of the servant.

17- Sins are the cause of Allah forgetting His servant, abandoning him and leaving him to fend for himself with his soul and his Shaytan and in this is the destruction from which no deliverance can be hoped for.

18- Sins remove the servant from the realm of Ihsaan (doing good) and he is prevented from (obtaining) the reward of those who do good. When Ihsaan fills the heart it prevents it from disobedience.

19- Disobedience causes the favors (of Allah) to cease and make His revenge lawful. No blessing ceases to reach a servant except due to a sin and no retribution is made lawful upon him except due to a sin. Allah the Exalted said, "Whatever misfortune afflicts you then it is due to what your hands have earned and (yet) He pardons many." (42:30). And the Exalted also said, "That is because never will Allah change the favor He has bestowed on a people until they change what is with themselves." (8:53).

So we now realize the danger of disobeying Allah and insisting on it. Dear brothers and sisters, our Ummah needs every single one of you. We all have to participate in getting our Ummah up. We all need to change to the better, because Allah won't change our condition until we start changing ourselves.

Lets make a promise today that if there is any form of disobedience we're doing, we will do our very best to stop it. We won't insist on doing it any more. We can't afford accumulating all these sins because they're killing us.

Lets ask Allah to forgive us and help us obey Him. Lets do this for our own sake, and for our brothers and sisters that are being killed every day. Lets do this for our whole Ummah. Please.​

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Four: Muslims are not passive. If something is wrong, it must be fixed!
Are you a passive person? When you see something wrong, do you try to fix it or do you wander on comforting yourself that for sure someone else will fix it? When you're walking down the street and you see something on the sidewalk and you know that someone might slip on it, do you pick it up, or do you look the other way as if you didn’t see it? When you see someone smoking in a non-smoking area, do you kindly bring the persons attention to what he's doing wrong, or do you just cover your nose, or leave the place? When was the last time you participated in a public poll or in elections? Remember the last time you saw someone double parking and you knew that he's going to cause a traffic jam, did you go and ask him politely to park somewhere else so that the traffic flow wouldn't be disturbed? Or did you just say to yourself, "Isn't there an officer around here to see this?" and then you just walked away. Why are we so passive? Why do we always believe that "someone else will do it"? Why don't WE take an action? I'll tell you why, because if it doesn't directly affect us, then why should we care? Or, "we won't change the world, so why should we care?" Right? Isn’t that the reason? That's not the Muslim mentality, that's not how a Muslim should act. The Muslim community is ONE body; if one organ is not functioning it affects the rest of the body.​

Do you think for example that as long as you don't do drugs then your safe? Think again, because your duty isn't just to prevent yourself from taking drugs, but to help prevent it on a larger scale as much as you can. How many people are robbed by addicts that are desperate for money to buy drugs? How many people are killed by addicts? Those that were robbed or killed, they didn't do drugs, but it still affected them indirectly. Does this mean that if we see wrong we should get aggressive and force people to do what's right? Of course not. Our Lord, The All Mighty says, "Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance." (16:125). We must maintain the balance between "taking an action" and "being wise and not offending people".​

The Dangers of being passive:​

- Allah the Almighty says in the Quran: "And fear tumult or oppression, which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong: and know that Allah is strict in punishment." (8:25). See how Allah the Merciful is warning us that misconduct doesn't just affect the ones that do it, but it has a wider range.​

- The Companions asked the Messenger of Allah, "Will we be destroyed even if the righteous ones are amongst us?" Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) replied, "Yes, if corruption increases." It was also reported that Allah ordered Jibreel to destroy a village that had become extremely corrupted, but Jibreel asked Allah, "O Allah, in this village is your servant that constantly prays to You", Allah replied, "Start with him! For his face never changed with disapproval to what had been going on." Because this righteous man was passive, he too was punished with the sinners.​

- Omar ibn Al-Khattab said, "If a sin is committed in private, it only harms the one that does it, but if it is committed in public and no one objects and changes it, it will harm everyone!"​

- The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Either you enjoin Good and forbid Evil or else Allah will send His punishment to you, and you will supplicate to Him, but He won't respond." ​

But why does Islam stress so much on taking an action against what's wrong? The Messenger of Allah (pbuh), the greatest teacher, gave us a great example to demonstrate the importance of this Islamic behavior. "The likeness of the man who observes the limits prescribed by Allah and that of the man who transgresses them is like the people who get on board a ship after casting lots. Some of them are in its lower deck and some of them in its upper deck. Those who are in its lower deck, when they require water, go to the occupants of the upper deck. The occupants of the lower deck said to themselves, ‘If we make a hole in the bottom of the ship, we shall not harm the ones who are in the upper deck.’ If they leave them to carry out their design they all will be drowned. But if they do not let them go ahead (with their plan), all of them will remain safe." This example shows us the importance of thinking of our community and the entire Ummah as one body. It might seem that such a concept is alien somehow. The reason we might feel that is not because it really is an odd concept, but because we have drifted so far from the spirit of Islam where a person feels responsible for the whole society and we have become rather self-centered.​

 

[Sajdah]

Examples of those who took an action and weren't passive:​

- The believer in the Family of the Pharaoh:
Despite the Pharaoh's severe opposition to the message of Prophet Moses (pbuh) one of the royal family members embraced Islam. Allah says, "A believer, a man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his faith, said: ‘Will you slay a man because he says, 'My Lord is Allah?- when he has indeed come to you with Clear (Signs) from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him is (the sin of) his lie: but, if he is telling the Truth, then will fall on you something of the (calamity) of which he warns you: Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies!’" (40:28). How did Allah reward this believer's action? Allah continues, "Then Allah saved him from (every) ill that they plotted (against him), but the burnt of the Penalty encompassed on all sides the People of Pharaoh." (40:45). Allah protected him from all the conspiracies they had planned. Allah does not abandon those who struggle for his cause.​

Are you afraid for your children and what might happen to them? Listen to your Lord, "And let those fear who, should they leave behind them weakly offspring, would fear on their account, so let them be careful of (their duty to) Allah, and let them speak right words." (4:9). Fearing for your children is not an excuse, in fact Allah tells you that if you fear for them, then speak right words and fulfill your duty to Allah. He will protect them.​

- The believer mentioned in Chapter 36 (Yaseen):
Allah sent three Prophets to a village. Can you believe that? Three Prophets at the same time for just one village. Of course one would think that that is more than enough. No, that's not how a Believer should react. A man came from the other side of the village to show his support to the message. He didn't react passively and comfort himself with the fact that there were three Prophets already No, he took an action! Allah says, "Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man, saying, ‘O my people! Obey the apostles. Obey those who ask no reward of you (for themselves), and who have themselves received Guidance’." (36:20,21). Then what? They killed him! They killed the man that came to support the Messengers. But Allah never forgets those who struggle for his cause. The Almighty says, "It was said: ‘Enter the Garden.’ He said: ‘Ah me! Would that my People knew (what I know)! For that my Lord has granted me Forgiveness and has enrolled me among those held in honor!’" (36:26,27).​

- Solomon's Hoopoe (Hud-hud Solayman):
Solomon (pbuh), a Prophet and a King had amongst his Kingdom a bird, a Hoopoe. This Hoopoe proved to be more passionate about Allah's religion than many human beings today. It saw a kingdom worshipping the sun, what did it do? Did it say "I'm just a Hoopoe, what can I do?" Did it say "No way, this is too big for me, did I see anything? Nope I didn't see anything"? Do you know what the Hoopoe did? It approached these people and investigated what they were doing, gathered the information and flew back to Jerusalem to tell Prophet Solomon (pbuh). Allah says "But the Hoopoe tarried not far: he (came up to Solomon and) said: "I have compassed (territory) which you have not compassed, and I have come to you from Saba with tidings true." (27:22). It told Solomon all about what it had witnessed, and that Hoopoe was a main reason that they all entered Islam. (Sigh) If only we had a couple of those Hoopoes today. If only Muslims today would have the same enthusiasm for Islam as the Hoopoe had.​

- The Ant:
It wasn't just the Hoopoe that took an action, it was also an ant. When Prophet Solomon (pbuh) was marching with his army and was approaching an ant kingdom, an ant jumped into action and called, "O ants!! Get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it!!" (27:18). Solomon (pbuh) was impressed by this response from the ant. Allah tells us, "So he (Solomon) smiled, amused at her speech.." (27:19). Brothers and sisters, if we compared ourselves with this ant, who will turn out to be more passionate and dedicated to the welfare of their fellow beings?​

-The Companion Al-Habbab ibn Al-Munzir (rAa):
This companion demonstrated to us how one could object and at the same time maintain the highest levels of courtesy and politeness. Before the Battle of Badr, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told the Muslim army to camp in a certain place. Habbab saw that there is a more strategic place that if the Muslim army camped at, would give them an upper hand in the battle. He didn't say "Well if the Prophet said so then why should I say otherwise?" he wasn't passive, and at the same time he wasn't vulgar or rude. How did Habbab present his opinion that contradicted with the opinion of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)? He asked, "O Messenger of Allah, is your opinion based on a revelation from Allah, or is it war tactics and strategy?" The Prophet replied "No, its war tactics and strategy." Then Habbab proposed, "Then this is not the most strategic place to camp." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) accepted his proposal, a proposal that was one of the main factors that led to the victory of the Muslim army in this critical battle.​

- A Muslim student in the 21st Century:
He lived in a "Muslim country" that was as far as possible from Islam. There wasn't a single mosque or even a prayer room in any university in the whole country. On the first day of his freshman year he asked around for a mosque or a prayer room and was answered with strange looks as if he was asking how to reach Mars. Finally a janitor told him that there aren’t any, but he could pray in an empty room in the basement. It was a dark humid room with a worn out carpet. The student said, "No, I won't pray under ground!" He went up in the middle of the campus and cried out the azan (call for prayer). People stopped and watched this strange scene. After the azan he sat for a couple of minutes then got up to pray. First few days he was alone, then the next week students started to join him because they still had faith in their hearts even though it was buried under layers of worldly distractions. The Dean saw this and was troubled by the fact that the students would make ablution (wudu') in the bathrooms and walk dripping water until they reach the prayer area, which was outdoors. The image of shoes taken off and scattered next to the students during praying also troubled him. So what did the Dean do? He built a Mosque!! Not only that, but all the surrounding Universities knew about it and they too built mosques in each campus. Can you believe that? It all started with one student that refused to be passive and had the courage and dedication to take an action. Now he gets a share of the reward all the students get when they pray in these mosques until this World comes to an end.​

Brothers and sisters, no one will clean this mess that we are in except us. If you turn away from it, you're just leaving it for your children, and it will get worse. If we want our Ummah back in shape we have to have a positive impact on life, we all have to contribute. Lets stop being passive. Don't underestimate the impact you could make. If you are sincere in changing yourself and your surroundings then call unto Allah with humbleness and He will assist you, and if He assists you, nothing could go wrong.​

Dear Brothers and sisters, our Ummah needs every single one of you. Allah didn't say that He doesn't change the condition of "a person" until he or she changes "him or herself", No. Allah said, "Verily Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change themselves" (13:11). This means that if you decide not to join your fellow Muslim brothers and sisters in this transition from defeat to victory and weakness to strength, you will act as an obstacle for them. I'm not pressuring you. I'm just hoping that you will take a step forward. Let the step be as big as you decide, but please, please, don't just stand there when the situation of our Ummah gets worse every day. Please take a step forward. We all need you with us.​

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Five: We must have unshakable confidence in Allah's Abilities

Do you ever have doubts about Allah's Abilities? Not necessarily expressing it, but deep inside, do you find yourself saying, "No... I don't think Allah could do that"? As Muslims we should have unshakable confidence that Allah has Ultimate Sovereignty over this Universe. He controls everything, and nothing happens without His Will. Do you know why we sometimes fall into this mistake? It’s because we correlate Allah's Ultimate Abilities with the appearance of the results that we want to see. If we want something specific to happen, like someone dear to us that is severely ill, to become well, and we pray to Allah for this and then this person dies, doubt starts to crawl into our hearts. We start, in our subconscious, to doubt that Allah has the ability to cure. Allah Has Ultimate Wisdom, and it is not always that we grasp the wisdom in different things. But because we are sure that Allah is The Most Merciful, we are certain that what ever happens is for our benefit. We must have firm belief in Allah's Sovereignty and Ability. It’s a Divine Law: If you have unshakable belief in Allah, He will help you.

For example, when Moses (pbuh) fled with the Children of Israel from Egypt and they found themselves in front of the Red Sea with the Pharaoh's army behind them and there was no way out, what happened? The Children of Israel said, "We are sure to be overtaken." (26:62). But Moses (pbuh) was certain that Allah has power over all things and could get them out of this situation, with confidence, "(Moses) said: "By no means! My Lord is with me! Soon will He guide me!" (26:63). He didn't know "how" Allah will help him, but he was sure that Allah "will" help him. So Allah ordered him to hit the water with his staff and the sea split open making a path between two mountains of water. Allah, The Creator, changed the properties of water, He is the One that decreed them in the first place and He is One that could change them if He wishes.

Take another example. When Abraham (pbuh) was thrown by a catapult towards a huge bonfire and while flying in the air, Jibreel (Gabriel) came to him asking, "Need any help?" Abraham replied, "From you? No thanks". Abraham was confident, totally confident that Allah Sees and Hears what's happening, and that if Allah wants to save him, He will. And that's what happened, Abraham was saved, but how? Did Allah order the sky to rain and turn out the fire? Did Allah order the wind to blow Abraham off course so that he wouldn’t fall into the fire? No. Allah changed the properties of fire and ordered it to be cool and safe for Abraham. Why did Allah do this? One reason is so that people would know that Allah is in control of everything and to strengthen their faith in His Ability. It was so that we Muslims in the 21st century realize that we worship The King of this whole universe and that nothing happens without His permission and that He has the ability to do anything He wills.

Allah says, "With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knows but He. He knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. There isn't a leaf that falls but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (to those who can read)". (6:59). Do you see the how Great and Knowledgeable Allah is? And guess what? We Muslims believe in Him and obey Him. We depend on Him and He is there to help us.... What then could possibly go wrong?

In another verse Allah says, "Say: ‘O Allah. Lord of Power (And Rule), You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please: You endue with honor whom You please, and You bring low whom You please: In Your hand is all good. Verily, over all things You have power’" (3:26). See how powerful Allah is? Imagine if your Boss at work, the Dean of your college, or the Principle of your school was your father and he promised you that he would help you with what ever you need. Imagine the feeling of security you will have, imagine the confidence you will feel. Now think about this; The Ruler of this whole universe is Allah, The Powerful, The Merciful, The Ever Living, and He says, "Behold! Verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; Those who believe and (constantly) guard against evil;- For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present and in the Hereafter; no change can there be in the words of Allah. This is indeed the supreme felicity." (10:62-64).

Brothers and Sisters, lets reinforce our confidence in Allah. Lets turn to Him with humbleness and devotion, and ask Him to help us revive our Ummah. He is the One who Gives Life, lets ask Him to give life to our Ummah. He is the Guider to The Straight Path, lets beg Him to Guide us all. Nothing is difficult for Allah. When Allah ordered Noah (pbuh) to build an ark (boat), Noah was in the middle of the desert where there was no sea or river, but because he had confidence in Allah, he got to work. To a non-Believer it would seem insane to built an ark in the middle of the desert, a waste of time. But when the flood started, the wisdom behind building the ark became obvious. Today we are building an ark that seems nonsense to a non-Muslim, or may even seem as a waste of time for a weak Muslim. The ark we are building today is "Until they change themselves". It needs lots of work and may seem pointless to many. But the day will come when those who participated in building this ark will succeed, and those who wandered away will regret. Lets get to work, all of us, because this ark needs a lot of effort, patience, and confidence in Allah!


​

 

[Peace]

Good thread sister Sajdah!! I watched that program by Dr. Amr khaled hafidaho Lah!
I alwyas try not to miss any of his interesting programs. Jazaho Lah khayr wa waffaqaho lima yohibbo wa yarda!

 

[Sajdah]

Good thread sister Sajdah!! I watched that program by Dr. Amr khaled hafidaho Lah!
I alwyas try not to miss any of his interesting programs. Jazaho Lah khayr wa waffaqaho lima yohibbo wa yarda!

Ameen!
Jazaki ellahu kul khayr sister.

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Six:A Muslim must know how to be serious​

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Seven: Our Ummah can’t survive unless we love each other

Allah has promised us that He will change the condition of our Ummah if we change ourselves. It’s a Divine Rule. But have you ever thought about how we will react towards each other after Allah grants us this promised victory? For example, I'm afraid that one day, after Allah grants us victory, we will hate some of our Muslims brothers and sisters. I'm afraid that in the future, Iraqi and Kuwaiti Muslims won't feel easy about each other. In their subconscious, Iraqi’s will think that Kuwaiti’s were behind all what happened and there will be an emotional barrier between them. Not so far back, we used to feel bad towards our Palestinian brothers and sisters, we used to think that they deserve what was going on to them because they sold their lands to the Israelis in the first place, they let them in. Time passed and we realized that this was a wicked lie and big illusion, it turned out that we were just saying that to feel that we have no responsibility towards them. We saw them on the TV sacrificing their own lives for their land. We saw families being driven out of their homes before it was demolished. We saw children and youth driving the Israeli army crazy with their stones. A Palestinian family today is ashamed if their household is without martyrs. Our enemies tried to sow hate in our hearts between us so that we wouldn't care about them.

We can't allow hate towards one another find its way into our hearts. We have to maintain our brotherhood and purify our hearts from hate towards each another.

Do you know that Brotherhood is deeply embedded in our religion? It’s a fundamental concept in Islam. Allah says, "The Believers are but one Brotherhood" (49:10). Let me demonstrate to you how essential Brotherhood is to Muslims, and I won't start from Prophet Muhammad's time, no, I'll go back much before that. Lets start with Prophet Moses (pbuh). When Allah told him that he must go to the Pharaoh of Egypt and convey to him the message of Allah, what did Moses ask? Allah tells us that he asked, "And give me a Minister from my family, Aaron, my brother; Add to my strength through him, And make him share my task: So that we may glorify you much and remember you much, Surely, You are seeing us." (20:29-35). Moses asked Allah to let Aaron be with him because his brother was so important to him and Moses knew that as a team they would be more successful and would help each other be better servants to Allah. Can you sense the love between both of them from the verses? Then Allah replied, "You are indeed granted your request, O Moses" (20:36).

The two brothers demonstrate to us the importance of brotherhood and unity once again when Moses went to meet Allah and left Aaron in charge of the Children of Israel. When the Jews started to worship a golden cow Aaron tried to guide them back to The Straight Path and some people responded but most of them refused. Aaron noticed that this was causing a split in the community between the true Believers and those who deviated. Aaron feared that this would lead to breaking the union between the Children of Israel, so he preferred to be patient and leave them as they were until Moses came back. When Moses returned and was devastated to see his people worshiping a golden cow he blamed Aaron for not being responsible enough. Allah says, "(Aaron) replied: ‘O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard nor by (the hair of) my head! Truly I feared that you would say, You have caused a division among the children of Israel, and you did not respect my word!’" (20:94). This is how unity and maintaining brotherhood was important to Prophet Aaron.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught us how essential brotherhood is for Muslims and for Islam to flourish. In the midst of oppression and persecution in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad started to preach Islam to other tribes and cities hoping that he could find a place that is more secure than Mecca to move to. He never thought of going to Yethreb though (Medina afterwards) because there was an ongoing war between two tribes there, Aws and Khazraj. Do you know why there was a war? Let me tell you. The Jews moved to Yethreb because their sacred scripts told them that the last Prophet will appear soon and he will migrate to this city, so they decided to move and settle there to wait for his appearance. Seeing that there are two big tribes in Yethreb they feared that they would drive them out, so they decided to keep them busy fighting one another. Also another reason to start a war between Aws and Khazraj was to profit from selling weapons to them. So the Jews divided themselves into two groups, each group allied with one tribe, either Aws or Khazraj. Part of the alliance agreement was that if a Jew allied with Aws is killed then the whole tribe must participate in punishing the attacking tribe. So the Jews would plot fake clashes between themselves where a Jew allied with Aws would "kill" a Jew allied with Khazraj thereby sparking a war between the two tribes. So the tribal war in Medina was at its peak and the Jews were fueling it more and more, and therefore Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) never even considered it as a place to immigrate to. Then one day Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) met 6 youth from the Khazraj tribe in Mecca and they all accepted Islam and went back to Yethreb. The next year they were 12 Muslims, 9 from Khazraj and 3 from Aws. When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) saw that, he became very happy because he felt that Islam was bringing back the brotherhood between these two tribes. Another year passed and Prophet Muhammad migrated to Yethreb and announced the ending of the ongoing war between Aws and Khazraj, and the relationship between them became one of brotherhood and mutual respect and love. The Jews failed ever since to restart any war between them, the brotherhood was far too strong, it was strengthened by a flow of revelations encouraging brotherhood...

 

[Sajdah]

"And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favor on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you: That you may be guided." (3:103).

"The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that you may receive Mercy." (49:10).

"And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who came before us into the Faith, and leave not, in our hearts, rancor (or sense of hate) against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful." (59:10).

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, the Exalted, will say: `Where are those who have mutual love for the sake of My Glory? Today I shall shelter them in My Shade when there will be no shade except Mine.’" Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: `For those who love one another for the sake of My Glory, there will be seats of light (on the Day of Resurrection), and they will be envied by the Prophets and martyrs.’"

One day Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sitting with one of his companions and a man was passing by. The companion said to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), "Do you know, I love this man for the sake of Allah", so the Messenger of Allah asked, "Did you tell him?" and the companion replied "No". Prophet Muhammad said, "Go quickly and tell him! When a man loves his brother (for Allah's sake) let him tell him that he loves him". This is how fundamental brotherhood is in Islam.

In the Battle of Uhud 70 Muslims were killed. After the battle was over and the Muslims were burying the dead, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) suddenly halted the process asking loudly while searching between the dead bodies, "Where is Amr ibn Al-Jamooh and Abdullah ibn Haram??!" When the companions asked why, he replied, "Burry them together! They loved each other in this world for the sake of Allah, let them be buried together!" Can you believe that? But this doesn't mean that as brothers, nothing goes wrong between us, we are after all human. Here's an example....

One day Abu Zar (rAa) had an argument with Bilal (rAa) and called him "Son of a Black Woman". Bilal became so sad he went and complained to the Prophet (pbuh). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) went to Abu Zar and angrily asked, "Did you say that?! You are a man who has ignorance in him." Abu Zar (rAa) deeply regretted what he did. He put his cheek on the ground and asked Bilal to step on his face saying "I swear by Allah that you step on my face so that Allah may forgive me", but Bilal didn't and he forgave him, and when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) died, he was pleased with them both. Brotherhood dear brothers and sisters, we might have our difference, we might argue, but we will always be one family.

Lets revive the sense of brotherhood in our Ummah. It’s a shield that protects our unity and grants us Allah's mercy. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told us that on the day of Judgment, two men would stand in front of Allah and one of them would say "O Allah, this man took something from me against my will!!" So Allah would tell the other man to give the first man's property back, but he doesn't speak, he remains silent. So the first one says, "O Allah, then let me take from his good deeds!" When Allah tells the second man to give the first one from his good deeds (hasanat), he looks up with despair and cries, "O Lord, I no longer have any good deeds." So the first one (persistently) demands "O Allah, then take from my sins and dump it onto him!!" Then Allah asks him, "How about something better than that? Raise your head." So the first man raises his head and sees a spectacular Palace and says "Wooow!! Who’s Palace is that?? A Prophet?? A Martyr??" Allah replies, "To whomever has the price." The man asks "And who could possibly have the price of such a Palace??" Allah replies "You." "Me??!!" the man asks with surprise. Allah explains to him saying "Yes you, by forgiving your brother, you will have the price." So the man says, "I forgive him O Lord!! I forgive him!!" and Allah tells him, "Take your brother's hand and enter Paradise together!"

Lets forgive each other dear brothers and sisters, lets strengthen our bonds, and lets revive our brotherhood. Lets remove any hatred towards each other from our hearts. We need that to change our condition, and if we change our condition, Allah will certainly change the condition of our Ummah.

​

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Eight: Allah wants us to do our best at everything we do​

"Ihsan" is one of those words that can't be translated into just one English word but has a rather broad and deep meaning. Allah says in the Quran, "Allah yuhibbul-muhsineen." "Allah loves those who do good." (3:148). A muhsin is one who does good actions and Ihsan is goodness itself. Ihsan also means to perfect, to excel or to show proficiency and excellence. Therefore it could be considered that the Arabic word Ihsan has a dual meaning, Goodness and Excellence. We Muslims need to strive to achieve excellence, proficiency, and perfection in all good actions was make.​

A civilization can't rise if people don't try their best to achieve the best results in what ever they are doing. If you are a student you should not focus your efforts on barely passing your exams, No. You should be aspiring to actually increase your knowledge throughout the academic year and at the end prove that you've learned by achieving the best results you could. If you are a teacher, you shouldn't just stand in front of the class and recite a lesson, No. You should try your very best to have a positive impact on your students, to add something to their knowledge. The same thing applies if you work in a factory or produce any type of product. Don't just make something that looks good on the outside but will function for only half of its intended life. This may seem as a general behavior that everyone should apply regardless to his or her belief, but aside to that, it’s a fundamental Islamic behavior. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Verily, Allah loves that when anyone of you does a job he should perfect it". Unfortunately, Muslims have forgotten this concept and abandoned it. On the other hand, the West realized the importance of quality and perfection and by applying them their civilization grew and became more powerful. This is a Divine Law and it applies to Muslims and non-Muslims: If you perfect what you do, you improve your condition and the condition of your surrounding. It applies to people regardless of their belief, the same way the law of gravity applies to us all.​

A study was made to estimate the number of hours worked by employees each day in different countries all over the world. Not the number of hours they spend in their workplace, but the "net hours" spent actually working (i.e. after subtracting lunch breaks, going to the bathroom, chatting etc.). While some Western countries and Japan reached high numbers like 8 hours, some Muslim countries reached as low as 12 or 5 minutes!! Five minutes of pure work!! Can you believe that?? And we want Allah to give us victory! How could you expect Allah to give Muslims victory and let them lead the world if some Muslim countries work less than an hour a day? We're not applying the Divine Rule and therefore our situation will stay as it is. Ihsan brothers and sisters, we need more Ihsan in our lives, with both of its meanings, goodness and perfection.​

Allah says, "Allah commands justice, the doing of good (ihsan), and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that you may receive admonition" (16:90).​

Maintaining Ihsan is something Allah The Almighty commands us to do, why is it then that we Muslims are sometimes the laziest or the sloppiest? Of course not all Muslims are like that, but it seems to be the current theme in our Ummah. Some countries are famous for certain products because they perfect them and have the highest quality. For example you have Japanese electronics, Italian shoes and Swiss watches, army knives and cheese. What about Muslim countries; how many products have we perfected to the extent that a customer buys it while confident that its the best in the market? Advancing and achieving such a reputation isn't a "Modern World" concept, its Islamic, it’s in our religion. Someone once told me, "Thank God the non-Muslims in the West are so advanced and are discovering all these new things every day so that we could benefit from them directly without effort, and at the same time have more time to worship Allah!" At first I thought he was joking but unfortunately he wasn't. He forgot that working is a form of worshiping Allah if the intentions are correct. Didn't Allah say in the Quran, "And say: ‘Work: For soon will Allah observe your work, and His Messenger, and the Believers: Soon will you be brought back to the Knower of what is hidden and what is open: then will He show you the truth of all that ye did.’" (9:105). Muslims should participate in making this world a better place and we must have our contribution. Worshiping Allah isn't only by performing rituals. For example, going to school or work every day could be a form of worship if your intentions are to obey Allah, acquire knowledge for the betterment of Muslims and Humanity, and being a good example of a Muslim. If we are not successful and at the forefront, how will we attract non-Muslims to Islam? One meaning of Ihsan is doing good actions, but when doing good we should also try to perfect it. For example, greeting another Muslim by saying "Asalamualaykum" is a good act, but saying "Asalamualaykum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu" is even better. There's even another step higher, which is saying the greeting and shaking his hand, and you could approach perfection even more by also smiling. See how we should try to achieve perfection and excellence in our acts. It should be a constant attempt in all aspects of life whether its rituals, working, relationships with others etc. We need to try to implement Ihsan in everything we do. ​

 

[Sajdah]

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) instructed us to perfection in several ways and situations. One of the Prophetic sayings dealing with Ihsan is particularly interesting. Please read the explanation after it to understand what the Prophet (pbuh) meant. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Verily Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters." One might wonder why the Messenger of Allah didn't say, "If you pray, pray well, and if you fast, fast well", why kill and slaughter? Do you know why Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) referred to slaughter in this Hadith? Not because Muslims are blood thirsty, absolutely not, but because slaughtering an animal means that you are ending its life. What difference does it make if I kill it well or not, it’s going to die anyway, it won't have any "bad memories" about it, and so what's the big deal? No, that's not how a Muslim sees things. A Muslim should implement excellence in every aspect of life, even when it comes to an animal's final moments in life. If you treat the animal well and with perfection when killing it, you will certainly treat it even better while its alive; you will shelter it with excellence and mercy, and you will feed it in such a manner as well. Not only did the Prophet (pbuh) teach us this with just words, he demonstrated to us how to achieve this proficiency in a practical sense as well (sharpening the blade and sparing suffering). This shows us that proficiency isn't just "an idea" but one must also seek the means to apply it. ​

Another example is Divorce. Usually one correlates divorce with arguments, fights and going to court. But look what Allah says, "A divorce is only permissible twice: after that, the parties should either hold Together on equitable terms, or separate with kindness (Ihsan)." (2:229). Even during divorce a person is supposed to maintain Ihsan, because if you could do so during divorce you will certainly be able to do so during a happy marriage. Do you see how the Quran or Prophetic sayings give examples of certain extremes in life? If you could achieve Ihsan during these extremes you could certainly achieve it in normal situations also.​

Prophet Yusuf (pbuh) was imprisoned unjustly. He was falsely accused of trying to rape the wife of the Minister, it’s a disgraceful accusation, but he was patient. Many years later while still in prison, he was told that the King of Egypt had a dream, Allah says, "The king (of Egypt) said: ‘I do see (in a vision) seven fat cows, whom seven lean ones devour, and seven green ears of corn, and seven (others) withered. O you chiefs! Expound to me my vision if it be that you can interpret visions.’" (12:43). Yusuf (pbuh) knew what it meant, a devastating starvation that would last for 7 years. What did he do? Did he request that they let him free first? Did he decide not to tell them what it meant so all those non-Believers would starve to death? No, instead he demonstrated to us Ihsan. Without putting any conditions he interpreted the dream for them; seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of devastating drought and starvation. Not only that, but even though he wasn't asked, he gave them the solution to this coming crises. He planned for them what to do in the following 15 years. He told them to increase their productivity as much as possible in the first seven years while minimizing their consumption so that they would have enough food to survive the seven years of drought. When he was freed from prison and became the Minister of Agriculture and Economy he organized the process of storing the food and then distributing it during the second seven years. Since the drought was all over the Middle East, he introduced a system where foreign countries could exchange food from Egypt with any of their homemade products. He did this in order to encourage them to be productive and so they would look at the food they get from Egypt as trade and not charity. He did all this even though they were all non-Believers. This is a message to all our brothers and sisters that are living in non-Muslim countries. Wherever you are, you must have a positive impact, you have to make a contribution, because you're a Muslim.​

The best type of Ihsan though is Ihsan in your relationship with Allah, your Creator. To worship Allah as if you see Him, and even though you can't really see Him, always keep in mind that He sees you.​

Excellence leads to perfection, and perfection is our ultimate goal. We strive to perfect our characters so that we could reach the highest attainable status in the sight of Allah, and also to perfect our surroundings and our work so that we wouldn't feel ashamed when we present them in front of Allah, the Messenger and the Believers. ​

Those who achieve excellence and perfection in this world will lead because the Divine Rule say so, and if anyone else leads us, we will always be lagging behind. So we must change our current condition, and when we do that, certainly, Allah will change the condition of our entire Ummah, and we will lead the world in shaa Allah.​

 

[Sajdah]

Law Number Nine: The only source of ‘Ezzah is Allah​

We have previously discussed the importance of not being passive and that we should take positive actions, and the importance of seriousness and perfecting what we do. This time we will talk about the Honor and Dignity ('Ezzah) of the Muslim Ummah. 'Ezzah encompasses meanings of Honor, Dignity, Might, and Glory, and its opposite is Zillah or humility. Today we will say, "Yes" to Honor and "No" to humility. A Muslim only accepts Honor and never settles to humility. Allah wants us to be an Honorable and Mighty Ummah, so why do we drift ourselves to the weakness of humility? Do you know how we sowed the seeds of humility in our Ummah? When a Muslim father slaps his wife on the face, in front of his children, he's sowing the seeds of humility. When a teacher beats a student or punishes him or her in a humiliating way and when a father punishes his son in front of his friends, they are both sowing seeds of humiliation. All these things make a Muslim used to humiliation and make us forget that we were to be honorable people. <BR.
A persons feeling of self-honor is something that could either be developed or impaired. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) showed us how to develop this feeling in our children. One day Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sitting with the some of his respected Companions and on his right was Ibn Abbas who was still a young teenager. When the Messenger of Allah used to drink in such a gathering, he would pass the cup to the one sitting on his right to drink also. Then this person on his right would pass it onto the one on his right and so on. In this specific situation it would mean that Ibn Abbas, a young teenager, would drink before big names like Abu Bakr and Omar ibn Al-Khattab. So when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) drank and was going to pass the cup he asked Ibn Abbas, Would you give me the permission to give your share to my dear brothers before you?" Of course the Prophet (pbuh) could have just given them the cup and it would be understandable because the preference would be to elder Muslims especially if they are as respected as Abu Bakr. But Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wanted to develop Ibn Abbas' feeling of self-esteem and dignity and didn't want to make him feel that he had no importance or that he was weightless. Ibn Abbas replied, "By Allah, I could never give my portion from you to anybody else" (drinking right after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from the same cup was a privilege to Ibn Abbas), and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) let him drink first. See how Islam develops our sense of 'Ezzah?​

In Muslim countries you see that companies respect and honor the foreign non-Muslim expert, but the local expert with the same expertise and skill is not treated the same, this makes us feel humiliated. I will never forget when I was on a plane one day and the take-off was postponed. The plane had both Arabs and non-Arabs. One of the crewmembers passed by every single non-Arab apologizing for the delay and didn't apologize to a single Arab, this increases ones sense of humility.​

Self-Respect and Honor are genuine Arab characters. An Arab would prefer death to humiliation. The sense of self-honor and might is integrated even in the Pre-Islamic Arab. Do you know why the door of the Ka'ba is lifted above the ground? So that no one could enter it except with the Meccans permission. The Pagan Arabs of Mecca before Islam honored the Ka'ba so much and felt that it violates their 'Ezzah and Glory to let anyone enter the Ka'ba without their permission. Compare this to present Muslim Arabs; the entire Al-Aqsa Mosque is occupied, and many Muslim lands as well. Muslim blood has become the cheapest. Where is our sense of dignity, self-respect and might? Where is our ‘Ezzah, Is it gone?​

The individual Muslim must maintain his own Honor and Dignity so that the whole Ummah could get its Honor and Dignity back. But how does one do that? If you want self-respect, glory and honor, get it from its source... Allah! ​

Allah says, "Who ever seeks glory and power ('Ezzah),- to Allah belongs all glory and power." (35:10). There is no other source. This is today's Divine Law, The only source of 'Ezzah is Allah. You can't get Glory or Honor from any other human being or country, only from Allah, because Allah is The "Mu'ez" and The Muzel", which means "The One who gives Honor" and "The One who humiliates and brings low". An honorable person today might be a low person tomorrow, and a rich person today might be poor tomorrow, so don't go to another human being for Honor, go to Allah. Allah says, “Say: ‘O Allah. Lord of Power (And Rule), You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please: You endue with honor whom You please, and You bring low whom You please: In Your hand is all good. Verily, over all things You have power.’" (3:26). ​

Allah refuses that any of His servants be humiliated or express humility except in two cases: 1) Humiliating oneself in front of Allah (see Step 1: Humbleness & Humility in front of Allah). 2) Humility to ones parents. Allah says, "And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.’" (17:24).​

There is a third situation when Allah accepts that a Muslim expresses humility. But the humility in this case is not the humility that implies passiveness and loss of dignity but rather implies mutual mercy and humbleness. Allah says, "...Soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him,- lowly with the believers, mighty against the rejecters." (5:54). Therefore, our relationship with our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters should be a relationship of mutual respect mercy and humbleness.​

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[Sajdah]

How do we become humiliated in this world?​

Four things lead us to the lowliness of humiliation and weakness and loss of respect:​

1) Obeying Shaytan (Satan). Shaytan wants to humiliate us and he clearly expressed this intention. Allah says, "He (Shaytan) said: ‘Do you see? This is the one whom You hast honored above me (Adam)! If You will but respite me to the Day of Judgment, I will surely bring his descendants under my sway - all but a few!’" (17:62). The word in Arabic that Shaytan used to describe what he will do to us was "la-ahtanekanna" this word describes a position in which one person is pulling an animal by a rope that is tied or fixed to the animal's mouth. So Shaytan wants to pull us this way, which is extremely humiliating when you think about it. If you obey Shaytan, then you are approaching this image and the signs of humility will start to appear on you.​

2) Following your desires. If you always follow your desires you are steadily approaching weakness and lowliness. This is one of the wisdoms of fasting in Ramadan. Ramadan is a time when you tell your inner desires "I'm in control! Not you". The desire to eat and drink is an example of our inner desires and fasting Ramadan teaches us how to tame them.​

3) Becoming numb towards Allah, Islam, and your Ummah. When that happens, you loose your sense of belonging to something great, and you will search for another identity. This search for an alternative identity to Islam leads to a sense of lowliness and humiliation.​

4) Loosing confidence in Allah and that everything has been decreed by Him. Constant fear of the future makes a person loose his sense of Honor and Dignity. Imam Ali (rAa) once said, "Why should I ever fear death? If today is not the day during which Allah had decreed that I should die, then why should I worry? And if it is the day, then fearing it will certainly not change what Allah had decreed." ​

Think about yourself, do you have any of the previous four? If you do, you must change, or else you will lead yourself to humiliation and those around you will humiliate you.​

History tells us that there was a time when Muslims reached a very a severe level of humility and lowliness, when the Tatars sacked Baghdad. Its said that a woman would come to a dozen Muslim men and tell them "Look, I don't have a sword to kill you all, so all of you go face that wall until I bring one." Yes, they actually obeyed her and waited for her to bring a sword and kill them all.​

Compare these men to Omar ibn Al-Khattab (rAa). Omar ibn Al-Khattab was a great example for those who want to see the 'Ezzah of a Muslim. Until the sixth year after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) started conveying the Message of Islam, the Muslims were always meeting in secrecy out of fear from the non-Believers’ oppression. In such an atmosphere, Omar embraced Islam. The minute after he became a Muslim he asked Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), "O Messenger of Allah, aren't we right?" the Prophet (pbuh) replied with yes. Omar then asked, "And aren't they (non-Believers) wrong?" the Prophet replied again with yes. Then Omar asked, "Then why are we hiding??" The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked him, "What do you think we should do?" Omar replied, "I say we walk out of this house! March in the streets, and yell ‘Allahu Akbar!’ (God is Greatest), and march around the Ka'ba so that all of them see us!!” And that was exactly what they did, and not a single non-Believer could do a thing about it! Ever since, things started to change for the Muslims, for they now had Omar on their side.​

The same thing happened when the migration to Medina started. Most of the Muslims left Mecca silently and secretly, but Omar (rAa) just couldn’t do so. He put on his arms and then he went to the Ka’ba and prayed. The chiefs of Mecca looked at him in silence. After the prayer, he told them, "I am leaving for Medina. If anyone wants his child to become an orphan, wife to become a widow, or his mother to weep him in sorrow, then let him follow me across this valley!!" Of course, no body moved.​

When the Muslims opened Jerusalem, the Christians refused to give the keys of the city except to Omar in person (the Caliph at that time). So Omar ibn Al-Khattab (rAa) set off from Medina to Jerusalem. Omar had only one attendant with him and only one camel to ride and they rode it by turns. It happened to be the servant's turn to ride on the day when they were to reach Jerusalem. "Commander of the Faithful," said the attendant, "I give up my turn. It will look awkward, in the eyes of the people, if I ride and you lead the camel." "Oh no," replied Omar, "I am not going to be unjust. The honor of Islam is enough for us all." (Notice how Omar is developing the servant's sense of self-honor the way Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did with Ibn Abbas?)​

While walking, Omar had to cross a muddy area and so he took off his footwear and put it under is arm and raised his clothes so that it wouldn't get muddy. When Abu Obayda (one of the commanders waiting for Omar) saw this, he ran to Omar asking him to ride the camel while entering the city. Abu Obayda also expressed his concern about the outer appearance of Omar, for they were in a land where the quality of clothes reflected the rank of people. Omar replied with a sigh, "Abu Obayda, let someone other than you say that. Have you forgotten that we were a low people and it was Islam that made us honorable? If we seek Honor from anything other than Islam, Allah will return us back again to that state of lowliness."​

Another example of honor and dignity was given by one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his name was Rab'ia ibn Amer (rAa). The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sent him with a message to Rostrum the famous Persian General. Rostrum wanted to dazzle Rab'ia and so he covered the desert sand leading to his Royal tent with precious silk Persian carpets and made hundreds of beautiful Persian women stand in two lines on both sides of the road leading to his tent. Rab'ia got off of his horse and started to march confidently towards the tent stabbing holes in the carpets with his spear with every step, he didn't even look at the women around him. Rostrum was disturbed by this and asked Rab'ia what he wanted. Rab'ia confidently replied, "We have come to take mankind from the darkness to the light and from the worship of the false gods to the worship of Allah, from the narrowness of this world to the wide expanse of this world and the next, and from the injustices of man made religions to the justice of Islam." The honor and dignity that Islam planted in Rab'ia's heart gave him the power to stand in front of Rostrum and say what he said.​

 

[Sajdah]

I don't want our Muslim sisters to think that all the examples for dignity and honor are related to men only. Asmaa bint Abi Bakr taught all Muslims how one should stand up for his or her beliefs. Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr (her son) was running for the Caliphate after the death of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah. The Hijaz, Egypt, Iraq, Khurasan and much of Syria were favorable to him and acknowledged him as the Caliph. The Ummayyads however continued to contest the Caliphate and to field a massive army under the command of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Ath-Thaqafi. Relentless battles were fought between the two sides during which Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr displayed great acts of courage and heroism. Many of his supporters however could not withstand the continuous strain of battle and gradually began to desert him. Finally he sought refuge in the Sacred Mosque at Mecca. It was then that he went to his mother, now an old blind woman. He expressed to her his fear of the current situation and how everyone was deserting him and whether she thought he should hand himself in to the Ummayyads. Asmaa (rAa) replied strongly, "It's your affair, Abdullah, and you know yourself better. If however you think that you are right and that you are standing up for the Truth then persevere and fight on as your companions who were killed under your flag had shown perseverance. If however you desire the world, what a miserable wretch you are. You would have destroyed yourself and you would have destroyed your men." ​

Abdullah told her that he isn't fearing death, but he fears that they will mutilate his body after they kill him. His mother told him, "There is nothing after death that man should be afraid of. Skinning does not cause any pain to the slaughtered sheep." See how she encouraged her son to stand with honor and dignity for what he sees is right? When Abdullah heard that his face lightened and he said, "What a blessed mother! Blessed be your noble qualities! I have come to you at this hour to hear what I have heard." He hugged his mother, but while Asmaa wrapped her arms around her son's body she felt something hard under his shirt so she asked him what it was and he told her that it was his armor. Asmaa said, "This, my son, is not the dress of one who desires martyrdom. Take it off. That will make your movements lighter and quicker. Wear instead the sirwal (a long under garment) so that if you are killed, your private parts would not be exposed." He went out and fought and was killed. Al-Hajjaj hung his body on a cross waiting for Asmaa to come and beg him to take her son's body down but she didn't. Al-Hajjaj now furious went to her trying to provoke her saying, "See what your son did? See what he made me do to him?" But this honorable woman stood up to Al-Hajjaj and replied, "By Allah, I only see that you have ruined his life, and he has ruined your After-life!" Al-Hajjaj was a name that when heard would make strong men faint from fear. But Asmaa bint Abi Bakr stood strongly in front of him, she stood with 'Ezzah.
This was how Muslims felt. Honor and dignity were embedded in their hearts. And we all know about the Muslim woman who was slapped in the land of the Romans and who cried her historical cry, "O Mu'tasim!" Every Muslim at that time felt that he or she had an identity and dignity. The Caliph Al-Mu'tasim heard about her cry and said, "Here I am, O sister", and sent his soldiers to attack the Romans in the famous battle of 'Amouriyyah. When the honor of one single woman was endangered, the Muslim army moved to rescue her... (Sigh) look at us today, and look how many of our women were killed and raped, and look at how we respond. We need our Honor and Dignity back! We need our Might and Glory back! We need our 'Ezzah!! And we could only get it from Allah, so lets flee back to Allah!​

Its interesting to find in the Quran that 'Ezzah is frequently coupled with Wisdom or Mercy. That's because Allah wants to teach us that Honor, Glory and Might should not mean transgressing or being irrational and violent, but instead a feeling of self-honor and dignity enveloped withgood behavior.​

Finally, I would like to finish this lecture with a Hadith that sends shivers through my body. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Whoever allowed a Muslim to be humiliated while he could assist him, Allah will humiliate him in front of the entire creation on the Day of Judgment". Lets do our best to lift the humiliation from above our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Iraq and our entire Ummah. Lets change our personal condition towards Honor and Dignity, because unless we change our own condition, Allah will not change the condition of our Ummah.​

Until They Change Themselves​

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