Valentines Day

With the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Very Merciful

On the 14th of February, you may see a lot of people wearing red colour clothes and many couples or lovers will be meeting with each other to exchange gifts and to pass time with one another. The reality behind this all is that it's totally Haram to celebrate Valentines Day! We see a lot of Muslims getting involved in this ignorant act. The Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa salam said in an authentic hadith that whomsoever follows a group of people, he will be from amongst them; by celebrating Valentines Day, you are following the way of the disbelievers and so a person must ask himself, "Do you want to be raised up amongst the disbelievers on the day where there will be no shelter??" If the answer is 'No!' then you should not celebrate this day.

It is very unfortunate that a lot of Muslims will indulge themselves in this Haram act, and as a result will go waste money on gifts, waste time with a person who is not mahram! Instead of wasting money on gifts, why don't you give that money in charity and why don't you spend time in the rememberance of the Almighty Allah and get reward for it rather than being punished? Whenever a male and a female is alone the third will be shaytaan and so when a person meets there partner, there is a threat that they may kiss, touch and this then may lead to something much worse. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam said it is better that a nail goes through your head than touching the palm of someone that is haraam for you. Stop. Now think about this.

My brothers and sisters we should realise that Valentines Day is not from the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa salam. If you want to be raised up amongst the Succesful Ones then follow the Sunnah of the beloved of Allah. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam said that Nikkah is from my sunnah, so naturally if you follow Allah and His Nabi salallahu alayhi wa salam and you shall be amongst the Succesful Ones insha Allah. We should realise that haram love are for those who doesn't love Allah enough. Allah says in the Quran, "Do not approach aldultery..." this verse has a deep meaning, we should realise that Shaytaan is very clever, he will do anything to lead us to Hell. If we think about Valentines Day, many boys and girls may commit adultery on that day. It all starts with a touch, from a touch it becomes a hug, from a hug it becomes a kiss and from a kiss it will lead to adultery. If we think about it, on Valentines Day, people will be exchanging gifts, and out of happiness they will kiss each other and this will lead to something much more Haram, so it's better that we avoid getting involved in celebrating this day.

Recently I was talking to a very nice brother mashallah, he used to be involved in this haram act but Alhamdullilah he has realised that by commiting this haraam acts it will lead him to the punishment of Allah. He told me how he felt when he was with the opposite sex, the sweetness of commiting the act was for a short period of time only and after he had done it, he would feel guilty and nothing would feel good for him.This shows us that the sweetness of commiting a Haraam act is only for a few moments and it will lead to the punishment of Allah.

However, my brothers and sisters Allah says in the Quran ,"Do not despair upon my mercy..." if we have made the mistake of celebrating Valentines Day and being in haraam relationships, then we should ask for forgiveness because Allah is Very Merciful. Valentines Day is not for Muslims so don't get involved in this ignorant act of celebrating that day.

I leave you with this quote, "One should not confuse true love with the feelings felt for members of the opposite sex. Such love, although sometimes transformed into true love, is deficient ,temporary and has no inherent value".

MAY ALLAH GUIDES ALL OF US ON THE STRAIGHT PATH AND MAY ALLAH GIVE US WIFE/HUSBAND THAT ARE PIOUS

AMEEEN

Takabbur (Arrogance) - A common Disease

With the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Very Merciful...

The Prophet Muhammad(Peace be upon him) said in an authentic hadith,"Whosoever has an atoms weight of arrogance in his heart will not enter Jannah." One of the signs of arrogance is denying the truth. Denying the oneness of Allah is amongst the biggest signs of arrogance. Nowadays, many are so blinded by this world that they think that this world is everything but the thing that they don't realise is that a day will surely come where we will stand in front of the One who created us and we will be asked as to our actions. Allah says in Surah Yaseen,"Does not man see that We have created him from Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge semen drops).Yet behold! He (stand forth) as an open opponent."

The problem in society is that every one thinks they are better than every one else but in reality, this is far from the truth. We can never claim to be better than anyone else as we do not know our position infront of Allah. Allah will not at how 'good-looking' we are or how strong we are or how rich we are and surely, Allah doesn't look at your status amongst your fellow human being but Allah looks at your piety and good deeds. We see that nowadays it's a common problem that affects the youth mostly. Some people think that because we are driving the best cars, we naturally are better than anyone else. Stop! Think about it, will your car be able to outrun death or the punishment of Allah? Will your car save you on the Day of Qiyamah? Some people think, "I have big biceps, Iam better than everyone else!" But know my brother and sister, the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said in a hadith,"The strong man is not the one is who is good at wrestling but strong man is he who controls himself in a fit of rage". It easier to knock some one out than to forgive someone, surely forgiveness is a very good attribute to have. You might be pushing 100kg in the gym but when it comes to Fajr prayer, are you able to lift that blanket that weighs less that 1kg off you? If you can't then that says everything. A strong person must have the abilty to fight his Nafs, he must be able to fight shaytaan, and he will only be able to do all this by seeking the help of Allah. We need to realise that we need Allah in everything. So why do we have to be arrogant when we are entirely dependent on Allah?

We can see from the examples of the Sahabas (may Allah be pleased with them) that they were the strongest men that walked upon the face of this world but yet they were always humble.We see some brothers and sometimes sisters too, they walk around as if they are mountains! Allah says in the Qur'an, "Do not walk on the earth in haughty style. You can neither tear the earth apart, nor can you match the mountains in height." So if a person cannot match this, how dare he walk with such arrogance? My brother and sisters arrogance is a sign of ignorance, because Allah looks not at how strong you are or how beautiful you are, or how rich you are; rather Allah looks at what is in your heart, Allah looks at your good deeds and your piety.

Arrogance is a disease my brothers and sisters, do we want Jannah or not? If yes then get rid of arrongance from your heart because a good Muslim is always humble no matter how strong, or how rich he is. He is always humble because he realises that his wealth, his strenghth will not help him when he will be in his grave, when the angels will ask him, "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is the Prophet?" We think that these answers are easy now but know my brothers and sisters that if you didn't live your life in the obedience of Allah, you will not be able to answers these three questions. We must make dua that Allah protects us from this disease, because for sure it will destroy our herefafter. If we have one atoms weight of arrogance in our heart, we will not enter Jannah, a true believer realises that he is nothing but a creation that has been created from a drop of semen... is this really something to boast about?

I make dua that Allah makes these few words a means of guidance for all of us and I make dua that Allah protects us from arrongance. Ameen.

Keeping Oneself Focus & Concentrated

It is important to keep oneself concentrated on a particular thing. When a person starts something, he can only achieve his goal by dedicating his mind and thought to it. This statement could serve as a definition for what concentration is. This type of mentality is what Allah Ta’ala has advised the Believers to hold. He says straight away in Surah Fatihah,

“Guide us on the straight path.”

These words are a supplication and if a person makes this statement then he has consequently asked Allah Ta’ala for guidance and help in achieving the ultimate goal – Allah’s pleasure which results in Jannah. Mustaqeem (the straight path) is the road from the womb of the mother to the delightful pastures of Jannah and a Muslim constantly keeps himself motivated in prayer by these thoughts of the happiness of Allah Ta’ala and Jannah.

Thereafter, it is very important to keep oneself motivated in doing this. A person who is adamant on achieving a goal will continually spur himself on to get to the end. He will say sometimes in his mind or even out aloud, “Come on! You can do this!”... a funny incident has just come to my mind which is similar to this. Once, my respected Ustaadh had called me to help with some work. I had a feeling the work would take a long time to finish so I ate biryani, salads etc all to my stomachs fill and then came into his service. Being the compassionate and caring person he is, I came into his service only to find pizza, chips and drinks laid out on the table. Due to my intense love for him and his happiness, I could not say, “Ustaad, I have just eaten.” So I sat and began to eat on a full stomach and I kept telling myself, “One more slice! You can do it! Who’s the man? You are!” Alhamdulillah, I finished whatever was given to me and Maulana was pleased that I had eaten well too. All’s well that ends well. Had I not encouraged myself, I would have hurt Maulana’s feelings and would have shown disrespect to his kindness, generosity and courtesy. A student who hurts his teachers will always find himself neglected of attaining true knowledge.

Similarly, a Muslim motivates himself during the day but he does not realise it. We recite Surah Fatihah in every unit of every obligatory prayer and as a result of this, we recite “Guide us on the straight path” twenty times each day (excluding sunnat/nawaafil). Though we are not conscious of it, this is constant motivator for the soul and nafs (desires). When we are so punctual on our prayer, our nafs understands this ‘motivational talk’ of “Guide us on the straight path” even better. So in accordance with this statement, the nafs becomes inspired and spurred on to do greater works in helping a Muslim attain his Jannah.

For a person who is neglectful of his prayer; he is in essence neglecting himself of this impetus which is found in Surah Fatihah. As a result, his motivational talk becomes the whisperings of Shaytaan khabees and the whims of his desires. These constant inner murmurings will then spur him onto do Haram and the result of constantly doing Haram is Jahannam.

It is therefore important that we keep our mind focused on our goal. If the satisfaction we get from completing coursework and worldly hardships is such then what will be the type of satisfaction we will get from entering Jannah?

When the inhabitants of Jannah enter Jannah, Allah Ta’ala wil say to them, “Do you wish Me to give you anything more?” They will say, “Have you not made our faces bright? Have you not brought us into Jannah and saved us from the Hell?” And Allah Ta’ala will remove the Veil. The (dwellers of Jannah) will feel that they have not been awarded anything dearer to them than looking at their Lord.”

May Allah Ta'ala keep us focused on our beneficial goals and make us from the dwellers of Jannah. Ameen