Being Gentle...like a butterfly

The idea of being a stoned face, mysterious individual with a sense of firmness sounds appealing to some; when this type of character exudes from a person, a sense of dominance can emanate from within the heart. This eventually leads one to become ill mannered and arrogant which in turn changes a person into a prideful being. As a result, this firmness which seemed to be awe inspiring has now taken a person to the banks of Jahannam. It is for this reason that Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam said, "Harshness does not exist in something except that it makes it repulsive. Indeed Allah is compassionate and He love compassion.”


Unfortunately, we live in very rough society; such an environment has almost nurtured us to be hostile naturally. I understood this perfectly when I recently went to Madinah. I had left the hotel to go to the Prophet’s salallahu alayhi wasallam Mosque for Iftar when a brother suddenly grabbed my arm 20 meters away from the mosque. I instantly took him to be a trouble maker but I soon realised he was actually calling me to sit and break my fast with him. I watched him and found his courteous behaviour to be ever so pleasant. I then began to question myself as to why I had been so firm with him. I realised that it was the society that I had come from which told me to be defensive and sceptical as opposed to being gentle and friendly.

The sunnah or Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam teaches us differently. It teaches us to be gentle and soft to every living and lifeless thing. During the battle of Uhud, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam commanded the archers to remain on a hill close to the battle until the war was won. Due to a misunderstanding, they left their positions which resulted in the death of 70 companions. However, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam was not harsh to them, nor was he aggressive. Rather, he was understanding and sympathetic; he accepted their reasons and pardoned them. He himself states in one hadith, “Forgive right-acting people for their mistakes.” Such behaviour brought about the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala and He notably mentions in the Qur’an,

“It was a mercy of Allah that you were soft and gentle with them. If you were rude, harsh, hard hearted, then they would have fled away from you. Pardon them, seek forgiveness from Allah for them and in future, consult them in the matter”

Softness is truly a characteristic which we must inculcate into our life. However, this does not mean that we become naive. If we live in such a place where there is much trickery and deceit, then it is not an act of piety to be forbearing. On the other hand, this is foolishness as a person is asking to be hoaxed.

Being gentle should be within us naturally. When a person is gentle, it beautifies him as a person and also wins the heart of people. Rasulullah salalallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Softness does not exist in anything except that it beautifies it.” However, in order to bring this characteristic within ourselves, we must aim to become tolerant. A person can only learn to forgive and be soft to others once he has subdued his nafs to such an extent that he does not become angry at petty things. When a person is able to blow away his annoyance, signs of compassion may then prevail in him.

Showing kindness to animals is enough for Allah Ta’ala to forgive a person. Imam Bukhari rahimahullah relates a narration in which a person fed a thirsty, ailing dog water which cured him. As a result, Allah Ta’ala forgave his sins. On the other hand, the hadith that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah brings thereafter shows the state of a woman who treated her pet so poorly that it was completely malnourished. As a result of her hard heartedness, Allah Ta’ala entered her into the fire. If this is the case with regards to animals, then what can be said for humans and especially our Muslim brothers and sisters?

There are some misinformed people who try to use Hadhrat Umar radiallahu anhu as their justification to being harsh. Such people quite simply do not know who Hadhrat Umar radiallahu anhu was. He was a soft, loving, caring man who shed tears for the sake of this Ummah. Such people who claim that he was harsh and stern know very little of him. His firmness was to those who had disobeyed Allah Ta’ala and caused pain to the Muslimeen but besides that, he was merciful to the believers as well as the non believers. Many narrations can be put forth of his softness. Let it be remembered, that he was a person about whom people used to say prior to his acceptance of Islam, “There is more chance of Umar’s donkey accepting Islam!” However, his heart was thereafter nurtured by the one who has been titled as the Mercy to Mankind; surely then, such characteristics would have been found in him also. Finally, I conclude with the hadith:

"Whoever has been given his portion of compassion has been given his portion of good. Whoever is denied being given his portion of compassion has been denied his portion of good. Good character will be the weightiest thing in the believer's balance on the Day of Rising. Allah hates a coarse, foul-mouthed person."

May Allah Ta'ala bless us with such characteristics. Ameen.

Bidayatul Hidayah: Chapter on Staying Away from Sins - Part 1

I have translated the following from 'Bidayatul Hidayah' of Imam Abu Hamid al Ghazali rahimahullah. It is a very nice book, I think it has published in English recently aswell. Here is a chapter on staying away from sins. I will divide it into two posts due to its length.

Know that religion has two conditions:

1) To leave that which is forbidden
2) To do actions of obedience

The leaving of that which is forbidden is harder to do. This is because obedience is carried out by everyone (to some extent) but only the pious leave their desires. This is why Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam, “The Muhajir (one who migrates) is he who migrates from evil and the Mujaahid (warrior) is he who fights against his desires.”

Know! That you will only disobey Allah Ta’ala with your limbs and your limbs are only a bounty from Allah Ta’ala upon you! They are a trust given to you so seek help in the bounties of Allah Ta’ala against His disobedience which is the utmost snub. To behave treacherously with a trust that Allah Ta’ala has given you is an extreme form of haughtiness (arrogance)!

Your limbs will look after you make sure you look after them. It comes in a hadith, “You all are guardians and you all will be questioned over those things that you looked after.”

Know that your limbs will bare testimony against you in a presentation given by a eloquent tongue on the day of Qiyamah. You will be led by it at the forefront of all the creations. Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an, “On that day, their tongues, hands and feet will bare testimony against them as to what they used to do.” (Surah Nur) and He further states, “On the day there will a seal on their mouth and their hands and legs will testify against them as to what they used to earn.”

Therefore look after your body and especially look after 7 parts of your body; for Jahannam has seven doors and for every door there is a part categorised. And these doors are not specified for any person except that person who disobeys Allah Ta’ala with these seven body parts. They are:
1. The eyes
2. The ears
3. The stomach
4. The tongue
5. The private parts
6. The hand
7. The legs/feet

Inshallah we will continue with this in the next post...

A Wife's Certificate

Taken from: Ashrafiya

'Arif billah Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) said;

“Brethren! If you want to get a certification and approval for your knowledge obtain it from a Darululoom (maderassa) but for the achievements in tareeqat (i.e. getting rid of blame worthy moral traits like anger, pride, show off etc. & acquisition of praiseworthy moral traits like sincerity, humility, patience, etc.) get it from your wife, because she really knows you (inside out).”

Malfoozat-e-Arifi page 216

Being Down To Earth & Knowing One's Worth

Hazrat Maulana Zakariyya sahib would often say, “Know your worth.” In today’s society, that basically translates to “be down to earth”. Different people have different things to boast about. Some people take pride in worldly gains, cars, money etc and then others take pride in religious gains such as knowledge, worship etc. When a person begins to accumulate things which he considers to be extra ordinary, he convinces himself that he is in fact, extra ordinary. When such thoughts and ideas flow through the veins of a person, he begins to feel that every act he does is pioneering. Such a person is in need of becoming down to earth. His ideas in regards to himself has made his two feet leave the ground and he no longer lives on the same planet as everybody else. He feels that different rules apply to him due to his superiority and as a result of these nasty characteristics, people will look at him as being arrogant, haughty and conceited. The reality is, that is precisely what he has become. Once a person becomes known as arrogant and haughty, it is extremely hard for him break this image and become known as a humble person. On the contrary, a person who is ‘down to earth’, who understands ‘his worth’ and meets with people in such a manner that they see him as equal to themselves despite his superiority in worldly/religious gains; he becomes loved by all.

The great Imam Malik rahimahullah was once questioned by a person who had travelled at great lengths to meet him. Imam Malik rahimahullah responded to his question with the answer, “I do not know the answer to your question.” The man was in shock exclaimed, “What will I tell my people?!” and Imam Malik rahimaullah merely finished the conversation with, “Tell them that Malik has admitted to his ignorance.”

This is the humility of a man who was the Imam of Madinatul Munawwara! Despite his vast array of knowledge and his incredible intellect, he still claimed that he didn’t know anything! This was because he learnt knowledge and that knowledge taught him to become humble. There are others who learn knowledge and then use that knowledge to become arrogant. Just look at Shaytan khabees, he learned knowledge with regards to the elements and with regards to fire and clay; he then used that arrogantly and he became mal’oon (one who is cursed).

Be down to earth and a person will be walking on the footsteps of the pious predecessors of this nation like Imam Malik and on the other side, a person can convince himself that he is something and as a result he will be walking on the same path as Shaytan towards the fire.

May Allah Ta’ala give us all the ability to know our worth and give us the ability to become down to earth. Ameen.

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.

Hope And Mercy

When you commit some sin do not despair of attaining closeness with your Rabb because, perhaps this is the last sin destined for you.

When you commit some sin as a result of human nature, never allow this sin to bring about the slightest change in your determination to remain steadfast on the Deen and do not permit it to slacken your bond with Allah Ta'ala. Do not be deceived by the thought: ‘I am unable to remain steadfast on the Deen, hence my sinning.' Do not think that firmness on the Deen is impossible on account of the sin committed. With this idea, do not become audacious in sin. This idea which you entertain is baseless because a sin committed as a result of the weakness in human nature is not in conflict with firmness on the Deen. Yes, persistence in sins, abstention from taubah and deliberate commission of sin are negatory of firmness (Istiqaamat).

It is quite possible that the sin committed may be the last decreed for you and thereafter such mercy may be directed to you, that you will commit no further sin.

For the heart not to grieve when Taa-aat (acts of obedience) and Ibaadaat (acts of worship) are lost, and not to feel remorse when indulging in sin and evil, is a sign of the death of the heart.

Know that just as the life of the physical body is dependent on food, so too is the life of the (spiritual) heart dependent on Imaan and A'maal-e-Saalihah (Righteous Deeds). In the same way as the physical body would perish if deprived of nourishment, the heart will die if it is without Imaan. Thus, if a man is unconcerned about his neglect of obedience, e.g. Namaaz, Roza (fasting), Jama't Salaat, etc., and he experiences no regret and remorse for the sins he commits, it indicates that his heart is dead, devoid of the impressions of Imaan.

If the heart derives pleasure from acts of obedience and worship, and grieves and feels regret when sins are committed it indicates that the Noor of Imaan is radiating.

There should not be in your mind any sin so grave that it prevents you from holding a good opinion of hope with Allah Ta'ala and causes you to despair of His mercy and grace. He who has recognised his Rabb knows that infront of his Rabb's grace and mercy, his sins are insignificant.

One should not hold one's sins in such a grave light that one loses hope in the grace and mercy of Allah Ta'ala. One should not think: “The gravity of my sin is so great that there is no forgiveness for it, and I have on account of this sin now reached a stage where I am unfit for His grace and mercy.” Such despair is the consequence of unawareness of the attributes of Allah Ta'ala.

One who has recognised his Creator and is aware of His attributes, will be acquainted with His attributes of Forgiveness and Grace. He will thus understand that in the presence of these infinite attributes, his sins are insignificant. He will always have hopes of being forgiven.

While this should be one's attitude, one should not consider sin itself to be insignificant. If the gravity of sin is not in the heart, one will then not resort to taubah nor will there be regret and remorse.

The summary of this discussion is: Neither consider the sin in such grave light that one despairs and loses hope in forgiveness, for this too is kufr, nor regard sin so lightly that one feels no remorse and is deprived of taubah. The hope of forgiveness should be tempered with regret for having sinned, and a firm resolution should be made to refrain from disobedience in future.

Taken from Ikmalus Shiyaam Chapter On Taubah

"...The passing of these days and nights is indeed the passing of your life..."

Renew your Iman

By applying ‘Itr, the body of a person will begin to smell fragrant but after a while, he will realise that the fragrance will die down and may be mixed in with ‘smelly’ substances such as sweat and body odour. Naturally, if he wants to smell nice again then he must reapply his perfume.

In the same way, we will find our Iman the subject of fluctuation. We will leave the house very high in Iman and some days we will come back feeling extremely low, lonely and lost. This is why we have to constantly renew and reapply the Iman in our hearts so that the ‘smelly’ sins won’t take over our life. Thus the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam said,

“Keep on renewing your Iman.”

The Sahaabah radiallahu anhum enquired,

“O Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa salam)! How should we renew our Iman?”

The Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa salam then stated,

“Recite لا إله إلا الله (there is no god but Allah) very often.”

A New Year

As a new year has begun both Islamically and in the Western world. Many people will look at the year ahead of them with many ambitions and resolutions planned. However, we must not forget the past years of our lives as they are instrumental in explaining who we are today. We must not look at the past and think that it is done and dusted but we should take lessons from the mistakes we have made and make sure that we do not return to them. Many people are stuck in the thought that we will make this year one which is fruitful but fail to assess why their previous years on this planet have been a shambles. As Allah Ta'ala says in the Qur'an, "So, relate the chronicles, so that they may ponder." Similarly, after narrating the entire story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) Allah Ta'ala says "Surely, in the narratives of these, there is a lesson for the people of understanding." From this we understand that it is not just crucial to plan change for the coming years but to understand where we went wrong in previous years. Inshallah, through this, we will be able to rectify ourselves.

When a student reads the Qur'an to a Qari, the Qari will highlight his student's mistakes with a pen and send him back so that he can rectify his recital before he proceeds to his next sabak (lesson). In the same way, we should highlight our mistakes to ourselves and then rectify them so that we can proceed into the new year confident of not making the same old errors as before.

May Allah Ta'ala give us the ability to rectify ourselves and stay away from mistakes we have promised not to return to. Ameen.

Poetry: To The One Who Bears Me In His Heart

To The One Who Bears Me In His Heart,

What chance do you have of finding me?

Do not look at them! Surely, you are the body that clothes my existence!

Have you become so ignorant that you help others and exile yourself?

That, my friend is your illness, your constant need to gawk into he or she,

You’ve been observing all else so hard that you have completely forgotten me,

The irony of it all is that I am clearer than that which you breathe,

Although I must say my dear, you have left me lonely since you started to admonish.

Nevertheless I am here! I always will be! Like a moth that harnesses itself to the light,

And when that light ceases to glow... synonymous to your insignificant life, I too will go.

But until then, I will be perched, sitting veiled upon your heart,

And when you gaze in the mirror, I advise you to scrutinise the ‘work of art’.


With love,
Your Faults.

The Branches of Imaan

Recently I heard a statement I found very funny, “Do you think money grows on trees?” I suddenly remembered a time in my childhood when I asked my beloved mother for something extremely expensive to which she replied, “Do you think money grows on trees?!” I became extremely upset and set out to prove her wrong and so I waited for a sunny day and proceeded into my garden with my green plastic shovel that I got from Blackpool beach and a bag full of pennies. I spent many days watering them hoping that a tree would sprout out. I had envisaged myself jumping up and down underneath a tree that would have £50 under each branch. These memories made me think and Allah opened my eyes to the fact there is a tree which has an entity that is more valuable than money. The tree of Islam which consists of 77 Branches of Imaan. Hazrat Hakeemul Ummat (Allah have mercy upon him) mentions them in his Kitaab 'Furu’ ul Imaan':

The Messenger of Allah (May peace and blessings be upon him) said “There are over 70 branches of faith. The highest is to bear witness that ‘There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’. The lowest is the removal of harm from the road. Modesty is also of faith.” We will therefore mentions these qualities.

30 QUALITIES ARE CONNECTED TO THE HEART

1. Belief in Allah

2. To believe that everything other than Allah was non-existent. Thereafter, Allah Ta'ala created these things and subsequently they came into existence.

3. To believe in the existence of the Angels.

4. To believe that all the divine books that were sent to the different prophets are true. However, apart from the Qur'an, all other books are not valid anymore.

5. To believe that all the prophets are true. However, we are commanded to follow the Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings be upon him) alone.

6. To believe that Allah Ta'ala as knowledge of everything from before hand and that only that which He sanctions or wishes will occur.

7. To believe that the Resurrection will definitely occur.

8. To believe in the existence of Heaven.

9. To believe in the existence of Hell.

10. To have love for Allah Ta'ala.

11. To have love for the Messenger of Allah (May Allah peace and blessings be upon him)

12. To love or hate someone solely because of Allah.

13. To execute all actions with the intention of religion alone.

14. To regret and express remorse when a sin is committed.

15. To fear Allah Ta'ala.

16. To hope for the mercy of Allah Ta'ala

17. To be modest.

18.To express gratitude over a bounty or favour.

19. To fulfill promises.

20. To exercise patience.

21. To consider yourself lower than others.

22. To have mercy on the creation.

23. To be pleased with whatever you experience from Allah Ta'ala.

24. To place your trust in Allah Ta'ala.

25. Not to boast or brag over any quality that you posses.

26. Not to have malice or hatred towards anybody.

27. Not to be envious of anyone.

28. Not to become angry.

29. Not to wish harm for anyone.

30. Not to have love for the world.

7 QUALITIES ARE CONNECTED TO THE TONGUE

31. To recite the testimony of faith (kalimah) with the tongue.

32. To recite the Qur'an.

33. To acquire knowledge.

34. To pass on Knowledge.

35. To make dua'a.

36. To make the zikr of Allah Ta'ala.

37. To abstain from the following: lies, backbiting, vulgar words, cursing, singing that is contrary
to the Shariah.

40 QUALITIES ARE CONNECTED TO THE ENTIRE BODY

38. To make wudhu, ghusl, and keep one’s clothing clean.

39. To be steadfast in offering salaat.

40. To pay zakaat and sadaqatul fitr.

41. To fast.

42. To perform Hajj.

43. To make i’tikaaf.

44. To move away or migrate from that place which is harmful for one's deen.

45. To fulfill the vows that have been made to Allah.

46. To fulfill the oaths that are not sinful.

47. To pay the kaffarah for unfulfilled oaths.

48. To cover those parts of the body that are compulsory to cover.

49. To perform the ritual slaughter.

50. To enshroud and bury the deceased.

51. To fulfill your debts.

52. To abstain from prohibited things when undertaking monetary transactions.

53. Not to conceal something true which you may have witnessed.

54. To get married when the nafs desires to do so.

55. To fulfill the rights of those who are under you.

56. To provide comfort to one’s parents.

57. To rear children in the proper manner.

58. Not to sever relations with one’s friends and relatives.

59. To obey one’s master.

60. To be just.

61. Not to initiate any way that is contrary to that of the generality of the Muslims.

62. To obey the ruler, provided what he orders is not contrary to the Shariah.

63. To make peace between two warring groups or individuals.

64. To assist in noble tasks.

65. To command the good and prohibit the evil.

66. If it is the government. it should mete out punishments according to the Shariah.

67. To fight the enemies of deen whenever such an occasion presents itself.

68. To fulfill one’s trusts.

69. To give loans to those who are in need .

70. To see to the needs of one’s neighbour.

71. To ensure that one’s income is pure.

72. To spend according to the Shariah.

73. To reply to one who has greeted you.

74. To say 'Yarhamukallah' (May Allah have mercy upon you) when anyone says 'Alhamdulillah' (All praise be to Allah) after sneezing.

75. Not to cause harm to anyone unjustly.

76. To abstain from games and amusements contrary to the Shariah.

77. To remove pebbles, stones, thorns, sticks, and the like from the road.

May Allah Ta'ala give us the ability to grow this tree in our lives and may He pour enough Guidance over it for it to blossom. May the contents of these 77 branches drop into our lives with great impact. Ameen