18 benefits of Salat (Prayer) - By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

[In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful...]

In his excellent book, Zaad al-Ma'aad, in the section which includes the book, At-Tibb an-Nabawee, Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have Mercy on him) stated in his alphabetized discussion of medicines and nutrition:

Allah the Exalted has said: "And seek help in patience and in prayer. Surely that is something quite difficult on (people) other than people of humility and submissiveness "

And He has said: "O you who believe! Seek help in patience and in prayer! Verily, Allah is with those who are patient."

And He, the Exalted One, has said: "And command your family to pray, and be patient upon that. We are not asking you for any provisions,(rather) We provide for you, and the favorable outcome is for (those with) taqwaa (consciousness of Allaah that produces righteous actions)."

And in the Books of Sunnah it is reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to hasten to prayer whenever an affair disturbed him. And previously discussed was the concept of healing most ailments through prayer before seeking out other ways of dealing with them.

1 - Prayer is something that causes one to receive sustenance.
2 - It draws one close to Ar-Rahmaan (Allaah, the Most Merciful).
3 - It keeps away the Shaytaan (the Devil).
4 - It is something that safeguards one's physical health.
5 - It keeps away harmful things.
6 - It casts away illnesses.
7 - It strengthens the heart.
8 - It brightens one's countenance.
9 - It delights the soul.
10 - It gets rid of laziness.
11 - It makes the limbs active.
12 - It increases one's physical strength.
13 - It expands the chest (making one at ease and giving him insight).
14 - It is nourishment for the soul.
15 - It illuminates the heart.
16 - It safeguards one's blessings.
17 - It repels catastrophes.
18 - It brings on blessings.

And overall it has an amazing effect on the health of the body and heart, and in strengthening them and expelling harmful pollutants from them. Also, prayer has an amazing effect on the evils of the dunyaa (the worldly life) and how it repels them, especially when the prayer is performed properly and completely, inwardly and outwardly. Nothing keeps the evils of the dunyaa at bay and brings on the benefits of it like prayer. The reason behind this is that prayer is one's connection to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. So based on the strength of a person's relationship with his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, the doors of goodness will accordingly be opened up for him, bad things and the reasons for them befalling him will be cut off, and the elements of success granted by His Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, will begin pouring in, along with safety and good health, wealth and worldly riches, relaxation, bliss, enjoyment, and all types of joyful affairs will be brought to him, and in an expedient manner, too.

Advices

By Zeeshan Hussain - Manchester

Assalam Brothers and Sisters

Let us start first by sending durood on Rasoolullah salallahu alayhi wa salam.

I will start by bringing you a verse from the Holy Quran.

Allah ta'ala Says:

O People Of Iman! Do not let your wealth or your children make you forget Allah’s Zikr and whosoever does shall be in great loss. [Al Munafiqoon]

Friends, sincerity is the freeing of ones intentions from all impurities to get closer to Allah. The only way we could free ourselves from Shaytaan is through sincere devotion towards Allah ta'ala. We need to ensure that all acts of our worship and obedience to Allah, the Exalted, is exclusively done to seek His pleasure as Allah clearly tells us in the Holy Quran that Iblis said to him:

Except those of your servants who are sincere. [38:83]

Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri: Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Rasool salallahu alayhi wa salam said: Glory is Allah's loin cloth and pride is his cloak. Allah Swt says: He who contends with me in regard to them I will torment him. Allahu Akbar! Brothers and Sisters, Pride and Glory are qualities of Allah ta'ala so a muslim should always be humble and should not attach these qualities to himself whatsoever. It’s not easy getting rid of this infamous tool of the Accursed one from ones heart but it is possible!!! Yes, we could live a humble yet really successful life here and in the Akhirah if we first make our intentions from today to do whatever we do just for the sake of RabbulAlamin and secondly with the Barakah of Zikrullah and Durood Sharif we could clean out all the evil and impurities inside our hearts to live a more humble life with a much better character.

Hazoor salallahu alayhi wa salam said:
Whoever sends durood to me once, Allah ta'ala sends to him 10 blessings, forgives 10 sins and increases him by 10 ranks. Salallahu alayhi wasalam – Short and Sweet Priceless Durood.

During the Battle of Badr SubhanAllah Hazoor salallahu alayhi wa salam recited Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum aloud in the state of Sajdah, Until Allah ta'ala awarded them with victory.

If you make a habit of reciting Astagfirullah often, Allah ta'ala relieves you of all your sorrows and worries and shall provide for you income from places you cant even imagine and your sins shall be forgiven even if you was a traitor who had run away from Jihad (which is from the biggest of sins). Such is the Mercy of Allah ta'ala brothers and sisters. Let us truly reflect on our lifestyles and think why we are here and what are we here to do because the Quran Majid is a guide for those who think, for those who reflect, for those who ponder pn his Signs. Let us fully submit ourselves to our creators Will.

May Allah ta'ala forgive us and guide us. May Allah grant us all happiness, success, peace, harmony, joy and the love of himself and his beloved salallahu alayhi wa salam
in this Dunya and in the Akhirah. Aameen. Durood Sharif.

EVENT: HAZRAT MAULANA ABDUR RAHEEM SAHIB (DB)

TALK TONIGHT (11th April 2009) AT MASJID ABU BAKR, MANSFIELD ROAD, WALTHAMSTOW.

SPEAKER: HAZRAT MAULANA ABDUR RAHEEM SAHIB DAMAT BARAKATUHUM

TIME: 9.40PM AFTER ISHA INSHALLAH

APOLOGIES FOR THE LATE NOTICE AS THIS WAS ORGANISED IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING. JAZAKALLAH

MEN ONLY

Poetry: My Heart Is So Small

My Heart is so small,

It is almost invisible...

How can you place so many sorrows inside of it?

'Look...' He answered

'Your eyes are even smaller yet they behold the world.'

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi Rahimahullah

Free Time

Alhamdulillah, after stressing for a month or so about exams we have finally come to the Easter holiday. So this basically means, we've got 7 days left to go and see as many movies, smoke as many shisha flavours and cram in as much fun as we possibly can. However, is this the intellect we should keep?

Having a fun time is good, enjoying yourself is fantastic aslong as it is within the boundaries set by Allah and His Messenger صلي الله عليه وسلم. For example, its good to play football and keep yourself healthy because it is the Huqooq (right) of your body that you maintain it thus in this there is reward for a person.

Then you get some brothers and sisters who play football so much that when it comes to praying, they are too tired and then miss it. This concept is wrong and in it their is sin, we just need to learn to distinguish between good and bad rather then thinking 'Being Muslim means no fun!' This is incorrect, have fun but with moderation.Likewise we find alot of people moan because they claim that they are too busy to remember Allah; That work, college, individual courses and extra curricular activities get in the way of sincere worship. Yet when the free time inevitably comes our way, we occupy ourselves with Facebook and MSN for hours on end. People will be stuck on MSN Messenger and forums till early in the morning speaking about trivial matters when this time is the best to pray, make Du'a to Allah and beg Him for His forgiveness.In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet صلي الله عليه وسلم says,

"Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven during the last third of the night, inquiring: 'Who will call on Me so that I may respond to him? Who is asking something of Me so I may give it to him? Who is asking for My forgiveness so I may forgive him?"

Allah is literally looking for excuses to forgive us...So lets not waste our holidays with trivial matters and day to day 'gupshup' about who is dating who. Do no let these days pass with regret overshadowing our hearts due to the deficiency in our worship. I am not saying, "don't have fun!" I am saying, "Have fun but with moderation." If you go to the gym you will know that after a few exercises one has to rest his body otherwise it will get strained, in the same way, when havin fun one has to stop and remember Allah or his heart will become strained and rusty.A beautiful parable that comes to my mind...

Ali ibn Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him), stood with one of his companions near a grave one day and asked him,

"If he could come back to this Dunya, what do you think he would do?"

His companion replied,

"He would do nothing but good deeds."

Thereupon Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) remarked,

"If it is not going to be him, then let it be you!"

Taken from Leyton Islamic Society blog