Is there any man greater than he?

Assalaamualaikum. Following are words of the famous 19th century French writer, poet, member of provisional government and a one-time presidential candidate - Alphonse de la Martine, in his book 'Histoire de la Turquie', about Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) :

Peace will soon come

Sufferings spread all around,

Pain of each and every wound,

Emotions and the crying sound,

Injustice so commonly found,

Greed of dollar, dinar and pound,

Lust for land, which knows no bound,

Ramadhaan over, Eid Mubarak to all!

Assalaamualaikum wa rehmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu.

So Ramadhaan is over. Our yearly spiritual workshop has ended! As we rejoice with Eid celebrations let us make a firm determination to ensure that we carry on with positive changes we made in ourselves in this Blessed month.

The month of Ramadhaan is here again!

The month of Ramadhaan is here again,

With so much khayr for us to gain.

The month of Mercy and Blessing,

The month of praying and fasting.

The month of Suhoor and Iftaar,

The month of Taraweeh and adhkaar.

A review of "UnderstandQuran.com"

Qur’an! The Last Wahy of Allaah (subhanahu wa ta’la) for the Guidance of mankind. The Final Revelation meant for people of all places and to be followed till the last day. For people to know what their Lord Orders them to do and what He Commands them not to do. How to believe in Him and how to Obey Him. Qur’an was Revealed to be followed and implemented in our lives. Qur’an is not a Book which is to be merely recited only on certain occasions, most of the time even without understanding what is being read. In fact Qur’an is a Guide, a Proclamation, a Criterion, a Source of Esteemed Knowledge, a Light and a Healing! Qur’an was revealed to be a Guiding source for people, and for someone to take guidance and follow something with conviction, he should be able to understand it. Surely then Allaah (subhanahu wa ta’la) in His Mercy and as a Blessing has made the Qur’an easy to understand, think and reflect on. Allaah (subhanahu wa ta’la) Informs this and Asks in many places in the Qur’an as to is there anyone that will take Guidance from this Book? One such verse is:

“And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember; then is there any that will receive admonition?” [al-Qur’an (54:17, 22, 32, 40)]

Readying for Ramadhaan

Assalaamualaikum.

Hopefully you must have read Countdown to Ramadhaan

Now in this post let us collect as much good material, related to Ramadhaan, as possible inshaAllaah; so that it serves as a resource for all of us to help learn and prepare ourselves for Ramadhaan and make the most of it.

I will be updating this post frequently, so keep a check and share it inshaAllaah. Do share some good material in the comment(s) section, if you have.

If you come across any broken link, please do inform inshaAllaah. JazaakAllaah khayr.

May Allaah make this fruitful and help us attain maximum benefit from the Blessed month.. aameen. 

On a Journey to my native..

On a journey to my native,

To meet a relative,

I recalled this verse of the Qur'an,

'Fabi'ayyi 'Ālā'i Rabbikumā Tukadhdhibān'?*.

Countdown to Ramadhaan

Some of you might just wonder as to why this article is written ‘so early’ when the month of Ramadhaan is still ‘far away’. Well, as a wake up call let me tell you that Ramadhaan is not too far away from us, alhamdulilaah. We are now into the sacred month of Rajab, and hence Ramadhaan is at a time span of less than two months from us, inshaAllaah. So I decided to write this short reminder that it is time to start ‘preparing’ for the Blessed Month.

A review of the book - "Don't Be Sad"

Book: Don’t be Sad (La Tahazan)

Author: Shaykh ‘Aaidh ibn ‘Abdullah al-Qarni

‘Don’t Be Sad’, the title had caught my attention straight away when I first learnt about this book and without much delay I managed to grab my copy and truly it was worth it!

I wonder how Jannah would be..!

In this soothing breeze,

Under this garden tree,

I wonder how Jannah would be..!

‘Ethic’al Hacking

Pre-Islamic Arabs were well known for their immodest and immoral etiquettes. The desert of Arabia was then, in the darkness of evil. Adultery, gambling, alcoholism, ill-treatment and degradation of women, obscenity and various other inhuman practices were quite common. Moral and social values were missing. It was Islam that rectified the affairs by giving mankind proper code of ethics. Islam instilled in the people proper morals and etiquettes. Islam did away with all social evils and society destroyers.

A human god? What?? Is it really possible???

Many people at some point believe, directly or indirectly, in a philosophy of God becoming a human or taking a human form or the other way round that is, a human getting elevated to the status of God. This philosophy may be referred to as, ‘anthropomorphism’; in which God Almighty is given human characteristics or human beings are presented, portrayed, depicted or considered as God. However, such a philosophy is flawed and Islam rejects such concepts. If God becomes human, who would be looking at the affairs of the universe? And then how can he become God again? Humans are imperfect but God is Perfect. If He becomes a human - how can He be perfect and imperfect, both, at the same time?

Lustful F-law

I might just be one of the last to be writing on the French law (F-law) - which surely is a Flaw - i.e. the banning of 'niqaab' in public places which came into effect early this week. The law was proposed last year and was overwhelming and unanimously approved by the French parliament. France has the highest Muslim population among other European countries and with approximately 5 million adherents; Islam is the second largest religion being practiced in the country.

Marry-go-round!

The topic of marriage is something which is today scarcely discussed. Marriage, its importance and related issues today get very small space and time for discussion. We do not find much literature or material on this topic. Why? Well, I really don’t know! But, the effect of absence of that in ‘theory’ is surely being seen in ‘practice’.

The Meeting

(A short reminder!)

“I am leaving”

“Have your breakfast...”

“No! I’ll get late for the meeting!”

“Oh! You’ll take the bus?”

“No… I can’t wait for the bus, I’ll take the cab. I can’t afford to miss this meeting or even get late!”

Great is Allaah, the Sovereign Lord.

Great is Allaah, the Sovereign Lord,

He is One and Only, there is no other god.

Indeed it is of His Mercy that he Made us all,

Great are His Bounties of Which He Blessed us all.

Cricket Frenzy and the Fanaticism!

Among the things that you would find hard to escape, being in the sub-continent, is the game of Cricket! The passion for the game that the people of the Indian sub-continent have is something that can only be understood by observing the people when a match is on involving the national side or players. The enthusiasm and excitement reaches a high level during the Cricket World Cup. But, over the last few days it is escalating new heights and will probably reach its zenith as India and Pakistan get ready to face each other in a Semi-Final of the undergoing Cricket World Cup!

Preferences...

A wise person is he who understands the difference between good and bad. But, he who when has options, chooses the better one is a successful person. When one understands the importance of choosing the good over bad and better from among the good and inculcates the habit of doing so, he will surely taste successes in this world and also in the Next, inshaAllaah.

Creation is a proof of the Creator!

Creation or created things essentially defines the existence of a Creator. Everything around us is created and primarily points out to a creator. A created thing cannot come into existence on its own. No thing is created, except that it has a creator. For example, a building; have you ever heard anyone say that there used to be a vacant plot and one day bags of cement came and it mixed and there was steel and on their own they formed a building or a tower? Or say a mobile phone or glass, does anyone say that silica and other components came and they mixed and there was this perfect temperature and pressure required to make it, and bingo, it was made on its own. It is not so! Even if someone comes up to say he witnessed any such bizarre event, then again the silica and oil are created elements.

Sweet words of Ibn al-Qayyim, describing Allaah's Greatness.

Bismillaah.

Assalaamualaikum. The following extract is taken from the book "The Weakening of Faith. Its symptoms - Causes & Cure" by Shaykh Mohammad Saleh al-Munajjid, where Ibn al-Qayyim (rah.) is quoted as having described Allaah's Greatness as:

"He governs the affairs of the various kingdoms and He commands and forbids, creates, sustains, gives death, gives life, gives power, strips power (to and from whom He will) and alternates the night and day.