Guidance from the Holy Quran

I'm almost coming to the end of my Tajwid course. We have completed the textbook and Bro Shukor has started us on the Holy Quran.

Last 2 weeks, we were still in Juz amma, but last week, he gave us a challenging task. He started from Surah al-Baqarah. Masya allah! This is my first time reading from the front! And for 3 years, i've not taken the courage to begin from the front. ;)

So since i'm reading it, i think it's important for me to know the meaning as well...

In the name of Allah Most Merciful Most Compassionate

Alif Lam Mim. (1) This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah. (2) Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. (3)

And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter. (4) They are on (true guidance), from their Lord and it is these who will prosper. (5)

As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe. (6) Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing And on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur). (7)

Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day" but they do not (really) believe. (8) Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, and realize (it) not! (9) In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease and grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves). (10)

When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth", they say: "Why, we only want to make peace!" (11) Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief, but they realize (it) not. (12) When it is said to them: "Believe as the others believe" they say: "Shall we believe as the fools believe?" Nay, of a surety they are the fools, buy they do not know. (13)

When they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe" but when they are alone with their evil ones they say: "We are really with you we; (were) only jesting. (14) Allah will throw back their mockery on them and give them rope in their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones (to and fro). (15)

These are they who have bartered guidance for error: but their traffic is profitless, and they have lost true direction. (16) Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him, Allah took away their light and left them in utter darkness so they could not see. (17) Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path).

(Surah al-Baqara 2:1~17)

Hold on to your only HOPE: Allah

Each day in our Solat, we repeatedly make one humble request to Allah, our Creator and Sustainer: 'Guide us on the Straight Path.' (al-Fatiha : 4). It is only by seeking and staying on the Straight Path, that we can ever hope to attain true salvation and success. What then must we do to ensure that Allah accepts and grants our Prayer? The Quran explains: 'Whosoever holds on to Allah, he has already been guided onto a Straight Path. (Al-Imran :101)

How do we hold onto Allah (itisam billah) and develop a close attachment and a close relationship with Allah? Here are some reflection on the characteristics:

Being Thankful to Allah

First is being ever grateful and thankful to Allah for everything that you possess including your wealth, health, status, intellectual abilities and life. You should recognise that your very existence and your continuing sustenance are dependent on Allah. Whatever praise is due, therefore, it is due to Him alone, for nobody has the power or the resources to give you anything except by His will. His bounties and blessings are countless. Allah says:

"Is then, He who creates comparable to any that cannot create? Will you not, then, take heed?For should you try to count Allah's blessings, you could never compute them. Allah is, indeed, All Forgiving, All Compassionate; and Allah knows all that you keep secret as well as all that you bring into the open. "
(Surah an Nahl 17-19)

It is for this reason that Allah swt commanded the Prophet Ibrahim a.s to say: It is He who has created me, and so it is He who guides me; it is He who gives me to eat and drink, and whenever i am sick it is He who heals me; and it is He who makes me die and then will bring me to life. And upon Him, I pin my hope that He would forgive my sins on the Day of Judgement. (Surah ash-Shuara :77~82)

Nevertheless, keep praying to Allah.

“When my servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close to them. I listen to the Prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me. Let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me so that they may walk in the right way". (Surah al Baqara 2:186)

And the Prophet s.a.w said, “The worshipper is closest to his Lord while bowing down. So pray much then.”

Of Hoofbeats and Zebra

I'm currently reading this book titled 'When you hear hoofbeats, think of a Zebra.' by Shems Friedlander.
Title sounds abit strange right? But it's an interesting read about Sufism. It contains several short stories on Sufism.

Would like to share the introduction with you. If you like it, you can get it from wardahbooks . It's back in print. :)

When we hear hoofbeats, do we think of a zebra? Probably not. Because we usually do everything the way we've always done it. I'm interested in how we perceive reality and how we gain the knowledge to accomplish this. Islam and Sufism ask us to gain knowledge. To have knowledge of Allah it is necessary to have knowledge of ourselves. If we truly know ourselves, then we will know Allah. If Allah allows us to know Him, we might know ourselves.

This body we live in is a kingdom and a grave. It is a kingdom where our heart resides. It is the grave of our soul. Our heart has the spiritual faculty of knowing Allah. Through this body we experience the world, we travel through this world like a traveler in the desert, and no one remains here. When it is their time, all the prophets and beings endowed with divine grace and knowledge, regardless of their achievement and station, will go. He who created them will also take them, whether they are willing to go or not. This power that brought us here will remove us from here. This power of Allah not only created us, but created everyone and everything we love; whether it be a man, woman or flower, it is His creation.

To understand Sufism, we have to understand that Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and all in between, also created us. If we can fathom and accept that Allah created each of us, then we know that He has created everyone who is on this planet. We are not just something that happened; each of us is a miracle. If we understood this, we would not take ourselves for granted....

Not only are we obliged to seek knowledge, we must also understand how to behave in life. We will never understand this unless we observe ourselves in daily life. Observe ourselves, and not try immediately to change, but to say,"Ah, this lazy one again, how easily he got angry." We must first try to recognize all the faults within us, in order to change them into qualitites, in order to become our own shepherd...

A man was wounded in battle, but he didn't let his friends draw the arrow out of him. First he wanted to know who the archer was, what he looked like, and where he was standing when he shot the arrow. He wanted to know the type of bow and the length of the arrow. As he discussed all these things, he died.

This is how we are in life. We must pull out the arrow of useless thoughts, throw it away, and discard the toys of our mind before it is too late.

We make our prayers and roll our beads. If we do it mechanically, we don't change, and then we argue that there is something missing in the Path. How do we change ourselves? When we say Bismillah, in the name of Allah, before we eat and then just gobble down the food, never thinking of Allah, we come to the end of the meal feeling stuffed and only know that we have eaten a lot of food. If we say Bismillah knowing that we are putting the Nur, LIght of Allah, into the food, and if we eat this food with the idea that the food will nourish us so that we may be strong to pray to Allah and thank Him, then we are eating correctly. If we dress not out of vanity and not for fashion, then we are dressing correctly.

What is this life, that passes so quickly and in a moment is gone? An old dervish in Madinah once said to me that life is a gift that consists of 3 days and 2 are gone. No matter how much money you have, regardless of how much influence you have in this world, you cannot bring those days back. We have one day left, and in that remaining day are we going to seek the pleasures of the world that we know are so temporary? Can we not put the love of Allah in our hearts before that heart becomes dust? For dust it will become. And for those who could never have enough of big houses and acres of land, one day they will have to be satisfied with six feet of earth....
(end of introduction)

That's a little preview of the book. I like it because it's presented in stories form.

Countdown to Ramadan

Alhamdulillah!

In just one week's time, all Muslims will be welcoming Ramadan, the blessed month and the best of all months. Allah has decreed this month the best of all months. The days of this month are the best among the days and the nights are the best among the nights and the hours during Ramadan are the best among the hours.

Updates from my daily doses have since slowed down with the coming of Ramadan, as I am busy clearing some dunya matters. Meanwhile, if I have not shared it with my readers before, i'm putting this up for all of you; to serve as a reminder; to assist all of us in gearing ourselves towards the gifts and favours of Ramadan that Allah swt has blessed us with.

Baihaqi reported on the authority of Salman Al-Farsi (Radhi Allah 'Anh) that Prophet ('Alaihi Salat was-Salam) delivered a sermon on the last day of the month of Sha'ban. In it he ('Alaihi Salat was-Salam) said,

"O People! The month of Allah (Ramadan) has come with its mercies, blessings and forgivenesses. Allah has decreed this month the best of all months. The days of this month are the best among the days and the nights are the best among the nights and the hours during Ramadan are the best among the hours. This is a month in which you have been invited by Him (to fast and pray). Allah has honoured you in it. In every breath you take is a reward of Allah, your sleep is worship, your good deeds are accepted and your invocations are answered.

Therefore, you must invoke your Lord in all earnestness with hearts free from sin and evil, and pray that Allah may help you to keep fast, and to recite the Holy Qur’an. Indeed!, miserable is the o­ne who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month. While fasting remember the hunger and thirst o­n the Day of Judgement. Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to your elders, have sympathy for your youngsters and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. Guard your tongue against unworthy words, and your eyes from scenes that are not worth seeing (forbidden) and your ears from sounds that should not be heard.

Be kind to orphans so that if your children may become orphans they will also be treated with kindness. Do repent to Allah for your sins and supplicate with raised hands at the times of prayer as these are the best times, during which Allah Almighty looks at His servants with mercy. Allah Answers if they supplicate, Responds if they call, Grants if He is asked, and Accepts if they entreat. O people! you have made your conscience the slave of your desires.

Make it free by invoking Allah for forgiveness. Your back may break from the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate yourself before Allah for long intervals, and make this load lighter. Understand fully that Allah has promised in His Honour and Majesty that, people who perform salat and sajda (prostration) will be guarded from Hell-fire o­n the Day of Judgement.

O people!, if anyone amongst you arranges for iftar (meal at sunset) for any believer, Allah will reward him as if he had freed a slave, and Allah will forgive him his sins. A companion asked: “but not all of us have the means to do so” The Prophet (SAAWS) replied: Keep yourself away from Hell-fire though it may consist of half a date or even some water if you have nothing else.

O people!, anyone who during this month cultivates good manners, will walk over the Sirat (bridge to Paradise) o­n the day when feet will tend to slip. For anyone who during this month eases the workload of his servants, Allah will make easy his accounting, and for anyone who doesn’t hurt others during this month, Allah will safeguard him from His Wrath o­n the Day of Judgement. Anyone who respects and treats an orphan with kindness during this month, Allah shall look at him with kindness o­n that Day. Anyone who treats his kinsmen well during this month, Allah will bestow His Mercy o­n him o­n that Day, while anyone who mistreats his kinsmen during this month, Allah will keep away from His Mercy.

Whomever offers the recommended prayers during this month, Allah will save him from Hell, and whomever observes his obligations during this month, his reward will be seventy times the reward during other months. Whomever repeatedly invokes Allah’s blessings o­n me, Allah will keep his scale of good deeds heavy, while the scales of others will be tending to lightness. Whomever recites during this month an ayat (verse) of the Holy Qur’an, will get the reward of reciting the whole Qur’an in other months.

O people!, the gates of Paradise remain open during this month. Pray to your Lord that they may not be closed for you. While the gates of Hell are closed, pray to your Lord that they never open for you. Satan has been chained, invoke your Lord not to let him dominate you."

Ali ibn Talib (RAA) said: “I asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, what are the best deeds during this month’?” ‘He replied: ‘O Abu-Hassan, the best of deeds during this month is to be far from what Allah has forbidden’.”