“And fear the Day when you shall return to Allah, and every soul shall be compensated for what they earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly.” 2:281

The day to be feared is awesome indeed. Believers’ hearts dread the events of that day when all will be made to stand in front of God to face the reckoning of their deeds. This verse serves as a fitting comment on a passage devoted to the liquidation of past unfair dealings.

This fear is the powerful ‘voice within’ which Islam kindles in the deepest recesses of people’s minds and hearts to act as a potent guiding force in life. Thus Islam proves yet again how vigorous, well-integrated, practical and merciful it is, and demonstrates that its overriding aim and objective is the happiness and well-being of man as an individual, and human society as a whole.

[In The Shade Of The Qur'an, volume 1, page 468]

“Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky? It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded.” 14:24-25

Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated that Abdullah ibn Abbas commented that Allah’s statement “an example, [making] a good word] refers to testifying to La ilaha illallah, while “like a good tree,” refers to the believer, and “whose root is firmly fixed,” refers to La ilaha illallah being firm in the believers’ heart.

“And its branches [high] in the sky,” refers to the believer’s deeds, good statements and good actions. The believer is just like the beneficial date tree, always having good actions ascending at all times, by day and by night (Hadith of Ibn Umar in Bukhari).

[Tafsir ibn Kathir, volume 5, page 339-340]

The good word of truth is indeed like a great firm tree, yielding its fruits, solid, unaffected by wind and undisturbed by the storm of evil. It cannot be uprooted by evil tyranny, even though there may be times when it seems to be exposed to grave danger. As it stands high, it looks on evil, injustice and tyranny from above, even though it sometimes seems to the short-sighted that evil squeezes it into a narrow corner. Its fruits are yielded time after time, because its seeds grow within good souls, generation after generation.

This is the reality of life, even though it may appear to come very slowly. Real goodness does not die or fade away, even though it may be pressed hard by evil which seems to possess enormous power. These are examples that exist in reality, but people often forget due to the pressures of life.

[In the Shade of the Qur'an, volume 10, page 260-261]

Download audio file (icn_khutbah.mp3)

P.S. Dude’s adhaan in the beginning was awesome masha Allah.

Once again, by the Grace and Mercy of Allah, you and I have been chosen to witness Ramadan this year. This is indeed an exclusive honor as many who witnessed Ramadan last year are not here with us this time. Therefore, it is crucial for us to take advantage of this blessed month and not be among those who the Prophet (saw) said should have their noses rubbed in the dust because they are present during Ramadan and yet do not take advantage of this blessing.

To fully benefit from Ramadan, it is absolutely necessary for us to set at least a few realistic and achievable goals for ourselves. If we start out the month without any goals in mind, there is no doubt that we will never get where we want to be. Before I share my personal goals this Ramadan, let us listen quickly to this beautiful advice from our dear Shaykh, Yaser Birjas:

So there is one reminder I particularly took away from this video: “The best loved deeds to Allah are the ones that are continuous even if they are little” (Bukhari and Muslim).

In addition to doing my prayers on time and doing all my sunnahs, there is one goal I have made for myself keeping the above hadith in mind. I have decided to particularly focus on strengthening my relationship with the Quran as Ramadan is indeed the month of the Quran. I plan on achieving my goal this month in 3 specific ways:

1. Reading/ Reciting: Everyday, I make it a point to read three pages of Quran with proper tajweed. I know I could do more, but I also know that instead of quantity, I want to focus on the quality (ie, I want to make sure I’m reading properly with all the rules). Also, knowing I have a large number of pages to cover, for some reason, makes me feel lazy. So, I am taking it slowly, 3 pages at a time. Alhamdulillah, I have not missed a day, and my plan for next week is to add a page to the existing three.

2. Memorizing (with translation): Do you ever want to memorize more Quran but get overwhelmed at the idea of having to memorize those “long surahs?” I can relate! This year, instead of making a goal to memorize an entire juz or 10 different surahs, I am memorizing only three verses a day, but- here’s the catch- with word to word translation. To aid my memorization, I have picked one mushaf to read from and one Qari to follow along with. Verse by Verse Quran has been a great help as I can listen to Qari Husary’s recitation and memorize with it. Another amazing resource that I have been using for the word-to-word translation is Allah’s Quran.  I can see the Arabic text, the word by word breakdown of the meaning, and listen to the recitation, AND read the tafsir all at the same time. Alhamdulillah for technology, eh?

3. Listening to lectures on the Quran: Finally, it is always good to listen to reminders on a daily basis, so I have been listening to a class online on the Quran. If you are like me and have been looking for a nice, motivating, and FREE Quran class during Ramadan,  I would definitly recommend:

This class is conducted daily by Wisam Sharieff, instructor at Bayyinah Institute. Even if you can’t listen to both sessions, you can at least benefit from one.

So, this is a jist of how I am reconnecting with the Book of Allah this Ramadan.  Often, we focus on lots of new and “big” things, but brush some of the more fundamental, but important aspects of our deen.  So, I urge everyone who reads this to make an effort, insha Allah, to invest some time into connecting with the Quran during this blessed month. And if you are already doing so, please share your tips!

May Allah accept our deeds this Ramadan and make it our best one yet

There is an opinion amongst a community of Muslims that there are words that can be used as a synonym for words in the Qur’an, an opinion that arises from the camp of Muslims who believe that the spirit of the Qur’an is more important than the actual preservation of the letter. While it’s important not to go to either pole, a balance between adherence to the letter and understanding the spirit must be established in order to understand the Qur’an and Islam in a productive way.

Though the message behind the words is of definite importance, there is no doubt amongst the scholars of Islam that each and every word in the Qur’an has a specific significance and purpose behind its usage. To demonstrate this, the example of of the word “wife” can be given

In the Qur’an we find, amongst others, two usages of the word “wife” in Arabic – zawjah and imraa. Although they seem completely synonymous at face value, there is one subtle difference that shows the extreme importance of word choice in the Qur’an. If we look to classical Arabic dictionaries and texts, we find that there is an inherent meaning for each rendition of the word “wife.”

There are two qualities of a wife that the words seek to qualify: first, that they are compatible with their husbands (in goals and personalities), and second, that they bring about goodness for their husbands. The word  zawjah fulfills both qualifications, while the word imraa only qualifies one or the other; it doesn’t fulfill both. If we look to the Qur’anic text, we see examples that show this.

If we look to the chapter of Al-Lahab, the 111th chapter in the Qur’an, we see the verse:

And his wife, too, carrier of the firewood. (111:5)

The second word in the verse is a rendition of the word imraa, conjugated in the possessive, referring to the wife of Abu Lahab, an enemy of the Prophet. In the context of the verse, the Qur’an is describing the punishment in the afterlife that Abu Lahab will receive for the evil that he did towards the Prophet. At the same time, the Qur’an describes that his wife will not only join him, but she will be a “carrier of the firewood [of hell]” as well.

If we look back to the definition of imraa as compared to the definition of zawjah, we can see the clear reason as to why the word imraa was used and how they are not synonymous in this case. Abu Lahab and his wife exemplified great compatibility – a fun date for them would include both of them criticizing the Prophet. However, it is clear from this verse that in their lives, and their afterlives, she did not bring goodness to him, thus she only fulfills one qualification of the definition of the word wife in the sense that she is compatible with Abu Lahab, but does not bring him goodness (in fact, she brings him punishment!).

On the other side of imraa, we see an example of the linguistic importance of maintaining “the letter” in the Qur’anic description of the wife of Pharoah. In the Chapter of Qasas, the 28th chapter of the Qur’an in verse 9, it says:

And the wife of Pharoah said…(28:9)

Here we find that the wife of Pharoah is referred to as imraa`tu fir’awn, thus being given the title of imraa rather than zawjah. But why is this? In Islamic tradition, isn’t the wife of Pharoah seen as a positive figure? Absolutely, which is why she received the title of imraa rather than zawjah; she was positive, but her husband, unfortunately, was not. Thus, like the wife of Abu Lahab, she fulfilled only one characteristic of the wife, albeit a better one, and so was given the title imraa due to her good character and potential in bringing goodness to her husband, but was not compatible with him in the least.

So when is the term zawjah used in the Qur’an, then? When does the Qur’an address a wife in a spousal relationship that is both compatible with her husband and also a person of good character? In a verse that is perhaps the most commonly used verse on wedding invitations, worldwide, we see a perfect example and answer to this question. In the Chapter of Ar-Rum, verse 21, the Qur’an says:

And of His signs is that He created for you from among yourselves couple that you may find repose in them and He put love and mercy between you. No doubt, in it are signs for a people who ponder. (30:21)

Here we see the Qur’an use the plural form of zawj, azwaaj, and afterwards describes positive characteristics and qualities of spouses and relationships that can only be found if the spouses are compatible and of good character.

While each argument maintains a certain level of validity, taking the spirit of the Qur’an over the letter, or vice versa, is not the correct methodology when dealing with this supremely divine text. It is through a balanced understanding, found and reinforced with simple examples such as the ones stated above, that Muslims will be able to understand their religion in a productive manner and bring goodness to themselves, the Muslim community, and to humanity in general – seeking letter and spirit simultaneously.

As usual, the message had only temporarily sunken in. After the salah, I walked out, did the usual salaams and meeting with the other sisters, and before I knew it, the khutbah was the last thing I was thinking about.

That was until I saw two big, red ambulances parked in the masjid parking lot with their sirens blaring.

Like everyone else, I rushed out to see what was going on, and saw that Mufti Usmani was on a stretcher, being carried into the ambulance. He had a mild heart attack and had passed out in the musallah.

Mufti Usmani is probably around 80 years old, and possibly my most favorite old man in all of Memphis. He was my old Sunday School Qur’an teacher, the founder of the Muslim Society of Memphis, and most recently, the one who performed my nikkah. Basically, I have mad respect for this man. Later this afternoon, my dad told me that Dr. Usmani had been taken to the hospital, had a surgery, and had pacemaker fitted in his heart.

Later in the evening, we got a phone call from a close family friend. She informed us that her 18 year old daughter has multiple blockages in her heart and needs a transplant, or else there are slim chances of her living.

This all happened in one day. SubhanAllah.

Now, the message from the Khutbah is really sinking in. Death can happen anytime, to anyone. Allah (swt) reminds us in Surat Zumar to make the most of this life so that we are prepared for the hereafter, to preserve our prayers, to give. He reminds us to pack our suitacase, fill it with as many good deed s as we can so we don’t regret wasting time in this life when we are standing before Him, about to enter the next. And very imporantly, He reminds us to continually repent for our wrong actions while we can.

Allah gives us this advice very clearly in Surat Zumar, verses 54-58:
1.Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the Penalty comes on you: after that ye shall not be helped.
2.And follow the best of (the courses) revealed to you from your Lord, before the Penalty comes on you – of a sudden while ye perceive not!-
3.Lest the soul should (then) say: ‘Ah! Woe is me!- In that I neglected (my duty) towards Allah, and was but among those who mocked!’-
4.Or (lest) it should say: ‘If only Allah had guided me, I should certainly have been among the righteous!’-
5.Or (lest) it should say when it (actually) sees the penalty: ‘If only I had another chance, I should certainly be among those who do good.’

The life that has been given to us by Allah is a golden opportunity for us to serve Him and please Him as best as we can. What we do with our life now directly affectis our position in the Hereafter. We can’t forget to ask Allah for forgiveness now and just expect to plea at the time of death and expect to be forgiven. While Allah is the Most Forgiving, we also have to remember that we have to do our good deeds and turn to Him before the Penalty comes on us, because after that we are not going to be helped.

Let us ask Allah to guide us so that we are not from among those who are regretful on the Day of Judgment, inshaAllah.

The part after Surat al-Fatiha is the ending of Surah Yasîn (chapter 36), verses 77-83. Click the play button to hear the clip, and read along with the amazingly beautiful recitation masha Allah.

Download audio file (bashar.mp3)

77. Does man not see that We (Allah) created him of a sperm drop, and yet! he is openly disputing?
78. He strikes for Us an analogy, yet he forgot his own creation. He says: “Who will bring together the bones when they have decayed?”
79. Say (oh Muhammad) : “He Who first brought them into being will bring them together; He knows well about every kind of creation…
80. …He Who created from (the parts of) a green tree a fire for you, a fire to light your stoves with.”
81. Does He, Who created the heavens and the earth, have no power to create the likes of them? Yes, indeed, He is the Best Creator.
82. Whenever He wills a thing, He just commands it “Be” and it is.
83. Glory be to He Who has full control over everything, and to Him you (creation) shall all return.

How amazing is it to understand what is being recited, to know why the imam raises his voice and stresses certain words? It’s awesome. Allah, enable us to learn Arabic to understand the Qur’an and come closer to You.

The imam in the recording is currently living in Jordan. His name is Bashar; I don’t know his last name. He’s from Palestine originally, and he’s been reciting the Qur’an since he was six.

My friend, while in Jordan, went into a masjid to pray. He heard Bashar give an amazing iqama, and then noticed that he was pushed up to lead the prayer. Noting his powerful voice during the call to prayer, my friend quickly thought to start recording a video on his digital camera in his pocket, being able to at least catch the sound of the recitation during the actual prayer.

With all of these evil instances guaranteed to happen to us at one point or another, is their any point to go on? It seems as if we’re just set up to fail. If you’ve ever felt distressed or depressed about the transgressions of your soul, Allah has got answers for you that you will not want to miss.

Through His beloved Prophet Muhammad [saw], Allah reminds us about the nature of our being. “Every son of Adam is a sinner,” the Prophet [saw] began a hadith. In this first part of his statement, the Prophet is reminding us of our total weakness to fall into temptation and give in to the possibility to sin. He reminds us that we will, without a doubt, misbehave; that there will never be a period of time which we do not do wrong.

Kind of a bitter reality check, right?

After this reminder sets in and establishes itself as a tangible reality within the human, the Prophet [saw] finishes the hadith, “and the best of sinners are those who repent constantly.” Thus while we will never be able to make it through a complete day without stumbling once or twice, we are reminded that the fact that we sin is not really what matters, but what truly is important is that we counter our inevitable faults with prayers for forgiveness.

This doesn’t mean that we should just give in to every sin we encounter and rely on our repentance alone, however. Part of effective repentance from the inevitable sins comes in two parts: first is to stay away from doing the sin at all costs, and the second is to sincerely repent if the resistance isn’t strong enough.

But is saying sorry enough? Won’t our sins accumulate to a point where Allah will not even accept our prayers for forgiveness anymore? Let’s quench our heart’s thirst with this verse from the Qur’an:

“Tell them (oh Muhammad): ‘My (God’s) Servants who have committed excesses against themselves, do not be in despair in the mercy of Allah – surely, Allah forgives all sins. Verily Allah is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful’”
[Surah az-Zumar 39:53]

For all of us who, at one point or another, thought that we were beyond help. At times when we had sunken into sadness over our own shortcomings. When we missed fajr that morning, when we yelled at our mom when she was just trying to help us, when we looked at that girl when we know we shouldn’t have – this verse gives us hope.

Allah [swt] is commanding us, not advising us, to never lose despair. Because of the word choice and way He is using it, it is taken from this verse that it is actually prohibited, forbidden, and haram upon us to lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for surely “Allah forgives all sins.” Again, while this definitely isn’t a free ticket to go and party hard in haram fashion, it is a reminder to balance our hearts in regards to fearing Allah’s punishment, and hoping for His love and mercy.

So let the light at the end of the tunnel stay lit, let the rays of sun coming from behind those dark clouds shine through. There is hope for Allah’s forgiveness, and we know this because He tells us so. We may have faults and shortcomings, but it’s nothing that Allah can’t forgive; coupled with sincere repentance, getting forgiveness is as close as asking for it insha Allah.

“The heart is like a bird; Love is the head, and the two wings are hope and fear.”
Madaarij as-Salikeen by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Alhamdulilah, in the last post we covered the fact that we have the final say before doing an action. Allah[swt] gave us the power to either give in to temptation, or to stomp on our shaytaans dreams by remaining righteous and going closer to Allah[swt].Aside from the last post, this is simply put and reaffirmed once again in Surat al-Israa, ayah 65, when Allah[swt] says to Shaytaan:

“Indeed, over My [believing] servants you have no authority.And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of Affairs.”

Amazing. Allah[swt] straight up tells Shaytaan here that he’s got nothing on Allah[swt]s believing servants, or his ‘abd in arabic. So, how do we become one of these ‘abd so we’ll be immune from Shaytaan insha Allah?

To every question there is an answer in the Quran. Let’s take a gander at Surat al-Furqaan, ayat 63-76, I’ll just put the translation cause it’s kind of lengthy.

63 And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], the respond [with words of] peace.
64 And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer].
65 And those who say “Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed its punishment is ever adhering,
66 indeed it is evil as a settlement and residence.”
67 And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively nor sparingly, but are ever, between that, just moderate.
68 And those who do not invote with Allah another deity or kill the soul, which Allah forbidden except by right, and do not commit adultery. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty.
69 Multiplied for him is the punishment on the day of resurrection and he will abide therein humiliated.
70 Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. 71 And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance.
72 And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity.
73 And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind.
74 And those who say “Our Lord grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us a leader [example] for the righteous.
75 Those will be awarded the Chamber [the most elevated portion of Jannah]
76 Abiding eternally therein. Good is the settlement and residence.Since this is a big chunk of ayat with instructions with each one, I’m going to try to break it down vun by vun.

63.‘Those who walk upon the earth easily‘ is explained in the tafseer books as those who walk gently, with the balance of having dignity while not being arrogant. Try, to walk in a confidantly humble manner.
64.Tahajjud doesn’t mean that we have to get up hours before fajr and bust out a juz per rak’a in recitation. Before you go to bed, pray two rak’a with the intention of tahajjud. Or, even more rewarding would be to wake up and pray two rak’a right before Fajr begins. While you’re praying, beg Allah[swt] for your worldly and otherworldly desires to be fulfilled; He loves it when we ask him for things, and tahajjud is the time to do it.
65 & 66. This one is alhamdulilah do-able by all of us, all the time. Always try to remember to ask Allah[swt] to protect you from the hell fire, because it’s definitely not a pleasant place to be.
67. When you buy something, don’t buy the most expensive, but don’t buy the cheapest – get the one right in the middle. This shows balance and modesty, as well as a healthy level of attachment to the dunya (not too attached, but not just floating around all day).
68. Don’t have any other gods, because there is only one God[swt]. Don’t kill anyone, especially innocent, because Allah[swt] has made killing haraam except by certain rights, and no hanky panky.
69. Warning us about what will happen if we do the things Allah[swt] told us not to do. We should take these warnings seriously, reflect on them, and not just read them like a story.
70 & 71. Here, Allah[swt] is saying that if we do any of the aforementioned sins, we shouldn’t despair; we still have hope. Just repent to Allah, have belief in Him and His message, and do good deeds, and then insha Allah, Allah will replace our sins with good deeds. Then in the next ayah, He is reaffirming that if we just repent and try our best to do good deeds from then on, our repentance will be accepted insha Allah.Note that this is amazing for those of us who are living or have lived sinful lives. Those of us who want to repent, but are discouraged by all the sinning we’ve already done. But to us Allah says not to worry, he’ll forgive all that and give us equal amounts of good deeds. There’s no excuse for us not to turn our lives around, insha Allah
72. Don’t lie or testify to something you know is a lie. And if you hear something bad or someone says something bad to you, be the better person and walk away with the dignity of silence.
73. This one may be the hardest one for us. Reflecting on the verses of the Quran. Here’s a tip: instead of reading the Quran like a story or a narrative, read each verse or sets of verses and really think about them. How do these apply to me? Am I like the people of heaven or hell? How can I change. The Quran isn’t meant to just be an occasional read. It’s meant to help us analyze ourselves and change our lives for the better, insha Allah. Try as best you can to develop a connection to Allah[swt] through His book.
74. Ask Allah[swt] to grant us a great family. ‘Comfort of my eyes’ here means a source of happiness, not just because of anything, but due to their righteousness and commitment to Allah[swt]. Also, ask to be among those who can be a good example for others as well. But remember, asking is one part, then we have to try.
75 & 76. Allah[swt] is then telling us what we will recieve if we show our commitment to Him by doing all the acts of righteousness, and abstain from acts of sin.Sorry for the long post, it’s a big set of ayat.

That, in a nutshell, is how we can become some of Allah[swt]’s most beloved people. Now, if we’re not doing any of these, then maybe we should start by doing one or two and mastering them, then moving onto the next. Be careful of trying to take on too big a task all at once, especially in Islam. Small but consistent is more beloved to Allah[swt] than huge and sporatic. Insha Allah, keeping this in mind, we can all become better and closer to Allah[swt].

Wassalamu Alaykum

So we were doing tafseer of Surat Qaf last night, ayah 27.

“His companion will say ‘Our Rabb! I did not mislead him. He himself has gone far astray.’”

We were discussing the concept of sinning; what leads us to do it, and whether or not people are correct when they say “Shaytaan made me do it.” ‘Companion’ here is the arabic word qareenuhoo. This companion is not a friend or an angel. This companion is the shaytaan companion that every human has with them, the workers of the big Shaytaan (note the capital S). These shaytaan are the ones that whisper to us to try to convince us to sin, and tempts us to do things that we shouldn’t. Everyone has a qareenuhoo that is evil except Muhammad[saw] – he converted his to Islam. In reference to another ayah, but still pertaining to this, Ibn Masood[r] explained why Shaytaan is referred to as the ‘retreating whisperer’ in the Quran. The method that shaytaans use to get us to sin is to plant the seed of desire to do the sin, then he goes away from us once we consciously make the decision to do it. Therefore, it is actually us, ourselves who are doing the sins; shaytaans do not ‘control’ anyone.This ayah, then, is drawing us the picture of what will happen on Yawm al-Qiyamah. We’ll have our books, and we’ll be shown all the deeds that we’ve done. When we’re asked about our bad deeds we’ll try to pit the blame on our qareenuhoos, our shaytaan companions. Subhan Allah, we even try to do that today, and we’re not even being judged yet…imagine how desperately we’ll be passing off the blame on that day. Our shaytaan is then gonna say the ayah above, telling Allah ‘I didn’t make them do anything, I only suggested it.’Pretty intense stuff, huh? Nowhere to hide, no one else to blame.An ayah that shows the idea of us controlling our actions beyond any temptation is in a surah we all know [hopefully]. In Surat An-Nas, Allah[swt] says in ayah number 5

“[Say 'I seek Refuge in Allah from the one]who whispers into the chests of Mankind,”

In this ayah, Allah[swt] doesn’t say quloob, or ‘hearts.’ He says sudoor, a word in arabic which literally means ‘chests.’ Ustaadh Ehab Sha’er mentioned that it’s interesting that Allah[swt] says chests instead of hearts, because this shows us that Shaytaan does not have direct control of our hearts, enough to force us to do an action. Rather, he only can surround it and whisper evil things to it, at best.

Subhan Allah man, the Quran is so cool.

The practical lesson that I learned is that no matter how tempting the desire of Shaytaan may seem to us, we control our own actions, so it’s time to take control of my life and stop this stupid sinning, insha Allah.

NEXT POST: Wouldn’t it be sweet to have the characteristics of someone that Allah[swt] calls his ‘abd (worshipper)? How cool would that be, for Allah[swt] to refer to you as someone he LOVES? Check out the next post to find out what we need to do to get there.

Baraaku Allah Feek,M’a Salaam