LET THIS BE A START

All of us Pakistanis are together helping our fellows in pain and endless troubles, and all of us are making use of all the ways in which we can lessen their pain even if we are having to sacrifice. I wish this spirit remains high and doesnt settle down in the next few days. Because no matter how much we do they will need us much and for a long time.

And why should we forget, its not just now after the earthquake that we are seeing all this suffering. Most people in our country are already poor, there are homeless spending their days and nights in the open no matter how fierce the weather is.

There are foodless with big families, because they cant earn enough money, and many even commit suicide due to that.

There are those (actually most in our country) who dont have clean water to drink, because its all contaminated and causes death and disease.

And when they get ill, they cant afford for themselves a proper treatment or even a simple medicine.

Infact, all the suffering that you are seeing now has been there already and on a much larger scale than this quake has caused.

Other than the food and shelter missing, you can imagine all kinds of troubles in store for the poor and weak in our country and all over the Muslim world. Injustice, opression by the rich and poweful, cruelty shown to the women, and lack of all the basic facilities like education, jobs etc.

Isnt all that equally heart aching? we must remain sensitive to this, and not show apathy thinking we keep hearing about this all the time and its just too common.

SO why shouldnt we keep together and united like this and like we have already tried our best to help the quake victims on our own. LETS CONTINUE THIS FOREVER, HELPING THE POOR and THOSE in PAIN. Lets this be a start and make ourselves more organized so we can help properly now and in coming times

Right now i m remided of a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said that anyone of you having any extra thing (that he doesnt use) he should give it to the other person (and not keep it to himself)

Who would remain poor if all of us did this?

Keep Sharing! :)

May Allah bless us all, aameen.

I will put the reference of the hadith later when i find it inshaAllah , i read it in Riyad us Saliheen.

If you are thankful and believe....

"Why should ALLAH punish you, if you are thankful and if you believe ? And ALLAH is Appreciating, All-Knowing"

[The Quraan:4:147]


"And that you seek forgiveness of your Lord, and then turn to HIM. HE will provide for you a goodly provision until an appointed term. And HE will grant HIS grace to everyone possessed of merit. And if you turn away, then surely I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day".

"To ALLAH is your return; and HE has full power over all things".

[The Quraan 11:3-4]

Friday

This Friday please make special prayers for the earthquake victims and the effectees. And for ourselves, we must make prayers of forgivness, and we MUST offer prayers of repentance, so that Allah diverts His punishment from us, relents to us and shows His mercy.

Aameen.


"Know that ALLAH is Severe in punishment and that ALLAH is also Most Forgiving and ever Merciful".
5: 98.

I still can't believe that the same magnitude earthquake that I survived has destroyed some other cities completely. And I must do something specially as a thanks to Allah for that and for the help of people who are in pain beyong words.

No matter how much we do, it can't make up for the losses they are suffering and will continue to suffer.

Here in Islamabad we couldnt sleep for many nights due to the fear of aftershocks which havent been just a few (a 5.5 aftershock recorded just today morning, and my dad just called telling me his office building has been evacuated coz there are news/rumors for more quakes of high magnitude). We made special prayers during the Taraveeh prayers at the mosque and more nafl prayers for forgiveness and repentance also. And everyone of us must do that as well.

Now although the fear has lessened but its the extreme suffering of the our fellows that doesnt let us rest peacefully. Its heart aching. There are kids, old people, women being taken out from under the debris after days, from the seriously wounded to unscratched. Most painful is to see the kids who have survived but have lost their parents, no doubt they aren't the same anymore, they have plain faces and empty staring eyes.

And then homeless people living under the open sky day and night in cold, withouth tents, clothes, and even water.

Ordinary people are helping a great deal, and both the local and global media are conveying images of the catastrophe, but I m only afraid this fervour would only be initial and the effected people might be forgotten soon, while they will be needing long term help.

Please dont forget them and move on with ur comfortable lives while they will be suffering till the end of their lives. We all know the ways in which we can help, find out more ways even if you have to make little sacrifices. Allah will show mercy! InshaaAllah

I think three kinds of aid is needed, its our material aid, our physical help, and our efforts to help reduce their stress and trauma, and ofcourse their rehabilitation in time. InshaaAllah. There are a million ways we can do that, so get up and do it for God only.

"...`Seek help from ALLAH and be steadfast..."

7:129-The Holy Quraan

`And seek forgiveness of your Lord; then turn wholly to HIM. Verily, my Lord is Merciful, Most Loving.'

11: 91- The Holy Quraan

The earth is not still yet and its been two days after the quake. Everyone plz keep praying.

I have a class now, will be back soon to write more.

Shaken

Its 3rd Ramadan, and a little time ago at 8:52 am we were shaken by a horrible voilent earthquake here in Pakistan. I had just finished posting my previous entry on this blog, and was still on the computer when it started and i just felt lifeless coz it was the strongest quake i have ever felt.

My house was swaying right and left, back and forth, and i couldnt run to go out (i could manage to move only as much to get under this table that i work on, and watch everything vibrate in front of me). Astaghfirullah very frightening it was. May Allah have mercy on all of us aameen.

There are still aftershocks as i write this which will continue for the next few days according to the Met. department. How terrible it must be for the people who are still alive under the rubble, injured and calling for help. May Allah protect them and help them to get out unharmed, and may Allah have mercy on the souls of those who have already died in this. Aameen.

Allah SWT says in the Quraan:

"Do you feel secure from HIM Who is in the heaven that HE will not cause the earth to sink with you ? When lo ! it begins to shake".

........ Then will you know how terrible was MY Warning!"

[Al Mulk-67: 16-17]

It was indeed a big warning for us, should make us think. Allah! You are so kind to give me still another chance. I will be as it pleases You and will remember You all the time. Give me the ability to keep my promises that i keep making to You, Forgive me and have mercy and keep us safe Aameen.

To a Dead Heart

The servant is not afflicted with a punishment greater in severity than the hardening of the heart and its being distant from Allaah. The Fire was created to melt the hardened heart, this heart which is the most distant of hearts from Allaah. If the heart becomes hardened the eye becomes dry [and finds no joy or tranquillity].

There are four matters, when the limits are transgressed with regards to them, which harden the heart: food, sleep, speech and sexual intercourse. A body afflicted by disease does not derive nourishment from food and water and similarly a diseased heart does not benefit from admonishment or exhortation.

Whosoever desires to purify his heart then let him give preference to Allaah over his base desires.

The heart that clings to its base desires is veiled from Allaah in accordance to the strength of its attachment to them. The hearts are the vessels of Allaah upon His earth, hence the most beloved of them to Him are those that are most tender, pure and resistant to deviation.

[A reference to the hadeeth, "Truly, Allaah has vessels from amongst the people of the earth, and the vessels of your Lord are the hearts of his righteous slaves, and the most beloved of them to Him are the softest and most tender ones" and it is hasan. Refer to as-Saheehah (no. 1691)]

The transgressors preoccupied their hearts with the pursuit of this world. If only they had preoccupied them with Allaah and seeking the Hereafter then they would have instead reflected upon the meaning of His Words and His Signs that are witnessed in creation. Their hearts would have returned to their owners (in whose chests they reside) bestowing upon them marvellous wisdom and pearls of benefit.

When the heart is nourished with dhikr, its thirst quenched with contemplation and cleansed from corruption, it shall witness remarkable and wondrous matters and be inspired with wisdom.

Not every individual who is endowed with knowledge and wisdom and dons its robe is from among its people. Rather the People of Knowledge and Wisdom are those who have infused life into their hearts by slaughtering their desires. As for the one who has destroyed his heart and given precedence to his desires then knowledge and wisdom are deprived from his tongue.

The destruction of the heart occurs through possessing a sense of security and negligence. The heart is fortified through fear of Allaah and dhikr. If the heart renounces the pleasures of this world then it will be directed towards pursuing the bliss of the Hereafter and it will be amongst those who call to it. Should the heart become content with the pleasures of this world the bliss of the Hereafter ceases to be pursued.

Yearning for Allaah and meeting Him is like a gentle breeze blowing upon the heart, blowing away the blazing desire for this world. Whosoever causes his heart to settle with his Lord shall find himself in a calm and tranquil condition and whosoever sends it amongst the people shall be disturbed and excessively perturbed. This is because the love of Allaah can never enter the heart which contains love of this world until the camel passes through they eye of a needle.

Therefore the most beloved servant to Allaah is the one who He places in His servitude, who He selects for His Love, who He causes to purify his worship for Him, who dedicates his life to Him, his tongue to His dhikr and his limbs to His service.

The heart becomes sick as the body becomes sick and its cure lies in repentance and seeking protection from evil.

It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty and it is polished through dhikr.

It becomes naked as the body becomes naked and its adornment comes about through taqwaa.

It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry and thirsty and its hunger and thirst is satiated through knowledge, love, reliance, repentance and servitude to Allaah.

Al-Fawaa`id [pp. 111-112] of ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him.[The translation is taken from ‘An Explanation of Riyaadh as-Saaliheen’ Vol. 1, Trans. Abu Sulaymaan and modified.]

Will You Let it Go?!

'Abdullah b. 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying:

"The example of a man who has memorised the Qur'an is like that of a hobbled camel. If he remained vigilant, he would be able to retain it (with him), and if he loosened the hobbled camel it would escape".

~Sahih Muslim-Book 4, Number 1722 ~

Meaning, the Quraan is lost from the memory very quick if it is not taken care of by keeping it on our tongues and in our heart, reviewing and reciting it everyday some part of it in every prayer so to never let it go. Just like an animal escapes when you let it to be on its own, and then imagine the effort u would have to make to get that lost animal back.

Similarly, Quraan once escaped from the memory and mind and heart, it is very stressful to bring it back to ur mind like it was before. (I am experiencing this too, i realize its a lot to handle for me now, now that i have many chapters in my memory Alhamdulilah, thats why i am here writing all this for myself).

And ofcourse this is not just with the memory of the words of the quraan, its understanding would also be lost if we dont stick to it and dont impart to others what we understood of it.

Why would anyone knowing what a treasure it is, ever let it go?

Here is the test. When my heart is attached to the Quraan, and I read it regularly and feel at peace, as compared to when i recite it only when i m to memorize, that makes the difference. Allah SWT could have made me have it memorized it once and never ever forget it, but I m to stick to it, keep it tied tight with my own struggle, have its blessings all the time by reciting its words. Getting a new meaning that relates to me myself everytime i read the verses, finding more wisdom in them ... and so much more, which i would miss otherwise.

May Allah help retain Quraan in our memories and hearts, as much as we know of it, and increase us in its knowledge and make it a witness in our favour on the Last Day, Aameen!

"And We have indeed made the Qur’ân easy to understand and remember"

(An-Najm 54:17)

Sins Snatch our Knowledge

Ibn Mas’ood (RA) said,

“I feel that indeed someone will forget knowledge they had a acquired because of sins they commit.”

A man asked Maalik ibn Anas, ‘O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah! Is there anything that will improve my memory?’ Maalik ibn Anas, rahimahullah, replied, ‘If anything will improve it, it is giving up sin.”

Bishr Alhaafee, rahimahullah, said "A servant commits a sin, and is deprived [thereby] of performing tahajjud."

See how important it is to stop disobeying Allah SWT so we can keep His words in our heart, otherwise they are taken away.

And i think all that struggle to concentrate, listening repeatedly, intake of special foods to increase memory and all that wont help in memorizing and having it memorized for ever, unless we are very careful about not commiting any acts of disobedience to Allah SWT.

The Endless Sea

[photos: "Blue Quraan-10th century"]

Lately, there has been no mention of my lessons of the Quraan, because I havent started any new lessons yet. I will be revising all the chapters that i have already learnt till the Ramadan starts inshaaAllah. And then i will do one more juz during that month.

But even though it is revision (i am on Al-baqarah, done till ruku 6), which means i had read those parts only few days ago in order to memorize. But its amazing how i get new understanding and all new feelings reciting them again this time. How can this be! its truely a miracle.

To tell u how, why do i still feel the words Alif, Laam, Meem (even though the meaning of these no one knows) ? havent i read them thousands times before as well? and then, the verses about believers, non-believers, hypocrites and how Allah SWT talks about them. It is simply because it is Allah SWT talking, and its all about me myself, and my fellow humans, and its the most true speech ever. And because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the Quraan will never ever get old, and its wonders will never end.

Each verse in itself seems enough, while each of them having a deep connection with the next and the previous.

"O Mankind! Worship your Lord WHO created you and those before you, that you may guard against evil". [2: 21]

.. Does mankind need more than this?

Next, Allah challenges mankind to produce one chapter similar to that of the Quraan, in case they doubt it.

The story of our begining, Allah, angels, Adam/Eve and Satan. And how Allah promises that He will forgive and show His mercy if we keep following His guidance on the Earth & keep returning to Him after making mistakes.

Angel's saying 'No knowledge have we except what You have taught us', so similar to the fact that Adam repents and ask Allah to forgive using the very same prayer that Allah Himself taught him. Absolute Mercy of Allah SWT.

[The images at the top are of the famous 'Blue Quraan' from the early 10th century. Placed now at a museum in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. This is so pretty to look at, golden writting on blue parchment (i.e. vellum, which was kind of hand made 'paper' made from calfskin). its in Kufi script].

The one below here is showing surah al-baqarah verses 197-201

EXQUISITE!