Advice from the Quran: How to Attain Sincerity.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

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Free oneself from the opinion of others:

..... only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.

(Surah Al-Insan, Verse 9)

Compete in doing good:

.... Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation (united in religion) but (He intended) to test you in what He has given you; so race to (all that is) good. To Allah is your return all together ...

(Surah Al-Ma'idah, Verse 48)

Increase the fear of Allah:

Or who is it that could provide for you if He withheld His provision? But they have persisted in insolence and aversion.

(Surah Al-Mulk, Verse 21)

Understand that every soul shall taste death:

Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your (full) compensation on the Day of Resurrection .... And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.

(Surah Aale Imraan, Verse 185)

Only expect the Pleasure of Allah:

And whoever of you devoutly obeys Allah and His Messenger and does righteousness - We will give her her reward twice; and We have prepared for her a noble provision.

(Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 31)

May Allah give us all the ability to bring sincerity into every part of our lives - Ameen.

Wasalaam!

The Everyday Heroine.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

When many people think of Egypt, they think of the great, historical monuments: the iconic Sphinx, the awe-inspiring pyramids, the enduring flow of the Nile that has nourished the banks of this desert land for thousands of years.

Others think of Egypt's impressive Islamic history: the mosques and madrassahs of the Mamluks, the ancient Islamic section of Old Cairo and the great fort built by Salahuddin himself.

In this land, many mighty heroes have risen and fallen, as they have all over the world. But the hero that I wish to celebrate here is of a much humbler kind.

She is the woman who looks at the world around her with an alert eye and open heart. Where others see catastrophe, she sees opportunity; where others sense only despair, she senses hope; where others throw their hands up, she rolls up her sleeves.

This is the everyday heroine who makes a satisfying, nutritious meal for her family from the simplest ingredients every night, who knows how to cure a sore throat with the contents of her store-cupboard, who knows how to make a child feel like the champion of the world for learning how to spell the world 'beautiful'.

This is the everyday heroine who juggles pregnancy, weaning, learning Surah al-Fatihah and advice on dealing with peer pressure.

This is the everyday heroine who always has time to listen, knows when to talk and when to remain silent.

This is the everyday heroine who sets up a recycling group in her local area, who hosts coffee mornings for new Muslims, who volunteers at a local charity, who lifts up her child so that he can put 5p in the collection box.

This heroine will never make a Power List in any of the broadsheets. She will not be shortlisted for an award, nor will she be granted a medal for her achievements.

But in the eyes of Allah and those who know and love her, she is a hero every single day of the year.

May Allah reward all you heroines out there, every single one of you. Long may you rise every morning to be a hero to your families, your friends and your local community.

May Allah grant you sincerity and accept your righteous actions. May He bless your time and aid you in your cause.

And, if you happen to know one of these heroines, do me a favour: make dua that Allah accepts her work and lightens her load - then tell her how much you appreciate her, maybe even with a card or flowers. 

Chances are, you will make her day, Insha Allah.

With love and salaam to all the wonderful heroines I have met and continue to meet on this amazing journey called life.

(Na'ima B. Robert)

I found the above article in an old magazine yesterday and wanted to share it with all of you. May we all strive to become and to raise everyday heroines - Ameen.

Wasalaam!

Is It Really Allah?

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Internal poverty is the poverty of the soul. It describes the unmoved soul. The soul that has been created but has failed to realize why. It is the soul that lives a life without purpose. The heart that beats but has already died. 

Because while this body cries and bleeds and feels pain from the material world, the soul is untouched by these things. There is only one thing that can cut, stab or impoverish the soul. There is only one thing that can kill it. To deprive it of its only one true need. That is for it to be close to its originator. To be near Allah.

Spiritual deprivation is the true impoverishment. True poverty is standing poor on the Day of Judgement. Despite this reality, we continue to live this life, feeding our bodies but starving our souls.

When a body dies, we cry. But our hearts are unmoved by those bodies which are still alive but whose hearts and souls have already died. Because of the alienation from that which gives life - Allah. 

What impoverishes and kills the heart? It is allowing the heart to love anything as it should only love Allah. The heart was created by and for Allah. The heart was created to know and love Allah. The heart was created to be given to Allah and to be filled with His remembrance.

The heart that is given to or filled by any other thing suffers the most painful impoverishment and death. The heart that is owned by this life is a prisoner of the worst kind. The heart that is owned by any other master than the Master of masters, is the weakest of all slaves. 

That is true oppression, true death, true poverty. 

As human beings, we enslave ourselves to different things. Some are enslaved to money or to other people. We love them as we should only love Allah. Some of us are enslaved to our status in society or to our careers. 

What do you love most? 

Many of us will say that we love Allah the most. We say this with our tongues and in our minds. But our hearts and actions say otherwise. 

How do you know what it is that you love the most?

Ask yourself, what is your refuge? When you are most broken, where do you go? When you afraid, where do you hide? When you need, who do you ask? What do you fear most? What do you stay up at night worrying about? What makes you cry most? What do you think about most? What occupies your mind in salah? 

Is it really Allah?

Is it really Allah on our mind the most? Is it really your fear of standing before Him that makes you cry in your bed? 

No, probably not.

It's the person who left you, the money you lost, the career you couldn't have, the pay rise you didn't get. What are you afraid of most? Just the thought of losing that object causes you so much anxiety that you feel it physically? 

Is it your husband? Your wife? Your money? Your job? Is it your image? Your figure? What is it? 

When you are given a choice, what do you do? When Allah says to dress and act a certain way, and then society says the opposite, which do you choose? Who defines beauty for you? Who defines success? 

When Allah says that interest is haraam, but your financial ambitions command otherwise, which do you choose? Who defines richness? Who defines poverty? 

The storm is coming. Seek refuge in the only place that refuge exists. Seek refuge in Allah. 

You and I know what day we were born. But none of us know on which day we will die. And, many people think that we can live our lives in whichever way we like. Then at the time of death, just read the Kalimah. 

But at the time of death, the tongue cannot speak except what the heart commands. Whatever is in the heart, it will come out. 

The impoverished heart will have nothing but the love of the world to speak about on that day. If our heart is empty of Allah during our life, how can it be full of Allah during our death?

If in your life, you carried only La ilaha illallah that truly there is no refuge, no shelter but Him. Then and only then will the tongue be given permission to say the Kalimah.

May Allah make us amongst them who truly take Allah as their refuge - Ameen!

(Adapted from a speech by Yasmin Mogahed)

Wasalaam!

Having a Sincere Intention

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The most important thing to do before starting anything is to have sincerity in what we are doing, and to make the right intention. The tiniest of actions can become huge just by having the right intention. Most of the books of Ahadith begin with the same Hadith:

It is narrated by Umar bin al-Khattab (ra), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw), say:

Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.

(Al-Bukhari & Muslim)

This is a really important thing to remember because being sincere in what we do puts our physical and spiritual state together. By us making a sincere intention or changing our intention, the result of our action changes.

As Muslims, we  should always be checking our intentions and understanding the purpose of our actions. We should always be asking ourselves about our intentions for our short term and long term goals.  The believer should constantly ask himself; “Why am I doing what I am doing?”

 The Hadith above means that the person will be rewarded for only that which he intended. So, as mentioned in the Hadith, if a person performed the Hijrah (migration), but did it with a different intention then he would not be rewarded for that action of Hijrah (migration).

Riya, the showing off of deeds publicly, is a major sin which ruins sincerity and can invalidate actions. For example, giving money in charity will not be accepted as a good deed if it was for the sake of showing off to others.

The Prophet (saw) informed us that if you perform an act for the sake of someone else rather than for Allah’s sake, then Allah will reject that deed entirely and will leave the reward of it for the partner that the person has made. This highlights the implications of showing off as well as the graveness of associating another person in your actions which should have been for the sake of Allah.

Everything we do has to be intended for the sake of Allah. A good action with the wrong intention will not get us any reward in the Hereafter.

May Allah give us all the ability to have sincere intentions for everything that we do - ameen.

Wasalaam!