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!

Wisdom from my Teachers {Part 1}

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Unity and love, coming together, staying together and helping one another. This is very important so that we can help, encourage and inspire one another to enjoin good and forbid wrong. 

This is our responsibility.

Our religion is not a religion of selfishness. Our religion is a religion of helping and caring, having mercy and being compassionate to each other. The more we do this, the more Allah will help us.

When a group comes together, helping one another and when they are united, then Allah will make decisions of mercy, goodness, blessings and peace for this group.

Allah helps His servant so long as the servant helps his brother.

The most important thing is that we have to stay united.

Life is too short to hate one another. Life is too short to have jealousy in our hearts for someone else. 

It's not worth it.

Wasalaam!

People of Substance

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Muslims are meant to be people of reflection, and really, as an ummah today we need to reflect. Why are we in the state that we are in? Is it a lack of numbers? And the answer to that is no. One in every five people walking on the face of this earth is a Muslim. Is it because of wealth and resources? Again, the answer is no. Many of the greatest natural resources are in the hands of the Muslims. So what is the reason? A billion in number, so much wealth, and why are we in the decadence that we find ourselves in today?
 
The reason for this is that there is a lack of men and women of substance.
 
Men and women were mobilized when Hazrat Ali (ra) became the khalifah, and this was at a time of great turmoil, Hazrat Uthman (ra) had just been martyred. He ascended the pulpit and his first inaugral speech, his first khutbah, was what? All he said was, "O people, you are in need of a man of actions and not a man who just speaks". And then he descended from the pulpit. And really, this was a miracle of the Prophet (saw), he created men and women of substance. Because he never worked on structures but he worked on the hearts and the minds of individuals, until he created men and women who changed the landscape of history. Men and women who were heavy in the scales of Allah.
 
Men and women like Hazrat Abdullah ibn Masood (ra). On one occasion, he was climbing a tree, and he had very thin shins, and when the Sahabah (ra) saw his thin shins, they began to laugh. And the Prophet (saw) asked the Sahabah (ra), "What is making you laugh?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra)". The Prophet (saw) said, "I swear by Allah, if the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra) were placed in one side of the scale, and the Mountain of Uhud was placed on the other side of the scale, the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra) would be heavier than the Mountain of Uhud". Why? Because every muscle, every drop of blood which ran through these thin shins was for the sake of Allah. They weren't a large mass, but they were of quality. And this is a sunnah of Allah - Allah never judges a group of people by their numbers. He judges them by their quality, by their substance.
 
The greatest men of this ummah were who? It was the 313 who participated in the Battle of Badr. On one occasion, Hazrat Jibraeel (as) descended to the Prophet (saw) and he said, "O Messenger of Allah, who are the best from your ummah?" He said, "Those who participated in the Battle of Badr." And Jibraeel (as) said, "Similarly, out of all those angels in the heavens, the most honorable and the best are those angels who descended on the day of Badr and assisted the Muslims. These were 313 men but they were men of substance. They trusted Allah. They stood against an army of 1000, who were armed to their teeth. They hardly had any horses, they hardly had any weapons but they trusted Allah until they reached a state which was unparalleled in the history of Islam.

In the time of the Prophet (saw), there was a Sahabi called Haatib bin abi Bultah (ra). And Haatib (ra) was a Badri Sahabi, and when the Prophet (saw) decided to attack Makkah, he informed the Sahabah. And what Haatib (ra) did, and he was a man who had migrated but he wasn't a Qurayshi. He wrote a letter to the people of Makkah, informing them of the plans of the Prophet (saw), and the Prophet (saw) sent Ali (ra), Miqdaad (ra) and Zubair (ra) and he said, "Go to the Garden of Khaaq, and there you will find a lady on a camel and with her she will have a letter and bring that letter back". And they went to the Garden of Khaaq and exactly where the Prophet (saw) said they found a lady on a camel and they said, "Give us the letter." And she said, "I have no letter." But these people trusted in the words of the Prophet (saw), they knew that if the Prophet (saw) said something, it was the truth. They said, "Give us the letter otherwise we will have to search you". And from the plaits of her hair, she brought a letter forth, which was from Haatib (ra), informing the people of Makkah about the plans of the Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) summoned Haatib (ra) and he said, "What's this, Haatib?" And Haatib (ra) said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), do not hasten to pass judgement over me, because I am not a man who likes disbelief or I am displeased with Islam, but the reason I did this is because every other migrant Muhajir has family in Makkah who can help their direct family. I have no family, and the only reason I did this was so the people of Makkah wouldn't harm my family. And the Prophet (saw) turned to Haatib (ra) and he said, "Indeed, you have spoken the truth". And Hazrat Umar (ra) was standing there and he said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), let me strike at the neck of this Munafiq!" And the Prophet (saw) said, "O Umar, didn't Haatib participate in the Battle of Badr?" And Umar (ra) said, "Yes, he did." The Prophet (saw) said, "Maybe Allah looks favourably upon the people of Badr, and He says, "O people of Badr, do as you wish because Jannah has become wajib upon you".

Why? Because these people trusted in Allah! Numbers never scared them. Nobody aspires to be a Salahuddin (ra). Nobody tries to be an Umar ibn Khattab (ra) or Abu Dharr (ra) or Abu Bakr (ra) or a Khadijah (ra) or a Fatima (ra). Nobody aspires to be like them. We live off our legacy. We remember these people but none of us aspire to be like them. 

May Allah make us all people of substance - Ameen.

(Shaikh Zahir Mahmood)

Wasalaam!