The Prophet Muhammad (saw) - His Homeland

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

From all of the places on the earth, Allah chose for His Prophet (saw) the most beloved of lands to Him - the inviolable city, the holy city, the city of pure soil, the city that was under His constant protection.

Yes, the Prophet (saw) was born in Makkah, the city wherein Prophets and Messengers performed Prayer, the city in which revelation came down. Moreover, Makkah was the city that contained in it the Ancient House - the Kabah.

It was in Makkah that the Prophet (saw) was raised as a child; it was Makkah's streets that the Prophet (saw) became familiar with as a boy, and then as a young man; and it was Makkah that became dearer to the Prophet (saw) than all other lands. 

When he was forced to leave Makkah, he was going to a place where he would be honoured, and yet he did not really want to leave. 

Addressing the city he loved the most, the Prophet (saw) said around the time he was forced to leave it, "By Allah, you are the best of Allah's lands, and the most beloved of Allah's lands to Allah. And had it not been for the fact that I was forced to leave you, I would not have left".

It was in Makkah that the Prophet (saw) first received revelation; it was there that he first preached his message; and it was there that he and his followers congregated for the very first time.

When the Prophet (saw) was forced to leave Makkah, he bid farewell to it in a beautiful manner; and when he actually left, he could hardly endure the pain of separation - the pain that one feels when one is forced to leave something that is very near and dear to one's heart.

I swear by this city, Makkah -

And you, [O Muhammad], are free of restriction in this city -

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, upon his family and upon his companions as long as stars appear in the sky, as long as birds continue to sing, and as long as the wind continues to blow - Ameen!

Wasalaam!

This World

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Imam Ghazali (ra) says, "The world is going to perish very soon. It will not endure; it makes false promises and never fulfils them; it seems to be at rest but, in reality, it is fleeting, though its motion is not perceptible to the senses.

People become conscious of its fleeting motion when it forsakes them altogether. It is like a shadow that is in motion all the time, but its movement is not perceptible".

Once, when there was a mention of the world before Hasan Basri (ra), he stated:

"It is like a dream that the people have, in sleep; or like a shadow always in motion. The wise cannot be deceived by things like this".

Yunus ibn Ubaid (ra) says that he has suggested to himself the following similitude about the world:

"A man is asleep and dreams many things, good or bad. Suddenly, he wakes up and the dream is shattered.

Similarly, all men in the world are asleep; and all that they see or do is a dream. When they die, they wake up from the slumber, and there is no substance in the worldly joys or sorrows.

Wasalaam!

The Key to Happiness is Prostration

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The first step towards happiness each day is the Fajr prayer, so start your day with it, then you will be under the protection and care of Allah, the Almighty. 

He will protect you from all evils and guide you to all that is good. Allah does not bless a day that does not start with Fajr. It is the first step towards acceptance and success.

So, glad tidings to all those who pray Fajr, and misery and loss to those who neglect this prayer.

Wasalaam!

Emptying the Vessel (Part One)

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Before you can fill any vessel, you must first empty it. The heart is a vessel. And like any vessel, the heart too must be emptied - before it can be filled. One can never hope to fill the heart with Allah, so long as that vessel is full of other than Him.

To empty the heart does not mean to not love. On the contrary, true love, as Allah intended it, is purest when it is not based on a false attachment.

The process of first emptying the heart can be found at the beginning half of the shahada (the declaration of faith). Notice that the declaration of faith begins with a critical negation, a critical emptying.

Before we hope to reach true tawheed (true monotheism), before we can assert our belief in the one Lord, we first assert: La ilaha (There is no God) There is no illah.

An illah is an object of worship. But it is imperative to understand that an illah is not just something we pray to. An illah is what we revolve our life around, what we obey and what is of utmost importance to us - above all else.

It is something that we live for - and cannot live without.

So, every person - atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Christian, Jew - has an illah. Everyone worships something. For most people, that object of worship is something from this worldly life, the dunya.

Some people worship wealth, some worship status, some worship fame, some worship their own intellect. Some people worship other people. And, many as the Quran describes, worship their own selves, their own desires and whims. Allah says:



Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah ? Then will you not be reminded?

These objects of worship are things to which we become attached. However, an object of attachment is not just something that we love. It is something that we need, in the deepest sense of the word. 

It is something that if lost, causes absolute devastation. If there is anything - or anyone - other than Allah that we could never give up, then we have a false attachment. 

Why was the Prophet Ibrahim (as) told to sacrifice his son? It was to free him. It was to free him from a false attachment. Once he was free, his object of love (not attachment) was given back to him.

If there is anything - or anyone - that losing would absolutely break us, we have a false attachment. False attachments are things that we fear losing almost to a pathological extent. It is something that if we even sense is drifting away, we will desperately pursue.

We chase it because losing an object of attachment causes complete devastation, and the severity of that devastation is proportional to the degree of attachment.

These attachments can be to money, our belongings, other people, an idea, physical pleasure, a drug, status symbols, our careers, our image, how others view us, our physical appearance or beauty, the way we dress or appear to others, our degrees, our job titles, our sense of control, or our own intelligence and rationality.

But, until we can break these false attachments, we cannot empty the vessel of our heart. And if we do not empty that vessel, we cannot truly fill it with Allah.

(Yasmin Mogahed)

Wasalaam!

Hazrat Fatima's (ra) Tasbeeh

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Hazrat Ali (ra) once said to one of his pupils:

"Shall I tell you the story of Hazrat Fatima (ra), the dearest and most loved daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (saw)?"

When the pupil replied in the affirmative, he said:

"Hazrat Fatima (ra) used to grind the grain herself, which caused blisters on her hands. She carried water for the house in a leather bag, which left a mark on her chest. She cleaned the house herself, which made her clothes dirty.

Once, some war captives were brought to Madinah. I said to her, "Go to the Prophet (saw), and request him for an assistant to help you in your housework".

She went to him, but found many people around him. As she was very modest, she could not be bold enough to request the Prophet (saw) in the presence of other people. 

Next day, the Prophet (saw) came to our house and said, "Fatima! What made you come to me yesterday?" 

She felt shy and kept quiet.

I said, "O Prophet (saw) of Allah! Fatima has developed calluses on both her hands and chest, on account of grinding and carrying water. She is constantly busy in cleaning the house, and in other domestic jobs, causing her clothes to remain dirty. I informed her about the captives, and advised her to go to you, and make a request for a servant".

It has also been reported that Hazrat Fatima (ra) made a request - "I and Ali own only one bedding and that also is a skin of a goat. We use it in the morning to put the feed of the camel".

The Prophet (saw) said, "Fatima! Be patient. The Prophet Musa (as) and his wife owned only one bedding, which was the cloak of Prophet Musa (as). Fear Allah, acquire taqwa, keep doing your service to Allah and attend to your domestic jobs. When you go to bed, recite Subhanallah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 34 times. You will find this more helpful than an assistant."

Hazrat Fatima (ra) remarked, "I am happy with what Allah and His Prophet (saw) would be pleased with".

In this Hadith, the prescribed zikr is before sleeping. 

In other Ahadith, the Prophet (saw) is reported to have advised Hazrat Fatima (ra) to recite after every salah:

Subhanallah 33 times

Alhamdulillah 33 times

Allahu Akbar 34 times

and the following once, which is:

Wasalaam!

Organize Your Time

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Try reading a good book or listening to a useful lecture. Listen to a beautiful recitation of the Book of Allah - perhaps a single verse will penetrate deeply in your heart and stir your conscience, bringing guidance and light, and dispelling doubts and despair.

Read the books of Sunnah and the words of the Prophet (saw) in Riyad-us-Saaliheen. You will find the correct remedy and beneficial knowledge which will protect you from slipping or making mistakes, and will solve all your problems.

Your medicine is in the Revelation, the Quran and Sunnah, your comfort is in faith, your delight in prayer, your peace of mind in contentment, the beauty of your face in smiling, the protection of your honour in hijab, and your tranquility in dhikr - remembrance of Allah, the All Merciful.

Wasalaam!

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) - His Lineage

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In terms of his lineage, the Prophet (saw) was the best, from the best - all the way back to his last forefather - Prophet Adam (as). 

He (saw) was born to parents who did not fornicate, but who instead were married. His forefathers were leaders among people, chiefs of tribes and sub-tribes. Each one of them inherited noble qualities from his forefathers. 

If you were to go back twenty years before the Prophet's (saw) birth, you would not find a man who possessed the noble qualities that the Prophet's (saw) grandfather, Abdul Mutallib, possessed.

And, if you went a number of years further back, you would not find a man who was nobler and better than the Prophet's (saw) great-grandfather, Hashim.

The same can be said about all of the Prophet's (saw) forefathers - Abd Manaf, Qusay, and every one of the Prophet's (saw) forefathers between Qusay and Adam (as).

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, upon his family, and upon his Companions as long as stars appear in the sky, as long as birds continue to sing, and as long as the wind continues to blow - Ameen!

Wasalaam!