It’s time for Muslims to move toward a new beginning By Tahseen Abu Djihad

Times of difficulty are always a good time to reflect about one’s position in life. This is not only true for individuals, but also for nations. The past year has been troublesome for most Arab nations. The dissatisfaction of the people with their living conditions reached a point that they took to the streets to demand better leadership for their countries. Today, they are still in the process of finding a new order for their lives and their societies.

As long as the stream of life runs calm and everything seems to be in order, a lot of problems remain hidden under the surface and people enjoy a superficial sense of relief and satisfaction. Nevertheless, even a seemingly calm running river, with a shiny surface, hides a lot of trash underground! It is in times of disturbances that much of this filth comes to the surface and people start to wonder where all these impurities are coming from. It is a mercy of Allah that once in a while he forces us to face reality to recognize all the trash that has built up in the so-called Muslim countries.

Allah said, “Evil, (sins and disobedience to Allah) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds), that He (Allah) may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allah, and begging His pardon.)” (Qur’an, 30:41) This is precisely the moment when people have to look deeper into the realities of life to find the root of all this mischief that happened, which led their countries into this state of backwardness.

It is about time that Muslims look for a new path and move in the right direction by leaving behind the path of falsehood, which has given nothing but misery.For more read here.

Let us ‘renew’ ourselves and become strong By Lubna Ali

The important part of a building is the foundation, if the foundation is strong, the building will be strong too. In Islam it is exactly the same: if your pillars (Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm and Haj) are strong then your other fundamentals will also be sound.

The two angels who are charged with questioning the dead come to him and ask him what he used to believe in his earthly life, who was his Lord, what was his religion and who was his Prophet. If he gives a good answer, that is good, but if he does not answer them they inflict a severe and painful beating on him. (Tirmidhi) These are the three basic principles which every Muslim should know: knowledge about his creator (Allah), knowledge about his religion (Islam), knowledge about his Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These are the answers to the questions which will be asked by everyone in the grave.

Allah, the Merciful has made the final test easy for us by telling us the questions. We just have to work hard toward it so that we can remember and answer them because our final test can be any time. We have to seek knowledge about these questions without associating any partners with Allah. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Allah has promised that anyone who says this three times every morning or evening will be happy on the Day of Resurrection.” “I am pleased with Allah as my Lord,with Islam as my religion and with Muhammad (peace be upon him) as my Prophet.” For more read here.

Significance of Ka’aba and virtues of Makkah By Ahmad Wahaj Siddiqui

Verily, the first House of Worship appointed for mankind was at Bakkah (Makkah) full of blessing and a guidance for mankind and Jinn. (Qur’an, 3:96)

Makkah is the holy city for all Muslims on earth, and it is greatly loved by Allah. It is where Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismael laid the foundation of the Ka’ba.

Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was born in Makkah, and he called people to Islam. It was from there that Islam gradually spread all over the world. The Ka’aba and the Haram in Makkah have gripped the hearts of Muslims with extreme love. Millions of Muslims visit Makkah for Umrah and Hajj every year.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) conquered Makkah, faced the Ka’aba and said: “You are holy and sacrosanct and how great is your sanctity and yours is the finest smell and the reverence of a faithful is greatest.” (Dur-Al-Manthur)

For more read here.