And We have fastened every man’s deeds to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out for him a book which he will find wide open. (Qur’an, 17:13)
The above verse from the Qur’an describes that after the Day of Resurrection and before the judgment ‘the book of deeds’ of every person will be fastened to his neck. Ibn Abbas said, He will find therein all his actions. He will find therein all his actions containing all his good and bad deeds.
Allah said, And the book will be placed and you will see the sinners fearful of that which is therein. They will say: Woe to us, what sort of book is this. It leaves nothing small or big, but has recorded it. And they will find all that they did and your Lord treats no one with injustice. (Qur’an, 18:49)
The disbelievers denied the contentions of the Qur’an saying that the presentation of the book of deeds on the Day of Judgment to every person is impossible, neither he will read the book nor he will see his past actions. For more please read here.
Islam is a complete way of life. It helps and guides us in our daily life. It teaches the Ummah everything that has goodness and blessings for them in it. It tells us about every act which can provide us with success and victory. It stops us from acts that are harmful to oneself and others.
Allah Almighty has ordered His slaves to do good and behave well with our relatives, neighbours and everyone around us irrespective of caste, color or creed. Among the very important lessons that Islam teaches us is Husn Akhlaq, i.e. good behavior toward parents.
The Qur’ an clearly states, “Worship Allâh and join none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masâkîn (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess. Verily, Allâh does not like such as are proud and boastful. (Qur’an, 4:36)
Read more here
The new year has commenced according to the Hijra calendar and it is a good time to reflect on one’s life. It is the time of the year when a lot of people think about their past, their future, their goals, their priorities in life; in short they try to look deep into their lives and find a meaning to it.
Numerous books have been written on how to be happy, how to live a meaningful life and how to be successful. As a Muslim I find the answers to this in the glorious Qur’an. Allah himself explains in His book why we are here, why we will die one day and what we are supposed to do in the time in-between, the so- called life.
The obligation prescribed by Allah isquite easy: And I have created Jinn and men only to worship Me. I want no sustenance from them, nor do I want them to feed Me. Surely, it is Allah who is the Provider, the Powerful. (Qur’an 51:56-58)
This is what Allah has ordained on all mankind though we are free to choose. Allah leaves it up to us to give our life meaning and purpose or to waste our time in worldly affairs.
And we send not the Messengers except as bringers of good tidings and warnings. So whoever beliefs and reforms; there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. (Qur’an 6:48)
I believe that Allah created the universe, the earth and mankind. He has provided us with a temporary home on earth and will call us back whenever our time is finished. To read more please go here.
...... Insha Allah will stay this time :)
I sure missed my blog, blog pals, and blog audience.
Anyways mine's a loooooooong story so it'll take time for me let y'all know what was happening.
I've changed all my blog's templates. I think there've been lots of changes to blogger too. Anyhow, hope to catch up with y'all, but one step at a time. LOL :D
Cicero, the great Roman writer and philosopher once said, “The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.”
True, us adults deal with children authoritatively. As parents and teachers, we lack modesty, patience and respect when dealing with a child. There is a hierarchy of ‘superior’ and ‘inferior’. There is a feeling that the child is totally dependant and can be developed only by the adult.
The commonview point that the child develops only because of the adult is the standard opinion of many. We tend to take credit for our children’s academic success and achievement. I, myself, have always felt that I’ve had a major hand in moulding and developing my children, that whatever they have learnt, whatever they know is because of me.
But as we try to understand about the natural laws of development, our perspective starts changing. Dr. Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori Method of education, observes that from conception and during the physio-embryonic period (time spent in development before birth) and after birth, the child’s development is governed by Nature which sets its laws of development. Nature has its own laws regarding what the human being should achieve, when and how. It is difficult for us to decide when we adults can and should take over the tasks hitherto undertaken by nature. For more please read here.
One problem many of us face is that we want to do so much at once, and thus become overwhelmed in our thoughts trying to establish exactly what we should be doing and what our obligations are at a given point in time.
This leads us to focus on what we can’t accomplish more so than what we can accomplish. This can be well and good, and as Ibn Al-Jawzi said, a person can be rewarded for his intentions more than for his actions.
However, the point of intending is to be productive and extract something physical from that intention.
Part of being productive is to have a methodical approach as to when to focus on what. For example, if your worship and intentions for specific efforts are organized and you properly place your focus where and when it should be, you’ll find yourself accomplishing much more as a Muslim, no matter if you’re a teacher who teaches, a caller to Allah who motivates, or an ordinary worshipper who simply wants to get closer to your Lord.
Ibn Al-Qayyim wrote: “They say that the best worship is to do what will please the Lord at every time in accordance with what that particular time calls for.
“So, the best act of worship during the time of Jihad is Jihad, even if this leads to abandoning certain rituals such as night prayer, fasting, etc. In fact, this applies even if you are to not pray a complete obligatory prayer as you would in times of safety and calm.
“And the best thing to do when you have a guest, for example, is to see to his rights as a guest and to preoccupy yourself with that instead of the recommended rituals you would usually engage in at the time. Such is also the case in fulfilling the rights of your wife and family.
“The best thing to do during the early morning hours is to be preoccupied with prayer, Qur’an, du’a, remembrance of Allah, and asking His Forgiveness.
“The best thing to do when teaching a student or ignorant person is to completely turn your attention towards teaching him.
“The best thing to do during the call to prayer is to leave whatever rituals you are engaged in and to occupy yourself with repeating after the mu’addhin (one making the call).
For more please read here.
At times, we get so used to reciting Masnoon Du’as and Adhkaar (supplications and words of remembrance) in our day-to-day lives that we lose sight of their deep meanings and how relevant they are to our everyday thought processes and attitudes. For example, in our contemporary world of increasing mental diseases, personality disorders and psychological problems, psychiatrists, self-help gurus and life coaches help clients or patients to “think positively” and “develop a positive self-image”. Yet, this positive thinking was deeply-entrenched in the life, teachings and habits of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) – if only we paused for a moment to reflect.
Take just one Du’a. For example, the Du’a he would recite aloud when he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The translation is:
“O Allah! The way you have beautified my physical form/body (‘khalqee’), thus beautify (also) my character (‘khuluqee’).” Another Hadith added in the end: “...and make my face forbidden for the Hell-Fire”.
The starting words of this short and simple, yet profound, Du’a reflect positivism. When a person looks in the mirror, he or she sometimes does so with a critical eye (women in particular). What needs to be spruced up or fixed is analyzed in detail. The “defects” are loathed over and people turn into being ungrateful.
“O Allah, the way you beautified my physical creation...”
The believer follows the Sunnah. He or she calls out to Allah when looking into the mirror and acknowledges that Allah created the physical form in a beautiful manner. This is the first step towards positive thinking – a step that gives negative thoughts a kick in the teeth.
Nowadays the more people look into the mirror, the more they complain about their looks – they criticize their height, anatomical proportions, their graying or balding hair, and complexion. However, this Du’a that the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited is guidance for all believers to be grateful to Allah for their physical form. For more please read here.
