Dua Astaghfar (Forgiveness)
Dua Astaghfar (Forgiveness) /دعاء أستغفر
Astaghfar means seeking forgiveness of Allah for the sins so far committed and turning repentant unto Allah. Read more…
Stories of the Companions
Jaafar ibn Abi Talib (RA)
Preface: This is only a summary of the life of Jaafar ibn Abi Talib (RA) and does not cover all the points of his life story. It is not intended to be a biography, but rather a glimpse of the main incidents of his life so that we can get an idea of his character. For ease of reading, we have not inserted “May Allah be pleased with him (RA)” each time his name or the name of each Companion is mentioned, but please take it that the salutations apply to all of them, may Allah be pleased with them all. Read more…
Invocations in times of worry and grief
Allaahumma ‘innee ‘abduka, ibnu ‘abdika, ibnu ‘amatika, naasiyatee biyadika, maadhin fiyya hukmuka, ‘adlun fiyya qadhaa’uka, ‘as’aluka bikulli ismin huwa laka, sammayta bihi nafsaka, ‘aw ‘anzaltahu fee kitaabika, ‘aw ‘allamtahu ‘ahadan min khalqika, ‘awista’tharta bihi fee ‘ilmil-ghaybi ‘indaka, ‘an taj’alal-Qur’aana rabee’a qalbee, wa noora sadree, wa jalaa’a huznee, wa thahaaba hammee .
O Allah, I am Your slave and the son of Your male slave and the son of your female slave . My forehead is in Your Hand (i.e. you have control over me) . Your Judgment upon me is assured and Your Decree concerning me is just . I ask You by every Name that You have named Yourself with , revealed in Your Book , taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You , to make the Qur’an the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, the banisher of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.
Reference: Ahmad 1/391, and Al-Albani graded it authentic.
Allaahumma ‘innee ‘a’oothu bika minal-hammi walhazani, wal’ajzi walkasali, walbukhli waljubni, wa dhala’id-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijaal .
O Allah , I seek refuge in you from grief and sadness, from weakness and from laziness, from miserliness and from cowardice, from being overcome by debt and overpowered by men (i .e . others) .
Reference: Al-Bukhari 7/158. See also Al-Asqalani, Fathul-Bari 11/173.
A good life
A Western thinker said:
“It is most possible for you, while you are behind steel bars, to look out upon the horizon and to smell roses. It is also extremely plausible for you to be in a castle replete with opulence and comfort, and yet be angry and discontented with your family and wealth.” Read more…
Controlling one’s emotions
Emotions flare up for two reasons: either for joy or for inner
Pain. In a hadith, the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:
“Verily, I have been prohibited from emitting two foolish and wicked sounds, one that is emitted when something favorable happens, and the other that is expressed when calamity strikes.”
In order that you may not be sad over matters that you fail to get, nor rejoice because of that which has been given to you. (Qur’an 57: 23)
For this reason, the Prophet (bpuh) said:
“Verily, true patience is that which is displayed during the initial shock.”
Therefore, when one contains his emotions upon both the joyful and the calamitous occasion, he is likely to achieve peace and tranquility, happiness and comfort, and the taste of triumph over his own self. Allah described man as being exultant and boastful, irritable, discontented when evil touches him, and niggardly when good touches him. The exceptions, Allah informed us, are those who remain constant in prayer. For they are on a middle path in times of both joy and sorrow. They are thankful during times of ease and are patient during times of hardship.
Unbridled emotions can greatly wear a person out, causing pain and loss of sleep. When such a person becomes angry, he flares up, threatens others, loses all self-control, and surpasses the boundaries of justice and balance. Meanwhile, if he becomes happy, he is in a state of rapture and wildness. In his intoxication of joy, he forgets himself and surpasses the bounds of modesty. When he renounces and relinquishes the company of others, he disparages them, forgetting their virtues while stamping out their good qualities. On the other hand, if he loves others, then he spares no pains in according them all forms of veneration and honor, portraying them as being the pinnacles of perfection. The Prophet (bpuh) said:
“Love the one who is beloved to you in due moderation, for perhaps the day will come when you will abhor him. And hate the one whom you detest in due moderation, for perhaps the day will arrive when you will come to love him.”
And in another hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:
“And I ask you (O’ Allah) to make me just, both while being in a state of anger and while being in a state of Joy. Read more…
Do not be sad Wait patiently for a happy outcome
The following hadith is found in the book of At-Tirmidhi: “The best form of worship is to wait (patiently) for a happy outcome.”
1s not the morning near? (Qur’an 11: 81)
The morning of the afflicted is looming, so watch for it. An Arab proverb says, “If the rope becomes too tight, it will snap.”
In other words, if a situation reaches the level of crisis, then expect a light and an opening to appear. Allah says:
And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will remit his sins from him, and will enlarge his reward. (Qur’an 65: 5)
And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him. (Qur’an 65: 4)
In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) relates this saying from Allah:
“I am with the thoughts of my slave towards me, so let him think of me as he pleases.”
Allah, the Almighty, says:
They were reprieved] until, when the Messengers gave up hope and thought that they were denied [by their people], then came to them Our Help, and whosoever we willed were delivered. (Qur ‘an 12: 110) Read more…
Ayatul Kursi / Surat Al-Baqarah 2:255
آية الكرسي /Ayatul Kursi / Surat Al-Baqarah 2:255
Reading the Holy Quran is a great way to overcome turmoil, anxiety and distress, and to relieve us. There is one particular Ayah in particular that Prophet Muhammad salallahu alaihi wasallam spoke of, that is said to give its reader great benefits in this life and the afterlife – Ayatul Kursi (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:255), also known as the Verse of the Throne. Read more…
Great Women in Islam – Khadijah (RA)
Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid RA
Umm-Al-Mu’minīn (Mother of Believers)
Note: For ease of reading, we have not inserted “May Allah be pleased with her (RA)” each time Khadijah’s RA name or the name of each Companion is mentioned, but please take it that the salutations apply to all of them, may Allah be pleased with them all. Read more…
Abdurrahman – Story of an Italian who found Islam in the Maldives
This is the amazing story of the late revert brother Abdurrahmaan (رحمه الله), who had never prostrated to Allah for 49 years and found the light of Islam through a sister in the Maldives. (He refused to be called by his former name after embracing Islam).
This story is written by the sister who gave him dawah, and is as narrated by him before he passed away. Read more…
Surat Al Kahf
Surat Al Kahf has immense blessings.
Abu Darda’ reported Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surat Al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal. (Sahih muslim Book 004, Hadith 1766)
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reports that the Prophet SAW said: “Whoever recites Surat Al-Kahf on Jumu’ah will have illumination from the light from one Jumu’ah to the next.” (an-Nasa’i, al-Baihaqi, and al-Hakim) Read more…