Posted on February 26th, 2015 · Filed under MYF News
1. How blessed are we to have hot food all the time? Today at lunchtime I thought to myself we are never short of food for us or our children. We are so lucky. We should be thankful to Allah for the small things we take for granted. Look at people all over the world who don’t have these luxuries which we take for granted every single day. May Allah give us humility to never forget how lucky we truly are. Ameen Read more…
Being of service to others leads to happiness. In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:
Verily, Allah will say to His slave as He is taking account of him on the Day of Judgment, `O’ son of Adam, I was hungry and you did not feed me. He will answer, how can I feed you and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so who is the son of so and so felt hunger, and you did not feed him. Alas! Had you fed him you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me. O’ son of Adam, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. He will say, How can I give you drink, and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so felt thirsty and you did not give him drink. Alas! If you had given him, you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me. O’ son of Adam, I became sick and you did not visit Me. He will say, How can I visit you and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so became sick and you did not visit him. Alas! Had you visited him, you would have found me with him.” Read more…
Posted on February 22nd, 2015 · Filed under MYF News
Among the many ways in which they were blessed, the Companions were informed of their ranking through revelation. This verse was revealed about Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him):
And Al-Muttaqoon [the pious and righteous] will be far removed from it [Hell]. He who spends his wealth for increase in self purification. (Qur’an 92: 17-18) Read more…
You should feel reassured in that you have a Lord who is just.
Allah, the Exalted, admitted a woman into Paradise because of a dog and another into the Hellfire because of a cat. The first was a prostitute from the children of Israel; because she once gave drink to a thirsty dog, Allah forgave her and admitted her into Paradise. This was a just recompense for her sincerity in doing a good deed, for her sincerity to Allah. The second was a woman who confined a cat to a room. She neither fed it nor gave it drink; by confining the cat, she prevented it from eating insects in the fields, and so Allah made her enter the Hellfire.
The story of the first woman is one that brings coolness to the heart, because it makes one know that Allah gives great rewards for small deeds.
So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom for a small ant] shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom for a small ant] shall see it. (Qur ‘an 99: 7-8)
Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds [i.e. small sins]. (Qur ‘an 11: 114)
So help the grief-stricken, give to the poor, aid the oppressed, visit the sick, pray over the dead, guide the blind, give comfort to the afflicted, guide the misguided, and be generous to both guest and neighbor. All of these are deeds of charity, deeds that not only help the receiver of your kind acts, but that also help you by giving you comfort and peace.
Posted on February 17th, 2015 · Filed under MYF News
Dr. Wajid Akhter, an MD by profession, is also a passionate historian of Islam. He talks to us about the state of Islamic History and why it is so important.
Posted on February 15th, 2015 · Filed under MYF News
At-Tanookhi gave the account of a governor in Baghdad who usurped the wealth of an old lady in his province. He took away all of her rights and confiscated her property. She went to him, wept before him, and complained of his oppression and wrongdoing. He was neither regretful nor ashamed of what he had done. In a fit of anger, she said, “I will pray against you.” He laughed at her in mockery and said, “Then you should pray in the last third of the night.” His arrogance had made him say this to her. She went away, and in accordance with the governor’s mock-advice she was steadfast in praying during the last third of the night. It was only a matter of days before he was violently removed from office. As a reward for his tyranny, his properties were seized, and he was publicly whipped. After the whipping, the old lady passed by him and said, “You did well! You advised me to pray in the last third of the night and I found the results to be most favorable.”
And those who have been bestowed with knowledge and faith will say: `Indeed you have stayed according to the Decree of Allah, until the Day of Resurrection, but you knew not. (Qur’an 30: 56)
There is knowledge that is useful and there is knowledge that is harmful. As for the knowledge that is useful, the believer’s faith strengthens as a result of it; on the other hand, the disbeliever does not reap any benefit whatsoever from gaining this kind of knowledge; though the information acquired is the same, the results are very different. Allah says of His enemies:
They know only the outside appearance of the life of the world [i.e. the matters of their livelihood, like irrigation or sowing or reaping, etc.], and they are heedless of the Hereafter. (Qur’an 30: 7)
Nay, they have no knowledge of the Hereafter. Nay, they are in doubt about it. Nay, they are blind about it. (Qur’an 27: 66)
That is what they could reach of knowledge. (Qur’an 53: 30)
And recite [O’ Muhammad] to them the story of him to whom we gave Our Aayaat [proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.], but he threw them away so Satan followed him up, and he became of those who went astray. And had we willed, we would surely have elevated him therewith but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desire. So his description is the description of dog: if you drive him away, he lolls his tongue out, or if you leave him alone, he [still] lolls his tongue out. Such is the description of the people who reject Our Aayaat [proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc]. So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect. (Qur’an 7: 175-176)
Allah said about the Jews and their knowledge of the truth:
The likeness of those who were entrusted with the Torah, but who subsequently failed in those [obligations], is as the likeness of a donkey that carries huge burdens of books [but understands nothing from them]. How bad is the example of people who deny the Aayaat [proofs, evidences, signs, verses, etc.] of Allah? (Qur ‘an 62: 5)
They knew the truth from the Torah, yet they were not guided by it. They distorted its words, and if that failed to work, they distorted the meanings of the words. How could people who treated knowledge in this despicable manner ever have found happiness? It was certainly not possible in their case, for they always tried to eradicate the truth using any means at their disposal.
…hut they preferred blindness to guidance… (Qur ‘an 41: 17)
And of their saying: our hearts are wrapped [with coverings, i.e. we do not understand what the Messengers sav] – nay, Allah has set a seal upon their hearts because of their disbelief, so they believe not but a little. (Qur’an 4: 155) Read more…
Posted on February 10th, 2015 · Filed under MYF Projects
The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever says: La ‘ilaha ‘illa ‘allahu wahdahu la shareeka lahu, lahulmulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa `ala kulli shay’in qadeerun (7).
100 times would get the reward of manumitting ten slaves, one hundred good deeds would be written for him, one hundred sins would be remitted from him, it would be a shield for him from the Shaytan that day till night, and nobody would arrive with better than what he arrived with except for one that had done more than him.”
Footnotes.
(6) Tahmeed is to say ‘Al-hamdu lillahi, Tahleel is to say La ‘ilaha ‘illa ‘allahu, and Tasbeeh is to say Subhana ‘allahi.
(7) There is no ‘ilah except Allah, no partner does He have; his is the Kingdom, and to Him is all Praise, and He is ever-able to do everything.
Reporters.
Reported in Saheeh ‘Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. ‘Al-Albani included this hadeeth in The Authentic of Good Sayings as #6.