O Allah, make faith beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts, and make unbelief, wickedness, and disobedience hateful to us, and make us among the rightly-guided. O Allah, let us pass away as Muslims, live as Muslims, and let us be joined with the righteous.”
Source: al-Adab al-Mufrad 699
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
We should take the Prophet (SAW)’s advice and turn to Allah frequently, as he said “O people! Repent to God and ask forgiveness of Him, for indeed I repent a hundred times a day”. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5948
Once we repent, we need to strive to never return to the sin we committed. We do this by instilling in our hearts fear from God’s punishment and longing for His rewards.
Our lesson is to pray to Allah (Swt) and make sincere dua that He enable us to make sincere repentance and make our hearts firm upon His obedience.
This dua helps repel those feelings which we all are guilty of. Let’s learn and memorize it.
Every year, Allah (Swt) gives us a chance to earn His forgiveness, to purify our souls and to gain a position in the hereafter, that was before that impossible. That is the chance and the opportunity given to us in the month of Ramadan.
One of the duas the early Muslims used to read when they would sense Ramadan approaching, they would say, “Allahumma Ballighna Ramadan” which means oh Allah! Deliver us to Ramadan.
Allow us to live to witness Ramadan, allow us to be living and breathing and able to reap the rewards that are offer in Ramadan.
The Prophet (Pbuh), he told us. He said, When the the month of Ramadan enters, then three things happen: Number one, the gates of Paradise are flung wide open, and number two, the gates of Hell fire are closed, and number three, the Devils are chained up.
It is as if the prophet (Pbuh) is saying that this is your chance to give up your bad habits And it makes sense because In Ramadan, you’re fasting and you’re thinking about Allah more often because every time you’re hungry, every time you’re thirsty, you remind yourself, Why am I doing this? Why am I suffering?
I’m suffering for the sake of Allah. And if I can say no to basic things like food and drink, I can say no to watch indecent things. I can say no to waste my time. I can say no to being rude to my parents. If I can control my hunger, I can control anything in my life. And that is a Ramadan becomes like a training program to nurture your soul and to make you more disciplined person.
Of all the things that Ramadan is known for, it should be known as the month of the Quran. That is the month in which the Prophet (Pbuh) received Revelation when he was inside the Cave of Hira and the angel Jibreel visited him, and revealed to him;
Read [O Muhammad!] in the name of your Lord who created. (96.1) the first five verses of the Quran that happened in the month of Ramadan. In fact, the night that that occurred is known as laylatul qadr.
The Prophet (pbuh), he said, The most beloved good deeds to Allah are the ones that are regular, even if they are small. So this Ramadan plan to run the marathon, not a race. Every day, set yourself goals that you know you can achieve and slowly build up to greater goals towards the end.
Because the Prophet (Pbuh) said, The good deeds are judged by the ending. So if you start great and your end poor, that’s not good. But if you start steady and slowly increase your stamina and your worship and you end big, in sha Allah, this is a sign that Allah has accepted all of your Ramadan.
Never lose hope in the mercy of Allah. Always seek the forgiveness of Allah (Swt). But we have a major problem because we are taught that there are certain people Allah doesn’t forgive.
Allah (Swt) forgives all those besides certain people, who are those certain people? That Hadith is in Sunan ibn Majah (15th Shaban)
If you want to achieve the forgiveness of Allah save yourselves from the following:
Number one, mushirk – straight. That Hadith says, a person who associates partners with Allah in worship. Allah says, I won’t forgive that person. But we are talking of a person, who passes away, and he did not seek forgiveness or she did not seek forgiveness. Allah says, I can forgive everything. But shirk, I won’t forgive.
The second one is a person who holds in his heart grudge and hate and ill feeling and malice towards others. Clean your heart, my brothers and sisters; If you’re a Mumin and you want Paradise, clean your heart.
Clean your heart of hatred, enmity, malice, jealousy, etc, etc against anyone else. And the prophet (PBUH) confirmed that that was a quality of Jannah.
Another quality that is mentioned is a person who lengthens his clothing well below his ankles. It is depictive of pride. So the quality that Allah does not like is the quality of pride. Allah says, I don’t like the one who is proud and arrogant. The Quran says that, Allah doesn’t like those who are haughty and they belittle others.
The sign of pride is when a person rejects the truth and belittles others, you treat them like rubbish. Treat people with respect. Allah will forgive you.
Another type: a person who cuts relationships with their family for no reason or for worldly purposes because of money, because of wealth.
Don’t break relations unnecessarily. People ask, What about obedience to parents? Obedience to parents within that which is reasonable is a duty of Allah has placed on our shoulders. Allah subhanaw in the Quran has always told us to be kind to your parents, even if you disagree.
You choose a respectful means and a respectful way of disagreeing because you are never allowed to be unkind to your parents, even when you disagree with them. And even if they are unkind, be kind, disagree politely.
Another type: a person who is addicted to intoxicants of any nature and they don’t even have a plan to actually quit it or to seek the forgiveness of Allah.
Remember one thing, when you are doing something wrong, habitually, as a mumin / believer, at least feel in your heart, what I’m doing is wrong. wallahi, that feeling will save you.
So Allah says when you feel bad with your sins, it’s a sign that you’re a believer, why would I feel bad? Because I love Allah. I have a weakness. But I love Allah. I want Him to forgive me, strengthen me.
If Allah has accepted you, how do you know that’s the last question? How you know? Your life changes.
How do I know my hajj was accepted? I will know it when if I come back and things have changed in my life positively.
When you fast in Ramadan your life changes. You are forgiven and all the sins are wiped out. How do I know that Ramadan was accepted? When Ramadan exits and you know, your life has changed.
When you seek forgiveness of Allah, How do you know Allah has forgiven you? When you quit a few of these things in your life changes somehow.
In the Sunan of Imam at-Tirmidhi wherein the Prophet (Pbuh) said, is that the soul of the believer after he’s died inside the grave is being held back, tied to the debt that was outstanding, that he had to pay off somebody else until somebody pays it off on his behalf.
It means that the soul itself will be suspended in limbo where the person will not know; Am I going to be punished? Am I going to be rewarded? Am I going to the hell fire? Am I going to Paradise? And that state of uncertainty is enough to become a source of torture for that person.
And that is why the prophet (Pbuh) said, until somebody then settles that for you.
This hadith first to teaching us that, look, don’t borrow money that you know you can’t pay off. live within your means and don’t let greed get the better of you. Because debt is going to follow you into the grave and you’re going to suffer as a consequence.
So don’t spend what you don’t have and live within your means, then don’t borrow if you really in really don’t need to borrow that money.
Before you split the inheritance, you must pay off your mum’s or your dad’s debt.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever asks Allah for Jannah three times, Paradise says, “ Oh Allah enter him into Jannah. Whoever seeks protection with Allah from Hell three times, Jahanim says, “ Oh Allah protect him from the Fire.”
Collected by At-Tirmithi (2572) and others. Shaykh Al-Albani (May Allah have mercy on him) graded this hadeeth as being Saheeh in Saheeh At-Tirmithi.
We (Muslims) believe Jesus (A.S) to be messiah.We believe him to be a prophet, not to be God or the Son of God. So we believe he is a messenger of God, and the early Christians; they never believed Jesus was God. This was a later on invention and the idea of the Trinity.
Islam teaches is God can forgive Give us and God doesn’t need a human sacrifice. We shouldn’t just follow the religion of our forefathers. We should look at what is true. And Islam is something which appears not only to your heartable but also to your intellect. It tells you things which are logical.
There’s a Christian Deacon. His name is Dr. Gerald Dirks. He was a Christian and he studied the early history of Christianity and he realized the early Christians did not believe in Jesus being God. They had many different beliefs. And many of these beliefs, they came after Jesus. So, he converted to Islam and he has a lecture on YouTube. You can watch called Islamic trajectories in early Christianity.
‘Do what you desire’ and this is the opposite of what God’s message to humanity is. God’s message is do the right thing not just do what you want, and that’s where I see the conflict between God’s message and the message that we have in contemporary society today.
In the Quran, that God says Think, reflect, question, Ponder; don’t just blindly accept, and one of the messages of the Quran is don’t follow your ancestors. Follow the truth. Don’t follow desire, follow the truth.
God says in the Quran is whoever comes to God with a sound heart will be saved, with a sound heart. So having a connection with God, we can decipher what is God’s intervention in our life. What does God want from us? And one of the messages of the Quran is God is closer to us than our jugular veins, right?
Even though God is above everything, God is closer to us than our jugular veins meaning if we remember God, God remembers us. If we try to connect with God, God connects with us.
In Islam, it teaches us through connecting with God, through prayer we can make sense of what’s happening to us in our life.
Islam says the purpose of life is to worship God. It’s a very simple thing. What does worship mean? It means you love, Hope, fear, trust; Everything’s in God and everything we do in our life ultimately is for God’s pleasure and we believe as Muslims, The only way to be truly happy is by making God happy, then you will have peace and happiness.
One beautiful Hadith from the prophet sallallahu alehiwassallaam, on the topic of high aspirations how the prophet (SAW) spoke from a spiritual perspective:
The hadith is found in sahih al-Bukari, the prophet (SAW) says that paradise Is made up of 100 Levels. Between each level There is a distance of the sky and Earth and then he said the highest level in Paradise is called Al Ferdous and he said.. it is beneath the Throne of Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala.
The Hadith ends and the prophet (SAW) says, when you ask Allah, ask Him for Al Ferdous, asking for the highest spot in paradise.
The prophet (SAW) wouldn’t tell us to do something unless it had a benefit, unless it was a realistic thing to do and here he saying, you know what? You should aim high in life. You should aim for the highest spot in paradise. And when you ask Allah don’t ask him for the second best.
If you look at the prophet, they are an embodiment of having high aspirations in both this life and in the Hereafter. So for example, if you look at the prophet Solomon/ Suleiman (A.S), we find a beautiful dua that he makes,
Qala rabbi ighfir lee wahab lee mulkan la yanbaghee liahadin min baAAdee innaka anta alwahhabu
(38:35) He said, “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower.”
When you try to do something great in this world for the sake of Allah, aim high; actually aim to be the highest.
We take inspiration from the Hadith where the prophet (SAW) told us when you ask Allah; ask Him for Al Ferdous, the Highest.
In the same way when you plan for 2021, plan for a great year. Plan to deliver a lot of good deeds, Deeds that will raise your position in the Hereafter. Deeds that will help leave a legacy behind you.
Dua to Prepare for Tough Subjects; Dua while reading something difficult:
The Prophet (S.A.W) advised us to recite the following dua in any time of trials. We can read this dua for exams, studies, or for any other type of trials that we are facing.
“O Allah, I hope for Your mercy, so give me not over to my self even for as little as wink of an eye, and set right all my affairs, there is no God but You” [ Sunan Abu Dawood ]
“O Allah! Certainly, I seek refuge in you from concern and grief and I seek refuge in you from inability and laziness, and I seek refuge in you from cowardice and miserliness and I seek refuge in you from the overpowering of debts and from the subjection of man.” [ Sahih- Bukhari, Hadith: 6369 ]
The fourth and final Book of Revelation, We say is our Quran revealed to the prophet Muhammad Peace Be upon him who you say is the last of all the prophets.
In our Quran, we have 114 surahs chapters, All right, 86 of these Surahs / chapters were revealed in Makkah when the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was in Mecca and then the 28 surahs / chapterswere revealed when the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was in Medina.
As a Muslim …..another thing I must emphasize as a Muslim, We have to respect each and every Prophet.
Prophet Mohammed (saw) is a prophet for the whole world and our Quran, which is the final Book of Revelation, is for everyone as well.
Teachings of Islam, our Quran tells us that we cannot force people to become Muslim, how? I’ll give you one example, in our Quran in Surah, chapter number 2, al-baqarah, which is the cow (translation), Surah chapter number 2, Verse number 256, Allah said when the Quran was being revealed more than 1400 years ago, Allah (swt) said There is no compulsion in religion. What is truth will stand out clear from what is falsehood.
to reach Jennah/ Paradise the proper channel is this that you believe in the Creator in a proper way. [Understand] you believe in the right creator….
Consider it my friend, think about it, our Quran same everywhere, in the Quran, Allah subhanaw Taala said, Allah says in our Quran in Surah al-kahf / the cave Surah chapter number 18, Allah says Allah said no one, no one will be able to change my word. This Quran’ is the only book in the world, which is known by millions of Muslims by heart.
My friend, all these creations, this world hasn’t come by accident, this hasn’t created itself, There is a creator. And he has created the world… in our Quran there are so many good things in it.
Islam is for everyone, in Islam black lives matter, in Islam White lives matter, in Islam.. Everybody matters, why? We are all creation. We are all beautiful creations of a beautiful Creator.
The prophet Muhammad (saw) was chosen by Allah. we heard that he was the best of creation the most noble of all prophets, the final of all the messengers and prophets of Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala and Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala chose for him a path that was considered a path that we would actually be able to learn lesson from and we would be able to emulate and follow and if we were to look at the issue of hardship and difficulty, something amazing that we are taught by the beautiful lips of Muhammad (saw).
He says indeed when Allah loves a slave or a worshiper of His, He tests him; testing meaning difficulty and hardship comes in your life not because He’s punishing you but He is examining you, testing you giving you opportunity to pass with flying colors such that you can earn Paradise and you would have an elevation of status in Paradise If you had become a person who was forgiven by Allah (swt).
So the ranks in Paradise also differ; those who have been through and endured much more and they have been patient and praised Allah and continued to have hope in Allah, calling out to Allah and they died in that condition, Allah will definitely give them a status.
So take difficulty and hardship in your stride.
The prophet Muhammad peace be upon him went through a In fact, there was difficulty that started in his path even prior to his birth though he was the greatest of creation, the most noble of all prophets, his Birth was by far one of the biggest gifts that we as his Ummah have been blessed with, subhanallah.
So, don’t become despondent, understand.
Remember Allah a lot, praise Allah, glory be to Allah, All praise is due to Allah, Allah is the greatest. There is none worthy of worship Besides Allah, there is no might, there is no power except that of Almighty Allah.
Subhanallah walhamdulillah wala ilaha illallah wallahu akbar wala hawla wala quwwata illa billah al-‘Ali, al-‘Azim
If you have a difficulty where you are boycotted, you need to know it will always come with a silver lining. Allah will give you opportunity to expand for as long as you don’t have the self-pity and you actually stand and go ahead, press ahead, do whatever you can keep moving as they say. Don’t stop and you know, if you were to just think of how bad the situation is, you might become depressed.
Don’t do that. Learn from the example of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. He used to say, “Alhamdulillah ‘ala kulli Haal” All praise is due to Allah upon all conditions. For as long as Allah is pleased with you. There is nothing that is difficult.
After difficulty and hardship for as long as we are steadfast and for as long as we learn from that beautiful example of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, We will always be victorious at the end.
But some people are impatient and that impatience leads them to do things that would result in their downfall and then they won’t see the victory. so keep following the Sunnah the example of the prophet (saw) Let me tell you the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him has been through much more than any one of us.
So, these difficulties, this hardship that the best of creation endured with a smile on his face, showing gratitude and thanks to Allah is a big lesson for all of us, the hardship I go through Allah alone knows, your smile should actually cover that hardship.
The All-Loving 