Reward of Good Charity

As was usually done by Prophet Muhammad when one of his companion death. The Messenger of Allah escort his remains to the grave. At at the time of his return, Prophet Muhammad visited to his family house for calm and hearten his family to keep patient and trust accept this sadness.

Then Prophet Muhammad asked, “Didn't he say something before his death?

His wife answered, “I heard he said something between his snoring breathing near of his death”.

“What he said ?” asked Prophet Muhammad.
“I don't know, oh the Messenger of Allah, whether his words were just groaning before death, or cries pain because the awful of the death's door. But, his words are difficult to understand because the sentence is cut into pieces."

"How's it say?" Rosulullah insisted.
His wife answered, “my husband said, "If even longer.........., if it was new ........, if it all......." that's all we caught so he made us confused.”

Rosulullah smiled and said , “Really what your husband pronounce wasn't wrong.”
The story was like this, One day he was rushed to the mosque to perform Jum'at prayers. Middle of the road he met a blind man whom aims the same. The blind man stumbled because no one guide him.

So that your husband guide him to the masjid. When going to his final breathe, he saw the reward of his good charity, then he said ”suppose even longer.....". That is, if the road to the masjid was even longer, certainly he would get a greater reward as well.

How about his other speech oh the messenger of Allah ? Asked the wife.

The Prophet Muhammad replied, “As his second words, he said when he saw his other good deed. In the day after, when in the morning he went to masjid, while the weather was very cold, in the edge of the street he saw an old man while sitting shivering cause of the very cold weather.

Incidentally your husband brought new coat beside the coat that he was wearing. So he take off his old coat and he gave to that old man. And then he wear his new coat. When going to his final breathe, he saw the reward of his good deeds, than he said, “suppose if it was new coat that I given to him, not my old coat, so I must get greater reward”. That what your husband said completely.

Than what his third speech, what does it mean, oh the messenger of Allah? Asked the wife.

Than Prophet Muhammad explained, “did you still remember when your husband came home in very hungry condition and ask for some food to you ? And then you served a piece of bread that mixed with meat. However when your husband about to eat, suddenly someone came and knock the door and asked for food. And then your husband divided the bread became two part, and the half of the bread given to that man. Thus, in time when your husband gonna die, he saw how great his reward from his good deeds. Therefore, he was regret and said, “if I know how great the rewards of that good deeds, so I won't give that man just a half of bread. Suppose if I gave him all of the bread so I will get greater reward.


Allah had said on Al-Qur'an verse Al-Isra-7 :

إِنْ أَحْسَنْتُمْ أَحْسَنْتُمْ لأنْفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا

"If you do good, you do good for your own selves, and if you do evil (you do it) against yourselves."

By Laila Wati

5 Things You Do Before Going to Sleep

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said : Hey Ali, don't you go to sleep before you do 5 things :

1.Reading whole of the Qur'an;

2. Donating 5 thousand dirhams;

3.Visit Ka'aba;

4.Keep a place for yourself in Jannah;

5.Placate people whom you have issues with .

And then Ali (RAdya ALLAH anho ) answered: how I could do that, oh the Messenger of Allah?
So the The Messenger of Allah said:

1.If you read sura Al-Ikhlas three times that is the same as reading whole of the Qur'an.

2.If you read Sura Al-Fatihah three times, that is the same as donating 5 thousand dirhams.

3. If you say “لاإله إلاالله وحده لاشريك له له الملك وله الحمد يحي ويميت وهو على
كل شئ قدير"

you say it like that ( la elah ela ALLAH wah daho lashareka lah, laho el molk wa laho el hamd yehye wa yameet wahowa ala kol shayee kadeer ..

it means " There is no deity but ALLAH alone has no partner to Him be praise gives life and causes death to a
Do all things

ten times that is the same as have visited Ka'ba.

4.If you say “ لاحول ولاقوة إلا بالله العلي العظيم "
you say it like that ( la hawl wa la kowa ela bi ALLAH al aliy al azeem )
it means .. " no force no power unless by ALLAH Almighty "


ten times that is the same as keeping place for yourself in Jannah.

5.If you say “ أستغفر الله العظيم الذي لاإله إلاهو الحي القيوم وأتوب إليه"
you say it like that ( astaghfaar ALLAH el azeem al lazi la ellah ela howa al hay el kayoum wa atoob e layeeh ).
it means " ALLAH Forgive me There is no God save Him, the
Alive, the Eternal and repent to Him ".

By Tourguide Moustafa

Reconciling Contentment versus Ambition

Productive Muslim

There seems to be an age old struggle between two forces in people’s mind that is hindering many from achieving their full potential; this is the apparent contradiction between being ambitious versus being content. Both qualities are well respected and even encouraged to have, however when they are brought together in one person’s mind or heart, there seems to be a conflict.

More importantly, this dilemma has infected the ummah with the disease of laziness; some say ”Alhamdulillah, I’m content with what I have, why should I be ambitious and strive for more?” I translate this into: “I can’t be bothered to do anything, I just want to live within my comfort zone.”

As you can expect, this mind-set is dangerous for the Ummah’s growth.

Insha Allah in this article we will try to help resolve this dilemma and show you that being ambitious and being content are two faces of the same coin and that in fact to become a truly successful ProductiveMuslim, you need to have both!

How?
Let us firstly explore both concepts from a linguistic point of view. Let’s look at synonyms of both words:

Ambition: drive, determination, enterprise, initiative, eagerness, motivation, resolve, enthusiasm, zeal, hunger, commitment, a sense of purpose; aspiration, intention, goal, aim, objective, object, purpose, intent, plan, desire, wish, design, target, dream.

Contentment: Contentedness, content, satisfaction, gratification, fulfilment, happiness, pleasure, cheerfulness; ease, comfort, well-being, peace, equanimity, serenity, tranquility.

As you can see, from a definition point of view, there isn’t much of a contradiction between the two concepts. The states of being “ambitious” and “content” seem to serve different aspects of our drive to be the best – one is driving us (ambition), the other is making us enjoy the ride (contentment)!

Where does the contradiction lie?
The contradiction lies in our misunderstanding that being content, means not wanting to achieve more; and that being ambitious to achieve more, is a sign that you’re not content. This is definitely not the case.

So how can we resolve this idea?
Let us look into the Quran and Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) to answer this dilemma:

Regarding ambition, Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) says in the Quran what means:

“And those who pray, “Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous.”[Surat 25 Al-Furqan, Verse 74]

And our Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The distance between every two levels [of Paradise] is like the distance between the sky and the Earth, so if you ask Allah for anything, ask Him for the Firdaus, for it is the last part of Paradise and the highest part of Paradise, and at its top there is the Throne of Beneficent, and from it gush forth the rivers of Paradise.”
[Bukhari, Book #93, Hadith #519]


And in numerous places throughout the Quran, we are told that to achieve Jannah we have to

1) Have imaan and
2) Do righteous works

We can now understand that we should be ambitious, however this ambition is to serve the person’s ultimate goal and that is to gain Allah’s pleasure and entering the highest part of Jannah.

Regarding contentment, Allah says in the Qur’an what means:

“Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendour of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring.” [Surat 20 Taha, Verse 131]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said what means: ”Riches does not mean, having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment.” (Sahih Bukhari, Book #76, Hadith #453)

The above clearly demonstrates that contentment should be related to the dunya matters and can be reconciled with being ambitious in this life.

The following hadith narrated from Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) expresses this balance between ambition and contentment succinctly:

“People say that I have narrated many Hadiths (the Prophet’s narrations). Had it not been for two verses in the Qur’an, I would not have narrated a single Hadith, and the verses are: “Verily those who conceal the clear sign and the guidance which We have sent down.. (up to) Most Merciful.” (2:159-160). And no doubt our Muhajir (emigrant) brothers used to be busy in the market with their business (bargains) and our Ansari brothers used to be busy with their property (agriculture). But I (Abu Huraira) used to stick to Allah’s Apostle, content with what will fill my stomach and I used to attend that which they used not to attend and I used to memorize that which they used not to memorize.” (Book #3, Hadith #118)

This example of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) shows that he was ambitious enough to memorize the ahadith of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him), yet he was also content with his restricted provision in this world.

So in summary, to resolve the dilemma is as follows:

Be content with your provision in this dunya. But be ambitious about your akhirah and never be complacent about your good deeds done for Allah. Aim to achieve more in order to please Allah, in your own practice of Islam and in your service to the Ummah – strive for more (sincerity, quality, quantity).

Don’t be afraid to be ambitious for our Ummah in this dunya, and for yourself in the akhirah.

By Shaz Yusuf

Secret Stores: Deeds Held In Confidence

… As I pulled out one of the books, my eyes fell on a chapter which I had bookmarked a couple of years ago. Unlike most normal people who bookmark chapters which they’re currently reading or are about to read, I guess I’m from the elite-but-lunatic few who only bookmark chapters which they’ve already read and passed by… (there’s a logic somewhere there, I promise!).

It was a chapter on ‘Keeping one’s deeds a secret’. Ah, it took me down memory lane… Years ago, in fact a decade ago, I remember being in the company of sisters who were (and still are) very dear to my heart; sisters who had taken me in when I was young, carefree and zealously passionate about everything which spelt ‘Islam’. We had gathered together for a halaqah at the beginning of Ramadan. The older sisters amongst us had prepared something for us youngsters, and it wasn’t food…

“Right, so here’s a chart we’ve put together so we can gain the maximum benefit from this month,” she started.

“You can personalise it as much as you like, but as you can see it’s a daily tick-chart which lists all the good deeds we should try and do on a daily basis…” She went on to explain how to use the chart while I rushed ahead and looked at all the good deeds they prepared for us to do, ‘Hmm, pretty impressive,’ I thought. It was like a mini-Hisn al-Muslim except more practical and more focused.

“… And if you look right to the bottom, you’ll see a special addition and I’ll leave you girls to ponder on that.” My eyes zapped straight to the bottom of the page…

After the list of good deeds such as Salah, Sadaqah, Dhikr, keeping ties, good character etc, there came one sentence which embodied a specific yet non-specific deed:

‘A secret deed between you and Allah.’

A shiver ran down my spine. Wow, did that sentence throw me off or what. It was amazing, not because I was unaware of such a concept as ikhlas (sincerity), but because no-one had ever put it quite as bluntly or as straight forward as this. ‘I gotta do a secret deed?’ I thought to myself. Hmm, I was excited. (Or perhaps my wild dreams of being an acrobatic top-secret agent, working underground and virtually invisible to the world, kinda ran away with me at that point…!).

Still, there was something about it which appealed to me.

Many years later, I find that it still amazes me.

In an authentic narration, the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘من استطاع منكم أن يكون له خبء من عمل صالح فليفعل’ – “Whoever among you can afford to have good deeds stored in secret, let him do it.” [Sahih al-Jami’]

Doing righteous good deeds in your own private moment and space without interference is actually a Sunnah. Worship performed in this way often boosts one’s love, sincerity and proficiency of that act of worship. Although each serves its purpose, doing good deeds on your own and away from the eyes of onlookers is starkly different and on a completely different level to when you do these deeds as part of a jama’ah (group). It tastes different, it often is different and you know, the outcome is also different.

Abu Umamah (radhiallahu `anhu) recognised this and urged it when he saw a man praying in the masjid, crying profusely and making du’a in prostration. He went to him afterwards and said, “You… if only you did this in your own home.”

Muhammad ibn Wasi’ said, “I have seen men, and amongst them would be a man whose head would be next to his wife’s head on the same pillow, and his tears would soak all that’s underneath his cheek yet his own wife wouldn’t even know it. I have seen men lining up in a row (for prayer), and amongst them a man would stand, his tears flowing down his cheeks, yet the person next to him wouldn’t even know it.”

Al-Hasan al-Basri also said, “A man would be sitting in a gathering and a drop of tear comes to his eyes, he tries to keep it back until when he fears that it will overpower him, he gets up and leaves.”

Meaning that they didn’t wish to come off as being any more pious or any more soft-hearted then those around them. And if something did affect them or draw them closer to Allah `azza wa jall, they kept it between Him and them. An act of worship is between you and the One you worship, so it has little to do with others and hence there’s no reason for others to know about it or be caused to be know all about it.

One of the Salaf once said, “Don’t do deeds so that you can be mentioned, rather hide your deeds just as you hide your sins.”

One of the special things about doing good deeds secretly is that the outcome is often great. Just as the Salaf used to say, “The one who humbles himself for Allah, will be raised by Allah,” they also recognised that doing good deeds away from the eyes of others often brought greatness.

Ibn al-Mubarak once mentioned Imam Malik (who was his contemporary) saying, “I haven’t seen anyone become raised in rank like Malik has been. He doesn’t have much in the way of prayer or fasting, but I only see this to be due to some secret deed which he does.”

Once he was asked about Ibrahim ibn Adham and his credibility in relaying hadith and he said, “Indeed, he has witnessed narrations from people, and he has great virtue within himself. He is someone who has secret righteous deeds, and I have never seen him even utter tasbih (words of remembrance) or do anything of good deeds openly.”

… And we all know of Ibrahim ibn Adham.

The examples are numerous amongst that sincere generation. But what can we do to increase our portion of a’mal al-sirr?

Some tips:

- Contemplate over the meaning of Ikhlas. What does it really mean to you?
- We need to reach the state where people’s praise and criticism is one and the same to us. The stage where praise doesn’t do anything to raise us, and rebuttal does nothing to lower us.
- Have a high opinion of your Lord. He should be your greatest concern.
- Have a high opinion of yourself. You’re more valuable than being the chit-chat of others.
- Start now. And a good way to begin is to pray, or recite Qur’an in a corner far away from people at least once a day. Special ‘me’ time perhaps, except this is completely purposeful. It would also be just as good to give away something in secret charity, and this is actually the Qur’anic example…

إِن تُبْدُوا الصَّدَقَاتِ فَنِعِمَّا هِيَ ۖ وَإِن تُخْفُوهَا وَتُؤْتُوهَا الْفُقَرَاءَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ
“If you disclose your charitable expenditures, they are good; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you…” [al-Baqarah: 271]

By Shaz Yusuf

Respect For the Elderly

In the early morning Ali bin Abi Thalib directly woke up to stand for Subh prayer together with Prophet Muhammad at the Masjid. Prophet Muhammad would be there. It seemed, that he never preceded others in doing good. Nothing is special because that's the perfect activity to start the day, and for many years Ali bin Abi Talib was very familiar.


The sky was still dark, the weather was still cold, and the streets were still covered by morning mist that fell together with morning mist. Ali stepped into the Masjid. From a distance, he heard the voice of Bilal's called for adzan that was tuneable to all over the city of Medina.


But has not so much a step, on the road to the Masjid, in front him there figure out of person. Ali recognize him as an old man who are Jewish. The old grandfather stepped very slowly once. That may be because of advanced age. He once seemed to be very careful down the road.


Ali actually in hurry, he doesn't want to left behind to do tahiyatul masjid prayer and also sunnah qabliyah shubuh prayer before carry out the shubuh prayer congregation with the prophet and his other companions.


Ali understood correctly that the Prophet taught that every Muslim to respect the elderly. Whoever he is and whatever his religion. So, Ali was forced to walk behind the old man. But what power, the old man walking very slowly, and therefore also the step of Ali became so slow. That old man was very weak, and Ali did not have the heart for the preceding. He was afraid that Jewish old man was dropped or got hurt.


After so long run, eventually the time approached the masjid the sky was getting light. The old man continued his journey, through the masjid.


When entering the masjid, Ali thought the shubuh prayer in congregation was over. He hurried. Ali was surprised and delighted, the Prophet and his companions are still bowing (ruku') to the second rakaat. Means Ali still had a chance to get prayer in congregation. If you still can run the bow (ruku') together, then he still got one prayer in congregation.


After Prophet Muhammad ending his prayer with salam, Umar bin Khattab asked to Prophet Muhammad, “Oh the Messenger of Allah, why your Subh prayer today isn't like usual ? What is the matter ?


The Messenger of Allah ask back, “Why, O Umar ? What is the difference ?

Umar replied, “I think so different, O Messenger of Allah. Usually you do ruku' on the second raka'at isn't as long as prayer this morning. But you do ruku' so long, why ?”


The Prophet replied, "I do not know. Just earlier, when I was ruku' in the second raka'at, Jibril suddenly down and pressed my back so I can not get up iktidal. And it lasted long, as you know, too."

With the favor of Allah, sometime later, Jibril had come down. He said to Prophet, “Muhammad, I was ordered by Allah to pressure your back on the second raka'at, intentionally so Ali get chance to pray Subh on congregation with you, cause Allah love him, that he had already done the teachings of islam to respect the elderly.


Ali honor a Jewish old grandfather. From that respect until he was forced to walk very slowly, because the grandfather walked slowly as well. If I didn't press your back when you do ruku' on the second raka'at so Ali would be left the shubuh prayer on congregation with you that day.

Listened to the explanation of Jibril Angel, the Prophet Muhammad understand that he love the attitude of Ali on respecting the elderly, cause what he did show how high the respect of moslems to others.

And also there one thing, that Ali never do on purpose to come late or left the Subh prayer on congregation. That what The Messenger of Allah explain to his companions.

 

By Laila Wati

Fasting Ayyam Al-Beed

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: My friend (the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa salam) directed me to observe fast for three days in every month, to perform two Rak`ah (optional) Duha prayer at forenoon and to perform the Witr prayer before going to bed. [Agreed upon:1672 & 1178]

It is mustahabb to observe this fast in the middle of the hijri month, on the days called Ayaam al-Beed (The White Days). It was narrated that Abu Dharr said: “The Messenger of Allaah sallahu alayhi wa salam said to me, ‘If you fast any part of the month then fast on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.’” (al-Nasaa’i, 2424; Ibn Maajah, 1707; Ahmad, 210; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, 673).

here are some virtues of fasting these days every month:

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-’As reported said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Fasting three days every month is equivalent to fasting continuously.” [Agreed upon]

Abu Dharr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If you fast three days of the month, then fast the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.” [at-Tirmidhi]

Ibn ‘Abbas said, “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) did not fail to fast the white days either when at home or on a journey.” [an-Nasa'i]

*It is important to remember that it is the 13th, 14th & 15th of the Hijri months and not the Gregorian callender followed in most Western countries*

By Shaz Yusuf

The Importance of Good Manners

A brother approached me recently looking for advice. He said that he had gone through several phases in his development and in each stage he would add more acts of worship to his daily life. He started by getting his five prayers down, then their sunnahs, then adding the forenoon prayer (ḍuḥā), then trying to pray in the night, and finally, fasting Mondays and Thursdays. His concern was that recently, when he was trying to pray more in the night, he was having a hard time doing it and felt that he was stagnating.

As I thought about his situation and his struggle to improve himself, I remembered something that I was reading in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn just a few days before. I was preparing for a talk that I was to give on arrogance and the chapter after it in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn happened to be the chapter on good manners. I was overwhelmed.

I will mention some of the ahadith that were compiled in this section by Imam al-Nawawi and perhaps share a few thoughts on a couple of them. One thing that we will see is that sometimes we are not in need of increasing our acts of worship, but rather in improving the quality of our acts of worship and the quality of our interactions with people.

Anas radiAllahu `anhu (ra) said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had the best character of anyone.”

Anas (ra) said, “I did not touch any silk brocade nor silk softer than the palm of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I did not smell any scent sweeter than the scent of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I served the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for ten years and he never said to me, ‘Uff‘ nor did he say about anything I had done, ‘Why did you do that?’ nor about anything I had not done, ‘Why did you not do that?’”

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-’As (ra) said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was neither obscene nor indecent. He used to say, ‘The best of you are the best in character.’”

Abu Hurairah (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The believers with the most perfect belief are the best of them in character. The best of you are the best of you towards your wives.”

‘A’isha (ra) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘By his good character a believer can reach the same rank as someone who fasts and prays at night.”

One of the commentators on this hadith said that the reason for this is because the one who prays in the night or fasts in the day struggles against his self while being disconnected from the people, but the one who deals with the people with good character struggles against himself while dealing with others, with all their differences, so they are equal to the one who prays or fasts, or maybe even better.

Abu Umama al-Bahili (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I guarantee a house on the outskirts of the Garden to anyone who abstains from disputation, even if he is in the right, and a house in the middle of the Garden for anyone who abandons lying, even when he jests, and a house at the summit of the Garden for anyone who has good character.”

Jabir (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Those I love most and those sitting nearest to me on the Day of Rising will be those of you with the best character. Those most hateful to me and the furthest of you from me on the Day of Rising will be the pompous, the braggarts and the arrogant.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we know the pompous and the braggarts, but who are the arrogant?’ He said, ‘The proud.’”

‘A’isha (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah is kind and loves kindness and gives for gentleness what he does not give for harshness nor for anything else.”

The Prophet ﷺ said to his companions, “Shall I not tell you something that is better than fasting, and praying, and giving charity?” They said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Reconciling between people.”

O Allah (swt), bestow your peace and blessings upon the best man to ever walk the face of the earth, our Prophet and master, Muhammad ﷺ. May He allow us to be true inheritors of his legacy.

By Jamaa Diwan