Proclaim the glad tidings

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Those that turn (to Allah) in repentence;
That serve Him, and praise Him; that wonder
In devotion to the Cause of Allah;
That bow down and prostrate themselves, in prayer;
That enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limits set by Allah -
(These do rejoice). So proclaim the glad tidings to the Believers! - AL-Qur'an (9:112)

The above ayah gives us so much hope - subhanallah! In the tafsir of Abdullah Yusuf Ali it is explained in the following way:

We are to rejoice that by giving up such small things as ourselves and our possessions we are to be rewarded with such a great thing as the eternal life of felicity. The truly righteous, whose lives in various aspects are described in this verse, do so rejoice. The good news is to be proclaimed to all believers, including the weakest among us, so that they may profit by that example.

-Subhanallah! What could be a better news from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than this?

This day we live in

As time passes, we are approaching our death and we are getting closer to the Day of Judgment. If we look at our society, the current state that we are living in, we see that injustice, lies, deception, corruption, killings and such acts have become an integral part of our life. Some say these are all signs that the last day is approaching. But how is it that knowing that the last day is approaching we are still able to indulge in our luxuries like we are already in heaven? People are suffering. They are suffering from diseases, from poverty, from being wronged and from being transgressed upon their rights. What about us- who are not facing any such hardship in this dunya? People who are so blessed and whose fulfillment of basic necessicities have gone beyond and satisfied items of extravagance. What are we doing? Are we even aware of such injustices in our society? How conscious are we? We have been gifted with sight – to see, ears to hear, mind to comprehend and reason. How are we using our capabilities? How are we using the gifts - the loans from Allah (swt)? By minding our own business? Have we confined ourselves into our small bubble? We have responsibilities. Allah (swt) gave us such qualities so we may use them to help each other.

It hurts to see how people are loosing moral values – and they no longer think its worth fighting for justice. We have given up hope! The wrongs in our society have become such a fundamental part of our everyday life that it no longer shocks us anymore! No longer we are surprised when we know that someone is being exploited or that someone has been dealt unfairly. We react to such stories or news as – ah! what can we do? Hopefully things will change!

People say there’s hope and things will get better. I hear people saying there’s hope for betterment and things will change. How will things change if we don't change the structure of our own mind? I’m not convinced. I'm not convinced that things will change for better. I’m not saying that I’m not content with Allah (swt)’s decree – but all the inequality that prevails in our society troubles me much to say this.

I wonder where people have locked up their consciousness. Where have we hidden our human qualities that we were born with – qualities such as affection, empathy, concern, kindness, compassion, sympathy? Why do we consider such qualities to be words of the dictionary and not really to be implemented in our lives so we may use them? Why aren’t we bothered anymore when we hear someone facing such adversity? How can we be so indifferent when people are suffering – suffering from wars, poverty, for the corruption in the land, for loosing morality, for not being human anymore! We call ourselves civilized. Is the definition to being part of a civilized society is not to care anymore? Or it’s to be ignorant? Or which part of the word civilization implies that we are only to live for our own selves and act selfishly? Is this what we are being taught? Where have we buried our mind? Where have we buried our feelings or sensitivity? Why aren’t we concerned anymore? We have killed our conscious! We have killed an integral part of us - the heart! We have supressed our soft part so bad and thus it is easy for us to adopt the attitude “none of our business”.

May be I’m being overwhelmed and I’m distressed. Yes! I am. As I feel that my hands are tied or too weak to do anything against all the forces of corruption that reign. People in power have forgotten that they too have to embrace death – they have forgotten that on that day the Lord of the World and the Universe will ask them how they used their authority. Our society have fallen into a vicious cycle of deceit and we have become too used to this. We have separated moral education from the education of school. We are no longer bothered if things go wrong around us – rather we are surprised when things go right. We need to wake up. We need to integrate morality into our educational system. We need to emphasize on the lessons of how to treat others with kindness, love & compassion in our classrooms. We need to do so much! We need to start at our very individual level and only then we can help our family structure. The society can benefit if we have stong families and communities. Most of all – we need to remember and constantly remind ourselves of our final abode. DEATH. We need to realize that we have to answer to the higher supreme power and that this world is not a place of eternity for us.

May we all purify our intentions and do everything only for the sake of Allah (swt). May we be of those who call others to good and do good ourselves. May we be of those who are God conscious. May we be of those whose conscious pricks when we transgress on our souls and wrong others. May we all have a good ending and may He azza wa jal have mercy on us and forgive us our shortcomings. May He (swt) be pleased with us when we meet Him on that day. Ameen.

The mercy to the humanity

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

We are in the month of Rabi-ul-Awal according to the Islamic Hijri calender. This is the blessed month when the best of all the creation and the best of all the slaves of Allah (swt) - Muhammad, sallalahu wa alihi wa sahbihi wa salaam, was born. So, the person who Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala sent to this earth as a mercy, the person who brought guidance for all of humantity and who was the chosen one to receive the last revelation from Allah (swt) - such a person's birthday should be celebrated grandly! In fact, not just the 12th of Rabiul Awal but it should be celebrated each month, each day and every single moment in our life. Why? Becasue it was due to God's ultimate rahma that He(swt) sent the prophet (saw) to perfect human character and it was becasue of the prophet (saw), that we have an example to follow that can help us attain a better place in this life and the next.

Allah (swt) didn't have to send guidance to us. Did He? He wasn't obliged to. In fact He is never obliged to do anything. So, why is it that He kept sending prophets after prophets to each nation? And then, how come He not only sent the last prophet (saw) to all of humanity but He also made sure that He gives something that the whole humanity can hold on to and refer to as guidance. So, it was absolutely (no question about that) Allah (swt)'s immense mercy that He sent us prophet Muhammad (saw). And He sent the Quran as a guidance. Its the words of Allah (swt) Himself that was revealed to the prophet (saw) through angel Gibreel (AS). Therefore, if we just for moments think about it, we see that not only is He the most merciful and the most compassionate, but the best planner and the all knowing! Rasulallah (saw) was sent to guide humanity and to live a life so that people may learn. Not only he (saw) was teaching the people about quran but he (saw) also lived a life of the Quran so people may observe and learn and know that its doable. He was a walking quran on earth! Every single goodness that we are familiar with - each and every single atom of our good deeds was taught to us by rasulallah (saw). He (saw) not only taught us to live a righteous life but he (saw) made sure the important components of life such as love, compassion, mercy, modesty, honesty and all such good characters are included in his teaching - so that the whole of humanity may benefit. Who knew that the whole course of human history would take a different course as a result of the Arabian prophet who was sent to the people in a time of ignorance? Subhanallah! Just look at the love Allah (swt) has for us - that he sent us the best muallim so we may perfect our deen.

The teaching of Islam came at a time of ignorance when people were never in peace - fighting among each other; moreover, at that time female infacticide was a common practice as giving birth to baby girls were considered a shame to the family! The teaching of Islam taught the ignorant society - what they knew not! The teaching of this deen stopped the killing of female infants. It was more than 1400 years ago that Islam came and established the rights of women in the society - the rights of inheritence, the rights to seek knowledge, the rights to be loved and respected as a mother, daughter, wife; the rights of equality and such for which the women of this century are having to fight so hard for. Moreover, the high status of women was set clear and affirmed 1400 years ago by Islam. How can we be not grateful for all that when they have been given to us by Allah (swt) in this deen? what could be a more rewarding than being a muslim in this life? Subhanallah!

According to this deen, anyone worthy of our love and respect after Allah (swt) and the prophet (saw) is your mother. I love this hadith so much! Here it goes: A man once asked the prophet (saw), who should i love most after Allah (swt) and you Rasulallah? Rasulallah replied, 'your mother.' The man then asked, 'who next?' Rasulallah replied , 'your mother'. When asked for the third time he (saw) replied, 'and then your father.' Subhanallah! Can you imagine the status of mothers given by Islam? The mercy of this deen comes from another saying of the prophet (saw), where he (saw) says, "Girls are models of affection and sympathy and a blessing to the family. If a person has one daughter, God will screen him from the fire of hell owing to his daughter; if he has two daughters, God will admit him to paradise; if he has three, God will exempt him from the obligation of charity and Jihad." These are just some of the innumerous gifts of this deen and from the teaching of prophet (saw).

So, how can we ever being in our own humble incapable position atleast show gratitude and love for all that he (saw) have done for us? The least we can do is atleast acknowledge that and try to implement in our lives the teachings of the quran and the sunnah. How can we do that? By simply following his footstep. Yes! There are way too many temptations out there and way too many things to sacrifice. The truth? It all boils down to the realization of the fact that we are not permanent residents of this earth. Our feet is way too firmly grounded to even consider revising our life. What is more important to us? The 60/70/80/90/ or at max 100 years of life on this earth or the eternal life in the hereafter? If we divide the number (even if its 100) of years of our life on this earth by the number of years in the hereafter, what do we get? 100/infinity = 0!
So, compared to the next life, the value of this life to a believer should be 0! Subhanallah! Look at where we are! We live as if we are never going to die. I say all these becasue i myself suffer from these diseases. I'm myself struggling - to increase my love for the best teacher, our prophet (saw), to seek nearness to Allah (swt), to be showered with just a drop of his immense mercy, to be accepted by Him (azza wa jaal) - to become a better muslim. When i write - i write based on my deficiencies and my own shortcomings. My aim is to remind myself first and then inshaAllah if others benefit then All Praise is to He, Who owns all thats in the heaven and the earth.

So, back to where I was. Following the footstep of prophet (saw). Allah (swt) commands us to walk in the path of the prophet (saw). Its a part of our faith to love the messanger of Allah (swt). When someone possesses mahabba (love) for someone, he/she often mentions his name and try to follow that person in all aspect of life - both inward and outward. If we love somebody we want to imitate him in every single aspect of our life and would want to do things that would please him. Where are we in our love for the prophet (saw)? Today, we are so far from sunnah - we even have a hard time to send proper blessings to him, his family and his companions - after his name is mentioned. Allah (swt) in his glorious book says, Allah and His angels send blessings to the prophet; O you who believe, send your blessings on him and salute him with the words of salutation. Subhanallah! The prophet Muhammad (saw) have been praised by the creator of the Universe and receives blessings from the Creator and the angels! We feel so good about ourself when we hear someone mention something positive about us. But look at this! Prophet (saw) was not only prasied by his enemies or some random traveller but its Allah (swt) who have praised him and Who sends His blessings. How can we ever praise someone the proper way who Allah (swt) have praised? How can we ever repay what he (saw) have given us? It hurts so much to think of all the sacrifice that he (saw) went through. Why? So that the concept of one God may be established in the heart of all people right? If someone does good to us - its a natural tendency to fall in love with that person. But how much do we think of this? Is it becasue we do not know anything of the teachings or is it becasue we are too arrogant to implement those teachings into our lives? Whats the least we can do to show our gratitude being his ummah (nation)? Well, how about sending proper blessings to him (saw). May be we could start there. The sahabas, the tabe-ein, the tabe-tabe-ein and the people after them - they used to love the prophet (saw) so much that they would even refuse to eat grapes or eat something new. Why? Becasue they didn't know how the prophet (saw) used to eat grapes or that for that matter! Subhanallah! Where are we in our love for the Rasul (saw)? Are we even praying our sunnahs properly (lets not talk about performing tahajjud, as we have so much going on!). Its never to late ... for verily Allah (swt) is the most Forgiving and the most Compassionate! So, a hadith to highlight this point: The prophet (saw) said, "All my followers will enter Paradise except those who refuse." When asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Who will refuse?" He said, "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it)." - Bukhari. Subhanallah! Just this hadith should be enough to bring us to our realization.

Not only the best of creation had taught us all we needed to know but even on the Day of Gathering, he (saw) would still worry about his ummah. There's a hadith on this which highlights this beautifully...

Said Ibn Abbas, 'The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) once said, "Pulpits of gold shall be erected for the Prophets, who shall sit upon them. But my pulpit shall remain empty, for I shall be standing before my Lord, fearful that He might send me to Heaven while my nation remains behind. I shall say, 'O my Lord! My nation! My nation!' and God (Great and Glorious is He!) shall say, 'O Muhammad! What would you have me do with your nation?' 'O my Lord!' I reply, 'Make brief their reckoning!' And thus shall I continue to intercede until I am given to release men who have already been sent to Hell, so that Malik, the guardian of Hell, shall say, 'O Muhammad! I have not left any remnant of your nation to the wrath of your Lord!' (Tabarani, al-Mujam al-Kabir)

In a world where we are living with constant bombardment from the media and our surroundings to transform ourself into materialistic beings and to look only after our own back - we need to go back to the teachings of the prophet (saw) & we need to go back to seerah and learn about compassion, love, mercy - we need to lead a life with all the necessary components to live. We need to learn how we can love others and have a compassionate and merciful heart towards others - which makes this life even more beautiful and worth living for. After all, in the end we all return to our Lord with nothing but just a peice of cloth and the good deeds we have earned in our account.

Truly, praise is for Allah, for not only has He made us followers on one of His Prophets, He made us followers of the greatest of His Prophets, the mercy to all of creation, peace and blessings be upon him, his family and his companions.

The healing power of the divine words

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

One of the many attributes of the Holy Quran is As-Shifa, which means the healing. Subhanallah! For every situation every subject matter and related to every separate occasion there is always something to refer to and soothe your heart from the book of Allah (swt). Whether you hear to the recitation or recite it yourself and reflect and contemplate on the meaning - it sure relieves so much from an ached heart and brings such tranquility. How could something be so beautiful? How could it be so unique to carry so much power - in just words? Thats the magic of the Quran - a book with the words of the Allah (swt), the Lord of the world and the Sustainer of the universe! It just shows and makes us realize over and over again that the words of Allah (swt) can be of assistance for all occasions whether we are sad, bored,nervous, happy, gloomy, excited, groovy - you name it! and it truly is the best of medications for the worst of the ailments. No wonder it’s the rising of the Divine light, the link between mortality and eternity, existence and non-existence.

I remember hearing such miraculous stories where comma patients after being bed ridden for 2 months in the hospital bed comes back to life as the book of Allah (swt) were being recited continuously near the person. I also heard from my mother how my grandfather reacted to the recitation of the quran during his last few moments of life, in the fall of 2003, where initially he was being so restless and as my mother started reciting the quran sitting near his bed – she saw the serenity overcome his restlessness. Both my grandparents have been very dear and beloved to me; their presence was such a rahma from Allah (swt) and they have been such a blessing in my life and to all of us in our family. The relationship of blood and kinship are extraordinary even if we may not realize these days and indeed they have always had and will always occupy special place in our heart. Its almost been a decade that I have lost my grandmother and a little less than two years that my grandfather passed away – their memories as to how I used to tease them and have fun with them are still as vivid as that of yesterday. They are in my mind and thoughts very often and by Allah I miss them so so much. I haven’t been comfortable enough to express my feelings of their loss to anyone and may be this is the first time I am actually writing about this. I remember, when my dada passed away I was in Albany, it was my first semester in the masters program; the whole day I was feeling very restless and extremely impatient – I remember having a three hour health economics class in which I could neither concentrate nor understand anything as my mind was preoccupied by the thought of home. I couldn’t wait to call home and find out if everything was alright. Then the moment it was evening here I thought may be I can call as its almost time for people to wake up for fajr salaah. So, I called home and it was around 4 in the morning there and my mom answered the phone. I could hear people around her as if it was evening time – the house full of people; then I realized something is very unusual. A part of me was trying to convince myself that there are people around because it’s the month of Ramadan – so may be everyone stayed over at our house and people are up for suhur. But it turned out that my grandfather passed away few hours ago. Everybody at home were atleast together to console each other and face the loss together. I was here trying to deal with it on my own. After I hung up the phone with my mom, flashback of the old days with my dada came vividly in my mind – how while I was in school dada was my buddy for lunch and dinner; he was my savior whenever it came to escape the scolding of my parents. He was the person who always encouraged me to build a relationship with the quran and not to miss salaah. Little did I understand the value of those advices at that time. Today, after a good one and a half years later- on a Saturday evening as I am sitting on my desk – I reflect on such words of wisdom that were so simple yet carried such insight to be a persons best companion.
Till today it bugs me and the fact that I didn’t see my grandfather during his last moments or the fact that I never expected him to pass away without any prior notice will bother me for probably as long as I live – ‘cause I will not be able to see that person anymore, who has been so dear to me since my childhood & since I can recall. I remember when we were young and would play outside the house in the evening – dada would be reading the quran in the veranda and keep an eye on the kids (at the same time). When done he would show his interest to join us the kids. Whenever I visit home I realize their absence more than anything.

I remember, the time when both my grandparents were alive. I was studying in Dhaka for my O’levels and I used to go back home to Chittagong every weekend. It was routine for me to run to my grandmother’s room first thing as I would step in the house and then to look for my grandfather. Out of that habit, even couple of times after my grandmother passed away, as I went home on the weekends, unconsciously I ran to her room only to find an empty room and the fact that the person is no longer among us. InshaAllah they are in a far better place now and may Allah (swt) be pleased with them and they be pleased with their condition in the hereafter. May Allah (swt) grant them both jannah and make the next world a much better place, and may He (swt) forgive them from the punishment of grave and the hellfire.

Having elderly people in a family can make such difference and brings so much baraka in the household. There are some special relations on this earth that Allah (swt) bestows us with to better teach us and make us understand such emotions as love and mercy – the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is one such type of relation. So, everything and every single person who have come across our lives are mortal and have a limitation to their time on earth - make the best of your time on this earth and make the most of your relationships. For verily, we do not know when the call from the next world comes and we may not have a chance to say goodbye.

I thought I was writing about the quran – and I got derailed from my actual intention. I guess I’m missing home too much these days L It’s all good. I miss them and irrespective of all the disagreements and all our shortcomings – I miss them big time. It always brings joy to my mind thinking about my grandparents and my family. Alhamdulillah! I have been blessed in this world by Allah (swt) – may He (swt) have mercy on me in the hereafter. InshaAllah, I’ll continue on the quran later on …

Letting it out :O

I just sometimes have a hard time grasping the fact on how can some people simply cannot stick to their words and how they change their mind to justify that act which has to do little with their life and has more affect on the lives of other people with much higher intensity. I get so mad and so angry and so upset. I find myself so helpless and so lost. I don't know what i can do to help myself not to be bothered by these or what could be done to help such people to make them realize the importace of adhering to own words.

We are just too used to and comfortable having secular thoughts and ideas and living a life of pretence. When i look at my own self and my own family i see and find ourselves to have fallen victim of the norms and culture in the soceity (which has more to do with societal values & prestige and how people perceive it) and often we pay attention or even care to think about what is right to be done from the point of sharia; that is deciding on what would help us in our deen, dunya and in the akhira. We are struggling with our own selves trying to fit in with everyone and trying to be accepted in this world in the sight of others for few moments of recognition and thats all we think about. All we think about is how to live today in this world. How can i be popular among others? How can I earn some respect? How can i earn some praise ? Thats all? Is that all we should care about when we have been gifted with the best gift in creation? What about the akal and free will? Is that how we are to misuse our intelligence and free will just thinking of our few days in this world? How could we be so naive? How could we think of the benefit in this dunya and not about our benefit for the much longer life in the hereafter awaiting for us? Why are we so immeresed? How come we do not think about the Creator who controls everything and all thats in creation? Shouldn't we rather focus our attention on things that pleases the Creator? He is the Creator and the owner of all the creation that ever did, does and will exist in this universe - so if we earn the pleasure of the Creator we are sure to own the creation as well. Its like if you have the king, you own all the treasures he owns as well. But if its only his treasures where you have interest - no matter how much you take (which might seem enough to you), the king isn't yours and you looked at more of a short-term goal. This analogy was actually given in a lecture by Shyakh Husain Abdul Sattar and now when I think of all these, everything just falls into places so well. How come we do not think that way? We are no longer concerned about our situation on the Day of Judgement - we are more worried about our comfort and outlook as it would appear in front of the people around us. Its time we straighten our priorities so we don't prolong our sufferings on that day. I try to be of those who does everything for the sake of Allah(swt); i try and i try. But my efforts fall short and its not easy as it all boils down to who i am - HUMAN. A human who's weak in setting her priorities . I fall and i drown being bombarded with all thats around me. Its hard and its sad... I'm not complaining. However, i haven't given up hope and i will not let that happen for I know what Allah (swt) says, "Verily with hardship comes ease; and verily with hardship comes ease." So, i'll hang in there and be patient and inshaAllah i'll get strong enough to deal with such issues with more wisdom...

I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to sound pathetic by writing about my frustrations. But I thought its important that we understand very clearly that no matter how much we are trying to please the people around us - as long as we compromise our values and our own priroties, putting everything else in our to do list and serving Him to be the last thing in our agenda provided our time and energy permits - will lead us to be owned by this dunya and not owning it. We will fail to be good in the sight of others. How can we be good to others when we are not sincere to our relationship with the Lord? Isn't everything that we own is from His niyaama? So, don't we need to think and set priorities thanking Him for all that we have and in all that we do? But thats another thing if we are not sure of our priorities, and i don't want to get into that right now.

We are human and for each and every action of ours we have to answer to our Lord - are we prepared for that? We do not know when we would face death. Lets say we face death today - are we ready to stand in front of Him? This is a reminder to my ownself... that every second thats passing, its taking me closer to death. I should be happy as I'm drawing closer to the time to meet Him right? But am i truly? Am i prepared to face Allah (swt)? Am i truly longing to meet Him? Or i'm scared and too embarassed to face Him with the burden of my sins? Forgive me yaAllah and have mercy on me; help me be of those who are looking forward to meet you on that day and help me be of those who doesn't earn your wrath... Ameen.