“Do not envy anyone who has not been harmed for the sake of this affair.”

“al-Harith bin Miskin entered upon Ahmad bin Hambal while he was being tortured, and narrated: “Yusuf bin ‘Umar bin Yazid narrated to me that Malik bin Anas said: “az-Zuhri was dragged away until he was beaten with a whip.” So, it was said to him: “But az-Zuhri was brought out in front of the people had has books hung from his neck!” So, Malik said: “Sa’id bin al-Musayyib was beaten with a whip, and his hair and beard were shaven off, and Abu az-Zinad was beaten with a whip, as was Muhammad bin al-Munkadir.”"

 And ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-’Aziz said: “Do not envy anyone who has not been harmed for the sake of this affair (i.e., Islam)!”"

 So, Ahmad became pleased at these narrations of al-Harith’s.”

 ['Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad'; p. 321]

“And the people are still being put to trial for the Sake of Allah, and being patient upon that. For example, the Prophets would be killed, and the righteous people of the previous nations would be killed and burned alive. One of them would even have his flesh combed off of his body with a metal comb, and he would remain upon his religion, despite this.

 The Messenger of Allah was poisoned, as was Abu Bakr. ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali were all killed. al-Hasan was poisoned, and al-Husayn was killed. ‘Abdullah bin az-Zubayr, ad-Dahhak bin Qays, and an-Nu’man bin Bashir were also all killed, and Khubayb bin ‘Udayy was crucified, al-Hajjaj killed ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Abi Layla, ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Ghalib al-Hidani, Sa’id bin Jubayr, Abu al-Bukhtari at-Ta’i, Kumayl bin Ziyad, and crucified Mahan al-Hanafi. He had also crucified ‘Abdullah bin az-Zubayr beforehand, al-Wathiq killed Ahmad bin Nasr al-Khuza’i and crucified him.

 As for those who were persecuted from the major scholars: ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Abi Layla; he was whipped by al-Hajjaj over four hundred lashes, then al-Hajjaj killed him. Abu az-Zinad was whipped by Banu Umayyah, and Abu ‘Amr bin al-’Ala’ was whipped by Banu Umayyah over five hundred lashes, and Rabi’ah[I ar-Ra’i was also whipped by Banu Umayyah. ‘Atiyyah al-’Awfi was whipped by al-Hajjaj over four hundred lashes, and Yazid ad-Dabiyy was also whipped over four hundred lashes by al-Hajjaj. Thabit al Binani was whipped by al-Jarud (the successor of Ibn Ziyad), and ‘Abdullah bin ‘Awn was whipped over seven hundred lashes by Bilal bin Abi Bardah.

al-Imam Malik bin Anas was whipped by al-Mansur over seventy lashes, and Abu as-Sawwar al-’Adawi 

and ‘Uqbah bin ‘Abd al-Ghafir were also lashed several times.”

['Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad'; p. 322]

Shabat (one of Ahmad’s torturers who later repented) said:

“I whipped Ahmad bin Hambal with over eighty lashes. If I had struck an elephant with these lashes, they would have caused it to collapse.”

['Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad'; p. 157]

[Ibn Al-Jawzi]

The Beauty of Salaah!

And seek help in patience and prayer…” [al-Baqarah; 45]

The weak, short-lived, limited human being must connect himself to the Greater Power, in order that he draw assistance from Him when the strength he requires exceeds that which is in his limited capacity, and when he faces both the open and hidden forces of evil, and when it becomes too difficult for him to remain firm upon the path of repelling his desires and stinginess, and when it becomes too difficult for him to struggle against tyranny and evil when they become violent, and when the road becomes too long, and when the hardships extend throughout his limited lifespan – and he looks to find that he has acheived nothing, while he feels he will be taken away soon; he has given nothing, and the sun of his life is about to set – and when he looks to find that evil is powerful, good is powerless, and there is no glimmer in the sky, and no milestone upon the path.

Here, the value of the prayer is realized.

It is the direct connection between the perishable human being and the Everlasting Power. It is the chosen, appointed time for the meeting between an isolated droplet and the fountain that never ceases gushing forth. It is the key to the treasure that fulfills, satisfies, and is overflowing. It is a transition from the limits of the puny worldly reality to the vast dimension of the universal reality. It is the refreshing breeze and shade in the midst of repressive heat. It is the touch of concern and protection for the exhausted heart. Because of this, the Messenger of Allah, when he was in a situation of hardship, would say: “Relax us with it, O Bilal,” and would increase in his prayer when he was afflicted with an overwhelming affair.

Verily, this Islamic manhaj is one of worship, and worship contains many secrets. From these secrets is that it serves as provision for the journey, a gift for the soul, and a polish for the heart. Wherever there is hardship and burden, there is worship to serve as the key to the heart, to help it taste these burdens and hardships as being sweetened, filtered, and light.”

['Fi Dhilal al-Qur'an'; 1/142]

Your God is One God!

Your God is one God.

Those who believe not in the life to come,

Have faithless hearts and are puffed up with pride.

Allah surely knows what they hide and what they reveal.

He doesn’t like the proud.

And if they are asked:” What has your Lord revealed?”

They say:” fables of the men of old!”

They shall bear the full brunt of their burdens

On the Day of Resurrection,

Together with the burdens of those

Whom they misled without knowledge.

Evil is that which they shall bear.

Those who have gone before them also plotted.

But Allah smote their edifice at its foundations

And its roof fell down on them from above

And the doom came upon them

From whence they did not know.

He will disgrace them

On the Day of Resurrection

And will say: “Where are my partners

For whose sake you opposed (My Guidance)?”

And those whom knowledge has been given will say:

“Indeed, disgrace and evil are this day on the unbelievers.” (Al-nahal Verses 20-27)

Ghayrah for Islam has become a Deficiency

“…It is a disaster that your heart dies without you noticing. It is as if you say: ‘O Lord! How often I rebel against You without you punishing me for it!’ And He replies: ‘How often I punish you without you even noticing! Haven’t I removed the life from your heart?’

The death of the heart, the lack of reaction to the Shar’i texts, that your face doesn’t become red for the sake of Allah…that’s it. Your heart is dead. It no longer pumps blood. In fact, this has now become something shameful. It has now become blameworthy for one to have zeal and to react strongly when he sees some corruption or evil in front of him. This is now considered a deficiency of the many deficiencies that can exist in one’s character. People will say that you are a poor guy who is quick to get charged up, or that you are passionate, or that you are zealous, or that you are rash, or that you are a fundamentalist, etc. Yes! It is now something blameworthy!

…Yes, and this is why we now use these terms without realizing what we’re saying. This person is too simple-minded, this person is too passionate, that person is a fanatic, easily charged up, zealous, etc. And is this religion given victory by mere reason, or is it given victory by zeal and passion? Reason tells you: how can you stand against Russia? Malik bin Nabi said that the index finger of Bilal that was raised to the sky saying ‘Ahad, Ahad (He is One, He is One)’ was not the voice of reason. Rather, this was the voice of emotion, because reason would tell him to deceive Umayyah bin Khalaf and then come at night and renew his Islam with Muhammad.

Someone once said to me:  “Brother, we shouldn’t be so open with everything we say. I sat for two years in an office without my coworker knowing my mindset.” So, I said to him: “May Allah ease your affairs. This means that for two years, you didn’t speak a single word encouraging good or forbidding evil because if you had spoken, he would have known your mindset?” And he considers this to have been cleverness on his part!

The cowards think that cowardliness is intelligence * This is the deception of the wicked soul…”

['Fi Dhilal Surat at-Tawbah'; p. 223]

*Courtesy of iskandrani.com*

Glory of the Quran and the Sweetness therein

The Quran is Allah's Word. It is a miracle. Woe to those who pass this life without having experienced the miracle of the Quran in their heart - when all else seems shallow, when the universe unveils its secrets and when man becomes humbled before his Lord, his heart shining with the Glory of Allah's Words. May Allah Allow us to benefit from the Quran and contemplate on its meanings and act upon it.

The following are Ayahs of the Quran regarding this subject and a few quotes from the giant scholars of our Ummah:

"(This is a) Book that We have sent down to you, full of blessings, so that they may ponder over its aayaat, and that those of understanding may remember." [Soorah Saad (38):29]

"Do they not then contemplate on the Qur'aan, or are there locks upon their hearts?" [Soorah Muhammad (47):24]

"Had We sent down this Qur'aan on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder out of fear of Allaah. Such are the parables that We put forward to mankind that they may reflect." [Soorah al-Hashr (59):21]"

Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe to be affected by Allaah's reminder (i.e., the Qur'aan) and of the truth that has been revealed, and not to be like those who had been given the Book before, whereby the term was lengthened for them and their hearts became hard and many of them are rebellious." [Soorah al-Hadeed (57): 16]

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, says: "In short, there is nothing more beneficial for the heart than reading the Qur'aan with contemplation and reflection. The Qur'aan encompasses all the levels of the travelers, the conditions of the workers, and stations of those possessing knowledge. It is the Qur'aan that generates love, desire, fear, hope, repentance, reliance, pleasure, entrustment, gratitude, patience and the rest of the different states that are life to the heart and perfection of it. Likewise, it repels all the rebukedcharacteristics and actions that cause the corruption and ruin of the heart.

If people were to possess a realization of what recitation of the Qur'aan with contemplation contains, they would devote themselves to it at the expense of anything else. When the person reads it with reflection and he comes across an aayah that he is in need of, for the cure of his heart, he repeats it, even if he does so a hundred times or the whole night. Hence, to recite a single aayah of the Qur'aan with contemplation and reflection is better than reciting the Qur'aan to completion without any contemplation or reflection. It is also more beneficial for the heart and more conducive to attaining eemaan and tasting the sweetness of the Qur'aan ..." [Miftaah Daar as-Sa'aaadah, page 204]

Muhammad Rasheed Ridaa states: "Know that strength of religion and culmination of eemaan and certainty does not come about except by reading the Qur'aan very often andlistening to it upon contemplation with the intention of being guided by it and to act on its commands and prohibitions. The correct and submissive eemaan increases, strengthens,develops and its effects such as righteous actions and abandonment of disobedience and corruption, all arise in pro-portion to the contemplation of the Qur'aan. It also decreases and weakens in proportion to not contemplating on the Qur'aan.

Most of the Arabs only believed when they heard the Qur'aan and understood it. They did not conquer the lands, inhabit cities, nor did their population grow and their power becomegreater except because of the Qur'aan's effective guidance.

Furthermore, the nobles of Makkah who opposed and stood in enmity, strove against the Prophet and tried to prevent him from conveying the message of his Lord by stopping him from reciting the Qur'aan to the people:

"And those who disbelieve say, 'Do not listen to this Qur'aan and make noise in the midst of it (being recited) so that you may overcome …'"[Soorah Fussilat (41):26.40]

The weakness of Islaam since the Middle ages up to the point where most of its empire disappeared is only so 

because of the abandonment of the contemplation of the Qur'aan, of reciting it and acting by it." [Mukhtasar Tafseer al-Manaar, 3/170]

May Allah Allow us to understand the Quran correctly, to contemplate upon it and to act upon it. May Allah's Word Reign Supreme and may Allah Make the Quran the Light of our Hearts...

And may Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), his family, his companions and all those who follow him...

Introduction

AssalamuAlaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuhu

-------- A Short Introduction to this Blog

A modest attempt seeking to fulfill my duties to please Allah. All Praise is due to Allah The Lord of the Worlds. There is no one worthy of worship other than Him. His is the Creation and the Command. He is the First and the Last - The One Who Always Was and will Always Be - The One Who Created me and you and all that is on earth - visible or invisible - Allah The Most Great... Indeed, All Praise is due to Him Alone. And may Peace and Blessings be upon all His Messengers from Adam to Muhammad (S.A.W) - the last Prophet and the best of creation.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad (S.A.W) is His Messenger. As to what follows,

Allah, The Exalted Says:

“See you not how Allâh sets forth a parable? - A goodly word as a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches (reach) to the sky (i.e. very high). Giving its fruit at all times, by the Leave of its Lord and Allâh sets forth parables for mankind in order that they may remember.” [The Noble Quran – 14:24-25]

About this verse,

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that `Abdullah bin `Abbas commented that Allah's statement -> (a parable: a goodly word), refers to testifying to La ilaha illallah, (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) while, (as a goodly tree), refers to the believer, and that (whose root is firmly fixed), indicates that La ilaha illallah, (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) is firm in the believers' heart (and its branches (reach) to the sky.) with which the believer's works are ascended to heaven.

Similar is said by Ad-Dahhak, Sa'id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, Mujahid and several others. They stated that this parable describes the believer's deeds, good statements and good actions. The believer is just like the beneficial date tree, always having good actions ascending at all times, by day and by night. [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]

This is what every believer should aspire to be like. This blog is a modest attempt at refreshing our Imaan, sharing what Allah Has taught us with the rest of the world – a place for sharing and spreading love for Allah, His Book, His Prophets and His True Way of life – Islam. Scholarly works and useful Islamic Videos and Materials will inshAllah be shared.

So let us spread good in the world and let us not be lazy. Let us realize that we are all created by One Creator, so let us all worship Him Alone - meaning let us all obey His Laws in all our personal and collective affairs. Allah Is the Greatest. Allah is the Light!

“Allâh is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east (i.e. neither it gets sun-rays only in the morning) nor of the west (i.e. nor it gets sun-rays only in the afternoon, but it is exposed to the sun all day long), whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! Allâh guides to His Light whom He wills. And Allâh sets forth parables for mankind, and Allâh is All-Knower of everything.” [The Quran – 24:35]

Isn't the Quran beautiful? Shouldn't we reflect on it? May Allah Guide all of us to the truth! Listen closely and reflect as Allah Guides us in His Unmatchable Words:

May Allah Enable us to do good and Forgive us for our mistakes.

May Allah Help all of us to attain Paradise and save us from Hellfire.

And may Peace and Blessings be upon Muhammad (S.A.W), his Companions and his Family and upon all those who follow him…