Journals
Tuesday,Sep 22 2009, 07:13:59 PMLoving and glorifying the Sunnah – I
Do you truly love the Messenger of Allaah 
? A fundamental of our religion, and a tenet of our faith, is to love him.
Allaah Says what means: “Say [O Muhammad]: ‘If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allaah and His Messenger and Jihaad in His cause, then wait until Allaah executes His command. And Allaah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.” [Quran 9: 24]
Al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyaadh 
said: “This verse is enough of an evidence to prove the obligation of loving the Prophet because Allaah dispraised in it those whose wealth, family or children are dearer to them than the love of Allaah and His Messenger describing them as defiantly disobedient at its conclusion.”
Love of the Prophet branches from Allaah’s love of him; our love of the Prophet is due to the fact that Allaah loves him, and because Allaah sent him to us as His Messenger, as well as the fact that Allaah instructs us to make him dearer to our hearts than our own souls. He Almighty Says what means: “The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves…” [Quran 33: 6]
This means that the believer should love the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam more than he loves his own self.
This love entails full obedience, submission and acceptance; it also entails favouring the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam over oneself, one’s family and one’s wealth, and to surrender to the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam the controlling direction that one has over himself.
The influence that the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam should have over us is greater than that which a master has over his slave, or a father has over his child. We should have no control over ourselves except in acting in accordance with the way he directed us to.
It is for every Muslim to prove his love for him, which can be determined according to the following narration of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam: “There are three qualities; whoever has them will taste the sweetness of faith: To love Allaah and His Messenger () more than anyone else…" [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]
One will never taste the sweetness of faith except after achieving this, as he said in another narration: “I swear by the One in whose Hand my soul is! None of you will truly believe until I become dearer to him than his child, his father and all of mankind." [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]
This love is not simply an emotion that is confined to the heart, but rather it has implications and effects. This love makes the slave achieve a rank that he would not otherwise achieve by means of his bodily deeds, as in the narration of Ibn Mas`ood 
who said: “A man came to the Messenger of Allaah and said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah! When will the Hour (i.e., the Day of Resurrection) come?’ He replied: “What have you prepared for it?” The man said: ‘Only my love of Allaah and His Messenger.’ The Messenger of Allaah then said: “You will be with those whom you love.”” [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]
It is not as important to know when the Hour will occur as it is to prepare for its arrival, and this is the reason why the Prophet drew this to the attention of the man by asking him that question.
Anas said: “After being blessed by embracing Islam, we never rejoiced at anything as much as we did about this answer of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam to that man. I love Allaah, His Messenger Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and hope to be with them (in the Hereafter) even if I cannot perform the good deeds they did.” [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]
The Companions 
had great love for the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, to the extent that they would face arrows that were being fired in his direction to shield him. They would risk their lives for him and sacrifice everything for his rescue. ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas said: “There was no one dearer to me or more glorified than the Prophet ; I could never look him directly in the eye due to the extent of my glorification, and if someone were to ask me to describe him, I would not be able to, as I never looked at him for long enough to be able to describe him.” [Muslim]
When Abu Sufyaan was still a disbeliever, he asked Zayd ibn Thaabit who was taken as a hostage and being brought out by the people of Makkah to execute: “Do you not wish that Muhammad was in your place and that we killed him instead, while you could go to your family and be with them?” He replied: “I swear by Allaah! I would rather be here facing this than have him even being pricked by a thorn.” Upon hearing this, Abu Sufyaan said: “I never saw a people who love a man more than the companions of Muhammad love him.” Such incidents greatly affected the disbelievers and caused many of them to embrace Islam.
A man from the Ansaar came to the Prophet and said: “You are dearer to me than myself, my child, my family and my wealth, and I feel as if I am dieing when I do not see you.” Then he began to cry. The Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam asked: “Why are you crying?” The man replied: “I remembered that we will die and you will die, then you will take your place in Paradise with the other Messengers and Prophets, while we, if indeed we do enter Paradise, will be lower in rank than you, and thus we will not be able to see you in Paradise.”
Note how much they loved him; they were worried about not seeing him, despite the fact that they may also be in Paradise.
The Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam did not comment on his words until Allaah revealed the following verses which mean: “And whoever obeys Allaah and the Messenger – those will be with the ones upon whom Allaah has bestowed favour of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. That is the bounty from Allaah…” [Quran 4: 69-70] Thereupon the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam summoned him and said: “Glad tidings to you!” [Al-Bayhaqi]
Once, a female companion was waiting at the approach to Al-Madeenah for the return of the Muslim army from the battle of Uhud. She was informed that her husband, brother and father were killed, but her only reply was: “What happened to the Prophet?” They told her that he was fine and unharmed, but she insisted to seeing him so that she would be sure that he was truly safe. When she did see him, she remarked: “Any affliction, after seeing that you are safe, is minor
Saturday,Aug 1 2009, 04:38:12 PMهل تحس بضيق في صدرك اليك ال..
يعيش الإنسان في هذه الحياة صراعاً مع مشاقها ومتاعبها،
قال تعالى: (لقد خلقنا الإنسان في كبد).
وضيق الصدر أمر لا يسلم منه أحد من الناس، لكنهم يختلفون في تعاملهم معه، فمنهم من يستسلم له، ومنهم من يأخذ بالأسباب التي تعين على زوال همه، وشرح صدره.
ونذكر لكم بعضاَ من هذه الأسباب:
Monday,Jul 27 2009, 06:20:24 PMMorality in Islam
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was mainly concerned with teaching and disciplining Muslims to have the best manners and personal characteristics. His personal life and behaviour were reflective of his teachings, which were revealed to him by Allaah. In the Noble Quran, Allaah describes Prophet Muhammad Thursday,Jul 23 2009, 01:44:30 PMRelativity in the Quran
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Thursday,Jul 23 2009, 01:33:32 PMIslam: a home of tolerance, not fanaticism
Islam: a home of tolerance, not fanaticism
Media speculation since the horrific terrorist attacks on America has pointed the finger at Muslims and the Arab world, and that has meant ordinary citizens of the US and other Western countries becoming easy prey for anti-faith hooligans. Shame.
Sadly, the latest horror to hit the US looks to have been caused by people of Middle Eastern origin, bearing Muslim names. Again, shame.
This fuels more hatred for a religion and a people who have nothing to do with these events. This is why I want to explain some basic facts about this noble way we call Islam, before, God forbid, another disaster occurs -- next time probably aimed at Muslims.
I came to Islam in my late 20s, during my searching period as a wandering pop star. I found a religion that blended scientific reason with spiritual reality, in a unifying faith far removed from the headlines of violence, destruction and terrorism.
One of the first interesting things I learned in the Quran was that the name of the faith comes from the word Salaam -- peace. Far from the kind of Turko-Arab-centric message I expected, the Quran presented a belief in the universal existence of God, one God for all. It does not discriminate against peoples; it says we may be different colors and from different tribes, but we are all human and "the best of people are the most God-conscious".
Today, as a Muslim, I have been shattered by the horror of recent events; the display of death and indiscriminate killing we've all witnessed has dented humanity's confidence in itself. Terror on this scale affects everybody on this small planet, and no one is free from the fallout. Yet, we should remember that such violence is almost an everyday occurrence in some Muslim lands: it should not be exacerbated by revenge attacks on more innocent families and communities.
Along with most Muslims, I feel it a duty to make clear that such orchestrated acts of incomprehensible carnage have nothing to do with the beliefs of most Muslims. The Quran specifically declares (what means): "If anyone murders an (innocent) person, it will be as if he has murdered the whole of humanity. And if anyone saves a person it will be as if he has saved the whole of humanity." [Quran 5:32]
The Quran that our young people learn is full of stories and lessons from the history of humanity as a whole. The Injeel (Gospels) and the Torah are referred to; 'Eesaa (Jesus) and Ibraaheem (Abraham), may Allaah exalt their mention, are mentioned. In fact there is more mention in the Quran of the prophet Moosaa (Moses) 
than of any other. It acknowledges the coexistence of other faiths, and in doing so, acknowledges that other cultures can live together in peace.
It states (what means): "There is no compulsion in religion" [Quran 2:256] meaning that people should not be compelled to change their faith. Elsewhere it states (what means): "To you, your religion; to me mine." [Quran 109:6]
Respect for religious values and justice is at the Quran's core. The Quranic history we teach our young provides ample examples of inter-religious and international relationships of how to live together.
But some extremists take elements of the sacred scriptures out of context. They act as individuals, and when they can't come together as part of a political structure or consultative process, you find these dissident factions creating their own rules, contrary to the spirit of the Quran -- which demands that those recognized as being in charge of Muslims must consult together regarding society's affairs. There is a whole chapter in the Quran entitled ‘Consultation’.
Communal wellbeing is central to human life, so there is a concept in Islam called Istihsaan, which means "to look for the common good". Even though the Quran may lay down a diktat, scholars are also supposed to consider the circumstances prevalent at the time. Sometimes that means choosing the lesser of two evils or even suspending legislation if necessary: for instance, a person who steals bread during a famine is not treated as a thief.
Once I wrote in a song: "Where do the children play?" Our sympathy and thoughts go out to the families of all those who lost their lives in these tragic acts of violence, as well as all those injured. But life must go on. Children still need to play and people need to live and learn more about their neighbors, so that ignorance doesn't breed more blind fanaticism. Moderation is part of faith, so those who accuse Muslim schools of fostering fanaticism should learn a bit more about Islam.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Ruined are those who insist on hardship in faith" and "A believer remains within the scope of his religion as long as he doesn't kill another person illegally." Such knowledge and words of guidance are desperately needed at this time, to separate fact from falsehood, and to recognize the Last Prophet's, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, own definition of that which makes a person representative or otherwise, of the faith he lived and the one we try to teach.
