Mighty Call!

'If a Muslim asks Allah SWT with the supplicatiion of prophet Yunus (Jonah), he will be responded to' (Ahmad)

The supplication of Prophet Yunus (Peace be upon him) is such a powerful supplication, a most effective means for obtaining answer to prayer. He was cast into the sea and swallowed by a large fish. The sea was stormy, the night dark and scary, and all hope exhausted. But it was while he was in such a situation that Allah SWT answered his supplication; he made dua in a place where no one has ever made dua....in the belly of the fish:

  

(There is no god other than You, Glory be unto You! Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers)

Dua is the weapon of the Believer.....Use it!

D Day

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Subhanallah this time it really has been a long time since I posted anything.....the reason for this is because by the grace of Allah SWT I have been busy with other opportunities to do good. I always say its better to be busy than be idle as sitting around doing nothing opens the doors to shaitaan, our only enemy. Hasan Al Basri (Rahimullah) said 'Do not sit idle, for indeed death is seeking you'.....How true is that!!!

Truly death is seeking us and before we know it we will be in our graves facing judgment as our judgment day begins the day we die. So how are we preparing for that day, for our akirah..... A man came to the Messenger of Allah SAW and asked him when will the hour be. Our beloved Prophet replied ‘What have you prepared for it?’ ......this is something we have to keep in mind, this should be our only concern that what are we preparing for that day....this is what we need to understand as that day is going to be a very long and hard day. Just as in life we make preparations for important days ie Eid and important events such as weddings ....they don’t just happen, there is a lot of time and effort spent getting the event to take place without any hiccups, the same way we should be more in preparation for the day when we will be standing in front of our creator as that day is going to decide where our final abode is going to be!

The day of Judgement has many names which are mentioned in the Qu’ran:
 
- Yawmud-Deen [Day of Judgment] (1:4)
- Yawmul-Akhir [Last Day] (2:8 )
- Yawmul-Qiyamah [Day of Resurrection] (2:85)
- Yawmul Laa Rayba Feeh [A Day about which there is no doubt] (3:9)
- Yawun-'Aseeb [A Distressful Day] (11:77)........as well as many others, basically a day ‘the measure whereof is fifty thousand years." (70:4) To this people asked Prophet PBUH: "What a long day this will be!" Thereupon the Prophet PBUH said: "By the One In Whose Hand is my soul, it will be alleviated for the believer till it becomes shorter than the time of one prescribed prayer he used to pray in this world.'' (Ahmad)......a long and hard day if you are a sinner but short for the believer who has prepared for this day!

The first thing that will happen when judgment day begins is the blowing of the horn...the majority of scholars are of the view that the Trumpet will be blown twice: the first time all creatures will pass out and the second time the resurrection will come to pass. This is based on the verse in which Allaah SWT says:
“And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown a second time, and behold they will be standing, waiting”(39:68)

Next all of the creation starting from Adam AS to the end of time will we raised from their graves naked ...Aa’ishah RA told us that Prophet PBUH said: ‘You will be gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, men and women will be looking at one another?!’ He said, ‘The situation will be so terrible that that will not concern them.’” (Bukhaari) .....in this world if someone is half naked you will always find some eyes will wander and stare but on that day there will be no concern whatsoever for such a thing as the terror all around will be too great.

All will be collected together at an assembly point....every one will be just concerned for themselves....no one will care for another. We love our spouses, our children, family, friends but on that day ‘man fleeth from his brother, And from his mother and his father, And from his wife and his children, Every man that day will have concern enough to make him heedless (of others)” (80:34-37).....think about it, we go to extreme lengths to keep the people we love happy but not on that day, no not at all, instead will be running away from them trying to save only ourselves.....only the self will matter!
 
On that day the sun will be brought near the people’s heads so much that they will sweat profusely. Some will sweat up to their ankles, some their shoulders whilst others will be totally immersed in their sweat and this will be according to your actions.......this is the same sun that we can’t tolerate on a hot summers day that is so far away from us ....on that day its going to be so close ......it is hard to imagine.... thats why the intense sweating....also everyone will be squashed, crowded together.....the horrors of that day .....so hard to imagine yet they will be a reality.
On that day there will be no shade except the shade of the throne of Allah SWT.
Only a select few will be granted the honour of being under this shade.....so who are those that will get this honour:-
Abu Huraira RA narrated that the Prophet PBUH said:“There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah , the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: ‘I fear Allah ‘, a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.”

Are we one of these who are included in this category .....if not then we should work hard to be amongst them so we can be saved from the intense heat of the sun on that day.

At this point the judgement hasn’t even started yet there is so much anguish.....May Allah SWT save us all from the anguish of that day Ameen.

At this point the suffering is unbearable! This is when mankind will actually want the judgement to begin.....Prophet PBUH tells us “The day of judgement will be very hot and the people will be thirsty and hungry. They will be running around, exhausted and tired. They will go to Adam As and say, ‘You are the father of all the people, and Allah created you with His Own Hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Adam will say, ‘I am not fit for this .’ Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, ‘Nafsi, Nafsi, myself, myself, Go to Noah, for he was the first Apostle, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.’ They will go to him and Noah will say,

‘I am not fit for this undertaking.’ He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do what he had no knowledge of, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, ‘Nafsi, Nafsi, myself, myself, Go to the Khalil ar-Rahman (i.e. Ibrahim).’ They will go to him and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Moses, the slave to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Torah .’ So they will go to him and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking.’ and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say, ‘Go to Jesus, Allah’s Slave, His Apostle and Allah’s Word and a Spirit coming from Him. Jesus will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad the Slave of Allah whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.’ ”

All of mankind, all of humanity, the one’s who loved Muhammad and the one’s who didn’t, the one’s who followed him and the one’s who rejected him. The one’s who knew about him and the one’s who didn’t. They will end up having to go to him on the day of judgement.

‘So they will come to me and I will proceed till I will ask my Lord’s Permission and I will be given permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in Prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed.’ (Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.’ I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede for, ask on somebody’s behalf) whom I will admit into Paradise.’

‘So Muhammad (saw) will make shafa’ah (intercede) which is called Al-Shafa’ah al-Uthmah (the major/great intercession) and that is the shafa’ah that will start the events of the reckoning on the day of Judgement. Because the people are so tired they are saying: “We want this to be over with even if we are sent to hell fire." So Muhammad (saw) will make his shafa’ah (intercession).

Then the reckoning, accounting, the Hisab will start. Every one of us will stand in front of Allah SWT holding our book of deeds and Allah SWT will go through everything you did. Why did you do this and why did you do that? You will have to answer for everything.....nothing will be left out......that is scary as every detail of our life is going to be in front of us. Allah SWT tells us “So whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall see it.” ( 99: 7-8)

The first thing that we are going to be questioned about on that day is about our fard (obligatory) salah......are your salah in order or is there any shortcomings.....if there are then Allah SWT will see if we have prayed any sunnah or nawafil which can help us if our fard salah is deficient......what a merciful Lord we have....Allah SWT loves us so much....He wants to see us in Jannah....He (SWT) has given us many ways to achieve that goal yet we neglect our duties towards Him!
Prophet Muhammad PBUH said , “The first thing the people will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment is prayer, Allah will say to His angels (even though he already knows) : “Look at my servants prayers. Were they complete or not?” If they were complete It will be written as complete. If they were not fully complete Allah will say: “See if my servant has voluntary prayers, If he has them Allah will say: Complete his obligatory prayers shortage with his voluntary prayers.” Then the rest of his deeds will be dealt with in the same manner.” ( Ahmad)

We are also going to be asked about 5 other things. Prophet Muhammad PBUH told us about five major questions that will be asked, and no one can bypass these:
How you lived your life?

How you utilized your youth?

How did you earn your wealth?

How did you spend your wealth?

What did you do with his knowledge?

These are the main questions which encompass majority of our life but there are also other questions that will be asked from us e.g. all of our covenants and promises that we have made in our lives, did we warn & protect our families, our body parts etc.
“And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant will be questioned about.” ( 17:34)

“Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those, you will be questioned (by Allah)” ( 17:36)

Now after this the scale (mizan) will be presented and our deeds will be weighed literally......one good deed that you may have done will be rewarded with 10 like it whereas 1 bad deed will be just 1 bad deed.....that is the mercy of Allah SWT .....Allah SWT is so Great..... Allahu Akbar! After this you will know where you are heading....after the judgement has been decreed, the people will have to cross the Sirat which is a bridge sharper then a sword and thinner then a hair, that runs over Hell in order to get to Jannah. Some People will fall off while others will be grabbed by hooks like thorns of a size known only to Allah, to snag people into the Fire:
“Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished.”(19: 71)

So each and every one of us must cross the sirat as this is the only way to Jannah.......Imagine how hard it will be to cross this bridge but what’s even more harder is that it will be done in complete darkness....Yes in the dark as there will be no light.....the sun, the moon, the stars all gone.....every human will be thrown into that darkness, a darkness we cannot even comprehend. But there will be light.....and where will that light come from.....Every human being will have a personal flashlight....his or her body will shine. This light is from their eeman..... the stronger the eeman, the stronger the light that will shine.......this is why having eeman is so important....this is why we need to ask Allah SWT to bless us all with strong & sincere eeman:
“On the day when thou (Muhammad) wilt see the believers, men and women, their light shining forth before them and on their right hands, (and wilt hear it said unto them): Glad news for you this day: Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein ye are immortal. That is the supreme triumph.” (57:12)

There will be so much light for the believers, they will be able to see everything, the whole horizon lit up for them. And they will race over the bridge faster then the speed of light, then faster then a galloping horse, then a sprinter, a walker, and a crawler until the person with the lowest level of eeman crosses..... his light will be so little that it will come from his big toe, flickering on & off.

Basically eeman = faster crossing + brighter light ....Please remember this!

Crossing the bridge is a punishment but for the true and sincere believer.....no worries as Jannah awaits .....a blessing and a magnificent reward from Allah SWT, the Lord of the Majestic Throne!

To finish off we as Muslims should consider ourselves very lucky that we know about the day of judgment in such clear words and we have been blessed with the Qur’an and Sunnah to learn and live the life according to them so that on the Day of Judgment we stand amongst the believers and successful people. The good believer is the one who prepares himself for those difficult events by getting closer to Allah SWT, by doing good deeds, and by staying away from what Allah has forbidden, so that we will be among those who receive our book of deeds in our right hand and Allah will enter us into His Jannah Inshallah.

REMEMBER the Final Hour is fast approaching.....every day we are getting closer to the reckoning so how are we PREPARING for it!!!!

Blessings!!

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Hope you are all in the best of health & eeman.....

Its been a long time since I wrote something for my blog so today I decided to write and share what I learnt today at my study circle......Alhamdulillah I had the honour of doing the tafseer of Surah Rahman ( I love that surah....one of my favourites). Islamically whatever little or alot you learn you should pass it on, usually I just tell the hubby & kids but today Im sharing it with everyone because 'love for others what you love for yourself' and as I said I love this surah.

Surah Rahman is comprised of 78 ayahs and the topic of this surah is the mercy of Allah SWT. It begins with 'Al-Rahman' - The most Beneficient, Has taught the Qu'ran....Alhamdulillah we are so blessed to have the Qu'ran amongst us, a guidance for us .....This is such a mercy that we dont even realise it.....How often do we ponder over the verses? Surah Rahman is just full of reminders of the blessings of Allah SWT upon us and this surah after every blessing of Allah SWT asks a question which is ' Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both (jinn & men) deny?'. This question is asked 31 times so 31 ayahs just consist of this question and its asked not only to man but also to the jinn. Subhanallah there is a hadith that when Allah's Messenger came out to his companions and recited Surah ar-Rahman (55) from the beginning to the end, they remained silent. Thereupon he said: I recited this before the Jinn and their response was better than that of yours. When I came to these words: `Then which of the favours of your Lord do you deny?' They said: Our Lord, there is nothing that we deny of Thy favour; to Thee is all praise due.'

Our response is the same....we might say Subhanallah its so beautiful but do we ever acknowledge to the creator that Oh our Lord Alhamdulillah you have blessed us with so many blessings that we will never be able to count them. Just the fact that we wake up to another day is such a huge blessing because when we sleep our souls are taken up and if we are to live to see another day they are returned to us so waking up to another day is a tremendous blessing. But the biggest blessing that I feel ,should really and truly be appreciated is the fact that we are Muslims and Islam is our religion, I could have been next door ( my neighbours) who do idol worship & if I never got guided ( May Allah SWT guide them to the truth) I would be doomed for ever and ever as we know Allah SWT will forgive anything but not associating partners with Him (shirk will not be forgiven)......so Alhamdulillah & again Alhamdulillah for Islam. Of course these are just a few blessings, just look at whats happening in Gaza .... what do we really have to complain about?Anyway I could go on & on as there is alot about this surah that you can talk about......but my simple message is please do take some time out to read with translation this beautiful surah, do thank Allah SWT for the blessings of sight, mind, hearing, being able to walk, talk , laugh, cry, families, friends, food , drink etc etc..................the list is endless.I thank Allah SWT for giving me this opportunity and May Allah SWT bless & reward my tafseer teacher immensly for all her efforts in the duniya and the akhirah Ameen.

Please dont forget to make dua for the people of Gaza.Please also check out the link below .....its the recitation of surah Rahman.....its one of the best Ive ever heard.....long but so melodious....even if you listen to it for a few minutes but please do listen and watch:- 

Virtues of Surah Mulk

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim ,
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful .

Surah Mulk is the 67th chapter of the Holy Quran and what a beautiful surah it is. It begins with the words " Blessed be He in Whose hand is the Dominion and He has power over all things."

It is reported from ibn ‘Abbas (ra) who said that one of the Prophet’s companions set up his tent over a grave without realising that it was a grave and it contained a man who was reciting the Surah al-Mulk up to the end. He went and told the Prophet (saw) who said: “It is The Defender; it is The Protector which safeguards from the punishment of the grave.” (Tirmidhi )

The Prophet said: "I wish that 'Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion' is in the heart of every believer."

Abu Hurairah (ra) narrates that the Prophet said: "There is a Surah in the Quran of thirty ayat which intercedes for its reciter until he is forgiven. (It is): Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion."(Ahmad)

Subhanallah these hadith tells us why we should be reciting this surah daily....it will save us from the punishment of the grave as that is our first destination when we die and if that goes well then Inshallah everything else should fall into place.

Below is a video that I composed to help with the memorisation of this virtuous surah:

The Greatest Ayah - Ayatul Kursi

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the most Beneficient, the most Merciful
Ayatul Kursi is an ayaah (verse) in the Holy Qur'aan in the second surah, surah Baqarah ayah 255 in which Allah SWT speaks about Himself and His Attributes.
It is highly distinguished because:-

• The Prophet Muhammad PBUH described it as the greatest ayaah in the Qur'aan.
• In it the most Great Name of Allah is mentioned.
• It protects from the accursed shaytaan. Whoever recites it at night (before going to bed), Allah will appoint a guard for him and stay with him to protect him all night long, and no shaytaan will come near him till morning.
• In a hadeeth reported by At-Tabaraani the Prophet PBUH said " The one who recites it after each of the obligatory prayers, then death will be the only thing (ie barrier) preventing him from entering al-Jannah (paradise)."
• It is the only place in the Qur'aan where the Kursi (Footstool of Allah) is mentioned.

Subhanallah so many virtues in just one ayaah of the Holy Qur'aan....It is well worth memorising and below is a video I thoroughly enjoyed making of this great ayaah with translation.