Perfect days for perfect Ibaadah

Kamis, Desember 18, 2008

By Asma bint Shameem

Alhamdulillaah. .....the blessed days are here one more time!

The glorious days when rewards are multiplied many times, and sins are forgiven much more... the days in which Allaah gives us yet another chance to worship Him, to ask for forgiveness and correct our faults and make up for our shortcomings. ...
the blessed days that the Sahabah waited for and prayed for....
the beautiful days in which they strived long and hard in worship, until they could do no more....

What are these magnificent days?

These blessed days are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah (Nov 29-Dec 8, 2008)
Just like the last ten nights of Ramadaan are the best ten nights out of the whole year, the Ulama tell us that out of the 365 days of the year, these first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are the best days of the year and the most beloved to Allaah as they combine acts of worship in a way unlike any other times.
The Prophet testified to that. He said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allaah than these ten days......." (Bukhaari)

Subhaan Allaah wal-Hamdulillaah!

What a blessing!

The question is.....what do I do on these magnificent days and how can I make the most of this perfect, golden, golden opportunity to earn rewards and Jannah?

Obviously, Hajj is one of the best deeds that one can do during these ten days. However for those of us who were not invited to His House this year, there are still many, many good deeds that one can do and earn the Pleasure of Allaah.

Some of these are:

1) Fast all nine days and especially fast the Day of 'Arafah

The Prophet said: "Anyone who fasts for one day for Allah's pleasure, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years." (Bukhari, Muslim)
Just imagine..... if you fast these nine days (fasting on Eid is haraam), how far your distance will be from hell!
The Prophet used to fast on the ninth day of Dhu'l-Hijjah and he said: "Fasting the Day of 'Arafah (ninth Dhul-hijjah) (Dec 7, 2008) is an expiation for (all the sins of) the previous year and an expiation for (all the sins of) the coming year." (Muslim)

2) Do a LOT of Dhikr and Takbeer

The Prophet said: "There are no days on which good deeds are greater or more beloved to Allaah than on these ten days, so recite much Tahleel (saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah), Takbeer (saying Allaahu akbar) and Tahmeed (saying al-hamdu Lillaah)." (Ahmad -Saheeh)

Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurayrah used to go out in the marketplace during the first ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah, reciting Takbeer, and the people would recite Takbeer when they heard them. (Bukhaari)

Takbeer at this time is a Sunnah that has mostly been forgotten, especially during the first few days. So say it in the masjid, in your home, on the street and every place where it is permitted to remember Allaah. Revive the Sunnah that have been virtually forgotten and earn great rewards for doing so.
The Prophet said: "Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that is forgotten after my death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward." (Tirmidhi- a hasan hadeeth)
Obviously, men should recite these phrases out loud, and women should recite them quietly.

3)Stand in Night Prayers:

Remember the virtues of spending the night in prayer, and its sweetness in Ramadan?! Why not revive this beautiful act of worship during these nights as well?!

Remember, how in the last third of every night, Allah Almighty calls out to us, His servants:

"Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to his invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?" (Bukhaari, Muslim)

Why do we miss this golden opportunity? So, seize the chance NOW and expose yourself to His Divine Generosity and Mercy, ask Him to forgive you and guide you and set things aright. He will surely listen.

4)Make Sincere Repentance.

One of the best and most important things to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allaah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin right away because we do not know when we will die, and also because one evil deed leads to another.

But what does 'repentance' exactly mean?

It means that you come back to Allaah and give up all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes.... that you regret whatever you did in the past, giving it up immediately and be determined never ever, to return to it, and resolve to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing whatever Allaah loves.

"But as for him who repented, believed and did righteous deeds, then he will be among those who are successful." [al-Qasas 28:67]

5) Come back to the Qur'aan

It is time now to dust off your copy of the Qur'aan and return to its
refuge. Make it a daily habit, using these 10 days the beginning of a strong and beautiful relationship with it. Read it with meaning, understand it, and then implement it and change your lives for the better, as much as you can. Remember that reading one letter of the Qur'aan earns you 10 rewards. In this way, reading Surat Al-Fatihah,which doesn't take more than two minutes will give you more than one thousand rewards! This is on ordinary days, so what about these magnificent days! Certainly the reward will be far greater, Insha Allaah.

6) Generally increase in doing ALL good deeds

We should strive in doing more good deeds in general, because good deeds are beloved by Allaah and will bring us closer to Him.

So if we are not able to go to Hajj this year, we should occupy ourselves during these blessed days by worshipping Allaah, praying extra prayers, reading Qur'aan, remembering Allaah, sending Salaams on the Prophet , making dua, giving charity, honoring our parents, upholding ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of worship.

"So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it; And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it."[al-Zalzalah 99:7-8]

7) Get the reward of Hajj wherever you are:

You may be unable to do Hajj this year, and you may feel sad because you are deprived of the great reward of Hajj. But you can achieve a similar reward in whatever place you may be.

The Prophet said: "Whoever prays Fajr Prayer in congregation, and then sits and remembers Allah until the sun rises, then (after a while) prays two rak'as, he will gain a reward equal to that of making perfect Hajj and Umrah." [He repeated the word "perfect" thrice.] (At-Tirmidhi)
Isn't that easy ? Alhamdulillah

8) Slaughter an animal and distribute the meat

Ibn Umar said: The Prophet lived in Madeenah for 10 years and every year he slaughtered an animal." (Ahmad-Saheeh by al-Albaani)

9) Attend Eid prayers

But remember that Eid prayer is a form of worship and we shouldn't be doing things that are unIslaamic (especially) during these times, such as listening to music, women going out for prayer without proper Hijaab, mixing of men and women, etc.

10) Thank Allaah

One of the biggest forms of worshipping Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala is to thank Him, deeply, sincerely and continuously.

After all, it is He who gave you every single thing that is in you, on you or around you. In fact, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the Mercy of your Creator.

So thank Him for ALL that He gave you, the Islaam that He gave you, the very life He gave you. And thank Him for the chance that He gives you in these ten days, to ask for forgiveness and guidance.

Alhamdulillah, there is much to be gained in these coming days. So make the most of this perfect opportunity offered by these invaluable and irreplaceable ten days. Hasten to do good deeds and appreciate this blessing and make the most of it, striving hard in worship .

"And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (death)." [al-Hijr 15:99]

--Nana

Stop To Be A Glass

Kamis, Desember 04, 2008

A visit to a Sufi teacher when the students face this always looked glum. "Why do you always glum, I? Is not it beautiful in this world? Where retinue bersyukurmu face?" The teacher asked.

"Teachers, recently my life full of problems. It is difficult for me to smile. The problem comes as no timeless," replied the young students.

The Teachers terkekeh. "BUT, take a glass of water and two to hold the salt. Bring aboard. Let kuperbaiki atmosphere heart is." The students moved slowly, without any spirit. He conducted the teachers request it, and then back again to bring cups and salt as required.

"Try to take handful of salt, and insert it into a glass of water," said the teacher. "After that you try a little drink the water." The students also do so. Women now drink grimace as the salty water.
"How does it taste?" The question Teachers.

"Salt, nausea and Subscribe so," replied the student with a face that still grimace.

The teachers giggle see the faces of the students keasinan grimace.

"Now you take it." The teachers take the students to the lake near their place. "Take the remaining salt, and tebarkan to the lake." The students spread the remaining handful of salt to the lake, without talking. Salty taste in the mouth, not lost. He wants to spit the salty taste of his mouth, but I do. It seems polite mursyid spit in the face, so it.

"Now, you try to drink the lake water," said the teacher while searching for a fairly flat stone for didudukinya, right on the lake.

The students cover both hands, take the lake water, and bring them to his mouth and meneguknya. When the lake water is cold and fresh flows in tenggorokannya, the teacher asked him, "How does it taste?"

"Fresh, fresh, once," said the student while dust lips with the back of your hand. Of course, the lake is derived from the flow of water resources in there. And the water flows into a small river below. And certainly, the lake water is also remove the remaining salty taste in his mouth.

"Terasakah taste of salt that it was tebarkan?"

"Not at all," said the student while taking water and drinks again. The teachers have only a smile, let the students drink the lake water until satisfied.

"BUT," said the teacher after students finished drinking. "Any problems in life, such as the handful of salt. Not less, not more. Only a handful of salt. Too many problems and suffering that you should naturally throughout life is dikadar by God, according to yourselves. Fixed amount, of the just-might need, not reduced and do not increase. Every human being is born into this world so. No one man, although he was a prophet, which is free from suffering and problems. "

The students silent, listening.

"But Goodman,` salty taste 'of the suffering that is experienced depends on the size of the' Qalbu '(heart) the intermediate. So Goodman, so do not feel suffering, so stop glass. Qalbu in dadamu Make it so the lake. "

- Firdaus Tugu

Healthy Heart Is The Secret of Healthy Body

"..........Truly, in the body, there is a lump of flesh,
if it be good, then the whole body is good,
and if it be corrupted, then the whole body is corrupted.
Truly, it is the heart."

Muhammad (peace be upon him)
- reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari

How TO Complete Our Lack By Alloh

Never heard such a dialogue at the bottom of this?

A: "Ah, I still have ell, it's Roadhouse ... From the cave, woulda Roadhouse ..."

B: "But also, Coy I may be facing more caves I have the house ell, at least, I ell Roadhouse ... But the cave is now clear
Roadhouse can ... "

Such dialogue is not rare among men, at least people of Indonesia. A little more, this can describe what we actually mentality. Figures A and B have the same problems, but both equally claim that the problem is that it is facing more serious. In other words, they are "hardly the showroom."

Indeed, many people are eager to dissolve in the hip; they like the situation with concern that `mendayu-dayu '. Rather, and most of the songs can provide a clear picture of how many Indonesians are fond of heavy-sedihan. Even if they seem proud to be able to get a degree most people are concerned `global '.

It is a phenomenon that exciting here. In fact, we often tested by Allah SWT with the trial-trial, that we are not experts. The plea is not a member of many people, but precisely diserahi task to speak on the dais. I do not fear Tarjo see blood, but her son had experienced a landslide that would not be overcome want Tarjo sense takutnya and provide help as quickly as lightning. The fear Wati with rats, it must be shut in the kitchen all night with a mouse animal fat and healthy.

In the above dialogue, not a figure to win the problems faced by the B, as well as vice versa. They actually intended do not underestimate the problems of others. They only complained about the situation because it is given a trial that is very difficult for them. A difficult not necessarily make it difficult for the B, `huh?

Ironically, that occurred in the trial of a trial that had relatively difficult for himself, and the B test also experienced a relatively difficult for himself. If I have a trial that is being experienced by the B, so it can not be felt too dizzy. Similarly vice versa. What is difficult by a person can be easily seen by other people. This is only a problem character.

In situations of extreme, so people can think God has been applied unfairly. Even some of the jeniusnya make a conclusion that God did not exist. Conclusion sehebat is made only with the view that it always be caught in the rain with a heavy trial (for himself).

So why God test us with the various trial that never easy? Is God's wrath on us? Is not God have pity on His slaves? Whoa!

There are two things that we must remember: (1) Allah knows our situation, even more than we know yourself, and (2) Allah is our Rabb. Rabb comes from the word "tarbiyah" which means that around education, development, maintenance and improvement. Because God is the Rabb, then He who had been to educate and protect us. Without education from Him, we will never develop further.

Educators who do not consider either of the children students as a condition of robots that uniform. Each person and the circumstances are different. If we treat all people with a uniform way, so there may be a feel dizalimi. The problem is, each person can give a different response to a given action on it.

Because the Almighty Tahu God, the God who knows our weaknesses. Allah is the most know that Ahmad's like a fever stage, the Tarjo afraid of blood, and the Wati fobia in rats. Terpikirkah by the fact that because you know our weaknesses so that God gave the trial related?

He menakdirkan Ahmad to speak on the dais, seemed to cover the weakness. This means, Ahmad must find ways to overcome the drawbacks of this one. God does not test for it to lead a team work, for example, as he already has the ability to do so. The same logic could be applied in the Tarjo, Wati, Budi, Maman, Rizal, Yati, Eka, and so on.

So, complained of the trial, the weight is not reasonable. If we have to take from the perspective of both (with the kind suspected to Allah SWT), precisely the things that is the kind that can spur us to complete all the shortcomings in ourselves. Complaining is not only resolve the problem. If we dare them, so there are only two options: success or failure. If successful Alhamdulillaah, if it fails means we have successfully identified the weaknesses of our privacy was not found.

- Nadia Ferra

Northern Lights over Yellow Knife Canada