new – My Little Breathing Space – I write for the few, not the many. The few that are left out!

https://news.sky.com/story/new-zealand-mosque-shootings-suspected-killer-is-fascist-who-had-contact-with-breivik-11666136

Beautifully written by a Chinese Convert sister. (It is written to the killer who attacked Muslims in New Zealand)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

(I) Appreciate that you made the effort to find out the timing of our noon prayer.

Appreciate that you learnt more about our religion to know that Fridays are the days the men go to the Mosques for their congregational prayers.

But I guess there were some things you, rather, unfortunately, didn’t get to learn.

Perhaps you didn’t know that what you did made them Martyrs.

A Muslim Martyr bearing witness to the Shahadah at the time of death

And how you have single-handedly raised the statuses of our brothers and sisters in the eyes of their beloved Creator with your actions. And how, through your actions, they will be raised as the most righteous and pious of Muslims.

Perhaps you didn’t know that doing what you did, at the time and place you chose, it actually meant that the last words that escaped their lips were probably words of remembrance and praise of Allah. Which is a noble end many Muslims could only dream of.

And perhaps you didn’t know, but what you did would almost guarantee them paradise.

Appreciate that you showed the world how Muslims welcome, with open arms, even people like yourself into our Mosques, which is our second home.

Appreciate you for showing that our mosques have no locks or gates, and are unguarded because everyone and anyone is welcome to be with us.

Appreciate you for allowing the world to see the powerful image of a man you injured, lying on back on the stretcher with his index finger raised high, as a declaration of his faith and complete trust in Allah.

Appreciate how you brought the Churches and communities together to stand with us Muslims.

Appreciate that you made countless New Zealanders come out of their homes to visit the mosques nearest to them with flowers with beautiful messages of peace and love.

You have broken many many hearts and you have made the world weep. You have left a huge void.

But what you also have done have brought us closer together. And it has strengthened our faith and resolve.

In the coming weeks, more people will turn up in the Mosques, a place you hate so much, fortified by the strength in their faith, and inspired by their fallen brothers and sisters.

In the coming weeks, more non-Muslims will turn up at the gates of mosques with fresh flowers and beautifully handwritten notes. They may not have known where the mosques in their area were. But now, they do. All because of you.

You may have achieved your aim of intended destruction, but I guess you failed to incite hatred, fear and despair in all of us.

And while I understand that it may have been your objective, I hate to say that after all of that elaborate planning, and the perverse and wretched efforts on your part, you still failed to drive a divide among the Muslims and non-Muslims in the world.

For that, I can’t say that I’m sorry.

(A Radiant Muslim)

Shaykh Zahir Mahmood on the attacks – MOTIVATIONAL!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm8HCeAMoZE

The New Year

The New Year
by Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

Having just completed the year, the ‘New Year’ is seen and heard all around us. However, the question remains as to what should be a Muslim’s take on these events.

Upon the passing of a year, the common trend is to celebrate; people have birthday parties, wedding anniversaries etc. However, in certain spheres this is not the case; take the example of a businessman who at the end of the (financial) year will first take stock of the past year. He will meticulously go through the accounts of the past year taking into account every single penny. He will check to see if he made a profit, and if so then how can he make more in the coming year. He will check his expenses: where did he spend his money? Can he make further savings? All of this is done so that he can make the coming year more profitable than the one that has passed.
This should be the case at the end of the year in every Muslim’s life for we too have been sent to this world as businessmen with the commodity of time; which is life. We will have to one day give account for every second in the Court of Allāh ta‘ālā, when our books of deeds shall be presented.

We will bring forth a book for him that he will find wide open, (and We will say to him) ‘Read your book. Enough are you today to take your own account.’ (17:13-14)

‘Umar radhiyallāhu ‘anhu, emphasising the same, says:

Take stock of your own lives before Allāh ta‘ālā reckons you. And assess yourself before you are assessed by Allāh. And prepare yourselves for the great summoning.

It is our belief that on the Day of Judgement Allāh ta‘ālā will reckon us for everything that we did in the world.

On the day when everybody shall find present before him whatever good he did and whatever evil he did, he will wish there would have been a wide space between him and that (day). (3:30)

No matter how minute or trivial an act we did, we will find that it is present in our book of deeds.

So, whoever does any good act (even) to the weight of a particle will see it. And whoever does evil (even) to the weight of a particle will see it. (99:7-8)

This will be to the extent that in awe people will say:

‘Woe to us! What a book is this! It has missed nothing, minor or major, but has taken it into account.’ Thus they will find whatever they did present before them, and your Lord will not wrong anyone. (18:49)

We need to keep this reality in mind and spend our lives with regular reflection on our actions with Murāqabah and Muhāsabah. Murāqabah means to supervise and oversee oneself to ensure that he/she stays away from disobediences of Allāh ta‘ālā and spends every moment seeking the Pleasure of Allāh ta‘ālā. Muhāsabah means taking account of one’s activities at the end of the day, week and year; and thanking Allāh ta‘ālā for the ability to have performed any good actions and seeking forgiveness for any sins one may have committed. Inshā’allāh, if this is adhered to, then we will see a great change in our lives. We will find ourselves spending every second of our lives with great care.

The end of a year is a time to reflect and say to yourself, ‘Another year from my precious life has passed. Who knows how many more years, if any, I have remaining?’ Let us spend them in those avenues that bring the pleasure of Allāh ta‘ālā and stay away from those things that bring His displeasure, so that we can meet Allāh ta‘ālā in a state that He is pleased with us.