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Pride, Power and Politics

An Open Letter to the People in Power

“The way (of blame) is only against those who oppress men and rebel in the earth without justification; for such there will be a painful torment.” [al-Shoora 42:42]‏.‏ 

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (Allah be pleased with him) said: “O you people! You recite this Ayah: Take care of yourselves! If you follow the guidance no harm shall come to you. I indeed heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) saying: ‘When the people see the wrongdoer and they do not take him by the hand, then soon Allah shall envelop you in punishment from him.'” (Jami`at-Tirmidhi, Book 33, Hadith 11)

This is a disclaimer before the letter starts, this letter is being written after having worked with Muslims, for Muslims, helping Muslims and working within the Muslim community, realising all is not what it seems and all that glitters is not gold. Many people who seem to be religious and practising are not as holy and angelic and sanctimonious on the inside as they may seem on the outside. A lot of people in power don’t seem to use their power justly and productively, rather they abuse their power unlawfully, unfairly and unethically. After working for Muslims, I started to look at everything from a leadership lens. The good and bad of every school, masjid, organisation, family and even country were directly related to the quality of their leaders.  The aim and purpose of this letter is to remind those in leadership and in power of their duty and the fact that they are answerable to Allah. You have been put in a position to lead by the book of Allah SWT and deal with people fairly and justly as Allah states in the Qur’an:

He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, Allah enjoins Al-Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allah Alone – Islamic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsan (i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allahs sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet SAW in a perfect manner), and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allah has ordered you to give them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help, etc.): and forbids Al-Fahsha (i.e all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right, etc.), and Al-Munkar (i.e all that is prohibited by Islamic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds, etc.), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression), He admonishes you, that you may take heed” [an-Nahl 16:90]. 

When leadership is great, success inevitably follows. Likewise, when leadership is poor, failure inevitably follows. Think about it: give me some examples of successful countries, businesses and masjids and I will point you in the direction of the strong leader that orchestrated their success. This letter can be forwarded to Ulama, Imams, Chaplains, Principals of Madrasahs/Darul Ulooms, Headteachers of Boys/Girls Schools, as well as Muslim MPS and Councillors, it can be even sent to Non-Muslims in the above positions.

Abdullah bin Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. An Imam is a shepherd and he is responsible for those in his care. A man is a shepherd in respect of his family and is responsible for those in his care. The woman is a shepherd in respect of her husband’s house and is responsible for what is in her care. The servant is a shepherd in respect of his master’s property and is responsible for what is in his care. All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock.”

What is the modern-day equivalent to the word shepherd in this hadith? IT IS A LEADER! So re-read the hadith above, but this time, replace the word shepherd with the word leader.

I believe that it is our responsibility to become leaders, because that’s what our beloved Prophet ﷺ taught us to be, and that is what he was. He exemplified leadership in all areas of his life, and, if we are truly followers of his example, then we will seek to do the same. Also, by looking at the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through this lens of leadership, my hope is that we will gain an even greater appreciation of how incredible he was, and our love for him will increase. We will gently remind those in power of their duties and qualities which naturally over time wear off, but need to be revivified.

To Begin…

  1. Ikhlaas – Sincerity is very important before taking up any position. You must be doing it for the sake of Allah SWT and to seek his pleasure. Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab: I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.” (Bukhari) Some intentions to make and questions to ask yourself:

How are we influencing or making a positive impact in the world?

How are we influencing our families, communities, co-workers, children, cities and countries?

If the Prophet’s mission was about changing the world, shouldn’t ours be too? Should we not also be people of influence?

We are only doing this role to please Allah, not for worldly gain.

2. Fear of Allah – Narrated Ma’qil (Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying, “Any man whom Allah has given the authority of ruling some people and he does not look after them in an honest manner, will never feel even the smell of Paradise.”  (Bukhari, Vol. 9, Book 89, Hadith 264)

Before making any decision, before advising anyone, before deploying someone, you must think of Allah SWT and remember that you will need to answer to Him one day.

Nepotism is growing uncontrollably, people are given preference because of family ties, or because of beauty and honour and lineage. Whereas preference should always be given to the best man for the job. “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. he is one of the Muttaqoon (the pious)]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, AllAware” [al-Hujuraat 49:13] 

The advisors of the Messenger included Muslim men of all tribes, races and colours. Their hearts were filled with Tawheed and they were brought together by their faith and piety – such as Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) from Quraysh, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (Allah be pleased with him) from Bani Hashim, Bilal the Ethiopian (Allah be pleased with him), Suhayb the Roman (Allah be pleased with him), Salman the Persian (Allah be pleased with him), rich men like ‘Uthman (Allah be pleased with him) and poor men like ‘Ammaar (Allah be pleased with him), people of means and poor people like Ahl al-Suffah, and others (Allah be pleased with them all).

Abdullah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, after me you will see preferential treatment, and matters that you dislike.” They said: “Then what do you command us [O Messenger of Allah!]” He said: “Give them their rights, and ask Allah for yours.” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2190 

حَدَّثَنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏”‏ إِنَّكُمْ سَتَرَوْنَ بَعْدِي أَثَرَةً وَأُمُورًا تُنْكِرُونَهَا ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا فَمَا تَأْمُرُنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏”‏ أَدُّوا إِلَيْهِمْ حَقَّهُمْ وَسَلُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَكُمْ ‏”‏

It was narrated from Umm Salamah (Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “You refer your disputes to me and I am only human. Perhaps some of you may be more eloquent in presenting your case than others, so I rule in your favour because of what I hear from you. If I pass a judgement in favour of one of you that detracts from his brother’s rights, then he should not take it, because it is a piece of fire that is given to him which he will bring forth on the Day Resurrection.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 3, Book 13, Hadith 10)

3. Seeking name and fame is blameworthy in all circumstances. The believer should be modest and humble, and he should not like to be chosen. One of the main factors that corrupt a person’s efforts to reach his Lord is his love of fame and prominence among people, and the love of leadership over them.

At-Tirmidhi (2376) narrated – and classed it as saheeh – that Ka‘b ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Two hungry wolves sent against a flock of sheep cannot cause more damage to them than a man’s eagerness for wealth and prominence causes to his religious commitment.”

One of the worst outcomes of the love of fame and prominence, and striving for it, is for a person to seek the praise of people, whether it is deserved or not.

Ahmad (16460) narrated that Mu‘awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Beware of praising one another, for it is like slaughter (i.e., fatal).”

Al-Mannawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Praise leads to self-admiration and arrogance, and it is fatal like slaughter, hence it is likened to it. Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) said: If someone does you a favour, if he is one of those who like to be thanked and praised, then do not praise him, because part of fulfilling his rights is that you should not approve of his wrongdoing, and his seeking thanks is wrongdoing. Otherwise, you may show him gratitude so that he will continue doing good.

Ibraheem an-Nakha‘i (Allah have mercy on him) and al-Hasan al-Basri (Allah have mercy on him) said: It is sufficient trial for a man to be pointed out with regard to religious or worldly matters, except the one whom Allah protects.

End quote from az-Zuhd by Ibn as-Sirri (2/442).

Once we understand this, there can be no doubt that it is safer for a man to prefer anonymity and be humble towards his Lord, and to refrain from seeking fame and prominence, even with regard to permissible worldly matters.

4. Shukr – Be grateful to Allah for the position you have been given. You should pray 2 rak’ahs daily thanking Allah for this blessing and pleading to him for his help to guide you.

5.Humility – A quality which is found in very few leaders and people in power. The saying is famous, “Money and Power changes everyone.” People forget who they were and where they were. Money makes people delusional and power leads people to think they are above the law of the land and the law of Allah. Some men have no fear of god, whilst others think they are actually almighty god. The Prophet ﷺ  once said ‘the leader of a people is their servant’. He demonstrated this throughout his life from personally building his mosque to partaking in digging during the battle of the Trench. He was not a self-serving in of a higher cause. This was accompanied by humility and living a simple life. He didn’t have a throne and sat among his people as one of them, such that when foreign visitors came, they could not immediately tell from a gathering who the Prophet ﷺ was.

6. Patience and Wisdom – The Prophetﷺ  was wise but practical at the same time. Once a Bedouin came to the mosque of the Prophet ﷺ and when the call of nature came he began urinating within the mosque and prayer area. Naturally this infuriated the other worshippers and companions of the Prophet ﷺ who started marching towards him in anger. The Prophet ﷺ intervened, not only by stopping the possibility of the Bedouin getting beaten up, but actually told the worshippers to let the Bedouin finish urinating!

This was not only very considerate of him but most wise. He ﷺ recognised that this was not an act of aggression but rather the simple Bedouin did not know about the etiquettes of the mosque and needed to be taught. This was the wisdom of the great teacher—the Prophet ﷺ, who proceeded to counsel the foolhardy Bedouin.

One of the most apparent qualities of the Prophet was his incredible patience. For 13 years he endured abuse and persecution at the hands of his fellow Makkans, including times when his companions were beaten, tortured and in some cases killed. Even the Prophet ﷺ wasn’t spared having animal entrails thrown at him as he prayed. One of his most perilous moments was in Ta’if when the people and their children stoned the beloved Prophet ﷺ until he was bleeding extensively.

Yet he had to remain patient and resilient through the suffering while painfully seeing his beloved followers grossly mistreated. His internal strength and patience, gave his followers strength and patience until God gave them some ease.

7. Courage, Compassion and Competence was in abundance in the Prophet ﷺ who sought to reflect the compassion of the Divine. Once, an elderly who would regularly throw rubbish in the pathway of the Prophet ﷺ fell ill. In seeing this, the Prophet ﷺ did not celebrate this situation rather showed care and compassion by going to visit the old woman, and preparing food for her. His courage was apparent during every battle and every challenging period faced by his people. Once at night during the Madinan period, the companions were awoken by a frightening loud noise. As they cautiously stepped out of their homes to see what was going on, they saw it was an out of control horse, but luckily someone brave had swiftly come out and brought the horse under control. It was none other than the courageous Prophet ﷺ.

He embodied the Quranic framework of Al-Qawi Wal Amin. Hence strong, competence and able, while being trustworthy. Today we find that sometimes good people aren’t the most competent, while the most competent aren’t always being good. The Prophet ﷺ role modelled the need to be both. He was known to be an able communicator who had the gift of ‘jawam’ul kalim’—a poetic way with words enabling him to say much with only a few words. He was an expert swordsman, with excellent equestrian skills but also had day to day practical skills from construction to sewing.

With regard to the imam’s role in society, there is no doubt that it is an important role. How can it be otherwise when he is leading the prayers which are the most important pillar of Islam after the Shahaadatayn (twin testimony of faith)? The Imam is the leader and the worshippers behind him are his followers. The imam guides and leads his jama’ah (group) by giving lessons and talks. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Rightly-Guided khaleefahs used to hold gatherings in the mosques where the Muslims would gather so that they might consult with one another concerning religious and worldly matters and so that they might teach the people about Tawheed, fiqh, good manners, and also enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil.” 

See Ahkam al-Imamah wa’l-I’timam fi’l-Salah by al-Muneef, p. 64 

The imam should check up on those who are absent (from the prayers), and visit the sick, He should strive to meet the needs of the Muslims who pray with him, teaching the ignorant, admonishing the negligent, advising the erring, reconciling those among whom there are differences, bringing them closer to one another and striving to foster friendship and love between them. He should strive to solve social problems that arise among them such as family quarrels, disputes between neighbours and the like. To sum up, the role of the imam is very important and should be appreciated as such. The group should help him to achieve the aims of sharee’ah and ward off anything that is bad or harmful. And Allah is the Source of strength.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The whole Muslim is sacred to another Muslim: his blood, his property and his honour

Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (one who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)

Categories
Marriage

Love Notes – Part 1

Love Notes –  Shaykh Yahya Ibrahim, Australia

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

love notes

  • A study looked at Muslim couples who get divorced:
  • Shaykh mentioned 68% of couples in the UK will divorce in the first 3 years of marriage.
    ○ Most of those who got divorced are educated
    ○ Many of them had the kind of jobs, where they intervene to defuse conflict
    ● The intent of the course is to speak about love to Muslims from a philosophical perspective
    ● We will talk about what makes you, you?
    ○ What does Islam offer, to make you the best of you
    ● Look at the words that are used to describe marriage and love in Islam
    ○ Imam Ibn Hazm coined the word soul mate – the first time westerners saw that a soul can love another soul

○ Imam Ibn Qayim RH has a book called Rawdat Al Muhibeen
○ Ibn Ul Jawzi RH – Said if a man does not know how to love, he should eat hay, because he’s a donkey
○ Muslims saw that we should cling onto one another and love one another so we can become khulafah on the earth → so that children can receive the earth in a way that is better than the way that we received it, that is the concept of khulafah
● There is no book of hadith that does not mention the love between the Prophet SAW and his wives
○ The year that Khadijah RA died, became the year of sadness
○ The Prophet SAW is a role model
● What the poster doesn’t show
○ Doesn’t show what’s behind them
● When the Prophet SAW talks about marriage, he says it’s half of your deen
○ You actualize a lot of the characteristics of Islam during your relationship with your spouse
○ The money that a man spends on his family is “sadaqah” [Muslim]

  • When you say the shahadah, it has conditions,
    ○ You begin to learn the importance of Allah when you gather knowledge [ilm]
    ○ The second step is [yaqeen] certainty
    ○ That leads you to [inqiyad] submission, which leads you to practice, in the way that Allah swt requested
    ○ Number 5 is [sidq] to be more truthful with Allah swt
    ○ and that leads you to [Ikhlas], having enough, other than Allah, put all my trust to
    ○ Last level, is love [hob] → you begin loving Allah too much to miss prayer.
    ● Love is the last level of worship, and some people worship things that they should, Allah doesn’t say worship he says love “yohiboonahu ka hob illah”
  • ‘Uboodiya (worship) → anything Allah loves for you to do, whether it is a word you say, an action you do, or a feeling in your heart
    ● We are not here just to talk about romance, we are here to talk about love, loving your dad, your mom, your country.

Definitions

● The origin for the word “husband” or “spouse” is very different in English and Qur’anic Arabic
● Husbandry: “convincing a bull to sire a cow”
● Other words for “spouse” in the Quran
زَ وج ■
● [2:35]
● two distinct, unique individuals that upon joining, become one so you don’t see the seam between them.
ِلبَاس ■
● [2:187]
● your inner intimate garment is called libas; nobody is as close to you as that garment
● “libas ul harb” the armour of war, she is the shield from the dunya
َصا ِحبَة ■
● 42 words for love in the Arabic language
● Sahib: the one that walks with you for life

ن
قُ رةَ أَ ْعُي
● [25:74]
● “fills the eyes of your husband”
● “there is no provision greater than that of a righteous woman. She is a women that when a husband sees her, he feels happiness in the heart” [Muslim]
ِحصن ■
● She’s your fortress, palace, castle
● You are the moat that surrounds her
بَعِلي ■
● [11:72]
● “My spring/fountain of all good”
● He is the one that showers me with good, with his words, his wealth, etc
● That is how Sarah describes Ibrahim (AS)
● He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver. He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate… [39:5-6]
○ When Allah talks about all these dualities (heavens/earth, night/day, sun/moon), He inserts one singularity: one soul.
○ when you get married, you’re two separate entities that come together from one pairing

So exalted is Allah when you reach the evening and when you reach the morning. And
to Him is [due all] praise throughout the heavens and the earth. And [exalted is He] at
night and when you are at noon. He brings the living out of the dead and brings the
dead out of the living and brings to life the earth after its lifelessness. And thus will you
be brought out. And of His signs is that He created you from dust; then, suddenly you
were human beings dispersing [throughout the earth]. And of His signs is that He
created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He
placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
diversity of your languages and your colours. Indeed, in that are signs for those of
knowledge.
Surah Rum [30:17-22]

– He speaks about light and day – He speaks about the lifeless earth coming back to life and thriving with vegetation – Then he talks about the soul vs dust – And in the middle of all these he talks about the relationship in partners, and it is no longer about the dualities, it is about the singularity

→ Someone from yourselves, mates He likes it to- “signs” His about talking by verse ends AND begins -إِ ن فِي َٰذَِل َك َلَيَا ت – saying, “pay attention” – Prophet (SAW) – when Adam was created, our souls were created “like ants” – there’s a moment where the soul is brought to life. you’re born into this life and your soul itself is not extinguishable – Prophet (SAW) (Hadith of Imam Bukhari) – The souls when they were created in the time of Adam, they were brought into groupings, and the souls became familiar with one another – A long essay is written about this hadith, and it says if there is a bright soul, and it enters into a room of 1000 dark souls, and one bright soul, that soul would attach itself to the other bright soul – souls gravitate to each other … or make you hate each other’s guts – The concept of soul mates for us isn’t just husband and wife – your bffs, your parents, your teachers – scent is powerful – sometimes you might smell something in the air, maybe Coco Chanel like grandma wore…sometimes it really takes you back to a certain time in your life – Your soul remembers people, just like your scent does, and it brings warmness into your heart he said he ,(soul) روح the about asked was SAW Prophet the When – couldn’t say much that is in the knowledge of Allah and we don’t know much about it – Sometimes our soul pushes back people we should be attracted to, and that is because we need to purify our soul effort requires purification – قد أفلح من زكاها – – we attempt to connect with people for marriage and on paper they seem like reasonable candidates…but at that moment when you push back someone who is good, his soul might be too clean, and your soul might be a bit tarnished – your soul might not be accessible to that righteous man/women Good the with up matched usually is Good The – الطيبون لطيبات –

When you are looking for marriage – you need to make sure your soul is accessible to pious souls – don’t always put it on the other person

Quranic Stories about Spouses

The Qur’an is a holistic document that outlines a lifestyle for us. There are many lessons and examples for us to draw from.
Adam (AS)
○ He asks for a “sahibah”, someone with him
○ Jannah is not enough. You need someone who loves you
■ Even the shaheed, looks behind and Allah gives him the news of them joining you
○ Allah creates for him and blesses him with his wife Hawa’
○ Allah tells Adam (AS) to not eat from the tree as Iblees is an enemy to you and Hawa [20:117]
■ (according to hadith, the greatest thing that the little shayateen can do to make Iblis happy is to convince a man and his wife to split up)
○ Iblis wanted to uncover the blessing that Allah SWT gave Adam, and expose their bad
○ Responsibility for the sin is greater on Adam (AS) (very different from other scriptures)
■ [20:121]
○ Adam AS and Hawa RA were separated when they descended to Earth
■ Jeddah got its name from Jaddah, the Arabic word for grandmother. It is where Hawa’ is believed to have descended
■ Adam AS ‘arafa-ha, or, “recognized her” a little before Maghrib and it is the same day we commemorate on ‘Arafa during Hajj
■ That is when Adam made that dua’a “Rabbana dhalamna anfusana…”
“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us
and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.”
■ That dua’a and that moment of worship commemorates a moment of love that millions of people recreate on Yawm al ‘Arafa
■ Then they came together, and worshiped Allah SWT The first place that a person made sujood to Allah SWT was Adam, inside the fortified walls of the ka’abah.
Ayyoub (AS)

○ Lots of time people say, we should have patience/endurance like Ayoub (AS)
○ For the first 50 years of his life, Allah gave him prosperity
■ (he had 7 daughters and 7 sons, wealth, the people who he was sent to preach to accept him)
○ After 50 years of prosperity, Allah began to test him.
■ The earthquake made his house collapse and children all died at once;
■ All his servants were killed and wealth looted;
■ people thought he was a false prophet, because “why would God do this to a righteous prophet? he must be cursed.” everyone left his side;
■ His body became decayed and sickly
○ His wife stayed. This man who had everything, lost everything, except his wife
■ The woman who was a mistress of the house became a servant
■ People did not want to be near her as to not “catch her curse”
■ She would ask Ayoub to make dua’a to Allah, and Ayoub said “I am shy to ask Allah after 50 years of prosperity, to ask Allah for relief after only 4 years of hardship”
■ His wife came back with food and when he asked where it came from she pulled back her scarf (she had cut her hair and sold it for food)
○ After seeing his wife suffer, this man (AS) of patience made dua’a “My lord harm has touched me and my family, and you are the most merciful of those who show mercy”
■ It was as if Allah was just waiting for him to ask…
■ A spring gushed forth and Ayyub (AS) drank from the spring, and became young and has been given their life again and everything returned to him
■ The thing that moved Ayoub was love, it is that he loved his wife more than his own patience
○ The right of the servant is to be put before the right you owe Allah CIRCUMSTANTIALLY
■ If your wife (or mom or dad etc) falls sick, and you were going to hajj and your ihraam is on and your foot almost out the door, you stay.

→ The right your family member has on you is greater than that obligation to Allah
■ Abdullah Ibn Mubarak RH – Went for hajj and saw a dream of those who made hajj and their hajj was accepted. He saw the face of a man and where he lived
● Abdullah immediately went to see him. Upon meeting the man, he found that he had not made hajj! The man said that he was on his when he saw an impoverished man. He realized that he that the wealth he had planned to use to go
Love Notes By Sh Yahya Ibrahim 5 to hajj would be enough to get the man in need on his own two feet. So he gave it to him and made dua’a that he would get to go for Hajj later. THAT is the man that Abdullah saw with a shining face.
● Prophet Dawood (AS)
○ King of his time, had many wives
○ Looked over his marketplace and saw a beautiful woman. He asked if this woman is spoken for? They said no, but she is promised to the general.
■ for a moment Dawud (AS)’s heart thought “if that man becomes Shaheed… Allah give him Jannah” lol
○ (In Surah Saad)
■ Allah sent two men (really angels) that jump in front of him and he reels back. One of them says “don’t be scared, we are two men that are quarrelling. He has 99 sheep and I have 1 (representing blessings), and he keeps desiring my 1 sheep to complete his 1 00.
■ Dawud says, he has wronged you to even suggest that he should give you your sheep.
■ Then it clicked in his mind that it was a test from Allah! It was a message indicating that he (AS) have been blessed with so much, and that generally is the one who has that one sheep…so Dawud (AS) fell in prostration
○ The stories of the Quran are full of love and passion
Nuh (AS)
○ Imagine you are some sheikh, and you are on the pulpit for Juma’a and you are telling it as it is…Then your wife walks out and says “It’s all nonsense! He is making it all up!” Your son is sitting there and saying, “PSHHH, don’t listen to this guy. He knows nothing.” (People would be like, when your family believes, then come talk to me lol”)
○ Your wife and your son become adversaries and they become leaders of those who disbelieve
○ Imagine that is you, just a sheikh – Imagine being the Prophet of Allah
○ Nuh AS never gives up
○ Nuh is on a ship on land that has been experiencing a drought for years and people are looking at him like he is crazy – until Allah swt orders the sky to let down its rain, and the sky gushes until the waves become the size of mountains
■ And Nuh asks his son, belief in God so I can let you on the ship, his son says, I don’t believe in you or your god or your ship, I’ll go up to that mountain and it will protect me from the waters
■ So he says, my son, none will be protected except those that are on this ship, and then he refuses and he becomes one of those who drowned
■ Nuh says to Allah “When you promise, it is true, you said you would save me and my family, he is part of me and he drowned” so Allah said, “he is not your family, forget him”
● The illegitimate is not to be loved, Allah will always get you out of those drowning waters and until the last moments Allah will provide you what is good – but he will never make the illegitimate, legitimate
● What makes you and I who we are? Why are the stories of the messengers something that still resonates with us?
○ Part 1: Jasad – 70% of us is water, 30% is organic
■ The difference between us and pigs is less than 1% (genetically speaking)
■ In the Quran: Those who know God, but do not accept God are like Cattle
○ Part 2: Mind
■ Rational being, we think and can anticipate what is happening
■ Allah has blessed the son of Adam with the mind, drugs and intoxicants are haram because they take away the mind
■ Don’t think that animals do not have emotions and feelings too
■ Sheikh plays this video
● Sometimes we think we are the only beings that actually matter
● Ibn Qayim writes 60 pages on Allah quoting the ant
○ Ant knows delegation & authority
○ Knows what is home & what isn’t
○ It knows name “Solomon”, and his troops (knows our functions)
○ And the ant makes an excuse (if they trample you then they don’t know)
○ Ibn Qayyim lists 11 types of language that the ant uses
■ Allah inspires the bees regarding how it can live its life
■ Don’t ever think that the world around you is meaningless, simple experiments show that there is so much more in the world that Allah created
■ They are a nation, just like you are a nation
○ Part 3: Soul
■ There are 3 components, and this 3rd part is what makes us insaan
■ The majesty of the soul lives in the heart – The heart is the throne of the soul
● The chest is what protects the heart
● Haritha (one of the sahabah) is walking and the Prophet SAW says how are you and he says I woke up a mu’min, Prophet SAW said why? He said when I pray it is if I see Allah but I do not see him; when I sin, I see the fire, but it is not
Love Notes By Sh Yahya Ibrahim 7 there; When I do good, I see Jannah, but I do not see it – So Prophet SAW touches his chest and he says you are a believer
● Hope, mercy, love of God is in your chest, it is important to keep that spirit true
● When Allah talks about Imaan he says Allah opened his chest to Imaan (that is the imagery given to us by Allah SWT)
● That is why the heart is so important to talk about love because the heart is what governs the rest of us
● When your heart is closer to Allah, it is easier to come closer to people à that is the beauty of the dua’ of Musa “’ishrahly sadry”, open my heart to people
● The premise of this class is to bring our hearts closer to Allah so that we can come close to his servants
■ The 3 levels are ascending levels
■ Islam also has 3 levels, Islam, Ihsan and Iman; Each of those 3 levels matches our 3 parts
● Islam (Jasad) – You must physically say the words of the shahadah, pray, fast, do Hajj, and give zakat, Islam matches the physicalness of you jasad
● Imaan (Akl) – Matches your mind, the 6 articles of faith cannot be qualified/rationalized, but they are believed. Iman came to subdue the rationale that pulls you away from Allah
● Ihsan (Ruh) – Even though you cannot see Allah in life, your heart is always aware of Allah. Everything you witness in life connects you to Allah
○ Imam Sufyan al Thawri is walking out of the masjid, and a man begins to abuse him, his students try to stop him, he says no leave him and he says “I know the sin that I did that brought this upon me”
○ Imam Sufyan RH would give his students 3 rules when teaching them:
■ Correct what is between you and Allah, and he will help you correct what is between you and mankind
■ Fix what is between you and Allah privately, he will make your public good with others
■ Remember Allah when you don’t need him, and he will know you when you need him
○ There are angels whose job is to catch our hadith (dua’a) and throw it back at us because it is not worthy of ascending – hadith of the Prophet SAW armour.

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Current Affairs articles

SOCIAL MEDIA & PATIENCE

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SOCIAL MEDIA & PATIENCE Mobile phone? ~~~~~~

Engineering Patience  … In An Age of Instant Gratification


I remember reading a book, and the kids in there were arguing over who got to sit near the window. 


I was confused. Why would they want to sit next to the window? 


I was accustomed to wanting to sit in the middle because that was directly in front of the vents blasting cold air from the AC. 


This was especially important if the car had been parked outside and had become an oven when you went to sit inside.


My dad used to do something that would drive me crazy. 


He would start the car and not turn on the AC. He would let the fan run, and tell us we could roll down the windows (which doesn’t do much when its 95 degrees Fahrenheit). 


I would plead with him to turn on the AC on max, and he would just sit there and tell me to relax. 


Once, with the creativity only a kid could muster, I told him “Allah blessed us with AC, so turn it on.” 


He explained that he was trying to teach us to relax, and to be patient.


This is how parents are. They see the ease with which we enjoy the world, and we lose sight of hardships others went through. 


In many places in the world, especially 20 years ago, air conditioning in a car was a major luxury item instead of a standard part of life.


Now when someone complains about a YouTube video buffering too slow (or not fast enough for HD), I feel like yelling at them to try using a 28.8kbps dial-up connection – the kind I had to grow up with.


In fact, a study of the viewing habits of 6.7 million people showed that people abandoned watching a video if it buffered for longer than two seconds. TWO SECONDS !!


Social media has made everything quicker. 


What used to be a 24 hour news cycle is now barely 30 minutes. 


The half-life of a tweet is less than 3 hours. 


With this quickening of pace, our expectations have changed as well. 


If someone doesn’t reply to an email within a few hours we get upset. 


If they don’t respond to a text message within an hour, we get impatient. 


There is a manufactured hurry to each of these interactions.


Patience and gratitude go hand in hand. 


Patience, as we famously know from the hadith, is at the moment calamity strikes. 


To have patience in that moment requires a gratitude mindset. 


It comes down to being cognizant and intentional about each situation – Am I exercising patience


Am I being grateful to Allah?


One way to reclaim this is to engineer moments of patience in our lives.


Sit at a red light without touching your phone. It’s only 30 seconds, but we are at the point now where the mere thought of that is agonizing for some. 


Sit down with your kids and just be bored for a little while. Reflect on what is around you and enjoy the quiet moments.


The fast pace of technology is now the norm. 


That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it does mean that sometimes we just need to sit in the car for a few minutes before turning on the AC – to give ourselves a small reminder and lesson.


FiqhOfSocial.Media – A Faith Based Guide to Navigating the Social Media Lifestyle


http://fiqhofsocial.media/