--* The Most Superior Love

Assalam O Alaikum!

Do you love Allah?

When we love someone, we are willing to go out of our way to fulfill their requests. When we really love someone, we truly want to please them. Do you love Allah? Don't you love your Creator more than any of His creations? 

Every Muslim professes love for the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W; May Peace and blessings be upon him), but do we love him more than any other human being; more than any of our possessions, like true believers? We blatantly ignore his teachings daily- could we do that if he were standing right in front of us? When we don't follow Ayahs of the Qur'an or Hadith (sayings of the Prophet S.A.W.) we must remind ourselves that Allah can see everything and has knowledge over all things. 

If we truly love Allah more than any creation, then why can't we follow His commands? Why don't we yearn to get closer to Him and do everything we can to please Him? When we truly savor the sweetness of faith, we won't think what He asks of us is too much or too hard. Our Lord, our Sustainer and Cherisher, loves us and does not want hardship for us. He wants to show us mercy and reward us generously; if only we'd try- sincerely try. 

In His Glorious Book, Allah, the most Exalted, says: "When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them) : I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way." [2: 186]

He is there to help us whenever we call on Him (and answers prayers in the best manner, better than we can even imagine.) Allah can open doors we can't even see and miraculously make ways for the best things to happen. If Allah wants good for you, no one can stop that good from reaching you. But similarly, we should take care not to displease our Lord, because if He leaves us, no one can be of even the slightest avail to us. And then, the problems of this life aren't even our biggest concern- in fact, it's all nothing compared to eternal reward or punishment.

Getting close to Allah is the key. For everything. For getting into heaven. For increasing our imaan and attaining a higher level of faith. For Allah making everything easier for us, if He wills. Pray; call on Allah, the best provider and loving Lord. Talk to Him, for He has power over all things. Think about it: the One running the entire universe, from every atom to every galaxy, wants to listen to us, individually listen to us, and yet we don't come rushing to Him, eager to be heard. May Allah guide us, show us the solutions to our problems the right way and help us get closer to Him. Ameen.

Prayers for you and your family :)
Jazak Allah! 

--* The Miracle of Rain!

Assalam o alaikum!

After a long wait, heat spells, sweating and duas it finally rained here in Karachi. Alhumdulillah.  :)

A view from my balcony

For some rain is merely just water falling from the sky. But for a true believer rain is Allah's mercy literally showering upon us. Rain is just one of Allah's countless blessings. It has so many benefits for every creature , living or non-living. If you truly knew all the benefits of rain , you would fall in love with Allah (swt) even more. Insha Allah. :)

As students we are all aware of "The Water Cycle". Yes that colorful picture in our geography textbooks with a side veiw of mountains, the sea,labelled with words we struggled to learn and a smiling sun perhaps?. At least that's how I remember it. But did we ever truly appreciate all that it depicted?. Did we ever truly realize its importance? It is no less than a miracle.OK let your imagination go wild for a minute and picture all that I am about to write, in your head.
So the main actors are : the sea , the sun , the clouds and the wind.
I also want you to realize how all  these things work together in harmony  ,just as their Creator commanded. (hmm... Is there a lesson here? ) 

The Sun is assigned the job of heating up the salty sea below. The water from the sea evaporates and reaches the sky. No salt. Just water. Pure water. (And no fishes ! There have been cases of fish rain in some parts of the world...Another thing to be thankful for... Alhumdulillah). Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. Normally when we see clouds, don't they look like soft delicate cotton balls to you? (I ,for one, would love to jump into one! ) . So imagine these fur look alikes "floating" around with tonnes of water in them! ...Subhan Allah... they travel miles and miles to reach wherever it is that Allah has commanded them to shed their load. The wind is assigned the job of pushing these clouds around. ( Like pushing barrels of water on a cartwheel? Easy, no? ). And now when it finally does rain, have you noticed what a rain drop looks like? Sharp on top , curved below ? Imagine a drop falling from such a great height yet reaching you in a perfect shape,at a calculated speed so that it doesn't harm you. What if it wasn't specifically shaped like this? We would have felt them as needles...no, bullets... piercing through our body. Seriously. Alhumdulillah.Alhumdulillah.

Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?   ( Surah Rahman, Verse 13 )

Behold...Before this "water cycle" was scientifically proved, Allah already told us about it in the Qur'an some 1400 years ago 

 "It is Allah Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until you see rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them reach such of his servants as He wills behold, they do rejoice!" (Surah Al-Rum, Verse 48) 

Oh Allah I love how You have perfectly designed everything to benefit us.You really do love us a lot. We are thankful  -- Your humble servants :)

Did you realize the amount of work that is being done just so that you can enjoy pure water falling from the sky? Rain is a source of  happiness for all. It freshens the environment, makes plants even greener, puts a smile to our faces (convinces our mothers to make pakoras and other delights for us?  :D ) , provides us pure water to drink and I could go on and on about its benefits. Maybe you could point some more out in the comments below? Here is one from the Quran. :) 

"We send down pure water from the sky. That with it We may give life to a dead land, and slake the thirst of things We have created,- cattle and men in great numbers." (Surat al - Furqan, Verse 48- 49)

 Leaving you with this wonderful hadith as a gift :  ( And pictures :] )

Narrated Sahel Ibn Sa'ad (RA): that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'Two will not be rejected, Supplication when the Adhan (call of prayer) is being called, and at the time of the rain'. [Al-Hakim 2: 114, and Abu Dawud #2540, ibn Majah]

So don't forget to make dua when it rains and thank Allah for it from all of your heart. :) Jazak Allah! 

  

Prayers for you and your family. Stay safe.

--* Who Are the People of Taqwa?

Assalam o alaikum!
May Allah accept our efforts Insha Allah :)

This video that I am about to share would probably be  the best 31 minutes of your life.
 Trust me... May Allah open our hearts and makes understanding of our Deen easy for us. Ameen. 

Alhumdulillah , May Allah shower His blessings on Nauman Ali Khan and his family. Such an inspiring young scholar. Makes you want to learn more and more about our deen. :)

Jazak Allah!
Prayers for you and your family. Peace :)

--* Do you know your Lord?

Assalam o alaikum!
May Allah accept our efforts. Insha Allah :)

Can you take just two minutes and listen to this beautiful recitation of Ayat-ul-Kursi before you begin reading the rest of the post? Jazak Allah :)

Subhan Allah! Touched your heart, didn't it? That is the beauty of the words of my Lord. 

Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.  (Qur'an 13: 28)

 

This post, as you may already know will be about Ayat-ul-Kursi also known as "The Verse of the Throne". This is such a beautiful Ayat. It describes Allah (swt) so perfectly.

Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter . And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.(Qur'an: Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 255)

He has the power over all things. Doesn't that give you hope? Whatever it is that you are going through right now , Allah Knows. Whatever it is that you are hiding in your heart , Allah Knows. So Pray to Him, turn to Him alone.  The attributes of Allah described in this Ayat cant ever be found in anyone else. He doesn't need rest. He doesn't sleep. He provides for and protects everything that He created, be it an ant or us humans ,regardless of whether they turn to Him or not. (P.S All non-living and living things apart from humans and jinns praise Allah at all times...we just cant hear them....Masha Allah if animals and rocks can, why cant we?) 

Are you not aware that it is Allah Whose limitless glory all creatures that are in the heavens and earth extol, even the birds as they spread out their wings? Each of them knows how to pray to Him and to glorify Him; and Allah has full knowledge of all that they do.

To Allah belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth, and to Allah will all return. (An-Nur 24: 41-42)

 

He knows everything , even the future (Hence no "najoomi" or "aamil baba" or fortune-teller can tell you anything about it unless they have help from sheytan - Our enemy). His authority extends over the heavens and the earth. We humans cannot even imagine how big the universe is. NASA keeps discovering new galaxies and planets. Species of insects and plants are still being discovered. Allah alone has the Knowledge of all things and He doesn't ever get tired. ( He doesn't need food or drinks. People who worship gods that they have carved out of stone themselves actually keep food and drinks in front of them expecting rewards and blessings. Do you think a god would ever need to eat and rest if there is a whole universe needing to be looked after? ) Subhan Allah...La ilaha ilallah...Allah is One!

You can refer to tafseer of this ayat of any religious scholar. This was just an attempt to make you grow more curious about verses in the Quran so that you can Insha Allah try and learn more about them.Trust me ...It can do wonders . :)

Next time : Benefits of memorizing and reciting Ayat-ul-kursi .See you then. Insha Allah

Jazak Allah!
Prayers for you and your family! :)

--* The Doors of Mercy are still open

 Assalam o alaikum!
 May Allah accept our efforts! Insha Allah :) 

The Doors of Mercy, Doors to Eternal Happiness are Open

Teenage life gets complicated. Especially when we try to live according to people and society, instead of by Islam. Living how our Creator wants is truly the solution to put our hearts in a peaceful state. If we find it difficult to abide by the rules Allah Al-Mighty ordained for us, it's simply because we have let our hearts get diseased and corrupted. We're all messed up. We sin. A lot. We've spent years mindlessly searching for peace in the wrong places and allowing our conscience, our spirit - our "ruh," the part of us that knows the truth- to die. But there is still hope.

Allah is Al-Ghafoor and Ar-Raheem; He is extremely forgiving and always merciful. Sincere repentance can turn mountains of sins into mountains of good deeds! But we must turn to Allah. Satan has numerous ways of tricking us into going astray or earning Allah's wrath, but we must keep in mind that evil is our enemy. Shaitan, the devil, is going to hell and wants to drag us down with him. We must rise above petty desires. This victory is one that leads to eternal happiness; true success. Remember, this life is only temporary; the HereAfter is forever. Forever.... never-ending happiness or punishment after punishment... the choice was given to us, and we must ensure our deeds lead us to a true 'happily ever after.' Call on Allah for help and forgiveness, before it's too late.
 
"Say (on My behalf), 'O servants of Mine who have acted recklessly against their own selves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Surely, Allah will forgive all sins. Surely, He is the One who is the Most-Forgiving, the Very-Merciful. (53) Turn passionately towards your Lord, and submit to Him before the punishment comes to you, after which you will not be helped." (Quran 39:53-4)

Pray and try. It's as simple as that. Allah loves us and does not want hardship for us. He wants to reward His slaves with His generosity. If only we'd try. Sincerely ask Allah to make you righteous. To make us obedient slaves of His. To make us among those He favors, and not those who go astray or earn His wrath. To make sure we do not get misguided after He has guided us. Pray to Allah to accept our good deeds and multiply the reward for us generously. Pray that Allah erases our sins, by His mercy, and does not allow any of our good deeds to go to waste because of them. Oh Allah, guide us to what is right and help us adhere to the straight path. Help us savour the sweetness of true faith and grant our hearts peace by increasing our piety. Oh Allah, protect us from falling into satan's traps and save us from the punishments of the grave and Hell-fire. Ameen

Source: Google Image

We must all strive to please Allah. We're not perfect and God knows we will make mistakes. True believers feel their sins are mountains of burdens that can come crashing down on them, and they sincerely repent, immediately remembering Allah even after sinning. We can't let shaitan trick us to stop trying to please our Lord. When we lapse into error, we must turn to Allah. Call on Him and hope for His forgiveness. The only way to increase iman is to do good deeds; to worship our Cherisher and Sustainer and follow the way of life our Lord prescribed for us. And if our intentions are pure, In sha Allah (if Allah wills) He shall make the right path easier for us. May Allah forgive us all and help our iman grow. May Allah make us true believers; and not take away our soul until He is happy with us! Ameen.

Jazak Allah!  :)
Prayers for you and your family. Peace