Year 2012

Imran's family

Alhamdulillah this year has been quite a good one for all of us. Imran was supposed to go to school from September but he didn’t get in the school we preferred, Alhamdulillah. I was quite unsure whether he should start school this early. He just turned 5 alhamdulillah. I did do my istikhara (prayer of guidance) before sending the application. I am actually quite relieved that he didn’t get in. I believe 5 is too early for any kid to start formal schooling. I want my children to enjoy their life and learn through playing and interaction inshAllah.

Imran is very close to his sister Ayesha and brother Yusuf. Ayesha is 3 years and 8 months old and Yusuf is 20 months old Alhamdulillah. I love the way they are always playing together. Even the way they interact with each other is so beautiful, mashAllah. I make dua to my Rabb that they remain very close to each other and learn a lot together inshAllah.

As it’s the end of the year, I was thinking of reviewing our life this year. So how was my life as a mum of three, you would ask. Alhamdulillah it was great and I cannot ask for more subhanallah. Motherhood is hard but there is nothing which makes me happier than being a mum to my kids Alhamdulillah.For me, it's an achievement alhamdulillah.  People ask me how is life now as I am home-schooling. I don’t really think life has changed that much for us. We still do the same things we used to do before. We love reading together. We love playing and talking about everything. We go to places. Even shopping is a great adventure for us.

Every minute is learning opportunity for us. Some people ask me how I assess Imran’s progress.  The simple answer is I don’t and I hope I never need to assess. He loves learning and I am more than happy to help and guide him and my daughter and baby to learn from their daily experiences inshAllah.

I think, as a society we are too obsessed with measuring and comparing our kids. I feel sorry for them. Childhood is such a magical time when kids just love being kids and explore the world around them. By forcing them to do things in a certain way and then assessing and comparing them with each other, we make them feel bored and eventually hate learning. I am very passionate about lifelong learning. As Muslims we are always learning. Our faith is based on learning and implementing the lessons in our daily life. There is hadith saying that wisdom is the lost treasure of believers.

As a home-educator, I am also on a journey of learning and self-discovery with my kids. I am learning with them Alhamdulillah. I feel so blessed that I am aware of what they are learning and we can discuss topics together. Sometimes just listening to their conversations, makes me feel so grateful for having them as our children, Alhamdulillah. It's amazing watching them grow so fast, subhanallah. Time flies. I still remember the day I gave birth to Imran. What a day that was, subhanallah!

So what curriculum I am following… Not any set curriculum I must confess. I do lots of stories and rhymes. I do the stories from the Qur’an. I believe they must know the stories from the Qur’an first. InshAllah in future, especially when they are around 7, I want to do stories from the sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi wa sallam. They are quite aware of their Muslim identity. They see us praying, fasting, attending halaqas and they are quite interested in following us. I strongly believe if we as parents can lead life as devoted Muslims bi’idnillah, children can identify themselves as Muslims inshAllah. Children love copying their parents and we should do our best to represent Islam in the best possible manner, inshAllah. It reminds me a great qoute by James Baldwin
 "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."

Dua (supplications) is a very essential part of our life. Dua is worship and Allah subhana wa ta’ala loves to be asked. I teach them duas and hope to raise them as people of duas inshAllah. I am also trying to teach them the surahs from juz amma (30^th part of the Qura’n). We don’t want to send our kids to supplementary schools to learn about their faith. It’s our sole responsibility to teach them about their faith, we believe. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala give us the ability (tawfique) and the ease (tayseer) to raise our children as best of Muslims, ameen!

Alhamdulillah my husband has been playing a very active role as a dad and kids absolutely love him. He supports me wholeheartedly , alhamdulillah. I am really blessed to have him as my soul mate, Alhamdulillah. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala keep him healthy and high in imaan, ameen! I love making the duas from the Qur’an to have a blessed family. I cannot stress enough how important the duas are for all of us. As parents we may have the best of intentions for our kids but without duas we can never achieve anything. So dua is the most essential part of our life, and then comes efforts, never-ending efforts bi’idnillah. As the year comes to end, let us all raise our hands and ask the Most Merciful Rabb Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, to make us the best of parents and make our children the coolness of our eyes, ameen!

Alhamdulillah this year my parents just celebrated their 35th anniversury. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala keep them happy and blessed together for many more years, ameen! Rabbir hamhuma kama rabbayani sagheera, ameen!

 I hope year 2013 is going to be a very productive and baraka-filled life for all of us, inshAllah. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala forgive the sins of our ummah and help us to do our best to earn His Mercy and Ridwaan and eventually meet Him in Jannatul Ferdous, Ameen! Ameen! Ameeeeen!

Story night with brother Nouman Ali Khan

Alhamdulillah I was able to attend the story night on 28th December with my younger sister at Edmonton mosque. The place was packed mashAllah. I have always been a big fan of brother Nouman. I learn a lot from his talks online. That's why I was really excited to go to the talk. First time I heard him live in London was at Twins of Faith event in 2011. Alhamdulillah as usual his talk was full of hikmah (wisdom). May Allah subhana wa ta'ala give us the ability to implement the lessons in our lives, ameen! I took couple of pages of notes. I hope to share some of the notes with you, bi'idnillah.

Stories are very interesting. People love stories or any form of narration. Films, entertainment, education materials are all highly influenced by stories. Allah subhana wa ta'ala knows the importance of stories. But he doesn't tell us stories through the Qur'an to entertain us. He subhana wa ta'ala wants us to know the truth and the main purpose is to have imaan (faith). Story of Musa (AS) is mentioned throughout the Qur'an. Brother Nouman told the story of Musa (AS) just like a film.

Three surahs in the Qur'an pay extra attention to Musa (AS)

1. Surah Ta-HA Chapter 20

2. Surah Shu'ara Chapter 26

3. Surah Kasas Chapter 28

In Surah Kasas there are two stories, one dealing with Musa and Pharaoh; another one about the struggle Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihe wa Sallam) was going through in Makkah.

Brother Nouman talked about the first couple of ayats of Surah Kasas where Allah subhana wa ta’ala talks about Musa AS. The people of Israel (Sons of Yakub AS) were badly oppressed by Pharaoh. They were forced to live in ghettos as slaves. Their homes were surrounded by military stations. At the back was the river which was too deep to cross. They were taken to the city to work for Pharaoh. He had a policy of murder, killing the sons of people of Israel every other year. He didn't want to kill all the kids as he needed the workforce for his kingdom. He wanted to control the population in a way that they never become a threat to his regime.

The people of Israel were so mentally imprisoned that they couldn't even had the courage to save their babies being brutally murdered by Pharaoh and his army. He caused great deal of corruption.

Allah subhana wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an: (Muslim scholars believe that we can never translate the Qur'an in any language. To understand the Qur'an properly we must learn Arabic. You can just get a bit of the taste of real Qur'an through the translations done in English. I usually follow M.A.S. Abdel Haleem's The Qur'an published by Oxford University Press.)

“We recount to you [prophet] part of the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Setting out the truth for people who believe. Pharaoh made himself high and mighty in the land and divided the people into different groups: one group he oppressed, slaughtering their sons and sparing their women - he was one of those who spread corruption- but We wished to favour those who were oppressed in the land, to make them leaders, the ones to survive, to establish them in the land, and through them show Pharaoh, Haman and their armies the very thing they feared." [The Qur'an 28:3-6]

“Now the scene changes…This is going to be sick man!!!” Lol! I love his style mashAllah. I can really relate to him. I think this is one of the best qualities of brother Nouman mashAllah that he can relate to the youth.

He talks about how Allah subhana wa ta’ala inspires Musa AS’s mum to save baby Musa from Pharaoh’s soldiers.

Allah swt says, “We inspired Moses’ mother, saying, ‘Suckle him and then, when you fear for his safety, put him in the river: do not be afraid and do not grieve, for We shall return him to you and make him a messenger.’ [The Qur’an 28:7]

Just imagine how much faith Musa’s mum had to deal with such a difficult trail. Her imaan was very strong. That’s why she had tawakkul, complete trust on Allah subhana wa ta’ala. When Allah swt told her to put her baby in the river, she didn’t hesitate. She was promised that her baby will be returned to her. She didn’t need to think how that’s going to happen but in her heart she knew Allah swt’s promise is true. The people who don’t have imaan, they can never understand this feeling. It doesn’t make sense to them. There is no logical explanation. Imaan is a feeling which no word can explain subhanallah! Musa AS’s mum is a great example for us all to follow bi’idnillah.

Now the screen changes again…

“Pharoah’s household picked him up- later to become an enemy and a source of grief for them : Pharoah, Haman and their armies were wrongdoers and Pharaoh’s wife said, ‘ Here is a joy (coolness of my eyes, Qurratul ‘ayn) to behold for me and for you! Do not kill him: he may be of use to us or we may adopt him as a son.’ They did not realize what they were doing. [The Qur’an 28:8-9]

Now we come across another amazing lady, Aasia (RadiaAllahu anha) Pharoah’s wife. She was not happy with Pharoah but she didn’t have any choice. Who could she complain to when Pharoah owned everything i.e the police, army. She was a believer. She was also a very smart lady. When she picked up baby Musa (Alayhis Salam), her sadness disappeared. Baby Musa (AS) become the coolness of her eyes. She told Pharoah that she would like to look after the baby. As Pharoah was in a good mood and quite softened by baby Musa’s cute look, lady Aasia asked him if they could adopt him and he couldn’t say no. Subhanallah how amazing is Allah swt’s plan! Now Musa (AS) was being raised in Pharoah’s castle! He was raising his own enemy.

There is a beautiful talk by brother Nouman about the ‘coolness of eyes’ phrase. Do listen inshAllah.

Now camera turns again to Musa AS’s mum’s home. She was so sad thinking about her baby. But she didn’t even moved her eyes when the basket was moving in the river as the Paroah’s army may figure it out. She asked her daughter to follow the basket. Musa’s sister carefully followed the basket without being noticed by anyone. Brother Nouman was talking about how wonderful parenting skills we can derive from this particular event. Musa’s mum didn’t really need to say that much, just one tiny phrase “Follow him” was more than enough as an instruction for her daughter. She had confidence in her daughter who might have been 8/9 years old. She knew how vigilant she had to be to follow her baby brother. Just think how hard it is for us, the modern parents, to get our children to listen to us by just uttering the request only once!

Allah Subhan wa ta’ala says in the Qur’an:

“… Moses’s mother felt a void in her heart- if We had not strengthened it to make her one of those who believe, she would have revealed everything about him- and she said to his sister, “Follow him”. So she watched him from a distance, without them knowing. We had ordained that he would refuse to feed from wet nurses. His sister approached them and said, “Shall I tell you about a household which could bring him up for you and take good care of him?” We restored him to his mother in this way, so that she might be comforted, not grieve and know that God’s promise is true, though most people do not understand. [The Qur’an 28:10-13]

While Pharaoh’s soldiers were looking for new-born babies of children of Israel to kill, Allah subhana wa ta’ala inspired Musa AS’s mum to breastfeed him which made bay Musa stop crying but it also made helped him to know the unique taste of his mum’s milk. That’s why when baby Musa was in the palace of Pharaoh; he rejected all the wet nurses. Babies that young do not have sophisticated eyesight or hearing to recognise their mum but they can remember the distinct taste of their mums’ milk. Never thought about this fascinating fact before subhanallah!

Another interesting point about this particular ayat is the way Musa’s sister introduced her mum to the people of the palace. She didn’t say come to her house as this would have created suspicion. She said “Shall I tell you about a household which could bring him up for you and take good care of him?” What a smart girls she was mashAllah!

The biggest lesson from these couple of ayat in the Qur’an is Allah is the best of planners. Even if it may not make sense to us, He subhanhu wa ta’ala knows how and what to do. We just need to have the imaan (faith) and yakeen (certainty) and tawakkul (complete reliance) on Him.

We had a 10 minutes break. Alhamdulillah unlike quite a lot of Muslim events, this talk did start exactly at 7 pm and he did start just after 10 minutes mashAllah. It also finished 10:15 pm.

Brother Numan talked about baby Musa’s spiritual tarbiyyah. He was raised by two great women, his biological mum and Lady Aasia, Pharoah’s wife. I remember from a hadith that lady Aasia is one of the best women in Islam. He was brought with the values of a proper Muslim. He knew he looked different from the ruling class. His skin colour was like the children of Israel i.e the sons of Yakoob. He couldn’t tolerate injustice. He grew up as a strong man of faith. Unlike today’s youth, he was eager to do good and be a man of God.

“When Moses reached full maturity and manhood, We gave him wisdom and knowledge: this is how We reward those who do good.” [The Qur’an 28:14]

Again here Allah subhan wa ta’ala mentions wisdom (hikmah) first and the knowledge (‘ilm). Sometimes we see in our ummah, quite a lot of youth, having knowledge of the deen (faith) but showing lack of wisdom. When anything controversial happens for example, any cartoon or films about our beloved prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihe wa sallam, we witness improper reaction of the Muslim youth. Older people are more likely to have wisdom and we as youth need to value this unique but essential quality. Musa (AS) as a young and strong man was always aware of Allah subhana wa ta’ala. His action was based on taqwa. There is so much to learn for the youth of our ummah from this great prophet.

As the baby Musa is a young man now, his trial started. “He entered the city, unnoticed by its people and found two men fighting: one from his own people, the other an enemy. The one from his own people cried out to him for help against the enemy. Moses struck him with his fist and killed him. He said, ‘This must be Satan’s work: clearly he is a misleading enemy.’ He said. ‘Lord, I have wronged myself. Forgive me,’ so He forgave him; He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. He said, ‘My Lord, because of the blessings You have bestowed upon me, I shall never support those who do evil.’ [The Qur’an 28:  ]

As soon as Musa heard the plea of the man (he was from the Bani Israel) he tried to help by hitting the other guy. The guy died and Musa realized he shouldn’t have struck him. He realized it was Satan’s plan but he took full responsibility and immediately asked for forgiveness from His Lord. He also re-iterated that he would never help the people who commit injustice.

Rushing to judgement is from Satan. He wants us to react without any thought. There is even a hadith where our beloved prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) tell us that rushing comes from Satan. Musa (Alaihis Salam) was aware of that. After asking for forgiveness, he moved on. He did not let himself be slave of the past.

There are so many more lessons from this particular story. I hope to write about the rest of the lessons in future post inshAllah as its getting quite long.
I hope this post can benefit us all bi'idnillah. You can join brother Nouman's Facebook group to learn more inshAllah. http://bayyinah.com/

Save yourself and your family from the Fire!

Enter Jannah with your family | Nouman Ali Khan

Please do listen to this talk. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala give us the ability to become better Muslims and help our families to become better muslims, ameen!

Allah is near

Allah is Near - Nouman Ali Khan - Quran Weekly

The great Imam : Al-Ghazali Rahimullah

Alhamdulillah I have been attending an amazing circle where we are going through the book "O my beloved son" written by Imam Al-Ghazali Rahimullah. I have been always a big fan of his book . But attending a circle to understand his work is something completely different. MashAllah the teacher is really excellent. Shaykh Abu Aaliyah is running this circle and I am honoured to be able to listen to his talk, alhamdulillah. I hope to share my notes, given I can take some holding my baby ;-) For the time being, you can listen to the talks and a great documentary below inshAllah.

Dr. Timothy Winter (Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad): The life and works of al-Ghazali (Part 1/2)

Dr. Timothy Winter(Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad) : The life and works of al-Ghazali (Part 2/2)

MashAllah I am glad to be able to watch this documentary "Al-Ghazali: The Alchemist of Happiness" (2004) 

 Short interviews of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf  after the filming of the documentary:

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf - The Critical Importance of Al-Ghazali in Our Times

 

Weak (daif) hadith in Imam Ghazali's Ihya by Habib Ali Jifri 

 

What am I ?

Islamic New Year 1434

Alhamdulillah the new Islamic Hijri year 1434 is here . The first month of Hijri year is named Muharram. This is one of the sacred months of Islam. According to hadith, this month is named as the month of Allah Subhana wa ta'ala. I always get quite excited at the beginning of a year as I feel it's a great opportunity to renew our intention to please our Rabb and do more worship, at least plan to do more worship inshAllah. Couple of years ago, I came across a beautiful dua I read in a journal published by Zaytuna institute ( Seasons). I love doing the dua at the start of a year. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala accept the dua from us. The dua is given below:

"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful and God bless our Master Muhammad and his family and grant them peace. O Allah, whatever actions I have committed this past year which have not pleased You, which I may have forgotten though You do not forget, while You are forbearing with me though fully capable of punishing me, while You called me to relent and atone even after my audaciousness before You - O Allah, I surely seek Your forgiveness for that, so forgive me! O Allah, and as for my actions that have pleased You and for which recompense and forgiveness has been promised, please accept them from me. And do not dash my hopes in You, O Generous, O Most Merciful of the Merciful. And Allah, the Exalted, bless our Master Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace."

As Muharram is one of the sacred months, it is recommended to fast any time during this month. There is a great post written by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani that I love reading. You can have a look to get some idea of what actions you can perform during this great month.

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Duties of the Month of Muharram

1. It is the best of months for general voluntary fasts, after Ramadan.

2. It is especially recommended to fast the 10^th of Muharram (known as the Day of `Ashura), with a day before it or after it. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, quoting Kasanis al-Badai`]

3. It is also virtuous to give in charity on this day.

Extracts from Ibn Rajabs Lataif al-Ma`arif, regarding the month of Muharram:

The Virtues of Fasting in the Month of Muharram and Its First Ten Days

Muslim reported from Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said , "The best of fasts after the month of Ramadan are in the Month of Allah, which you call Muharram. And the best of prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer." [Muslim, 1163]

This refers to general voluntary fasts according to Imam Ibn Rajab (Allah have mercy on him): These are best in the month of Muharram, just as the best general voluntary prayer is night prayer.

The virtue and honor of this month can be attested to by the fact that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) called it, the Month of Allah.  (Shahr Allah) Such ascription is only made by Allah to the most special of His creation, such as the ascription of the Prophets Muhammad, Ibrahim, Ishaq, Ya`qub, and others to his slavehood (Allah's peace and blessings be on them all), and His ascription of the House (Ka`ba) and the camel to himself.

Given that Allah ascribed fasting, between all spiritual works, to Himself [saying, "It is Mine"] it was suitable that this month, which is also ascribed to Allah, be selected for this particular form of worship.

Fasting is a secret between the servant and his Lord. This is why Allah Mighty and Exalted says, [in the divine hadith (hadith qudsi)], " Every action of the son of Adam is his, except for fasting. It is Mine, and it is I who reward it." [Bukhari and Muslim, from Abu Hurayra]

 

The Day of `Ashura: The Tenth of Muharram

It is mentioned in Bukhari and Muslim from Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he was asked about fasting the Day of `Ashura [10<sup>th</sup> of Muharram]. He said, "I did not see the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) fast a day while more avid to seek its virtue than this day,  meaning the Day of `Ashura." [Bukhari (2006), and Muslim (1132)].

The Day of `Ashura has great virtue, and tremendous sanctity (hurma). The virtue of fasting it was known among the Prophets (peace be upon them all). Both Prophet Nuh and Prophet Musa (peace be upon them both) fasted it.

The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) used to fast this day even in Mecca, though he had not yet ordered others to do so, as mentioned in both Bukhari and Muslim. [Bukhari (2002), Muslim (1125)]

When he migrated to Medina, and found the People of the Book fasting this day and venerating it, he ordered the Muslims to fast it, and encouraged it so much that even the children would fast it.

It has been reported in both Bukhari and Muslim from Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him), that, "When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) reached Medina, he found the Jews fasting the Day of `Ashura, so he asked them, "What is this day you are fasting?" They said, "This is a tremendous day. Allah saved Musa and his people on this day and drowned Pharaoh and his people. Musa fasted it out of thanks, so we fast it too." The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said, "And we are more deserving of Musa than you are." So he fasted this day, and ordered that it be fasted. [Bukhari (2004) and Muslim (1130)]

At the end of his life, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) made the determination not to fast this day alone, but with another day [either before or after it], in order to be different from the People of the Book.

It has been reported in the Sahih of Imam Muslim (Allah have mercy on him), also from Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) that, "When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) fasted the Day of `Ashura and ordered his companions to fast it, they said, O Messenger of Allah! This is a day that the Jews and Christians venerate. So the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said, "When next year comes if Allah wills, we will fast the Ninth [of Muharram with it]." But the next year did not come before the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) passed away. [Muslim (1134), Abu Dawud (2445)]

And it is reported in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad (Allah have mercy on him), from Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Fast the Day of `Ashura and be different from the Jews by fasting a day before it or a day after it." [Ahmad]

Giving in Charity on the Day of `Ashura

It has been reported from Abd Allah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As (Allah be pleased with him), that "Whoever fasts `Ashura, it is as if he has fasted the entire year. And whoever gives charity this day it is like the charity of an entire year."

Mourning on the 10^th of Muharram is an Innovation

As for the mourning and grieving of the Shia' on this day because of the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Husayn ibn Ali (Allah be pleased with him and his father), this is of the actions of those whose actions in this life are misguided while they think that they are doing well. Neither Allah Most High nor His Messenger (Allah bless him & give him peace) commanded us to mourn on the days of the tribulations of the Prophets, or their deaths, let alone anyone else.

[ The fuqaha have mentioned that it is an innovation to consider Muharram a month of mourning. It is not disliked to marry in this month. It is a highly reprehensible innovation to participate in the rituals of the Shia' in mourning the death of Husayn (Allah be pleased with him).]
 

Some of the Virtues of the Day of `Ashura

It is a day in which Allah forgave an entire people. Tirmidhi relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to a man, "If you want to fast a month after Ramadan, then fast Muharram, for it has a day in which Allah forgave an entire people, and He turns to others in repentance in." [Tirmidhi (841)]

And Allah alone gives success.

Source: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?ID=779
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There is also great talks on the month of Muharram. Do listen inshAllah and please keep us in your precious duas. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala forgive us, shower His Mercy on us and bless us with jannatul ferdous and the amazing opportunity to see Him, ameen!
Sheikh Bilal Ismail: Month of Muharram and the day of Ashura

The Month of Muharram - By Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman