A Day With The Prophet (PBUH)

Inspired by something I read in a book "Prophet Muhammad- A Mercy for Children" we decided to have a little activity among the kids of our family as they were gathered together for Eid ul fitr last month.

We shared with them stories from the life of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in three segments:
1st- The Prophet s.a.w's smile.
2nd- The Prophet s.a.w's childhood.

3rd- The Prophet s.a.w's death.

After these interactive sessions we handed the kids pieces of paper and asked them to write if they had a chance to meet Muhammad s.a.w, how would they spend their day with him s.a.w?
Some of the replies were adorable while others surprised us about how thoughtful the kids were!
Here are some of their writings:

 "I will play football with the Prophet"
Yusuf (7)

 "I will be very happy and I will talk to him righteously. I will serve him as a guest, if only I get the chance to meet him once!"
-Eisha (11)

 "First of all I will learn a lot about Allah from him s.a.w. Then I will listen to his recitation of the Quran. I will learn righteous things from him s.a.w. The meeting with the beloved Prophet of Allah s.a.w will be in the hereafter"
-KhushBakht (12)

 "I will pray the five daily prayers with him s.a.w and eat with him and take a lot of care of him and do whatever he asks. I wish one day He s.a.w is really with me"
-Muhib

" If I was so lucky to spend time with Muhammad s.a.w I would ask him which dua should be recited to stay away from our mother's scolding? And I would pray with him and talk to him about nice things, I would talk to him s.a.w about Allah and ask him about Allah s.w.t"
-Ahmed (14)

"I would ask him to pray for me, to pray for my intercessions. I would serve him s.a.w and pray behind him s.a.w"
-Mehmood

Among my favourites :)
Had given the original paper to his mom.

This Beautiful fitrah is what we need to work to keep intact :)
Leaving them to constant reminders of other role models being bombarded upon them from peers, TV screens and whatnot, we can not expect them to go on with the same aspirations of meeting Rasulullah s.a.w as they hold today.

May Allah make them all true to their love and may the love of Rasulullah s.a.w ever increase in their hearts and translate into action :)


WHAT WOULD WE DO IF WE HAD A DAY TO SPEND IN THE COMPANY OF MUHAMMAD UR RASULULLAH? :)
Worth pondering.

A Little Story

On this Eid ul Fitr, we gathered our little cousins and reminded them about the in-numerous Blessings of Allah upon us all. When they were asked to mention their favourite blessings they gave the cutest and such thoughtful replies!
The first one said: Pomegranate!
a slightly older boy said: My life.
one of them added: Horses!
And a little girl said: my mama papa.
My favourite however was: Chips! (seriously.)

 After that we asked them to bring some of their Eidi money and give it as sadaqah(charity) for those little kids who lack many blessings which we enjoy. Their willingness and generosity was so uplifting, mashaAllah.

Last minute charity box, washed over by rain. Excuse our uncreativeness.

One incident was worth mentioning, so much so that it brought me back to my blog after months. :)

A cousin's wife told us later, when she got the message about this sadaqah activity she asked her sons, aged 8 and 6, how much would they like to give. The older one had spent all his Eidi and had only 300Rs left but he said he will give 100 out of it and the younger one said he will give 50Rs. So his mom asked him "why so little?"

His reply?
"Don't we give 10Rs to the beggars who come to our house? Isn't 50Rs a lot then?"
That right there is what our kids silently learn from us.
You can 'talk' to them about the virtues of charity all you want but nothing will teach them better than your example.

She said then she told them about how Allah will give them so much more, both in this life AND the next if they give for His sake but it's their choice, they can give as much as they wish.
-I really liked how she let them decide at the end and didn't impose her opinion upon them.

Now comes the best part:
When they came over to give their share of sadaqah a family friend came to their place and gave 1000Rs Eidi for each one of them. As they got back home their mother informed them by saying "didn't I tell you Allah will increase for you if you give for His sake?"
And boy, were they overjoyed!
The older one couldn't initially believe it while the younger one said "I wish I had given 50Rs more as well"
:)
That right there is their ain-ul-yaqeen.

I have no doubt that they will grow up to be 'givers' for the sake of Allah in sha Allah.

P.S: It's this tiny initiative we took and look at the wonderful results it had. The cousin who came up with this idea wasn't even there when most of this took place. She might have no idea about the sadqah e jariya she will reap by merely suggesting we do this. How easy it is to gain reward in our deen. It's like Allah WANTS us to get more and more.
So don't belittle any idea or any deed. Be sincere, take the initiative and leave the rest to Allah. :)

Destination: Elite-Clan.

After a recent gathering I went to, I was trying to get my priorities straight; to get a clear head about where and with what kind of people do I want to end up. You know, like that one neighbourhood we dream about living in one day? or having "so & so" as our neighbours, depending upon our interests. I ended up with a list of some very amazing humans, ones whose lives are worth sharing, so I decided to write a post about some of them.
Here goes:

You know that beautiful, classy, young girl? Scratch ''young'', she is a teenager! The one so lively and quirky. She loves playing around and pulling pleasant tricks. She might get a little carried away at times too, but when it comes to questions of knowledge; of issues of utmost importance, she is the one everyone will turn to. The most authoritative ones will come knocking at her door looking for answers. Her knowledge isn't limited to random Q&A sessions, she is a very well known scholar and a teacher. The most knowledgeable men of the era have been her students at one point or another. A lively young girl with so much wit. Sounds too good to be true, right? But she is as real as real can get.

Then comes the prestigious business woman. The richest lady in town. The one who has marvelously maintained her dignity while climbing the ladder of success in the business world. Yet, when you look at her family life, you will be dumbfounded by her homeliness. She is the perfect housewife; cooking for husband, being his best friend and the shoulder he leans on in tough times. The one whose support and love her husband can not forget years after her death. She is that Super lady with a highly successful business, a husband thoroughly pleased with her, no dirt on her robes and six children of her own. That's a tough call in a society where women are hardly given any importance.

Next comes that girl who has seen much sorrow in her life. She lived through poverty, and lost her mother to it at a very young age. Each one of her siblings passed away during her life. She saw her father's physical and mental abuse, and she stood by him till his last breath. Yet, she never lost hope. She never roamed the streets like a mad woman, in fact, she was the most dignified girl of the town. The one proposed by the most eligible bachelors in town, despite never having seen her face. She chose to marry a brave warrior, one with very little wealth to live by. But that didn't keep them from raising children who were remembered for generations as the noblest of men. By her forbearance, patience and piety, she earned the title of The Queen of all Women at a very early age. She is an example for every young girl, to never give up. She has seen every trouble a girl can imagine, and she came out stronger than ever. Not an example out of fiction novels, but one very real.

Among the men, let us begin with the brave warrior, the husband of this very girl. The boy who was so headstrong at the age of 10 years, that elders of his society mocked him for his big words. They laughed at him when he stood up for a much needed change. He wasn't just a man of words; several years late, he proved himself by bringing the change he had stood for at the age of ten. When he walked back in, before the very people who had mocked him, his awe silenced them and they couldn't believe the honour and prestige this man had earned through the years. He was the bravest warrior of his time, unmatched at the battle field. Yet, when he was off the battlefield he craved knowledge. He ardently sought companionship of the knowledgeable and acquired from them all that they could offer. He was not only nicknamed for his skills as a brave warrior, he was also known by the entire community for his knowledge. A man from a noble family, with little wealth, but one who chose to seek true nobility through knowledge.

In their town was a handsome young boy; the fashionista of the town, pampered by the wealth of his very rich mother. One whose perfumes were so exotic, when he passed from a street, several moments later could one smell the fragrance and know he had been there. He always wore branded(exported) clothes. Head to toe, dressed in class. His manners and morals were unmatched. His speech and manners were as beautiful as everything else about him. One fine day, he and his mother had a disagreement. There was a matter, concerning which she wanted him to support the false views. His morals could not allow him to side against the truth. He stood with the truth and tried to convince his mother to see it too, but she refused. She not only disowned him, but chained him in her house. He bore it all and refused to submit to a lie. He ran away and lived a life of poverty. His friends would look at him with tears in their eyes at his new state, but he never regretted leaving behind his luxuries for the sake of truth. When he died, he wore a cloth so small it couldn't cover his entire body. Such were the sacrifices this former ''star of the town'' made to stand up for what he believed in.

There was a man in the town, very much like the ''cat ladies'' of today. He loved cats so much so that he came to be known as The Cat Man. He could hardly ever be seen without a kitty or two sitting in the sleeve of his shirt; yes, he made sure his shirts were stitched such that a cat could sit in the sleeve. He was, evidently, soft hearted. When a friend punched him in the chest, he went crying to the authorities about it. This was a grown man in a society where little boys wrestled as a sport. He didn't fake a personality. He accepted his soft heartedness wholly.


Can you believe all these amazing people existed at the same time(almost), in the same place?Let me tell you their names, which you might have guessed already:

1. Ayesha Sideeqa R.A
2. Khadija R.A
3. Fatima tu Zahra R.A
4. Ali ibn Abi Talib R.A
5. Mus'ab ibn Umair R.A
6. Abu Huraira R.A

At the end of the day, I figured, these are the actual elite and knowledgeable people I want to hang out with. Although, I cant imagine myself uttering a single word in the company of amma Khadija, I would love to sit near her and benefit from her knowledge. To learn from them, to be like them; as true, as real, as dignified, as knowledgeable, and as righteous as them. That's the dream. That's the Struggle. That's #DestinationJannah.



NOTE: Fatima R.A: "Queen of all Women" refers to the Hadith “Are you not pleased/satisfied with that you are the chief (saiyidah) of women of momineen OR chief of women of this ummah.” Muslim V:2 P.g:290
Abu Huraira: The Cat man actually refers to his name "Father of cats"
Ali R.A: nicknamed for his warrior skills refers to "Asad Ullah" (Lion of Allah).

Pearls of Heaven.

Bismillah

A while back I went to visit a jewelry shop with some relatives. I have never really been one for gold and jewels but this place was, to say the least, BEAUTIFUL! As we gaped and marveled at the intricate designs and huge diamonds set around stones of all colours I messaged a friend "Not a jewelry person but I'm in love with this place". Well, soon the pretty dream was over when we asked for the prices and realized we couldn't afford half the stuff lying there.

Next week, I was sitting in our little tafseer session, which a senior from our faculty conducts in our class room twice a week. She was talking about the story of Adam and Eve, of Paradise, our actual home..our Jannah. she was saying..

"Paradise, where the rocks and pebbles on the ground are pearls and jewels, that's our home"

And I couldn't help but smile to myself, thinking of our trip the past week. The jewels and pearls we chase after all our lives, the diamonds girls display on their fingers so happily like a trophy, all of it is just the dust of Paradise. It comes in a verse of the Quran:

(They will be) on Thrones encrusted (with gold and precious stones),                (56:15) 

Imangine! When the seat you sit on is woven with gold and precious stones, what of the garments and jewelry?
We know from a Hadith:

 Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said,

"There is not a tree in Paradise, except that its trunk is made of gold." [Sahih al-Jami]

 And yet another: 

 Anas ibn Malik said that Allah's Apostle (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said,

"I entered Paradise and found myself by a river, by its edges were tents of pearls. Then I tapped with my hands where the water was running, and there was then a beautiful smell of Musk. I asked, 'What is this O Gabriel?' He said, 'This is Kawthar (river in Paradise) which Allah has given to you.'" [Sahih al-Jami] 

 The narrations about the description of Paradise are innumerable. A place where the finest pearls line water banks, the dust is Rubies and Sapphires and houses are made of silver and gold. Yet,  how silly we are..how very silly that we choose to chase after that one diamond, that house bigger than ours and a neighborhood more exclusive and elite than the current. SubhanAllah. We prefer giving up an eternity of bliss and novelty unmatched by any of this world, just to get that which is before our eyes.  We want perfection in this life and perfection in the next, Whereas Allah Says:

Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said,"When is the help of Allah ?" Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near. (2:214)

It's a struggle either way, whether for the finite pleasure of this world or infinite pleasure of the Hereafter. Wouldn't it be only wise and sensible if we worked for the everlasting? the unmatched? the one where the beauty of the new bracelet, blinging with  diamonds, isn't overshadowed by the money that just left your wallet. Islam doesn't ask us to let go of the dunia, it asks us to balance it. To compromise for the smaller stones rather than distressing our families. To be content with what we have and strive for the best of the Hereafter, not the best and branded of this world.

Ah! Easier said than done, no? May Allah give us the Taqwa that enables the doing be as easy..not just easy but pleasurable. To let go of the vain pleasures of this world for the Pleasure of Allah. Ameen :)

"Truly! The Muttaqun (pious and righteous persons ) will be amidst Gardens and water-springs (Paradise)." (15:45)

Converse. Ask. Engage.

Bismillah
Aqulo qauli haza wastaghfirullah, lee walakum

"And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not?" ~18:68 -The Nobel Quran.

Don't let doubts eat away at your faith and relations.
Converse. Ask. Engage.
Don't try to be super humans. Remember this statement was directed to Musa A.S. If a prophet couldn't be at rest, not knowing the truth behind the matter, how can we expect our already corrupted minds to be at ease knowing only 'some' of the matter. We have all experienced how Satan and our desires love to come up and help us build the rest of it in our minds. If you know the matter really means something to you and could be affecting you, go on and try talking to the people concerned in all honesty and sincerity.

BUT if it doesn't really concern you, yet you find yourself being impatient over it, try taking the high road to beautifying your eeman.

 "Part of the excellence of a man's Islam is that he leaves what does not concern him." -Hadith (Al-Muwatta)

Of Rituals and Words...

Bismillah

We recently started studying the fiqh of taharah (law of cleanliness). As every Muslim would be, or should be, aware that cleanliness is given a lot of importance in Islam. So much so that our Beloved Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wassallam said:

Purity (Cleanliness) is half of faith.. (Sahih al-Muslim)

Every possible aspect of the topic is covered by Quranic verses and authentic narrations of Ahadith. There are even masnoon supplications for entering and leaving the toilet. Now, many of us might have memorized these as kids and might even be reciting them but mostly without giving it much thought.
The supplication for leaving the toilet is "ghufranak'' meaning "Your Forgiveness (O Allah)". When we came across this, our teacher said:

"now what did you do SO bad in the bathroom that you are asking forgiveness for it?"

And for a moment, I was really like 'oh yea...'
Then she explained;
When you relieve yourself and you purify your physical self, you feel good. A Momin would always want his inner self i.e his soul, his heart to be pure too. So when he is physically pure, he prays to Allah to cleanse him of his sins too. Beautiful, isn't it?
Also, as so much stress is laid upon cleanliness in Islam, one must try their best to clean any impurity or filth upon them when they go to the toilet but even after trying our utmost, sometimes we might not be aware but some impurity might still remain on our body or clothes. So, one asks Allah's forgiveness for such shortcomings.

Ghufranak.One word, so much to it. Yet we go on fasting months, offering prayers, uttering azkaar not giving any thought to the wisdom behind these rituals. Islam is a Way of Life. It's not just empty rituals and words. Every Sunnah has wisdom behind it; Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wassallam didn't just sleep on his right side because he felt like it, he didn't prefer drinking water in three sips because that was convenient for him. Everything he did was inspired by the One Whose Knowledge is infinite. Our religion is a beautiful ocean of knowledge, one that you can never claim to have fully explored but every stone of it upturns to reveal the most amazing and astonishing pearls of wisdom.
I must warn you though; once you dive in, it's beauty will not let you climb out.

May Allah allow us to learn and MOST IMPORTANTLY act upon His Deen. Ameen :)

High on Happiness.

I'm high on happiness right now, Alhamdolillah.
So happy.
You know that feeling when you go to a party and cant relate with anyone or any topic there?
We have all been there at least once, whether it's the Welcome Party at a new school or meet-up of your mom's friends at your place.
But then, there are parties and gatherings with your friends, your own friends that you somehow fail to relate to.
And then there are gatherings with strangers and yet you can connect with each one of them.

I went to one such gathering this week. I don't usually go anywhere without any acquaintance but I REALLY wanted to attend this conference last week, which none of my friends were going for. So, I thought, lets brave up for once and go for it. Anyway, all we had to do was sit there quietly and listen to the speakers' talks.

Or that's what I had thought.

It was Amazing. We were the family Islam tells us to be. We weren't just relating, we were connected. The chorus of salam, doubling in our chairs while laughing, silently wiping away tears and (my favourite) Calling out Takbeer together. Allaho Akbar!
The energy was amazing and to know all this was only and only for the sake of Allah's Religion and for the love of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Nothing connects you better than that. Nothing can truly connect souls other than that.

Sitting with a friend today, after another such inspiring conference, while everyone began to leave with smiles on their faces and hopefully hearts charged with eeman, I almost swooned with pleasure. All this youth, out to seek the truth. To seek that which leads us to the pleasure of Allah. All these people like me and you, sharing the same gaols. All these blessed hearts, chosen by Allah to come here together for His Sake. And how blessed is one to be in such a company?

To have learned scholars and true slaves of God amidst you. To be addressed by them as a sister. If that made me so happy, I wonder how would be the happiness of those whom the Propeht Muhammad (PBUH) addresses as his Ummatis! SubhanAllah.
We have a long way to get there but it doesn't seem so difficult when you know you have so many companions with you on this journey.

                           So blessed is Allah , the best of creators.

                                                                                                              - Al-Quran 23:14