IlmFest 2011 Houston Pt 1

Farhan Aziz was first, He is a third year Med School student and also a student with AlMaghrib Institute
He gave advice on how you could change

1. Always have good companionship

2. The Dua the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) constantly said: 

"O Changer of Hearts, Make our Hearts firm on your Deen"

 3. Think about your weakness and what's holding you back

4. Let Iman (Faith) enter the Heart, that makes the Trials and Tribulations you have very Small

"Have good companionship and people who will help and support you in times of difficulty"

Next up was Ammar AlShukry who talked about: "Who is Allah"

I don't remember much but Ammar said one very nice quote

"Allah has been your Lord just as he has been mine My Entire Life"

Next was Shaykh AbdulBary Yahya talking about "The gifts they gave the World (Khadijah and Fatimah)"

Abdulbary said,

"Look for a spouse with good character. Look at how they treat those closest to them."

"If you want your wife to be like the Sahabeeyat, you have to be like the Sahabah"

"There must be peace and tranquility in the household for it to spread to the community and ummah"

"Our strength is not in our numbers but with our connection with Allah"

Next was Shaykh Mohammed Faqih who's lecture was titled "Allah Noticed Them"

He was talking about the people who did the small good and were honored by Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

The woman who used to clean the masjid in the time of the Prophet (SAW), the person slave who planted a tree to purchase his freedom or the man who picked up a stick from the street that could harm people. They were all known for the small good deeds they did.

Mohamed said, 

"Don't go for instant gratification, but rather go for eternal salvation"

"Take advantage of today, which will never happen again. This is your moment of glory"

Shaykh Yaser Birjas was right after Shaykh Mohammed. Shaykh Yaser talked about "The Parenthood". Beautiful advice which Prophet Luqman gave to his son in Chapter 31 of the Quran.

1. Have Wisdom

2. Be Grateful

3. Have conversation with your Parents

4. Have Tawheed

5. Know that Allah is always Watching you

6. Know the Right of the Parents

7. To worship only Allah (SWT)

8. Be Positive

9. Be Patient

10. Have Manners

Yaser Birjas also said,

"Raising a child is a pain, but it's a sweet pain"

"What have you done to raise your children to be proud of them in the dunya in the akhirah?"

"It's the parent's responsibility to initiate conversations with their children. Advice and Admonition"

"'Not now son, I'm Busy....' We are ungrateful to the ni'mah (blessings) of Allah that we have children today."

Next post, I will continue with what Abdullah Hakim Quick and Omar Suleiman said inshallah.

By Knowledge, You are Saved. By Ignorance, Your are Lost.

Never Lose Hope: The Mercy of Allah Outweighs his Punishment

There is many stories about Mercy and Hope but I will stick with 2 for now.

"The Ayah of Hope"

۞ قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Allah says: "O My servants who have transgressed against their souls, do not despair of Allah's mercy, for Allah forgives all sins. It is He Who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

There were 2 men from time of the people us and they were both in prison accused of murder. They were due to be sentenced the following day. So the night before their sentenced day, they both made Dua (Supplication). The one who actually committed the murder made Dua saying, “Ya Rabi (My Lord), You know what I have done and I know what I have done, but I ask you for Mercy Ya Rab.” The So the next day, the one who was actually guilty was let free and the one who was innocent was found guilty and killed.

They found that the one who asked Allah for Mercy received his Mercy. The one who asked for Allah to give him Justice got his Justice. It was found that upon a time that the man who asked for justice was sitting on a riverbank and he had a piece of wood and on that wood was an ant. He dipped the wood into the river on purpose killing the ant and the Scholars concluded that Allah took this man’s life in return for that Ant’s life. The Scholars also advised the people to never ask Allah for Justice, but rather ask for Mercy.

In Hadith Qudsi, Allah Says:

"O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me, I have forgiven you for what you have done and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you would seek My forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you were to come to Me with sins that are close to filling the earth and then you would meet Me without ascribing any partners with Me, I would certainly bring to you forgiveness close to filling it."

There was a man from Bani Israel; he worshipped Allah for 40 years nonstop. 40 years not committing a sin even for a moment. Then for the next 40 years he decided to disobey Allah. After the 80 years, he returned to the Lord of the Heavens and Earth. He wanted to come back and repent and return to Allah. He then heard a caller while he was saying, “Ya Rab, Ya Rab, Ya Rab.” The caller said, “You Obeyed us, So we Drew you Closer. You Disobeyed us, So we Gave you More Time. If you Return to us we will Accept You.”

For those who lost Hope, just remember that:

The Doors of Forgiveness never Close until your Last Breath or the Sun Rises from the West.

Truth Will get you Far: Story of a Young Poor Kid who was Made Emperor

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!" One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. 

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try." When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" 

All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!" When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, 

"Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" 

Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

The Prophet taught, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8:116]

Ending of a Pious Man

It was narrated that Aisha (radi Allahu anha) said:

"The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: 'O Uthman, if Allah places you in authority over this matter (as the khalifa) some day and the hypocrites want to rid you of the garment with which Allah has clothed you (i.e. the position of khalifa), do not take it off.' He said that three times."

[Ibn Majah - graded Sahih; Tirmidhi]

Uthman who was at the age of 82 years old was being attacked by the Muslim rebels at the time of his Khilafah. He was fasting for 40 days and on the 40th day, his house was in seige. When Ali (R) heard about this, he placed his two sons Hassan and Hussein to guard Uthman's home and Zubair also took his son Abdullah ibn Zubair to guard him. Uthman kept repeating to them, "I do not want a single blood dropped in my cause." Ali (R) was begging Uthman that we have to get rid of this Fitnah (chaos), and Uthman was consistent with his response.

The rebels kept coming closer and closer to Uthman's house and set his gate on fire. One man jumped to the back of Uthman's house and said to Uthman, "Leave it and we will leave you." Uthman wanted to leave this position but he was reminded of the hadith of the Prophet (SAW).  Uthman said to the man, "Don't you know that there are woman uncovered in this house?" Upon hearing this, the man was ashamed and left the house. The next incident that took place was that the rebel threw stones into the house of Uthman. Uthman then says outside of his window, "Don't you know that there are others inside of this house other than me? You might harm them." The rebels then replied with, "We didn't throw the stones at you. Allah threw them at you." Uthman then said to the man, "May Allah (SWT) disgrace you, you are a liar. If Allah threw them at me, he surely wouldn't have missed." There were further attempts on Uthman and their plots all failed.

While Uthman was reading Quran on Thursday, July 16th doses off and falls asleep around the time of Salatul Asr. This was also the 40th day of his fasting. Uthman sees in his dream, The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) standing in front of him with a smile. Behind the Prophet was Omar (R) and AbuBakr (R). The Prophet says to Uthman, "O Uthman, did they forbid you from water?" Uthman said, "Yes O Prophet of Allah." The Prophet then said, "O Uthman, did they forbid you from food?" Uthman said, "Yes O Prophet of Allah." The Prophet said, "O Uthman, did the forbid you from praying salat in my Masjid?" Uthman said, "Yes O Prophet of Allah, they forbid me from praying in your Masjid." The Prophet says some beautiful words to Uthman, "Good news O Uthman, you're going to break your Fast with us tonite." Everybody who was in the house at the moment seen the tears coming down Uthman's eyes as he was sleeping. Uthman then wakes up full of joy and narrates his dream to the people. 

Moment after that, the rebels storm the house. They see Uthman, the 82 year old reading Quran and they stop because of their Fitrah (Instinct) and don’t know what to do. Some of them thinking to themselves, “Look at this man and his humblesness, how could we kill him?” One man tries to strike Uthman with his sword and Uthman put his hand up to protect himself and cuts of Uthman's hand. Uthman said, "Wallahi the hand you just cut off was the first hand to write the Quran. "Then Al-Ghafiqi takes a metal iron and strikes Uthman in the forehead with it. The blood comes running down his head and falls on the Ayah:

 فَإِنْ آمَنُواْ بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنتُم بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَواْ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

So if they believe in the like of that which you believe, then they are rightly guided; but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allah will suffice for you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.

Mohamed bin Abi Bakr then grabs Uthman’s beard and as he was about to him.. Uthman said, “Let go of my beard because your father used to honour it.” After hearing that, Mohamed lets go and runs away. Sowdan who was the most evil of them all, stabs Uthman nine times sayin, “Three times for Allah and six times for the hate that I have for you.” He was the one who murdered Uthman in that state. The dream of Uthman came true and he had Iftar with the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Omar and AbuBakr in the Heavens.

The rebels went to the point where they wouldn't let Uthman's body be buried to the point where Ali (R), Hassan, Hussein and Ibn Thalha had to bury him at night in Jannatul Baqqi. 

Hassan mentioned that the day Uthman died, he seen the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in his dream standing by the Throne of Allah. The Prophet looked worried and Hassan said, "This was the first time I seen the Prophet looking worried in my Dream." AbuBakr then came behind the Prophet and placed his hand on the shoulder of the Prophet. Omar also came and placed his hand on the shoulder of AbuBakr. Shortly after this Uthman (R) came with his face full of blood and his head was in his hand. Uthman said,"O Messenger of Allah, for what sin did they butcher me like a cow?" Hassan narrated that after Uthman said this, the Throne of Allah started to shake and two streams of blood came down from the throne of Allah. A voice also came out from the unseen saying, 

"Until today, no believer has taken the life of a believer. After today, until The Day of Judgment believers will be taking the lives of other believers."

We need to understand that the live of another believer is more honorable in the eyes of Allah than everything under the Seven Heavens. 

The Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: The Destruction of the Entire Dunya (World) is lighter in the eyes of Allah than taking the Life of one single Believer.

The Murder of Uthman bin Affan caused many blessings to be taken away from this Dunya.

Will you be Missed?

One positive incident,one incident involving you taking a brown paper bag of sandwich and giving it to somebody is enough to undo twenty years of fox news programming in their heads.one incident.One encounter.

Choosing your Wife

This is taken from a lecture from Shaykh Alaa Elsayed

He Said:

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) have given you a criteria which you cannot go without. It is the DEEN. I will give you one visual, hopefully you will not forget. So the Deen is number 1, Now we have "1". So now she is beautiful, that's a Bonus so put a 0 now she's a "10" (She's a dime). Now she's also Rich, add another 0, now she's "100" (She's a 100%). Now she also comes from a Good Family, Good Upbringing and Environment, now she's at a "1000".

Now Take away the DEEN.

What Do You Got Now??

THREE ZEROS (000)

Enjoy.

Death

This is a very long topic. Below, I would divide this post into three parts: a story, quotes from the prophets and an advice from me to you inshallah.

There is a story which the Arab Sheikhs say:

There is a young King which lived in the outskirts of town. He was full of Energy and had great Strength because he was Youthful. He wakes up one morning with all this food around him. He looks at all the dishes and picks the one that he wants to eat. After that he walks to his huge closet and says, "I have nothing to wear". He looks around and finally picks something to wear. After all of the that, the King says: "Which horse should I take today?" He looks around and says to himself, "That one is too small, this is too slow, this is too fat. How about I take this horse. "

This young King who has everything in this world rides off in his horse and a man says to him, "Assalamu Alaikum, I have a message for you." The King has no time for this, so he just rides on. So the man grabs the reins of the horse and says, "Wait, I have something to tell you." The king says, "Let me go, I am busy. I have somewhere to go." The man says,"This is an important message for you. You need to hear this." The King says, "Quick tell me this, I don't have time." The man says,"Alright, lower yourself." Than says, "Come down." The King says, "What." The man says, "Come down even lower." The King goes down and says, "What is it?" The Man whispers in his Ear,

"أنا ملك الموت (I am the Angel of Death)". 

The King says, "Waitt, Let me.. Just One More... " The King had no Time left in his Clock, No time to even get up. When the Soul reaches the Throat, That is when the doors of Repentance Close.

Prophet Nuh (Noah), the man who lived on this planet for over a thousand years said, "This life was like walking in the front door of a house and leaving out the back."

Prophet Isa (Jesus) said, "I began the morning with my Lord, the Blesses and Supreme above me and the Fire of Hell before me and Death in pursuit of Me. I have not obtained that for which I wished and i cannot keep away the things I hate. So who of the poor is poorer than I?"

Prophet Isa has also said, "This Life is like a Bridge, Try to cross it and Do not Build on It."

Allah says in the Quran, "Do not forget your Portion of this Dunya." Imam Khurtubi says that "Your portion of this Dunya is your Coffin. The only thing you would take from this World is Your Coffin."

When you go to your grave, Your Family, Wealth and Deeds come with you. I think you know what will stay and what will go. Your Deeds is all that stays with you.

To Read more about this World and the deception of it, Please go back to the very first Post I made on this Blog.

My advice to you comes from a conversation between Suleiman ibn AbdulMalik and a Scholar from the Tabi'een. Suleiman asked the scholar a question, "How Come we Hate Death?" The Scholar responded with, "You have constructed this Present World and you have Destroyed your Akhira (HereAfter). So you would not want to think about leaving what is Constructed to What is Destroyed. You have prepared for yourself a good life but we haven't done much for the Akhira. You built for ourselves a Palace here but not a Palace there. You made yourself a easy lifestyle here but not a similar one in the Akhira, That's Why you don't like Death. On the other hand, for somebody who is investing all of their money, money and time in building for themselves a better life in the Akhira. These are the ones who would love to go from this World to the Other."

When we were born and came into this World, The Athan was given but there was no Prayer. When we Die and Leave this World, There is a Prayer but no Athan. We were being Planned for Death when we were Born. The Athan of Birth was for the Prayer of our Death. This is the Most Certain thing in Life. Let's not let the Enjoyments of this World keep us from Remembering 

Death - The Destroyer of Pleasures.