Bismillahi rahmani rahim

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu

This is a piece I came across, it is so inspiring I couldn't not share it.

Her cheeks were worn and sunken, and her skin hugged her bones. That didn't stop her because you could never catch her not reciting Qur'an. She was always vigil in her personal prayer room that our father had set up for her. Bowing, prostrating, raising her hands in prayer, was the way she was from dawn to sunset and back again; boredom was for other people.

As for me, I craved nothing more than fashion magazines and novels. I treated myself to videos until the trips to the rental place became my trademark. It’s a saying that when something becomes habit, people tend to distinguish you by it. I was negligent in my responsibilities and my salah was characterized by laziness.

One night, after a long three hours of watching, I turned the video off. The adhan rose softly in the quiet night. I slipped peacefully into my blanket. Her voice called me from her prayer room. 

"Yes? Would you like anything Noorah?" I asked. 

With a sharp needle she popped my plans. 

"Don't sleep before you pray Fajr!" Agghh! 

“There's still an hour before Fajr. That was only the first adhan,” I said. 

With those loving pinches of hers, she called me closer. She was like that even before the fierce sickness shook her spirit and shut her in bed. "Hanan, can you come sit beside me." I could never refuse any of her requests; you could touch the purity and sincerity in her. 

"Yes, Noorah?"

"Please sit here."

"Alright, I’m sitting. What's on your mind?"

With the sweetest mono voice she began reciting: Every soul shall taste death and you will merely be repaid your earnings on the Day of Resurrection. She stopped thoughtfully. Then she asked, "Do you believe in death?" "Of course I do,” I replied.

"Do you believe that you shall be responsible for whatever you do, regardless of how small or large?"

"I do, but Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, and I’ve got a long life waiting for me." 

"Stop it Hanan! Are you not afraid of death and its abruptness? Take a look at Hind. She was younger than you but she died in a car accident. Death is age-blind and your age could never be a measure of when you shall die."

The darkness of the room filled my skin with fear. "I'm scared of the dark and now you made me scared of death. How am I supposed to go to sleep now? Noorah, I thought you promised you'd go with us on vacation during the summer break." Her voice broke and her heart quivered. "I might be going on a long trip this year Hanan, but somewhere else. All of our lives are in Allah’s hands and we all belong to Him."

My eyes welled and the tears slipped down both cheeks. I pondered my sisters grizzly sickness. The doctors had informed my father in private that there was not much hope Noorah was going to outlive the disease. She wasn't told, so I wondered who hinted to her. Or was it that she could sense the truth?

"What are you thinking about Hanan?" Her voice was sharp. "Do you think I am just saying this because I am sick? I hope not. In fact, I may live longer than people who are not sick. How long are you going to live Hanan? Perhaps twenty years? Maybe forty? Then what?" Through the dark she reached for my hand and squeezed gently. "There's no difference between us; we're all going to leave this world to live in Paradise or agonize in Hell. Listen to the words of Allah: Anyone who is pushed away from the Fire and shown into Jannah will have triumphed.

I left my sister's room dazed, her words ringing in my ears: “May Allah guide you Hanan - don't forget your prayer.” I heard pounding on my door at eight o'clock in the morning. I don't usually wake up at this time. There was crying and confusion. O Allah, what happened? Noorah’s condition became critical after Fajr; they took her to the hospital immediately.

"Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon"

There wasn't going to be any trips this summer. It was written that I would spend the summer at home. It felt like an eternity had gone by when it was one o'clock in the afternoon. Mother phoned the hospital. "Yes. You can come and see her now." Dad's voice had changed, and mother could sense something had gone deathly wrong. We left immediately.

Where was that avenue I used to travel and thought was so short? Why was it so very long now? Where was the cherished crowd and traffic that would give me a chance to gaze left and right? Everyone, just move out of our way!

Mother was shaking her head in her hands crying as she made du'a for her Noorah. We arrived at the hospital’s main entrance. One man was moaning, while another was involved in an accident. A third man’s eyes were iced. You couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive. Noorah was in intensive care. We skipped stairs to her floor. The nurse approached us. "Let me take you to her."

As we walked down the aisles the nurse went on expressing how sweet of a girl Noorah was. She somewhat reassured Mother that Noorah’s condition had gotten better than what it was in the morning. "Sorry. No more than one visitor at a time,” the nurse said. This was the intensive care unit. Past the flurry white robes, through the small window in the door, I caught my sister’s eyes. Mother was standing beside her. After about two minutes, mother came out unable to control her crying. "You may enter and say salaam to her on the condition that you do not speak too long," they told me. "Two minutes should be enough."

"How are you Noorah? You were fine last night sister, what happened?"

We held hands; she squeezed harmlessly. "Even now, alhamdulillah, I'm doing fine."

"Alhamdulillah...but...your hands are so cold."

I sat on her bedside and rested my fingers on her knee. She jerked it away. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, it is just that I remembered Allah's words.”

Waltafatul saaqu bil saaq (One leg will be wrapped to the other leg [in the death shroud]).

"Hanan pray for me. I may be meeting the first day of the Hereafter very soon. It’s a long journey and I haven't prepared enough good deeds in my suitcase."

A tear escaped my eye and ran down my cheek at her words. I cried and she joined me. The room blurred away and left us two sisters to cry together. Rivulets of tears splashed down on my sister’s palm, which I held with both hands. Dad was now becoming more worried about me. I've never cried like that before.

At home and upstairs in my room, I watched the sun pass away with a sorrowful day. Silence mingled in our corridors. One after another, my cousins came in my room. The visitors were many and all the voices from downstairs stirred together. Only one thing was clear at that point – Noorah had died! I stopped distinguishing who came and who went. I couldn't remember what they said. O Allah, where was I? What was going on? I couldn't even cry anymore.

Later that week they told me what had happened. Dad had taken my hand to say goodbye to my sister for the last time. I had kissed Noorah's head. I remember only one thing while seeing her spread on that bed – the bed that she was going to die on. I remembered the verse she recited: One leg will be wrapped to the other leg (in the death shroud). And I knew too well the truth of the next verse: The drive on that day will be to your Lord (Allah)!

I tiptoed into her prayer room that night. Staring at the quiet dressers and silenced mirrors, I treasured the person that had shared my mother's stomach with me. Noorah was my twin sister. I remembered who I had swapped sorrows with, who comforted my rainy days. I remembered who prayed for my guidance and who spent so many tears for many long nights telling me about death and accountability. May Allah save us all.

Tonight is Noorah's first night that she shall spend in her tomb. O Allah, have mercy on her and illumine her grave. This was her Qur'an and her prayer mat. And this was the spring, rose-colored dress that she told me she would hide until she got married; the dress she wanted to keep just for her husband.

I remembered my sister and cried over all the days that I had lost. I prayed to Allah to have mercy on me, accept me and forgive me. I prayed to Allah to keep her firm in her grave as she always liked to mention in her supplications. At that moment, I stopped. I asked myself what if it was I who had died. Where would I be moving on to? Fear pressed me and the tears began all over again.

“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar…” The first adhan rose softly from the masjid. It sounded so beautiful this time. I felt calm and relaxed as I repeated the mu’adhin’s call. I wrapped the shawl around my shoulders and stood to pray Fajr. I prayed as if it was my last prayer, a farewell prayer, just like Noorah had done yesterday. It had been her last Fajr.

Now, and in sha Allah for the rest of my life, if I awake in the morning I do not count on being alive by evening, and in the evening I do not count on being alive by morning. We are all going on Noorah's journey. What have we prepared for it?

Muhammad Alshareef's final speech at the 1999 MYNA East Zone Conference.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

By Yasmin Mogahed 

One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child. This anonymous poem reflects much of the sentiment taught by our beloved Prophet 1400 years ago.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "If the son of Adam dies, his actions are ceased except three: A continuing charity, knowledge which benefits others, or a righteous son who supplicates for him" [Muslim] In our graves, our wealth will be of no benefit to us. The success of our careers, and the level of our degrees will be of no value. How well we raised our children will. And yet so much of our time, so much of our learning and our efforts are spent for the sake of those things, which are fleeting.

In another hadith the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "A servant will have his rank raised and will say: ‘Lord, how has this come about for me?’ Allah replies, ‘Through your children’s du'a for you.’ "[Ahmed and Ibn Majah] When we leave this world, what will we leave behind? What mark will we make? What will we send forward? What will we take? Our children will inherit this life. In their hands may lay our ultimate salvation or our ultimate ruin. In their hands may lay the ultimate salvation or ruin of our Ummah. Shouldn’t something that important demand our full attention? Shouldn’t we examine ourselves and do our utmost to perfect this crucial skill: PARENTING.

DO NOT IMPOSE – INSTILL LOVE EARLY

Imagine a child raised in a home where, aside from some cultural norms, Islam is essentially irrelevant. Parents are not serious about salah and whatever Islamic practice they do perform is done more out of ethnic customs than Islam. Now imagine the child reaching puberty. A girl who was never really instilled with Islam before, is now forced to wear hijab. A boy whose life was never centered around Islam is now made to attend Salat Al-Jumuah . Will it surprise anyone if those kids rebel?

Consider, on the other hand, a child who was raised knowing and loving the Quran, was taken to the masjid early on, and performed salah alongside his parents. Would hijab or Salat Al-Jumuah need to be imposed? Or would it only be a natural extension for a child whose very nature is Islam? Instill and reinforce love for Allah and His Messenger from the day your children are born.

KILL YOUR TELEVISION AND VIDEO GAMES

Many parents monitor what their children watch, but not how much. No matter how much you monitor, these things are still harmful for a number of reasons. First, watching television is a learned habit that does not disappear in adulthood. A young child could agree to watch Sesame Street. But chances are, a teenager will not. And few could disagree that television programs designed for teenagers and adults contain far from Islamically appropriate content. Secondly, consider the number of hours that are easily eaten up by TV and video games. Children can literally stay up the entire night playing a video game in order to advance to a higher level. Consider the words of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) concerning the importance of time: "The feet of a servant will not turn away on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about four things: his lifetime, how he lived it; his youth, how he spent it; his wealth, from where he earned it and on what he spent it, and his knowledge and how he acted on it." [Tirmidhi]

Lastly, studies show that irrespective of content, children who spend a lot of time with television and video games are more aggressive, less likely to read, and more likely to develop attention problems, such as attention deficit disorder.

SPOIL YOUR KIDS WITH LOVE, TIME, AND ATTENTION

One unfortunately pervasive myth is that giving children “too much” love, time and affection “spoils” them. This could not be farther from the truth. It is trying to give them other things to replace your love, time and affection, which in fact spoils them. Children who are spoiled with love and attention become the most generous, loving and giving of people. Those from whom this love and attention was withheld, often become narrow-hearted and unwilling to give.

No one was more merciful and showed more affection to children than our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He was once visited by a man named Al-Aqra ibn Hâbis. He lifted his grandson, Hassan, placed him on his lap and kissed him. Al-Aqra remarked, “I have 10 children and I have not kissed a single one of them.” This was a point of pride, manhood—that one is not soft, that one is tough.

DO NOT REWARD FOR ACTS OF WORSHIP

Do not pay your children to fast, or promise them large gifts if they pray. Instill in them a love for Allah that will motivate them internally to perform salah and fast. Social psychologists have shown that when people are given external rewards or motivation to do some activity, they enjoy doing that activity less and are less motivated, than if they are given no external reward but the reward is internally motivated.

START ATTACHMENT EARLY

Practice attachment parenting early on. When your children are young, let them sleep next to you, and carry them often. Research shows that doing these things does NOT spoil the child, but creates a secure attachment between the parent and child that allows the child to succeed better as an adult. This attachment is a fundamental precursor to successful parenting because without it you cannot fully instill Islam. Consider, for example, the relationship between the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his daughter Fatimah. From very early on, she maintained a close relationship with her father who thereby conveyed his mission to her.

ATTACHMENT IS THE FIRST STEP TO DISCIPLINE

If a secure attachment is created early on between the parent and child, discipline will easily follow. If the parent maintains this closeness with the child and shows consistent love and approval, the child will avoid doing things that would disappoint or jeopardize that relationship. Discipline should not and would not need to be done with a stick, but would rather flow naturally. If the relationship were based on love and respect, the child would be motivated by the desire to maintain that respect.

BUILD YOUR CHILD'S SELF-ESTEEM

Make sure your children know how precious they are. Tell them whenever possible how good and how smart they are. Make sure they know what a gift they are and how important they are as a person. Let them know that they can have the ability to change the world, and show them how much faith and hope you have in them. A child who is told he is a failure will always be a failure. And only a child who thinks he can change the world, ever will.

Al-Jumuah Magazine

Bismillahi rahmani rahim 

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

No one has ever become poor by giving. Charity is a Muslim thing if not humane, it should be a thing we do. Humanity. Humility. Caring. Sharing. 

Whoever spends something today will benefit from it tomorrow and whoever does not spend will come to find nothing, and he will have a great loss in the house of dwelling (in the Hereafter).

Some of the Salaf said, “O son of Adam, you will only live on the Day of Judgment in what you have built, and you will find on that day what possessions you have prepared in your life .”

A women entered upon ‘A’ishah (radiy Allaahu anha), and her hand was paralysed. She said, “O mother of the Believers, I went to sleep yesterday and my hand was healthy, and I woke up and it was paralysed. ‘A’ishah said, “How is that?” She said, “I had wealthy parents, and my Father used to pay zakat, host guests, and give to beggars, and he did not see any good except that he would do it. As for my mother, she was stingy, and did nothing good with my Father’s wealth. Then my Father died, and my mother died only two months after him. So I saw my Father in a dream last night, and he was wearing two yellow garments and in front of him was a flowing river. I said, “Father, what is this?’ He said, “Whoever does good in this life will see it, this is what Allah has given me.” I said, “What has happened to my mother?” He asked, “Your Mother dies?” I said, “Yes” He said, “She has been turned away from me, so look for her on your left” So I turned to my left, and I saw my mother standing naked, covering her lower half with a rag and in her hand was a piece of fat. She was calling out, “My sadness, my thirst’ When she became tired she would rub the fat with her hand and then lick it, while in front of her was a flowing river. I said, ‘O mother, why are you crying out of thirst, and there is a flowing river in front of you?’ She said, ‘I am not allowed to drink from it.’ I said, Can I give you some of the water?’ She said, ‘I wish you would do that.’ So I filled my hand with water and let her drink, and when she swallowed it I heard a voice on my right, ‘Whoever has given this woman water, may his hand be paralysed,’ and they repeated it twice. Then I awoke and my hand was paralysed, and I am not able to do anything with it. ‘A’ishah asked: ‘Did you recognise the rag she was wearing?’ I said, ‘Yes, O Mother of the Believers, it was exactly the same one I saw her wearing, for I had never seen my mother give anything as charity, except that one day my Father slaughtered a bull. So a beggar came to ask for some, so my mother gave him a bone that had some fat on it. And I saw one day that a beggar asked her for charity, so she gave him that exact rag.’

A’ishah (radiy Allaahu anha) said, Allah is the Most Great! Allah has told the truth, and the Messenger has delivered the message.

ﻓَﻤَﻦ ﻳَﻌْﻤَﻞْ ﻣِﺜْﻘَﺎﻝَ ﺫَﺭَّﺓٍ ﺧَﻴْﺮًﺍ ﻳَﺮَﻩُ

ﻭَﻣَﻦ ﻳَﻌْﻤَﻞْ ﻣِﺜْﻘَﺎﻝَ ﺫَﺭَّﺓٍ ﺷَﺮًّﺍ ﻳَﺮَﻩُ

"So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." [al-Azalzalah 99:7-8] This was narrated by Hafiz Abu Musa al-Madani with a good isnad.

Source : Transcribed by AbdurRahman.org from the Book – “The Three that follow to the Grave” (pg 29-30) Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Dar as-Sunnah Publishers, Birmingham, UK.

Bismillahi rahmani rahim

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

[ The following is the video playlist and transcript Shaykh Yasir Qadhi’s lecture series “The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf.” The tr

anscript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity. ]

INTRODUCTION

I welcome you all to the first of a series of halaqat that we will have about the tafsir or the explanation of one of the most interesting, powerful, and moving surahs in the entire Qur’an, which is Surah Yusuf. This surah is a very, very unique  surah in the Qur’an, and a one-of-a-type of surah.

Firstly, it is the only place in the Qur’an where the story of the Prophet Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam ) is mentioned. No other surah mentions the story of the Prophet Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam ). If you compare this to, let’s say, the story of the Prophet Musa (‘alayhi salaam ), the story of Prophet Musa is mentioned in over 25 different locations. The story of our father Adam (‘alayhi salaam ) is mentioned in over half a dozen locations. The story of ‘Isa (‘alayhi salaam ) is mentioned almost a dozen times. The story of the Prophet Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam ) only exists in this surah. In fact, even the name of the Prophet Yusuf occurs only once or twice in passing in Surah Al-An‘ām and Surah Ghaafir, but there is no story at all. The stories about what happened with the Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam ) only occur in this particular surah.

Secondly, it is the only surah in the Qur’an that has a unified story as its theme from the beginning to the end. The whole surah is nothing but a story. There is no other surah of length in the Qur’an – we are not talking about the small surahs at the end of Juz ‘Amma , but we are talking about any surah basically more than 10-15 ayah s – there is no surah in the whole Qur’an that is a unified story from the beginning to the end. This is something that we all know. Read Surah Al-Baqarah , Surah Ale-‘Imran , and Surah Yunus you will find the stories of lots of people in one paragraph or one page or sometimes even five pages, but there is no place in the whole Qur’an where an entire 15 pages is dedicated to one story. It is a chronological story from the beginning to the end. This is not just very rare but unique. There is no other place like it in the whole Qur’an.

REVELATION OF SURAH YUSUF

We do not know the exact date of when this surah was revealed, but we know roughly that it was revealed around the tenth or eleventh year not of the hijrah but of the years of the daw’ah.

In other words, with the hijrah of course we begin the Madinan phase. Before the hijrah , what do we call it? Some scholars used the term ‘BH’ (before hijrah ) just like the Christians have ‘AD’ and ‘BC’, Muslims have ‘AH’ and ‘BH’. So if you look at ‘BH’, 1 BH means one year before the hijrah and 2 BH means two years before the hijrah . Surah Yusuf is revealed around 2 or 3 BH, in other words right at the end of the Makkan era and the Makkan message.

The timing of revelation is very crucial. Surah Yusuf was revealed after the famous year called the Year of Sorrow / the Year or Regret / the Year of Difficulty (‘aam al-huzn). In that year, three things happened one after the other which were the most painful for the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), and there was no time in the seerah where the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was more demoralized than this period, which is why the scholars of seerah call this period ‘aam al-huzn, the Year of Grief. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was feeling grief throughout that year.

What happened? What makes it worse is that these three things happened one after the other. The first of these three devastating things was the most personal and intimate, and that was the death of Khadijah (alayhi salaam). Khadijah (alayhi salaam) was his supporter and his moral source of strength.

As they say, behind every great man there is a great woman, and this is exactly applying to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and Khadijah. She was his source of comfort and support. Whenever anything happened and even when the wahy came down and he was scared, he went running back to Khadijah (alayhi salaam) to be calmed down. “Zambilooni! Zambilooni! (Cover me up! Cover me up!)” Khadijah was his source of comfort and his source of support.

When a man has that comfort and love inside the house, he is able to face a lot outside. When that is deprived of him, then the problems outside become more difficult to bear. The death of Khadijah (‘alayhi salaam) was something that was very difficult for him.

Within five or six weeks, a second death followed and that was the death of his uncle Abu Talib. Abu Talib was his support in society. Abu Talib sacrificed his own reputation and prestige in order to protect the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). When the Quraysh came to bribe, threaten, and intimidate the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), initially Abu Talib was scared and went to him (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and told him to stop doing this. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “If they were to give me control of the sun and the moon, I would not give up what I am doing.” Abu Talib said, “Oh son of my brother, oh my nephew, do as you please, I am never going to come to you again to tell you not to do this.” He was a man of his word for ten years, and not once did he approach the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) after that. He never came and said ‘why did you do this?’ / ‘look what I have to face now.’ Not once. He was a man of his word.

Abu Talib did everything he could, so much so that when the Quraysh boycotted the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and told him he must leave Makkah, Abu Talib went with the Muslims to live in the valleys outside of Makkah. Abu Talib was not a subject of that boycott because he was a pagan and a Qurayshi and a mushrik , but because he was a part of his nephew and loved him so much, he voluntarily went to live with the Muslims at the time of the boycott.

He was the only non-Muslim to live with the Muslims at the time of boycott. He voluntarily gave up his privileges and his house in Makkah and gave up everything and suffered along with the Muslims because he felt that this was injustice and that he had to do this as the uncle and protector of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). He did everything he could. As long as Abu Talib was alive, they could not do anything else to harm the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). With his death, the persecution reached its max, which is why eventually the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) had to leave for Madinah because he could not live in Makkah anymore.

Khadijah was his internal support in the house. Abu Talib was his external support in society. The both of them died one after the other, and it was a very difficult time for the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). To make matters worse, he suffered the single most depressing or difficult day of his whole life after the deaths of Khadijah and Abu Talib. As if there could be no low, there was one low after that, which was the incident of Ta’if.

Aisha ( radhi Allahu ‘anha ) said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, was there any day that was more difficult for you to bear than the Day of Uhud?” He (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)  said, “Yes.” Aisha was too young to know anything about Makkah and did not remember Makkah. She knows Badr, Uhud, and Tabuk and the problems of Madinah and that the worst problem of Madinah was Uhud, so she asked, “Was there any day more difficult for you than Uhud?” Immediately without thinking, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “The most difficult day for me was the day when I was rejected by the chieftains of Ta’if.” You all know the story, and we will talk about it in a lot of detail insha’Allah in the lectures we will start on the seerah . The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was humiliated and publicly scorned and the children of Ta’if stoned him. This day was the most difficult for him.

These three incidents occurred within six weeks of one other – within two months, as if things could not get any worse. At this point in time, Allah ( subhanahu wata’ala ) revealed Surah Yusuf. When we understand this frame of revelation, all of a sudden the significance of Surah Yusuf increases many times. Why? Surah Yusuf is meant to uplift his spirits ( sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam ) and console him and strengthen him at a time of such trials and tribulations. Surah Yusuf is the light that will lead him out of this depressing time and time of pain and anguish. This is hope for us when we are feeling down and suffering from problems of society. 

This is the surah that we can turn to for an uplifting moment and to find some solace and comfort, which is why Allah revealed it to our Prophet ( sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam ).

Still to continue In Shaa Allah... 

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

Bismillahi rahmani rahim

Alhamdhulillah for this day and all the days Allah blesses us with to improve ourselves, becoming better Muslims. 

So I'm mostly on public transport, from home to work and back home again and in between a bit of a walk, and I'm always eyeing, one two, three things. And I recently noticed that much of what I was living with just 5 years ago has changed so much, for the worse in terms of either self-respect and self-worth or honour, it's no longer valuable. Fitnah has become such a norm, blended in with our lives we don't find it a big deal anymore. 

[Sheikh Bilal Assad]

Rasul of Allah told us that in the last hour, towards the last hour their will be extreme display - the trial and tribulations. The fitnah will be displayed before you, a very intrigue word is used here meaning they will be placed in front you. You don't even looking for it, it will be placed in front of you - just like the pieces of straws in a straw mat, there are so many of them - like all the individual straws, maybe hundred thousand straws in it, individually, all at once. 

Rasul is using a metaphor here, he's saying the fitana, they'll be so many on that day that you will look at them, you'll see them all at once in front of you, and you will recognise that each one on its own, fitnah after fitnah, after fitnah, after fitnah, after fitnah, all displaying themselves in front of you.

He said, they'll be two hearts. One heart would be pure and the other type of heart, milky, stinky, ugly and dark.  The pure heart are ones that reject these fitanas and try to go against it. And the hearts that are dark and ugly are the one who take it, accept it and love it. 

Once I was driving out of my house, I went down to the next street. This street is a two-way, cars coming this way, cars going that way.  So if you go down in one direction, it's very hard to overtake another vehicle. I was reaching around the roundabout and there was a bus stop, I looked at the bus a few metered and right at the back of the bus is a huge picture of a woman, partially naked. Now you shouldn't even be shocked because this is very normal, isn't it. Very normal. Everywhere you drive, you can see it, it's very normal. 

So I said I better beat that bus, because the bus is gonna be right in front of me and I can't overtake because cars are gonna be coming this way and I have to look at the bus because otherwise they'll be an accident. What I'm I looking at? The Picture. 

So then the bus went in front of me, how strong is Shaytan? So the bus went in front of me. Driving behind this bus where so I look? Trying to look away,  I'm gonna have an accident. Until the bus Alhamdhulillah went away, Astaghfirullah-adhim. I said, sadaqa rasulullah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), truthful is he, that the fitnah will be displayed in front of your eyes, you can't even run away from it. 

This day and age. The other day, a brother said, I lowered my gaze to the ground and I see a magazine with a woman on it. I looked away from this, at a shop right there was displayed on the window Lahaula walaquwata ilabillah. You going to read your emails, bang! right in front of you this junk mail comes up, sometimes a display, isn't that correct? Everywhere!!

Grade 5s and 6s now are looking at stuff they shouldn't be looking at by the time they are in year 9, Allahu Akbar! Gone with the wind. 

Pornography has become a wide spread epidemic today, Rasul of Allah told us, before the last hour, there will be a time when people will look at this as very normal. 

[MERCIFUL SERVANT]

Bismillahi rahmani rahim

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

And understand this young Muslims. Today you have the same type of problems. Sin hasn't gone to your neighbour's house, it has come into your bedroom, you call it the laptop. Sin has come on your pillows, you call it mobile phones.

You sit there watching TV till your feel like your vomiting, so you go Khalas you know your click. And then there's nothing after a few hours so Khalas then you go to your laptop, and you sit and you watch, Halal and Haram. May Allah ﷻ guide you to Halal. Then when nothing is left, on your under pillow you're still playing with your phone.

Sin has come into your bedrooms.

Sin has become pervasive and invasive and engulfing and all overtaking in this time. Watch out for two things. Watch falling for the sins,  especially in seclusion (private). Listen to this Hadith - it should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand. Listen to the warning of the Prophet ﷺ

I know a group of my ummah, they will come on the Day of Judgement with good deeds like mountains glowing bright. Not little good deeds. Mountains of good deeds. And Allah will make it perish in the wind, it will disappear. So Rasul Allah ﷺ says, these are not ordinary people, they are your brothers. Muslims. And not ordinary Muslims. And these are Muslims, the type that wake up in the middle of the night and pray. They're are good Muslims, but what's their sin?

But they're of people that when they're alone, they overstep the boundaries of Allah. So in seclusion when you're there on your phone remember Allah ﷻ will delete all your good deeds if you're not careful. If you grow to Jurrah..the bravery against Dhul Arshi Majid, that you know He's watching, and you feel He's watching and you persist, one is out of fear and mistakes and you but one of insistence. Fear that. 

And second, for those of you that have the capacity and ability to hold back from the Haram, listen to the glad tidings. And I will end with this Hadith. The Prophet ﷺ says, O! Sahaba after you will come the day of patience. The days of difficulty, the days where it is hard to be a Muslim and righteous. But.. Whoever on these days of difficulties and in those days of vice and in those days of the internet. If in those days whoever holds on to what you have held on to. If they hold on to the deen as you are holding O! Sahaba. They will get the reward of 50. So they asked, Ya Rasul Allah the tears if 50 of us or 50 of them? So the Rasul said, No! 50 of you my Sahaba.

And whoever leaves Haram for the sake of Allah and returns it for a Halal, Allah ﷻ will replace it with unimaginable things.

The ahsab gave up their homes for Islam, Allah ﷻ gave them the dominion of earth instead.

Suleiman gave up his horses for the sake of Allah, Allah ﷻ gave him wind to command.

Yusuf gave up Haram women, Allah ﷻ gave him the dominion of Egypt instead.

Leave the Haram that you're in and Allah ﷻ will replace it with what you didn't anticipate. May Allah guide and guard you.

- Wahaj Tarin -

[ YouTube - Merciful Servant ]

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

So, when Musa a.s was born, his mother feared for his life. But Allah assured her that he would be safe and told her to place him in a boat on the Nile. The Quran tells us what’s translated as, “And we inspired to mother of Musa, saying, “Suckle him but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not nor grieve. Verily, We shall bring him back to you and shall make him one of our Messengers.”” And this is chapter 28 Verse 7.

And just as Allah had promised, Musa came safely to the shore where he was found by Asya. Asya then convinced her husband to keep the child. Allah tells us, “Then the household of Firaun picked him up that he might become for them an enemy and a cause of grief. Verily, Firaun, her man, and their hosts were sinners and the wife of Pharaoh said, “A comfort for the eye, for me and for you. Kill him not. Perhaps he may be of benefit for us and we may adopt him as a son. And they perceived not the result of that. This is also from Suratul Qasas verses 8-9.

So Musa grew under that protection of Asya, in the house of Firaun. Musa grew to be a great Prophet who called his people to the worship of one God. But because of the oppression of Firaun, many people did not believe in him. He would threaten people. He had gathered all of his henchmen and Firaun had announced that, “I am your Lord, most great.” And he threatened anyone who tried to not believe in him as the one true lord. 

What happened was for example when the magicians believed in the message of Musa, Firaun threatened them with a great penalty. He threatened to cut off their limbs. Their hands and their feet from opposite sides and then crucify them on tree trunks. So this was the punishment that he had given to those who believed. Yet, despite this persecution, Asya believed in Musa’s message and she held firm to her faith. That faith was so strong that she was willing to die for it. When Firaun found out that she believed, he tortured her severely. But her belief in God was so strong that it made her an everlasting symbol.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran what is translated as, “God sets forth an example for those who believe, the wife of Firaun who said, “My Lord, build for me with You a house in Paradise and save me from Firaun and his doings. And save me from an unjust people.””

Now think about this.

Asya was a queen. She was the wife of one of the most powerful man to walk the earth. She lived a life of unparalleled luxury and wealth. Yet, Asya knew that her true home was in Paradise. She had no attachment to this life.

Now, there are a lot of lessons we can learn from Asya’s life and from this in particular. But one of the really beautiful lessons for me particularly, from her story, is the fact that despite all the persecution that she was going through, Allah made it easy on her so much so that when she was being tortured she actually smiled. And the reason why she smiled was because Allah rabbul izza answered her dua and allowed her to actually see her home in Jannah.

The reason why I find this particularly moving is because, if Allah is with you, even your hardest struggles can become light. If you can see your home with Allah in Jannah, no matter what you are going through in this life, it can become easy. And what better example of that than this woman who’s being tortured by the worst man ever to walk the earth? Yet, she was able to bear it and she even smiled because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was with her and He made it easy for her. And she had a greater attachment to her home in Jannah than to her home here. And because of that, everything that she dealt with, regardless of how difficult it was, was made easy for her.

The second lesson which I think is very important is that she was married to a very tyrannical man who claimed to be the Lord right? Yet, she was not defined by him. Although he was her husband and although that was her circumstance, she was not defined or limited by those circumstances.

Now, this is an important lesson for us because all of us will have different things in life that are thrown at us. The question is: What are we going to define our self-worth by? So, we go through society and society tells you that you are supposed to get your self-worth, if you are a woman, by the way you look usually. By how many people think you are attractive, by how thin you are. There’s different places you are supposed to get your self-worth. But that’s one of the places society teaches women to get their self-worth. As men, they are told, a lot of times to get their self-worth by status, by wealth, how powerful you are.

The point here is that our self-worth should only come from one relationship. Only one relationship. And that’s the relationship with our Creator. Our relationship with our Creator should define how we feel about ourselves and who we are.

For Asya, that’s how it was. It was her relationship with her Creator. It wasn’t her relationship with the tyrannical person that she happened to live with or by her circumstances. 

The story of Asya is an everlasting example of a woman who chose the Hereafter over all of the glitter of this world. It is the story of a woman whose love of Allah and the home with Him was greater. It is the story of a woman whose faith inspired her to take on the greatest tyrant of all time. And to give her life in the process.

May Allah bless her work and grant her Jannah. Ameen

[Yasmin Moghade]

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

Abū Hurayrah relates that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “I have only been sent to perfect good moral character.” [Musnad Ahmad (8595)] and the purpose of all the revealed books has always been inner purification. From the relationship with Allah to the relationship with fellow human beings, the environment and animals, wild and domestic. A complete way of life.

Humility is one of the best and noblest of characteristics, it was the attitude of all the Prophets of Allah and the way of the closest friends of Allah and the righteous. That is being kind to people, lowering the wing of humility to them and trying to meet their needs and wants.

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The most perfect of the believers in faith is the one who is best in attitude and humble, who get along with others and others get along with them, and there is no good in the one who does not get along with others and they do not get along with him.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Awsat (2/268); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (751).

Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived humbly all his life and never boasted of his social or political position either before or after his successes in Medinah. Once, on a journey, a few of the companions decided to slaughter a goat for a meal. They divided the work among themselves; one was to slaughter it, another to remove its skin, yet another to do the cooking. Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that he would collect the wood for cooking. His companions said that they would do his work as well. He replied, "I know that you will do it quite willingly but I do not like to have an eminent position in the assembly and Allah also does not like it."'

One of the greatest qualities of those who are humble is that they accept gifts no matter what their value, and they do not look at their value or whether the giver could have fforded something better than that, rather one should accept it and appreciate it, and feel that the true gift is the love that motivated them to give, not the value of the gift.

The leader of mankind, the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, our Beloved Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), despite his high status and lofty position, would accept a gift even if it was a sheep’s foot or a drink of milk. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If I were invited to a meal of a sheep’s foot I would accept, and if I were given a sheep’s foot as a gift, I would accept.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5178).

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Fath al-Baari (9/245-246): The karaa’ (translated here as sheep’s foot) is the narrow part of the leg and the words refers to the feet of cows and sheep, as opposed to the hooves of camels and horses.This hadeeth is indicative of the good attitude of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his humility, and his desire to make people happy by accepting gifts and responding when a man invited him to his home, even if he knew that what he was inviting him to was something small. This is encouragement to keep in touch with one another, love one another, make friends with one another, and accept invitations great and small, and to accept gifts likewise.

Humility may mean various things, such as.

1. A person humbling himself to the commands and prohibitions of Allaah, doing what He commands and avoiding what He forbids. Ibn al-Qayyim said: Because a person may hesitate to obey His commands out of laziness, thus behaving in a reluctant way in an attempt to flee from servitude towards Allah, and his soul may have the desire to commit haraam actions, but when the person humbles himself to the commands and prohibitions of Allaah, he will humble himself to true submission (‘uboodiyyah). Al-Rooh p. 233.

2. Humbling oneself before the might, majesty and power of Allah. Ibn al-Qayyim said: Every time he feels that he is great, he remembers the might of Allah and that might belongs to Him only, and he remembers His intense anger against those who compete with Him in that, then he humbles himself before Him and submits to the might of Allah. This is the ultimate humility and inevitably includes the first type of humility mentioned above, but the converse can never apply (i.e., this type of humility inevitably leads to the first type, but a person may submit to the commands and prohibitions of Allah but he does not humble himself before His might). The one who is truly humble is the one who is blessed with both. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek. Al-Rooh , p. 233.

3. Humility in one’s dress and manner of walking. It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whilst a man was letting his garment drag out of pride, he was swallowed up by the earth and will continue sinking in it until the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3297. It was also narrated by al-Bukhaari (5452) and Muslim (2088) from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah. According to the version narrated by al-Bukhaari: “Whilst a man was walking in a garment admiring himself with his hair nicely combed, Allah caused (the earth) to swallow him up and he will continue sinking in it until the Day of Resurrection.”

4. Humility towards one who is of a lesser status and helping him. It was narrated that al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was moving soil with us on the day of al-Ahzaab, and I saw him with dust covering the whiteness of his stomach, and he (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)) was saying, “(O Allaah)! Without You, we would not have been guided, nor would we have given in charity, nor would we have prayed. So (O Allah!) send tranquility (Sakeenah) upon us as they (the chiefs of the enemy tribes) have rebelled against us. And if they intend affliction (i.e. want to frighten us and fight against us) then we would not (flee but would withstand them).” And he raised his voice whilst saying it. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6809; Muslim, 1803.

5. Humility in interactions with one’s wife and helping her. It was narrated that al-Aswad said: I asked ‘Aa’ishah what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do in his house, and she said: He used to serve his family and when the time for prayer came he would go out and pray. Al-Bukhaari, 644. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: This shows that we are encouraged to be humble and not arrogant, and that a man should serve his family. Fath al-Baari , 2/163.

6. Humility towards the young and joking with them.

It was narrated that Anas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the best of people in character. I had a brother whose name was Abu ‘Umayr. He said, I think he was weaned, and when he (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) came he would say, “O Abu Umayr, what happened to the nughayr (a small bird that he kept as a pet)?” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5850; Muslim, 2150. Al-Nawawi said: The nughayr is a small bird. This hadeeth teaches us many things, such as being kind to small children. This demonstrates the good character of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and how he was of noble character and humble. Sharh Muslim , 14/129

7. Humility towards servants and slaves. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If the servant of one of you brings his food and he does not want to make him sit and eat with him, then let him offer him a morsel or two, because he has prepared it and served it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2418 and 5144; Muslim, 1663.

Humility is not thinking less if yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. Be humble. We ask Allah to make us among those who humble themselves before His might.

And Allah knows best.

[Adopted]

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalam alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

And we finish up with the last post...

And so I come now to, as my talk winds down, I wanted to share with you some very practical immediate things that all of us can do, my self also. I personally believe that Islamic education needs to experience a revolution. That's my personal beliefs. That the Islamic education needs to experience a revolution. What do I mean by that? There’s Islamic studies for the ‘Alim. The ‘Alim will study fiqh, hadith, tafseer, aqidah, they will study all of these things and they will become an ‘Alim. And they will study them at the very high level. But there’s a level underneath that, we need to create actually, it doesn’t really exist too much yet. We need to create it, a level of learning Islam just for daily practice, daily life. 

Now I’m not talking about fiqh, I’m talking about advice for fathers. I’m talking about advice for wives. Just a curriculum. ‘How to be a good Muslim wife’ ‘How to be a good Muslim husband’ ‘How to be a good Muslim father’ ‘How to be a good son’ ‘How to be a good daughter’ ‘What advices Allah have’ Entire curriculum just based on making us good human beings. This is education. Real education is not that you know how to do C++ and your Microsoft’s something-something certified, and your cisco’s certified. And on top of that you have an accounting degree. And you got an MBA. All of that means you can make money. That doesn’t mean you’re educated. That just means you can make money. That's it. That’s all that means. That doesn't make you a better human being. I know plenty of physicians that are terrible human beings. I know plenty of programmers that are horrible human beings. They’re very jahil, they’re very uneducated on how to be a husband. They’re uneducated on how to be a father. What good is their education? All that is a skill labor. You’re just a better worker at the factory. That’s all it is now. It’s a virtual factory but that’s all you are. 

We have to revolutions our Islamic education and that we have to create this, you know, Islamic education revolving around becoming better human beings, Adam. Specific areas that need help now that are never needed help before. I told you what’s happening inside the homes that are being targeted.  Most Muslim fathers don't even know what it means to be a Muslim fathers anymore. These things came naturally to us. They were not difficult for us in the past. But now, because of the change of the world and the change of our lifestyle, we have to re-educate ourselves in these things. We have to come back and do them all over again. How to raise kids specifically. There’s one set of CD’s. I think you might be able to find MP3 online also. I want everybody here to listen to them. They’re not by me. They’re by a person I really really admire, brother Hisham al-wadi. “Children Around The Messenger”, that’s one series. And “Mother of The Believers”. These 2 series, I want every person, especially every father here, and the entire family to listen to both of these series. It’s really really important that you do. It benefited me tremendously and they can benefit parents in general. These are few resources we have but they’re gold. They’re really really valuable, we should take advantage of them. And we should, In sha Allahu ta’ala try to have our entire family listen to them. Put them on your ipod, put them on your car, listen to it everyday, you will benefit tremendously. 

Recite Qur’an with your children. Don’t hire a Qari to recite Qur’an, recite Qur’an with your children. Maulana Shab comes, reads Qur’an and goes home. What about you? You don’t have time? If you don’t have time for Qur’an why does your child has to have time for Qur’an? Sit down with your child, make those 20 minutes happen. Shaytaan will come, he will make you yawn, he will make you thirsty, he will make you sleepy, he will make you remember you had a meeting, all of that will happen in those 20 minutes. Why? Because you gave those 20 minutes for Qur’an. He hates that. He can’t stand it. But make those 20 minutes happen. Commit to it. Commit to it your children. Get the entire family, there’s one part of a day, we’re going to sit and we’re going to recite Qur’an. Listen to the explanation, at least the translation of the Qur’an together as a family. If you can’t do it for one hour, do it 10 minutes. It’s okay. Just listen to it. Just a little bit of 10 minutes of Qur’an. Beyond the recitation. The recitation, I told you, how many minutes? 20 minutes. Listening to translation, some tafseer, some explanation, how long? 10 minutes. So how long everyday? 30 minutes. 30 minutes everyday you and your family just did something for Allah. My recommendation between Maghreb and Isha. And my recommendation, you know, right, you’re going to say ‘You know, kids have exams, let the semester end’ Fine, you know what? I’ll give you that. This whole summer. This is what you do. 30 minutes everyday. Don’t say ‘Which program should I put my child in?’. You’re the program. Everything else is secondary. We have to come to terms with that. 

Islam is not on auto pilot. And I end with this. What do I mean by that? We were raised in a Muslim, many of us, including my self, we’re raised in a Muslim country. Our parents did not have to worry about our beliefs. They didn’t worry, ‘Is my child going to become a Christian, is he going to become Atheist, is he going to become Jewish?’. They didn’t have to worry about that. They didn’t have to worry ‘Is my child going to go somewhere else and not pray jum’ah?’ They didn’t have to worry about that. That thought never came in their mind. They don’t have to worry about you, that you’re going to end up in a gang or drugs or runaway from home. They don’t have these issues. So Islam, they didn’t have to worry about teaching you too much ‘cause the entire society in somewhere and another was teaching you. The school was teaching you, the adhaan was being heard all over the neighborhood. Society was giving you Islam. Are we in that situation now? No. So you cannot raise your kids the way your parents raised you. ‘Cause you’re not in the same world. Everything you assume will just be okay. ‘It’ll be okay. We came out okay.’ You came out okay because you lived in the different world, buddy. This is a different world. We have no guarantee our children will be holding on to Islam. We don’t have that guarantee. We don’t.

The pollution outside is not just of cars’ smog. The pollution outside is of ‘Kufr’. People are becoming doubtful. I cannot begin to tell you how many teenagers I hade met, who are not so sure about Islam. They’re just not sure. They hear so many bad things about the deen all the time. We’re in Texas, afterall. You hear so many terrible things. To this morning, two Mormon teenage boys came in to my house before jum’ah. Knock on the door, teenage boys. It’s amazing right, teenage boys doing da’wah. I was like, Man, if we had that, that’ll be awesome. Which teenage boys you, get dressed up, they got dress really nicely, like a uniform. They grab their bikes, it’s 92 degrees outside, and they go house to house. They wanted to tell you about the word of God. You know how much courage that takes? Before I start ripping their religion apart, I’m going to say ‘Man, I really appreciate what you’re guys doing.’ That’s amazing. They don’t even have the truth. And they’re so dedicate and they were able to put that in to the kids. Why? Because the Mormon community decided our children are on the top priority. Forget everything else. We’re not going to preach our religion, we’re not teach it to anybody else, we don’t have to build a huge centers, all we have to worry is about our kids. That’s it. We make sure they understand our religion. So, they’re teenage boys, carrying this religion. And I’m sitting, and I’m talking to them, you know, and they believe this is the word of God, and it’s a miracle. I was like, ‘Wow, guys..’ It’s not a miracle, but I really appreciate your dedication. I really really appreciate your dedication. I don't say that we become Mormon or be like the Mormons. I am saying, Man, when you see something good, you should appreciate it. And they’ve got the good qualities it is to be appreciated. We have something to learn from other communities, we do. 

And I tell you very quickly; the world is shifting. It’s going to be people who believe in God in one side, and people who don’t believe in any God on the other side. Right now we have disagreement among each other different schools of thought, even Muslims versus Christians versus Hindu etc etc. Pretty soon the world’s polarizing along two lines. ‘I don’t believe in any God and any religion’ and ‘I believe in God’ That’s the shift that’s going to be happening. That’s the polarization that’s happening in every corner of the United State. And it’s happening like a wild fire. Don’t you for a second, think, that it’s not going to affect the Muslims community. It is, it absolutely is. You and I have to learn Qur’an, as parents. Not for our children, for ourselves. We have to learn Qur’an, we have to love it so much, that our children as they are raised, they know, ‘My dad..’ Somebody ask ‘What is your Dad like to do?’ and they say ‘He loves to learn the Qur’an. He’s always talking about the Qur’an. I learned everything about the Qur’an, I learned most of it from my Dad. He’s always listening to the explanation of it. He’s always telling me to recite more. He’s always memorizing it. He loves the recitation of it, all the stuffs.’ We have to become the Nation of Qur’an. Why? Because the prophet (SAW) was surrounded by people who doubted, just like we are surrounded by the people who doubt. And the only thing that gave them belief was, what? Qur’an, The word of Allah. It kept them strong. We have to become that nation again. Us and our children, we have to become the generation of the Qur’an. It has to become center in our life. 30 minutes of a day is a starting point. 30 minutes a day. But for yourself, the parents, I don’t care if you’re 45, 55, 65 or 75…start memorizing Qur’an! Start doing it! Allah didn’t put an age limit on it. Allah did not. That’s you. Allah didn’t do it. Show Allah you love His book and Allah will put blessings in your life you didn’t even see. You would have to ask somebody else for advice for how to raise your children, but Allah will give you that advice in His book. He will have those answers for you and me in His book. We have to have that direct relationship with this book. I tell you, most of our problems in the Muslims community are because we are disconnected from the Qur’an. We don’t feel for it, we don't feel love for it, we don’t have the relationship with it, we don’t go to it for advice, we don’t recite it everyday, we don’t care to memorize it, we don’t care to learn more and more of it, we haven’t shown it enough love. This word Allah gave, honour this Ummah way and we haven’t given it enough love. If we did, I tell you, our problems will start disappearing. I guarantee you. 

Allah SWT talk about the people of the book, He says “If they only establish the Taurat and the Injil, they would’ve eaten from above and below.” Their dunya would’ve become Jannah. If they only establish Taurat and Injil. What is Allah saying to us then? If we only establish what? Qur’an. You will eat from above and below. Allah will make dunya into Jannah. Just come back to His book. This is the real advice to parents. The memory we leave our children with, ‘My Dad loved video games, My Dad loved movies, but he meant more than anything else..He loved Qur’an.’ ‘He really liked basketball, but He Loved Qur’an. Qur’an, he really really loved. And he make sure, he wanted us to love it too. He used to tell stories from it. He used to give advice from it.’ Tell your children the amazing stories from the Qur’an. And you won’t be able to tell them, if you yourself are not amazed by them. If you’re not in awe of the story itself, you won’t be able to impress your children. But Man, from early childhood, you, not anybody else, tell the stories from the Qur’an. You will have to do it. I was teaching one of my daughters the stories of Yusuf AS the other day and I didn’t finish the story, and she’s asking for days ‘Abah, what happened?’ ‘Ok he got thrown into jail’ ‘Then what happened?’ ‘I can’t tell you. I tell you later.’ And she’s been asking about it, I’ll tell her on the way back to the hotel later today in sha Allah. ‘What happened after he got thrown into jail?’ But we have to make it creative and interesting to our children. And the stories are so beautiful. They’re so remarkable. Especially when you tell them from the Qur’an’s point of view. They’re so beautifully put together. 

May Allah SWT make us the people of the Qur’an, and instill that gives us the ability to instill that to our children, have an honest, direct, open conversation with your children, and ask them about, you know, about what they heard in school, what problems they have, and then you yourself seek the answers from Allah’s book. ‘You know, the thing your friend just told you, or this terrible thing you saw, you know what Allah says about that? Let me show you’. Literally teaching your children how to go to Allah for answers. That’s what we have to do. We have to create that generation. May Allah SWT help all of us do that, May Allah SWT put the barakah in the lives of every muslims, and May Allah add barakah on top of the barakah, by means of our love and affection and time and dedication to this Qur’an. Ameen. 

Visit Amazedbythequran.com. Jazakumullah khairan katsiran, so very much for listening attentively. 

And Allah knows best.