Islam

Dunya Boutiques v Akhira Boutiques

Every woman knows about shopping. It doesn’t matter which country you are from, the words “shopping” or “sale” sends a shiver down the spine and a peek in to the purses. 

So let’s take this concept of shopping a little further. It is wonderful to be able to fill our time walking through malls and trying on pretty dresses, then filling our cupboards and basking in the feeling of accomplishment. So long as we remember, to live in this Dunya and not for this Dunya.

We would be foolish to live any other way, as Allah says, “O My People! The life of this world is only temporary enjoyment, while the abode of hereafter is everlasting”  (Surah Al Mu’min : 39) 

We are here as traveler’s, this temporary abode is a place wherein we are given the opportunity to prepare for our final destination. By virtue of being the reciters of La Illaha Ililallah, we already have the passport to paradise, however, we do require some Visa. This Visa is obtainable through doing righteous deeds, for Allah says,  “And those who believe and do righteous good deeds, they are dwellers or paradise,they will dwell therein forever” (surah Al Baqarah : 82). 

And we know that in preparation for any journey, the best provision is Taqwa, (surah Al Baqarah : 197) So in preparing, take as much as you can from this place for the next. 

So, how often do we go “Akhira Shopping”? The answer should be – it is my sole purpose. YES, life is about shopping. Shopping for the Akhira, stocking up on Akhira reserves, filling the bags, tipping the scales and rushing to the sales. 

I think as a start, we should add a few things to our Akhira shopping lists. The best currency to carry on these shopping expeditions, is glorifying the Almighty, lots of SubhanAllah will be beneficial.

Stocking up on Akhira reserves is simple, we need to engage in Tawbah,because Allah says, ” Truly Allah loves those who turn [to Him] in repentance, and He loves those who keep themselves in purity. (Qur’an 2:222).  

Thankfulness to Allah for the favours he has bestowed on us, everything we have, everything we do is only by His will, and Allah says,””Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, And be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me.” [Qur’an 2:152] 

Our actions, must be pure and good, and for the pleasure of Allah. Good actions, character and manners are all part of Imaan and we are told this by our beloved Nabi Muhammad S.A.W, when he said, “There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character” (Hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).

Actually, its simple, shop for the Akhira, in the constant remembrance of Allah. In doing for Him, you increase your love for Him, and in loving Him. And while you loving Him and The most Loving is Loving you, your Akhira reserves increase with every good action done for Him.

There is no need for a budget in this realm and Akhira boutiques are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Do all you need to for Allah, and He will do for you.

Do it with Grace xx
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Emotional Dua by Hadhrat Ali رضي الله عنه

All praises are due to Allah, the most Merciful, And may His Choices, blessing and salutations be upon His Beloved Nabi, Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم  , May Allah be pleased with His Family and companions, with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan, Ali  and their families, the Sahaba, the Tabi’een, the Taba Tabi’een, the Salaf Asaliheen, and all those who follow Nabi Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم A, till the Last Day, Amma Ba’ad

The advice and dua of Hadhrat Ali (RA) on his deathbed, which we can earmark as the beginnig of the build up to Karbala. Let us read these words and advices of a man, who was loved by our Nabi SAW, who embodied Imaan and Taqwa. These advises were given to his family, let us try to share these words with one and all and make an effort to follow these advises in the year to come,

“I advise you (both) to fear Allah and that you should not hanker after the (pleasure of this) world even though it may run after you. Do not be sorry for anything of this world that you have been denied. Speak the truth and act (in expectation) for reward. Be an enemy of the oppressor and helper of the oppressed.

“I advise you (both) and all my children and members of my family and everyone whom my writing reaches, to fear Allah, to keep your affairs in order, and to maintain good relations among yourselves for I have heard your grandfather (the Holy Prophet) saying: `Improvement of mutual differences is better than general prayers and fasting.’

“(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in view in the matter of orphans. So do not allow them to starve and they should not be ruined in your presence.

“(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in view in the matter of your neighbours, because they were the subject of the Prophet’s advice. He went on advising in their favour till we thought he would allow them a share in inheritance.

“(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in view in the matter of the Qur’an. No one should excel you in acting upon it.

“(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in view in the matter of prayer, because it is the pillar of your religion.

“(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in view in the matter of your Lord’s House (Ka’bah). Do not forsake it so long as you live, because if it is abandoned you will not be spared.

“(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in view in the matter of jihad with the help of your property, lives and tongues in the way of Allah.

“You should keep to a respect for kinship and spending for others. Avoid turning away from one another and severing mutual relations. Do not give up bidding for good and forbidding from evil lest the mischievous gain positions over you, and then if you will pray, the prayers will not be granted.”

“(Fear) Allah for Allah is the most severe in reckoning. From my side, the Ahle bait, may Allah protect you. From the Prophets SAW may you be protected, I leave you in the hands of Allah, Assalamu Alaikum.”

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Dua

All praises are due to You my Allah, You are the Greatest, You are the All Compassionate and we ask You to look at us with Compassion as we submit to You, You are the All Merciful and we ask that Your mercy descends upon us at all times,You are the Absolute Ruler of all that we know and that which we do not, we aim to serve You over all space and time, we humbly ask that You accept our service to You,
We are thankful to You, our Allah, for everything that we have, that which we acknowledge and that which we fail to acknowledge. That which we are aware of, and that which we are unaware of. We thank You for choosing us to worship You and we thank You for guarding us from the path of the ignorant. we thank You fro every breath that we take, every move that we make , everything is from You our Creator. 
You are the one that is Pure, the Source of Peace and the Inspirer of Faith, we ask that You purify our hearts and grant us Peace in every form and that we seek inspiration in Your overwhelming Magnificence and in no other. Oh our Guardian, keep us steadfast in your worship and on the Straight Path. the path of those whom you have favoured, keep our hearts firm and our feet strong in running towards Your Light. When we fall, we turn to You, the Maker of Order, to guide us and reaffirm our hearts in Your favour. 
Oh Allah, the Knower of All, the Most Forgiving and the Hider of Faults, we are weak, You are strong, we are dependent and You are Independent, we ask You for Your rains of forgiveness, to wash away all those sins we have committed in the light of day and the dark of the night, those sins we have committed knowingly and unknowingly, intentionally and unintentionally, those sins that You have hidden and those which are exposed, we beg you Ya Ghafur, forgive us. We cry unto you, to remove the records of those sins wherever they may be written. 
Glory be to the Perfectly Wise, The All Comprehending, grant us the ability to trust in your divine plan and to seek patience from You when we do not understand Your plan, and to be thankful when we see the fruits of Your plan and to seek protection and guidance when we lose hope in Your plan, we are weak, allow us to never lose hope in Your mercy and may we always have the ability to persevere through patience and salaah as You, the Watchful one and Answerer of all prayers has commanded. 
Our Nourisher and Protector, The loving and The Generous one, we ask that you secure us in this dunya, but do not let us get attached to the delusions and adornments which our eyes see.  We ask You to remove the love and attachment from our hearts to all those things that do not serve You. We ask You for a comfortable, secure and peaceful stay in this temporary home, we ask You that this dunya is a place where we use the bounties and blessings we have to gain a closeness to you. we ask You that while we fulfill our dunya duties, You protect us from becoming a role player in the fitna and corruption of this world. We ask You that You remind us positively that this dunya is as insignificant as a drop in the ocean and that gaining your pleasure is our purpose. We ask that we take that which will benefit us from this world, for the next.  
Our Sovereign Lord, grant us ease in our graves, grant us conviction in our faith so that we may recognize our Lord, Religion and Beloved Nabi. Allow to be raised behind Your Beloved Nabi, May All Peace be upon him, so that when You see him, SAW, you forget our indiscretions. Let us be among those whom you Love, Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA,Uthman RA, Ali RA and all the Sahaba, their families, the tabieen, the tabi'tabieen, the salafa' saliheen, make us amongst the ones who are most loved to you. Grant us entry in to Paradise our permanent abode, where we are able to rub shoulders with your beloved, Nabi Muhammad, All peace and blessings be upon him. Allow us swift entry therein, without any reckoning and questioning, allow us to receive our Books of Deeds in our right hands, and not the left and not from our backs. We are the authors of our books, grant us the ability to write only that which pleases You. Oh the Merciful, allow us entry in to Paradise through you mercy.
Oh our Lord, we ask you for your continued guidance and love and mercy. We ask that you make this year, 1436, a year of success and triumph for all the Muslims around the world. We ask for relief for the oppressed, shelter for the destitute, peace for the victims of war, guidance for one and all, happiness for our children, mercy for our parents, we ask for that is good and blessed and for that which is befitting for each one of us. 
Ya Rabb, You have knowledge of that which is in our hearts,and that which we do not verbalise, we ask that You grant acceptance of all that we ask for and that good which is in our hearts, not just for us, for for the entire Ummah of Nabi Muhammad, Peace and Blessings be upon Him. 
Ameen, Ya Rabil Alimeen. 

Heavenly Peace

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Paradise : And those who believed and did righteous deeds will be admitted to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein by permission of their Lord; and their greeting therein will be, “Peace!”

The Quranic definition of Paradise has thrown me in to a pool of reflection and introspection.  Why? The simple words explain the very idea of peace and satisfaction that we constantly crave.

I mean, I am certain that doing anything in a place so beautiful that words can not
even describe and abiding therein with the permission of the Almighty has to be the ultimate state of peace.

Allah is merciful and He loves us, I have said this before, His mercy has no limits. Allah tells us all these wonderful things and tells us how to achieve them too, Subhanallah! Here is this week’s naseeha: there is dunya peace – which is found in the righteous acts and in your salaah. The Quran tells us ‘those who do righteous deeds will be permitted entry’. But let’s take a minute to praise the Almighty – our acts that allow us ‘dunya peace’ are the same acts which are the keys to our ‘akhira peace’

May Allah give us all dunya and akhira peace and may we be guided to the righteous acts which please Him. Ameen

Do it Gracefully
Xx

A few Steps to Success!

“اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ”
(Guide us to the Straight Path)
All praises are due to Allah, may His choices blessings and salutations be upon the beloved Messenger.
Ultimately, every time we utter the above line, we are asking for success. This word “success” literally means ” accomplishment of an aim or purpose. And Allah says, Success is on the straight path, and success is with Allah and Success is achieved by doing righteous deeds, not wishful thinking!
With most things in life we need to figure out how to achieve our goals right? Decisions, decisions – but Allah, through his mercy has told us exactly how to achieve this success. He has given us the answers to the final test, the manual to achieve the goal. All Praises are to to Allah, the Master. 
أم بعد
1.  La illlaha Illallah – There is NO God but Allah. To affirm our faith in one  Allah, the Almighty. Nabi SAW says, There is no form of remembrance of Allah which is better than “La illaha illallah”. 
2.  Muhammad SAW, – Love Allah and love his Messenger. so we need to learn and practice the sunnah of the beloved. So those who believe in him, honor him, help him. And Allah says that in  respecting and honoring Muhammad , and following the light which has been sent down with him, the Qur’an and the revelation Sunnah that the Prophet delivered to mankind, it is they who will be successful.
3. Purify yourself تزكية   – Surely those who have purified themselves are successful. and this is to purify our nafs or striving against the desires within ourselves. Nabi SAW says the greatest jihad is to battle your own soul and fight the devil within you. In doing this we need to stay steadfast and sincere in the remembrance of Allah, which leads us to the next step:
4. And have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful. Taqwa is more than the fear of Allah azza wajal, it is the consciousness  of Allah in every moment of every thing. I have done a post previously on the literal, technical definition of Allah – to refrain for His pleasure. And when you doing for Allah, and you try for his pleasure, Allah Loves you. So remember Him and hold on to the fear of disappointing Him. Because when you love someone, is it not the fear of disappointing your loved one that leads to your best action for them? towards them?
5. Establish Salaah. The call to Salaah in itself is a “call to success”. Allah is telling you, asking you, begging you in his call –  come to Salaah, come to success.  The action of Salaah is most loved to our Master. We are closest to Him in our Sujood, by doing the most beloved actions and humbling ourselves to Him, surely Allah loves us, surely those whom He loves, He guides and as we said, His guidance equates to our success. 
6. Our Actions, and I conclude with this, Allah tells us how to act, how to be close to Him. He even tells us what to avoid. How merciful is He? So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.) He says further “So enter houses through their proper doors, and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful) Intoxicants and gambling, and Al-Ansab, and Al-Azlam are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. 
We are told to enjoin Al-Ma` ruf (all that Islam orders) and forbidding Al-Munkar (all that Islam has forbidden). And it
those who are the successful. All of what is Haraam and what is Halaal is clearly defined for you to practice upon and for you to refrain from. 
And lastly, remember that everything is from Allah, the Creator So remember the graces (bestowed upon you) f rom Allah. ”) in reference to Allah’s favors and blessings) in this life and the Hereafter, surely there is success for a believer who follows the commands of his Lord.
 Guys, these are just basic steps we can take in our every day lives to help us attain Allah’s pleasure so that he may guide us and keep us firm on the straight path. Allah guides whom he wills. 
I am almost certain that everyone reading this is human, and no human likes to lose, right? so lets try to obtain the highest level of success in the eyes of the one who is the Majestic and Almighty. It is Allah’s standards we need to strive to achieve. The one who created this world is telling us that in comparison to the Hereafter, the world is but drop compared to an ocean. So – what we should be concerned about is that we get the blessings and comforts and luxuries of the ocean. 
And Allah knows best!
Do it gracefully
xx
 

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ l

All praises are due to Allah, May the choices, blessings and salutations be upon the Messenger  Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him,

I recently attended company function. A beautiful event Ma’sha Allah, whilst I  was interacting with the guests and clients, I glanced over at my colleagues, who like me had their best outfits and brightest smiles – after all we were ambassadors of the company. 

A little while later, I pondered over the day and a thought crossed my mind. As a professional in any environment, we constantly trying to achieve the best results, may be approval from our superiors or in this case, purely promoting the company in the best spirit. And i thought to myself, Subhanallah, we can do this for a paycheck at the end of the month, but we are all born ambassadors of Islam! Alhamdulillah – our mandate is written, we are the best of nations with Muhammad May Peace and Blessings be upon him, as our leader. 

We ought to conduct ourselves as such in any situation. How we as Muslim’s portray ourselves is becoming increasingly important. A midst  all the negative media coverage and incorrect portrayal of Islam, it is our duty to start following the practices and character of Muhammad May be peace and blessings be upon him and the essence of Al – Quraan should be at our core. 

How is it possible that the word “ISLAM” means “PEACE” but the word thinks of terror every time Islam is mentioned? It is time to look closely at what Islam is and how we need to adjust our character to gain Allah’s pleasure and hold the flag of Islam up high. 

So lets begin, this week by welcoming our guests and family , one an all with Assalamu‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ. May Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you. 

One of my favourite verses about greeting a fellow muslim is found in Surah Nur, “When a greeting is offered you, answer it with an even better greeting, or (at least) with its like. God keeps count of all things.”
[Surah an-Nur; 4: 86], 

The hadith illustrates this Umar (radiAllahu anhu) reports that he was riding with Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) on one mount. When they passed by people, Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) greeted them saying: ‘Assalamu alaikum’ and they replied: ‘Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatu Allah.’ Or he may greet them saying: ‘Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatu Allah,’ for which their reply was: ‘Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatuh.’ Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) commented: “Today, people have gained much more than us.” [Sahih al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad]

And remember that the antidote for Pride is Salaam. An individual with ounce of pride will not enter Jannah. Lets remember this Salaam is a blessing from Allah, we gain reward and we wish the best upon the next one. Let us be the first to greet every one, Assalamu Alaikum to you and to you and to you, but lets also be real – there is no such thing as “slms or slmz” and “wslms or wslmz”, lets not adapt the speech of Allah and His mercies due to our laziness and social etiquette. Even the word “Salaam” is not encouraged in greeting one another, so lets to stick to the greeting delivered to our father Adam, May Allah be Pleased with him and to the greeting of paradise, In Sha Allah.

For my reward, your reward and Allahs pleasure

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Do it Gracefully!

REFRESH!

My Prophet, OUR Prophet, My Muhammad, May Peace and blessings be upon him once said ” The Greatest Jihad, is to battle your own soul, to fight the evil within yourself. ”  
We can conquer the battle, as we all have the natural disposition, to DO good, BE good, WANT to be good, it’s just that there is always that whisper telling us, “we already good enough” or “tomorrow is a better day to start” – to recognize THAT voice, is half the battle won. 
Our Imaan, my Imaan, is weak, we have lots to do in this world to gain the best of Akhira, but how do we go about attaining the best results as weak creation? and Especially because we have this constant battle that occupies our hearts and minds?
Hit REFRESH!!
What I mean by this is, lets clean out our hearts so that when you invite Allah and Islam in to the beautiful walls of your heart, there is no reason to leave, Would you like to spend even one night in a crappy broken down hotel room? Didn’t think so ya’ll! So how can we invite this Islam in to our hearts when it may be cluttered with the filth and dust of the world which we carry with us? Ofcourse – we need to secure dunya, but our primary objective is securing the best of akhira, Inshallah. 
So when i say ” Hit Refresh” what I am saying, is turn to Allah, for Allah loves those who turn to Him. What I am saying, is that we should affirm our faith at every given opportunity, so that we become strong enough to battle the nafs and desires that distract us. 
Just as we find so much satisfaction in downing a refreshing drink on a hot summer’s day, let’s find that same satisfaction in this kalima, لآ اِلَهَ اِلّا اللّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوُل اللّهِ.  La ilaha illa-llah, Muhammadu-rasulu-llah… There is no Allah but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Let’s make the intention, each and every day, that Ya Rab, we want to renew our faith today. Ameen! 
By removing all that is negative – La Ilaha, illa-allah and affirming that there is ONLY Allah, we can remove this love for dunya, and invite this love for Allah in to our hearts. And yes, we are weak, but if we keep refreshing and we keep turning back to Allah, we will be successful ameen, ya rab. This is love. Allah’s love. 
So arm yourself with intention to refresh, persevere with your nafs, use this kalima and keep turning to your Allah. And, Inshallah this battle will subside and we will be the victors of our nafs. 
Remember, the more we affirm our faith, and the closer we get to our Allah, the closer we are to our natural disposition and the easier it will be to fulfill our highest good, ameen ya Rabilaalimeen ❤
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Do not be despondent in the mercy of Allah

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Do not be despondent in the mercy of Allah ❤