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Moderation in everything

Abu Juhaifah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) made a bond of brotherhood between Salman and Abud-Darda’. Salman paid a visit to Abud-Darda’ and found Umm Darda’ (his wife) dressed in shabby clothes and asked her why she was in that state. She replied: “Your brother Abud-Darda’ is not interested in (the luxuries of) this world. In the meantime Abud-Darda’ came in and prepared a meal for Salman. Salman requested Abud-Darda’ to eat (with him) but Abud-Darda’ said: “I am fasting.” Salman said: “I am not going to eat unless you eat.” So, Abud-Darda’ ate (with Salman). When it was night and (a part of the night passed), Abud-Darda’ got up (to offer the night prayer) but Salman asked him to sleep and Abud-Darda’ slept. After some time Abud-Darda’ again got up but Salman asked him to sleep. When it was the last hours of the night, Salman asked him to get up and both of them offered (Tahajjud) prayer. Then Salman told Abud-Darda’: “You owe a duty to your Rubb, you owe a duty to your body; you owe a duty to your family; so you should give to every one his due. Abud-Darda’ came to the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) and reported the whole story. Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Salman is right”.
[Al-Bukhari].

— 10 years ago with 7 notes
#moderationineverything  #islam  #muslims  #prayer  #work  #religion  #moderation  #family 

What did you learn at your Khutbah (Friday Sermon) today?

— 10 years ago with 1 note
#jumuah  #friday  #prayer  #khutbah 

Friends wonder what it’s like to have to pray 5 times a day…

…and I can’t imagine what it’s like to not have to pray AT LEAST 5 times day.

— 10 years ago with 2 notes
#Remembrance  #humility  #hayaa  #salah  #prayer  #islam  #pray5times  #Allah  #God  #religion 

With these shorter days, it seems all I do is pray at work. I think my coworkers think I’m some sort of monk.

— 10 years ago with 9 notes
#prayer  #salat  #islam  #religion  #5prayers 
Maghrib on campus #ashura #endoffast #prayer #salah

Maghrib on campus #ashura #endoffast #prayer #salah

— 10 years ago with 17 notes
#ashura  #salah  #endoffast  #prayer 

I often wonder about the correlation between a Muslim’s prayer and their self esteem.

Others may pray because they need something from God. Muslims are not excluded from this either—I used to know Muslims that only prayed around finals time ;)

However a Muslim is required to pray 5 times a day. Why? Because this is the first thing a Muslim will be asked about after his/her death. Therefore we pray because it is an essential asset to the outcome of our afterlife. Everything else follows, after all a person that makes genuine prayers must follow up on other righteous acts outlined in the characteristics of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him).

A Muslim prays because he/she cares about themselves. They care about what happens to them. This is what self esteem entails.

A Muslim prays to fill up his/her “401K” in the afterlife.

When you respect yourself, you care about what’s best for your future. Those future interests require that you pray. That is one of the greatest miracles of Islam–making it different from any other religion on earth.

— 10 years ago with 8 notes
#prayer  #islam  #salat  #salah  #wishes  #God  #Allah  #favors  #religion 

Today some girl stopped me in the stairwell and held up everyone just to tell me she really liked my hijab.

She actually said hijab too and not “that thing” *makes circular motion around head*

It was a nice sentiment.

This is definitely a testament of how much we’ve progressed as people in this country working towards educating others about our religion. Books as near as the 1980’s had us listed as the “Mohammedans”. I can’t blame many of our immigrant parents and grandparents for not making more headway, because like any immigrant group, they were just trying to get by. I can however blame our generation for not paving the way for both our children to live as comfortable Muslims as well as the children of others who may then have the opportunity to finally freely explore and better understand Islam.

So on that note, when my professor in my later 3 hour class gave us the choice of a break or to end early, everyone said, “end early” as they usually do. I, however had been waiting for this break to go and pray my Maghrib prayer. So I said, “Actually I need to pray but the class can still continue without me.”

The point is I actually told them confidently what my intentions were. I wasn’t mysteriously disappearing or making it look like I was getting water or using the restroom, I was leaving class to pray and everyone knew it—including the three other Muslim kids in that class.

I urge all of you to help make the way of a Muslim life accepted and understood in your communities and institutions. There’s no need to be secretive or ashamed—especially if we hope for any progression to be made. I find people respect you more when you are confident and upfront about your intentions.

Overall today was a good day.

— 10 years ago with 28 notes
#prayer  #islam  #hijab  #reflection  #college  #university  #religion  #dawah  #progression 
It’s Friday! What did you learn at jumuah today? What advise did your khateeb give you? :)
— 10 years ago with 3 notes
#jumuah  #islam  #friday  #prayer  #religion  #khutbah  #khateeb 
All it takes is One Person

So for some time now I’ve dreaded Muslim public gatherings. It wasn’t the people or the awkward encounters I usually found myself in that bothered me, it was: the bathrooms.

I was always so mortified at how Muslims left the bathrooms at conventions and amusement parks. Like yes you have to make wudu (ablution) before prayer but you don’t have to take a bath in the sink! Nor do you have to leave the bathroom a mess, treating the custodial staff like slaves!

But I have to say something at ICNA this year, was so incredible to me. An elderly woman, probably in her 80s made wudu, as the rest of us waited in line behind her. Then when she was done she cleaned up the entire counter until it was completely dry. After she was done, I noticed the people behind her followed through. I returned not too long after and found the area just as clean. Now it could’ve been a custodian, but I didn’t see any in the area. I honestly believe what this person did, actively encouraged people of all ages—women and children to clean up after themselves.

That quote “be the change you want to see in the world” really comes to mind. We can complain all we want, but we’re part of the problem if we don’t try to do our part. Whether we know it or not we’re an example to others and could possibly be an inspiration entirely.

Happy Friday/Jumuah and I hope this inspires someone to do something differently today…if anything just clean up after yourself in the bathroom. Much love

— 10 years ago with 10 notes
#wudu  #bathroom  #prayer  #adab  #manners 
Repentance in Islam: How does one repent?

AsSalamu Alaikum.

Someone asked me to repost this:

This was originally an answer to an anon but I figured it needed a little tweaking and could be used to share with others insha’Allah:

Humans are by nature inherently flawed, so it’s really important for us to understand how to make Tawbah or Repentance.

One of Allah (SWT)’s beautiful names is At-Tawwab, or the one who accepts repentance of others. The Prophet (SAW) said: “Men by nature are sinful, and the best of these sinful people are those who keep repenting”. It is reported that the Prophet (SAW) himself used to ask for repentance at least 100 times a day, and he was a model human being in behavior, so imagine how important it is for us to repent! According to Abu Bakr (RA), the Prophet (SAW) said that “There isn’t a man who, when he commits a sin, rises, makes ablution and offers two rakats of prayers, but Allah forgives his sins”.

Feelings of remorse and guilt are natural reflections of sinning, if the person who has sinned has a conscious which is alive.

After committing a sin, a person who fears Allah and gives high respect to Him would feel a sense of despondency and despair thinking, “How will God forgive me for this sin?” However, it is noteworthy that despairing of God’s mercy is in itself one of the major sins in Islam for God is ever Merciful, ever Forgiving.

As He says in the Qur’an:

“Do not despair of God’s mercy; He will forgive you of all your sins”.Qur’an (39:53).

In another verse, Allah says:

“And He wishes to forgive you” Qur’an (4:146).

Remember that there are powerful urges or longings known as “ba’ith” and because of these we commit sins. Once a sin is committed, Tawbah must be made. Allah (SWT) gives us multiple opportunities to repent and cleanse our soul of sins some which being in Ramadan, fasting, tahajjud, etc.

So how do we repent? Repentance consists of both spiritual and physical actions. There are several conditions for repentance; first and foremost, you have to clearly intend that your repentance is for the sake of Allah. Then you have to make the intention to not do the bad deed again. After your internal intention is complete, the next part of repentance is a series of physical actions. First, you need to stop doing the bad deed immediately. Next, you should make wudu, as it is reported that every time we make wudu, our sins are washed away. Then you should pray two rakats of nafl prayer. After prayer, make duaa asking Allah (SWT) for forgiveness. Some notable examples of such duaa are (however you can say whatever’s in your heart):

1) Astagfirullah wa atoobu ilayh – I seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him

2) Allahumma inna afuwwun tuhibbul afwa fa’fu anni – Oh Allah! You are Forgiving and love forgiveness so forgive me!

3) Rabbanna faghfir lana dhunoobana wa kaffir anna sayyiatina wa tawaffana ma’al abrar- Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous

4) Rabbana thalamnaa anfusanaa wa illam taghfir lanaa wa tar hamnaa lanakoo nunna meen al khasireen - Our Lord! We have sinned against ourselves and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost.

If we repent often, we build Taqwa, or fear of God. Our fear of His presence causes us to repent. So basically this is a chicken or the egg situation. But at the end of the day, we are reaffirming our Taqwa when we sincerely repent, which inevitably causes us to stay away from committing the same sin.

Advice in maintaining the cleanse state and not returning to the sin, we should calm our longings by listening to Quran. We should also surround ourselves with righteous people and strive to be like them.

When you’ve truly repented, it should motivate you to move forward and be a better Muslim, however if you repent with the intention to just return to it, don’t expect anything in your nature to change.

You can find many more duaa in the Qur’an, especially in Surat Ali-Imran regarding forgiveness. InshaAllah if we approach tawbah with the appropriate intention and try your best to never repeat  the inappropriate actions, Allah (SWT) will accept our repentance! Ameen :)

If you’ve sinned against a human being you can find information, here.

— 10 years ago with 14 notes
#repentance  #tawbah  #islam  #sins  #love  #prayer