Recent Blog Entries

Oct

2012

Chosen Bondsmen

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 3rd October 2012 - 0 comments

It is narrated by Maad bin Jabal that when the Apostle of God sent him to Yemen, he gave him this advice: O Maad, he said, Avoid luxury. The chosen bondsmen of the Lord are not ease-loving and self-indulgent.
-Musnad-i-Ahmad

Commentary:
Though it is not forbidden to lead a life of ease and luxury, it does not befit the worthy bondmen of the Lord. They would better abstain from it. O Lord! There is no joy other than the joy of Futurity denotes the ideal rule of conduct for them.

Source: Mariful Hadith

Sep

2012

Imam an-Nasa'i

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 30th September 2012 - 0 comments

Ahmad ibn Shuaib an-Nasai (r.a) [215 - 303 A.H.] Imam an-Nasai was born in the town of Nasa in the Persian province of Khorasan. After gaining hadith from the teachers his own city, Imam an-Nasai travelled through Khorasan, Iraq, the Hijaz Syria and Egypt gaining ahadith. Egypt was where Imam an-Nasai settled and established his center for teaching and studies here. Imam an-Nasai was said to have exhausted many of his days and nights in prayers, repeatedly performed Hajj and also joined the Muslim army to participate in battle. He was very particular of the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), had a hatred for deviation and avoided the circles of kings and nobles. Imam Nasai's status Ibn Khallikan writes He was the Imam of hadith of his age. Daraqutni says He was more distinguished than all the muhaddithun of his time. He is well known for Sunan an-Nasai which is a collection of 5751 sound ahadith. In it he also describes the flaws of a hadith, exposes any disagreements on the title, names and kunyat of narrators and clarifies the variations between different versions of a hadith.

Sep

2012

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Majah

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 30th September 2012 - 0 comments

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Majah (r.a) [209 - 273 A.H.] Imam Ibn Majah was born in the city of Qazvin in the northern Persian province of Dailam. After gaining ahadith from the many great religious scholars of his city, he travelled to seek knowledge at the young age of 21. Imam Ibn Majah is said to have visited Basrah, Kufah, Baghdad, the Hijaz, Makkah, Syria and Egypt to hear and gather ahadith. Amongst his teachers were Jabbara ibn al Mughlis, Ibrahim ibn al-Munzar, Hisham ibn Umar and more Abu Bakr ibn Shaibah. His status Ibn Khallikan writes that Imam ibn Majah held the position of an Imam in the subject of hadith. Abu al-Ali Khalili says he was a great scholar of Quranic exegesis, ahadith and history. Adh Dhahabi stated that he was a hafiz and warehouse of Prophetic knowledge.

Sep

2012

Shah Wali-U Allah

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 30th September 2012 - 0 comments

Shah Wali-u Allah was born on 4th Shawwaal, 1114 / 21 February 1703 1703 at Phulat in Delhi. His ancestors had migrated from Arabia to Iran for reasons not known. Later on when the invasion of the Tatars caused widely spread terror and destruction in Iraq and Iran, the forefathers of the Shah are said to have migrated to India and found their settlement here at Rohtak village. His grandfather was a gallant soldier in the Mughal army and a deep lover of the Quraan. Shaykh Abdur-Rahim was Shah Wali-u Allahs father, the pupil of a great scholar and sufi Zahid Herawi. Abdur-Rahim was famous for his profound knowledge of the traditions and Islamic jurisprudence. That is why he was offered the service in the government to revise Fataawa Alamgiri which he undertook at the instance of his mother. He was also famous for found his seminary, Madrasah-e-Rahimiyyah in Delhi the forerunner of the present Darul Uloom Deoband. Shaykh Abdur-Rahim had interests in mysticism yet he did not ignore the practical aspects of life. In the home of such a pious and learned father, the Shah grew up to great heights of eminence. At the age of five, the Shah had his first lesson at school. After two years he learnt reading and writing. He learnt the Quraan by heart upto the age of ten. At the age of fourteen years he read a part of Bauzayi and the major part of Mishkawah. He got the graduation from Rahimiyyah college at the age of fifteen. The prescribed syllabus of the college laid great stress on the Quraanic studies with lesser aid from commentaries and the Shah himself felt thankful to God for being provided with opportunity to lecture on the lessons of the Quraan which opened the doors of its knowledge for him. The other sciences like the Hadith, Fiqh, logic, etc. were also learnt by the Shah. He became the teacher of this very college of his father at the age of seventeen. Only two years later, his father died and the management work of the school fell upon him. The Shah took up the task with devotion and attained the help of the old graduates of the college. He prepared his lectures after extensive study on various Islamic disciplines and sciences. and provided guidance on the problems of varied nature. While sitting on the grave of his father in pious meditation, he sought solutions of the spiritual problems. When I sat meditating, he reports, at the grave of my father, problems of Tawhid (oneness of God) were solved. The path of the divine attraction (Jazb) was opened; and a large share of Saluk (spiritual journey) fall to my lot, and inspirational knowledge (Uloom-e-Wajdaniyyah) thronged the mind with it. Through his study of standard Fiqh literature and Hadith books, the Shah came to the conclusion that the institution of Fuqaha-e-Muhadditheen (jurisprudents who drew heavily upon traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was an adequate one that he would adhere to in his future life. Shah Wali-u Allahs journey to Hijaaz in October 24 1730 / 8 Rabi-as-Thaani 1143 proved a turning point in his career. It was the time when the Indian subcontinent was undergoing a deep crisis consequent upon the declining fortunes of the Mughal empire. Under such conditions there was growing an indifference towards religion. The sectarian conflicts had become the order of the day. Sufism had generated and various evils had crept into the society as a result of the practices of the false Sufis. The sensitive mind of the Shah was deeply moved by the deplorable situation prevailing in India and his journey to Hijaaz had much to do with this preoccupation of the scholar. In Hijaaz, the Shah stayed for about two years, performed Hajj twice at Makkah and also spent sometime at the Prophets tomb in Madinah. Besides acquainting himself with the general condition of the Muslim world during his stay in Hijaaz, the Shah also received lessons on the Quraan and the Hadith and thereby was able to attain considerable guidance in the spiritual matters. He read from the scholars of repute, Muatta of Imaam Maalik with Shaykh Wafadullah and Bukhari of Imaam Bukhari with Shaykh Taj-al-Din Hanafi, the Mufti (juri consultant) of Makkah. At Madinah, the Shah attended to Shaykh Ibrahim Kurdi, an eminent traditionist and sufi, and revised all famous books on Hadith under his guidance. Shaykh Abu Tahir, another great theologian in Madinah, also guided the Shah in the science of Hadith. It can hardly be denied that Shah Shah Wali-u Allahs sojourn to Hijaaz proved to be a landmark in his spiritual development. He himself mentions many spiritual blessings and experiences in His Fuyuz al-Haramayn. He received them in a series of visions at the precincts of the holy Kaabah and the holy tomb of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). In these visions include the task of the revival of Islam entrusted to the Shah by the grandsons of the prophet, the intelligibility of the most controversial problems of ontological versus phenomenological monism, clearance of doubts on the controversial issues relating to solidarity and development of the Muslim institutions. A.D. Muztar has eloquently described this enlightenment of Shah Wali-u Allah in the following words: The prophet cleared his doubts concerning them in a series of visions. For example, the prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) told Shah Wali-u Allah.

Sep

2012

Imam Nawawi

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 30th September 2012 - 0 comments

IMAM NAWAWI [631 - 676 A.H] Birth and Birth place: The complete name of Imam Nawawi is Abu Zakaria Mohiuddin Yahya, son of Sharaf An-Nawawi, son of Murry, son of Hassan, son of Hussain, son of Muhammad, son of Juma, son of Hazam. Nawawi refers to Nawa, a place near Damascus, in the suburb of the city of Howran. One of his ancestors named Hazam had settled at this place. Imam Nawawi was born at Nawa in the year 631 A.H. His father, a virtuous and pious man, resolved to arrange for proper and befitting education as he had discovered the symptoms of heavenly intelligence and wisdom in his promising child at an early stage. Shaikh Yasin bin Yousuf Marakashi, a saintly figure of Nawa says: I saw Imam Nawawi at Nawa when he was a youth of ten years of age. Other boys of his age used to force him to play with them, but Imam Nawawi would always avoid the play and would remain busy with the recitation of the Noble Quran. When they tried to domineer and insisted on his joining their games, he bewailed and expressed his no concern over their foolish action. On observing his sagacity and profundity, a special love and affection developed in my heart for young Nawawi. I approached his teacher and urged him to take exceptional care of this lad as he was to become a great religious scholar and most pious saint of future. His teacher asked whether I was a soothsayer or an astrologer. I told him I am neither soothsayer nor an astrologer but Allah caused me to utter these words. His teacher conveyed this incident to Imams father and he keeping in view the learning quest of his son, decided to dedicate the life of his son for the service and promotion of the cause of Islamic Faith. In a short period, Nawawi learnt to read the Holy Quran and by that time he nearly had attained puberty. Nawa had no academic or scholarly atmosphere and there were no religious academies or institutes where one could earn excellence in religious learning, so his father took him to Damascus, which was considered the center of learning and scholarship, and the students from far and wide gathered there for schooling. During that period, there were more than three hundred institutes, colleges and universities in Damascus. Imam Nawawi joined Madrasah Rawahiyah which was affiliated with the Ummvi University. The founder and patron of this Madrasah was a trader named Zakiuddin Abul-Qassim who was known as Ibn Rawahah. Madrasah was named after him. Noted and eminent teachers of the period taught in that Madrasah. Imam Nawawi says, I studied in this institution for two years. During my stay in Madrasah Rawahiyah, I never had complete rest and lived on the limited food supplied by the institution. As a routine he used to sleep very little at night. When it became irresistible as a human being, he would lean and slumber for a while against the support of books. After a short duration he would again be hard at his scholastic pursuits.

Sep

2012

Hazrat Aisha R.A

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 30th September 2012 - 0 comments

The life of Hazrat Aisha (Radhiyallahu-Anha) is proof that a woman can be far more learned than men and that she can be the teacher of scholars and experts. Her life is also proof that the same woman can be totally feminine and be a source of pleasure, joy and comfort to her husband. In her youth, already known for her striking beauty and her formidable memory, Aisha came under the loving care and attention of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) himself. As his wife and close companion she acquired from him knowledge and insight such as no woman has acquired. Hazrat Aisha (Radhiyallahu-Anha) was born as a Muslim. She says: When I got to the age of understanding my parents were already Muslims. From this is it clear that not even a brink of Kufr was shadowed upon her. Married Life of Hazrat Aisha Hazrat Aisha (Radhiyallahu-Anha) became the Holy Prophets (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) wife in Makkah when she was in the sixth year of her life but her wedding did not take place until the second year after the Hijrah when she was about nine or ten. About her wedding, she related that: Shortly before she was to leave her parents house, she slipped out into the courtyard to play with a passing friend. I was playing on a see-saw and my long streaming hair was dishevelled. She further says: They came and took me from my play and made me ready.

Jul

2012

A month Of Silence

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 18th July 2012 - 0 comments

Anas bin Malik ﻰﺿر ﷲ ﻪﻨﻋ relates that Ramadhan arrived so the Prophet ﷲ ﻪﻴﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳو ﻰﻠﺻ said, Indeed this month has come upon you, and therein is a night which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all good, and none is deprived of it except one who is truly deprived [Reported by ibn Majah],

He who wastes his time in Ramadhan is truly deprived of the virtues and forgiveness of this month. The sahabah ﻰﺿر ﷲ ﻢﻬﻨﻋ ensured that not a moment passed in futility. They would complete their worldly tasks and free themselves two months prior to Ramadhan i.e. by Rajab.

Allahs acceptance of a fast is not just conditional upon remaining hungry or thirsty but is also dependent upon the fasting of the other bodily organs i.e. the eyes, ears, heart, mind and especially the tongue.

Abu Hurayrah ﻰﺿر ﷲ ﻪﻨﻋ reports that Allahs Messenger ﻰﻠﺻ ﷲ ﻪﻴﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳو said Fasting is not merely abstaining from eating and drinking. Rather, fasting is to refrain from futility and indecency. So if someone abuses you or behaves ignorantly towards you, then say: I am fasting . [Reported by ibn Khuzaymah].

When fasting we should not even shout or raise our voices let alone argue. This is the month in which we should all remain silent as much as possible and not say or do anything which inconveniences others.

Jul

2012

Ruqqayah r.a

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 16th July 2012 - 0 comments

RUQAYYAH (r.a) DAUGHTER OF MUHAMMAD (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Ruqayyah (R.A.) was Rasulullahs (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) second daughter. She was married to Utba the son of Abu Lahab. Abu Lahab was the uncle of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) but had become his violent enemy and of Islãm and its followers. Both father and son did not enter into Islãm and Utba repudiated Ruqayyah (R.A.) on the incitement of his father. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) gave Ruqayyah (R.A.) in marriage to Uthman ibn Affãn (R.A.). When the battle of Badr took place, Ruqayyah (R.A.) was seriosly ill. Uthman (R.A.) had the desire to fight but Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) asked him to stay at home and take care of his sick wife. He told him that he would be rewarded equal to the participants. He marked him Fighter of Badr and gave him his share in the booty. Ruqayyah (R.A.) passed away on the day the Muslims returned victorious. source: Attarbiyah Magazine

Jul

2012

The Month Of Shabaan

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 14th July 2012 - 0 comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZSAxIpT-mo&feature=player_embedded

A short speech and advice on The Month of Shaban and Preparing for Ramadan by Shaykh Shams ud-Duha.

Jul

2012

The Price of Imaan-A story

posted by sweetmuslimahk1 on 10th July 2012 - 0 comments

Several years ago an Imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the town area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, oh forget it, its only twenty pence. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from Almighty Allah and keep quiet. When his stop came, the Imaam paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said Here, you gave me too much change. The driver with a smile replied Arent you the new Imaam in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your mosque. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. When the Imaam stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and held for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried Oh Allah, I almost sold Islam for twenty pence!

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