Quran Lecture: The Story of Qarun

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

Here is a lecture of the story of Qarun, which can be found in the Quran in Surah 28, Ayats 76 - 83. Click here to listen. Length is about 20 minutes.

76. Qarun was doubtless, of the people of Moses; but he acted insolently towards them: such were the treasures We had bestowed on him that their very keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men, behold, his people said to him: "Exult not, for Allah loveth not those who exult (in riches).

77. "But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief."

78. He said: "This has been given to me because of a certain knowledge which I have." Did he not know that Allah had destroyed, before him, (whole) generations,- which were superior to him in strength and greater in the amount (of riches) they had collected? but the wicked are not called (immediately) to account for their sins.

79. So he went forth among his people in the (pride of his wordly) glitter. Said those whose aim is the Life of this World: "Oh! that we had the like of what Qarun has got! for he is truly a lord of mighty good fortune!"

80. But those who had been granted (true) knowledge said: "Alas for you! The reward of Allah (in the Hereafter) is best for those who believe and work righteousness: but this none shall attain, save those who steadfastly persevere (in good)."

81. Then We caused the earth to swallow up him and his house; and he had not (the least little) party to help him against Allah, nor could he defend himself.

82. And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow: "Ah! it is indeed Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it, to any of His servants He pleases! had it not been that Allah was gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up! Ah! those who reject Allah will assuredly never prosper."

83. That Home of the Hereafter We shall give to those who intend not high- handedness or mischief on earth: and the end is (best) for the righteous.

84. If any does good, the reward to him is better than his deed; but if any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished (to the extent) of their deeds.

Quran Lecture: Sending Blessings on the Prophet

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

Alhamdolillah, I have started giving Quran lectures at my local Islamic center and will be posting them Inshallah. Here is a lecture of Surah Al Ahzab, Ayat 56:

Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect.

Click here to listen. Length is about 25 minutes.

Call For Comments!

In the Name of Allah, the Most Kind the Most Merciful

I see from the feed that we have a lot of visitors, from all over the place Mashallah! Please leave a comment, even if it's just to say 'I agree' or 'I disagree'! I have no ego to bruise... if what I am saying is correct, it's from Allah, and if I'm wrong, it means I need to improve! May Allah reward you all.

An email from a Buddhist and a reply

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

Buddhist: The objective including mental development in Buddhism is to realise Anicca (Impermanence)of everything created, including heaven and hell. Thereby letting go of everything including the 'vehicle' that took you to the destination..ie religion (Buddhism). The objective in Islam is the ultimate purification to reach heaven. Cant think of a proper example....lets take 1 -9. 9 is the highest number. So (my understanding and I mean no offence) is that Islam will take you to 9. The highest possible. In the case of Buddhism it would take you to 0. Where nothing remains..but it is still something. if you know what I mean...

Reply: According to Islamic belief, when all is said and done... when you have lived your life in this world and got whatever you wanted out of it... if you make it to paradise and get whatever you want from paradise... for the believer, there is one final but great thing. The believer actually gets to see his Creator, face to face. Every pleasure the believer has ever felt, whether mental or physical, whether in this life or in paradise, is practically nothing when compared with this pleasure. To meet your Creator... the one who has created this huge universe, which is at least 14.5 billion years wide, while you are a tiny speck in the universe... the one who has been living eternally, while you lived for maybe 70 years... the amazing honor you get when you, a simple piece of flesh and bone which came from a drop of sperm, meet the One who not only created you, but the whole of humanity, the earth itself, the sun, the solar system, the galaxies, the whole universe... the feeling you get from that cannot be measured on any scale. Here is the hadith describing this:

When the inhabitants of Paradise enter Paradise, God, the Glorious and Exalted, will say to them: `Do you wish me to give you anything more?' They will reply: `Have You not made our faces bright? Have You not brought us into Paradise and delivered us from the Hell?' And God will remove the Veil. The (dwellers of Paradise) will feel that they have not been awarded anything dearer to them than looking at their Lord.

May Allah grant us all the reward of looking at Him, Ameen.

Do you want to be a millionaire?

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

Amazingly, this article was published on Forbes!

Like the Prophet(SAW) said, Riches does not mean having a great amount of property; real wealth is self-contentment.

Thoughts at a Janaza

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

I always try avoid being harsh, but at the same time we need to be realistic. I attended a Janaza (Funeral) Prayer yesterday for a friend of a family friend, and wanted to share some of the thoughts I had throughout the day.

It was a sister who has passed away (may Allah have abundant mercy on her, Ameen). She was in her 30's, and had been battling cancer for a few years. She left behind a husband and a 14 year old girl, may Allah grant them patience and comfort. So I guess the first thought that comes to mind: this can happen to any of us, anytime. None of us should think that we'll live forever, or that things like cancer can't happen to us.

A visit to a Jewish Temple

In the name of Allah, The most Kind The Most Merciful

A couple of days ago, I and a few members of our local community visited a Jewish temple to give them a cake for Eid. Every Eid, we try and give cakes to the local Jewish and Christian congregations. It was an interesting experience. We got there early, and attended the last few minutes of their service (had to put on one of those caps). They were bowing a lot, which reminded me of the verse in Surah Al Baqarah addressed to the Children of Israel : 'And bow down with those who bow down'. There are many types of Jews out there, these were 'in the middle' : not the orthodox ones with the black coats and long beards, and not the extremely liberal ones. We were greeted very warmly, they seemed genuinely pleased to see us. After the service, they allowed me to speak for a few minutes. I spoke about our local community, and how we give cakes to our faith based neighbours on our festivals. I explained briefly the significance of Eid Al Ahda, without explicitly saying who was the son that Ibrhaim (AS) sacrificed. Rather than say the term 'Jews', I stuck to the term 'Children of Israel'. One of the things I said was that the sacrifice of Ibrhaim (AS) makes us think: 'Do not think what God can do for you, think what you can do for God'. I mentiond that the cake we got was kosher (laughter from the audience). I ended by saying that I hoped we could work together in those areas where we have common goals, like the existence of God, the sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of unborn life, and respect for parents. The Rabbi endorsed this after my speech, talking about working together to counter secular values.

Afterwards, we got to partake with the congregation with the aforementioned cake and coffee (good thing, I had not had time for breakfast). We had some interesting discussions. I was able to talk to a couple of people and explain to them that Moses is the most often mentioned person in the Quran. I learnt about the differences between kosher and halal meat, and why meat and dairy cannot be mixed. Throughout the whole time, we kept getting thanked for coming to visit, and for the brief speech I made. I got an invitation from a woman who runs an interfaith organization which works towards common goals. And I got to talk to a Jewish guy who has written a book about Evolution and Genesis, where he says there is no problem accepting both. It seems to boil down to the meaning of the hebrew word 'yaum', the same as the Arabic word, and whether it literally means 'day' or means 'period'.

I left feeling that we had got benefit out of it. May Allah accept this from us, and keep us sincere in our intentions, Ameen.

Not-So-Happy Camper

Very nice article!

http://miahs.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/not-so-happy-camper/

Thoughts from a food kitchen

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

I was at a soup kitchen this weekend. There's this group of muslims who have started doing this all over the country, Mashallah, muslimsagainsthunger.com. A few observations. First of all, I think there is more than enough food to feed everyone all over the world. It's just that people in general (and yes, myself included) are too greedy and selfish. If humanity were to put it's mind to it, I'm sure hunger could be eliminated overnight.

Secondly, a lot of the sisters doing this were not wearing hijab. A lot of people - sadly, myself included sometimes - seem to make an instant judgement on a sister based on whether or not she wears hijab. These were sisters here who were not only giving up their precious weekend time to help the poor and hungry, but also bringing in their kids to help. Everytime their kids do anything like this, for the rest of their lives, their mother will share in the reward. And the Prophet(SAW) said that "The most beloved person to Allah is the one who benefits mankind the most". And bear in mind that not every hijabi wearer is an angel. I'm sure we all know hijabi wearers who are very lax about their salat. Salat is much, much more important than hijab. Don't get me wrong, hijab is important, and is an obligation on women, and I find women wearing hijab to have an awe of beauty. But next time you rush to judge a sister who does not wear a hijab, think twice. And if you're a guy, start by counting the number of women you yourself gawked at today.

Finally... it was amazing to see people helping each other, regardless of color, creed or anything else. There are people all over the world, across all nations, across all religions, who seem to think that war and fighting is the answer to everything. Bearing in mind the hadith I just mentioned above, it would be a much better world if we all tried to benefit each other.

Letters to Dr. Seuss

To summarize: a woman whose son is going thru chemo came across a Dr Seuss book which showed a photo of kids with various hair lengths and colors. All of them were smiling broadly, except the bald one, who had a big frown. Upset, she wrote letters to Dr Seuss about this. Read on for the details...

UPDATE: Letters to Dr. Seuss: Umm Yousuf | Random House Consents! | MuslimMatters.org

I found this very touching. It shows how, underneath it all, we are all humans, and we all have feelings. If people of all faiths could respect everyone else's feelings, this world would be a much better place.

Thoughts on Surah Al Fatiha

In the name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

Part of an email I was having with a woman interested in Islam (may Allah guide her to the truth, Ameen).

I have meanwhile learnt the fatiha by heart. Is it a sacrilege to practice without having the intention of being a Muslim just now?

I thought about this for a few minutes, and then started laughing. Why? Because when you recite Faitha, you are asking Allah to guide you to be a muslim. 'Guide us to the straight path'. You recite this in Fatiha, what does it mean? It means 'Guide us to the path of those you have blessed; who have accepted the correct faith; who try and follow obedience to their Creator; who follow the way of the Prophets; who truly submit themselves'. And this is the very defintion of being a muslim. So it's not sacrilege at all, and if you are sincere in reciting it, there can only be one final result, God willing.

Let me share a few thoughts with you regarding Fatiha. Let's go thru it verse by verse.

'In the name of Allah, the Most Kind the Most Merciful'.

Every action should start with the name of Allah, to always remember the importance of sincerity to Him. And the most common attributes which Allah wants to be remembered by are Al Rahman, the Most Kind, and Al Rahim, the Most Merciful. Al Rahman refers to the mercy and kindess of Allah when He provides for all of his creation. The things that we have around us to enable us to live our lives to the fullest... every single thing comes from the mercy and kindness of Allah. As for Al Rahim, this refers to his mercy when it comes to forgiving sins. For someone who truly is remorseful and repentant, there is no limit at all to the mercy and forgiveness of Allah.

'Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds'.

Praise and thanks to Allah. A muslim should always be grateful to Allah, in all circumstances, good or bad. As Allah says elsewhere in the Quran, if you were to try and count the favors of Allah, you would be unable to number them. Allah is the Lord of the Worlds. 'Lord' here means the Creator, Sustainer, the actual Cause of every action that happens in all the 'Worlds', the whole universe (or maybe universes) of creation.

'The Most Kind, the Most Merciful'.

To emphasise the mercy of Allah, His attributes of kindness, generosity, mercy and forgiveness are again repeated here.

'Master of the Day of Judgement'

Compared with Allah's mercy, this verse brings to mind Allah's power. A muslim is balanced, always hopeful in the mercy of Allah, but always remembering that he/she will be accountable for all his actions one day. And on that day, there will be no power whatsoever except that of Allah. The Masters in this world, the kings, leaders, power brokers, etc. they will have no say whatsoever on that day. Allah, and Allah alone, will be the Master that day.

'You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help'

The message of all the Prophets, and the message which is inside the nature of every human being... that Allah alone is worthy of worship. No ifs, buts or anything else... worship Allah, who because of his Lordship, is the only being that worship can be of benefit to. And when we are in need, we ask Allah and Allah alone, because Allah is the cause of everything. Even if someone is helping us, Allah is the ultimate cause of that help, the 'someone' is merely the means thru which Allah helps.

'Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you blessed'.

One of the attributes of Allah is 'Al Hadi', The Guide. Only Allah can guide to the straight path, the path of believing in Allah alone, and obedience to Him. Without being guided by Allah, we would be totally lost, grasping for light in the utter darkness in this world. If you ask Allah to guide you, He will; if you do not ask Allah to guide you, you will fall off the path. And to be on that path, there is no greater blessing than that.

'Not the path of those who earned Your anger, nor the path of those who went astray'.

Allah has given the message to people before; some were blessed and accepted the message correctly, acting on it correctly. Others accepted the message, and knew what the message was, but did no act on it accordingly; these are the ones who have earned the displeasure of Allah. Others accepted the message, but accepted it in a way that was not correct; these are the ones who have gone astray. So when we pray for guidance, we pray that we understand the guidance and knowledge that Allah bestows on us, and that we do our best to act according to that knowledge.

Listen to a beautiful recitation

Assalam Alaikum

In the Name of Allah, The Most Kind The Most Merciful

Assalam Alaikum, and thank you for stopping by! Over the years, I have made a lot of contacts in real life and over the web. These days, it's hard to keep up with everybody. With that in mind, I have decided to create a 'presence' by starting this blog. I will be posting various thoughts, rants, interesting links, all with the purposes of (a) staying in touch with all of you, and (b) trying to make myself, and those who read my blog, get closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. I encourage all of you to leave comments, I'd love to read what you think! So I'm going to start a hadith with one of my favorite aspects of Islam, the importance of simply meeting each other for the sake of Allah SWT.

Abu Idris Al-Khaulani (May Allah had mercy upon him) reported: I once entered the mosque in Damascus. I happened to catch sight of a young man who had bright teeth (i.e., he was always seen smiling). A number of people had gathered around him. When they differed over anything they would refer it to him and act upon his advice. I asked who he was and I was told that he was Mu`adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) The next day I hastened to the mosque, but found that he had arrived before me and was busy in performing Salat. I waited until he finished, and then went to him from the front, greeted him with Salam and said to him, "By Allah I love you.'' He asked, "For the sake of Allah?'' I replied, "Yes, for the sake of Allah". He again asked me, "Is it for Allah's sake?'' I replied, "Yes, it is for Allah's sake.'' Then he took hold of my cloak, drew me to himself and said, "Rejoice,! I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, `Allah, the Exalted, says: My love is due to those who love one another for My sake, meet one another for My sake, visit one another for My sake and spend in charity for My sake" (Malik)

May Allah SWT accept this blog from me as an example of loving one another, meeting one another, and visting one another for His sake, Ameen.