Prophets (ﷺ) Farewell Advice To Muadh

Bismillah walhamdulillah wa ssalaathu wassalaam 'aala Rasoolillahi wa 'alaa aalihi wa sahbihi wa man walaah, ammaa ba'ad. 

My dear brothers and sisters,

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

I'll share one beautiful hadith with you that I've been thinking about for a long time. And this was the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad [ﷺ], when Muaad ibn Jabal was leaving towards Yemen. And Muaad didn't know if he would come back and see the Messenger of Allah [ﷺ] again, after that time. So this was the farewell advice that he gave him. And perhaps some of the most significant advice Mu'aad had received from the Messenger of Allah [ﷺ]. And he told Mu'aad, 3 simple things. He told him, 'fear Allah, wherever you are, follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will wipe it out and treat the people with the best of manners.' 

Sometimes we get so engulfed by more complex and technical issues, that we forget about the basics. So here, the messenger of Allah [ﷺ] makes Islam very very easy and very basic. And this is the Islam that we need to go back to. That before we get into the more complex matters, let us go back to the simple issues, of having Taqwa of Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'ala). Every time we do a bad deed, seek Allah's forgiveness and follow it up with a good deed and it will wipe it out. And here's the important one - Treating people with the best of manners. In our day and age, this is something that is overlooked. Each and every person lives for themselves, works for themselves, spends on themselves. But this was not the characteristics that Islam brought. So we need to be more considerate of each other. We need to be more involved in each other's lives in terms of what type of khair we bring to one another. The messenger of Allah [ﷺ] told us that we won't truly believe till we love for one another what we love for our own selves. 

So try to make this day a day where at least you do one good deed for one of your brothers, bi ithnillahi ta'ala, without him even asking for it. Perhaps buy him a gift, treat him out with lunch, you know. Just do something that is nice, even if it's just a smile in his face, purely for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala). 

JazaakumAllahu Khairan

Wassalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

By Sheikh Navaid Aziz 

Get Back On Track

Assalaamu Alaikum

What is the reason we go through different modes in life? 

Why are there times when we have so much motivation to complete a specific task and times when this motivation just fades away and we don't want to do anything anymore...

Why?! 

Remember the times I used to read the Qur'aan for like an hour a day, why did I stop? I was doing good. Or did you ask yourself this? 

I used to help the poor people without them even asking, what happened to me? I was doing good. Why did I stop? 

You were doing good! 

Why did you stop? 

You see the problem here is that you forgot, you forgot that doing good does you good, so you stopped doing good and you started telling yourself, 'You were doing good!' 

'You were doing good!'

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) he used to say: 

'Oh Allah, turner of hearts, turn my heart firm on your religion.'

Umm Salama, the wife of the Messenger (ﷺ) she was standing nearby and she said, 'Oh Messenger of Allah, is this for everybody? Does this apply...this Dua that you said, does it apply to everybody or is it only for you?'

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Indeed, Our hearts are between two fingers of Allah's fingers, He turns them around as He wishes.'

Today, you may be doing really good, you know you have that high level of faith and you're up here, tomorrow, you're probably not doing as well, you go back down here and you know you're not praying on time or you're slacking off a little bit. Then the next day, you're doing good again.

And then another day comes when you completely slack off and you stop doing everything, all you do is like pray five times a day and not even on time. So it goes up, down, up, down, up, down...

Did you ever go to the hospital and visit a sick person and you saw the machine where the heart pulse rate is going up and down, up and down, up and down, it's the same thing! 

When we do good we go up, then when we slack off we go down, then we do good we go up... 

Just like that, and that's healthy, that's ok! There's no problem with that. IF you get back on track as soon as you slack off, that's OK, but where is the big problem? The big problem is when we do good and then we slack off, then we do good and we slack off and we continue to slack off until we die, that is the big problem, just like the machine.

That means he's dead. Alright, so we have to get back on track.

If you used to pray Qiyam Al-Layl, Do it tonight, get back! If you used to pray Fajr on time in the Masjid, get back! If you used to be good to your parents and you're not anymore, get back! If you used to go to work on time and you were doing really good and you were sincere, get back! If you used to give lectures and speeches every week and every now and then, get back! If you used to give Da'wah every time you see the people on the street, get back! If you used to remember Allah day and night, when you wake up and when you sleep, get back! Get back on track! And remember that Allah Azza Wa Jal wants you to do good and He accepts you He always accepts you, He will never reject you, as long as you get back on track, He will accept you and remember this, this is the last statement that I will leave you with. Work for your Hereafter as if you're dying tonight and work for your Dunya as if you will never die. Work for the Hereafter as if you are leaving this Dunya tonight and work for this Dunya as if you're never gonna die. 

See you next time. 

WAssalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

By Ustadh Rayan Arab

How Satan Works

And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers."

Hey!

Listen both of you (Adam & Eve).

That tree over there...I am talking to both of you...that tree stay away.

Now when the tree is right here, 'hadhihis shajara.'

So you will find in Quran when the tree is further away...it's, 'tilkumas shajara'.

When the tree is closer, 'hadhihis shajara' which actually plays the role in how we analyze the story.

How we analyze...and by the way how many trees are there in jannah?

It's called 'jannah' which means its lush...which means it's filled abundantly, endlessly with trees.

How big is Jannah?

And how many trees in Jannah are haram?

One!

How much real estate do you have to find halal in jannah?

And Shaythaan could still get you to come to...the billions of trees...that is the expanse of the skies and the earth.

He tried to get you to go near that one tree.

Originally, when He first introduces them to jannah, He says, 'Settle here. This is the tree you can't go near. Now go enjoy yourself.'

And they go enjoy themselves. And they go faaar...out there.

But after the mistake, 'tilkumas shajara.'

To illustrate, by the way, that you came a long way to do this.

And that's why we understand, 'Fadallahuma bighuroor.'

Shaythaan wheeled them in using deception.

You know what 'dalla' means, 'dalu'?

What's 'dalu'?

It's a verb that comes from that - 'dalla....'

To use a bucket to lure people in.

'Dalla' is also used when you pull a bucket up from a well.

Does it come up right away or slowly?

Yes?

Now if a bucket comes up quickly - 'adla'!

When a bucket comes up slowly -- 'dalla'!

'dallahuma bighuroor.'

He slooowly wheeled them in!

It was little bit...then a little bit...then a little bit...and every time was almost...almost inconceivable that we are doing something wrong.

Cuz it was just a little bit of a...one step closer, 'we are not even at the tree.'

'We are just kind of...we can't even see it yet!'

'We can't see it. We are just a step closer.'

'This is not haram!'

What do people do when they fall into a trap of Shaythaan?

Shaythyaan comes to them and says, 'Hey! Why don't you do like ultimate super crazy haram and burn in hell?'

No!

He says, 'Hey man! Take it easy a little.'

'Whatever...there's still time for fajr. Chillax!

'Just a little bit more. Just go back to sleep!'

You can feel Shaythaans foot pressing down on the pillow.

And you are like, 'I gotta a little bit of time.'

So first he gets you at salaat.

You will be the guy who shows up first before the adhan.

Then, 'you don't have to go that early.'

Show up after the adhan. Then you would be like, 'You don't have to pray all the sunnas. It's not fun!'

Then he'll be like, 'okay! Okay, we have salat at 8.15. Its only 8 right now! Just go at 8.10.'

Then a couple of weeks later you would be like, 'look! You are gonna catch salat.'

He is gonna work his way, right?

So then you catch like the 3rd rak'ah.

Then he comes back and says, "hey man! I mean it's already over. Just pray at home.'

Then he comes back and says, 'It's already over and you're like half way through the movie, just finish the movie and pray.'

He works his way.

And then, eventually, now you start...you used to be praying at the masjid, and slowly you are praying at home, then you are praying at home really late, then you are like, you are really tired right now.

You just finished watching a movie.

Why don't you sleep a little and wake up and pray.

Just a little! I mean, You'll wake up. You know, you got control.

So you wake up at 2.00 in the morning, 3.00 in the morning and you are like, 'I haven't prayed Isha.'

'dallahuma bighuroor.'

Little by...little!

But it all happens very little...!

He's got a lot of patience.

And he has done this with plenty of people before.

By Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan (NAK)

The Poverty Of The Soul

Today I am going to talk about poverty. Yet the poverty that I speak about is not the apparent kind. You see, before you can begin to speak about any concept, we need a criterion. We need definitions. In speaking about poverty, we need to understand that there is external poverty and there is internal poverty. And one of them is far more dangerous than the other. Because while one form of poverty determines how we live temporarily, the other form determines how we live eternally. Today I will speak about the latter form. Internal poverty is the poverty of the soul. It describes the unmoved soul. The soul that has been created but has still failed to realize why. It is the soul that lives a purposeless life. The heart that beats but has already died. Because while this body cries and bleeds and feels pain from the material world, the soul is untouched by these things. There is only one thing that can cut or stab or impoverish the soul. There is only one thing that can kill it. To deprive it of its only one true need. To be close to its Originator, to be near God. Spiritual deprivation is the true impoverishment. True poverty is standing poor on the Day of Judgment. Despite this reality, we continue to live this life feeding our bodies but starving our souls. The sad irony of this focus is that the body that we tend to is only temporary while the soul that we neglect is eternal. When a body dies, we cry. But the death of the body is not true death. It's only the removing of a shell and the movement from one realm to a truer realm. We weep for the departing bodies but our hearts are unmoved by those bodies which are still alive but whose hearts and souls have already died. Because of the alienation from that which gives Life - God.

What impoverishes and kills the heart? 

It is allowing the heart to love anything as it should only love God. See, the heart was created with a very particular nature and for a very particular purpose. When you fail to use any created thing for the very purpose for which it was created, it breaks, it drowns, it starves, it dies...

The heart was created by and for God. The heart was created to know and love God. The heart was created to be given to God. To be filled, with God. The heart that is given to or filled by any other thing suffers the most painful impoverishment and death. 

The human heart is like a boat in the ocean of Dunya. The boat that allows the ocean's water to enter, breaks and then drowns. The human heart that allows this Dunya to enter, breaks and drowns and becomes owned...

Owned by this life, owned by our gadgets, our facebook, our jobs, the distractions, the fashion trends, the marketing tools, the money, the power, the status.

The heart that is owned by this life is a prisoner of the worst kind. The heart that is owned by any other master than the master of masters, it is the weakest of all slaves. That is true oppression, true death, true poverty.

By Ustadha Yasmin Mogahed 

Ponder Over The Quran

Assalaamu Alaikum! 

MashaAllah...it's very great to be a part of this.

And in sha Allah I wish to share with you in the next few episodes my favourite verses of the Quran.

That is a very very interesting question!

The reason is...everyone knows that as Mulimeen the favourite book of every Muslim is the Quran!

And if it isn't, it's supposed to be.

Some people don't have the knowledge of the Quran and for that reason they distance themselves from the Quran.

However, to be very honest with you, my favourite book ever is the Quran!

And it's because I've read it.

It's because I've have tried my best to understand it!

It's because, every single day, I try to look into the meanings of the Quran and how they apply to me in my life.

Every single day I try to open the Quran and find peace in it!

And I do!

And subahanAllah we learn and continue learning.

If we take a look at the question...now that we know which is supposed to be the favourite book for every Muslim.

Let's ask, 'which is the favourite verse?'

Well I can answer that question for myself.

I have many favourite verses. 

All the verses that are connected to, 'why Allah (subḥāanahu wa ta'āla) revealed the Quran, I really find intrigue in them.

I find them to really really on a different level!

When I see the reason why Allah revealed the Quran or some of the secrets of the Quran, or that Allah (subḥāanahu wa ta'āla) is encouraging us to do something regarding the Quran...Amazingly!! 

I find those verses really really powerful!!

Let me take you through one these such verses.

In Surat Sa'ad, Allah says, 'A book, a book...' subahanAllah!

'A book that We have revealed, a book that We have revealed'

This is what Allah (subḥāanahu wa ta'āla) is saying, 'blessed' -- 'mubaarakun' 

'Blessed' - the book is blessed

So, it is the most blessed book in existence because it's the word of Allah (subḥāanahu wa ta'āla)

Imagine!

People are looking for blessings in everything else, SubahaanAllah the word of Allah (subḥāanahu wa ta'āla) has great blessings!

He says it is a book, a book in which there are great blessings or a book that is blessed!

Mubaarakun! 

'In order that they, in order that they do something known as...tadabbur.'

'Tadabbur' is deep pondering!

Deep reflection! 

You know, deep rooted pondering over its verses! 

So Allah is telling us, 'A book that We have revealed blessed in order that they ponder very deeply over its verses.' 

'And for it to act as a reminder or for those to take heed who are of sound intellect.'

So...Amazing!

If you have sound intellect what would happen?

You would realize the blessed book!

And you would want to learn what is in it.

So this is how we would achieve the closeness to Allah, our Maker (subḥāanahu wa ta'āla)!

And this how we will become people who know that their link with their Maker is what will take them to Paradise.

How can I expect to enter Paradise when I don't have a link with the Owner of Paradise?

That Owner of Paradise has His words in our midst!

And those words are in the form of the Quran.

And He is telling us so many times, 'Ponder over the verses of Quran.'

This to me is one of the favourite verses if not the most favourite verse.

No verse is in the Quran just without purpose!

There is a purpose for every single verse.

And it's important for us to know that unless we go to ponder very deeply over the verses of the Quran we will not be able to achieve the blessings of Allah Subḥānahuwata'āla, the comfort, the peace, the happiness!

And perhaps we might lose out when it comes to the hereafter.

We don't want to lose out.

These are amazing words that are used in the Quran.

So, in sha Allah we meet again.

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

By Speaker: Sheikh Mufti Ismail Musa Menk

Can Money Make You Happy?

Assalaamu Alaikum!

This your brother Majed Mahmoud 

Does money make a person happy?

Is money a source of every evil?

Can money be with those that are religious?

Can I be a Muslim, proper 'Alem, Scholar, Sheikh, Qari that is a multimillionaire at the same time?

Before I answer that question, be honest with yourself.

What's the answer to it?

As a believer you have to know right away that absolutely yes! 

You can be very rich and be very religious in the same time!

You can be the one that has all the money in the world, in addition be the one who supports everyone that is in need and be in the highest level in paradise!

Look at Rasoolullahi (ﷺ)

At one time Rasoollullah (ﷺ) had amount of vehicles (ghanam) which is like animals that covered the valley between two mountains!

And wasn't he multimillionaire at that time?

If not even more? Absolutely!

Wasn't he happy with it?

Of course he was!

He was Rasoollullah.

Look at Suleiman (Alayhi Salaam)

Prophet Suleiman - the richest person ever walked on the face of this earth and let me add one more point.

And the richest person that will ever walk on the face of this earth!

And wasn't he happy?

ﷺ to Suleiman (Alayhi Salaam) who will be attaining 'firdaus al 'ala' - the highest ever!

Wasn't Abu Baqr As Siddiq, Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf, the ten people who were promised paradise?

How many of these ten people (RadiyAllahu Anhum) these great companions, the Prophet said, 'You are in jannah, you are in jannah, you are in jannah.'

How many of them were multi multimillionaires?

Abu Baqar As Siddique (RadiyAllahu Anhu) he is known as As Siddiq and he is also known as another nick name.

What was it?

What's his other nick name?

Al Atiq!

The one who frees that slaves.

He had so much money that he would buy slave and free him, buy the slave and free him.

So this concept that a religious person cannot be happy with money or basically that money comes only with evil...that's incorrect!

But the question that we should ask, 'What's that one element had we have along with money then we will benefit, then we will be happy from it?'

That's the real awesome question. 

The answer to this question brothers and sisters, it is—Iman!

Bring Iman with whatever blessing with Allah that Allah has blessed you with then that will be a source of happiness to you.

What's the proof?

Allah says in the Quran

'Whoever does a righteous deed along with the Iman'...what will happen?

'We will bless them with a good life.'

SubahaanAllah!

So if you have money, is it with Iman?

Yes!

Then bi'ithnillah you will be happy with it.

Because Iman will allow you to get the money form halal resource, spend it in the way that pleases Allah, and enjoy your time with whatever Allah made permissible.

And you fulfil your duties with it.

That's when Iman comes in place. 

Many people are rich, filthy rich, but they are miserable!

They commit suicide, why?

Because they are missing the Iman component!

Even if they got it from the halal perspective, they got it from a proper business and they spend it for orphans etc. but there is no Iman.

It will not work out.

Subhaan llah!

So the key point is Iman.

We ask Allah Subhanahuta'ala to bless me and you with wealth, had it been good for us, along with Iman to be of benefit to the whole Ummah and be with the Sahaabah and with our Prophet (ﷺ).

Although in sha Allah we will meet altogether in jannah.

Jazakummullahu Khair.

By Ustadh Majed Mahmoud