Salaah Develops Excellent Manners

Dear All...

Welcome to The Daily Reminder and our discussion surrounding Salaah & its importance in the 21st century.

My dear brothers & sisters...Islam is not just a religion, but a religion and a way of life. It came to teach us everything!

Rasoolullah (ﷺ) came to remove us from the depths of darkness to the heights of guidance & even though he was busy doing that. He taught us about everything good and he advised us towards it & told us about everything bad and evil & warned us against it.

And this was the testimony of the Sahaaba (radiyAllahu Anhum Ajma'een) From the teachings of Rasoolullah (ﷺ) is to be a good listener & never to interrupt somebody when they are speaking.

For once Rasoolullah (ﷺ) was teaching his companions & a bedouin walked into the gathering and said, 'O Prophet of Allah...when is the coming of the hour?' and Rasoolullah (ﷺ) heard him but he continued teaching.

To give a practical lesson to this person, never to interrupt when a discussion is taking place & when Rasoolullah (ﷺ) finished his lesson, he called out & said, 'Who is the one (or where is the one) who asked his question?

SubahaanAllah !

When we look at Salaah...my dear brothers & sisters, it also teaches us the all important concept of being a good listener for during Salaah we have been commanded as those behind the imam to remain silent & listen to the recitation of Imam.

Not just remain silent but also listen to the recitation of Imam. We have been commanded to allow the Imam to do his part & when he's done his part & he finishes Al Fathihah, now the part of those behind the imam comes in to say Ameen & when that is done...the imam continues with the recitation while everybody else remains silent, & not just remains silent but also pays attention to the recitation.

Allahu Akbar!

How Salaah develops our character & teaches us to be good listeners.

It is said that Allah has given us one tongue but two ears so let us listen more than we speak.

That's the lesson for this reminder.

I love you all for the sake of Allah!

Until next time...

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

By Sheikh Sajid Umar 

You're Not In Love!

These relationships that you think are so awesome...

And I'll fill you in a little, I'll fill you in.

Especially the teenagers in the audience and the young people in the audience.

Who kinda just, recently kinda shot an email, and somebody emailed them back and a little facebook thing happened and you know, little...little wink and a little hehe there at the playground, even though it's a separate school, but in recess you saw each other, and hehehe and hehehe, like a little bit of that happened.

Let me just fill you in a little.

You know all of this is a product of low self-esteem.

You (girls/women) think you're ugly.

So if a guy thinks you're cute, you are like, 'Really, I am beautiful?'

You know, you have low self-esteem, you think nobody is gonna like you, you know, nobody is gonna marry you, and all of that stuff and...

And on the other hand the guy, like you know.

We don't have good friendships and good relationships andwe are looking for something.

And most of the guys, I don't have to tell you what's going on in your head.
You and I have ijma'a (consensus) on this issue.

The things that go on in our head, there is no need for me to explain that to you, you know.

But you know just because you have raging hormones, and you are like, day dreaming about girls, and things like that, it doesn't mean that you are in love!
It just means that you haven't controlled your temptations yet.

And you're ruining somebody's life!

You're ruining an entire family!

Do you realize what you are doing?!

And you call it love?!

You tell me if she was like 50 ponds fatter, you'd still be in love?

Because she is the same person, same ruh (soul) inside her jasad (body), right?

If she was a burn victim or something, if her hand burnt off.

If her ear was missing, you'd still be in love?

Or you find somebody else to love all of a sudden?

And if you can't answer that question, honestly then, come on, you're not in love, you're just hormonal!

That's all you are. You know...

This is what we've done to relationships that are supposed to be beautiful.

Marriage is supposed to be a beautiful relationship.

It's supposed to be a lifelong relationship.

But because you are watching all of these models on TV, and stupid like...you know, women that are just throwing themselves at men and and all this stuff.

You've developed this delusional concept of what it means to have love in your life.
Delusional concept!

Our Deen came to free the world from this nonsense. To free it!

And if you've been in that kind of relationship, or you're in one of those relationships right now, nobody knows, only Allah knows and you know.

But I am saying....and you are like, 'After today's lecture I've decided I will no longer want to be your friend.'

You know, don't even write that!

Because even then you are looking for a response.

You're kidding yourself. And then you're checking, did she write back?

'Yes we should no longer be friends.'

And you'll write back, 'You're right, we really shouldn't be friends anymore.'

And then she'll write, 'Yeah, never again.'

And then you'll write...

You're still doing it.

Just stop!

Just cut it off!


That's it!

Either he is your brother, you share a mom or he's not.

And then that's the end of it.

By Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan 

The Heart

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu 

This is your brother Ismail Bullock here for the Daily Reminder.

Now today I want to discuss about the heart. We always spend our time caring about our parents, caring about our health, which is good, but that's what we focus on. We spend a lot of time trying to be healthy, making sure we look our best...but what about our hearts?

This is where everything comes from. This is where our faith is from -- the hearts.

This is where our true belief comes from the heart. And, Allah mentions that not only is it where our belief is, it's where we can get pure and true satisfaction and content from. 

Allah tells us in the Quran, referring to this remembrance, this dhikr of Allah. This remembrance of Allah and the effect it has on the heart, when he says... 

'Indeed with the remembrance of Allah do the hearts feel content, satisfied.'

So this is showing us the benefits of this dhikr. But how many of us, we don't spend our time on the dhikr. We forget these kind of basic azkaar in the morning, the dua's in the morning and the evening, the reading of the Quran when we can, the smallest dua's that we are supposed to do in things we do on a daily basis -- we forget them. All of these come under dhikr. And we know the best dhikr is the Quran, how many of us, we don't even spend five or ten minutes reading the Quran. Five or ten minutes! But we spend hours and hours on Facebook or watching T.V, or whatever it may be. 

And Allah describes those people who constantly remember him...constantly think and ponder and remember Allah. When he says in the Quran...

Allah says, 'Those who remember Allah when they are standing, when they are sitting, and when they are lying down, and they ponder and reflect upon the creations of the heavens and the earth, and they say, 'Oh our Lord! Surely you did not create this for no purpose. Glory be to you and save us from the punishment of the fire.''

So this shows us the status of those and should encourage us to be of those who remember Allah. 

So this is really, it was just a short reminder for all of us in sha Allah, to increase in the dhikr of Allah, and strive to be of those who remember Allah abundantly. And Allah says in the Quran that those who remember Allah abundantly, they will receive much reward. 

By Ustadh Ismail Bullock 

Know Your Creator!

How can you love someone, unless you know them?

And therefore my brothers and sisters...make effort to know Allah.

And what is the best way of knowing Allah?

The best way to know Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) is to read Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala)'s introduction about himself.

Because nobody can describe Allah better than Allah describes himself.

The word of Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) is the most powerful word, there is no word which is more powerful than Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala)'s word.

And therefore, read what Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) said about himself in the Qur'an and reflect on every single word of what you are reading.

Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) said... 

"Allahu laaa ilaaha illaa huwal haiyul qai-yoom; laa taakhuzuhoo sinatunw wa laa nawm; lahoo maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil ard; man zallazee yashfa'u indahooo illaa be iznih; ya'lamu maa baina zideehim wa maa khalfahum; wa laa yuheetoona beshai 'immin 'ilmihee illa be maa shaaaa; wasi'a kursiyyuhus samaa waati wal arda wa la ya'ooduho hifzuhumaa; wa huwal aliyyul 'azeem" [Al baqarah: 255]

Translation: 

"Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

Allahu Akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illallah. 

Translation: Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.

Huwallaa-hullazi Laaa-'illaaha 'illaa Huu: -'Aalimul-gaybi wash-shahaadah; Huwar-Rahmaanur-Rahiim. (59:22)

Translation: 

"Allah- There is no deity except him. Who knows both what is hidden and what can be witnessed. He is the most compassionate. Most Merciful."

Huwal laahul Khaaliqul Baari 'ul Musawwiru lahul 'Asmaa-'ul-Husnaa: yusabbihu lahuu maa fis-samaawaati wal-'arz: wa Huwal-'Aziizul-Hakim. (59:24)

Translation:

"He is Allah, the creator, the evolver, the bestower of the form. To him belong the most beautiful names: Whatever exists in heaven and earth declares his praise and glory. And He is exalted in power, The most wise."

Allahu Akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illallah. 

Translation: Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, and there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.

WAllahu Akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lillahil hamd. 

Translation: Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, All praises and thanks are for him.

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim 

Qul hu Allahu ahad - Translation: Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,

Allahuss samad -- Translation: Allah, the Eternal Refuge.

Lam yalid wa lam yulad -- Translation: He neither begets nor is born

Wa lam ya kullahu kufu wan Ahad -- Translation: Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

This is Allah...

Reflect on every word of what He said.

And then, that tomorrow which is sure...will become real.

Today, why do we plan for a tomorrow which never comes? 

Because that is the tomorrow we talk about all the time.

And the more you talk about something, the more that thing becomes real.

And why is it that even though it is our yakeen (certainty), even though it is our imaan (faith) that there is that tomorrow which is definite which is the yawm al akhirah (the Day of Judgment) and which is the jannah which comes after that In shaa Allah.

Why is it that we still don't work for it even though we know this? 

Because we don't talk about it.

By Sheikh Ustadh Mirza Yawar Baig 

Why Is Life So Hard?

Is there any doctor that would make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year without going through any kind of MCAT's , PCAT's, DAT's, chemistry, biology, whatever class, where he or she has to be examined and take the test?

Can anyone join the basketball team or the soccer team without going through some tests and tryouts?

Can anyone take their driver's license without taking a driving test? 

And now when Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) says... 

Do you guys think out of your mind that you will be saying, 'I believe!' and you will not be tested? 

Allah is telling you that, you will be left alone saying I believe and no test.

SubhaanAllah!

Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) says... 

And you think you will enter paradise just like that? 

And you will not face what the people in the past have faced?

They faced sicknesses, poverty, calamities and they were shaken...out of test and trials.

You think you will just say I believe and enter Jannah?

You think you would just go with life so smoothly and you will go to Jannah where you have a mansion .

Where you go around and all kind of food is around.

You will go to Jannah and you will never ever in your life be sad or depressed.

You will go to Jannah and enjoy every beautiful scene around you. 

You think you will go to Jannah where in that place you will never be sick, you will never sneeze except beauty, you will never have any sweat and if you had sweat...when you have sweat it will be musk and beautiful smell.

When you go to Jannah your house will be made of bricks of gold and silver...all that in Jannah just like that?!

And when you go to Jannah and you enjoy the most beautiful thing in the world - the most beautiful thing which you will ever experience, which is seeing Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala).

You seeing Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) is the most beautiful thing in the world. 

You would just get it just like that?

By Ustadh Majed Mahmoud

Salah Teaches Us To Be Dynamic

Aassalamalikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu!

Welcome everyone to The Daily Reminder and our discussion surrounding Salaah & its importance in the 21st century.

My dear brothers & sisters, in life it's important that we are dynamic in that which we do so that we do not become bored.When we do something in a static way we end up becoming bored and Salaah teaches us this all important concept of being dynamic. For in the worship of Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) - through Salaah we see that Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) has commanded us to worship him whilst standing during some periods & then to worship him whilst bowing during some period & then to worship him through prostration during some periods and then to worship him through sitting during some period. We worship Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) using invocations, using recitations from the book of Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) & even in that...we see the shariah teaching us how to be dynamic in that for in Salaah we are not encouraged to read just one surah but rather different suwar during the different salawaat.

Even when we look at the invocations at the beginning of Salaah we find that Rasoolullah (ﷺ) was known to have more than one, he taught us more than one, even in rukoo there are more invocations taught to us by the Prophet (ﷺ) than just the common, subahaana rabbiy al adheem...after subahaana rabbiy al adheem there are other invocations to allow our Salaah & our worship to remain dynamic. Where we have constant interest & we are not bored.

Allahu Akbar!

When we study lets be dynamic in our study. Lets study through listening to audio for example and then study via reading from reading material and then lets us study by attending live lectures & sometimes online lectures. Lets us study sometimes as individuals & sometimes let us study as a groups...this way the process of study is dynamic & we don't become bored when we study. The same applies to our work, and what we do in our work & how we do it!

For example when we train & go to the gym for example, this different exercises, we dynamic in how we train ourselves when we jog for example. Let us take different routes for example, so that the process of jogging also remains dynamic & we have a special interest in doing it every day. Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) created us & he knows us better than we know ourselves & thus he has made obligatory this Salaah in this fashion & in this manner because he knows what keeps us interested and he knows what makes us bored. Let us learn from Salaah & let Salaah develop our character.

I love you all for the sake of Allah!

Until next time...

Aassalamalikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu!

By Sheikh Sajid Umar 

The Mercy Of Allah

We as Muslims need to understand. 

We need to understand the nature of the mercy of Allah. 

We are dealing with the one who in surah 39 ayah number 53, who tells us, he tells the prophet (ﷺ) to proclaim, to announce and say...

'Qul yaa 'ibaadi'

O my slaves!

He's having this proclamation made. 

O my slaves!

Allah is calling out. Now, which slaves is Allah talking to? The righteous? The pious? The scholars? No! No! No! 

'Allazeena 'asrafoo 'alaa 'anfusihim'

The ones who have wronged themselves. And the word for wrong is not just wrong, but crossing the line, 'asrafoo ('israa) -- they've crossed all lines against themselves. They are self-sabotaging, self-imploding.

'asrafoo 'alaa 'anfusihim'

They are harming themselves. 

'laa taqnatoo mir-rahmatil-laah'

Do not ever, ever, ever despair from the mercy of Allah. Don't you dare ever lose hope in the mercy of Allah! This, grammatically-speaking, this is called seeratun nahee. This is the forbidding form of the word.

'Don't you dare...'

It is forbidden for you to ever despair from the mercy of Allah. 

We gotta lot of talk in our communities about what's haram. This is haram and that is haram and that is haram.

The haram we need to be talking about, the haram we need to understand that comes first and foremost, it is haram to lose hope in the mercy of Allah. It is haram to despair from the mercy of Allah. 

'Laa taqnatoo mir-rahmatil-laah'

Why?

'Innal-laaha yaghfriuz-zunooba jamee'aa'

Allah can and will forgive all the sins. All the sins!

'Innal-laaha yaghfriuz-zunooba jamee'aa; 'innahoo Huwal-Ghafoorur-Raheem.'

Why? Because He and only He alone is the one who is Constantly Forgiving, and Constantly Merciful. 

We as Muslims need to understand. We need to attach our hopes onto the mercy of Allah. We need to attach our hopes onto the mercy of Allah. We need to understand the nature of the mercy of Allah. 

How confident it should make us, how much of a sense of security should it give us. How much love it should bring into our hearts for the one who we're dealing with. The nature of the mercy of Allah, Allah tells us Himself in the Quran

'Innar-rahmati wasi-'at kulla shay'

Most definitely, My mercy, it encompasses everything. 

Everything!

By Sheikh Abdul Nasir Jangda 

The Parable Of Life

This is your brother Gabriel Al Romaani.

Al Imam Ghazzali - he gives us an amazing parable. The parable of a man who walks through a forest, and as he's walking, being calm...all of a sudden this lion jumps up and starts chasing.

So imagine yourself!

You walking through a forest...all of a sudden, lion jumps out...starts chasing you. So he runs, runs, runs as fast as he can then he sees a well in front of him and he jumps into it, and mission impossible...holds on, grabs on to a rope and he is in safety, but then he notices beneath him a snake just wants to bite him. He is scared now. He sees the lion is up! The snake is down! What can he do? Slowly he sees two mice coming in, one black and one white and they start chewing, that's exactly what they're doing, they are chewing at this rope and in this spare he notices on the wall a honey comb. Honey! Sweet honey, then he dips his finger into it and starts eating from it, and he forgets about the lion, forgets above the snake, forgets about the mice. 

Imam Ghazzali says this is the parable of life! 

That subahaanAllah! This lion is death chasing us, it can jump at anytime from anywhere! You don't know where its gonna come from! It can hit you from anywhere! 

The rope that he hanged onto was his life.

The snake beneath him is the grave that's waiting for him! And the two mice, the black one is a night, the white one is the day eating out our lives day/night day/night, time passes by and death is certain. And that honey comb is this distractions that are around us! 

This dunya that has taken us away from remembering that this death is certain. 

Brothers and sisters let us remember Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala).

Let us make tawba (repent).

Let us make tawba to Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) that we will meet Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) on the kalimatut tawheed.

By Ustadh Gabriel Al Romaani

Are Paul Walker & Nelson Mandela Going To Hell?

Assalamu Alaikum!

This is your brother Majed Mahmoud recording for The Daily Reminder. 

Brothers and Sisters, this video contains some very important information and I strongly encourage every single one of you to watch until the end, especially if you don't know the answer to the following question. Please and thank you. 

Are Paul Walker and Nelson Mandela and those of their likes, are they going to end up going to the hell fire?

Before we give such judgment or even talk about this, we need to understand that not every single one who dies as a non-Muslim enters hell fire or can even be put in the same category. 

So as you can note right here, there are those who learned and understood the message of Islam but they chose to reject and there are those who did not learn nor understand the message of Islam and they died as non-Muslims. Amongst them those are clue less. For example, there is a person who lives in an island and has no idea whatsoever about Islam. Or it could be someone who lives in New York, and I personally saw an interview of someone who was asked about Islam, 'Do you know what's Islam Sir?'

He's like 'What?!' 

And he felt completely out of the world, never heard anything about Islam. 

Number two, people had the corrupted understanding. So they went to an anti-Islamic website, heard a hater or an ignorant person who said, Islam is about killing innocent people, etc.

So that person believed that horrible message and they feared any Muslim let alone convert to Islam. 

And there's lastly group letter C will have the minimum understanding, for example, a Muslim youth group goes to a homeless shelter and they pass around some food, and one of the homeless men over there asks the youth, 'Why are you doing this?' And that Muslim youth says, 'I am a Muslim and Islam teaches me to give those and help those are in need.' So all what that homeless man knows is that Islam helps those in need. So that's all what he knows.

Now with this being said, is Paul Walker, Nelson Mandela, etc. going to Jahannam (Hell). Now had they, Allahu 'alam, fall into the second category, then the ulema (scholars) have said a lot about them. 

For example, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Al Qayyim, Al-Lajna Ad Daaemah and many, many other ulema, they said we cannot confirm whether they're gonna go to Jannah or Jahannam. Rather Allah (Subahaanahu wa ta'ala) - Al-Hakam (the judge) will give a very fair test to them, had they passed, they go to Jannah, had they failed, they go to Jahannam. 

And the proof they've used, in Suratul Isra, chapter 17, verse 15, where Allah said...

And we would never punish, we would never punish someone until that person fully understood and learned that message, is it clear? So therefore is it possible that you go to Jannah? Had they fall into that second category and they pass the test. Then you never know, you might find Paul Walker driving in Jannah. 

Allahu 'alam, is it clear? 

What's the action item? Action item is very clear, we shall never rush and give a final verdict on anyone on the face of this earth unless Allah or Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) don't forget ﷺ have already confirmed some destination to certain people.

By Ustadh Majed Mahmoud 

Men & Women Are Different

This is your brother Abdul Wahab Saleem with The Daily Reminder.

Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) says in the Quran... 

Wal layli iza yaqsha Of course, every single one of has either memorized this surah or heard it numerous times...rather innumerable times in Salaah. Allah says the night as it envelopes, what does the night envelope? The night envelopes all of humanity. When the night falls everything becomes dark, when the night falls it becomes extremely dark, within the entire world so Allah says in the Quran...

The night when it envelopes all of the world!

Then Allah continues and he says...

"And the day when it becomes bright" and the interesting thing is that Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) says 'tajalla' using the verb form tafaa'alaa which has a connotation of something occurring gradually. So if you sit in the morning time and as I was doing just this morning, you sit in the morning time and you look at the eastern horizon of the sky you will notice that the sun is coming out slowly, it will be coming out slowly and as it gradually appears...gradually the 'nahaar' - the morning time also appears along with the gradual progression of the sun. Wanhari iza tajalla 

So these are two things, two concepts - the night and the day...if you go to the youngest of children, may be my daughter that's about 4 years old she knows that its night time now and its day time now. Depending on the time of the day she'll tell you It's dark outside or its not dark outside...it's really bright outside, the sun is in the eyes she will say. 

Every single one of us, children the older, the elderly, all of us know the night from the day and for that reason Allah starts this beautiful surah with the beautiful message with the night and day because this is one difference that I know, that you know, that every single one of us knows, but then he continues to something, he knew people are going to differ about. 

And he says...

And I also swear...so Allah is swearing first and foremost by the night, then he swears by the day, then he swears a third, he takes a third oath and he says, 'and also by the creation of the male and the female' 

And why does he do this?

Why does he take an oath now a third time between something, two things that are opposites as well, essentially he talked about the day and the night, or the night and the day...two things that are opposites, then now he spoke about another two things both of which are also opposites. The reason for that dear brother, dear viewer, dear sister is because of the fact that we as man and woman upon this earth, men and women upon this earth...we have separate tasks.

We aim for hereafter...yes we do!

That is one goal that unites us but the tasks that we have been appointed or we have been, you know, given by Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) are separate tasks. Rather the tasks that nature has given us are also different. Nature i.e. The nature that we see around us, otherwise everything is the creation of Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala). The tasks that we by nature have are totally different.

Al ummu madadarsutun ila madatta adaata shaaaban taibal aaraqi.

This is a time where we have to realize this message in this verse that Allah discusses the day and the night, then he talks about two other opposites...

And then he gives the reason why he had taken this oath to begin with...

'You O man! You O woman! You have two different tasks upon this land.' The way you are gonna strive is going to be totally different. A man is not like a woman and a woman is not like a man, they're two different entities.

By Sheikh Abdul Wahab Saleem

Worship Allah As If You See Him!

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us in the 'Hadith of Jibreal' (alayhissalam) where the angel Jibreal came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and began to ask him some questions. And he said, 'what Islam? What is Imaan? What is Ihsan?' and the Prophet (peace be on him) would describe all of these levels because we know you have a Muslim and Muslim is anyone who believes in Allah and the messenger and all of you know the other conditions. To believe, to be a Muslim is very easy but to be a M'umin is now the next level. Who is the M'umin? The Mu'min is the one who stays away from doing any major sins. And then you have the Muhsin. The muhsin is where we want to be. The outstanding believer, the Muhsin...literally it means a doer of goods. Now you might ask anyone can do goods but a Muhsin is someone who if you were to meet him...you are going to get something good from him. If he is going to go to a place, he will do something of good. 

I remember once hearing about...there was a brother in Germany. And this brother, he would subhaanAllah, work so hard in dawah, working for the ummah some of the brothers, they said, 'Ya Akhi! You are working too hard. I mean we just you night and day. You need a rest! Ya'ani It's not haram to take a rest. So they organized for him to go on a vacation with his wife. So they sent him to some far away village, you know, some costal town or something to stay for about a week or two, and then they caught up with the brother there and after these 2 weeks they found out that he had already opened a musAllah and had started to gather the Muslims of that area and started teaching them in the MusAllah. He could not sit back!! He was a Muhsin, a doer of good. That wherever he went, he needed to give something of good. This is the outstanding believer. The one who does this for the sake of Allah, for Allah because the Prophet (ﷺ) said that the one who reaches this level of Ihsan, it is the one who worshipped Allah as if he is seeing Allah.

Beware Of Your Friend!

Do you know that if you have bad qualities, most probably you got it from your peers, those you mixed with! Sometimes they might even be your family members, sometimes even your parents! So if you have a bad quality, you probably got it from somewhere, but you didn't get it from Allah, you got it from the devil! The devil came to you in the form of possibly, most probably your friends and your peers! And sometimes this devil comes in the form of your best friend. May Allah protect us! Sometimes the devil comes using the mouth of really someone who is very close to you! Satan is very sharp. He's very intelligent! So sometimes the upbringing in home is very very good but the school you send your child to they, learn an accent from that school which is totally unacceptable! They begin to speak slang! They begin to swear, they begin to cheat and steal. All that is from the school we need to be careful which schools we send our children to! We need to be careful what type of friends our children mix with, and bigger than that, more important than that...how, what type of people we mix with ourselves. So Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) says in Suratul Furqan regarding the one who did not have good company... Definitely on the day of qiyaama, they will regret and say, 'ya Allah! This person whom I have associated with...my friend my, bosom buddy, they made me forget you, ya Allah and definitely Satan was very deceiving to me ya Allah.' Now let me inform you...when a person is smoking, 9 times out of 10, they've learnt it from the people they've mixed with! When a person is on drugs, 9 times out of 10, it is from people they associated with! When a person is an adulterer, 9 times out of 10, they've learnt it from the company they had! When a person does not come for salaah, 9 times out of 10, it is because that is the trend around the people they mix with. When a person is an alcoholic, 9 times out of 10, it is because those whom he or she is with is also like that! When a person has a bad mouth, it's also the same and that is why rehabilitation is a waste of time if you yourself do not want to help yourself! Because I promise you, a person who is on drugs, a person who is an alcoholic, a person who has any bad habit, it is upto to you to change. The whole world can want to rehabilitate you for ever and ever but if that quality is still in your heart it is a waste of time and money for everybody to be worried about you! May Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) protect us! And this is why Allah says if you want to save yourself, the first thing you need to do, change your company totally! 

Totally...every one of them! Change them!

If you are a bad person on drugs, cut out the whole friendship and parents of those who are on drugs, let me inform you, you might want to change the suburb and the city you are living in, in order to protect your son or your daughter! You might want to go into a remote town so that your children can abstain from those they mixed with! It will do you a ton of good even though your income might have decreased, you will save your children. That's the important of locality you live in, the importance of it...and how serious it is! Your suburb, the area you live in, be careful, make sure you choose it properly! You rather live in a slum where people around you all go to the masjid. That is one of the biggest plans of Satan, is he comes to you through your company! Your company, your company, your company and this is why we are taught when you want to know someone, don't look at them...just look at the people they mix with and close the file! That's it! Someone who is pious and someone who is a drunkard...they cant move together! Really! May he protect our offspring from all these bad habits!

By Mufti Ismail Menk 

A Trick Of Shaithaan

I want to tell you about a trick of Shaitaan. When you go late to work and you're late, and your boss is angry because you are late, and lots of people work at your office, you know what you do? You avoid eye contact and sneak into your cubicle. You don't want to face him. When you have a bad report card, and you go home to family in 6-7 grade and you got bad a report card, you sneak into the house. There's no, "Salam Alaikum, I'm home!" You sneak in and kind of go and you pass out, you go to sleep.

"What happened in school?" "Nothing!"

When you disappoint someone you avoid contact, it is natural. In this faith when do something shameless, when we wrong ourselves, who have we disappointed? Allah azzawajal. You've disappointed Allah. So naturally, Shaitaan takes advantage of this. He comes to you and says: "You're going to pray now, you hypocrite. You do this shameless thing, you do this and that, and now you wanna go attend a class! Now you wanna go to do ibadah? You're such a two faced person." So the person says to himself: "Yeah, I shouldn't pray because I'm two faced." Shaitaan takes advantage. He distances you from Allah and he is embarrassed to go in front of Allah azzawajal. But the true muttaq, he does something wrong, and immediately what does he do? - He remembers Allah. "Zakarullah" (remembering Allah) There not even no "fa" "thu'umma"(then, after) nothing. Zakarullah, immediately!

"Fastaghfaru li zunoobi him." Then they ask Allah to forgive for their sins. And the word for sins here, zunoob, comes from zanab actually, meaning a tail. That which you're not proud of. That which humiliates you. Something you did that you're not proud of. And they ask Allah to forgive those embarrassing things that they did. " Wa ma'ii yaghfiruz zunoob illallah"- who's gonna forgive sins if not Allah. Who are you gonna go to? Where else you got to? Who knows the thing that you and I have done wrong except ourselves and Allah. There's a lot of things in our closet that Allah has not exposed. And only Allah knows, and we have to find the time to ask Allah to forgive. This is the main attribute of people that are described that enter jannah. "Ooula'eeka lahum jannatu tajri min tahti hal anhar" The ayat are coming. The sandwich between mentions of Jannah. 

And the last thing I share with you about this final passage. I was one time with my family and we were at a mall, and this other mom was yelling at her child. This mother was yelling at her child. And the kid's crying his head off. And she gave him a little you know (slap). But you know where the child went? After he even got hit and yelled at. He's still holding on to the mother. He's not letting go. Everywhere else around there's ugly gigantic strangers, he doesn't wanna deal with them. Even if she is angry, even if she is disappointed, even if she is upset, his whole world, his whole shelter, his whole protection, where's he gonna go except...?- his mother. And it made me think, SubhanAllah, when you and I sin, when you and I disobey Allah where are we gonna go? Where else is there to go? Who do we turn to? We don't have anywhere else to turn. So even if we disappoint our lord, even if we fall short of the standard he set for us, the true muttaq, hopeful of jannah, never loses hope in Allah. Don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah. You're not allowed to lose hope in the mercy of Allah. This is the attitude we have to internalize. May Allah azzawajal make us from among the muttaqeen. May Allah make us from those who spend when it is easy and when it is difficult. 

May Allah make us of those who whenever they commit and act that is not becoming of a believer they immediately remember Allah and they ask Allah to forgive their sins, for who is there to forgive their sins except Allah

By Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan 

who is God ?

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu

'One of the biggest issues leaving society confused today is not knowing who God is. This is mainly due to the amount of corrupt definitions of God available in the public, from Thor, to Zeus, to both Kanye West and Eminem labelling themselves as "Gods", many of us have either given up on God completely or are left with a misconstrued understanding of who God is.

I present to you God in the most logical and rational sense yet. Ten minutes of your time that would only benefit you if you were truly sincere to find out the truth.

By Kamal Saleh 

Salah Develops Leadership & Team Skills

Dear all - Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu!

Welcome to The Daily Reminder and our discussion surrounding Salaah in 21st century. 

My dear brothers and sisters, one of the lessons of Salaah, that Salaah teaches us, is how to be a great leader and how to be a great team player. 

If we look at the Salaah in jama'ah and the teachings of Islam pertaining to Salaah in jama'ah we cannot help, but learn the characteristics of leadership and the characteristics of being a team member and a team player.

When we look at Salaah in jama'ah, we see that the imam is the head. He leads the congregation and the shari'ah has asked him to be a diligent leader. In his Salaah he is supposed to be able to make executive decisions, for once Rasoolallah (ﷺ) was praying and he heard a child crying ﷺ and he was a mercy to the worlds ﷺ, thus he shortened the prayer and informed the ummah that he heard a child crying and thus he shortened the prayer ﷺ and that is what a leader does! A leader is supposed to have the skills, the ability and the character to make executive decisions when those decisions are required. When we look at Salaah in jama'ah we see that no one is allowed to act before the imam. The team members have to be worthy team members. They have to know their place in the whole structure of the jama'ah, they have to know who the head is and they have to learn how to take instructions from the head and follow that instruction well. Salaah teaches us how to be amazing team members and how to be amazing team players! We are not allowed to prostate before the imam, nor bow before the imam (subhaana rabbiyal 'ala) and also in our action in Salaah we are supposed to be in sink with others that we are with...in that jama'ah. Before we start that prayer the imam as the leader and this is from leadership skills that Salaah teaches us, has to make sure that everyone is lined up in Salaah perfectly and the shariah teaches us that the correctness of the Salaah is dependent on the correctness of the lines of the believers in Salaah!

Allahu Akbar!

How many lessons can Salaah teach us! 

Look at how Salaah can develop our character and make us better individuals.

Allahu Akbar! 

May Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) grant us the understanding (Ameen!). 

Until next time...in our discussion surrounding Salaah in the 21st century. 

I love you all for the sake of Allah. 

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaathuhu!

BySheikh Sajid Umar 

Beware Of Backbiting! ᴴᴰ ┇ Amazing Reminder ┇ by Ustadh Kamal El Mekki ┇...

HOW TO OVERCOME ANGER AND THE REWARD FOR CONTROLLING IT

Acting upon anger leaves a door for shaytaan, so do not to act upon anger follow what ha been advised in the hadiths of The Prophet (SAW).

Two men began hurling insults at one another in the presence of the Prophet (SAW), each one insulting the other with such anger that his face had turned red. The Prophet (SAW) said:...

“I know a word that if one were to say it, what stresses him would go away. If he would but say: ‘I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Accursed'.” [Bukhârî, Muslim]

The Prophet (SAW) advised us not to speak when we are angry. He said:

“If one of you gets angry, he should be quiet.” [Ahmad]

The Prophet (SAW) gave us other practical advice. He said:

“If one of you gets angry and he is standing, then he should sit down until his anger subsides. If it does not, then he should lie down.” [Abu Dawood]

He also said: “Anger is from Satan, and Satan was created from fire. Fire is but extinguished by water, so if one of you gets angry, he should perform wudû'.” [Abu Dawood, Ahmad]

“The strong is not the one who over comes the people by his strength. But the strong is the one who controls him while in anger." [Bukhârî, Muslim]

A righteous person is promised Paradise and one of the characteristics of righteousness is being able to control anger.

“And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious. Those who spend (in God’s Cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon the people; verily, God loves the good-doers.” [Quran 3:133-134]

“So whatever you have been given is but (a passing) enjoyment for this worldly life, but that which is with God (Paradise) is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. And those who avoid the greater sins, and illegal sexual intercourse, and when they are angry, they forgive.” [Quran 42:36 -37]

The Prophet (SAW) said, “If anyone suppresses anger when he is in a position to give vent to it, God, the exalted, will call him on the Day of Resurrection and ask him to choose from the rewards offered.” [Abu Dawood]

Hijab : A Male Perspective

As the great poet , Amir Sulaiman once said , “ When a man _is truly a man- , it makes a woman comfortable to truly be a woman .”

"There are men among the believers who honored their pledge to God: some of them have fulfilled it by death, and some are still waiting. They have not changed in the least." (Qur’an 33:23)

There is no doubt that, as of late, many Muslim women have decided to remove their head-scarves, despite a consensus among scholars that hijab is required. Oftentimes, when modesty as a virtue is discussed within our communities, the discussion almost always exclusively surrounds the modesty of Muslim women. Personally, I feel that when discussing modesty (both character (inward) as well of clothing (outward)), a greater focus needs to be put on men as contributors to the decline of modesty within the community. Although there are many factors that play into Muslim women’s decisions to remove their head-scarves, that is not part of this particular discussion. It is my belief that many of the causes in the decline of modesty are based mainly upon the lack of modesty amongst Muslim males (and the double standards they tend to enjoy). Through reviving Prophetic chivalry and masculine modesty within themselves, Muslim men can more effectively contribute to sustaining modesty within the Muslim community.

In a profound noble prophetic narration, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) gives us an understanding of communal modesty and chastity which places the greater (but not exclusive) responsibility upon men. He says (peace and blessings be upon him, "Be kind to your parents, and your children will be kind to you; be chaste, and your women will be chaste." [Tabarani - classified as hasan]

The first half of the Prophet’s statement (God bless him and grant him peace) is general, whereas the second half of the narration is directed specifically at men. One way of understanding this prophetic narration is that if Muslim men implement modesty and chastity within themselves, their virtuous character will spread and positively influence women as well. By extension, the opposite is also true: if men lose their sense of chastity, their immorality will negatively influence women within society. If one takes a moment to reflect on the way this plays within society, they will see its truth, especially in today’s world. It suffices to say that the pornographic industry which essentially turns women into sex-slaves is largely run and sustained by males.

The fact of the matter is that we live in a hyper-sexualized world obsessed with appearances, and this presents severe challenges upon the Muslim spiritual psyche. We are bombarded with immodest images (oftentimes against our will) of the human body that affect us consciously and unconsciously, making it an uphill battle to be a chaste and modest human-being. Nevertheless, the definition of a righteous Muslim is one who fights against their lowly desires and purifies their souls from the tarnishes of this world. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and mercy be upon him) said, "Islam began as a stranger and it will return to being a stranger as it once was. Therefore, blessed are the strangers who remain virtuous when everyone else becomes corrupt." [Muslim, Tirmidhi].

Regardless of what we are surrounded by, Muslim men must hold themselves to a higher standard of morality and virtue. Once Muslim men take their piety, education, and character seriously, our noble female counterparts will recognize and appreciate that within us. We must abolish the double standard that exists in our communities - not by lowering the standard of feminine modesty, but rather by demanding Muslim men live up to standards of modesty already given to us by God and His Messenger. When Muslim males gawk at half-naked women (whether in public, on television, or on the internet), act and speak lewdly, and show a greater appreciation for immoral women, then what kind of message does that send to Muslim women who attempt to maintain their dignity inwardly and outwardly? Oftentimes, when Muslim women see so many Muslim males acting this way, they lose hope in finding a righteous husband and sometimes ask themselves why they even bother to wear the head-scarf. If Muslim men held themselves to a higher standard, acted like gentlemen, and appreciated the greater qualities within women such as mercy, trustworthiness, loyalty, and modesty - then Muslim women would feel more appreciated for their struggle to be modest, or at the very least feel that Muslim men can relate.

Being a male does not make you a man. A man is made through uprightness, dependability, and virtuous character. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and mercy of God be upon him) was the greatest human being and the greatest man to ever walk this earth, and one of his most outstanding virtues was his intense modesty. He is our standard; he is our master; he is our model - may God bless him and grant him peace! We have to hold ourselves to higher standards and not unjustly place the entire burden of communal modesty upon our sisters’ shoulders. When men step up and take greater responsibility in their own modesty, it will show our care for and solidarity with our Muslim sisters, and create a sense of cooperation between the believing men and women. When Muslim men show greater appreciation towards the struggles of Muslim women by being upright men, it will make our sisters feel truly appreciated and create a sustainable moral environment within our communities.

As the great poet, Amir Sulaiman once said, “When a man is truly a man, it makes a woman comfortable to truly be a woman.”

And success is from God.

By Amjad Tarsin, 09 Jan 2014

He Is With You Wherever You Are!

Do people act differently when their boss is in the room?

Do people act differently when they see a police car on the highway on the side?

They do...don't they? 

Do People act differently when they know there's a camera on the tree...street light or the stop sign. 

They do don't they?! 

Automatic Taqwa - automatic!

Ihsaan. 

You recognize the presence of a high power and it changes your behavior. 

If we internalize 'huwa maa kum aina ma kuntum' there would necessarily be a change in my behavior. There would be!

And if it's not happening, may be I don't really understand what this means yet! May be its all up in my head and it hasn't entered my heart . 

What it means he is with you wherever you are. 'Huwa makum aina ma kuntum.'

By Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan