A beautiful poem- I'm Malkul Maut‏

I'm Malkul Maut

It was early in the morning at four,

When death knocked upon a bedroom door.

Who is there? The sleeping one cried. 

I'm Malkul Maut, let me inside. 

At once, the man began to shiver, 

As one sweating in deadly fever, 

He shouted to his sleeping wife, 

Don't let him take away my life. 

Please go away, O Angel of Death! 

Leave me alone; I'm not ready yet. 

My parents and family on me depends, 

Give me a chance, O please prepense! 

The angel knocked again and again, 

Friend! I'll take your life without a pain, 

Guard yourselves against the Fire

Adi bin Hatim (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: 

Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Guard yourselves against the Fire (of Hell) even if it be only with half a date-fruit (given in charity); and if you cannot afford even that, you should at least say a good word.''

(Bukhari & Muslim)

Strength of Charity

In a sermon to his Companions the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saws) had narrated: “When Allah (swt) made the earth, he created mountains on it to keep it from shaking. Then the angels asked, “O’ Allah is there anything in your creation that is stronger than these mountains?
And, Allah (swt) replied, “Iron is stronger than the mountains for it breaks them.”
And, is there anything stronger in your creation than iron?
“Yes, fire is stronger than iron for it melts it.”

“Is anything stronger than fire? 
“Yes, water, for it quenches fire.”
“Is there anything stronger than water?”
“Yes, the wind, which puts water in motion.”
“O’, our Sustainer, is there anything stronger than wind?”
“Yes, a good man giving alms. If he gives it with his right hand and conceals it with his left he overcomes all things.”

Every good act is charity. Your putting a wanderer on the right road, your giving water to the thirsty, is charity. A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good that he has done to his fellowmen. When he dies people will ask, “What property has he left behind him?” But, the angels will ask, “What good deeds has he sent before him?” (Tirmizi)

Source: http://www.islamicvoice.com/September2011/PRISMOFLIFE/index.php#StrengthofCharity

Sadqa-e-Jariya

"Whoever builds a mosque desiring thereby God's pleasure, 

God builds for them the like of it in paradise" 

The Prophet Muhammad - Peace be upon him

Charity is a way of bringing justice to society, and justice is the essence of Islam. It is therefore no surprise that in Islam there is a great of emphasis on the support of needy and disabled members of society.  It is in fact a sacred duty of the wealthy Muslims to give part of their possessions to fulfil the needs of the deprived sections of the community.

There are two categories of charity in Islam:

Obligatory charity known as Zakat.

Voluntary charity known as Sadaqa.

Did you know that the Qur'an advises Muslims "...to perform the worship and give charity (Zakat)..." (chapter 2: verse 43) and warns us of the need for material sacrifice if we wish to attain God's pleasure: "By no means shall you attain righteousness, unless you give of that which you love." (Chapter 3: verse 92)

Zakat

Each adult Muslims who is gainfully employed must give two and a half percent or more of their savings to the needy on an annual basis.

Sadqa-e-Jariya - continous charity

The best form of voluntary charity is Sadqa-e-Jariya (continous charity). Examples of this includes:

Teaching a skill to a person so he/she can make a living

Educating people about Islam

Building a School or Mosque

Or simply planting a fruit or shade tree so that other people can benefit from it. 

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said "When a person dies his/her actions come to an end except three that he/she leaves behind:

Sadqa-e-Jariya (continous charity)

Knowledge (e.g book, blogs, videos) from which other people derive benefit

and a righteous offsprings who prays for his/her forgiveness"

Did you know charity can also be performed in other forms which are non-monetary such as voluntary work, helping others, or using one's talents and skills for good causes. In Islam any good work or deed is regarded as an act of charity. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him ) said: "And your smiling  is charity; your removing of stones and thorns from people's paths is charity, (to avoid potential threat from their way) and your guiding a person gone astray in the world is charity".


Courtesy: http://www.swanseamosque.org/newmosque/donate/sadqa

Charity in Islam

It is more blessed to give than to receive Charity, Charity in Islam

A young man, a student in one of the university, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students' friend, for his kindness towards the students. 


As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work.


The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."


"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him."


The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by.
The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin.
Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.


His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing.


The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"


The young man replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of those words, which I never understood before: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive." 


Courtesy: http://www.ezsoftech.com/stories/mis51.asp

Good deeds

Defining Good Deeds 

Good deeds can be described as following:


1. It should be common knowledge for everyone that our first duty is to Allah, our Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher. We will not be rendering our duties towards Him in full measure unless we carry out His orders. Thus, it should be a top priority for us to do what Allah has clearly instituted for us as pillars and mandatory duties in our religion, such as Prayer, zakah, fasting, Hajj, and so on. 


2. While doing the bidding of Allah, it is equally important for us to stay away from all the things that He has clearly forbidden for us. This includes all the major sins and prohibitions such as shirk, displeasing our parents, murder, adultery, giving or consuming usury, and unlawful business practices. 


3. Next comes doing as much good as possible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Humans need to do acts of charity or compassion every day that the sun comes up in the sky.” He then added, “It is charity to guide someone who is lost, to give a ride to someone who is stranded; to build something beneficial or help someone who is building.” He also said, “A good word is also an act of charity.” When someone asked, what if a person cannot do any of the good things, he replied, “Then at least he should refrain from harming others; that is a charity he would be rendering towards himself.”
So let us look out for opportunities for good works; there is no shortage of them if we look around. By doing so, we can rest assured that we will have a good time in our graves as well as in life beyond.

Source: "IslamOnline.net Fatwa" - Ahmad Kutty