Deeds and Sin

Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man once asked the Prophet (salla Allahu aleihei wa'salaam);

"What is faith?" The Prophet replied: "When your good deeds make you happy and your bad deeds make you sad, you have faith."

And then the man asked him, "What is sin?" And the Prophet (saaw) replied:"When anything pricks your conscience, avoid it."

The Scorpion

This is a parable about an old man who used to meditate each day by the river near his home.

One morning he saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion drifted near the old man, he reached to rescue it but was stung by the scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was stung again, the bite swelling his hand painfully and giving him much pain.

A young man passing by saw what was happening to the old man and yelled at him,

“Hey, you foolish old man, what’s wrong with you?

Only a fool would risk his life for sake of an ugly, evil creature. 

Don’t you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?”

The old man turned around and calmly replied,

“My young man, just because it is in the scorpion’s nature to sting, does not change my nature to save.”

Even with Unbelievers or our enemies unless they are rampant and out to destroy us and our faith, we should deal kindly and equitable, as is shown by the Prophet Mohammed's (Peace be upon Him) own example.

Do good to them, and lend a helping hand to help without expecting to get anything back.

If Only We Had Done More

Today being the last day of the Gregorian calendar 2011, people tend to make new year resolutions and think about the past, of what they have done in the last year and how they could improve on it. I believe this should be done on a daily basis. If we need to improve on something or do something why wait for a year why not start it today. And how many times after doing something we felt that if only we had done a little more, it would have been better.... 

This reminds me of a story that goes as follows-

Once, a group of people were travelling on rocks at night.  A voice came from the sky that whosoever picks up the rocks will regret and whosoever doesn't pick up the rocks will regret. Now, the people were confused. 

How can this be? Whether you pick up the rocks or not, you will regret! 

Anyway, some people picked up the rocks and some didn't. In the morning when they reached up their homes, they saw that the rocks turned into diamonds! 

Now, those people who didn't pick up the rocks started regretting, saying - “If only we had picked up some rocks.” And those people who did pick up some rocks also started regretting, saying – “If  only we had picked up some more rocks.”! 

Both sides ended up regretting. 

Dear Muslims, this same incident will indeed take place with us on the Day of Judgement. Those people who spent their time in useless activities will start regretting by looking at those who achieved a great position in Paradise by spending their time well in ways that pleases Allah. And as for those who did achieve a position in Paradise will also start regretting by looking at those who did a lot more than them and are even in higher in status. 

“Alas ! if we had only done more to please Allah.”

How Allah Records Deeds

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: 
“Allah records good and bad deeds in this way: 
If anyone intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, Allah still records it with Him as one full good deed. 
If he intends a good deed and then carries it out, Allah records it with Him as ten to seven hundred times in reward or even increases it many times more. 
If anyone intends to do a bad deed but does not actually do it, Allah records it with Him as one full good deed. 
If he intends to do a bad deed and does it, Allah records it with Him as only one bad deed.” 
[Bukhari]

First 10 days of Zil-Haj [Part 2]

Golden opportunities to earn reward for Jannah in these first ten days of Thul Hijjah: 
[Part 2]:

6) Generally increase in doing ALL good deeds


We should strive in doing more good deeds in general, because good deeds are beloved by Allaah and will bring us closer to Him. So if we are not able to go to Hajj this year, we should occupy ourselves during these blessed days by worshipping Allaah, praying extra prayers, reading Qur'aan, remembering Allaah, sending Salaams on the Prophet , making dua, giving charity, honoring our parents, upholding ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of worship.


"So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it; And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it."[al-Zalzalah 99:7-8]


7) Get the reward of Hajj wherever you are:


You may be unable to do Hajj this year, and you may feel sad because you are deprived of the great reward of Hajj. But you can achieve a similar reward in whatever place you may be.


The Prophet said: "Whoever prays Fajr Prayer in congregation, and then sits and remembers Allah until the sun rises, then (after a while) prays two rak’as, he will gain a reward equal to that of making perfect Hajj and Umrah." [He repeated the word "perfect" thrice.] (At-Tirmidhi)


Isn't that easy, Alhamdulillah?


8) Slaughter an animal and distribute the meat (Qurba'ani)


Ibn Umar said: The Prophet lived in Madeenah for 10 years and every year he slaughtered an animal." (Ahmad-Saheeh by al-Albaani)


9) Attend Eid prayers


But remember that Eid prayer is a form of worship and we shouldn't be doing things that are unIslaamic (especially) during these times, such as listening to music, women going out for prayer without proper Hijaab, mixing of men and women, etc.


10) Thank Allaah


One of the biggest forms of worshipping Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala is to thank Him, deeply, sincerely and continuously. After all, it is He who gave you every single thing that is in you, on you or around you. In fact, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the Mercy of your Creator. So thank Him for ALL that He gave you, the Islaam that He gave you, the very life He gave you. And thank Him for the chance that He gives you in these ten days, to ask for forgiveness and guidance.


Alhamdulillah, there is much to be gained in these coming days. So make the most of this perfect opportunity offered by these invaluable and irreplaceable ten days. Hasten to do good deeds and appreciate this blessing and make the most of it, striving hard in worship .




"And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (death)." [al-Hijr 15:99] 


Source: Facebook - By Islamic Querries (Women)

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

Righteous Company By Nouman Ali Khan

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

Salah

Assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

Sayings of Prophet Muhammad
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him

Salah

The Salah of the Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) Hadrat Mughira (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) prayed for so long in the night in standing posture that his feet got swollen up. His companions said to him, "O Prophet of Allah! Why do you exert so much when Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) has forgiven you all sins." The Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) replied, "Should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?" (Bukhari, Muslim)

See the Mercy of Allah on us

Assalamualaikum wa RahmatuAllahu wa Barakatuhu

A man woke up early in order to pray the Fajr prayer in the masjid. He got dressed, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.

On his way to the masjid, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. He got up, brushed himself off, and headed home. At home, he changed his clothes, made his ablution, and was, again, on his way to the masjid.

2nd time, On his way to the masjid, he fell again and at the same spot! He, again, got up, brushed himself off and headed home. At home he, once again, changed his clothes, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.

On his way 3rd time to the masjid, he met a man holding a lamp. He asked the man of his identity and the man replied "I saw you fall twice on your way to the masjid, so I brought a lamp so I can light your way." The first man thanked him profusively and the two were on their way to the masjid.

Once at the masjid, the first man asked the man with the lamp to come in and pray Fajr with him. The second man refused. The first man asked him a couple more times and, again, the answer was the same. The first man asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray.

The man replied "I am Satan."

The man was shocked at this reply. Satan went on to explain, "I saw you on your way to the masjid and it was I who made you fall. When you went home, cleaned yourself and went back on your way to the masjid, Allah forgave all of your sins. I made you fall a second time, and even that did not encourage you to stay home, but rather, you went back on your way to the masjid. Because of that, Allah forgave all the sins of the people of your household. I! was afraid if i made you fall one more time, then Allah will forgive the sins of the people of your village, so i made sure that you reached the masjid safely."

So do not let Satan benefit from his actions.

Do not put off a good that you intended to do as you never know how much reward you might recieve from the hardships you encounter while trying to achieve that good.