Do Not Live Without a Vision
Posted by administrator on Saturday, May 19 @ 18:38:54 AST (3371 reads)
by Haitham al-Haddâd
Many people think that they have a vision but in reality they have nothing. Countless brothers and sisters consult me regarding key decisions in their life. My answer has always been and continues to be, ‘if you had a clear vision of what you want to be or what you want to do, you would not ask such questions!’
One key quality of any successful person is to live for a mission. Unsuccessful people live from one day to the next. They are not inspired by something virtuous not living for a noble goal and therefore they do not live a noble life. Islam, being a religion of nobility, does not want people to live in this way. Allah encourages people to compete for the best possible afterlife and be inspired all of the time. In the Qur’an we read,
“Race one with another in hastening towards Forgiveness from your Lord (Allah), and towards Paradise, the width whereof is as the width of heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He pleases. And Allah is the Owner of Great Bounty.”[1]
Muslim Homes: Islamic Family Values In An Anti-Family Society
Posted by administrator on Tuesday, March 22 @ 10:37:40 AST (5098 reads)
By Sahar Kassaimah
In Sura’tul Al Nahl (Sura 16) in the Qur’an, Allah (SWT) says, “And Allah has made for you in your homes an abode.”
What does the home represent to the Muslim family? Is it a place where family members can relate to one another and where they sincerely enjoy being together; where they have a sense of shared beliefs and values, and their behavior is based on Islamic principles? Is it a place where family members are protected, happy and kind to one another?
The home should not be just a place where people eat, rest and sleep; indeed, the home is the place where we spend most of our time, and where families spend most of their time together. It is the place where husbands and wives can be alone together. Therefore, the home is a place where families should worship together, and it should be based on Allah’s (SWT) rules and guidance. It has been reported by Ibn Abi Aldunia and others (Sahih al-Jaami) that, “When Allah loves the people of a household, he introduces kindness among them.”
The question we face now is: “In an age in which the world has changed profoundly, from being a basically pro-family to anti-family society, how many Muslim homes possess these beautiful qualities? It is time to stop and re-examine our family situations to determine to what degree they have been affected by our larger society.
The Varying Forms of Wrongful Backbiting
Posted by administrator on Saturday, January 29 @ 17:13:47 AST (3702 reads)
by Ibn Taymiyyah
There are found amongst the people those that will backbite in accordance to his gathering and his companions and his associates. Whilst his knowing that the one being backbitten is free of what it is they say – or of some of what they say. However; he sees that if he were to forbid them then the sitting will cease and the people of the sitting would become sullen with him just as they would become estranged from him. So he sees compliance with them through good social relations as well as good companionship; so when they become angered then he likewise becomes angry due to their being angered – so he takes it up with them.
Then there are those that take backbiting out into many forms. So at times it would be in the form of Religion and rectification, so he will say: ‘I am not in the habit of mentioning anyone except in good; and I neither like backbiting nor lies. However I shall inform you of his affairs.’ So He will say: ‘By Allaah – he is Miskeen (weak/pitied) – or he is a good man; however he has in him such and such.’ Or he may say: ‘let us leave off him; may Allaah forgive him and us.’ Whilst his intent is to belittle him as well as causing a wrong to his flank. Thus taking the backbiting out from the form of rectification and Religion. They seek to deceive Allaah with that just as they deceive the creation. For we have seen this and its like from them in many varying colours.
Make Your Ordinary Deeds Extraordinary
Posted by administrator on Monday, January 17 @ 17:05:02 AST (2932 reads)
Sheikh `Umar al-Muqbil, professor at al-Imâm University
Mon, 01/17/2011
When we consciously engage in any activity, even the most trivial daily task, we have an intention which brings us to do it. For an activity to truly be devoid of an intention, it has to be something carried out unconsciously or wholly by accident. Whenever we do something deliberately, we have an intention for doing it. However, we are often heedless of that intention.
This means that all deliberate actions are addressed by Prophet Muhammad’s famous words: “Actions are according to their intentions, and a person will be recompensed only according to what he intended.” [Sahīh al-Bukhārī (1) and Sahīh Muslim (1)]
This does not apply only to formal acts of worship. It applies also to the good deeds we do for others, the help and money we provide, and the nice things that we say to people. Our kindnesses are worthy of Allah’s reward if we carry them out with an open heart. However, their reward is magnified if the intention behind our acts of kindness is to please our Lord.
Do Not Live Without a Vision 
