The Dearest Deed

Subhanallah, walhamdulillah, wala ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar

Translation: "Glory is to Allah, and praise is to Allah, and there is none worthy of worship but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest"

"This Dhikr is dearer to me than all that the sun rises upon (i.e. the whole world)"
Muslim, Hadith 2695

Allah's Mercy Prevails Over His Wrath

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: 'My mercy prevails over my wrath.'"

Hadith Qudsi [Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)]

Narated By Safwan bin Muhriz : A man asked Ibn 'Umar, "What did you hear Allah's Apostle saying regarding
An-Najwa (secret talk between Allah and His believing worshipper on the Day of Judgment)?" He said, "(The
Prophet said), "One of you will come close to his Lord till He will shelter him in His screen and say: Did you commit
such-and-such sin? He will say, 'Yes.' Then Allah will say: Did you commit such and such sin? He will say, 'Yes.'
So Allah will make him confess (all his sins) and He will say, 'I screened them (your sins) for you in the world, and
today I forgive them for you.'"

Volumn 008, Book 073, Hadith Number 096

The Best Manner of Seeking Forgiveness

Syed-ul-Istighfaar
اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت ، خلقتني وأنا عبدك ، وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت ، أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت ، أبوء لك بنعمتك علي وأبوء لك بذنبي فاغفر لي ، فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت

"O Allah! You are my Rabb. There is no true god except You. You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I hold to Your Covenant as far as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge the favors that You have bestowed upon me, and I confess my sins. Pardon me, for none but You has the power to pardon."

Hadith:"He who supplicates in these terms during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day (before the evening), he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah; and if anyone supplicates in these terms during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah" (Al-Bukhari)

"And seek the forgiveness of Allah. Certainly, Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'' (4:106)

No More Excuses!!

Perhaps some of you know that Sheikh Muhammad Alshareef came out with a DVD set called 'Time Traveler' where he teaches us how to make full use of our time and to even increase it. It's a great program. I got an e-mail from him today and I'll post part of it because I think we can learn from it.

Excuses (regarding worshiping Allah) are the habit of the people of Hellfire.
Allah tells us in the Quran:
67:10 They will further say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not (now) be among the Companions of the Blazing Fire!"
Lesson: People who disobey Allah do not always flat out say 'no'. Instead, they make an excuse as to 'why' they can't worship Allah, for this reason or the other. Things like:
a. Eman hasn't entered my heart yet.

b. God is Merciful, and He doesn't need me to worship Him

c. If Allah shows me a personal sign, only then will I believe and follow Him

The bottom line is: No excuse - Worship Allah and do what Allah likes. That is our aim in life.
Implementation:
1. Ask yourself if there is some type of worship you feel you should be doing, but are not doing. Example: praying Sunnah prayers.

2. What is the excuse you give as to why you don't do it? Example: not enough time.

3. Today: just do it. Like, procrastinate procrastination and just do it!

4. At the end of the day, ask yourself, "So how did that feel?"

Tuesday March 16, in sha Allah, he's going to reveal the 2nd biggest excuse ever.

Guess what it is here!

Aminah Assilmi

Aminah Assilmi, a renowned scholar of Islam, passed away on March 5th in a car accident. I had the honor of meeting her when she had come to speak at our Musjid. I remember her being a tall, beautiful and very warm woman. People were standing in line to meet her. She gave me the longest hug :)
May Allah forgive her sins and admit her into Paradise. Ameen.
To Allah we belong, to Him we return.
I found some information on her which I think everyone should read. It's such an amazing and inspirational story. Read it here and here.

Quran Explorer

This is an excellent tool to listen to, and read the Quran. It has recitation of various Qaris (reciters) along with translations in different languages. It's available here.

Reward For Those Who Obey Allah And The Messenger (peace be upon him)

[وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَآءِ وَالصَّـلِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقاً ]-Surah An-Nisa, Verse 69

Translation: And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace, of the Prophets, the Siddiqin, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!
Reason Behind Revealing This Honorable Ayah/Verse
Ibn Jarir recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "An Ansari man came to the Messenger of Allah while feeling sad. The Prophet said to him, `Why do I see you sad' He said, `O Allah's Prophet! I was contemplating about something.' The Prophet said, `What is it' The Ansari said, `We come to you day and night, looking at your face and sitting by you. Tomorrow, you will be raised with the Prophets, and we will not be able to see you.' The Prophet did not say anything, but later Jibril came down to him with this Ayah,

[وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ]

(And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace, of the Prophets), and the Prophet sent the good news to the Ansari man.'' This Hadith was narrated in Mursal form from Masruq, `Ikrimah, `Amir Ash-Sha`bi, Qatadah and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas. This is the version with the best chain of narrators. Abu Bakr bin Marduwyah recorded it with a different chain from `A'ishah, who said; "A man came to the Prophet and said to him, `O Messenger of Allah! You are more beloved to me than myself, my family and children. Sometimes, when I am at home, I remember you, and I cannot wait until I come and look at you. When I contemplate about my death and your death, I know that you will be with the Prophets when you enter Paradise. I fear that I might not see you when I enter Paradise.' The Prophet did not answer him until the Ayah,

[وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَآءِ وَالصَّـلِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقاً ]

(And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace, of the Prophets, the true believers, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!) was revealed to him.'
**This is taken from Tafsir Ibn Kathir**