A collection of random thoughts…
My love for the thobe:
Growing up I used to playfully mock the deen in which I now follow. Certainly my heart was blind towards the Haqq. Never would I have thought growing up that I would wear a qameese, or even take it to be my favourite garment. It was a transition with many challenges, from tucking in my qameese when friends and family seen me, to putting it on only when I attend the Masajd… It was a transition which moulded me to care less what people care to say. Though the thobe isn’t necessarily considered wajib to some, it remains my favourite item to wear because of the benefit it brings.
Some of the benefits include:
° Comfort
° Being greeted by fellow ikhwaan
° Modesty
° Awrah being fully covered during and outside of salat
° & that it was the most beloved garment to our Nabi sallahu ‘alayhi wasalam.
Indeed it was a dress of customs, but I am not aware of any other type of garment which covers your awrah as the qameese does. It is undeniable that when one goes in rukku’ or sajdah that their pants cups their awrah. Allah commands us to observe modesty yet we meet him (In salat) sometimes in tight garments where our shirt rides up in sujood, or the shape of awrah is visible, wAllahul musta’an.
This was a brief illustration on my personal love for the Qameese, furthermore:
Imam Shawkani rahimahullah said:
والحديث يدل على استحباب لبس القميص، وإنما كان أحب الثياب إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لأنه أمكن في الستر من الرداء والإزار اللذين يحتاجان كثيراً من الربط والإمساك وغير ذلك، بخلاف القميص.
“عن أم سلمة رضي الله عنها قالت:
كَانَ أَحَبُّ الثِّيَابِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْقَمِيص
رواه الترمذي”
Narrated by Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, that: The most beloved garment to the Prophet (ﷺ) is the qameese.
Reported in Tirmidhi
Imam Shawkani rahimahullah said:
The Hadith proves the recommendation of wearing the qameese. Verily it was the most beloved clothing to the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam because it is more capable of covering the body than the rida (upper garment) and izar (lower garment) which are in need of tightening and other than that unlike the qameese”(Nayl al-Awtaar)
**But the Qameese is a Sunnah of custom & not Sunnah of ibaadah**
Translated by:
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
The deficiency of our Tawheed:
بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
We are Muslims before anything else. We are Muslim before we are Black. We are Muslim before we are White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, etc.
Who are we to look down on another due to the land which they originate? Who are we to feel disgusted by a group of people who are different?
Are we ignorant to the fact that Allaah is رب العالمين? Are we ignorant to the fact Allaah created us and we have no choice in the affairs of our creation?
Is our Tawheed and intellect that deficient?
Or do we believe there is a catalogue which people can decide where they would want to be born or look like upon entering the dunya?
Allaah says:
[ هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ]
“It is He who forms you all in the wombs however He wills” (3:6)
I advise myself first and then you to fear Allaah. Fear Allaah as He should be feared and fear a Day where justice will be given to every soul.
He also says:
[ أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ]
“Is not Allah the Best of judges?” (95:8)
Shaykh Al-Albani (رحمه الله) said:
“That a white man makes fun of a black man due to his skin colour or vice versa, means to make fun of Allah who has created them.”
[Silsilah Huda wan Noor, 24]
A beautiful hadith also mentions:
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قال، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:
“حَسْبُ امْرِئٍ مِنَ الشَّرِّ أَنْ يَحْقِرَ أَخَاهُ الْمُسْلِمَ”
رواه ابي داود
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “It is sufficient evil for a man to look down on his Muslim brother.”
[Saheeh: Saheeh Abee Dawood, No. 4882]
A questioner asked Shaykh Abdulmuhsin al-‘Abbad (حفظه الله) the following:
Question: Does speaking about a people or a specific people of a land with what they dislike considered backbiting?
Answer: “This is backbiting no doubt because a person himself would not love anyone speaking about the people of his land or dispraise the people of his land because he is one of them”.
[Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood no. 557]
Translated by
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
Another benefit worth sharing,
It was narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b that a man boasted in an arrogant manner of his tribal lineage, so he told him to bite his father’s penis, and he did not use a metaphor. The people looked askance at him, so he said to the people: I can see what you are thinking, and I can only say this: that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed us: “If you hear someone boasting in an arrogant manner of his tribal lineage, then tell him to bite his father’s penis, and do not use a metaphor.”
Narrated by Ahmad (35/157); classed as hasan by the commentators on al-Musnad.
It was narrated from Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man boasted of his tribal lineage, and Ubayy told him to bite his father’s penis, and they said: You were never given to obscene speech! He said: We were instructed to do that.
Narrated by Ahmad (35/142); classed as hasan by the commentators on al-Musnad and as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Hence some of the scholars said that this indicates that it is permissible to bluntly state the name of the private part if there is a need to do so or there is an interest to be served thereby, and this does not come under the heading of obscene speech that is forbidden, as in the hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“If you hear someone boasting in an arrogant manner of his tribal lineage, then tell him to bite his father’s penis, and do not use a metaphor.” Narrated by Ahmad. And Ubayy ibn Ka‘b heard a man saying: O So and so, and he said: Bite your father’s penis. Something was said to him about that, and he said: This is what the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed us to do (in the case of such a person).
Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah (8/408, 409)
SubhanAllah, look at how a Sahabi, a student of Rasulullah sallahu ‘alayhi wasalam rebuked this filthy disease!
How easy is it to move our tongue (in speech), but how easier is it to earn Allaah’s wrath with it?
I ask Allaah ta’ala to grant us understanding and to guide us to what pleases Him.
A little knowledge can take you a long way. It changes perspectives, alters feelings, and the blessing of knowledge is greater than material possessions.
I recall a time during Ramadhan a couple years ago where I was walking with a brother late at night. This was during Caribana, so you can imagine the activity taking place. He suddenly began to breakdown and cry, to my confusion, I asked him “what is up?”; The brother, may Allah bless him with good in this world and the Hereafter replied with a sentence which stuck to since, he replied and said “Allah has facilitated my affairs and made it easy for me to worship Him, while people are out here living and wasting away their time”. This comment was mentioned after seeing the amount of youth, as well of people of all ages trying to have a “good time”.
Regarding the first point, the blessing of knowledge. Knowledge allows us to see the world through a different perspective, to put on a pair of glasses, and the parables are endless. Knowledge separates us from the ignorant, empowers us to know and do better and is a great benefit. We can think of many ways knowledge can benefit us, both for our dunya (worldly affairs) and our akhirah (Hereafter). My point here is that Allah gave the brother understanding in order for him to learn, develop and fear his Lord.
عن معاوية رضي الله تعالى عنه قال، قال رسول صلى الله عليه و سلم:
“مَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ”
رواه البخاري و مسلم
Narrated by Mu’awiyah:
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “If Allah wants good for somebody, He gives him understanding of deen (their Islam).Reported by Al-Bukhaari and Muslim
Pertaining the second highlight, the comment from the brother: “Allah has facilitated my affairs and made it easy for me to worship Him, while people are out here living and wasting away their time”. The reason why this stuck with me is how accurate this statement is. Allah makes it easy for whom He wills. The fact that people drive for hours to come to Toronto every year to commit zina (fornication) during Caribana, while people are in the Masajid worshipping Allah, it is definitely something to be grateful for. Sometimes we forget that being able to sit down and defecate is a blessing, being able to feed ourselves is a blessing, and the biggest blessing of all, Islam. How grateful are we for our Islam? How often do we thank Allah for making us amongst those who believe in Him, His Angels, His books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgement in which He will have the last say, and His decree (both good and ‘bad’)?
Allah says in the Qur’an:
Surah An-Nahl, Verse 18:
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌAnd if you would count the graces of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
(English – Mohsin Khan)
With this I would like to remind myself first and then you to be grateful for the blessings of Allah. Use His many blessings for good and fear a day in which where you will be brought to account for every single word you uttered and every single action you did (i.e The Day of Judgement).
Allah says in the Qur’an:
Surah Luqman, Verse 33:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْا يَوْمًا لَّا يَجْزِي وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْئًا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُO mankind! Be afraid of your Lord (by keeping your duty to Him and avoiding all evil), and fear a Day (i.e Judgement Day) when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the Promise of Allah is true, let not then this (worldly) present life deceive you, nor let the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.
(English – Mohsin Khan)
And,
Surah Luqman, Verse 34:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌVerily, Allah! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).
(English – Mohsin Khan)
May Allah grant us understanding, steadfastness and gratitude,
اللهم آمين يارب العالمين
A feeling that is indescribable is walking by a crime scene and realizing that the Angel of Death was present.
The concept of the Angel of Death being assigned to someone in an area near you, only to overlook you because it wasn’t quite your time yet…
Perhaps reality has yet to hit us. The reality in which we try to avoid thinking of. The reality of death, we will all die. We might die next week, next year, in a decade; Allah created us and surely unto Him is our return.
“It is Allah who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and [the souls] of those that do not die during their sleep. He retains those souls for which He has ordained death, whereas He releases the rest for an appointed term. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply.”
[Al-Qur’an 39:42]
Who is content with their current condition? Would we be happy to die in our current state and to be resurrected with the deeds we currently have? Why do we delay turning back to Allah?
“Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and good, and to Us you will be returned.”
[Al-Qur’an 21:35]
Time is precious, I remind myself first and then you to not take it for granted.
May Allah grant us understanding and firmness, آمين
Approaching this day at a different angle (Christmas):
This may sound totally strange at first, but nonetheless there is a method to my madness.
Let’s select a random day. Let’s choose November 14. Now let’s give this special day a name. Maybe, we can call it Children’s Day. Now let’s give this day a meaning. So, let’s say there was a man named Herald Douglas of England back in 1824. Herald was a man of prestige, but he had a burning lust for children. This was absolutely normal in the society at the time and Herald molested more than 40+ little children.
Now, let’s fast forward to November 14. It is now Children’s Day and your family is celebrating it. Many of us would say no and denounce the gathering because of the underlining origin. Even though the essence of family is a huge component to maintain the Children’s Day tradition, we as individuals would feel disturbed by enjoining in this.
Now let’s look at Christmas, at face value we can see the innocence of sharing gifts and family gatherings but as someone as a Muslim who strives to uphold the realization of One God who isn’t comparable to His creation, they might feel just as disturbed as the one who attends a gathering on Children’s Day. Now, what is the reason? The reason is essentially in regards to what Christmas is intended to celebrate (excluding the origin). Christmas is expressing in a unheard dialogue that “God the Creator of the Existence was born on this Day”.
This may seem normal to a lot of people as we were conditioned and taught this throughout the years, but we are saying God was born, we are saying God has human traits, we are saying that the same Creator which we worship is dependent upon sleep, uses the washroom, needs food as we do, etc.
In fact one may be more disturbed to indulge in this holiday because of the underlining meaning more so than if they were to enjoin in Children’s Day. Why? Because associating others with God is a tremendous sin in Islam, and the greatest sin of them all. We ask the Lord to grant us understanding and to guide us to what pleases Him, ameen.
Running away from the thought of death:
Simply an opinion and my personal opinion at that. I strongly believe that people run away from the thought of aging for various reasons, but the most significant of them all is the acknowledgement of death. Maybe it is the concept of venturing into the unknown, maybe it is the idea that ‘I am not living righteous now, but one day I will’, ahh where ever the fear of death derives from we will all face it. It could be during our sleep tonight, it could be tomorrow evening, death doesn’t discriminate at all, nor does it procrastinate in it’s appointments.
It is a reality we all have to come to realize, we hear about death, but do we truly understand it? Do we understand that when we die, khalaas, finito, there is no more repentance? Do we understand that all the play and amusement of this worldly-life is finished and we have our seat belts strapped in travelling even closer to meet our Creator? Do we comprehend the fact that once we die, we are one step closer to being resurrected on the Day of Judgement only to answer for our actions to the Lord of Existence?
Sometimes it takes a wake up call in order to realize the reality death is, sometimes it takes a near death experience, but how would we recognize if we experienced our last wake up call?
Allah says in the Qur’an: “يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ”
“O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah.”
May Allah grant us understanding and guide us all to what pleases Him, اللهم آمين
True success:
Only a few years ago, I had a flawed perception as to what the purpose of life was. It was merely something which came about with a unconscious connection to “success”. Now, success back then, to me; success was simply a word which I tied with being wealthy. I thought that success was to wake up to a beautiful view, in a beautiful home, with a beautiful career, with a beautiful bank account. How wrong was I? I was a teenager raised in a society where the concept of “success” was fed to us. We were taught, it was to go to school, get a education, get a good career, and then you work until you die.
After converting to Islam, a lot of my questions were answered, with one of the most important questions being: “What is my purpose?”. A pair of some well known verse in the Qur’an reads: “Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion, and He is Able to do all things. Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving (67:1-2). I soonly realized that we are all slaves in terms of what we inclined to chase in this life. Not to say there is anything bad about being blessed with wealth and living according to your means, but the flawed preception that success is limited to living good in this world. How about the needy old man in the middle of the village in India who is living with self-content because he is pleased with the decree of his Creator? How about all those who are free from chasing materialism with a primary focus of pleasing their Lord? Is this not the success which we should be more focused on? If we live a wealthy and ‘comfortable’ life and die while our Lord is displeased with us, then what kind of success in this? Can we buy our Lord’s pleasure? Can we buy the Paradise He has prepared for us?
Allah says in the Qur’an: “Verily, those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them will be Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise). That is the great success. (85:11). As our Creator says, “that is the great success”. The greatest success is to die upon a condition where your Creator is pleased with you. How many of us have actions in accordance to this. Knowing that life is short and we could depart any second, any day, any week, what have we prepared for the real success?
Allah also says in the Qur’an: “Nay, you prefer the life of this world; Although the Hereafter is better and more lasting. Verily! This is in the former Scriptures, The Scriptures of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Musa (Moses). (87:16-19)
Life is more than just working until you die, and success isn’t merely living well in this world, rather it is to enter the gates of Paradise.
May Allah make us of those who He is pleased with and allow us to enter his Paradise!
My honest thoughts on dating – written by a Br.
Because what most people actually want in the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship is exactly what people want in their marriage, I think dating, even if I wasn’t religious, is a pure waste of time. The phrase: “If he truly loves you, he will marry you”, makes so much sense to me…
It just seems that men get so much more out of the dating relationship than women, simply because of the way patriarchal societies condition(read:brainwash) men and women. Men basically get a wife without the commitment (a wifey). And women get to hope against all hope that one day their love decides to marry her(it rarely happens)…I don’t see the appeal in it for women.
And if you think that I am somehow relinquishing some fictitious “man-card” or violating some “man-law”, then you and I are not on the same page. I am Muslim. We do not believe in entering into relationships that are not of mutual benefit. Use things, not people.
Never mind the cognitive dissonance of “how you gonna know if someone is right for you unless you ‘get to know them’?; Every successful marriage began with “I knew the moment I saw her”, so that excuse is out.
People brainwash themselves in order justify and satisfy their own desires sometimes. We all know what “getting to know you” actually means; We all know that you can get to know someone without dating them before marriage; We all know that we can never actually know everything about anyone; And we all know that the missing ingredient in failed marriages is not desire, but genuine friendship.
I tell people romance is nonsense and they immediately say “brother, you’re not married are you?”
I’m sure you think that’s funny. I do too, but for different reasons. You see, I’m an anthropologist. We study humanity. Primarily through culture and religion. With this we become aware of the origins of words and their original meaning in the context of the culture and wider civilization in which the word and it’s associated concept originated and developed. We ask people all the time, why do you think the opposite of romance is “not caring” rather than loving? And we ask the people why is it in the modern world when people say “relationship” we automatically think “romance”. It’s no coincidence that when people update their status to “in a relationship”, people automatically assume you’re in a haraam relationship.
Romance originated in Greco-Roman culture. This is the context. This type of relationship is rooted in their understanding of the relationship between men and women(and men and men, and women and women). Indeed, the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship is an inevitable consequence of their beliefs. Indeed the Modern Western Civilization is simply the revival of the Greco-Roman Civilization.
But what is romance?
Romance is utilizing words and gestures designed to appeal to the ego of another, in order to ingratiate that person to yourself, creating an (unhealthy)emotional attachment, so that this person will be more amenable to fulfilling your whims and desires. It’s essentially a manipulative relationship, where one person attempts to use another selfishly, by controlling them emotionally, and eventually psychologically, so that their goals for self-worship, control, and security are accomplished through another person. And many are deceived because romance mimics love in many respects. But we all know that nothing can substitute the real thing.
You think I’m lying or intellectualizing something simple? Well, you’re free to research on your own.
Romance.
1. Talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions.
2. Tell exaggerated lies
3. Tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive
4. To attempt to gain the affection of.
5. A kind of excitement.
6. To try to persuade, as with flattery or incentives.
7. To court the favor of or woo.
8. A mysterious, exciting, sentimental, or nostalgic quality.
9. Idealized love.
10. To indulge in fanciful stories or daydreams.
I can’t even make this stuff up.
Key word in Romance is Rom(an). Roman civilization is basically Greek
Written by another brother
aljamaykee.com 