Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan: ISIS is a rogue, external criminal organisation.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan:
Our Honoured Shaykh, Sheykh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan is a member of the Council for Human Rights, a Professor in Islamic Jurisprudence and the Head of the Department of Comparative Jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad b. Saud in Saudi Arabia.

“ISIS is a rogue, external criminal organisation. Whoever knows of what afflicted us in Iraq and Afghanistan and the blood that was spilled unjustly at the hands of some ignorant individuals in our nation will understand the gravity of what is happening in Syria.”

 May Allah protect us from severe misguidance Ameen.

This moment will soon come to pass...

Bismillah.

What does this phrase mean? This moment will soon come to pass...

This (happy) moment will soon come to pass.

• Do not laugh too much, for laughing deadens the heart
• There can be no doubt that laughing too much has an effect on the Muslim’s heart and distracts him from thinking deeply and fearing Allaah.
• Remember in a moment of happiness, that it will soon come to pass...And the angel of death is ever ready to take your soul to your graves, where you will have no family or friend, but only your deeds.
• And remember that this moment of happiness will soon come to pass, and you will be standing on the terrifying day of judgement, where you will be taken to account... in which Allah says: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." [Quran 99:7-8]

This (sad) moment will soon come to pass.

• Allah says: "Verily, with the hardship, there is relief " [94:6] So know that the sad moment will pass. No matter how hard the moment of sadness may be for you...ease will come, this is Allahs promise, and He never breaks His promise. So trust Allah and believe in Him.
  the prophet may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him said, “The dunya is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the kafir (disbeliever).” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, #7058] This dunya isn't a believers home, we are surrounded by fitnahs/tests, sadness, worry, stress, tiredness etc. Rather Paradise, with your Lord in the Hereafter is your home. Where no negative emotion or negative circumstance will ever occur. So ask Allah for the highest of Paradises and strive for it inshaaAllaah.
• And remember in a sad moment that this life is a test, and put your trust in Allaah, He knows best what is good for you. He says: "...and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allaah knows, while you do not know."[1:216]
• In a sad moment know that Allaah loves those who are patient, so seek this opportunity to turn to Him and gain reward through your patience.. Abu Bakr said: "it is difficult to be patient but to waste the reward for patience is worse." For soon this sad moment will be over, and ease will come, as Allaah has promised. So use this opportunity to gain much-needed reward InshaaAllaah.

And Allah knows best.

Riba/usury/interest

Riba/usury/interest


IS it really that bad???

The prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) has compared it to sleeping with ones own mother ...and can be worse than that:
His  statement,
"Riba has seventy-three doors. The least one (in sin) is as that of a man who sleeps with his mother. And worst form of Riba is harming the honor of a Muslim man."
(Al-Hakim, who graded it Sahih)

Allah says:
O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.
And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums).
Quran (2:278-79)


"Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba." (2:275)
 
"O you who believe! Eat not Riba doubled and multiplied ." (3:130)

And the statement of the Messenger:
"Allah curses the one who accepts Riba (usury and interest), the giver of it, the two witnesses of it, and the one who writes it." (The Sunan compilers and At-Tirmithi graded it Sahih)

"One dirham of Riba that a man devours, while knowing it is Riba, is more severe (in crime) than thirty-six acts of fornication (or adultery)." (Ahmad with a Sahih chain of narration)

One punishment narrated in Al-Bukhaari (1386, 7047) that the individual will swim in the river with rocks being thrown into his mouth because he consumed riba (usury).

We must stop ourselves having anything to do with usury immediately InshaaAllaah, it is a major sin and the ONLY sin in which Allah has declared war on the individual involved in it...what would this mean for the individual in the hereafter? How would they live in the hereafter when Allah is the ONLY One who can protect them? Yet they declared war on Allaah ...

If this terrifying thought isn't enough to stop us from staying away from it, what is?

May Allah save us and forbid us from the terrifying punishments associated with riba, Ameen.

Delaying the Prayer

Delaying the prayer

You should understand that delaying prayer beyond the time when it is due is a major sin, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salaah (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaah (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell”
[Maryam 19:59]

Ibn Mas’ood said concerning al-Ghayy [translated in the verse quoted above as Hell): This is a valley in Hell which is very deep and foul.
So these people who delay there prayers etc may be Muslim, yet Allah has promised them a particular place in Hell for them because of their act concerning the prayer.

Those who delay there prayer because of university, work, children etc will not be a valid excuse on the day of judgement as you are letting your wealth, or children distract you from the remembrance of Allah:
"O you who believe! let not your wealth, or your children, divert you from the remembrance of Allah; and whoever does that, these are the losers."
[Surah Al-Munafiqoon: Verse 9]

If you delay your prayer out of its stated time because of worldly matters (without valid excuse like travelling, unconsciousness etc) then you have indeed preferred these matters, (i.e your work, your family, your friends) over Allah. Yet Allah is the One who has provided these things for you.

If a person truly believes in Allaah, His Messengers and His Books, and believes that prayer is obligatory and is the greatest pillar of Islam after the Shahaadatayn, we cannot imagine that he would neglect to pray or be careless in performing the prayers. Rather he would never feel at ease unless he performs this important ritual regularly.

For more information visit:
http://www.islamqa.com/en/search?key=delaying+prayer+&yt0=search

Khushoo during the prayer- Ibn al-Qayyim

Khushoo during the prayer

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the difference between the khushoo' of true faith and the khushoo' of hypocrisy:"The khushoo' of true faith is when the heart feels aware and humble before the greatness and glory of Allaah, and is filled with awe, fear and shyness, so that the heart is utterly humbled before Allaah and broken, as it were, with fear, shyness, love and the recognition of the blessings of Allaah and its own sins. So no doubt the khushoo' of the heart is followed by the khushoo' of the body. As for the khushoo' of hypocrisy, it is something that is put on with a great show, but there is no khushoo' in the heart. One of the Sahaabah used to say, "I seek refuge with Allaah from the khushoo' of hypocrisy." It was said to him, "What is the khushoo' of hypocrisy?" He said, "When the body appears to have khushoo' but there is no khushoo' in the heart."

Khushoo' in prayer happens when a person empties his heart for it (prayer), and focuses on it to the exlusion of all else, and prefers it to everything else. Only then does he find comfort and joy in it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "and my joy has been made in salaah."
 (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 5/456. The hadeeth is in Musnad Ahmad, 3/128 and Saheeh al-Jaami', 3124).

InshaaAllaah Read excellent 33 ways to improve your khushoo in your 5 daily prayers:
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=2

Ibn 'Abbaas said: "You will gain nothing from your prayer except the parts where you were focused."

The tashahhud: "at-tahiyatu lillahi Wassalawatu wattayyibat.."

The tashahhud

We say:

"at-tahiyatu lillahi"

What does this mean?

• The meaning of "at-tahiyat" is everything that is good (all of our good deeds, our prayers, our supplications) are all for Allah- "lillahi."
• This is an important time to remind ourselves of the importance of iklaas/sincerity- that we are doing everything purely and sincerely for Allah. All of these good things are not so that we can have fame, reputation, or feel good in front of others, or so our parents are happy. No, these good things are solely and completely for the pleasure of Allah.
• All of the good things we do,the "at-tahiyyat", they are for Allah.

"Wassalawatu wattayyibat"- And our prayers and good things, they are for Allah alone.

• This is the meaning of the start of the tashahhud, "at-tahiyyatu lillahi, was-salawatu, wat-tayyibat"         
• Let's say it with sincerity and think about the meaning while we say it Inshaa'Allaah. We cannot gain true khushoo if we do not understand what we are saying in our prayers/salat.
• Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: "It was said: what do you say concerning the prayer of one who has no khushoo', does he have to repeat it or not? With regard to whether it will count for the purposes of reward, it will not be counted, except for [the parts] where one is focused and has the correct attitude of khushoo' towards one's Lord.

Allah's tarbiyya for you...

Tarbiyya means discipline and training
 
Allah's tarbiyya for you
When you are hurt by those closest and most trusted so that you may learn to rely solely on him and no one else.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
He makes you helpless so you may learn the ibaadah called sabr ( patience ) for which the reward is immence.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
When he denies you something you crave just so you learn thay it's not the right time yet, and he will give it to you when the time is right.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
When he denies you wealth or fame because he knows it will eat away at the goodness in you. It will cause distress to your deen or your dunya.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
When he gives you so much that you realise that your happiness does not lie in material belongings but by belonging in Jannah.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
When he sends you trials and tribulations and tells you that hope is around the corner. Have faith in Me!
 
Allah's tarbiyya for you
When he punishes you swiftly so that you are always doing tawbah and no dust collects on your heart.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
He delays your punishment giving you many opportunities to be thankful and return to his tawbah with more fervour.

Allah's tarbiyya for you
When a  problem approaches you he shows you another in much deeper despair than yourself so you may say alhamdullillah.

There was a wise man that once said-when Allah gives me something I have been praying for, I'm happy because that was my choice, but when he denies me I rejoice as that was Allahs choice for me