ummtaalib

“A WOMAN’S DEFICIENCY IN REASON & RELIGION” Shaykh Riyadhul Haqq on Lesson 52 (Darse Hadith), “Laws of Chronic Bleeding”, explains the following hadith which refers to women’s “deficiency in reason and religion”: Hadrat Abu Sa’eed Khudri R.A. reported; ‘(Once) the Messenger of Allah S.A.W. was going to the eidghah on the eve of Eid or Sacrificial Eid. (On the way) he passed by some women. Addressing them he said: “O women! Give away in Sadaqah for I see women in majority in hell.” The women enquired: “Why so, O Allah’s Messenger?” He replied: “This is because you invoke too many curses and are ungrateful to your husbands. (Further he observed) I have not seen anyone excel women in knocking out the reason of a very shrewd man even though they themselves are deficient in reason and religion.” The women submitted: “O Messenger of Allah! What is the deficiency in our reason and religion?” He said: “Don’t you know that the evidence of a woman is equal to half of a man’s evidence?” They submitted: “Yes, this is so.” He said: “This is because she is deficient in reason.” Further he observed: “Is it not a fact that while she is in menses, a woman (according to the order of Shari’at) neither offers salat nor observes fast?” The women submitted: “Yes, that is right.” “This is deficiency in her religion.” Shaykh Riyadhul Haqq explains: This missing of the salaat and the fast during menstruation is in fact the deficiency in the woman’s religion, and the testimony of a woman being similar to half of that of man, is the deficiency in her reasoning. This does not mean that men are inherently far more intelligent than women, i.e. all men are intelligent and all women are not, this is not so. With regards to her testimony being half of that of a man – and this in the Qur’an- in case one woman forgets, the other reminds her. This is because women suffer from emotional and psychological stresses and pressures in pregnancy and afterwards and during menstruation and bringing up children etc. The memory loss, erratic behaviour is part of their physiological makeup. They have no control over it. It does not mean the condition is permanent, but women do suffer from this, and since Allah put upon women these stresses and pressures of menstruation, pregnancy etc, the symptoms that go along with it are also imposed upon them by Allah. In His Wisdom Allah has made the testimony of women half of a man’s, and to object to the Qur’an is kufr. Further explained by Maulana Ashiq Elahi Madani in “A gift for Muslim Women”; The deficiency in a woman’s religion is that in her monthly courses she is deprived of prayer and fasting. Now a woman might raise a question in her heart as to what is the fault of women in this case? The menses are a decree of nature and Shari’at itself has forbidden them to observe prayer and fast during the menstrual period. The answer to this question is that no doubt the process is natural and the Shari’at too has restrained them from prayer and fasting in this period, yet the fact remains that they are deprived of the blessings of prayer and fasting during their menses. It is in deference to their natural course that they are exempted from the duty of offering prayer in the days of menstrual discharge. Now a woman may ask why has Allah put this restraint upon us? To raise such a question is tantamount to interfering with the wise scheme of Allah and objecting to His Providence and Will. This is similar to arguing that those who perform hajj will get the reward for it and those who cant, wont get the reward. Now if a man who cannot afford hajj raises the question: Why hasn’t Allah given me the means for hajj, it will be counted as a foolish question and an evidence of his deficient reasoning. The Qur’an says: “Do not wish for a thing in regard to which Allah has raised some above the others”

Aaameen, thumma aameen! Jazaakallaahu khayran for taking the time to post these kind words. Allah ta'ala grant complete shifa to your dear one and make this trial a means of attaining His everlasting pleasure, aameen. Please keep us and the entire ummah in your du'as. Respected brother, if there are any particular questions or advice you need, please do not hesitate to ask here or by using the "contact us" page. InshaAllah we will try our utmost to get answers from experienced scholars.

Polygamy in other Religions Polygamy According to Hindu Law There is a good deal of controversy as to whether polygamy is sanctioned by Hindu Law. Shri Krishna, a deity among Hindus, had hundred of wives. Vedic teachings permit unlimited number of wives, even in tens, thirteen’s and twenty-sevens at one time. According to Manu the Law on the subject is as follows: “For the first marriage of twice-born men (wives) of equal caste are recommended, but for those who through desire proceed (to marry again) the following females, (chosen) according to the (direct) order (of the castes) are most approved.” (Here follows the list of women who may be approved of) (Manu, iii 12). “It twice-born men wed women of their own and of other (lower castes) the seniority, honour, and habitation of those (wives) must be (settled) according to the order of the castes (Varna).” (Manu, ix 85). “If, after one damsel has been shown, another be given to the bridegroom, he may marry the both, for the same price that Manu ordained,” (Manu, viii 204). “Among all (twice-born men) the wife of equal caste alone (not a wife of a different caste by any means), shall personally attend her husband and assist him in his daily sacred rites.” (Manu, ix 86). “But he who foolishly causes that (duty) to be performed by another while his wife of equal caste is alive, is declared by the ancients (to be) as (despicable) as a Kandala (spring from the) Brahamana caste.” (Manu, ix 87). The above quotations clearly indicate that Manu sanctioned polygamy, “and it is now quite settled in the Courts of British India that a Hindu is absolutely without restriction as to the number of his wives, anyone may marry again without his wife’s consent, or any justification, except his own wish.” (Mayne, On Hindu Law and Usage, p. 113) Polygamy: According to Jewish Law In Exodus (Chapter 21, Verse 10) it is stated: “If he takes him ‘another wife’, her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall be not diminish.” Polygamy: According to Christianity The Christian writers say that “monogamy (i.e., marrying one wife only) is the divine ideal. The Creator constituted as a between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:18-24 Matt. 19:5; 1 Car. 6:i6) He preserves the number of males practically equal to the number of females.” (The Westminster Dictionary of Bible, 1944 edition) “And I gave thee (David) thy master’s house, and thy master’s ‘wives’ into thy bosom, and gave thee the House of Israel and of Juda.” (2 Sam. 12:8) How is it that God Himself gave him his ‘master’s wives’ if His intention was to keep the ‘one man with one woman’ rule? Even in the seventh generation after Adam we find that “Lamech took unto him two wives” (Gen. 4:19); Abraham had three wives; Jacob had 2 wives besides concubines; Moses did not forbid it, instead he brought Laws to regulate it, as has been mentioned in the previous heading. Christians try to overcome these difficulties implying that the previous prophets had made mistakes in marrying more than one wife. But the insurmountable difficulty faces them in case of Moses. Because Moses had brought a Law from God, and if it was God’s intention to make marriage ‘a between one man and one wife’, why did He give Moses regulations about polygamy? The above-mentioned Dictionary of Bible tries to gloss over this difficulty by saying, “Moses, who was correcting abuses, not suddenly abolishing them, did not forbid polygamy, but discouraged it.” It is a claim, which cannot be justified, because Moses himself married two wives: one was Zipporah, daughter of Jethro (known in Islamic language as Shuaib), the other was a Cushite woman whom Moses married in the 2nd year of the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness. (Num. 12:1) There is no mention anywhere in the scriptures or any other writing that Zipporah was not alive at that time. Thus far we discussed about Moses and the Prophets before him. Now we come to the prophets who came after this ‘supposed discouraging’. We find that polygamy continued to be practiced even after the time of Moses, as by Gideon, Elkanah, Saul, Rehoboam and countless others. For the details, see Judge. 8:30; I Sam. 1:2; II Sam. 12:8; 21:8. Prophet “David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem.” (11 Sam. 5:13). Prophet Solomon “had seven hundred wives, princess, and three hundred concubines.” (I Kings 11:3) “And so it was understood by the leaders of Christendom that there is no intrinsic immorality or sinfulness in plurality of wives. One of the greatest fathers of the Christian Church (St. Augustine) has declared that polygamy is not a crime where it is a legal institution of a country, and the German reformers, even as late as the sixteenth century, allowed and declared valid the taking of a second or even a third wife, contemporaneously with the first, in default of issue, or any other cause.” (Ameer Ali, Life and Teachings, p. 220, and also Ameer Ali, Mohammedan Law, Vol. II p. 23) “When Christianity made its appearance in Rome, history shows that polygamy was recognized and the early Christian Emperors seem to have admitted its validity.” Says Ameer Ali: The Emperor Valentinian II, by an Edict, allowed all the subjects of the Empire, if they pleased, to marry several wives; nor does it appear from the ecclesiastical history of these times that the Bishops and the heads of the Christian made any objection to this law. Far from it, all the succeeding Emperors practiced polygamy, and the people generally were not remiss in following their example. Even the clergy often had wives. This state of the laws continued until the time of Justinian, who… resulted in their embodiment in the celebrated laws of Justinian. ‘But these laws owed little to Christianity, at least directly.’ The greatest adviser of Justinian was an atheist and a pagan. Even prohibition of polygamy by Justinian failed to check the tendency of the age. (Ameer Ali, Life and Teachings of Mohammad pp. 222-223) “(S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali, foot note 499) It should be mentioned here that Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian (527-565) was in the 6th century of Christian era; it means that up to 6th century there was no prohibition of polygamy in Christianity, at all. The following paragraphs from ‘An Apology for Mohammad and Koran’ (by John Davenport) show clearly that the Christian Leaders up to at least 16th century did not frown upon polygamy: St. Chrysostem, speaking of Abraham and Hagar, says, ‘These things were not then forbidden.’ So St. Augustine observes that ‘there was a blameless custom of one man having many wives, which at that time might be done in a way of duty, which now cannot be done but from licentiousness, because for the sake of multiplying posterity, no law forbade a plurality of wives. (See Grotius, De Jure, vol. i. p. 268 note) John Milton, who, in his ‘Treatise on Christian Doctrine’, after quoting various passages from the Bible in defence of the practice, says, ‘Moreover, God, in an allegorical fiction (Ezekiel, xxiii) represents Himself as having espoused two wives, Ahelah and Aholiah a mode of speaking which Jehovah would by no means have employed, especially at such length even in a parable, nor, indeed, have taken upon himself such a character at all, if the practice which it implied had been intrinsically dishonourable or shameful. On what grounds, then, can a practice be considered as so dishonourable or shameful which is prohibited to no one even under the Gospel; for that dispensation annuls none of the merely civil regulations, which existed previously to its introduction…. John Milton has earlier written in the same book (Treatise on Christian Doctrine) as follows: “In the definition, which I have given (i.e., of marriage) I have not said, in compliance with the common opinion, ‘of one man with one woman’, lest I should by implication charge the holy patriarchs and pillars of our faith, Abraham, and the others who had more than one wife at the same time, with habitual fornication and adultery, lest I should be forced to exclude from the sanctuary of God as spurious the holy offspring which sprang from them, yea, the whole of the sons of Israel, for whom the sanctuary itself was made. Source

InshaAllah in this topic we will look at how polygamy was practiced in various cultures and how Islam set limitations and conditions and prohibited injustice. Definition The practice of spouses, male or female, having multiple partners is referred to as polygamy. The practice of a male having more than one wife is known as polygyny and the practice of a female having more than one spouse is called polyandry. Hereunder we will use polygamy in the meaning of polygyny. Mockery and contempt for Polygamy Polygamy: an age old practice Islam came and banned the ill-treatment of women The Beauty of Islam Unfortunately the beauty of Islam often even escapes the Muslims!

Inter-Faith Marriages for Muslim Women Questions and statements such as the following are often raised by non-Muslims and unfortunately some Muslims too: Since Islam permits Muslim men to marry the "women of the book" i.e. Christian or Jewish, why are Muslim women not permitted to marry a non-Muslim men? Islam is biased against women! Women are treated unfairly in Islam! InshaAllah, in the following articles, these misconceptions will be cleared.

Sunnats and Aadaab of Sleeping – Part 5 1. One should sleep on the right side with placing the right hand under the right cheek. عن حفصة رضي الله عنها زوج النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا أراد أن يرقد وضع يده اليمنى تحت خده ثم يقول اللهم قنى عذابك يوم تبعث عبادك ثلاث مرار. (ابو داود رقم 5047) Hadrat Hafsa (Radiallahu anha) reports that when Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) intended to sleep, he would place his right hand under his cheek and recite the following duaa thrice: اللَّهُمَّ قِنِى عَذَابَكَ يَوْمَ تَبْعَثُ عِبَادَكَ 2. One should not sleep on one’s stomach. وعن يعيش بن طخفة الغفاري رضي الله عنهما قال فبينما أنا مضطجع فى المسجد من السحر على بطنى إذا رجل يحركنى برجله فقال إن هذه ضجعة يبغضها الله. قال فنظرت فإذا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. (ابو داود رقم 5042) Hadhrat Ya’eesh Ghifaari (Radhiallahu Anhu) reports: “On one occasion I was sleeping on my stomach in the Musjid due to stomach pains. Suddenly a man came and shook me with his leg saying: “Sleeping in this position (i.e. on the stomach) is disliked by Allah Ta’ala.” (I turned to see who was addressing me), then I saw that it was Hadhrat Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).”

Happy to hear you are well Haya! Alhamdulillah for good health and yes its often when we're ill that the reality of death hits us. Otherwise we tend to forget that death is inevitable!

We are Slaves of Allah Ta’ala Hazrat Mufti Mahmood Saheb (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) had a frame in his room in which “Ana ‘abdullah (I am the slave of Allah Ta‘ala)” was inscribed. This serves as a constant reminder that Allah Ta‘ala has the right to command and I have the duty to obey. This duty should be with beauty as well. That is we should carry out our duties happily and not grudgingly. Source: Al-Haadi

Manage Depression and Bring Back Your Productivity Depression is like being stuck in a deep, dark dungeon. The walls are dull and there are no windows. You feel suffocated and disturbed all the time. Your head feels empty and you feel lifeless: like all your abilities and energy have been sucked away by a black hole. The worst part is, no one seems to understand the mental pain you are going through. People label you and call you lazy, moody and selfish. I’ve been through severe clinical depression and would not wish that mental agony for anyone. But despite the pain, Allah taught me many precious lessons through my depression. This illness has shaped me into the person I am today and I do not regret having this disorder. When I was actually having depressive episodes, I wished someone would teach me how to manage this deathly affliction. But that never happened. That’s when I learned the valuable lesson that when you can’t find a shady tree, plant one. “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves.” [Qur’an: Chapter 13, Verse 11] This article is the tree I’ve planted to help you bring back productivity to your life. So here are 5 proven and practical ways to manage depression that have done wonders for me and many different people for years: 1. Salah Initially in my depression, I was always told to pray more. But I never understood this advice nor did it seem to help me. I was already praying but the depression wasn’t going away. Then I realized: I didn’t need to change the amount of my salah, rather I needed to change the quality of it. When I started improving my relationship with Allah through salah, I noticed an immense change in my mood. Salah helped me manage depression because in sujood, I would make dua to Allah to help me cope with this illness. That’s when I learned the second technique to managing depression… 2. Pills Suggesting taking anti-depressants might come as a shocker for many, but there is nothing wrong with using them if your doctor has prescribed them for you. Just like a deep cut needs a bandage, clinical and severe depression warrants medication. However, this option is not for everyone. When you have situational depression pills are often not the answer. With this type of depression, you need… 3. Exercise and Healthy Eating If you’re skeptical about the consequences of taking prescribed anti-depressants, here’s my personal experience: I’ve been able to completely stay off anti-depressants for ages because of the life style changes I’ve made. I did need pills when I had severe depression, but once the severe down time passes, a little physical exercise and healthy eating can do wonders for your mood. Learn how to make your personal exercise program and plan healthy, tasty meals for yourself! 4. Support Network Strong support networks are one of the most effective aides to completely overcoming depression and regaining your productivity. When you’re low: don’t be alone: be with positive people from your friends or family talk out your depression with people who you know will be of help, but be careful of whom you trust seek help from as many different professionals as you need 5. Therapy Therapy helps you identify the triggers of your depression (even clinical depression) and works better than medication. Psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy or art therapy – you can explore and choose the therapy that works best to bring back your liveliness. Remember, therapy is a consistent process and needs regular sessions to work. It’s like mental exercise: just like we need to stimulate our body physically, therapy helps stimulate our minds to become productive again. Ultimately, every shady tree that gives you refuge from depression is a favor from Allah. Cherish it, be grateful for it and use it to your advantage. What is your experience with depression? What do you do when you feel depressed? Comment below! Saba Malik (productiveluslim.com)

Six Productive and Practical Steps for Walking Out of Depression Depression is a condition which affects a growing population of individuals around the world. It does not discriminate with regard to race, educational background, social status or religion. Despite the fact that there is nothing to be ashamed of, individuals who suffer from this condition usually bear it quietly for fear of the stigma of being labelled as having a mental incapacity. Islam being not just a religion but also a complete way of life has provided us with a solution out of every problem, and depression is one problem the solution to which can be found in the teachings of Islam. I must stress here that I will not discuss anti-depressants as steps for walking out of depression, the reason being, I consider them to be more chemical than practical. Speaking from personal knowledge and experience, we shall examine six ways of rising above the trials and tribulations of depression: 1. Reciting Suratul Nas: Basically, depression mostly consists of feelings of self-doubt and extremely low self-esteem which I can attribute to the deceptive whisperings of Shaitan. When one peruses through the meaning of Suratul Nas, you will notice it is mostly a prayer for protection from the whisperings of Shaitan. Consistently reciting Surah tul Nas, whenever feelings of self-doubts surface; will safeguard one from depression and uplift the mood of one who suffers from depression. 2. Reciting the duas for overcoming anxiety and sorrow: ‘O Allaah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant, my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You name Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Qur’aan the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety.’[Hisnul Muslim]. and ‘O Allaah, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being over powered by men.’[Hisnul Muslim]. 3. Take up or join a charitable cause: It is a proven fact that giving one’s time to providing others with happiness by engaging in charitable causes also has an effect on a person’s mood, countenance and disposition. It’s a simple formula; you give happiness, you get happiness. A charitable cause in this sense need not be something huge in terms of financial consideration. It could be anything from volunteering at a nearby orphanage, soup kitchen, organizing a clothes collection to give to the needy or simply feeding one needy person with a meal a day. Once you start to put a smile on people’s faces, inshaAllah your mood will improve dramatically. 4. Take walks and appreciate nature: One major feature of depression is that it takes hold of sufferers and drains their mental vitality. It is common to find that depressed individuals lose the zeal to interact with people, recede into their own mental shells or confine themselves to their homes, thereby further plunging themselves into the hold of depression. Although it is not as easy as it seems, taking walks and appreciating nature will definitely uplift the spirit and lighten the mood. Speaking from personal experience, I can say seeing the beauty of Allah’s creation and appreciating things as simple as the interaction of birds in the sky, the scenery of the land can be a step towards walking out of depression. 5. Start a new hobby: As the English saying goes “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” If someone suffering from depression stays idle, while isolating himself from the world, then there is a greater chance of one spiraling deeper into depression. Starting a new hobby can also act as an effective barrier against depression. Hobbies such as reading a book, starting an interactive Islamic blog, exercising or reciting the Qur’an are all productive hobbies. I must stress here that listening to music, watching movies or engaging in other frivolous and non-rewarding are not hobbies in this case. 6. Think about how easy your life is: If all the aforementioned tips fail, then this will certainly jolt you out of your reverie. Think about what you’re going through and ask yourself “Can it in any way compare to what the Prophet Muhammad ?” “Am I going through even 1% of what he went through?” He lost his parents at a very young age. He lost his wife and uncle at a time when he needed their support the most. He was persecuted by his kinsmen and banished from his own homeland. What on earth are you going through that even remotely compares to that? I know fighting depression is not as easy as it sounds but inshaAllah, with determination and sincerity, the above steps will help in the fight to step out of it. Usman Shamaki (productivemuslim.com)

10 Tips to Fight Depression ! Assalam O Alaykum, I would like to share this article,which is very usefull for everyone. Well, from last few days, i’m extremely depressed, so I was looking for some solution.and i found this article. .. Feeling down in the dumps, depressed, having the blues: these are just some of the terms used to describe a feeling of hopelessness and despair that can hit even the most optimistic of us at some point in our lives. While clinical depression requires proper professional treatment, the occasional feeling of sadness due to factors ranging from economic difficulty to harassment and discrimination can be helped through some simple spiritual practices. Here are a couple that can help: 1. Look at those below you The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whenever you see someone better than you in wealth, face or figure, you should look at someone who is inferior to you in these respects” (Bukhari, Muslim). If you are reading this article online, consider this: you are one of the lucky set of human beings on the planet who can afford a computer and internet connection or at least have access to one. The United Nations Development Program’s 2007 Human Development Report notes that there are still around 1 billion people living worldwide at the margins of survival on less than $1 a day, with 2.6 billion living on less than $2 a day. Also consider that in the Quran (14:7), God says that if you are thankful to Him for what you have, He blesses you with more. 2. Serve your fellow human beings The best way to thank God is to serve humanity, especially those who have less than you. Serving others is uplifting and rewarding. It helps us gain a better perspective on life’s challenges, making us realize how very often, are problems seem so small compared to the awesome difficulties others face. That’s why when the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the Muslims were a small, poor and persecuted community, they used to give to the poor even more. They understood that when you are generous when you have less, you achieve the perspective of a winner. You are focused on the bigger picture. 3. Read Surah Ad Duha According to one report, after the Prophet had begun receiving revelation from God, at one point a long period of time passed with no such communication from Allah. As a result, the Makkans ridiculed the Prophet and he became severely depressed. That’s when this chapter was revealed (Quran 93: 1-11). The chapter is a beautiful reminder to us to see life in the greater scheme of things, to be grateful for what we have and to never give up striving for what is right. This chapter of the Quran can be considered a direct recipe from God for depression. 4. Turn to God in all situations Remember that nothing can harm you without the consent of God. While you must take care of yourself, rely on God and know that He is always with you and only He can give you strength in difficult times. Also remember that He will help you can come out of a trying situation as a better person if you deal with it positively. 5. Remember God’s Names God has many beautiful Names which describe His attributes and powers. These are reminders of His Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, Justice, Strength and much, more. Supplicating to God using these Names reminds us that God has these attributes more than any other being and that we can and must rely on Him during good and bad times. 6. Say ‘Hasbun Allahu wa Ni’ mal Wakeel‘; This has been translated as “God suffices me and He is the best guardian.” It is an excellent way of reminding us that whatever worries we have or problems we face, God has the answer and cure to all of them and is the only One who can really do what is best for us. 7. Make sure when you leave home, you read this Dua ‘In the name of Allah, I place my trust in Allah, and there is no might nor power except with Allah.’ Bismillahe tawakkaltu alAllahe la haula wa la quwwata illa biAllah. 8. Take your spiritual break from the world, five times a day Taking a break away from school, work or other life activities to spend a few minutes to remember God helps you reconnect with the Creator of the Universe, fortify your soul and strengthen your resolve to live a better life that is in tune with your faith and principles. 9. End your day on a good note Shakespeare once wrote a play entitled “All’s well that ends well.” That’s good advice for dealing with depression too. End a day that may have been riddled with challenges and frustrations by making Wudu before going to bed, thinking of God and the Prophet and counting every blessings you have 10. Stop Shaytan in his tracks Shaytan is the source of many of our negative emotions. It’s his job to make us feel pessimistic and to despair of any good in life. When you feel these feelings coming on, stop him dead in his tracks: say Aoutho billahi minash Shaytan ir Rajeem (I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed satan). I pray,Almighty will remove these pains from my heart,and make this post usefull for muslims brothers and sisters… Ameen! (islamgreatreligion)

Nasihah (Advice): Tasbeeh Counters Imaam Abu Dawood mentions that on one occasion Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam came to a woman who was reciting Tasbih using date pits and pebbles. Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not reprimand her nor disapprove of her action. (Hadiyyatul Abraar Fi Subhatil Azkaar) _______________________________________________ Question and Answer: Q. Assalamu alaykum, Is using counter or beads to count dhikr of Allah Bidah. Using of digital Tashbeeh or tally counter is allowed? (Question published as received) A. It is permissible (Mubaah) to use a “Tasbīh” or “Subhah” in order to aid oneself in performing Zikr. In the past, people used stones and beads as an aid in making Zikr. In today’s times, digital counters along with other technological methods are used. Hence, if one uses a Tasbih for this purpose it will not be Bid‘ah. The general principle of Mubaah is one may practice on it or use it on condition he does not regard it as compulsory in Deen or a Sunnah. Allah Knows Best Mufti Ismaeel Bassa Confirmation: Mufti Ebrahim Desai Fatwa Department Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) Council of Muslim Theologians

Use of Left hand or Right for counting Question Is it true ? or I am okay to use both hands for counting tasbihat. I recently got a forwarded email which say Tasbih should not be performed on Left hand (Using fingers to cound number of tasbihat) Is it true ? or I am okay to use both hands for counting tasbihat. Answer (Fatwa: 831/660/B=1431) Recite the tasbeeh only with right hand or with both the hands, both ways are right. It is mentioned in hadith: count using fingers because they will be questioned on the Day of Judgement what they did and answer will be sought from them and while answering they will bear witness. The same thing is mentioned in the holy Quran in several places that the body, hands and feet of man will be asked what good and bad deeds they performed. و في الحديث: واعقدن بالإنامل فإنهن مسؤلات مستنطقات ، الحديث (المشكاة ص:202) Allah (Subhana Wa Ta’ala) knows Best Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Deoband Source

Question: Assalamualaikum, what is the proof of using a prayer bead? some say it is Bid’ah is this right? Wassalaam Answer: Hazrat Saaad bin Abi Waqqaas (R.A.) reports that once, while accompanied by the Nabi of Allah (S.A.W.), he came across a lady who was using date pits or pebbles for making Tasbeeh (glorifying Allah). Nabi (S.A.W.) addressed her saying, Should I not inform you of an easier or better way than that, SUBHANALLAHI ADADA MA KHALAQA FIS SAMAAI WA SUBHANALLHI ADADA MA KHALAQA FIL ARDHI WA SUBHANALLAHI ADADA MA BAYNA THALIK WA SUBHANALLAHI ADADA MA HUWA KHALIQ WALLAHU AKBAR MITHLA THALIK WALHAMDULILLAHI MITHLA THALIK WA LAILAHA ILLALLAHU MITHLA THALIK WA LA HAUWLA WA LA QUWWATA ILLA BILLAHI MITHLA THALIK. In the commentary of this Hadith, the author of Mirqaat (a commentary of Mishkaat) explains that, the fact that Nabi (S.A.W.) did not disapprove of her action or show any resentment towards it, clearly proves that using beads, pebbles, etc. when making Tasbeeh is permissible. It would therefore be incorrect to classify an act which Nabi (S.AW.) approved of, as Bidah. Hazrat Umar (R.A.) once saw a person using beads for making Tasbeeh and he did not prevent him from doing so. Hazrat Abu Hurairah (R.A.) used a string, which consisted of a number of knots for making Tasbeeh. There are many Ahadeeth in which the Nabi of Allah instructed the Sahabah to recite a particular Zikr a certain amount of times, which naturally implies that something be used for counting. (Mirqaat, Vol. 5, Page 138-139, Hayaatus Sahabah, Vol. 3, Page 427) And Allah Taala knows best Ebrahim bin Zainul Abedeen Backus Attested to as correct by: Mufti Muhammad Ashraf Darul Iftaa Jameah Mahmoodiyah Springs www.mahmoodiyah.org.za [email protected] Source

Question Is using tasbeeh a bidah and can it be given as a gift? I have following questions: 1. Is using tasbeeh is bidah & is this imitation of christianity. 2. Giving tasbeeh as a hadiyah is permissible in islam. Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. It is permissible to use a “tasbīh” or “subhah” in order to aid oneself in performing dhikr. A tasbīh helps in performing dhikr in two ways: By holding it in the hand or seeing it, one is encouraged and reminded to perform dhikr. This is why it is also known as a “mudhakkir” (reminder). It also helps one keep count. Using beads or stones to help one with dhikr is supported by hadīths. Imāms Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī narrated in their collections on the authority of Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās (radiyAllāhu ‘anh) that together with Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) he came upon a woman with date stones or pebbles before her, with which she was reciting tasbīh. The narration continued, but does not state Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) reprimanded her or disapproved of what she was doing. Imām al-Tirmidhī and Hāfiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī graded the chain of narration hasan.[1] This offers proof that taking assistance from something to help one to keep count of his dhikr is permissible. Hence, if one uses tasbīh for this purpose it will not be bid‘ah. However, there should be no belief attached to the tasbīh that it has intrinsic virtue or the one who recites dhikr using it is superior to one who does not. The great scholars, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī (d. 911 H)[2] and ‘Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi (d. 1304 H)[3], have both authored treatises showing the permissibility of using a tasbīh. It is permissible to give a tasbīh as hadiyyah. And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best Zameelur Rahman Student Darul Iftaa UK Checked and Approved by, Mufti Ebrahim Desai. www.daruliftaa.net

Tadbeer, Tafweez and faith in Taqdeer is the solution to depression: For better understanding, the following excerpts are taken from "The Cure for Depression Tafweez" by Shaykh Yunus Patel (Raheemahullah) Tadbeer: Making Effort Tafweez: Antidote to Depression Taqdeer:Predestination Great wisdom lies in the decisions of Allah. Something much worse could have happened....

اَلَّلهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحُزْنِ وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَ الْكَسَلِ وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِن غَلَبَةِ الدَّيْنِ وَقَهْرِ الرِّجَالِ Allaahumma innee a'oothubika minal hammi wal huzni wa-a'oothubika minal 'ajzi wal kasali wa-a'oothubika minal bukhli wal jubni wa-a'oothubika min ghalabatid dayni waqah-rir rijaal Oh Allah I seek protection in you from worries and sadness and I seek protection in you from weakness and laziness and I seek protection in you from miserliness and cowardliness and I seek protection in You from overpowering debts and being overpowered by people.

Trust me; there is no substitute for being able to look in the mirror and seeing purity, innocence and self-respect staring back at you. Joanna Francis Writer, Journalist – USA

A woman’s sexuality should be guarded from unworthy eyes, since it should be your gift to the man who loves and respects you enough to marry you. And since your men are still manly warriors, they deserve no less than your best. Our men don’t even want purity anymore. They don’t recognize the pearl of great value, opting for the flashy rhinestone instead. Joanna Francis Writer, Journalist – USA

Hope in Du'a Once, a ten-year-old boy was praying feverishly in prostration, “O Allah [swt], the Most Merciful, the Magnificent, Make Faisalabad [a small city of Pakistan] the capital of Pakistan, make Faisalabad the capital of Pakistan…” His mother overheard him and inquired, “Why would you pray so, my child?” The boy answered, “Well, Mother. We had a question on our final exam which asked, “What is the capital of Pakistan?” and I mistakenly put “Faisalabad” as my answer

Ridding Oneself of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Answered by Ustadh Abdullah Anik Misra Question: As’Salamu Alaykum, I have a problem with myself in that I keep having these images of harming myself somehow or committing suicide and I don’t know what to do. I’m at a difficult stage in my life right now. I have very bad family issues, financial problems and problems with myself in terms of my heart. I just feel like ending my life so I can escape all of my problems. The last few years have been very hard for me in that I’ve been unemployed for a while and I have mounting debts that I can’t pay off and other issues. Counselling hasn’t helped. I’ve turned to Allah and prayed long and hard but then suddenly I’ll become lax in my prayers etc. I feel like I’m being pushed away from worshipping Allah. I have started doing some SG courses and they help but I still find myself weak and vulnerable. And lately the suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming myself have started terrifying me. It’s like I don’t have the guts to hurt myself but at the same time I dont know what I’m capable of doing. Please help me before I end up hurting myself. Answer In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate, Wa alaikum as salam, Dear brother in Islam: you possess the most valuable thing that any person could wish for: iman, or true faith in Allah Most High. Remember that mankind’s sworn enemy, Shaytan, is insanely jealous of how much mercy Allah Most High envelopes you in at each moment, and how much Allah loves you. Even in your lowest, most sinful, most problem-ridden, most heedless, depressed state, you mean so much to Allah. This is why Shaytan will do everything in his power to drive you out of true faith: so that you end up damned like him. Shaytan is an evil whisperer; his way of misleading you is to whisper doubts into your heart: doubts about the things around you, about your faith and your sanity, and ultimately, about Islam and Allah Himself. Horrible Thoughts Are Whispers from the Shaytan into the Heart of the Believer The thoughts and images you are seeing start from satanic whisperings (waswasa). You have become tricked into adopting them and believing that they are your own thoughts. You might feel disgusted, shocked and scared. But the thoughts are not really yours; you don’t really want to hurt yourself. They are devilish illusions, that while painful, cannot truly hurt you, or cause you to hurt yourself, unless you allow them to become a part of you. Passing bad thoughts are normal for a Muslim, but they must be disregarded quickly and shunned. Once, the Companions confessed to the Prophet [peace and blessings be upon him]: “Indeed, we are finding thoughts within ourselves that any of us would find abominable to mention!” So the Prophet asked, “Do you really find that within yourselves?” They replied, “Yes.” So the Prophet said: “That is a clear sign of faith.” [Muslim] Ridding Oneself of Bad Thoughts The thoughts may be difficult to erase once the mind has adopted the whisperings. Firstly, at the onset of any of these images or doubts, I would advise that you immediately declare in your heart – with authority and certainty- that these are not your thoughts, and tell the Shaytan you are not about to fall for his tricks. Tell him your Lord is Allah, and that you are so grateful for that, and that you are not scared of him and his whisperings, as you have the greatest Protector watching over you. Then, flee to Allah Ta’ala in your heart, and seek refuge in Him from the Shaytan with full sincerity, consciousness, and in utter neediness. Recite the final surah of the Qur’an with presence of heart, while knowing the meaning of its verses [surah 114: al-Nas]. Admit to Allah Ta’ala that He is your only Lord; your only hope; your rock and your only refuge. Tell Allah that no matter what the thoughts say or provoke, you only want to stand by Him and worship Him. Confess your sins to Him, and repent for them. Then, ask Him to protect you and rid you of those thoughts forever. Completely consign the problem and solution to Him. Shun Bad Influences, Live a Pure Life, And Trust in Allah Once you’ve done that, do your best to rejoice and feel thankful for your faith- Shaytan hates to see that and is driven away by a believer rejoicing in his Lord. Shun and avoid negative, sinful influences in your life that enter your heart through your eyes and ears: violence, sexuality and pornography, or other vices. Cut the mental noise out of your life: stop reading useless blogs and articles, watching TV or ads, or surfing the net. Seek out the company of good people, in good places like the mosque or a study circle. Repent from your sins regularly, maintain a state of ritual purity as much as possible, eat lawful food only, be consistent in your daily prayers, recite some Quran each morning and evening, and try to keep in the remembrance of Allah through dhikr. Don’t go into hyper-mode praying, as that won’t solve your problem; this is Shaytan’s trick to exhaust you till you quit. Rather, stay balanced and moderate, but keep your heart focused on loving Allah as much as possible. Love of Allah is everything. The Importance of Seeking Both Professional and Spiritual Help Lastly, I would advise you to continue to seek counseling for this issue, as we are commanded to use the best means at our disposal, while turning to Allah in prayer and supplication, knowing that the results are in Allah’s hands. Only He creates happiness in the heart. Do not see the challenges in your life as insurmountable; you still have many blessings, so take things a day at a time, seeking Allah’s help. Everything I’ve advised you is what I have gleaned from my spiritual guide; may Allah forgive my shortcomings and mistakes. It is best for you to consult a qualified spiritual guide and master of Islamic spirituality yourself when you can. May Allah Most High bless you, relieve you of your troubles, protect us all, and make us all into His righteous and beloved servants, Ameen. Wassalam, Abdullah Anik Misra Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani Source

Question Could you please give me some dua’s for anxiety and depression. Answer Assalāmu `alaikum Warahmatullāhi Wabrakatuh, What is the cause of the anxiety and depression? It is important to treat the cause. Duas alone are not sufficient to overcome anxiety and depression. We are living in a world of cause and effect and in the world of means. To diagnose a problem and adopt means for cure is the teaching of Shariah. Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam and the Sahaba radi allahu anhum faced various challenges in their lives. They attempted to identify the cause of the problems and adopted means to remedy the problems. Yes, they took strength and courage through Salah and Duas. At times our own actions lead us to anxiety and depression. The remedy is then simple. Self reformation. In such a situation ones can make any amount of dua and Dhikr, his wrong deeds will still drown him in grief and depression. This life is filled with challenges and adversities. It is natural to feel anxious and experience grief. The best solution for such feelings is to remind ourselves that we are muslims and we are sent in this world to be tested. A feeling of anxiety is actually a test from Allah. Allah want to see our reaction. We are caught between the order of Allah and our Nafs. To control ones Nafs at this time and remind ourself of Allahs test is what Allah wants from us. It is then Allah’s help will come. It is the barakaat of such submission, duas and Dhikr that Allah will guide one to the road of relief and comfort. Allah Ta’ala tells us يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and Salah. Indeed Allah with those who are the patient ones. (Qur’an 2:153) Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam advised us the following dua for grief and depression. اَلَّلهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحُزْنِ وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَ الْكَسَلِ وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِن غَلَبَةِ الدَّيْنِ وَقَهْرِ الرِّجَالِ And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best, Muftī Ebrahim Desai Daruliftaa 35 Candella Rd, Durban, South Africa www.daruliftaa.net Source

إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ [10:23]your injustice is against your ownself. ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ [30:41]Corruption has appeared thoughout the land and sea by what the hands of people have earned. [Download original Talk's mp3] In this present day and time in this country of Pakistan, a great many people who, due to the situation in the country, feel greatly and deeply disturbed about the conditions of the country and we find that everybody is saying ” we are very worried, so much so that no one can talk about religion, even if one starts talking about religion then people say that molvi sahab kindly talk about the current conditions .” Today, I’m going to speak about the current conditions and what is the cure for our halaat, the cure for our halaat is exactly what the ullema of the deen of Islam would have told us. I’m going to state it very clearly at the outset, and I’m going to establish it with the Qur’an: Unless we fix our individual halaat we have no hope, absolutely no chance whatsoever, for our collective halaat to get improved. So, I will establish this premise from the Qur’an-e-karim and then will describe how is our own individual halaat in the times that we live in. Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an-e-karim: إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ [10:23]your injustice is against your own self. That know humanity that whatever you do is going to come back to haunt you. That whatever we do is going to come back to haunt us, so if we seek to live a life as an individual, as a family, as a society, as a community, as a country, as an ummah distant from the ahkaam of Allah Almighty , distant from the teachings in the life of Sayyidina RasoolAllah (peace and blessings be upon him) عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ it is going to come back to haunt us, it is going to come back and plague us and then Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an-e-karim:ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ that how does fasad become apparent, when does it manifest itself everybody feels we are living in the times of fasaad. فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ on land and on water بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ That what is the sabab of it? – What human beings themselves do, what we ourselves earned, our own actions that is what brings fasaad. Fasaad does not come about on its own. Allah Almighty is saying very clearly that Fasad is a product of what we ourselves earned. Its our ‘amaal or in many cases our lack of certain amaal that has lead to the situation that we are in right now. Infact, I would suggest that if we were to be honest: our bad amaal or our lack of good ‘amaal actually warrant and justify that much more should be happening right now, it is infact a dua of RasoolAllah (peace and blessings be upon him) that has saved this ummah from the azaab of Allah Almighty: It is mentioned in hadith that Jibraeel (peace be upon him) came to him at a particular moment and told him that the duas that you make at this moment, Allah Almighty will accept them and there is a masjid that is marking this place that is on walking distance from Masjid-e-Nabwi to Madina Munawwara and in this masjid, sayiddina RasoolAllah (peace and blessings be upon him) made a few duas, one of the duas was that Ya Allah , I make dua to You that You never Put an azaab on my Ummah. It is just due to this dua that we have not fallen under the azaab of Allah Almighty, otherwise as an Ummah we are doing sins the like of which have not in any way been exceeded by the Qaum of Aad and Thamud. We are an ummah who have left the teachings of our Book and our Prophet , not unlike the previous communities left the teachings of their Book and their Prophet. This is our real haqiqat; this is our real reality. Now, before we continue I want to mention a few more ayahs in the Qur’an-e-karim, in which Allah Almighty Has Promised His Madad, His Nusrat, His Nijaa’at to the mo’mineen; in which Allah Almighty in the Qur’an-e-Karim Has Promised that He will help the believers, and after going through these ayahs we will have only two possible questions left to ask ourselves that: Are we believers? Have we stopped being believers? Or Has Allah Almighty stopped being Allah Almighty? There are only two possibilities! 1. Allah Almighty says in the Quran: إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (40:51) Indeed! certainly we will help our messengers and prophets And the people of Imaan in their worldly matters. Allah Almighty is promising and invoking with emphasis His nusrat for the people who believe. And He is saying in this ayah that He is going to help them as much and as certainly as He helped his messengers and prophets. All of us are Alhamdullilah familiar with the sirah of Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and how much Allah Almighty’s madad and nusrat came. Whether it is Badr, all the way to Fatah-e-Makkah, all the way from Badr till after Fateh Makkah. Allah Almighty’s miraculous madad came on Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Allah Almighty is pledging with equal certainty and surety that He will help the believers in their worldly lives. 2, Q: And then We will give nijaat to messengers and prophets and just like that we will grant nijaat to the believers. We will free them and take them out of their pareshan halaat. We will grant nijaat Allah Almighty says it is lazim on Him. We talk about Haqooq Allah; Allah’s rights over us. We talk about Haqooqul Ibaad; other’s rights over us. Here Allah Almighty has used the word Haq ul Alaina that it is a Haq on Allah Almighty to give madad and nusrat to the believers. Allahu Akbar Kabeera! This is how far Allah Almighty has gone. The words used in both ayat were Al’lazeena Aminoo and Mu’mineen. So it’s not something just for the mutaqeen, muhsineen, sadiqeen or sabireen. It is for the basic entry level Ummati, a person who is amongst the mu’mineen Allah Almighty has promised and made it mandatory upon Himself their nusrat and nijaat. So there are only these options left: a) Either Allah (swt) has stopped being Allah (swt) [Na’auzubillah] and that’s why He is not giving His nusrat and nijaad. b) Or He is still Allah (swt) but He has broken His promise. He is not true to His Kalaam, the Quran al kareem [Na’auzubillah] c) Or the other possibility, which is the true reality, is that we have stopped being such believers who would get His nusrat and nijaat, this promised help from Allah (swt). Just in case a person thinks that no we still have to strategize we still have to plan because only we know who our enemies are and who are plotting against us, whether they are within the country or out of the country. We should spend hours and hours watching television programs every single night. This is what our whole country has been doing. Anywhere from 1 to 6 hours every single person in this country is either watching television, listening to the radio or reading the newspapers, doing what you call ‘tabsira on the halaat’. And then when they turn the program off and they look at one another and they do ‘tabsira ala tabsira’. We have become people who do tabsira ala tabsira, while Allah (swt) wanted us to become Noor-’ala-Noor. It is only because we have not become noor ala noor, that we are doing tabsira ala tabsira. This is our response to the situation. We think we can somehow figure out what is going on, we can engage in news and analysis and the wonderful programs on television from one channel to another channel. Has this brought you even an inch closer to solving your problem? Has this brought you even an inch closer to the aman which you so desperately want and have so vainly lost due to your own actions. Imagine now those same 150 million people spending 1 to 5 hours making dua to Allah (swt) in about 30 days let’s say 1 hour per day, so 150*30 = 4.5 billion hours could have been spent making dua to Allah (swt). You tell me, had 4.5 million hours been spent in making dua to Allah (swt), you don’t think His nusrat and nijaat would have come? You have under-estimated the power of Islam and you have over-estimated the power of news analysis. We have failed to understand how our deen teaches us to respond to these halaat. Let’s say some of you are thinking that all these ayaat are saying Al’lazeena aaminoo and mu’mineen tou wohi na ijtamaai halaat theek houn gey tou phir infradi halaat theek houn gey. So here’s another ayah of the Quran al Kareem which makes it clear, it’s a crystal clear verse: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ [5:105] O you who believe! It is laazim on you to fix your ownselves. Remember the 2nd verse? That helping the believers is laazim on Allah Almighty. Now what is laazim on you O believers is your ownselves. Fix ourselves! Fix our own individual selves. This is what we are being taught in Arabic grammar muqabila tul jama ala jama it means taqseem ul ifraad ala ifraad. I’ll explain giving an example. Allah Almighty says all of you should wash all of your faces. It doesn’t mean all of you should get together and start washing each other’s faces together. It means each and every one of you should wash your own face. Alaikum anfusikum means each and every one of you should fix your ownselves! That is what is laazim on you. If we can fix just one 6 feet body of our ownself, and each and every one can do this, then Allah Almighty will Himself take care of the nusrat and the nijaat and the madad for all of the mu’mineen and muslimeen. Then Allah Almighty goes further to say عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لَا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ [5:105]Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. Mand’alla is that person who has gone astray, who is on zalalat. La yuzurrukum means that person on zalalat will not be able to harm you in any way. Those who are astray and those who wish to lead you astray will not be able to harm you in any way. When will that happen? When we do Alaikum anfusikum – > when we take care of our ownself. Allah Almighty says that Allah knows better of who our true enemies are. So He is the most perfect to do our nusrat and nijaat. And He has said simply that all we have to do is fix our own self. Further He says that no way will any person who is astray or wishes for us to go astray will ever be able to harm us ‘iza hidaytum’ if we submit to hidaya. If we follow the hidaya, if we follow the deen, if we follow the Quran and the Sunnah of Syedna Rasool Allah (may peace and blessings be on him), there is no way that anyone will be able to harm us. And all of us will return to Allah Almighty collectively and Allah Almighty will inform us that what it is that we used to do. Better to figure it out in our lives that what is it that we are doing which has led to this state of affairs rather than being informed by Allah Almighty on THAT day what it is that we were doing that caused these state of affairs! Allah Almighty has told us clearly what it is that we are supposed to do. There’s another feature to our dilemma We have been born in an age of fitnah. Those who are younger are born, while some of us who are a bit older are living and witnessing the age of fitnah. This is even more intense. Allah Almighty says that fitnah is even more devastating than murder. And we are worried about the murders and killing that has begun recently while we have been in the state of fitnah for several years. But we are blind to it. Most of us are still oblivious. We are unaware of our true state of being collectively and individually. We are just worried about our own individual peace. There are people in Pakistan making plans of going to Dubai, or of going to Bahrain… o shabash! Little runaway havens worrying about their kids, right? They still don’t understand, they still don’t get it. We’re not going to be safe in Dubai. Not in this age of fitnah. That’s not the response that Allah Almighty wants. We are supposed to fix ourselves. We are supposed to be a means to fix this society. Now what does fitnah mean? Syedna Rasool Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) in the Hadith has defined fitnah in several ways, in case anybody thinks that we are not sure that we are in the age of fitnah. There are many Ahadith describing fitnah. In fact, muhaditheen have gathered these Ahadith into chapters named kitaab ul fitan. In one hadith Syedna Rasool Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) says ‘Fitnah will occur in you just like the rain falls ‘ So fitnah will occur just like a downpour. That will be the age of fitnah. Not just one fitnah, but a downpour of fitnas. How is the age of fitnah defined in Ahadith? 1. This is that age when it will be difficult to tell who is right and who is wrong. There will be so many fitnas that you won’t know for sure who is Haq (truthful) and who is Batil (wrong). There will be many people out there trying to convince you. But deep in your heart you won’t really know for sure what is going on. The age in which we won’t be able to tell what is truth and what is falsehood. That is also the age of media. The age of media actually fits very well with the age of fitnah. 2. The age of fitnah will be such that disobedience to Allah Almighty will become widespread. This is something that is clearly apparent in the urban centers of this country. And it’s not something only confined to the youth. Whether it’s people in their 40’s 50’s or 60’s we find within them 24 hours of widespread range of sins. For some of them the sin starts off when they sleep through their fajr Salah. For some of them their entire day is spent in sin as they work in interest bearing banks. Sin is common and widespread. It is unrepentant and unabashed. Sin means to do anything against the will of Allah Almighty and/or to do anything against the practice and teachings of Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Some of us have fooled ourselves by believing only fuhish (vulgarity) is a sin. So a person thinks no I’m not a bad person because he thinks that he doesn’t do anything vulgar or obscene. Because we have misunderstood sin. Yes there are sins which also have vulgarity in them. But sins means anything done against the pleasure and wish of Allah Almighty and against the teachings and practice of Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). 3. The age of fitnah is such that the crimes will become rampant. Crimes whether theft, burglary, corruption, bribery, murder, rape, they have become rampant. These are the sign, by the way, which Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is mentioning will take place within the ummat-e-Muslima in the age of fitnah. 4. People will present proofs for falsehood which aren’t proofs for it and they will present proofs to refute the truth which aren’t proofs against it. This again we see in media. People giving you reasons why such and such thing is correct. But if you pause for a moment you’d realize this is not a justification or proof of it. 5. In the time of fitnah one of the signs that will occur in this Ummah is that two groups of Muslim Ummah will fight one another and kill one another and the one killing the other one would not know why he killed the other one. And the one killed would not know for what crime he was killed. This has been further explained in another Hadith of Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): When two Muslims meet one another with weapons, both the killer and the one being killed will both go to jahannum. These days some of us like to think that both are shaheed. Maybe we think one of them is shaheed. But according to Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) they are both jahannumi. It’s because they both intended to kill without justification. So me and you are living not just in difficult times, but we are living in an age of fitnah. In this age of fitnah it’s all the more important for us to know what our deen tells us to do. I’m going to go even one step further. And I’m going to explain that one thing that is mentioned in the Hadith are the signs of the age of fitnah, up till now I’ve given some of those signs. Then there’s a second set of Hadith that mentions not just the sign and the alamaat of the age of fitnah, but another phrase is used ‘the alamaat of qurb e qiyyamah’. That there are certain signs, and again these are the signs that are going to take place inside the Ummah, that indicate the closeness of the end of time. Now people don’t understand, they don’t realize in fact many of us enjoy studying this Hadith but these Hadith were said by Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for a reason. When we try to signal something to a person, we want them to get the signal. So by giving the alamaat Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wants us to realize that we are living in the age of end of time. There’s a particular fitnah related to the age of end of time and that fitnah is called fitnatul Dajjal. This is the greatest fitnah to inflict the humanity. Even Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to make dua ‘Allahumma inni aoozubika min fitnati Dajjal’ [O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the fitnah of Dajjal]. Such a big fitnah that all of the Sahaaba karam, tabieen, all of the great Muslims, Muslims who had real Imaan and taqwah used to seek refuge from the fitnah of Dajjal. And me and you who have weak Imaan and taqwah, we’re not even thinking, we’re not even opening up our eyes to all of these alamaat, we’re not even realizing that the age of fitnah of Dajjal had begun. Nobody knows when Dajjal will show himself. Nobody can tell when zuhur e Dajjal will take place. But the fajr of that age has begun because the alamaat are present. When does the fajr start? When the time of sunrise is close and the alamaat can be seen. So if these alamaat that I will be mentioning are already here then that means that the time of coming of Dajjal is near. However, nobody can ever tell you how close you are. Normally when the fajr starts it takes about one and a half hour for the sun to rise. When the fajr of Dajjal starts we don’t know it could take 10 years, 20 years, 50 years or even 100 years before Dajjal comes. But it means that Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wants us to take a lesson that the time is near. That we are living close to that time. It may happen in our lifetime or in our children’s lifetime, maybe our grandchildren’s lifetime. But there’s a mentality which Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was trying to create by telling us these signs. And not only are we going to notice the signs , rather we are drowning in these signs. We are drenched in the realities that were mentioned in Ahadith 1400 years ago but we are still not able to take a simple ibrat. In fact there’s a famous Arabic proverb which will tell us something about ibrat. “A good person is he who takes ibrat from others, while a badbakht is he who becomes an ibrat for others.” We have two choices. Either we choose to take ibrat.If we don’t take ibrat from these things and fix ourselves then we will become an ibrat for people who come. So let’s look at the ilamaat and signs which have been mentioned in the Hadith. There are many of them but we are only going to do a few: 1. My Ummah will miss their prayers. Now we should also think, imagine who is hearing this. Me and you are listening to this now. But imagine Sahaaba karam listening to this. They would have been stunned. They would have thought Ya Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) we are giving our lives in Uhad and Badr for this Deen. We are giving our lives for the sake that this Ummat should continue and you are telling us that there will come a time when this Ummat will voluntarily leave Salah, which to them was more basic and more essential than food and drink. I can only imagine what the Sahaaba must have thought at that moment. And they would have thought that surely such a thing would be the beginning of the end. They would have thought such a state when the Ummat would miss compulsory Salah truely the day of judgement should dawn on it. And we who leave salah do not understand it. There are a very few Muslims left today who pray five times a day. It’s very shocking for me to say this. It’s like saying that they don’t have the most basic thing such as water. The human race would have died out. Actually the mu’mineen have died out. Mu’mineen and Al’lazeena amino are an endangered species. Because they are so few that’s why this nusrat and nijaat doesn’t come. A naik Musalman today is that who prays four or four and a half times a day. And a University naik is that who only prays Jumma. That’s the university level of Islam. Some of our uncles are pious who offer the Eid prayer. That’s the uncle level of Islam. Right at the first alaamat we are there. In fact the missing of the prayers is so widespread that we would say this has been going on for quite some time, don’t think that this is new that we just came near to this because of a couple of bombs that hit us 2009. These alamaat have been there for several years. 2. The people in the Ummat will betray one another’s trust. They will do khayanat in amanaat. They will betray and leave their promises unfulfilled, broken promises. 3. Riba and interest will be widespread and rampant. Today we go to any commercial market in any neighborhood of any city in this country we will find several institutions called banks that openly, unabashedly and proudly have their windows advertising that they are ready to offer you a loan on such and such rate of interest. And the thing is we don’t understand, we don’t feel that to be vulgar. The vulgarity and obscenity of riba is as much as zina, no less. It’s as shameful as zina. As far as I’m concerned a man that works in a bank is as shameful as someone working 9 to 5 in a prostitution rank. I see no difference between the two. That’s what my deen tells me. That’s the mizaj that our deen is trying to create. we think we should have repulsion on the basis of our tabiyat? No! we should have repulsion on the basis of what Allah Almighty has forbidden. And a thing that Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be on him) has mentioned that will bring about the end of time for this Ummah, how can we not be repulsed by such a thing? How can we not feel a moral outrage, this is what we call in English. That we should feel a moral outrage. Just like we would feel if a vulgarity took place such openly, we should feel the same level of moral outrage at the presence of these institutions in our society. We don’t feel that, at all. 4. Lying will be widespread. 5. Murder will be widespread. 6. The believers will sell their deen for a small price. That’s what happens when people miss their prayer. we go to any commercial centre in any city and just see what happens during Jumma. The vast majority of people do not pray Jumma.Most of the shopkeepers don’t go for jummah. The majority of our corporate workplace do not go for Jumma. If we go to a store and let’s say the Medical Store owner decides not to go for a Jumma. Let’s just talk about the farz of Jumma. How long does it take? It would take 20 minutes max, although we could get done with even less than that. So let’s see what is it that this owner is doing in those 20 minutes instead of praying Jumma. What exactly did that guy earn? Maybe he sells Rs. 500 or 600 worth of medicine. Maybe he sells Rs. 1000 worth of medicine. Within 20 minutes he’s not going to sell much. What’s the cost of that medicine? Probably Rs. 700 or 800. So what did he do? For Rs. 200 to 300 he decided to leave his Jumma. Had he closed the shop how much would he have lost? What was the cost of that 20 minutes of closure of shop? Just a few 100 rupees. That’s it. For a few hundred rupees. That’s what Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that they will sell their deen for a small price. Now this is what Allah Almighty says about the kuffar from the ahl-e-kitaab that “they sold their soul for a cheap price.” And this is the exact same thing that Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said about his Ummah that they will also sell their deen for a small price. That would be a sign for the end of time. 7. Zulm (oppression) would become widespread. Within 48 hours we have 120.000 refugees from Waziristan. Who are they? They are all mazlumeen. This is their shar’ai definition. Within a period of 2 days we can create this many mazlumeen. That’s phenomenal. 8. Talaq (divorce) would be widespread. 9. People will die sudden deaths. Heart attack, strokes, to name a few. 10. The Muslims will blame others for their problems. Allahu Akbar! Muslims will blame others; they won’t think that it’s their own earning or their own fault. They will blame others for their difficulties. 11. There will be hot weather. Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said there will be hot weather despite rains. He added that lest a person thinks that rains would stop. English tarjuma of this would be: Global warming. Green house gases. This was predicted by Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) 1400 years ago and mentioned as an alaama of qurb-e-qiyamah. That means Muslims only after knowing the first sign, let alone so many signs, should take ibrat. We don’t do that. 12. The leaders of the Muslimeen will be from the zalimeen. The unjust and undeserving people will be amongst the leaders of the Muslims. 13. The hudood will be suspended. What is hudood? Hudood is Allah Almighty ’s own stipulated punishment for those things which Allah Almighty has Himself declared to be a crime. Now tell me as Muslims, if Allah Almighty declared something to be a crime and then Allah Almighty Himself said what the punishment should be for that crime then we should at least in act those punishments, if nothing else. That’s the easiest open case of criminal law. That those things that Allah has said is a crime and the punishment He has set for those crimes, that is what is hudood. “Hudood will be suspended.” English translation: women’s protection act. 14. Children will disobey parents. Children will lose their respect and will start disobeying their parents in matters that are permissible. In fact what happens is that children today are obeying their parents in disobedience to Allah Almighty . Or the children are being asked by the parents to obey them in disobeying Allah Almighty. There was a time when parents used to ask their children to obey them in an equal obedience to Allah Almighty and now the parents ask their children to obey them in an equal disobedience to Allah Almighty. They want their children to not look a certain way, not to dress a certain way, not to act a certain way, not to follow the deen, not to follow Sunnah, not to follow shari’ah. So then they command their children not to do so. Sometimes they invoke this right that Allah Almighty has given them, that o my son or daughter, doesn’t your religion tell you to obey your parents? At that time they say your religion they don’t even say our religion. Know that the deen of Islam and the Quran doesn’t anywhere say that you must obey your parents. The Qur’an says you must be kind and respectful to your parents. Obedience lies to Allah Almighty and His messenger alone. Yes, you can obey your parents as long as their obedience doesn’t mean disobeying Allah Almighty. There’s no obedience to a creation if that obedience equals disobedience to the Creator. That’s not possible. The same Allah Almighty who has allowed their children to be kind and respectful to them how can those same parents twist that right of Allah Almighty and tell their kids to disobey Allah Almighty! 15. Singers will be given a great status in society. Singers will be given a maqam of izzah in society. English translation: celebrity… celebrity musician. Allahu Akbar! who could have thought these would be the celebrities of our time. And this is again referring to inside the Ummah itself. 16. The later Muslims will curse and slander the earlier Muslims. They will say that the earlier Muslims didn’t know anything. The earlier Muslims just came up with ijtihad based on the top of their head. The earlier Muslims didn’t know Hadith. As opposed to the beginning of the deen when the later Muslims used to have love and respect for the earlier Muslims. The people who met the sahaaba said we would do your it’tiba that’s why they were called the tabieen. The people who met the tabieen said we would do your it’tiba and they were called taba tabieen. Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an: follow the person who has taken up the path that leads towards Me. Allah Almighty in Surah Fatiha tell us follow the siratal mustaqeem. What is that path? The path followed by those who were blessed with the favors of Allah Almighty. All of these signs make us realize that we are definitely living in the time of fitnah. All of those first Ahadith generally about fitnah, and then all of those Ahadith about the alamaat of the fitna of Dajjal and of end of time all of these signs are present. In fact in my own personal study of Hadith, I have not come with a single spiritual alamat of the Ummah that was mentioned as a sign of qurb-e-qayyamat except that I found that spiritual condition present in the Ummah right now. So we are living in that age. Now we come to the real purpose: what does Allah Almighty tells us to do? What are we supposed to do in these halaat? Whether we want to still view it as our national conditions, whether we want to realize now that actually this is the age of fitnah or this is the age of beginning of the end of time. How long will that journey take, again nobody will know. But the forces of Dajjal are already present. The pre-cursors the preludes of Dajjal are rampant. What should we do in response to this? So listen to what Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an al Kareem: وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ (3:139) so don not weaken and do not grieve and you will be superior if you are true believers. Wala tahinu: Don’t be lazy. Don’t have apathy, don’t be disinterested. This is exactly what we do. we look at this country and we will see many people going exactly opposite to this verse. They would tell us that due to the conditions we have become lazy, apathetic. we are not interested in doing anything anymore. We cant concentrate on anything, cant even do ibadat, we are not even interested in the worldly affairs. Complete apathy, complete disinterest, complete laziness. Completely opposite to the order of Allah: Don’t be lazy. Remain active, remain dynamic, do something! Fix yourselves and be a means to fix others. Wala tahazanu: and dont be depressed, dont lose hope. And Every single one says im sad, we are depressed about the conditions. Everybody is saying that. The Qur’an is saying don’t grieve, don’t despair, don’t worry, don’t fear, don’t have stress, don’t have tension, don’t be depressed, even then everyone is depressed. Antumul aalaun inn kuntum mo’mineen: You will be a’ala, you will be triumphant and victorious if only but you can make yourself believers. This worry and depression won’t take you anywhere. Instead you must work on yourself and become believers. This laziness, apathy, disinterest is not going to take us anywhere. We must become believers. Even physically people have become stationary. What in English in America we used to call ‘couch potato’. The elites of this country have become nothing more than couch potatoes. Subhaan Allah! Couch potatoes, and they watch hours of that till 11 pm, till midnight, till 1 am and then they go to sleep without praying isha and they don’t wake up for fajr in the morning. You tell me what’s going to happen to such a society? What does such a society deserve? What do such people deserve? At least what do they deserve from their Allah Almighty? You tell me. They sit down and do exactly the opposite; they become lazy, they watch tv for hours till they say I’m depressed and they go to sleep without praying isha and they wake up having missed their fajr. I’m not talking about one or two people here. We know that this is the case with the majority of the elites of this country; whether we want to view them as economic elites, political elites, military elites, civil servant elites, educated elites, journalist elites, lawyer elites, judge elites any way we want to plot it. Some of them are pious but most of them are exactly the opposite to the Qur’an. For me that is actually the biggest sign of end of time; that the thinking Muslims, the ones who may actually even have some ability, as opposed to the poor guy who drives the rickshaw, they are going against Qur’an. When they are going against Qur’an then what is the hope for our society. Allah Almighty says that the izzat is given to the believers. All we have to do is adorn ourselves with the characteristics of imaan. So now what should we do? 1. Work on ourselves. This is what the Qur’an is telling us to do. Try to look within ourselves and see how we can improve ourself. Try to see what is wrong with me as an individual in the eyes of Allah Almighty and His messenger. What is there in my life that is divergent from the Qur’an and Sunnah? To do tabsira on myself in fact to do several tabsira on ourselves. This is the first thing that we should do. 2. Don’t be lazy. Don’t be heedless. 3. Don’t worry Don’t become pareshan. Don’t despair. Don’t become depressed. 4. Have Sabr. Allah Almighty tells us to do sabr and have patience, why? Because after every difficulty will come ease. It is just upto us whether we want to spend that time of difficulty in a state of sabr or not. So we must learn to become people of sabr. By the way, sabr is not passive. People think sabr in Islam means just to sit back and be patient. Sabr is a very dynamic concept. Sabr means himmat, fortitude, istiqamat, perseverance. That’s what sabr means. It doesn’t mean that Allah Almighty is with the people who are passively patient. It means that Allah Almighty is with the people who are dynamically strong and persevere in the face of adversity. We must have sabr. That is a strength that we must have. We must develop our will power. We must be people of action. 5. We must remain razi with Allah Almighty . You must always remain pleased with Allah Almighty. We can never become displeased with Allah, disillusioned with Allah Almighty, or upset with Allah Almighty , or complaining to Allah Almighty. We must remain razi. This is also a part of the sabr. This is also a part of the himmah. That we remain completely pleased with you Allah Almighty in this state as we were in the other state. Our being pleased with you has not changed in any way. Look at Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) how he was always pleased with Allah Almighty . Allah Almighty bestows the mantel of prophethood on him. He goes out and tries to invite his family members. Uncles refuse him. He tries to invite his tribe Qurraish. The vast majority of them refuse him. He tries to invite the youth of Makkah Mukarama. The vast majority refuse him. He was being faced with adversity. Then he is opposed, persecuted, prosecuted, oppressed but he was always pleased with Allah Almighty. People say this “we are not so bad why does Allah Almighty puts us through such calamities?” what do we think of ourselves? Do we ever think that Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made this dua k “Ya Allah! im the seal of the prophet hood. what happened that my uncle and the ppl of Quraish are unable to accept emaan, that abu jehl and Abu Lahab aren’t accepting my teachings”. He never thought like that. He was always razi with Allah Almighty. Syedna Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) goes to Taaif alone thinking that I had a wet nursing mother Haleema Sadia in Taaif when I was a baby. No one would have remembered it was so long ago but he thought maybe just that nisbat will make somebody in Taaif accept me. So he walks to Taaif all the way alone. Not one person in all of Taaif takes Imaan. No man, no woman, no elderly, no child, not a single person takes Imaan. But Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is still razi with Allah Almighty . Subhaan Allah! Pleased with Allah Almighty at all times, in any situation. We must learn to be pleased with Allah Almighty . If we are pleased with Allah Almighty then Allah Almighty will be pleased with us. When Allah Almighty becomes pleased with us then He will save us. He will take us out from any and all of our situations. 6. Develop a ta’aluq with Allah Almighty . We must develop a relationship with Allah Almighty by way of doing amaal. Today the average Muslim is totally disconnected from Allah Almighty , has lost touch, has lost contact. We say this about one another that he is out of touch. She’s out of touch. She never contacts, he never contacts anymore. That is actually how a believer has become with Allah Almighty. We are out of touch; we have lost touch lost contact with Allah Almighty. No ta’aluq at all. A sign of that is we cannot make dua for more than 2 minutes, we cannot stand up and pray nafl for 5 minutes, we cannot read the Qur’an for 5 minutes. We have no ta’aluq with Allah Almighty and this is our own doing. It’s insane. Generally speaking insane, and at times like this, it is sheer insanity to lose touch and contact with Allah Almighty The way to create that contact is through amaal; to become people who do good deeds, and we have to do extra. It’s not enough anymore to just do fard and waajib. Some of us think that deen has been reduced to just doing fard and waajib. It’s not going to be enough to just do that. Do we think that a student who is struggling with his CGPA just comes up with D’s he would be fine? we ll say that the compulsory was only that he shouldn’t score an F. He comes home to his parents and says I got straight D’s in this semester. Do we think the parents will say that yes you are lifting yourself out of a difficult situation? It’s amazing that the same parents who are not happy if their kids get straight D’s themselves are getting F’s with Allah Almighty. They never think about it. I really feel for the conditions of the parents of this day and age. The people in this country who are in their 40’s or 50’s! So distant from Allah Almighty , I’m amazed, how are they living is beyond me. I don’t know actually how they live this Allah-free life. I don’t know how they manage it. Their gatherings are Allah-free, free from the remembrance of Allah . Their homes are Allah-free. Even their whole entertainment system, they lead Allah-free lives. Their workplace is Allah-free. This is completely opposite. We have to bring Allah Almighty back into every part of our lives, everywhere. When people look at our office, our cubicle they should think of Allah Almighty, when they enter our rooms they should think oh this place reminds me of Allah Almighty . We have to start surrounding ourselves with the reminders of Allah Almighty . That is the way we are going to bring Him back in ta’aluq with ourself. We have to remind ourself our own reality our own asal which is we are abd Allah. We don’t even think like that. How many times do we consciously think that I’m not a free person? I’m a slave of Allah Almighty. We don’t even have that consciousness anymore. That im not an ordinary being. Do we ever say to somebody when they invite us, that I cannot go there, im not a free person im a slave of Allah Almighty. How can i go there? Im an ummati of a nabi. Im someobody’s daughter, im somebody’s son. We have completely lost our identity. People don’t even think like that. When Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that Ummul mo’mineen the wives of Nabi (peace and blessings be upon him) are our mothers, then who do we think our father is? Father is the husband of the mother. So the biggest thing that Syenda Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is saying that his wives are mothers of the believers, he is saying I’m Abu mo’mineen i.e. I’m the father of the believing men and women. Has any man ever thought like that? That “I’m the son of Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) what are you talking about? What makes you think I can do that for you?” Has any woman ever thought like that “I have to carry myself in society like the daughter of Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I have to have a haya that befits the daughter of Propher (peace and blessings be upon him)”. We have forgotten who we are and we have lost our ta’aluq with Allah Almighty. 7. The last and final thing is that we should make taubah. We seem to think that we don’t need to make taubah. Allah Almighty says that we must repent to Allah Almighty a true and sincere repentance. In another place Allah Almighty says that you should make taubah all together. We should think that I’m the reason it is because of my sins, because my name is written with this Ummat this is why all of this is happening to Muslims. We should think that it’s my presence, my wajood in this world that is causing this to happen. That’s the level of taubah we should make. But we don’t think like that. I will make you think like that. If you’re a woman, you should think that at any point in the day if there’s a Muslims sister of yours whose izzat is being taken whether it is in Afghanistan or Iran or Kashmir. Now imagine Allah Almighty just like you like to watch the tv channels, Allah Almighty is Al Baseer He is watching everything. He can see everyone at every single moment. At that very same moment He looks at this other Muslims woman who is well-off and well educated in Pakistan. What is she doing at the moment? She is herself walking around without haya. Imagine how it must look to Allah Almighty when at that same moment a Muslim woman is being oppressed. Right now how many Muslim women are sitting in these areas you have written them off completely by calling them illaqa-e-ghair. While they are wondering if a drone would come and bomb them to smithereens. This is terror. You want to know what terrorism is? It’s a state of terror that every single night you think that any second you can be blown to bits, to pieces and your children and your grandchildren can be blown to bits, to pieces and your entire country couldn’t care less about you. And the women of this country won’t even shed a tear over you. You never sleep one night like that. Your terror is that the lights are going to go and the fan would stop working for an hour. That’s the extent of your terror. We just don’t realize what’s going on in this world. We are completely oblivious, we have become cold hearted. If you’re a man you should think that at that same moment at that same time when somebody is rising up in pain and somebody is sitting without any home and that same night when some woman is being oppressed, switch the channel to that young man and what is he doing? The Muslim young man is doing badnazri. Exactly at that same moment Allah Almighty can see them both. Imagine what must Allah Almighty feel looking at that situation. Sins are so rampant. We don’t even have the strength to get up for tahajjud and make dua for the muzlimeen. What is the worth of our news commentators on tv? They can’t even get up for 5 minutes and make dua for someone? We are really the cold-hearted, the dead hearted Muslims. We have to make taubah of this. Ya Rab e Kareem I make true taubah to you. I make taubah for all the things that I have done in my life that have numbed my heart. I make taubah from all those things that have made my heart fall asleep. I make taubah for all those things that have made my heart dead. I make taubah for everything that I’ve done that was ever displeasing to you. I make taubah for not feeling for my fellow Muslims. I make taubah for not being dynamic and trying to help others in the society. I make taubah from all of these things. It’s time that we make taubah to Allah Almighty. If this Ummah, this country, our people were able to learn the power of taubah; the power of taubah is such that it attracts Allah Almighty. He is At’Tawaab. It means that Allah Almighty is the Being always ready to accept our taubah. No other being is like that. Even if we go to Allah Almighty after being repeatedly betrayed by the dunya, then Allah Almighty doesn’t leave us alone, He doesn’t taunts us that you came to me after being betrayed from so many places, like we do do others. Somebody goes somewhere else, somewhere else then somewhere else, and as a last resort comes to us, we taunt them saying you went to so and so and now you’ve come to me. Allah Almighty is not like that. He gets very happy. Allah Almighty is an amazing Rabb. He gets very happy. Instead let me you Allah Almighty comes in a state of Haal. Listen to the haal of Allah Almighty in Qur’an. قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ [39:53] O my servants who have transgressed against themselves(by sinning) do not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah forgives all sins. Indeed it is He who is forgiving, the Merciful. Allah Almighty says that o sinful servant you came to me? you came to me in a state of repentance? not just forgiveness I will grant you my love. Allah Almighty could have said Allah has forgiven the sinful servants or that Allah has accepted the repentance, and forgave them. No no, Allah Almighty says that o my sinful servant you have come to me after the whole world has betrayed you, you have come to me bringing nothing except my disobedience. But you repented sincerely, you felt remorse in your heart, now listen to the declaration of my Love, that i love the people of repentance. I made you my beloved. This is our Allah Almighty. Our Allah Almighty wants to make us His beloved. Beloved of Allah for the sinful servants. Gunehgar Package: To become the mehboob of Allah Almighty just make taubah. That’s it. We should Return back to Allah Almighty and Repent from our sinful lives and from this distance from Allah Almighty. We should just say that O Allah Almighty I want to become yours, I am sick and tired of my hipocrisy, I also want to live a sincere, true, just and sinfree life. I repent and i seek Your forgiveness. If we can make this amal of taubah, and if we can fix our own halaat and inshaa Allah Ta’aala if we become people of sabr, Allah Almighty’s nusrat is there. He is still the being who has pledged His nusrat. He is still Rabbe Kareem. His nusrat and nijaat will come swiftly if only we can make our taubah swiftly and once again become mo’mineen. zaynab academy [Download original Talk's mp3]

Question Assalāmualaikum. Recently I have been feeling a huge depression inside me. I have lost interest in studies and in any kind of work. I remain sad/upset and get anxious for no reason. Please tell me something with regards to Qurān and Hadīth. Why am I feeling so useless and uncomfortable? I failed doing anything I wanted to do. Isha Allāh I will wait to hear from your team. Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The inner feelings and conditions of every human being vary from time to time. Sometimes one feels very happy and excited while at other times one feels sad and unpleasant. This is part of life. This should not cause one to lose hope and become despondent. Pondering over the blessings and favors of Allāh upon you will give you internal contentment and satisfaction. Think of the blessings allotted to you by Allāh Ta’ālā that have not been granted to others. There are so many people who cannot see, hear, or talk. Imagine if Allāh did not bestow us with these faculties, how straitened life would become. Every time you drink a cold glass of water, know that there are people who are struggling to acquire a single sip. Thereafter praise Allāh for favoring you with such bounties. This will create the love of Allāh within your heart and you will feel content and satisfied. This is a prescription given by Allāh Ta’ālā Himself to Nabī Sallallāhu A’laihi Wa Sallam in the Qurān. Almighty Allāh Ta’ālā says: وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُكَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ () فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ (سورة الحجر، رقم الاية 97-98) And We know that your heart feels distressed for what they say. So proclaim the purity and glory of your Rabb and be among those who prostrate. (Qurān 15:97-98) Consider taking out some time daily and sitting in seclusion for the Dhikr (remembrance of Allāh). On a daily basis, set a time wherein you recite the Kalimah Lā Ilāh Illallāh. Think of the might and grandeur of Allāh Ta’ālā while doing Dhikr. Have conviction in your heart that each time you recite the Kalimah Allāh Ta’ālā is filling your heart with divine light. Through the Dhikr of Allāh, Allāh Ta’ālā will give you contentment of heart. Allāh Ta’ālā says in the Qurān: أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ (سورة الرعد، رقم الاية 28) Behold! The hearts find peace through the remembrance of Allāh. (Qurān 13:28) Lastly, have confidence in yourself. Keep your spirits high. Involve yourself in those permissible activities that you enjoy. We ask Allāh Ta’ālā to grant you happiness and success in both the worlds. Amīn. And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best Mawlana Abdul Azīm bin Abdur Rahman, Student Darul Iftaa US Checked and Approved by, Mufti Ebrahim Desai. www.daruliftaa.net Source

after a lot of research, we have compiled as much information as we could on depression. We have tried our utmost to present facts from reliable medical sources and verification of the Islamic perspective. Included are remedies from the Qur'an and Sunnah. We pray it will be a means of help and cure to sufferers everywhere inshaAllah. May Allah subhaanahu wata'ala grant relief as it is He alone Who cures, Aameen. We would appreciate feedback and /or advise/information we may have overlooked. We request readers to make du'a for acceptance of this effort and it becoming a means of relief for sufferers. Jazaakumullah