Wednesday, December 26, 2007

A Message to Someone Drowning

A message to someone Drowning

Author: Sh. Hamed ibn Abdullah Al-Ali


Question:
I would like to let you know that I have committed most major sins and I am not saying this in order to take pride in my sins; I used to feel this before but not any longer. I have drunk wine twice in my life or perhaps three times, I don’t know. I have committed adultery with almost 10 women and I was about to destroy the future of a girl but Allah saved her from my harm; I do not know is it possible that Allah repents on me and forgives me? I don’t know, I have tried to repent more than once and every time I return to the same sins to the degree that I have felt I am a hypocrite who is not afraid of death and being accounted. Sometimes I feel that Allah loves me and that I love Him, but then Satan quickly takes over my heart again.

I have defeated Satan in many rounds, but he defeated me in more battles; Is it possible for me to return to Allah once again and how?

I have prayed a lot but more than that I have interrupted my prayers. My weakness has reached points a believer cannot imagine.

I have sworn upon the Holy Quran that I will stop smoking but I haven’t.

I have promised Allah Himself that I will not view pornographic sites and that I will never visit them again and that I will not watch those unclean movies that the west uses to kill our faith but I have broken my promise to Allah; My will has weakened to a level that nobody can imagine after I used to have strength in performance and the ability to change my personality and my way of life;

I have become a person who does not feel the pleasure of life even though I still maintain my soul and my rounds of vice, sins, lying, cheating; so how do I get rescued?

I want to know what religious people have known but what
I haven’t. I am sure that they know something I don’t know and don’t feel, so why? This is me so what do I do to benefit me, may Allah benefit you.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise be to Allah, and prayers and greetings upon our prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

The prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallm) said Allah will repent upon whoever repents before the sun rises from the west [reported by Muslim from the hadith of Abu Hurairah]

I have read your message, and I know that nothing prevents you from repenting, even if your sins reach the sky or fill the whole earth. As long as the human is in this life, the door of repentance is open. I have noted from your letter that you are living a battle between the call of faith in your heart, and the call of desire that is guided by Satan in your heart.

Praise be to Allah the Exalted who has retained in your heart some of the light of faith, which blames you for sins, and beautified good deeds to you.

But this light is weak, because the darkness of sins, which are the blowings of Satan, has weakened this light. This is why it sometimes shines, making your conscience awake a little, only to extinguish again and you return to committing sins.

I will clarify to you the illness that you are suffering from, then I will describe the treatment, so please read this with reflection and interest, may Allah benefit you from it.

Dear brother, the heart is the place of will in the human; sometimes it wants good, and sometimes evil, and the body parts are nothing but soldiers that obey the heart according to what it desires.

The difference between religious people and yourself is that the hearts of the former firmly want good, so their body parts obey this will and are thus persistent in obeying Allah the Exalted. As for yourself, your heart knows good and evil, and differentiates between good and bad deeds, but it cannot want good, so you find that it wants desires even though it knows they will harm it, so it commands the body parts so they obey it, but what is the reason?.

The reason is that the hearts that are immune to Satan easily want to do good because these hearts are healthy and strong. On the other hand, in hearts that Satan can enter and wonder in freely, Satan can easily achieve making the heart want sins, after he has made them look attractive to the heart, because the latter is ill and full of satanic germs.

For some people, Satan only briefly enters their hearts owing to the strong immunity surrounding them. For example, those who commit minor sins then quickly repent from them, and those are the ones about whom Allah (SWT) has said (interpretation of the meaning):
{The pious ones, when a visitation from Satan afflicts them they become mindful, then lo! they see.}.

There are some people whom Satan never comes close to their hearts, as they are like the sky, which is guarded from devils by flames; likewise their hearts are guarded from devils.

The Prophet (PBUH) has said about this heart white like a smooth rock not harmed by temptation as long as the heavens and earth exist [reported by Muslim from the hadith of Huzaifah (RAA)].
Satan has entered the hearts of other people and has dwelled there and created a nest for himself in which he lays his eggs and hatches them. So he has controlled these hearts, commanding them to do forbidden desires, so their hearts want these desires and command their body parts to commit them and they indeed do that. This is because Satan has found hearts that have no immunity, their doors open, weak and ill owing to committing sins, and this is why Allah the Exalted has said about this type (interpretation of the meaning)
{Satan has gained the mastery over them, so he has made them forget the remembrance of Allah}.

Because the zikr (remembrance) of Allah is immunity from Satan, Satan has made them forget it in order to control and drive their hearts, which their body parts will then follow.

The heart is not immunized from Satan except with the zikr of Allah the Exalted, and it does not have the strength to want good except by doing good deeds.

Satan does not defeat the heart unless it is inattentive of the zikr of
Allah the Exalted and weak because of committing sins and vice.

And now, after you have known the reason why your heart does not obey you in wanting to do good and avoid sins, and cannot preserve its righteousness, the treatment is in the following medical prescription. Take it and maintain it as its results are guaranteed -Allah willing - if you persevere it honestly:

1. Maintain the five prayers in congregation, especially the fajr prayer and never miss it. Allah the
Exalted says {and the fajr reading, for the fajr reading is witnessed} i.e. the fajr prayer is witnessed by angels.

2. After the fajr prayer remain in the mosque to read the Quran until sunrise, and then offer 2 rakas 10 minutes after sunrise.

3. Say subhan Allah wa bi hamdih (may Allah be glorified and praised) one hundred times a day at any time in the mosque or house, whether walking, sitting, in the car, etc. This zikr wipes out sins.

4. Ask forgiveness of Allah one hundred times each day, saying astaghfirullah wa atoobu ilayh (I ask forgiveness of Allah and I repent to Him), once again at any time you wish and in whatever condition you are in.

5. Say this zikr: la ilaha illa Allahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahulmulku wa lahulhamdu wa howa ala kul shayin qadeer (there is no god but Allah; He has no partner; He has the possession and praise, and He is capable of everything) one hundred times each day at any time you wish and in whatever condition you are in. It doesn’t necessarily have to be said in the mosque. The prophet (PBUH) maintained these zikrs, as they are the life of the heart and its indispensable nutrition.

6. Between Maghrib and Ishaa remain in the mosque and do not leave it, and recite as much as you can of the Quran while concentrating.

7. You should totally avoid watching TV and reading magazines, and going to places where there is vice, as you are in quarantine in order to restore health to your heart, and the medicine (good deeds) will not benefit you if you induce disease (sins) into your heart during the treatment period.

8. Continue this program for at least a month: living with the Quran reciting it with consideration, and acting upon what is in it; spending time alone for long hours for the zikr of Allah the Exalted. The proof of doing this for a month is that the
Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallm) ordered that by saying “Recite the Quran in a month, in 25 days, in 10 days, in 7 days” [Bukhari & Muslim from the hadith of Ibn Omar].

9. If the environment in which you live does not support you in applying this program then change this environment: abandon bad friends, and avoid places in which you spend your free time if they encourage you to commit sins, and if you can travel to Makkah for example to follow this program then do it.

10. Donate part of your money as a form of repentance to Allah the Exalted, as secret charities are seen only by Allah the Exalted. In the authentic hadith
“Secret charities extinguish the anger of the Lord”
[narrated by ibn Hibban from the hadith of Anas].

11. Try to perform umrah with the intention of renewing your faith and cleansing your past with the water of this blessed trip.
The Prophet (sallalahu alyhi wa sallm) said A umrah causes forgiving of sins since the previous umrah, and an accepted hajj has no reward other than paradise
[Bukhari & Muslim from the hadith of Abu Hurairah (RAA)].

12. If you owe anything to others return everything, and do not retain anything you will be accounted for, as a form of repentance to Allah.

13. Ask Allah every night during the sahar (prior to fajr) with this supplication Rabbi inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathiran wa la yaghfir uzunuba illa Ant, faghfir lee maghfiratan min indik warhamni, inaka Anta Alghafoor Urraheem (My Lord, I have oppressed myself a lot and only You forgive sins, so forgive me a forgiveness from You and have mercy upon me, You are Most Forgiving, Most Merciful), and also Allahuma alhimni rushdi wa qini shar nafsi(O Allah, grant me my the right way and protect me from the evil of myself), as the Prophet (sallalahu alyhi wa sallm) taught these two to some of his companions.

In addition, perform a lot of istighfar and supplication, as the sahar is a time of acceptance of supplication.

This is your prescription, and one month is not necessarily the period required, as change might appear on you before that, or you might need more than a month in this quarantine. The goal is to expel Satan from the heart and clean his traces and dirt and the filth that he has placed there, as this is the reason behind the weakness of your heart and its incapability of wanting good and doing good deeds, and its quickness to follow desires.

So if health returns to your heart and you become fit and strong when it comes to the zikr of Allah the Exalted, immune from the cunningness of Satan, then you may slightly reduce this program to the extent that you can withstand, as the
Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallm) said “You should do what you can withstand”
[Bukhari & Muslim from the hadith of Aisha (RAA)],
unless you can withstand more than this, for in this case you should increase doing good as long as your heart loves good deeds.

These faithful duties are the levels as considered by Allah: the more a servant does, s/he ascends in the levels of piety. The best things to perform are what Allah has prescribed upon you (obligatory forms of worship). You will notice that things have changed in a surprising manner, as long as you maintain the prescription I have given you, and you will find yourself hating to commit sins and your heart not wanting them, looking at them with inferiority and disdain. You will also like good deeds and feel enthusiastic about them, and feel their good taste in your heart. The secret behind this change is that you have treated you heart with the zikr of Allah the Exalted and good deeds until your heart has become healthy wanting good and loving it after it was ill, wanting evil and sins and loving them.
Allah, the Truth and Exalted says (interpretation of the meaning)
{but Allah has endeared the faith to you and has made it seemly in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you unbelief and transgression and disobedience; those are the followers of the right way).


By grace from Allah and as a favor; and Allah is Most Knowing, Most Wise and Allah knows best

Sh. Hamed ibn Abdullah Al-Ali, who loves good for You.

Tawheed for Children: (Level One) Knowing ALLAH

http://www.understand-islam.net/Books/TawheedforChildren.pdf

Interview with Umm ‘Abdullaah Wife of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah)

http://www.understand-islam.net/Articles/InterviewwithSh.Uthaimeen-swife.pdf

Friday, December 21, 2007

Scientific Proofs From the Quran about Creation


Thought #1: "A century ago, the creation of the universe was a concept that astronomers as a rule ignored. The reason was the general acceptance of the idea that the universe existed in infinite time. Examining the universe, scientists supposed that it was just a conglomeration of matter and imagined that it had no beginning. There was no moment of "creation"–a moment when the universe and everything in it came into being. "

Ponder This: Who or what created that matter, how did that matter come into being? Who or what created the supposed infinite time? How can an “object” like matter not be a created item? And lastly, if this was how the universe “came about”, this matter and infinite time had all the power of creation within itself, if this were the case, where did this infinite time and matter get this power to create from and how did it decide when to create our universe without intelligent thought?

Thought #2: "The universe was not a created object, if it were, then it would have to be created instantaneously by God and brought into existence from nothing. To admit creation, one has to admit, in the first place, the existence of a moment when the universe did not exist, and that something came out of nothingness. This is something to which science can not accede. 2"

Ponder This: Can scientists prove with “all their abundance of knowledge” that there is no God? Many scientists chose to ignore the belief of God because it is the one thing that they have NO explanation for!


"He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth."
(The Qur'an, 6:101)

"And it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it."
(The Qur'an, 51:47)

"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder, and We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?"
(The Qur'an, 21:30)

"It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They swim along, each in an orbit. "
(The Qur'an, 21:33)

"And the sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. " (The Qur'an, 36:38)

"By the sky full of paths and orbits."
(The Qur'an, 51:7)

"He has created the Heavens and the Earth for Truth. He wraps the night up in the day, and wraps the day up in the night."
(The Qur'an, 39:5)

"By Heaven with its cyclical systems."
(The Qur'an, 86:11)

"We made the sky a preserved and protected roof yet still they turn away from Our Signs.."
(The Qur'an, 21:32)

"It is He Who created everything on the earth for you and then directed His attention up to heaven and arranged it into seven regular heavens. He has knowledge of all things."
(The Qur'an, 2:29)

If we count the number of layers cited in this source, we see that the atmosphere consists of exactly seven layers, just as stated in the verse.
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Ozonosphere
4. Mesosphere
5. Thermosphere
6. Ionosphere
7. Exosphere

SUBHNALLAH…..how could the Prophet Mohammed (sallalahu alayhi wasallm) have known this all by himself!

How could the Quran then not be considered TRUTH.

What HUMAN in the time of the Prophet Mohammed (sallalahu alayhi wasallm) or any time before that have known that the atmosphere had 7 layers!



"Then He turned to heaven when it was smoke. In two days He determined them as seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate."
(The Qur'an, 41:12)



Ponder these verses…Research on Science and the Universe and Look to the explanation of the Verses from the Quran which pertain to this matter.

The Quran itself tells us to Ponder its verses…

"Do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? Or are there locks upon their hearts?"
(Quran 47:24).

"Indeed, in the skies and the earth...are signs for people who reason"
(Quran 2:164)

"Most surely in the creation of the skies and the earth...are signs for people who understand, those who remember Allah...and who ponder the creation..."
(Quran 3:190-1)

"Thus does Allah clarify for you the verses, so that you may think"
(Quran 2:219)
"Do they not ponder the Qur'an?" (Quran 47:24)
For more in depth info on this topic go to:

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Muslims, Tell me whats wrong with these pictures.




The Prophet Mohammed(sallalahu alayhi wa sallm) said that : Let the knives be sharpened and concealed from the animals and whenever you do the sticking, it should be quick.

I have asked for guidance concerning these above pictures and the lawfullness of this situation. I am waiting on a response, when I get it inshallah I will post it here.

Until then, I leave you with this thought: I feel we have a need to pray for guideance of the Muslim Ummah more than ever before....


Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Super Rich mistake!

"Objects of desire: Millionaire fair

XPRESS
http://www.xpress4me.com/myxpress/blogs/mustseemustdo/20004683.html

Dubai’s first-ever Millionaire Fair is an exclusive event for the region’s elite and the super rich.
A Dh5.4 million bottle of Tequila Ley 925 (see below) – the most expensive in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records – will be the highlight of the Millionaire Fair, which is all set to dazzle the region’s aficionados and followers of luxury.
The three-day event is expected to bring together key players from the "industry of opulence" and offer the finest luxury products from the world over.

Where: International Marine Club, Dubai
When: December 15 to 17 "


Because this is what a millionare from this part of the world would want to see? hummmm...

A 5.4 million dirham bottle of Tequila is being shown as the "highlight" of an event for the super rich in a MUSLIM country.


What did I miss here???


Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous (Quran 3:193).
-------
Ya Muqallib al-Quloob Thabbit Qalbi 'Ala Deenika wa ya Musarrifal Quloob Sarrif Qalbi Ela Ta'atika.
-------
(O, Controller of Hearts, make firm my heart in your faith in your worship. O, Holder of Hearts, turn my heart to Your obedience.)

Friday, December 14, 2007

Rain by Design



Rain by Design



Rain is indeed one of the most important factors for the permanence of life on earth. It is a prerequisite for the continuation of activity in a region. Rain, which carries great importance for all living things, including human beings, is mentioned in various verses of the Qur’an, where substantial information is given about the formation of rain, its proportion and effects. This information, which never could have been known by the people of the time, shows us that the Qur’an is the word of God.


Now, let us examine the information given in the Qur’an about rain.


The Proportion of Rain


In the eleventh verse of Surat az-Zukhruf, rain is defined as water sent down in “due measure”. The verse is as follows:


{He sends down (from time to time) water from the sky in due measure, and We raise to life therewith a land that is dead. Even so will you be raised (from the dead)} (43: 11)


This “measure” mentioned in the verse has to do with a couple of characteristics of rain. First of all, the amount of rain that falls on the earth is always the same. It is estimated that in one second, 16 million tons of water evaporate from the earth. This number is equal to the amount of water that drops on the earth in one second. This means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle according to a “measure”.


Another measure related with rain is about its falling speed. The minimum altitude of rain clouds is 1,200 meters. When dropped from this height, an object having the same weight and size as a rain drop, would continuously accelerate and fall on the ground with a speed of 558 km/h. Certainly, any object that hits the ground with that speed would cause great damage. If rain happened to fall in the same way, all harvested lands would be destroyed, residential areas, houses, and cars would be damaged, and people would not be able to walk around without taking extra precautions. What is more, these calculations are made just for clouds at a height of 1,200 meters; there are also rain clouds at altitudes of 10,000 meters. A raindrop falling from such a height could normally reach a very destructive speed.


But this is not how it works; no matter from what height they fall, the average speed of raindrops is only 8-10 km/h when they reach the ground. The reason for this is the special form they take. This special form increases the friction effect of the atmosphere and prevents acceleration when the raindrops reach a certain speed “limit”. (Today parachutes are designed by using this technique.)


This is not all about the “measures” of rain. For instance, in the atmospheric layers where it starts to rain, the temperature may fall as low as 400 °C below zero. Despite this, raindrops never turn into ice particles. (This would certainly mean a fatal threat to the living things on earth.) The reason is that the water in the atmosphere is pure water. As is well known, pure water hardly freezes even at very low temperatures.


The Formation of Rain


Raindrops fall on the ground with a speed of 558 km/h. Any object that hits the ground with that speed would cause great damage.


How rain forms remained a great mystery for people for a long time. Only after weather radar was invented, was it possible to discover the stages by which rain is formed.
The formation of rain takes place in three stages. First, the “raw material” of rain rises up into the air. Later clouds are formed. Finally, raindrops appear.


These stages were clearly defined in the Qur’an centuries ago where precise information is given about the formation of rain:


{It is God Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until you see rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them reach such of his servants as He wills, behold, they do rejoice!} (30: 48)


Now, let us look at the three stages mentioned in the verse:


1st Stage: {It is God Who sends the winds...}


Countless air bubbles formed by the foaming in the oceans continuously burst and cause water particles to be ejected towards the sky. These particles, which are rich in salt, are then carried away by winds and move upwards in the atmosphere. These particles, which are called aerosols, form clouds by collecting around themselves the water vapor, which again ascends from the seas, as tiny drops by a mechanism called “water trap”.


2nd Stage: {...and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments...}


The clouds form from the water vapor that condenses around the salt crystals or the dust particles in the air. Because the water drops in these are very small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are suspended in the air and they spread in the sky. Thus, the sky is covered with clouds.


3rd Stage: {...until you see rain-drops issue from the midst thereof}


Water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles thicken and form raindrops. So the drops, which become heavier than air, depart from the clouds and start to fall on the ground as rain.


Every stage in the formation of rain is told in the verses of the Qur’an. Furthermore, these stages are explained in the right sequence. Just as with many other natural phenomena in the world, it is again the Qur’an that provides the most correct explanation about this phenomenon, and more, it has announced these facts to people centuries before they were discovered by science.


Life Given to a Dead Land


In the Qur’an, many verses call our attention to a particular function of rain, which is {giving life to a dead land}:


{We send down pure water from the sky. That with it We may give life to a dead land, and slake the thirst of many beings We have created, beasts as well as humans} (25: 48- 49)


In addition to furnishing the earth with water, which is an inevitable need of living beings, rain also has a fertilization effect.


Raindrops that reach the clouds after being evaporated from the seas, contain certain substances {that will give life} to a dead land. These “life-giving” drops are called “surface tension drops”. Surface tension drops form on the top level of the sea surface, which is called the “micro layer” by biologists. In this layer, which is thinner than one tenth of a millimeter, there are many organic leftovers caused by the pollution of microscopic algae and zooplankton. Some of these leftovers select and collect within themselves some elements that are very rare in seawater, such as phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and some heavy metals like copper, zinc, cobalt and lead. These “fertilizer”-laden drops are lifted up into the sky by the winds and after awhile they drop on the ground inside the raindrops. Seeds and plants on the earth find numerous metallic salts and elements essential for their growth here in these raindrops. This event is revealed in another verse of the Qur’an:


{And We send down from the sky rain laden with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests} (50: 9)


Salts that fall with rain are small examples of certain elements (calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.) used for increasing fertility. The heavy metals found in these types of aerosols are other elements that increase fertility in the development and production of plants.


A barren land can be furnished with all the essential elements for plants in a 100-year period just with these fertilizers dropped with the rain. Forests also develop and are fed with the help of these sea-based aerosols. In this way, 150 million tons of fertilizer falls on the total land surface every year. If there were no natural fertilization like this, there would be very little vegetation on the earth, and the ecological balance would be impaired.


What is more interesting is that this truth, which could only be discovered by modern science, was revealed by God in the Qur’an centuries ago.


Harun Yahya is the author, who writes under the pen name Harun Yahya, was born in Ankara in 1956. He studied arts at Istanbul's Mimar Sinan University and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, the author has published many books on political, faith-related and scientific issues. Harun Yahya is well known as an author who has written very important works disclosing the imposture of evolutionists, the invalidity of their claims and the dark liaisons between Darwinism and bloody ideologies. Some of the books of the author have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Albanian, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Bosnian, Indonesian, Turkish, Tatar, Urdu and Malay and published in the countries concerned. Harun Yahya's books appeal to all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, regardless of their age, race and nationality, as they center around one goal: to open the readers' mind by presenting the sign's of God's eternal existence to them.

Please visit : www.harunyahya.com e-mail : info@harunyahya.com

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Random Thoughts

-So an American presidential candidate was giving a speech on why he would make a good president, he says to the audience that he will not base any presidential decisions on his own religion or anyone else's religion for the matter, no matter what church they come from...

ERM, do you see the most ignorant idiotic mistake I do in that comment!
Yikes , no wonder he doesn't have enough supporters!
-Just because a person wants to follow their religion 100 percent to their ability doesn't make them a fanatic...Why do something half way, especially when its what you base you whole life on!
-Why do some people cover their awrah for prayer only, and not when they are in public?!?!?
-No matter what status level of life you grew up on you should always have patience and respect for other people. A poor person who is humble is more honorable and noble than a rich man whose ignorant!
-I learned this weekend that people should think about what they want to say before they speak, although i knew that already, i really understood it this weekend when i heard someone put their foot in their mouth more than once.
-I also observed over the weekend something I see alot: A Muslim who thinks that they know everything their is to know about Islam and they think you don't know anything like them....
HELLO! We NEVER know enough! Its not a competition people!
My BIGGEST lesson I learned was that sometimes you have to keep you mouth shut and not comment on other peoples ignorance, because they don't hear you say anything once they've said what they want to say. You could say it 12 times and they will still repeat their sentence to you! Alot of people only hear what they want to and they don't open their minds to the fact that you might be right and they wrong!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Help Needed!


Salam Alaykum Readers :)



I have a dilemma that I need help with.


If anyone of you who reads this blog is a Muslim with some knowledge or even an opinion on "The lawfullness of spaying/neutering animals(specifically cats and dogs)" in Islam, please email me with your advice or any info you could point me to. Id like to see what other peoples opinions are on this issue. I will, inshallah, have the chance later in the year to conduct some classes on Islamic Animal Rights and Proper care for household pets, so I would be so grateful for help in this topic!

Thursday, November 29, 2007


"AHAD!"


By Waleed Gubara


Why shed these tears of sorrow?

Why shed these tears of grief?

Ya nafsy how soon you forget,

After trials come sweet relief


Why turn you from Ar-Rahman?

Why yearn for a listening friend?

Ya nafsy, do you not remember,

On ALLAH, you must depend?


Read you not those stories,

of the trials in days gone by,

Of the Sahabi beloved by Allah,

Who for Allah's cause did strive?


Why loosen your hold upon him?

Why fling away, His outstretched Hand?

Ya nafsy, do you not remember,

Bilal's sabr on the blazing sand?


"Ahad! Ahad!" He cried,

While his flesh did drip and burn.

"Ahad! Ahad!" He cried,

To Allah alone he turned.


Forget you the firmness of Hamza,

As the gleaming swords did fall?

With Sabr he turned to Allah,

as the qureish did slice and maul.


Why drown in salty teardrops?

How can you dare compare your pain?

To that of Yasir and Summayah,

As the lay tortured on the scorching plain?


Forget you the charring of Khabbab,

As on burning coals he lay?

Ya nafsy how meager your suffering,

Wherefore do you lose your way?


Why befriend you not Al-Wali?

Why not in Salat to Him complain?

Like Job who only to Allah,

Turned in all his grief and pain?


Forget you those trials in this life,

Cleanse your heart and make it clean?

Ya nafsy, why all this sadness?

Do you not wish your heart to gleam?


Be patient in all your hardships,

Allah hears your cries of woe.

So trust Him and His hikma,

For He knows best and you don't know.


So tighten your hold upon him,

Lest He withdraw His outstretched Hand!

And remember the example of Bilal,

As he lay anchored on the blazing sand.


"Ahad! Ahad!" he cried,

While his flesh did drip and burn.

"Ahad! Ahad!" he cried,

To Allah alone he turned.


"A small part" of Womans' Rights in Islam

"…He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your hearts …"(Quran 30:21)
_________________________________________________

"And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them, and men are a degree above them." (Qur'an 2:228).



Such degree is Quiwama (maintenance and protection). This refers to that natural difference between the sexes which entitles the weaker sex to protection.

It implies no superiority or advantage before the law. Yet, man's role of leadership in relation to his family does not mean the husband's dictatorship over his wife. Islam emphasizes the importance of taking counsel and mutual agreement in family decisions.



The Qur'an gives us an example:"...If they (husband wife) desire to wean the child by mutual consent and (after) consultation, there is no blame on them..." (Qur'an 2: 233).



Over and above her basic rights as a wife comes the right which is emphasized by the Qur'an and is strongly recommended by the Prophet (P); kind treatment and companionship.



The Qur'an states:
"...But consort with them in kindness, for if you hate them it may happen that you hate a thing wherein God has placed much good." (Qur'an 4: l9).



The Shari'ah regards women as the spiritual and intellectual equals of men. The main distinction it makes between them is in the physical realm based on the equitable principle of fair division of labor. It allots the more strenuous work to the man and makes him responsible for the maintenance of the family. It allots the work of managing the home and the upbringing and training of children to the woman, work which has the greatest importance in the task of building a healthy and prosperous society.


It is a fact, however, that sound administration within the domestic field is impossible without a unified policy. For this reason the Shari'ah requires a man, as head of the family, to consult with his family and then to have the final say in decisions concerning it. In doing so he must not abuse his prerogative to cause any injury to his wife. Any transgression of this principle involves for him the risk of losing the favor of Allah, because his wife is not his subordinate but she is, to use the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), 'the queen of her house', and this is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife.



"O you who believe! When you deal with each other in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce them to writing. Let a scribe write down faithfully as between the parties: let not the scribe refuse to write: as Allah has taught him, so let him write. Let him who incurs the liability dictate, but let him fear his Lord, Allah, and not diminish aught of what he owes. If the party liable is mentally deficient, or weak, or unable himself to dictate, let his guardian dictate faithfully. And get two witnesses out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as you choose for witnesses so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her. The witnesses should not refuse when they are called on (for evidence). Disdain not to reduce to writing (your contract) for a future period, whether it be small or big: it is more just in the sight of Allah, more suitable as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves, but if it be a transaction which you carry out on the spot among yourselves, there is no blame on you if you reduce it not to writing. But take witnesses whenever you make a commercial contract; and let neither scribe nor witness suffer harm. If you do (such harm), it would be wickedness in you. So fear Allah; for it is Allah that teaches you. And Allah is well acquainted with all things"

(Quran 2:282)


Nowhere in this above Ayah does it say that the reason it is "two females to one male" is because the Male's brain is bigger than the Females and therefore he is the smarter sex! This is nonsense! Women need to learn their rights within Islam so men cannot make them their personal slaves and baby machines...We as Muslims have rights given to us by Allah and men must be informed of these rights and we as women should use them...Never accept something you know is wrong...Pursue what is Islamically correct and never make yourself any ones slave.
We are only Slaves to
Allah.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Quran on Human Embryonic Development


23:12

NOW, INDEED, We create man out of the essence of clay,

Walaqad khalaqna alinsana min sulalatin min teenin


وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ




23:13

and then We cause him to remain as a drop of sperm in [the wombs] firm keeping,


Thumma jaAAalnahu nutfatan fee qararin makeenin


ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ



23:14

and then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh - and then We bring [all] this into being as a new creation:
hallowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans!


Thumma khalaqna alnnutfata AAalaqatan fakhalaqna alAAalaqata mudghatan fakhalaqna almudghata AAithaman fakasawna alAAithama lahman thumma anshanahu khalqan akhara fatabaraka Allahu ahsanu alkhaliqeena


ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ



The explanation of this and discussion can be found here:




I strongly recommend you to ponder these Ayats from the Quran and the lesson we can learn from it...



Sunday, November 25, 2007

Fatimah Bint Muhammed



Fatimah bint Muhammad (radiallaahu 'anhaa)


From Alim® Online

Fatimah was the fifth child of Muhammad and Khadijah. She was born at a time when her noble father had begun to spend long periods in the solitude of mountains around Makkah, meditating and reflecting on the great mysteries of creation. This was the time, before the Bithah, when her eldest sister Zaynab was married to her cousin, al-Aas ibn ar Rabiah. Then followed the marriage of her two other sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, to the sons of Abu Lahab, a paternal uncle of the Prophet. Both Abu Lahab and his wife Umm Jamil turned out to be flaming enemies of the Prophet from the very beginning of his public mission.


The little Fatimah thus saw her sisters leave home one after the other to live with their husbands. She was too young to understand the meaning of marriage and the reasons why her sisters had to leave home. She loved them dearly and was sad and lonely whe n they left. It is said that a certain silence and painful sadness came over her then.


Of course, even after the marriage of her sisters, she was not alone in the house of her parents. Barakah, the maid-servant of Aminah, the Prophet's mother, who had been with the Prophet since his birth, Zayd ibn Harithah, and Ali, the young son of Abu Ta lib were all part of Muhammad's household at this time. And of course there was her loving mother, the lady Khadijah.


In her mother and in Barakah, Fatimah found a great deal of solace and comfort. in Ali, who was about two years older than she, she found a "brother" and a friend who somehow took the place of her own brother al-Qasim who had died in his infancy. Her other brother Abdullah, known as the Good and the Pure, who was born after her, also died in his infancy. However in none of the people in her father's household did Fatimah find the carefree joy and happiness which she enjoyed with her sisters. She was an unusually sensitive child for her age.


When she was five, she heard that her father had become Rasul Allah, the Messenger of God. His first task was to convey the good news of Islam to his family and close relations. They were to worship God Almighty alone. Her mother, who was a tower of strength and support, explained to Fatimah what her father had to do. From this time on, she became more closely attached to him and felt a deep and abiding love for him. Often she would be at his side walking through the narrow streets and alleys of Makkah , visiting the Kabah or attending secret gatherings of the early Muslims who had accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to the Prophet.


One day, when she was not yet ten, she accompanied her father to the Masjid al-Haram. He stood in the place known as al-Hijr facing the Kabah and began to pray. Fatimah stood at his side. A group of Quraysh, by no means well-disposed to the Prophet, gathe red about him. They included Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, the Prophet's uncle, Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and Shaybah and Utbah, sons of Rabi'ah. Menacingly, the group went up to the Prophet and Abu Jahl, the ringleader, asked:


"Which of you can bring the entrails of a slaughtered animal and throw it on Muhammad?"


Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt, one of the vilest of the lot, volunteered and hurried off. He returned with the obnoxious filth and threw it on the shoulders of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, while he was still prostrating. Abdullah ibn Masud, a companion of the Prophet, was present but he was powerless to do or say anything.


Imagine the feelings of Fatimah as she saw her father being treated in this fashion. What could she, a girl not ten years old, do? She went up to her father and removed the offensive matter and then stood firmly and angrily before the group of Quraysh thu gs and lashed out against them. Not a single word did they say to her. The noble Prophet raised his head on completion of the prostration and went on to complete the Salat. He then said: "O Lord, may you punish the Quraysh!" and repeated this imprecation on three times. Then he continued:
"May You punish Utbah, Uqbah, Abu Jahl and Shaybah." (These whom he named were all killed many years later at the Battle of Badr)


On another occasion, Fatimah was with the Prophet as he made; tawaf around the Kabah. A Quraysh mob gathered around him. They seized him and tried to strangle him with his own clothes. Fatimah screamed and shouted for help. Abu Bakr rushed to the scene and managed to free the Prophet. While he was doing so, he pleaded:


"Would you kill a man who says, 'My Lord is God?'" Far from giving up, the mob turned on Abu Bakr and began beating him until blood flowed from his head and face.


Such scenes of vicious opposition and harassment against her father and the early Muslims were witnessed by the young Fatimah. She did not meekly stand aside but joined in the struggle in defence of her father and his noble mission. She was still a young girl and instead of the cheerful romping, the gaiety and liveliness which children of her age are and should normally be accustomed to, Fatimah had to witness and participate in such ordeals.


Of course, she was not alone in this. The whole of the Prophet's family suffered from the violent and mindless Quraysh. Her sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum also suffered. They were living at this time in the very nest of hatred and intrigue against the Prophet. Their husbands were Utbah and Utaybah, sons of Abu Lahab and Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil was known to be a hard and harsh woman who had a sharp and evil tongue. It was mainly because of her that Khadijah was not pleased with the marriages of her daughters to Umm Jamil's sons in the first place. It must have been painful for Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum to be living in the household of such inveterate enemies who not only joined but led the campaign against theft father.


As a mark of disgrace to Muhammad and his family, Utbah and Utaybah were prevailed upon by their parents to divorce their wives. This was part of the process of ostracizing the Prophet totally. The Prophet in fact welcomed his daughters back to his home w ith joy, happiness and relief.


Fatimah, no doubt, must have been happy to be with her sisters once again. They all wished that their eldest sister, Zaynab, would also be divorced by her husband. In fact, the Quraysh brought pressure on Abu-l Aas to do so but he refused. When the Qurays h leaders came up to him and promised him the richest and most beautiful woman as a wife should he divorce Zaynab, he replied:


"I love my wife deeply and passionately and I have a great and high esteem for her father even though I have not entered the religion of Islam."


Both Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were happy to be back with their loving parents and to be rid of the unbearable mental torture to which they had been subjected in the house of Umm Jamil. Shortly afterwards, Ruqayyah married again, to the young and shy Uthma n ibn Allan who was among the first to have accepted Islam. They both left for Abyssinia among the first muhajirin who sought refuge in that land and stayed there for several years. Fatimah was not to see Ruqayyah again until after their mother had died.


The persecution of the Prophet, his family and his followers continued and even became worse after the migration of the first Muslims to Abyssinia. In about the seventh year of his mission, the Prophet and his family were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in a rugged little valley enclosed by hills on all sides and defile, which could only be entered from Makkah by a narrow path.


To this arid valley, Muhammad and the clans of Banu Hashim and al-Muttalib were forced to retire with limited supplies of food. Fatimah was one of the youngest members of the clans -just about twelve years old - and had to undergo months of hardship and suffering. The wailing of hungry children and women in the valley could be heard from Makkah. The Quraysh allowed no food and contact with the Muslims whose hardship was only relieved somewhat during the season of pilgrimage. The boycott lasted for three years. When it was lifted, the Prophet had to face even more trials and difficulties. Khadijah, the faithful and loving, died shortly afterwards. With her death, the Prophet and his family lost one of the greatest sources of comfort and strength which had sustained them through the difficult period. The year in which the noble Khadijah, and later Abu Talib, died is known as the Year of Sadness. Fatimah, now a young lady, was greatly distressed by her mother's death. She wept bitterly and for some time was so grief-striken that her health deteriorated. It was even feared she might die of grief.


Although her older sister, Umm Kulthum, stayed in the same household, Fatimah realized that she now had a greater responsibility with the passing away of her mother. She felt that she had to give even greater support to her father. With loving tendernes s, she devoted herself to looking after his needs. So concerned was she for his welfare that she came to be called "Umm Abi-ha the mother of her father". She also provided him with solace and comfort during times of trial, difficulty and crisis.


Often the trials were too much for her. Once, about this time, an insolent mob heaped dust and earth upon his gracious head. As he entered his home, Fatimah wept profusely as she wiped the dust from her father's head.


"Do not cry, my daughter," he said, "for God shall protect your father."


The Prophet had a special love for Fatimah. He once said: ang"Whoever pleased Fatimah has indeed pleased God and whoever has caused her to be angry has indeed angered God. Fatimah is a part of me. Whatever pleases her pleases me and whatever angers her angers me."
He also said: "The best women in all the world are four: the Virgin Mary, Aasiyaa the wife of Pharoah, Khadijah Mother of the Believers, and Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad." Fatimah thus acquired a place of love and esteem in the Prophet's heart that was only occupied by his wife Khadijah.


Fatimah, may God be pleased with her, was given the title of "az-Zahraa" which means "the Resplendent One". That was because of her beaming face which seemed to radiate light. It is said that when she stood for Prayer, the mihrab would reflect the light of her countenance. She was also called "al-Batul" because of her asceticism. Instead of spending her time in the company of women, much of her time would be spent in Salat, in reading the Quran and in other acts of ibadah.


Fatimah had a strong resemblance to her father, the Messenger of God. Aishah. the wife of the Prophet, said of her: "I have not seen any one of God's creation resemble the Messenger of God more in speech, conversation and manner of sitting than Fatimah, may God be pleased with her. When the Prophet saw her approaching, he would welcome her, stand up and kiss her, take her by the hand and sit her down in the place where he was sitting." She would do the same when the Prophet came to her. She would stand up and welcome him with joy and kiss him.


Fatimah's fine manners and gentle speech were part of her lovely and endearing personality. She was especially kind to poor and indigent folk and would often give all the food she had to those in need even if she herself remained hungry. She had no craving for the ornaments of this world nor the luxury and comforts of life. She lived simply, although on occasion as we shall see circumstances seemed to be too much and too difficult for her.


She inherited from her father a persuasive eloquence that was rooted in wisdom. When she spoke, people would often be moved to tears. She had the ability and the sincerity to stir the emotions, move people to tears and fill their hearts with praise and gratitude to God for His grace and His inestimable bounties.


Fatimah migrated to Madinah a few weeks after the Prophet did. She went with Zayd ibn Harithah who was sent by the Prophet back to Makkah to bring the rest of his family. The party included Fatimah and Umm Kulthum, Sawdah, the Prophet's wife, Zayd's wife Barakah and her son Usamah. Travelling with the group also were Abdullah the son of Abu Bakr who accompanied his mother and his sisters, Aishah and Asma.


In Madinah, Fatimah lived with her father in the simple dwelling he had built adjoining the mosque. In the second year after the Hijrah, she received proposals of marriage through her father, two of which were turned down. Then Ali, the son of Abu Talib, plucked up courage and went to the Prophet to ask for her hand in marriage. In the presence of the Prophet, however, Ali became over-awed and tongue-tied. He stared at the ground and could not say anything. The Prophet then asked: "Why have you come? Do you need something?" Ali still could not speak and then the Prophet suggested: "Perhaps you have come to propose marriage to Fatimah."
"Yes,"
replied Ali. At this, according to one report, the Prophet said simply: "Marhaban wa ahlan - Welcome into the family," and this was taken by Ali and a group of Ansar who were waiting outside for him as indicating the Prophet's approval. Another re port indicated that the Prophet approved and went on to ask Ali if he had anything to give as mahr. Ali replied that he didn't. The Prophet reminded him that he had a shield which could be sold.


Ali sold the shield to Uthman for four hundred dirhams and as he was hurrying back to the Prophet to hand over the sum as mahr, Uthman stopped him and said:


"I am returning your shield to you as a present from me on your marriage to Fatimah." Fatimah and Ali were thus married most probably at the beginning of the second year after the Hijrah. She was about nineteen years old at the time and Ali was about twenty one. The Prophet himself performed the marriage ceremony. At the walimah, the guests were served with dates, figs and hais ( a mixture of dates and butter fat). A leading member of the Ansar donated a ram and others made offerings of grain. All Madinah rejoiced.


On her marriage, the Prophet is said to have presented Fatimah and Ali with a wooden bed intertwined with palm leaves, a velvet coverlet. a leather cushion filled with palm fibre, a sheepskin, a pot, a waterskin and a quern for grinding grain.


Fatimah left the home of her beloved father for the first time to begin life with her husband. The Prophet was clearly anxious on her account and sent Barakah with her should she be in need of any help. And no doubt Barakah was a source of comfort and sol ace to her. The Prophet prayed for them:


"O Lord, bless them both, bless their house and bless their offspring." In Ali's humble dwelling, there was only a sheepskin for a bed. In the morning after the wedding night, the Prophet went to Ali's house and knocked on the door.


Barakah came out and the Prophet said to her: "O Umm Ayman, call my brother for me."
"Your brother? That's the one who married your daughter?"
asked Barakah somewhat incredulously as if to say: Why should the Prophet call Ali his "brother"? (He referred to Ali as his brother because just as pairs of Muslims were joined in brotherhood aft er the Hijrah, so the Prophet and Ali were linked as "brothers".)


The Prophet repeated what he had said in a louder voice. Ali came and the Prophet made a du'a, invoking the blessings of God on him. Then he asked for Fatimah. She came almost cringing with a mixture of awe and shyness and the Prophet said to her:


"I have married you to the dearest of my family to me." In this way, he sought to reassure her. She was not starting life with a complete stranger but with one who had grown up in the same household, who was among the first to become a Muslim at a tender age, who was known for his courage, bravery and virtue, and whom the Prophet described as his "brother in this world and the hereafter".


Fatimah's life with Ali was as simple and frugal as it was in her father's household. In fact, so far as material comforts were concerned, it was a life of hardship and deprivation. Throughout their life together, Ali remained poor because he did not set great store by material wealth. Fatimah was the only one of her sisters who was not married to a wealthy man.


In fact, it could be said that Fatimah's life with Ali was even more rigorous than life in her father's home. At least before marriage, there were always a number of ready helping hands in the Prophet's household. But now she had to cope virtually on her own. To relieve theft extreme poverty, Ali worked as a drawer and carrier of water and she as a grinder of corn. One day she said to Ali: "I have ground until my hands are blistered."


"I have drawn water until I have pains in my chest," said Ali and went on to suggest to Fatimah: "God has given your father some captives of war, so go and ask him to give you a servant."
Reluctantly, she went to the Prophet who said: "What has brought you here, my little daughter?" "I came to give you greetings of peace," she said, for in awe of him she could not bring herself to ask what she had intended.


"What did you do?" asked Ali when she returned alone.


"I was ashamed to ask him," she said. So the two of them went together but the Prophet felt they were less in need than others.


"I will not give to you," he said, "and let the Ahl as-Suffah (poor Muslims who stayed in the mosque) be tormented with hunger. I have not enough for their keep..."


Ali and Fatimah returned home feeling somewhat dejected but that night, after they had gone to bed, they heard the voice of the Prophet asking permission to enter. Welcoming him, they both rose to their feet, but he told them:


"Stay where you are," and sat down beside them. "Shall I not tell you of something better than that which you asked of me?" he asked and when they said yes he said: "Words which Jibril taught me, that you should say "Subhaan Allah- Glory be to God" ten ti mes after every Prayer, and ten times "Alhamdu lillah - Praise be to God," and ten times "Allahu Akbar - God is Great." And that when you go to bed you should say them thirty-three times each."


Ali used to say in later years: "I have never once failed to say them since the Messenger of God taught them to us."


There are many reports of the hard and difficult times which Fatimah had to face. Often there was no food in her house. Once the Prophet was hungry. He went to one after another of his wives' apartments but there was no food. He then went to Fatimah's ho use and she had no food either. When he eventually got some food, he sent two loaves and a piece of meat to Fatimah. At another time, he went to the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and from the food he was given, he saved some for her. Fatimah also knew that the Prophet was without food for long periods and she in turn would take food to him when she could. Once she took a piece of barley bread and he, said to her: "This is the first food your father has eaten for three days."


Through these acts of kindness she showed how much she loved her father; and he loved her, really loved her in return.


Once he returned from a journey outside Madinah. He went to the mosque first of all and prayed two rakats as was his custom. Then, as he often did, he went to Fatimah's house before going to his wives. Fatimah welcomed him and kissed his face, his mouth and his eyes and cried.
"Why do you cry?" the Prophet asked.


"I see you, O Rasul Allah," she said, "Your color is pale and sallow and your clothes have become worn and shabby."


"O Fatimah," the Prophet replied tenderly, "don't cry for Allah has sent your father with a mission which He would cause to affect every house on the face of the earth whether it be in towns, villages or tents (in the desert) bringing either glory or h umiliation until this mission is fulfilled just as night (inevitably) comes."


With such comments Fatimah was often taken from the harsh realities of daily life to get a glimpse of the vast and far-reaching vistas opened up by the mission entrusted to her noble father.


Fatimah eventually returned to live in a house close to that of the Prophet. The place was donated by an Ansari who knew that the Prophet would rejoice in having his daughter as his neighbor. Together they shared in the joys and the triumphs, the sorrows and the hardships of the crowded and momentous Madinah days and years.


In the middle of the second year after the Hijrah, her sister Ruqayyah fell ill with fever and measles. This was shortly before the great campaign of Badr. Uthman, her husband, stayed by her bedside and missed the campaign. Ruqayyah died just before her father returned. On his return to Madinah, one of the first acts of the Prophet was to visit her grave.


Fatimah went with him. This was the first bereavement they had suffered within their closest family since the death of Khadijah. Fatimah was greatly distressed by the loss of her sister. The tears poured from her eyes as she sat beside her father at the edge of the grave, and he comforted her and sought to dry her tears with the corner of his cloak.


The Prophet had previously spoken against lamentations for the dead, but this had lead to a misunderstanding, and when they returned from the cemetery the voice of Umar was heard raised in anger against the women who were weeping for the martyrs of Badr and for Ruqayyah.


"Umar, let them weep," he said and then added: "What comes from the heart and from the eye, that is from God and His mercy, but what comes from the hand and from the tongue, that is from Satan." By the hand he meant the beating of breasts and the smiting of cheeks, and by the tongue he meant the loud clamor in which women often joined as a mark of public sympathy.


Uthman later married the other daughter of the Prophet, Umm Kulthum, and on this account came to be known as Dhu-n Nurayn - Possessor of the Two Lights.


The bereavement which the family suffered by the death of Ruqayyah was followed by happiness when to the great joy of all the believers Fatimah gave birth to a boy in Ramadan of the third year after the Hijrah. The Prophet spoke the words of the Adhan into the ear of the new-born babe and called him al-Hasan which means the Beautiful One.


One year later, she gave birth to another son who was called al-Husayn, which means "little Hasan" or the little beautiful one. Fatimah would often bring her two sons to see their grandfather who was exceedingly fond of them. Later he would take them to the Masjid and they would climb onto his back when he prostrated. He did the same with his little granddaughter Umamah, the daughter of Zaynab.


In the eighth year after the Hijrah, Fatimah gave birth to a third child, a girl whom she named after her eldest sister Zaynab who had died shortly before her birth. This Zaynab was to grow up and become famous as the "Heroine of Karbala". Fatimah's fourth child was born in the year after the Hijrah. The child was also a girl and Fatimah named her Umm Kulthum after her sister who had died the year before after an illness.


It was only through Fatimah that the progeny of the Prophet was perpetuated. All the Prophet's male children had died in their infancy and the two children of Zaynab named Ali and Umamah died young. Ruqayyah's child Abdullah also died when he was no t yet two years old. This is an added reason for the reverence which is accorded to Fatimah.


Although Fatimah was so often busy with pregnancies and giving birth and rearing children, she took as much part as she could in the affairs of the growing Muslim community of Madinah. Before her marriage, she acted as a sort of hostess to the poor and destitute Ahl as-Suffah. As soon as the Battle of Uhud was over, she went with other women to the battlefield and wept over the dead martyrs and took time to dress her father's wounds. At the Battle of the Ditch, she played a major supportive role together with other women in preparing food during the long and difficult siege. In her camp, she led the Muslim women in prayer and on that place there stands a mosque named Masjid Fatimah, one of seven mosques where the Muslims stood guard and performed their devotions.


Fatimah also accompanied the Prophet when he made Umrah in the sixth year after the Hijrah after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. In the following year, she and her sister Umm Kulthum, were among the mighty throng of Muslims who took part with the Prophet in th e liberation of Makkah. It is said that on this occasion, both Fatimah and Umm Kulthum visited the home of their mother Khadijah and recalled memories of their childhood and memories of jihad, of long struggles in the early years of the Prophet's mission.


In Ramadan of the tenth year just before he went on his Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet confided to Fatimah, as a secret not yet to be told to others:


"Jibril recited the Quran to me and I to him once every year, but this year he has recited it with me twice. I cannot but think that my time has come."


On his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet did become seriously ill. His final days were spent in the apartment of his wife Aishah. When Fatimah came to visit him, Aishah would leave father and daughter together.


One day he summoned Fatimah. When she came, he kissed her and whispered some words in her ear. She wept. Then again he whispered in her ear and she smiled. Aishah saw and asked:
"You cry and you laugh at the same time, Fatimah? What did the Messenger of God say to you?" Fatimah replied:


"He first told me that he would meet his Lord after a short while and so I cried. Then he said to me: 'Don't cry for you will be the first of my household to join me.' So I laughed."


Not long afterwards the noble Prophet passed away. Fatimah was grief-striken and she would often be seen weeping profusely. One of the companions noted that he did not see Fatimah, may God be pleased with her, laugh after the death of her father.


One morning, early in the month of Ramadan, just less than five month after her noble father had passed away, Fatimah woke up looking unusually happy and full of mirth. In the afternoon of that day, it is said that she called Salma bint Umays who was looking after her. She asked for some water and had a bath. She then put on new clothes and perfumed herself. She then asked Salma to put her bed in the courtyard of the house. With her face looking to the heavens above, she asked for her husband Ali.


He was taken aback when he saw her lying in the middle of the courtyard and asked her what was wrong. She smiled and said: "I have an appointment today with the Messenger of God."
Ali cried and she tried to console him. She told him to look after their sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn and advised that she should be buried without ceremony. She gazed upwards again, then closed her eyes and surrendered her soul to the Mighty Creator.


She, Fatimah the resplendent one, was just twenty nine years old.


RELATED (as at 10th November 2000):

Saturday, November 24, 2007

My Sea, My History...






This is a place in Abu Dhabi,UAE...It is near the sea...I grew up on the sea and its the only place i know to go to when i am stressed out or depressed...Something about the sea lifts my soul and makes me feel light...I love the smell of the sea, the sound of the water lazily folding and crashing against the rocks, and the peace that can be found in an afternoon at the sea watching the sun go down...
My people are sea people. It is in my blood. My history.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Hijamah in Islam and Medicine

After 2 days of making the Hijamah it looks like this above...




Images taken from:http://www.hmc.org.qa/heartviews/VOL5NO2/special_section.htm




Volume 7, Book 71, Number 584:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
(The Prophet said), "Healing is in three things: A gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire (cauterizing)." But I forbid my followers to use (cauterization) branding with fire."






Volume 7, Book 71, Number 597:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet was cupped while he was fasting.





Volume 7, Book 71, Number 598:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet was cupped while he was in a state of Ihram.





Volume 7, Book 71, Number 599:
Narrated Anas:
that he was asked about the wages of the one who cups others. He said, 'Allah's Apostle was cupped by Abd Taiba, to whom he gave two Sa of food and interceded for him with his masters who consequently reduced what they used to charge him daily. Then the Prophet s said, "The best medicines you may treat yourselves with are cupping and sea incense.' He added, "You should not torture your children by treating tonsillitis by pressing the tonsils or the palate with the finger, but use incense."




Excerpt from:http://www.hmc.org.qa/heartviews/VOL5NO2/special_section.htm



Click the URL for the full article



"The Arabic word “hijamah” means “sucking.” In the Arabian Gulf, Hijamah was used not only for treatment but also for prophylaxis against diseases. The pearl divers in the Arabian Gulf used to undergo hijamah before the diving season in the belief that the procedure will prevent diseases during the 3 months at sea. It was thought to be very effective against dizziness."





my notes:


Hijamah is used for treatment of many different types of diseases. Below are some of the Disease Groups "Wet" cupping is used for.



Rheumatic pain,Back Pain,Epilepsy,Hypertension,Asthma,Diabetic,Peptic Ulcer,Smoking.



Inshallah today i will upload photos of what wet hijamah looks like one day after being done!