Ghadeer khum, Imam Ali (AS) Appointed?(sunni ref)

What happen at Ghadeer khum?

How do we know ahlubayt AS didn't mean wives included?

How do we know imam Ali AS was appointed?

The event is mutawatar meaning it is so widely narrated that there is no doubt about this event amongst all Muslims. 

Sunan al-Nasa'i, one of the six sahih (authentic) books of Sunnis:

کأنی قد دعیت فاجبت، انی قد ترکت فیکم الثقلین احدهما اکبر من الآخر، کتاب الله و عترتی اهل بیتی، فانظروا کیف تخلفونی فیهما، فانهما لن یفترقا حتی یردا علی الحوض

"Looks like I have been called, and I answered (my time of death has come), indeed I have left the thaqalayn (two weighty things) among you, one of them is greater form the other, the book of Allah and my 'itra (family), my ahl al-bayt (household). So look after how you will behave with them after me, indeed they will never separate from each other until they enter my presence by the pool [in the paradise]."

How do we know ahlubayt AS didn't mean his actual house hold, including his wives?

Narrated Aisha:

One day the Prophet (PBUH&HF) came out afternoon wearing a black cloak (upper garment or gown; long coat), then al-Hasan Ibn Ali came and the Prophet accommodated him under the cloak, then al-Husain came and entered the cloak, then Fatimah came and the Prophet entered her under the cloak, then Ali came and the Prophet entered him to the cloak as well. Then the Prophet recited: "Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you a perfect purification (the last sentence of Verse 33:33)."

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of the virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1883, Tradition #61.

Umm Salama said: "O Prophet of Allah! Am I not one of the members of your family?" The Holy Prophet replied: "You have a good future but only these are the members of my family (ahlubayt). O Lord! The members of my family are more deserving."

Sunni reference: al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p416

How do we know Imam Ali AS was appointed?

Ahmad ibn Hanbal's eponymous musnad also includes that, after Muhammad's sermon, his companion Umar congratulated Ali and told him, "You have now become mawla of every faithful man and woman."

I need more how do we know for sure?

This ayat was revealed on this day, the day known as ghadeer khum (due to its location). Think why would such an ayat be revealed....

This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed my favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion. (Qur'an, 5:3)

After this verse was revealed the Holy Prophet (s) said: Allah Akbar at the perfection of religion and completion of favors and the pleasure of the Lord at my Prophethood and the Wilayah of Ali after me. Then he said the famous statement: Of whosoever I am the Master Ali is also his Master.

"He whose mawla I am, Ali is his mawla."

Muhammad might have repeated this sentence three or four more times, as reported in Musnad Ibn Hanbal.

Now one needs to sit back with objective view and think, if God would not leave a nation without a guide, so that no nation could blame Allah swt that they were not guided by someone, why would He swt do that after the prophet?

Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and Al-Hakim in his Al- Mustadrak recorded that Ibn Abbas said in a hadith the following: "The Messenger and the people departed for military operations in Tabook. ‘Ali said to him: I will depart with you. The Prdphet said to him: No. ‘Ali became sad. The Messenger said to him: Are you not satisfied to be to me like Aaron to Moses except that you are not a prophet? It would not be proper that I leave unless you are my successor."

Al Baqee

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim

Please recite surah al fatiha for all the marhumeen around the world granting them the reward. 

I want to discuss what happened to jannat al baqqee and why is it a sacred place, also touching upon tawassul?

So the literal meaning of “Al-Baqee” means a tree garden. It is also known as “Jannat Al-Baqee” due to its sanctity, since buried in this cemetery are many of our Prophet’s SAWA relatives and his companions. 

Al baqqee was an area in what today's day we call Saudi Arabia. Prophet Muhammad SAWA arrived in Medina from Mecca, during the construction of the Prophet's Mosque, on the site he purchased from two orphan children, jannat al baqee was also designated in that area. 

Within this cemetery there are many pious religious people, such as the Hamza the uncle of the Holy Prophet Muhammads SAWA, the son of the Holy Prophet SAWA his name was Ibrahim, the second Imam (Imam Hasan), the fourth Imam (Imam Zain al Abedin), the fifty Imam (Imam Al Baqir), the sixth imam (Imam Jafar al Sadiq), Fatima bint Asad, Um al Baneen, Haleema the wetnurse of the Holy Prophet SAWA, Umm Salama, Umm Habeeba and others whose lives were lost as a martyr in the battle of Uhud, these are just to name a few but there are many other pious individuals also buried there.

Just the fact that so many pious people were buried there, out of respect people would usually honour this type of cemetery but here at al Baqee you see it was not done, in fact it was far from being treated with respect. The wahhabis have misunderstood tawassul and called it shirk and at the end I hope to touch upon if this is shirk. In the 18th century al Saud took over and gained power in the area. The family of Saud was backed by wahhabis. This ideology was and still is very intolerant to anyone that is not them, calling anyone who does not submit to their ways is a kafir, a disbeliever. They say that the graves and shrines of the Imams and visitors to the mosque of the Prophet were committing idolatry and therefore anyone who opposed this ideology was persecuted, massacred and their property was confiscated. In 1805 was the first attack on al Baqee cemetery and then the second order to demolish al Baqee took place in 1925 they desecrated, and ruined the Islamic sites and the cemetery of Jannat al Baqee was raised to the ground. The only Shrine that remained intact was that of the Holy Prophet SAWA. Anyone who opposed this was brutally massacred and on the streets women and children also had fallen victim to this brutality. 

But didn't they see in their very own books in Sahih, Muslim through the transmission chain narration from Aisha as saying the nights that the messenger of God spent with her would go to the Baqee cemetery late in the evening and said, greetings to you all inhabitants of the abode of the Believers! You are forerunners and we will join you. Oh God! Forgive the sins of the inhabitants of the Baqee cemetery.

Here I want to discuss tawasuul as they have claimed these things to be shirk.

They will say that we humbly go towards the shrines just like we humbly go towards God and this is polytheism.

Our response to such claims is if you are humble to anyone is this worship?

The Quran says to be humble in front of your parents.

Lower to your parents the wing of humility out of mercy and say: My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small.

Surah Al-Isra 17:24

In there own book:

Verily, Allah has revealed to me that you must be humble towards one another, so that no one wrongs another or boasts to another.

Source: Sahih Muslim 2865, 

Humble and worshipping are different:

When you worship something you believe that, that thing is the source of all the power in the universe and is the source of all that you need. Humbling yourself towards someone is to respect them, even this is worshipping Allah. 

Bukhari in number of hadiths. Narrated from Khatada and Anas ibn Malik, they say I heard this Hadith from the Prophet, when a person is put in his grave and the family who were there leave he hears them walking away and he can even hear the flapping of their sandals.

This Hadith proves that they are hearing when they are dead.

Bukhari in another narration, when the battle of Badr was over, the Prophet SAWA came and he stood by the edge of a well the Prophet SAWA started to call on those dead pagans by their names and the names of their fathers he tells them wasn't it better for you to follow Allah and his Prophet and obey me now you have seen the truth, have you seen what Allah has promised you? 

Omar objects, oh Rasulullah why are you taking to bodies with no soul?

The Holy Prophet SAWA response I swear by the one whose hand is my soul you cannot hear me any better than they can.

In Sahih Muslim it states from Ayesha that: The Holy Prophet SAWA taught me the manner of visiting the graves. Here is the text of the tradition:

“My Lord commanded me to come to Baqi’ and seek forgiveness for them. (Ayesha) says: I asked him how one should seek forgiveness to which the Holy Prophet SAWA replied: Say Peace (Salaam) be upon the people of this place from the believers and Muslims, may God have mercy on those who have left and those who are to follow. We shall join you all very soon.”

So I think I have presented enough here to show that even in their own books visiting the graves and praying to the dead is not shirk!

So if in their books it was clear where did this ideology come from? It came with the influence of ibn Tamiyya. 

Ibn Taymiyya was among the first people who issued the prohibition of traveling for visiting the grave of the Prophet (s), supplication and asking requests near the grave of the Prophet (s). He claimed that anyone who travels to visit the grave of the Prophet (s) opposes the consensus of Muslims and leaves the religion of the Prophet (s). He also claimed that all Muslims prohibit touching, kissing and putting the face on the grave and none of great people in early Islam did such actions. He considered it an act of polytheism.

In the view of Ibn Taymiyya, travelling to visit the grave of the Prophet (s) is a sinful journey.

Ibn Taymiyyah writes:

This is what was said by Abu Hanifa and his companions. It is not permissible and they prohibited it, such that they said Allah is not asked by created beings, nor does one say: I ask You by the right of Your prophets.

Source: Majmū’ al-Fatāwá 1/202

Ibn Taymiyya claims this is what abu Hanifa said, so what did abu Hanifa say? 

"No one should call upon Allah except by Him."

But what does the Quran say about calling upon others? 

They will recite verses to prove their claim we had touched upon earlier how we respond but I will add a few extra points to confirm our beliefs and disprove their claims.

Surah 2 ayah 48 "And fear a day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided" 

Clear verse that Allah will not accept any Shafā. Here we respond, the exegesis of the Quran states that this ayah was revealed to the Jewish people, they believed that if you came from Jewish ancestors you had a ticket to heaven. Quran says no, it doesn't matter who you come from, those ancestors will not save you. So this verse is not completely negating shafā, but it is negating this type of thought of shafā. 

When you examine the other ayats that state no shafā you see it is towards the pagans. Pagans believed that their idols had the power of shafā. Allah responds to them in the Quran, he states these idols will not be able to ever give you shafā. 

Some verses give conditional shafā. Surah 2 ayah 255 "Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great." 

Surah ta ha ayah 109 "That Day, no intercession will benefit except [that of] one to whom the Most Merciful has given permission and has accepted his word."

It clearly states in the Quran that intercession is only with Allah's permission, everything is only with Allah's permission.

This is what they destroyed al Baqee for, for misunderstanding and mistaking their own books and interpreting Quran not correctly either knowingly or intentionally...

After seeing all these different aspects of wasabis we can see that the ideology and rejection and opposing the prophet happened way back from the beginning. However ibn Taymiyya did what no other scholar did and that was pushing the movement out that anyone that did this was a kafir, this rule and ideology had horrible consequences on many Muslims, like the shia particularly. 

It is important to draw a line of differences between wahhabis and other sunni sects. Wahhabi are different then majority Sunni and have different ideology when it comes to visiting graves both Shia and Sunni stood together against the destruction of al Baqee.

According to Shia and Sunni and contrary to Wahhabi beliefs, building shrines upon graves is not against Islamic beliefs, visiting the graves of religious figures is allowed and praying for them and to them is fine. 

So I pray that I was able to sum up what is al Baqee and why it's a very important holy place. And I pray one day soon we see al Baqee redone and fixed up. 

 

Advice for Ramadan

Salaam alaykom respected readers,

Mubarak, and welcome to this blessed month of Ramadan. 

This month is a time to reflect on ourselves. While we fast and feel the pains of hunger it is a time to reflect on the things we have become attached to in this world, the time were we will be separated from these desires and the world and will have to answer to Allah swt on the things we did in this world. In this time try and stay silent when not needing to speak, in the absence of speech you will be able to open yourself up to more reflection, and more turning to Allah with repentance for those things you have done that transgressed His Authority. Remember that Ramadan is not just an absent of eating and drinking but it the time to better ourselves, to seek nearness to Him. 

If there is anything you haven't been able to bring yourself to do that is religiously asked of you like prayers, refraining from non mahram, or hijab this is the best time to reflect on these acts and turn to Allah swt, rely on Him if you have worries about starting these acts, and know it is Him we will all return too. There is no better time then to change now and go towards Him by starting these acts now. Remember Allah swt is Mercyful when a servant turns to Him in obedience Him. 

Remember the sleep is an act of worship in this month, but don't forget the acts of duas, reflection, taqwa, charity, reading Quran, prayers and Layla qadr are some of thee best acts of worship in this month. 

Don't let this month pass you by without obtaining the forgiveness of those you wronged and the forgiveness of Allah swt. The regretful one is the one that leaves this month with no change in their akhlaaq and nearness to Him. 

I wish you all a spiritual month, one that brings you near to Him and away from the world and that which has kept you in chains from changing, may you seek the most of this month and may Allah swt accept all your ibadats. Ameen.

Sayyida Zaynab SA Walidat

Salaam alaykom my respected readers, 

Today we remember Sayyida Zaynab SA for all she stood for in honor of her walidat anniversary. Today is just one day, but Sayyida Zaynab SA is remembered in the hearts of all the believers everyday. She is a role model especially for our dear sisters. She was well known to be a righteous lady, and of course one would not think otherwise as she was raised by Imam Ali AS and her mother Sayyida Fatima SA the daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAWA. 

She is well known for her sermon which she gave in the courtyard of Yazid’s palace in Damascus after they were brought as prisoners, here is a part of this famous speech which if we reflect closely on her words we can certainly take a lot from it such as courage, eloquence, a stance against tyranny. In today's day and age we need to reflect more on her words and remember today is a passing day, we should remain obedient to Allah swt. Her words brings a great reminder to us, that we should too rely on Allah, face injustice with our voices and support the oppressed, that we should be strong and always speak up when we see wrong. Below you will see her words filled with truth, and those who stood for truth are remembered. So I will end my small blog with her words.

Sayyida Zaynab SA facing the tyrant of her time said, “Whatever you consider today, as a bounty would turn into reparation for tomorrow, whatever you have sent in advance would be received by you. Allah does not like oppression toward his servants. I complained to Him and put my trust upon Him; thus whatever deceit you want to practice, go ahead and do it; whatever endeavors and efforts you can make, try them. By Allah you would never be able to remove our remembrance from the hearts [of the believers], nor would you ever be able to destroy our revelations; you would never reach our splendor and majesty; you would never be able to wash this ugly spot of tyranny from your [dress]; your opinion and suggestions are invalid and unstable. The duration of your rein is very short, and your assembly would soon be scattered; on that day when the heavenly crier would announce: ‘Praise be upon the Lord of the Worlds, and our beginning- with prosperity and salvation-and our end-with martyrdom and blessing. I beseech the Almighty to bestow upon them [Imam Hussain (p), his family (pbut), and his loyal companions] His best recompense and may [He] increase their rewards. O You, Who is just and righteous toward us, and Who is the most compassionate among all the compassionate ones, we put our trust only upon You.”

Jannat al Baqee

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim

Before I begin the short blog I have prepared please recite surah al fatiha for all the marhumeen around the world granting them the reward. 

So today I want to discuss What happened to jannat al baqqee and why is it a sacred place, also touching upon tawassul?

So the Literally meaning of “Al-Baqee” means a tree garden. It is also known as “Jannat Al-Baqee” due to its sanctity, since buried in this cemetery are many of our Prophet’s relatives and his companions. 

Al baqqee was an area in which today's day we call Saudi Arabia. The Holy Prophet Muhammad SAWA arrived in Medina from Mecca, during the construction of the Prophet's Mosque, on the site he purchased from two orphan children, jannat al baqee was also designated in that area. 

Within this cemetery there are many pious religious people, such as the Hamza the uncle of the holy prophet Muhammad SAWA,  the son of the holy prophet sawa his name was Ibrahim, the second imam (imam Hasan) AS, the fourth imam (imam Zain al Abedin) AS, the fifty imam (Imam Al Baqir) AS, the sixth imam (imam Jafar al Sadiq)AS, fatima bint Asad, um al baneen, haleema the wetnurse of the holy prophet, umm salama, umm habeeba and others who's lives were lost as a martyr in the battle of uhud, these are just to name a few but there are many other pious individuals also burried there.

Just the fact that so many pious people were buried there, out of respect people would usually honour this type of cemetary but here at al baqee you see it was not done, in fact it was far from being treated with respect. They the wahhabis have misunderstood tawassul and called it shirk and at the end I hope to touch upon if this is shirk. In the 18th century al saud took over and gained power in the area. The family of saud was backed by wahhabis. This ideology was and still is very intolerant to anyone that is not them, calling anyone who does not submit to their ways is a kafir, a disbeliever. They say that the graves and shrines of the imams and visitors to the mosque of the prophet were committing idolatry and therefore anyone who opposed this ideology was persecuted, massacred and their property was confiscated. In 1805 was the first attack on albaqee Cemetery and then the second order to demolish al baqee took place in 1925 they desecrated, and ruin the islamic sites and the cemetary of jannat al baqee was raised to the ground. The only Shrine that remained intact was that of the holy prophet. Anyone who opposed this was brutally massacred and on the streets women and children also had fallen victim to this brutality. 

But didn't they see in their very own books in Sahih, Muslim through the transmission chain narration from Aisha as saying the nights that the messenger of God spent with her would go to the baqee cemetery late in the evening and said, greetings to you all inhabitants of the abode of the Believers! You are are forerunners and we will join you. Oh God! Forgive the sins of the inhabitants of the baqee cemetery.

Here I want to discuss tawasuul as they have claimed these things to be shirk.

They will say that we humbly go towards the shrines just like we humbly go towards God and this is polytheism.

Our response to such claims are if you are humble to anyone is this worship?

Quran says to be humble in front of your parents.

Lower to your parents the wing of humility out of mercy and say: My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small.

Surah Al-Isra 17:24

 In there own book:

Verily, Allah has revealed to me that you must be humble towards one another, so that no one wrongs another or boasts to another.

Source: Sahih Muslim 2865, 

Humble and worshipping are different:

When you worship something you believe that, that thing is the source of all the power in the universe and is the source of all that you need. Humbling yourself towards someone is to respect them, even this is worshipping Allah. 

They say asking help from somebody other than Allah is polytheistic, we say what about in your life when you ask somebody for help, if you need something done and you ask for help this is not polytheistic.

They will say it is useless if the person is dead, if the person was alive they can certainly help but if they have died how would they help you?

We reply to such claims: if it is shirk its shirk, no matter if they are alive or dead. Surah imran do not consider those who died in the way of Allah as dead ney they are alive with there a Lord receiving subsidence

What about in the Quran where the ayat prohibits calling upon someone else with Allah. 

When it comes to Idols Allah says he never has given them permission to do shafā. But the holy prophet, the imams and ahlu byte AS He has given them permission to do shafa.

Bukhari in number of hadiths. Narrated from Khatada and Anas ibn Malik, they say I heard this Hadith from the prophet, when a person is put in his grave and the family who were there leave he hears them walking away and he can even hear the flapping of their sandals.

This Hadith proves that they are hearing when they our dead.

Bukhari in another narration, when the battle of badr was over, the prophet came and he stood by the edge of a well the prophet started to call on those dead pagans by their names and the names of their fathers he tells them wasn't it better for you to follow Allah and his prophet and obey me now you have seen the truth, have you seen what Allah has promised you? 

Omar objects, oh rasulullah why are you talkin to bodies with no soul?

The Holy prophet SAWA response I swear by the one whos hand is my soul you cannot hear me any better than they can.

In sahih Muslim it states from Ayesha that: The Holy Prophet (s) taught me the manner of visiting the graves. Here is the text of the tradition:

“My Lord commanded me to come to Baqi’ and seek forgiveness for them. (Ayesha) says: I asked him how one should seek forgiveness to which the Holy Prophet (s) replied: Say Peace (Salaam) be upon the people of this place from the believers and muslims, May God have mercy on those who have left and those who are to follow. We shall join you all very soon.”

So I think I have present enough here to show that even in their own books visiting the graves and praying to the dead is not shirk!

So if in their books it was clear where did this ideology come from? It came with he influence of ibn tamiyya. 

Ibn Taymiyya was among the first people who issued the prohibition of traveling for visiting the grave of the Prophet (s), supplication and asking requests near the grave of the Prophet (s). He claimed that anyone who travels to visit the grave of the Prophet (s) opposes the consensus of Muslims and leaves the religion of the Prophet (s). He also claimed that all Muslims prohibit touching, kissing and putting the face on the grave and none of great people in early Islam did such actions. He considered it an act of polytheism.

In the view of Ibn Taymiyya, travelling to visit the grave of the Prophet (s) is a sinful journey.

Ibn Taymiyyah writes:

This is what was said by Abu Hanifa and his companions. It is not permissible and they prohibited it, such that they said Allah is not asked by created beings, nor does one say: I ask You by the right of Your prophets.

Source: Majmū’ al-Fatāwá 1/202

So ibn taymiyya claims this is what abu Hanifa so what did abu hanifa say? 

"No one should call upon Allah except by Him."

But what does Quran say about calling upon other? 

They will recite verses to prove their claim we had touched upon it earlier how we respond but I will add a few extra points to confirm our beliefs and disprove their claims.

Surah 2 ayah 48 "And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided" 

Clear verse that Allah will not accept any Shafā. Here we respond, the exegesis of Quran state this ayah was revealed to the Jewish people, they believed that if you came from jewish ancestors you had a ticket to heaven. Quran says no, it doesn't matter who you come from, those ancestors will not save you. So this verse is not completely negating shafā, but it is negating this type of thought of shafā. 

When you examine the other ayats that state no shafā you see it is towards the pagans. Pagans believed that their idols had power of shafā. Allah responds to them in quran, he states these idols will not be able to ever give you shafā. 

Some verses give conditional shafā. Surah 2 ayah 255 "Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great." 

Surah ta ha ayah 109 "That Day, no intercession will benefit except [that of] one to whom the Most Merciful has given permission and has accepted his word."

It clearly states in the Quran that's intercession is only with Allah's permission, everything is only with Allah's permission.

This is what they destroyed al baqee for, for misunderstanding true shafa, true intercession, mistaking their own books and interpreting Quran not correctly either knowingly or intentionally...

After seeing all these different aspects of wasabis we can see that the idology and rejection and opposing the prophey happened way back from the beginning. However ibn taymiyya did what no other scholar did and that was pushing the movement out that anyone that did this was a kafir, this rule and ideology had horrible consequences on many muslims, like the shia particularly. 

It is important to draw a line of differences between wahhabis and other sunni sects. Wahhabi are different then majority Sunni and have different ideology when it comes to visiting graves both shia and sunni stood together against the destruction of al baqee.

According to Shi'a and Sunni and contrary to Wahhabi beliefs, building shrines upon graves is not against Islamic beliefs, visiting the graves of religious figures are allowed and praying for them and to them is fine. 

So I pray that I was able to sum up what is al baqee and why it's a very important holy place. And I pray one day soon we see al baqee redone and fixed up. 

JazakumAllah khair for reading.  

5 Senses

Salaam alaykom respected readers,

How grateful are we to our 5 senses? Have we thought about this at all. Have we shown gratitude towards Allah swt for granting us our senses. Unless you have experienced losing one of these senses can you truly understand what that would be like? Many of us take our senses for granted, such as the sense to see, we look at the faces of our loved ones and the beauty of the outside everyday but pay little attention to being grateful for being able to have that experience.  The experience for seeing is not something you can make up in your mind if you are someone that has never seen before, you have no idea what seeing is really like. Likewise for any of the senses, if you have never experienced smelling a beautiful flower and could not, you can never describe to that person who's not able to, exactly what that experience is to smell that beautiful flower. Some God forbid may use the senses for haram, not being appreciative to what Allah has gifted them. 

Take sometime everyday and pay attention to the senses, when you look at a beautiful scenery like the green trees and grass, the lovely bird flying here and there or your beloveds face looking at you, think about the gift Allah swt has given you to be able to experience seeing, if you lost your vision God forbid would that same moment be the same, wouldn't your experience in that moment change dramatically? Yes it would. If you go to hajj you want to see the holy kaaba, this experience is not the same if you couldn't see it, but even those that see are they grateful for the other senses Allah swt gave them to experience with such as hearing the chants as many walk around the kaaba. All these senses that Allah swt gave you and I are such wonderful gifts from Him and we should show our upmost gratefulness to Him for allowing us to have these experiences that can bring us closer to Him. We should be careful not to use these 5 senses, touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight for anything forbidden. This is a way of showing gratefulness to Allah swt. 

May Allah swt grant us an awareness and thankfulness towards the gifts He has bestowed upon us, and may He grant us the experience of true sight of the heart that opens the experience towards Him and brings us closer to Him in Sha Allah ameen. 

What are we Working for?

Salaam alaykom,

What are we working for? What a question to ponder on, often when we think about working we think of having a good job, earning enough money, buying that dream home or that dream car. Our achievement we are striving for is often based on this world, and often this striving for this world plays a huge part on forgetting the hereafter. Even if we remember the hereafter here and there, it's often forgotten most the time. Our want for material gain, mask what we should truly be striving hard for. Let us ponder over working hard for the material world, think about how much we work getting the job we want to be able to afford the house or car we have really wanted, but after so long the car gets old or something happens that the house gets ruined, we worked so hard to gain that item but it was never meant to be ours forever. Even if it stayed in the greatest conditions till our death, we still will depart it at this point, all we worked so hard for, we often trade our hereafter for this world without even realizing it. But for what, an item that was never meant to last forever, an item you will depart with, did it help to gain your hereafter? The hereafter after all is an eternal abode. How much have we worked to get the best in the hereafter? Now getting a home or owning a car isn't bad in itself, but what is, what could ruin you, is being attached to that item. Think to yourself, that item you hold so dear to yourself if it was to get ruined right now how would you feel? Would you be angry or upset or cry? If it will hurt you to lose that item this is harmful to yourself, to you soul. This attachment should be redirected towards your Lord, attach this love to those Allah loves, our Holy Prophet SAWA and his Ahlu Bayt AS. The same deep love that you had for that item once, attached it to those beloved by Allah, this deep attachment and love will create action of obedience towards Him the Almighty. At this time you begin to strive and work towards your hereafter, but stay vigilant not to become attached to any other item in this world, use the items to help you through this world and to better yourself for the hereafter. Use the money that Allah gives you and support the poor, help the sick, give much to orphans and widows. Know that working for this world leaves you and is quickly dissolved at the moment of your death. Ponder much on your attachment to this world and work hard for the hereafter. May Allah grant us this dis-attachment from this world such like Imam Ali AS said I have divorce this world three times.

The Beauty of Creation

Salaam alaykom,

For many years I observed beautiful scenery, tried to capture the best pictures, and when looking at art it brought a type of enjoyment on observing the beauty. As I was watching pictures on my TV as I have seen so many times before, I started to think about the reason to the ripples on the hill, being amazed that this could be natural, no man made, but God made.... I realized SubhanAllah all the beauty we see around is beauty from Allah. I started to truly realize that all the beauty I observed in past and am at this moment is all Allah's creation, painters just try to copy that beauty, a picture tries to capture Allah's beauty. Of course I could intellectually know this when in the past I would see beautiful scenery but it was a moment of a small realization. A realization that all the shapes, all the colors are highlighted and becomes awe stricken to the beauty Allah has created. 

Example to explain what I seen and felt, say you have never felt or seen snow, you knew about snow, but you never physically seen it nor have you touched it, but you get the moment that you look outside and see the snow fall outside, you run out and touch it this moment you experienced it. 

Try to look around today, observe all that you see and the beauty of Allah's creation. 

How to Better or Start Praying?

The Messenger of Allah (S) says,
“One who considers prayers light (insignificant) is not from us.” Another hadith mentions that such a person will not get the intercession of Ahl ul-Bayt (a.s.). 

So how do we better our state to either begin to pray or to better our namaaz?
One should realize that this act of namaaz was a command by Allah swt and therefore as a Muslim we should submit to His command. But doing this isn't always easy for everyone  this may be easy for sum while on the same hand a test for another. The more we learn about namaaz and its benifits to us we will come to realize its importance and will want to be doing it as perfect as we can.
So for those finding it hard to connect in namaaz and therefore finding ourselves not eager to pray we should first learn the meaning behind the words we are reciting so that way this would have an impact on our thoughts while we recite.  Don't feel overwhelmed when starting this processes as shaytan will be on the road trying to deteriorate you from achieving your goals and that is to worship Allah how He has asked us too, and to confirm this Quran says surah 7 ayat 16 "[Satan] said, "Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path."
So it shouldn't seem odd when we decide to try to go towards worshipping Allah we start to find the world tempting and hard. At this point we need to ask Allah for help and persistently push forward towards our goal and that is obidence to our Creator. 
Of course we could speak about this for along time, but let's start here and make our way to pleasing Allah swt in sha Allah.

Conforming to a Liberal way

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim 

Salaam alaykom respected readers,

Recently I was comforted with a lecture that got me thinking of how I see myself, and if I see myself as a Muslim, and if so what type of Muslim? The lecture went on to explain briefly what liberal Muslims stood for, and their side of the scope of being a Muslim.

In the past I've encountered several people calling themselves Liberal Muslim. If fact when I watched their behavior and the way they presented themselves, which obviously to those that aren't familiar with Islam one would think this is what Islam stood for. From no hijabs to partying like secular people, I had started seeing the unbelievable things being done. 

This got me thinking what is a Liberal as some said they believe in one way or Islam and another one said they believed in another way. However if we look at Quran, the book every Muslim adhered to as a book from Allah swt.  The ayat stands out quiet boldly
Surah 5 ayat 3
"..This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion."

And just to make it clearer another ayat
Surah 6 ayat 153
"This is my straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other paths, lest they scatter you from His Path. This He has enjoined upon you, that you keep from disobedience to Him in reverence for Him and piety to deserve His protection."

Now with just these two ayats I know that their is a straight path, and this straight path is the correct way Allah wants us to be on, this path is Islam. So with this throught in my mind I needed to find what exactly this path entailed. Was the liberal Islam the right and straight path or was it a path opposite to this?

First I want to give my observation on how I have seen Liberal Muslims that I have been in contact with. I believe the best detention for them and a simple one was they formed their thoughts and desires and moulded their ideas to say that this is Islam. For example they believe we should be more like others, to fit in and so others will see that we are similar to them. 

First this is the wrong way of thinking, to feel or believe you need to be like anyone else but what Allah has asked of you. So if we look at the example of hijab Allah has clearly asked us in Quran,

Surah 24 ayat 30-31
“Say to the believing men that: they should cast down their glances and guard their private parts (by being chaste). This is better for them.”

“Say to the believing women that: they should cast down their glances and guard their private parts (by being chaste) and not display their beauty except what is apparent, and they should place their khumur over their bosoms…"

Surah 33 ayat 59
"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful."

So forming any ideas other then this is opposing Allah's command on us. But that's not it for us as Shias. We have more then this, as we also have sayings from our Imams AS in which one needs to look at as we believe they continued to teach what the Prophet Muhammad SAWA taught, and these teaching reflected what Allah swt ask from us. We really do not have any right to say we know better. Certainly anyone with a sound mind can clearly understand Allah, the One who created us, knows us better than we know ourselves.

Surah 50 ayat 16
"And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein"

With this beautiful ayat I will end this blog with saying that our souls can whisper to do what we desire but we need to oppose this when its conflicting with what we can clearly see in Quran. We can not conform to all those around us, these differences stand out and many will find truth because of our differences, I for one was that person. Don't feel the need to be like those around you, you don't answer to them on the day of judgement. Their way is not always the right way, we need to be careful not to go with our low desires and end up displeasing Allah.

For just one moment I want you to think, if others see you like them is there any reason for them to even look into our religion and see what it is all about? I tell you from experience that no they will not. They will treat you like all others and look right past the Islamic path, which I already established was the correct religion.

And to end now I want to just make a small note, it is perfectly fine to respect everyone as a human beings as our beloved Imam Ali AS said "People are of two types: they are either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity."

I see you

I See You 
Written by Zaynab McCabe 

You don't know it but I see you. 

I see you wake up in the middle of the night to pray to Allah.
I see you silently whisper dhikr of Allah.

I see you take only three sips of your warm water,
I see you respect your mother and father.

I see you hold the tasbeeh in the dark night,
I see you tiered during the day as you mend everyone's right.

I see you leave your comfort of your home to meet with the poor,
I see you cry for ones that are oppressed and wish you could have done more.

I see you study whenever you can,
I see you when not many can.

I see you have to be criticized and verbally abused,
I see you turn to Allah and seek refuge.

I see you give the speeches day and night,
I see you mend a couples fight.

I see you translate another hadith to a knowledge seeker,
I see you watch tentatively to others while your not the speaker.

I see you, you are not alone.
I see you, your like a precious stone.

You don't know it but I see you!

Dedicated to all our respected scholars, may Allah swt bless you and grant you all a highest level of Jennah! AMEEN!

Imam Hussain's Mission, and What Lesson we Can Take From Karbala

May Allah double up our rewards on the account of our sorrow for imam Hussain AS
And may He include you and us with those who shall take revenge upon his killers with his blood clamier, Iman al mahdi, who belongs to the household of Muhammad SAWA

I Want us to reflect on these points I'm going to give, really reflect upon them while I'm going through them and afterwards, in fact please, this is my humble request, and  that is for us all to sit tonight and reflect upon these points and see if there is anything in our lives we can change so that we are more closer to Allah swt. Let us not go through these days and nights of muharram and pass them by with tears and lamenting for it to end there at the 40 day mark, if afterwards we have not changed ourselves even a little towards being closer to God we have not allowed Karbala and the event of Ashura, or that of which happened after, pierce our hearts. If we do not change we would have not only disappointed Imam Hussain, but what about Lady Fatima or Lady Zaynab and don't forget about lady Sukina.

The love we have for imam Hussain the tears we have shaded for Lady Zaynab SA, how her covering was snatched away from her, what excuse do we have not to obey Allah? What excuse do we have to not wear hijab? I know this may sound bold but these tears and the pain in our chest should produce love for Lady Zaynab SA and Imam Hussain AS, this love should produce actions, these action of what Lady Zaynab stood up for the actions to which Imam Hussain sacrificed himself for, truth my dear sister, what is this truth, this truth is obedience to Allah! Can you imagine only 48 years after the holy prophet SAWA had passed away those who claimed to be Muslims were trapping the caravan of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Rasoul- Allah. This is a very short time from the Prophets death to these tyrants tactics in slaughtering the grandson of imam Hussain. This stance of imam Hussain and his caravan is for us 1300 years later to know truth, not just the truth of Karbala which by the way was the critical role of women in Karbala, it was the woman that kept the message alive after by spreading the awareness of the tragedy that they had seen and was Subjected too.
We see the stance of Hussain before he even left medina when he said "The purpose of my stand is the reformation of my grandfather’s nation. I intend to enjoin goodness and forbid evil. I want to emulate my grandfather, the Holy Prophet (S)and my father Ali Bin Abu Talib (A). Whosoever accepts me by accepting the truth, then Allah is higher than the truth. And whosoever rejects me then I will bear patiently until Allah adjudges between me and them and He is the best Judge.”

By far one of the worst tragedies of Karbala came when the tyrants snatched the women's coverings from them, we mourn every year for Lady Zaynab as they dragged her through the hot dessert without her rights of covering, not only her right but a command by Allah in which these so called tyrants said they adhered to. Lady Zaynab knew the truth, that was obedience to Allah commands and yet someone snatched that away from her, what excuse do we have! Who snatched our coverings away? Maybe some of us wear beautiful hijab but what about everything else in our lives, can I say I'm mirroring the beautiful and pious Lady Zaynab or her mother Lady Fatima bint Muhammad SA?
So through this speech I've made we can clearly see very crucial points in this tragic event that we much reflect of in our lives and see if we are living like that to which imam Hussain AS and all his companions and family stood for on the plains of Karbala. We really do not have a right to cry Hussain but not be good shias everyday! We have the most perfect religion, let us be an example for all that this perfect religion has good and pious followers. Listening to the call of imam Hussain in which he cried out on the hot plains of Karbala "is there anyone else to help me?" Me to truly help Hussain in his mission and that was to hold firmly to Allah and the truth against the oppression we may face everyday and stand in the face of falsehood and reject it whole heartily! 
Lets put these reflecting into points  today, because if we do not reflect and change even just a little from now to next muharram we have not came running to Hussains call.

Point one truth will prevail over falsehood and that this truth is completely obeying Allah even if that's against ones desires. Don't think that mothers and wives that sent their men out for hussain did not love them, but it was that they sacrificed this love for a greater love and that was obeying Allah! I want to bring you to the event I recall from Karbala and that is when the mother of Wahab and his wife went to Karbala to defend Imam Hussain. This event he goes towards the army of yazid LA and fights courageously and dies on the plains of Karbala, the tyrants behead him and throw his severed head towards the mother,  the mother throws it back and says "What we have sacrificed for our Imam and for Islam we do not take back. I am sorry I have one son only. If I had twenty, they all would have fought Yazid today." I want to mention that this family that stood for truth that day was previously a Christian family but converted just before this event. This love they had for imam Husayn and the truth was shown through their actions that day when they sacrificed a lot, a mother lost her son and a new bride her husband. How much in our lives can we say we sacrificed for truth, for Allah, have we obeyed Allah, have we truly lived like those that stood for truth

Point two which I feel is not usually talked about when it comes to Karbala and that is knowledge. Karbala was the number one reason for us to be able to learn and seek knowledge about our religion. Around 70 to 80 years after Karbala the tyrant regime was overthrown due to the event of Karbala, then in this time, which was the time of imam Sadiq AS knowledge was able to flourish and grow, institute of learning happened, had this not happened we would not have been privileged to gain so much knowledge from these types of circles that happened. And this point I want us to reflect on if we have been truly grateful to this, how many of us learn any Islam studies, other learnings we get from school is good but what very important, and is more important is learning about our religion. 

Point three is rights, Karbala was a picture perfect event to teach us that we need to obey the right Allah has set forth on us, like the right of a teacher, rights of the parents, rights on ourselves and mainly right towards Allah swt. Let me take you to the event in Karbala where Imam Hussain spoke to the enemies, Imam Husayn offered to take one of three alternatives. He wanted no political power and no revenge. He said “I came to defend my own people. If I am too late, give me the choice of three alternatives: either to return to Mecca; or to face Yazid himself at Damascus; or if my very presence is distasteful to him and you, I do not wish to cause more divisions among the Muslims.

Let me at least go to a distant frontier, where, if fighting must be done, I will fight against the enemies of Islam.” Every one of these alternatives was refused. 
Here this story we can clearly see that imam Hussain was lowering what was rightfully his in order to keep peace between Muslims and to protect the right of other Muslims. 
However the enemies were no true to being followers of Prophet Muhammad SAWA as then trampled on imam Hussain rights through this tragic event and the rights of all those there. Imam Hussain stood for humanity, that people should have the right to practise their beliefs, the right to live and the rights of protection. 

Courage of the fighters and especially the women, and that of lady zaynab

1. Lady Zaynab courage to standing up and defending Imam Zain ul Abidien 
2. Lady Zaynabs courage towards her leadership through out the events of Ashura and as they marched them through the hot sands
3. Lady zaynabs speech toward the coward tyrant yazid, here I want to give you a simple yet mighty example of part of her speech,
"O Yazid! Allah and His Prophet have said that committing sins and considering the signs of Allah to be false is ridiculing them
"O Yazid! Do you think that we have become humble and despicable owing to the martyrdom of our people and our own captivity? As you have blocked all the paths for us, and we have been made captives and are being taken from one place to another, do you think that Allah has taken away his blessings from us? Do you think that by killing the godly persons you have become great and respectable and the Almighty looks at you with special grace and kindness?

For this reason and on account of this incorrect thinking you have become elated and arrogant. You have become boastful because you have seen that the matters have taken a turn in your favour. You have, however, forgotten what Allah says:

The disbelievers must not think that our respite is for their good We only give them time to let them increase their sins. For them there will be a humiliating torment." (Surah Ale Imran, 3: 178)"

Last point is Justice. 

Hussain rose for justice by not submitting to paying allegiance to an oppressor like yazid. Here we need to remember that in life excpecially now a days we see so much oppression in life, we see Kashmir,  Palatine, bahrain and many like these place being oppressed and sadly being sometimes forgotten. We need to stand up for these oppressed people and speak out or do whatever we can for them. 

Here I wish to end the speech by on last thought and that is as we see Karbala was a sad event in which on the outwardness, we see the greatest people being killed and rights taken away however as you see through our reflections today in sha Allah the spirtual side was justice, courage,  loyalty and obidence to Allah this is what Sayyida Zainab meant when he said she saw nothing but beauty!

Unity in Isalm

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّـهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا ۚ وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

Hold fast, all together, to Allah’s cord, and do not be divided [into sects]. And remember Allah’s blessing upon you when you were enemies, then He brought your hearts together, so you became brothers with His blessing. And you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, whereat He saved you from it. Thus does Allah clarify His signs for you so that you may be guided. (3:103)

Allamah Tabataba’i writes in this regard:

“Holding fast to Allah” is holding fast to the verses of Allah and His Messenger (i.e., the Qur’an and the Sunnah), in which guidance has been guaranteed. Holding fast to the Messenger of Allah is, in reality, holding fast to the Qur’an; they both stem from one source. The reason for this is that Allah, in the Qur’an, orders us to obey the Prophet (s). Fundamentally, obeying Allah cannot be achieved, except through His Messenger.”

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ ۚ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

Do not be like those who became divided [into sects] and differed after manifest signs had come to them. For such there will be a great punishment. (3:105)

The Prophet stated that Muslim unity causes goodness and mercy while division is the factor behind destruction and punishment. He stated: “Congregating is good (a mercy) while division is torment.”

أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ 

وَمَا تَفَرَّقُوا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ

… Maintain the religion, and do not be divided in it…They did not divide [into sects] except after the knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves. (42:13-14)

Allamah Tabataba’i says: “Allah did not condemn division or differences in the Qur’an unless they were accompanied by carnal desires and opposition to rational guidance.”

 The Holy Prophet sawa said “Be with the community and beware of division,” “Do not cause division for those before you who caused division perished,” “Do not cause division or your hearts will become divided,” and “Whoever divided into sects before you perished.”

Again the Holy Prophet sawa  says “Believers are brothers: their blood is mutual. They are like one hand against those who are opposed to them.”

وَأَنَّ هَـٰذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

‘This indeed is my straight path, so follow it, and do not follow [other] ways, for they will separate you from His way. This is what He enjoins upon you so that you may be Godwary.’ (6:153)

مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا ۖ كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ

Of those who split up their religion and became sects: each faction exulting in what it possessed (30:32)

Qur’an affirms that one will not be punished for his mistakes and for what he committed out of forgetfulness, an enormous amount of attention has been paid to those who cause division intentionally (ta’ammud) and out of rebelliousness (bagha). Such actions are not to be tolerated in this world and have severe consequences in the next. 

وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ فَإِن بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَىٰ فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّىٰ تَفِيءَ إِلَىٰ أَمْرِ اللَّـهِ ۚ

If two groups of the faithful fight one another, make peace between them. But if one party of them aggresses against the other, fight the one which aggresses until it returns to Allah’s ordinance ... (49:9)

The Prophet (s) considered the following to be one of the signs and traits of a Muslim:

“A Muslim is a person who makes other Muslims feel safe from his speech and hands.”

وَأَنَّ هَـٰذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

‘This indeed is my [i.e., the Prophet’s] straight path, so follow it, and do not follow [other] ways, for they will separate you from His way. This is what He enjoins upon you so that you may be Godwary.’ (6:153)

the ‘straight path’ is the path in which there is no division.

For You (Imam Mahdi)

Alone I sit waiting for you.
I remove my veil, it was ment for you.

I'm here waiting trying to stay strong,
The dunya I wish to divorce its wretched face so prolonged.

Where are you oh awaited one,
I wish I could be with you oh our dear Askari's son.

How blessed is the dirt that is the path you walk,
How blessed is the one who gets to hear your talk.

Interced for this poor soul,
Who's wish is to meet you but this hardship has taken its toll.

Alone I sit waiting for you.
I remove my veil, it was ment for you.

Bismillah

Salaam alaykom,
This will be a short blog but it is filled with much to reflect in sha Allah!

When we invoke Allah with the word Bislimllah we are asking only Him to help us and seeking His protection. We also gain a sense of confidence which helps us through the task we are about to perform. Starting off using Bismillah makes our intentions and the essence of the actions pure. The task that we are performing becomes blessed through these words and Allah has said “it is incumbent upon Me that I should complete his works for him”
When we start off by using Bismillah we humble ourselves and show acknowledgment that we are helpless without Him and that we need Him only to complete any task.
Saying Bismillah is not done with just the tongue, it must be done with the heart. We must truly understand the true depth of these words and feel it when we are invoking Allah with Bismillah. Through true remembrance of Allah when using bismillah we can gain virtuous and rid ourselves from vices and reach ultimate happiness which is nearness to our One and Only Beloved.

The Beautiful Life of Bilal

Salaam alaykom respected readers,
As a convert you would have thought I gave the attention to the story of Bilal ibn Rabah, however it really didn't hit me as a story to read or reflect on until recently. I went to go on my search to find his story and found that it was hard to find any shia sources on his life.
I came to realise that Bilal's story was not just a convert story but it was a story of beauty, strength, obedience and a love for Allah we all pray we have one day. Bilal's story has not been realised by many of us, in fact his amazing journey is not just for converts, those of different race but it is a story for us all!
Bilal was tortured by his “master” so bad that he even had heavy bolder put on him, but Bilal refused to say that there was other Gods. He repeated that statement over and over that there is only One God. He was eventually saved by our Holy Prophet when he sent someone to buy him. After this Bilal was given freedom and was only a slave to Allah. How beautiful is this part of his life. He gave up all the religions around him for the true religion and endured so much physical pain but only had his spiritual become stronger through it, SubhanAllah!
Bilal was appointed by our Holy Prophet sawa to do the job of a  muezzim which is the one that calls people to prayer, this was a beautiful spiritual journey to call all to prayer as his nearness to Allah was becoming stronger and stronger by doing what Allah wanted from all of us. He obeyed Allah by obeying the Holy Prophet sawa. The most important part I believe in his life was that after the Holy Prophet sawa passed away.

Bilal did not give bay'ah to Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab grabbed Bilal by his clothes and said,

Is this the reward of Abu Bakr; he emancipated you and you are now refusing to pay allegiance to him?

To which Bilal replied,

If Abu Bakr had emancipated me for the pleasure of Allah, then let him leave me alone for Allah; and if he had emancipated me for his service, then I am ready to render him the services required. But I am not going to pay allegiance to a person whom the Messenger of God had not appointed as his caliph.
(Source Riz̤vī, Sayyid Sa'eed Ak̲h̲tar. Slavery: From Islamic & Christian Perspectives. Richmond, British Columbia: Vancouver Islamic Educational Foundation, 1988. Print. ISBN 0-920675-07-7 Pg. 35-36)

Similarly, al-Isti'ab, a Sunni source, states that Bilal told Abu Bakr:

If you have emancipated me for yourself, then make me a captive again; but if you had emancipated me for Allah, then let me go in the way of Allah.

This was said when Bilal wanted to go for Jihad. Abu Bakr then let him go."
(Source: ibd wa Abdullah, Ysuf. al-Isti'ab. Print. Pg.150)

Being exiled from Medina by Umar and Abu Bakr, Bilal migrated to Syria.

I say this might be the most important part in his life because right now we can all relate to this time. A time where we must stand strong like Bilal, stand firm in obedience to Allah, obedience to our holy Prophet sawa, obedience to our imam of our time (Allah hasten his reappearance). We need to really look at ourselves and ask ourselves have we given our life like amazing people like Bilal? Have we been given the boulder of life and refused to submit to the wrong path? Have we been exile from the land to be obedient to Allah?

May Allah swt grant us strong and firm faith to be obedient and to be strong in our faith, to follow the right way and to be granted a nearness to Allah like that of great personalities like Bilal. Ameen.

Tell the Believing Woman to Lower Their Gaze

"Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do." Quran 24:30

"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed."  Quran 24:31

Salaam alaykom respected readers,

I am sure we have all heard these ayats before. Today I am wanting to emphasize on both men and woman lowering their gaze and guarding themselves against indecent actions. It is easy for us to read Quran but to really read it is to reflect. When we are out in this society where looking is seen as normal behaviour even if some dislikes it no one stops it and not many try to prevent it. Actually it is seen as the lookers fault completly even if one is not dressing right and has prevoked such indecent looks. Many of my readers may even say that they don't have bad intentions when looking at non mahram however it is so emphasized in Islam to lower the gaze and guard our private parts. So the question arises why? Well in a world where desires are handed out for all to lust over we need to really reflect on our own actions. First how to prevent indecent looks at ourselves. We should first see what we are wearing, are we covered properly or has bad thoughts entered our minds on dressing to impress! If we are not doing our part to help others not fall into sin then we should certainly take the first step in covering properly. Hijab has been discussed a lot so you can look into your marjas answers to hijab requirements. Secondly we should see if we are lowering our eyes from non mahram. Even if we don't have bad intentions we should still reduce our eyes as the look can penetrate and cause harm for either side spiritually. 

Imam Ali AS said "the eye is the Spy of the heart and the messenger of the intellect."

Thirdly we should not be in mixed gatherings and should segregate ourselves from non mahram. 

The Holy Prophet sawa said "segregate men from women, provider confronting each other, frequenting with one another, the society will be afflicted with a cureless pain."

We can not be friends with the opposite gender. We use terms in Islam like "my sister" and "my brother" to show a unity in a religious community that we are all one in belief and are to stay united with eachother. It is not a phrase to make you feel like your brother and sister are like real ones... this is a bad culture that started this by having non mahrams call eachother brother and sister and act as though they are your real ones by hugging and mingling. This is a trick from Shaytan and we need to be on guard for such thoughts. 

The Holy Prophet sawa said "a needle striking with full force on your head is better than touching a woman who is not mahram to you."

We should always be on guard for shaytan can whisper to us and this faculty is strong in us to be with opposite gender for obvious reasons (having children and giving marital rights properly) but we need to be careful we dont fall into sins with this desire being so strong. Many people have been destroyed because they did not regulate this power of the soul correctly. May Allah swt protect us all from falling into the traps of shaytan. May He help us to gain a firm virtue in chasity and be strong in our faith in obedience to Him. Ameen!

Halloween shia islam

https://youtu.be/aSezp_d6Z_w

Woman in Islam (Islamic Feminist) part 1

Salaam alaykom,

So this blog I hope to send out to make a global wide movement on empowering Islamic Woman and their rights but right of others too. I have been reading a lot on the femisistic movement for woman which started along time ago in fact many may not realize that we are now in the 3rd wave of this movement which is to make all genders equal... however I beg to differ on this quote so easy said as I think this movement is for woman and not men and with research and thought you can clearly see the woman activist for this movement have an idea of women over men... so "equal" slogans are hard to swallow when it seems to be something else. Anyways that you readers can look into with a unbiased opinion and see for yourself what this means really, I'm sure you will be shocked if you are not bought into this and come with open mind and Islamic education. 

So what makes my movement different from the other Islamic woman movements which are out there and not surprising but sad is that some are using these movements in our holy women's names :(
I am 100% behind any woman's choice when it doesn't cross the lines of an unislamic stance. Shouting "woman equal to men" seems to be used so many times, equal to man in physical, mental, and emotional seems a little to far from the truth. Can woman really be fully "equal"? Does "equal" in the feminist way really exist? My answer no and in some way yes!
Now don't jump at me and hear me out with an open mind.
So does Islam have this idea of equality? Yes, when it come to our abilities to reach perfection.

فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَىٰ ۖ بَعْضُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ ۖ فَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا وَأُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ وَأُوذُوا فِي سَبِيلِي وَقَاتَلُوا وَقُتِلُوا لَأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ثَوَابًا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حُسْنُ الثَّوَابِ {195}

[Shakir 3:195] So their Lord accepted their prayer: That I will not waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female, the one of you being from the other; they, therefore, who fled and were turned out of their homes and persecuted in My way and who fought and were slain, I will most certainly cover their evil deeds, and I will most certainly make them enter gardens beneath which rivers flow; a reward from Allah, and with Allah is yet better reward.

"If any do deeds of righteousness be they male or female and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them. (The Noble Quran, 4:124)"

"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other.  Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.  And Allah has full knowledge and is well-acquainted.  (The Noble Quran, 49:13)"

So you can clearly see Allah says both man and woman are equal when it comes to two things, one religious perfection and two being that both are humans. 

Now what about this so called "equal" in other things such as strength and emotions? Are we created differently? Certainly! Allah created us with different abilities so to say we are equal in all this is just not correct. 

الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ وَبِمَا أَنْفَقُوا مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ ۚ فَالصَّالِحَاتُ قَانِتَاتٌ حَافِظَاتٌ لِلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَاللَّاتِي تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا كَبِيرًا {34}

[Shakir 4:34] Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.

This does not mean woman are less than the man, certainly not. If both men and woman did their duties and kept their rights Allah gave them then this would complement each other and would be able to highlight what are abilities are. Different doesn't mean bad. This is the idea many want you to think, but this is not true!

Example: A man can not physically carry a child in his belly and push it out with immense pain, it is obvious to you that it's not how the man is created. This doesn't mean he's less than the woman. "To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female children to whomever He wills and bestows male children to whomever He wills.    (The Noble Quran, 42:49)"

There are many examples but I am sure you can think of these yourself. 

Now what about education? And choosing your spouse? Does Islam say woman have rights to these things? 

﴿قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ‌ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُواْ ٱلْأَلْبَــــٰـــبِ﴾

Say: ‘Can those who have knowledge and those who do not be alike?’ So only the wise do receive the admonition. [al-Zumar, 39:9.]

﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى ٱللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ٱلْعُلَمَــــٰۤـــؤُاْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ﴾

So only those of His servants who have knowledge (of these realities with a vision and outlook) fear Him. Surely, Allah is Almighty, Most Forgiving. [Fatir, 35:28.]

Clear as day again for those wanting to read and gain knowledge. Woman are among those to get educated!! I highly emphasis this part and recommend that every muslim women get up and please go get your Islamic knowledge even if it be your wajabat! I am a huge advocate to woman learning Islamic sciences. 

So does woman have right to accept or decline a husband? Yes!! Woman certainly do. A beautiful story of Imam Ali (as) called on Prophet Muhammad (sawa), and said: “O Messenger of God, you have brought me up as your own child. You have overwhelmed me with your gifts, your generosity and your kindness. I owe you everything in my life. Now I seek one more kindness from you.”

The Apostle understood what Ali (AS) was trying to say. His face lighted up in a broad smile, and he bade Ali (AS)to wait for a few moments until he obtained his daughter's answer. He entered the house, told Fatima (SA) that Ali (AS) was asking for her hand in marriage, and asked her what was her response. She kept quiet. He interpreted her silence as her assent, returned to Ali(AS), informed him that his proposal was accepted, and told him to make preparations for the wedding.

It is sunnah to ask the woman if she accepts the proposal or not. 

So with all this you can see that there is a difference in he feministic movement to woman and men rights in Islamic perspective. Please do read the link below to get all rights in Islam. 

https://www.al-islam.org/treatise-rights-risalat-al-huquq-imam-zain-ul-abideen

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Struggle in Todays Society

Salaam alaykom respected readers,

It has been a little while since I had a moment to post. A thought has been occupying my mind these days. I have recently moved to a city and came out of my hole of being a hermit, alone with my family, secluded in a rural area. It is no joke that this was certainly a culture shock when I moved back. I'm sure many of you have experienced this before at some degree or another, however if you haven't, this feeling is quiet hard to overcome. I'm very thankful that in my time of seclusion I studied a lot and still do which helps me be very firm in my faith! But I can't help but wonder how many of us weren't and some aren't educated enough... in fact prior to my seclusion I too use to live in this very city and was not educated, so the society alone was eating up my beliefs and taking my obedience to Allah away.

I haven't come here to call you down in fact I'm coming to you as I have been there before! I have been to my lowest times in my spirtual growth. To be totally open with you when I look back on pictures my heart hurts and I cant help but wonder why I choose that before. It wasn't until recently I realize what it was. I realized I had given into my desires for this world and traded my faith and hereafter for this world. Today after coming back to the area I once had been but as a different person and having a different purpose in life I have seen my dearest sisters and brothers struggling in this society between the world and the hereafter.

So my advise as small as it might be and how crazy it may seem especially to those who think they may already know the basic of Islam is get out and educate yourself! You can take online diploma for Islamic knowledge, I am a huge advocate that the more you learn about Allah, our Prophets, Imams and woman of Islamic history the more you will love them and become nearer to Allah and the more you will understand what Allah wants of you!

So take the steps even if it is 10 minutes a day to learn something, to get you closer to Allah swt. We all need to start somewhere, but if you never start you will lose yourself to this world.