15 August, 2011

You Can Be The Happiest Woman


With your beauty, you are better than the sun; with your morals you are more sublime than musk; with your modesty you are nobler than the full moon; with your compassion you a more beneficial than rain. So, preserve your beauty with faith, your tranquility with contentment, your chastity with hijab.

Remember that your adornment is not gold, silver or diamond, rather, it is two rak'ahs at Fajr going thirsty when you fast for Allah, concealed charity which no one knows except Him, hot tears that wash away sin, a lengthy prostration born of utter submission to Allah, shyness before Allah when the inclination to do evil overwhelms you.

Clothe yourself with the garments of taqwa (piety) for you are the most beautiful woman in the world, even if your clothes are shabby. Clothe yourself with cloak of modesty, for you are the most beautiful woman in the world even if you are barefoot.

Beware of the life bewitching immoral disbelieving women, for they are the fuel of the fire of Hell.

O' sincere Muslim, O' believing woman who constantly turns to Allah, the Exalted, be like the palm tree and rise above evil and harm; if a stone is thrown at the palm tree, it lets its fruit drop (and does not retaliate). It remains green summer and winter, and gives many benefits. Do not lower yourself to the level of trivial matters, and rise above all that may damage your modesty and honour.

A man had an argument with his wife and said, "I am going to make your life miserable." The wife calmly replied, "You cannot do that." He said, "Why not?" She said: "If happiness were to be found in money or jewellery, you could deprive me of it and take it away from me, but it is nothing over which you or any other person has control. I find happiness in my faith, and my faith is in my heart, and no one has power over it except my Lord."

The One Who created happiness is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful, so how can you seek happiness from anyone other than Him? If people had control over happiness, there would be no deprived or grieving person left on earth.

Excerpts From: You Can Be the Happiest Woman in the World!
By Sheikh 'A'id al Qarni

Ten Useless Matters According to Imam Ibn-ul-Qayyim


1- Knowledge that is not acted on.
2- The deed that has neither sincerity nor is based on following the righteous examples of others.
3- Money that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life nor obtains any reward for it in the Hereafter.
4- The heart that is empty of love and longing for Allah SWT, and of seeking closeness to Him.
5- A body that does not obey and serve Allah SWT.
6- Loving Allah SWT without following His orders or seeking His pleasure.
7- Time that is not spent in expiating sins or seizing opportunities to do good.
8- A mind that thinks about useless matters.
9- Serving those who do not bring you close to Allah, nor benefit you in your life.
10- Hoping & fearing whoever is under the authority of Allah SWT & in His hand; while he cannot bring any benefit or harm to himself, nor death, nor life; nor can he resurrect himself.

Wasting the heart is done by preferring this worldly life over the Hereafter, and wasting time is done by having incessant hope. Destruction occurs by following one’s desires & having incessant hope while all goodness is found in following the right path & preparing oneself to meet Allah SWT.

How strange it is that when a servant of Allah has a [worldly] problem, he seeks help of Allah SWT but he never asks Allah to cure his heart before it dies of ignorance, neglect, fulfilling one’s desires & being involved in innovations. Indeed, when the heart dies, he will never feel the significance or impact of his sins.

12 August, 2011

May Allah Choose What Is Best For You


A Mother’s Advice To Her Daughter For Marriage.

Indeed, the advice that is about to follow is beautiful and shows the superiority of the salaf (earlier generations of Islam) over the khalaf (later generations). It also shows, and Allah knows best, how the Salaf had deep knowledge of the religion of Allah and acted upon that knowledge. And indeed, they would not learn anything from the religion of Allah except that they would not move on unless they had acted upon it. As for us, then we do everything except acting upon the knowledge that we have. So may Allah rectify our situation and make us follow the salaf in truth and reality.

It would not be far from the truth to say that these words deserve to be inscribed in golden ink.

‘Abd al-Malik (RA) said: “When ‘Awf ibn Muhallim al-Shaybani, one of the most highly respected leaders of the Arab nobility during the jahiliyyah, married his daughter Umm Iyas to al-Harith ibn ‘Amr al-Kindi, she was made ready to be taken to the groom, then her mother, Umamah came into her, to advise her and said:

‘O my daughter, if it were deemed unnecessary to give you this advice because of good manners and noble descent, then it would have been unnecessary for you, because you posses these qualities, but it will serve as a reminder to those who are forgetful, and will help those who are wise.

‘O my daughter, if a woman were able to do without a husband by virtue of her father’s wealth and her need for her father, then you of all people would be most able to do without a husband, but women were created for men just as men were created for them.

‘O my daughter, you are about to leave the home in which you grew up, where you first learned to walk, to go to a place you do not know, to a companion to whom you are unfamiliar. By marrying you, he has become a master over you, so be like a servant to him, and he will become like a servant to you.

‘Take from me ten qualities, which will be a provision and a reminder for you.

‘The first and second of them are: be content in his company, and listen to and obey him, for contentment brings peace of mind, and listening to and obeying one’s husband pleases Allah.

‘The third and fourth of them are: make sure that you smell good and look good; he should not see anything ugly in you, and he should not smell anything but a pleasant smell from you. Kohl is the best kind of beautification to be found, and water is better than the rarest perfume.

‘The fifth and sixth of them are: prepare his food on time, and keep quiet when he is asleep, for raging hunger is like a burning flame, and disturbing his sleep will make him angry.

‘The seventh and eighth of them are: take care of his servants (or employees) and children, and take care of his wealth, for taking care of his wealth shows that you appreciate him, and taking care of his children and servants shows good management.

‘The ninth and tenth of them are: never disclose any of his secrets, and never disobey any of his orders, for if you disclose any of his secrets you will never feel safe from his possible betrayal, and if you disobey him, his heart will be filled with hatred towards you.

‘Be careful, O my daughter, of showing joy in front of him when he is upset, and do not show sorrow in front of him when he is happy, because the former shows a lack of judgment whilst the latter will make him unhappy.

‘Show him as much honor and respect as you can, and agree with him as much as you can, so that he will enjoy your companionship and conversation.

‘Know, O my daughter, that you will not achieve what you would like to until you put his pleasure before your own, and his wishes before yours, in whatever you like and dislike. And may Allah choose what is best for you and protect you.”

Jamharah Khutah al-‘Arab, 1/145