Ponder…..
…told: ‘Say, I believe in Allah; then keep to the straight path,’ Another asked what are the essentials of a pious life. ‘Speak no evil of anyone!’ was the answer. Asked about the nature of evil the Prophet replied: ‘Do not ask me about evil, but ask me about good;’ and when he was asked what actions were most pleasing to God he said: ‘Prayer at its proper time….kindness to parents….and holy combat in God’s path.’ A man asked how he could honour his dead mother and was advised: ‘Through water. Dig a well in her name and give water to the thirsty.’ To others he said: ‘You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another….’ And he warned a man, ‘Do not consider any act of kindness insignificant,’ adding, ‘even meeting your Muslim brother with a cheerful face!’ In the same vein he said: ‘If anyone removes one of the anxieties of this world from a believer, Allah will remove one of the anxieties of the Day of Resurrection from him…’
From Gai Eaton. Islam and the Destiny of Man.
When the earth is shaken by a mighty shaking, and the earth yields up her burdens, and man cries out: "What ails her?" On that Day she will tell her tales, as Your Lord will have inspired her. On that Day mankind will issue, separately, to be shown their deeds. Whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it then, and whoever has done an atom’s weight of ill will see it then. (99:1-8)
Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wassalam said, "Avail yourself of five things before five: Your youth before your old-age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your occupation and your life before your death."
Insha’Allah, ponder over adding some of the following, as taught by our Beloved Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wassalam, to your "free" time making the "atom’s weight" in the balance heavier.
Salawaat wa Salam ‘ala Sayyidina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wassalam
Salatul Duha
Salatul Shukr
Salatul Hajjah
Salatul Tahajjud
Salatul Awaabin
Salatul Tasbih
Saltul Tawbah
Tahayittul Wudhu Salaat
Tahayittul Masjid Salaat.
Fasting: Day of Arafat, Ashurah, many days of Sha’ban, the white days of every month, Monday and Thursday, 6 days of Shawwal,
Giving charity to the poor
Increasing your daily dhikr
Offering Fardh prayers in the Masjid
Feeding a fasting person at Iftar time
Being a good neighbor
Wearing the Sunnah clothing
Looking, contemplating the Ka’bah and Masjid Nabawi As-Shareef, even if a photograph.
Perfecting your Wudhu.
Reading Qur’an
Giving Daw’ah
Building a Mosque
Helping the elderly
Adopt, foster an orphan
Give a Qur’an as a legacy
Teach young Muslims the pillars of Islam.
Adopting more of the Sunnah into your house
Praying for the Ummah.
Sharing gifts.
Attending Islamic lectures, seminars, listening to audios of the same.
According to Shaykh Ahmad Tijani, as stated in "Jawahir al-Ma’ani", where he explains the best form of Nafila: ‘As for he who perseveres in the prayer on the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, even if he is attributed all the faults committed by all the inhabitants of the earth, while adding to them without end, from the creation of the world until its ending, Allah—may He be praised and exalted—will forgive him these faults in the ocean of His forgiveness and grace, Fadhl.’
Note: the footnote 2 from the text above reads, "Among the people of Medina was aparticularly ugly little man called Zahir. The prophet was fond of him, and seeing him in the market, came up behind him and slipped his arms round his waist. Turning is surprise, Zahir shouted, ‘Who’s this?’ and then, seeing who it was, leaned back against the prophet’s chest. The Prophet called out: ‘Who will buy this slave from me?’ ‘Alas,’ said Zahir, ‘you will find me worthless goods, I swear by Allah.’ ‘But in the sight of Allah you are by no means worthless,’ said the Prophet."
Insha’Allah, please add more as a comment for the benefit of us all.
And….a ponderabale of a different "flavour"
Brother Irving writes:
I have been a poet, writer and editor for many years, and a darvish of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order since 1992. I am also the author of the book Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel, a mystical adventure tale on the Sufi path of Love.
You can view the book and read reviews and an excerpt at: http://www.masterofthejinn.com
In the Name of the Most Merciful, 10% of all profit goes to charity.
The following link enables you to receive the entire book as a pdf file. Read of this generous offer from "DARVISH" here.
All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen.
Assalamu alaikum,
The Messenger of Allah S.A.W said”Whenever kindness is added to something,it adorns it; and whenever it is withdrawn from something,it leaves it defective”
We can add gentleness to anything and everything we do and thereby beautify our deeds manifold.
Brother Irvings book looks so interesting,I’m looking forward to reading it and also wondering if it would be appropriate for young teenage Muslims.
Wassalam Umm Yusuf,
PS Jazakallah for this post !
Comment by umm yusuf — February 4, 2007 @ 12:44 am
The Messenger of Allah S.W.T said”Whenever kindness is added to something,it adorns it; and whenever it is withdrawn from something, it leaves it defective,”
Wassalam, umm yusuf and Jazakallah for this post
Comment by umm yusuf — February 4, 2007 @ 12:51 am
And…. I wanted to add that when gentleness is added to our deeds it beautifies them manifold times and Inshallah by the grace of Allah therby earns us more reward in Jannah as well as the obvious and immediate benefits reaped in this world.Had a look at Brother Irvings book,would love to get hold of a copy and am wondering if it would be appropriate for teenage Muslims.
Wassalam,
Umm Yusuf
Comment by umm yusuf — February 4, 2007 @ 12:58 am
And… I wanted to add that if we adorn our deeds with gentleness then they, inshallah ,are beautified manifold times and the benefits are immediately felt in this Dunya as well as being written for us in Jannah as rewards.
Comment by umm yusuf — February 4, 2007 @ 1:10 am
Allah’s Messenger S.A.W said,” Allah will be happy with his slave who praises Him when he eats and praises Him when he drinks.”
Allahu Akbar !!! Allah S.W.T is so kind ! Oh Allah ,Help us all to do what is right and most pleasing to You .Ameen.
Comment by umm yusuf — February 4, 2007 @ 1:20 am
Apologies for all of the above REPETITION !!! don’t quite know what was going on when trying to submit my comments!
Wassalam.
Comment by umm yusuf — February 4, 2007 @ 5:53 am
Assalamu alaikum,
LOL!!!!!!!! Could delete some of your words, but feel such repetition is an appropriate “message” for us all! JazakiLlahu khairan for all your reminders. Insha’Allah Brother Irving could advise about his book, or others stopping by here who have read Master of the Jinn. I am yet to read it, Insha’Allah soon. May we all take time to work on adding kindness/gentleness to all of our Amal. To truly walk the path established by our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wassalam,
Wassalamu alaikum
almiskeenah
Comment by almiskeenah — February 4, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
SubhanALLAH, what beautiful words to make any heart melt with love for Habibullah. May we all try harder to bring in to our everyday lives the character of Prophet Mohammed SAW whether it is a smile, a kind word or good actions, ameen.
Jazakhallah dear Ukhti for sharing
Wa’salaam
farhanah
Comment by Farhanah — February 4, 2007 @ 11:04 pm
Alahmdulillah! Such beautiful words and comments make me weep with love and joy. Please also read the new post on the Darvish blog on the Sufi path of Intention at:
http://darvish.wordpress.com
Ya Haqq!
Comment by Irving — February 5, 2007 @ 7:49 am
Assalamualaikum sister. Jazakalahi Khair for such a wonderful post. Our honourable mother Aisha radiallahu anha was once asked about the lifestyle at home of our beloved Rasul salallahualaihiwasalam. The gist of her answer was that he salallahualaihiwasalam would tend to all of his needs personally eg. mending his clothes. Keeping this in mind and making the intention of acting on this sunnah of our beloved Rasul salallahualaihiwasalam when we go about our daily activities of taking care of what we need, will Inshallah become a means of us continually coming closer to our Raab aza wa jal, through the emulation of His habib salallahualaihiwasalam. How giving is He Subhanallah!
Comment by ikramuddin — February 5, 2007 @ 9:23 am
While we revel in our postures about ourselves, the Companions enjoyed the emulation of Rasulullah salla Allah alaihi wasallam. The true lover of Rasulullah spreads the perfumed fragrance of Jannah into this world. This was exactly the Companion’s life. All those who followed the same path enjoyed that intense fragrance in their own lives as well. All the roads lead to Allah Ta’ala. All these roads are blocked at the end, from reaching to Allah, except the one marked Mohammad salla Allah alaihi wasallam. Reaching to Allah Ta’ala is the ultimate goal of all humans. Recognizing Rasulullah salla Allah alaihi wasallam is the only path accepted by Allah Ta’ala. Despite his relatively short life, his way of life never died with him. It is the lantern ever guiding humans to Hidaya. Bring his way of life into your life, and you will get to know Him without barriers. The main barrier is our own Nafs, when rejecting any aspect of his way of life for whatever reason; logic or illogic. Abu Bakr Radiya Allah anhu said “If my foot steps over my Nafs, the other foot will be able to leap into Janna”.
Comment by nq — February 5, 2007 @ 11:56 am
Assalamu alaikum,
Such beautiful poignant sentiments by all. How honoured we all are to be of the Ummah of Allah Ta’ala’s most favoured one SallAllahu alaihi wassalam. How blessed we are to be able to share such words of love with each other across mountains and oceans, reminding each other of the important aspects of our glorious Deen. Reminding each other that Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wassalam was sent as a mercy for mankind, with the only path to tread being the way of our Beloved Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wassalam. SubhanAllah! Yes, how giving is He! Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. May we return His favours by following His favoured, continuing to share such tears of love and joy and hope and seeking forgiveness. And to act upon such reminders about the importance of sincerity and intention as mentioned in Brother Irving’s post, with the will to make more effort on ourselves as said by Ukht Farhanah and nq. Ameen. May Allah Ta’ala bless us all and shower the entire Ummah with His Hidayah. Ameen.
Wassalamu alaikum,
almiskeenah
Comment by almiskeenah — February 5, 2007 @ 10:23 pm