All for Education, Education for All

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) , Explanation of the Hadith On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When any one of you sees anything that is disapproved (of by Allah), let him change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his heart, though that is the weakest (kind of) faith." [Muslim] Background The essence of the Islamic Dawah is enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, since whenever a person conveys the Message, he is enjoining good and forbidding evil. Therefore, it is a mistake to consider these two as separate matters, since they are actually performed concurrently and are synonymous. The main objective in fulfilling this obligation is to attain and maximize benefits, and to eliminate or minimize harm. Qualities possessed by a Caller who e...

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you), Tests and trials contain many lessons. The first lesson From the benefit of tests and trials is the influence it has on one's Tawhid (worship of Allah), Iman (faith) and Tawakkul - reliance upon Allah. It makes you examine the reality that man is a weak creation without any power or strength, except in your Lord. Therefore you resort to Him and depend on Him. Thereupon arrogance, false pride and negligence will be removed and you will come to know that you are really poor and in need of your Creator, the Almighty, the Most Perfect, and so you resort to Him. The second lesson Tests unravel the reality of this life. It is clarified to be a temporal stay for enjoyment, and the perfect life is the one which follows, wherein there is no toil, worry, fatigue or disease. Allah stated this in Surah al-Ankabut, verse 64. And this life of the world is only amusement and play! Verily, the home of the Hereafter - that is the life indeed (i.e. the eternal ...

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) , Loving for the sake of Allah Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi Many Hadith describe the status of two people who love one another for the sake of Allah and describe the high position in Paradise which He has promised them and the great honour which He will bestow upon them on the Day when mankind is resurrected to meet the Rabb of the Worlds: Among them is the Hadith which describes the seven whom Allah will shade on the Day when there is no shade but His: "...a just leader; a youth who grows up worshipping Allah; a man who is deeply attached to the mosque; two men who love one another for the sake of Allah meeting for His sake and parting for His sake; a man who is called by a beautiful woman and says, I fear Allah; a man who gives charity in secret such that his left hand does not know what his right hand is doing; and a man who remembers Allah when he is alone and his eyes fill with tears." [Bukhari and Muslim] The two who love one a...

The Deen (Religion) of Islam Sheikh Muhammad Salih Ibn al-Uthaymeen Sharh Usul Al-Iman (pages 4-7) The Deen (religion) of Islam: It is the way of life that Allah sent the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him with. By it, Allah terminated the validity of all other religions, perfected this religion for His worshippers, completed His favor upon them and has chosen only this religion for them - no other religion will be accepted by Him from anyone. Allah - the Most High - said: "Muhammad is not the father of any man amongst you. Rather he is the Messenger of Allah and the Khatam (last and final) of the Prophets." [Noble Quran 33:40]. "This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." [Noble Quran 5:3] "Indeed the religion with Allah is Islam." [Noble Quran 3:19] "Whosoever seeks a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will...

[This article is adapted from his Book "Criterion between the Allies of Allah and the allies of the Devil"] From As-Sunnah Bimonthly Islamic Newsletter The word 'Awlia' singular 'Wali' comes from the root word of Wilayah. Wilayah is the opposite of enmity (Adawah). The Wali is therefore the one who is close. Allah has explained in His Book, and in the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that He has Awlia among the people and that Shaytan also has his Awlia. The Quran mentions the allies of Allah. "Indeed there is no fear upon the Awlia of Allah...

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) , SETTING PRIORITIES We often feel like we want to do so much to please ALLAH but end up getting nothing done. So here is a much needed Reminder on this matter: One problem many of us face is that we want to do so much at once, and thus become overwhelmed in our thoughts trying to establish exactly what we should be doing and what our obligations are at a given point in time. This leads us to focus on what we can't accomplish more so than what we can accomplish. This can be well and good, and as Ibn al-Jawzi said, a person can be rewarded for his intentions more than for his actions. However, the point of intending is to be productive and extract something physical from that intention. Part of being productive is to have a methodical approach as to when to focus on what. For example, if your worship and intentions for specific efforts are organized and you properly place your focus where and when it should be, you'll ...

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) , Raising Children Providing children with Islamic education and raising them up as good practicing Muslims are essential duties of parenthood. Rightfully fulfilling these duties will lead to the Pleasure of Allah and good for the parents and the child in this life and the Hereafter. However, ignoring these duties would lead to the destruction of the child's Hereafter and the Wrath of Allah will befall the parents for not protecting their child from the traps of Shaytan and allowing him to choose the path of destruction. Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The leader is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock, a man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock; a woman is the shepherd in the house of her husband and is responsible for her flock, the servant is the shepherd of his master's weal...

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) , The People Divide into Four Categories with respect to Sincerity and Adherence to the Guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) This was taken from lessons conducted on the book 'al-Qawl-ul- Mufid Fee Adillatit-Tawhid' [Beneficial Speech in Establishing the Evidences of Tawhid] written by one of the major scholars of the Sunnah in Yemen, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab al-Wasabi. Al-Qisam al-Awwal (The First Category): Those who have gathered between Ikhlas (sincerity) and Mutaba'ah (following the guidance of the Prophet). So their actions, all of them, are for Allah, and all of their statements are for Allah and their giving and their forgiving is for Allah, and their love is for Allah and their hatred is for Allah, and their actions, both in the apparent and the hidden, are for the face of Allah alone. They do not want by this from the people a recompense or thankfulness, and nor do they s...