Ramadan Reflections 4- Purifying our hearts

يسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of God, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate

Imagine a person who is really trying during Ramadan to increase in his acts of worship- he is reading more Qur’an, praying qiyaam, and really asking Allah. Yet somehow, and only by Allah’s will, he misses out on laylat al-qadr. Why would that happen?

When the last 10 days was upon the Muslims, Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) would bring the people together in the mosque and declare:
كل الناس مني في حل
Which, to translate the meaning roughly, that all of the people are absolved of any blame from him- he would not carry any bad feelings towards any of the Muslims even if he were wronged. Why? He knew laylat al-qadr was at the door, and he did not want anything to prevent him from reaching it. Ibn Masud (ra) would say that none of them dared to greet the new moon of Ramadan with even an atom’s weight of rancor towards other Muslims.

Recently I went to a talk, and the speaker was speaking about this issue. Yes, Ramadan is the month to get back on track and increase in our acts of worship- no doubt. But it is also a month of cleansing the hearts. Who of us does not suffer from some disease in the heart- whether it is a lack of sincerity, or hatred, or resentment towards someone?

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Tarbiya 30: A Pure Heart

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والحمدلله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers

There once lived a man who had worshiped Allah for 70 years. He was known amongst the people for his piety and sincerity; so when their lands one day became drought-stricken, they decided to go to him and to ask him to pray for rain. The old man made du’a, yet no rain fell; he asked Allah again, but still to no avail. At this, the man began to weep and then he asked himself: “What is wrong with me that my heart is not pure?”

Upon uttering these words, Allah sent a prophet to this man to tell him: “Asking that question was better than all of your 70 years of worship.”

* * *

As we pass through this brief and busy life, we often forget to ask ourselves such simple yet profound questions. But if we think about our inevitable meeting with Allah, we realize that it will be “a Day in which neither wealth nor children shall avail, except the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart” (Surah Ash-Shu’ara: 88-89). We should all shudder when reflecting upon these words, for how many of us can truly say, “My heart is pure”?

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Tarbiya 18: Humble Pie :)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This is in continuation of the super-ace tarbiyah done on “Arrogance and humility”

1) First, we should appreciate that all the blessings we have in life are from Allah subhana wata’ala:

“And whatever blessings and good you have, it is from Allah…” Qur’an (16: 53)

“And if you were to count the blessings of Allah, you will never be able to count them.” Qur’an (14: 34)

If we gain our dream job, win the Waltham Forest citizen of the year award, do well in our exams…….we do so ONLY by the will and grace of our Lord the most High. Yes we may have put in the effort, (and indeed Allah subhana wata a’la loves the hard worker), but our success is not by our own design. Our intellect and resources are from Allah.

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Tarbiya 13: Arrogance and Humility

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Arrogance & the Importance of Humility

This tarbiya will discuss the importance of humility and the dangers of arrogance. According the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), pride is disdain for the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for other people. The word for pride is ‘kibr,’ and coming from it is ‘takabbr,’ or arrogance. Simply put, arrogance is when we think we are better than others.

What is the danger of arrogance? During the prophet’s time, there were skeptics who asked why God would reveal himself and his word to an illiterate orphaned man, rather than a high-ranking influential man. A Hadith (Muslim) relates: He who has an atom’s weight of pride shall not enter Paradise. This warning should strike fear into our hearts, for who does not feel superior at one time or another? A man or a woman can be pious, observing prayers on time, giving charity, and dress modestly, and negate all of these fulfilled duties by falling to pride and arrogance in one’s own ways. Who are we to judge what is in the other hearts of our fellow brothers and sisters? We must always remember that the role and privilege of judgment is Allah’s only, and Allah is all-knowing. Levels of arrogance vary, from feeling it in one’s heart to being blinded to ones own faults. Imagine becoming so concerned with pointing out others’ flaws that you forget your own! What good could such arrogance get you?

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