Hadith-Bait-ul Mamur

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said in the hadith of the Miraj (Night Journey) after his visit to the seventh heaven: “Then I was taken up to the Frequented House (Bait-ul Mamur) and every day 70,000 angels visit it, never returning to it again, another (group) coming after them.” [Sahih Bukhari]

The Bait-ul Mamur is a Masjid like the Kabah, opposite Allah’s Throne. The angels visit it, pray in it, and do Tawaf there just as the people of the earth do Tawaf of their Kabah. Each day a fresh batch of 70,000 angels comes to it. Till the Day of Judgement the same batch of angels will not get a chance to return to it again. When this is the number of Allah’s work force, how powerful must Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) be?

In this world people get impressed by big companies. The greater the number of employees, the more people are in awe of the employer. Isn’t Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) the greatest employer?

Hadith-Before Last Breath

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah accepts the repentance of His slave, but only before the slave has breathed his last.” [Tirmidhi]

Some people passed by a man who was fervently engaged with some people. They asked him what he was doing. “I’m trying to get people to befriend Allah.” “How’s it going?” they asked. “Allah is willing but they are not willing” he replied. Some time later they passed by the same man in a graveyard. They asked him again what he was doing. He replied, “I’m still trying to make people befriend Allah.” “How’s it going now?” they asked. “Now the people are willing, but Allah is not willing” he said.

“Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Turn to your Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the suffering [of death and resurrection] comes on you: after that you shall not be helped.” [Quran 39:53-54]

If you feel remorse at any stage of your life, consider this feeling and realisation a special favour of Allah’s. You should know that the doors of repentance are always open and Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) accepts the repentance of His slaves as long as they are alive. However, when they are at the threshold of death and are about to pass over to the next world, the time for offering repentance expires.

Hadith-Bedtime - Surah al Kafirun

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "Recite surah al Kafirun and then go to sleep after coming to its end, for it is a clearance from shirk." [Abu Dawud]

Make a habit of reciting this short surah at bed time. Should you die in your sleep, your last words will be a denial of shirk. The reward for reciting this surah is enormous. The reward for its recitation is equivalent to the reward for reciting a quarter of the Quran. [Tirmidhi]

There was a time in Makkah when although a storm of opposition had arisen in the pagan society of Quraish against the message of Islam, yet the leaders of the Kuffar had not lost hope that they could reach some sort of a compromise with Muhammad (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam). Therefore, they would visit him with different proposals of compromise so that he accept one of them and the dispute between them be brought to an end.

According to Abdullah bin Abbas (radi Allahu anhu), the Quraish proposed to the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam): "We shall give you so much wealth that you will become the richest man of Makkah. We shall give you whichever woman you like in marriage. We are prepared to follow and obey you as our leader, only on the condition that you will not speak ill of our gods. If you do not agree to this, we present another proposal which is to your as well as to our advantage." This last proposal was that if he (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) would worship their gods, Lat and Uzza, for a year, they would worship his God for the same space of time. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) replied: "Wait awhile; let me see what my Lord commands in this regard." Thereupon Surah Kafirun was revealed.

The Quraish had proposed such things to the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) not once, but at different times and on different occasions; and there was need that they should be given a definite, decisive reply so that their hope of mixing Kufr and Islam on the principle of "give and take" be frustrated for ever.

If this Surah is read with this background in mind, one finds that it was revealed to exonerate the Muslims from the religions of the disbelievers, their rites of worship, their gods, to express total disgust and unconcern with them and to tell them that Islam and Kufr have nothing in common and there is no possibility of their being combined and mixed into one entity.

Although this surah was addressed to the disbelieving Quraish in response to their proposals of compromise, yet it is not confined to them, but having made it a part of the Quran, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) gave the Muslims the eternal teaching that they should exonerate themselves by word and deed from the creed of Kufr wherever and in whatever form it be, and should declare without any reservation that they cannot make any compromise with the disbelievers in the matter of Islam. That is why this Surah continued to be recited when the people to whom it was addressed as a rejoinder had died and been forgotten. [Tafhim al-Quran, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi]

Hadith- Be Careful What You Ask For

Narrated Abu Huraira (radi Allahu anhu) that he heard Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) saying, "While a lady was nursing her child, a rider passed by and she said, 'O Allah! Don't let my child die till he becomes like this (rider).' The child said, 'O Allah! Don't make me like him,' and then returned to her breast. (After a while) they passed by a lady who was being pulled and teased (by the people). The child's mother said, 'O Allah! Do not make my child like her.' The child said, 'O Allah! Make me like her.' Then he said, ‘As for the rider, he is an infidel, while the lady is accused of illegal sexual intercourse (falsely) and she says: Allah is sufficient for me (He knows the truth).’" [Book of Virtues and Merits of the Prophet and his Companions: Sahih Bukhari]

We learn three things from this hadith:

1. A lot of karamat or supernatural things happened for the Bani Israel. In this case an infant spoke and he knew about the two individuals.

2. Parents in their eagerness sometimes push their children towards the Dunya while neglecting their Akhira. The woman in this hadith was impressed by the handsome looks and expensive horse of the rider. Similarly today we look at outward appearances; fancy cars, clothes, degrees, houses, jobs and titles. We push our children to acquire these things or marry for them. But what counts with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), and will determine everlasting happiness, are eeman and the character that results from it, even if it is possessed by a person who does not appear attractive by worldly standards.

3. Be careful what you ask Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) for! We may ask for things that are not good for us in the long run, as the mother in this case did. In terms of Akhira we know that Jannah is good for us but only Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) knows what of this Dunya will allow us to have a good Akhira. Since the Dunya compared to the Akhira is like a drop compared to an ocean, we cannot afford to compromise our Akhirahs for the sake of this Dunya. We should always ask Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) to give us what is best for us in both worlds.

Hadith-I Wish to be Saved the Wrath of God

A bedouin asked the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam): “I wish to be safe from God's wrath on the Day of Judgment.” The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) replied: “If you do not lose your temper with any of your fellow creatures, you will be safe from the wrath of God on the Day of Judgment.” [Related by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal]

Oh Allah, help us to keep our tempers in check.

Malls and Masjids-hadith

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The dearest parts on the face of the earth near Allah are its mosques, and the most hated parts near Allah are its markets.” [Sahih Muslim]

The superiority of the mosques is obvious. People pray and worship Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in mosques. They recite the Quran in it and encourage one another to obey Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). The mosque in the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was also the head quarters of the Islamic State. Foreign delegations were received there, the consultative assembly was held in Masjid-e-Nabwi, and all matters of state were discussed therein.

On the other hand, malls and bazaars are where people forget Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). The adhan and time of prayer go unnoticed. Shaitaan makes us indulge in such forbidden acts as fraud, lying, gossiping, checking people out and wasting money.

Malls and bazaars are disliked for the many sins that are likely to occur in them, not least of which is taking Allah’s blessings and favours for granted. Shops taunt us with their glittery ware, flaunting before us all that we do not possess of material goods, while possessing these things is of no value to our everlasting life. We end up wasting our money which we could have used to come closer to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala).

Spending more time than necessary in market places is also a waste of another precious commodity: time. “Hanging out”, “window shopping” and “killing time” are the very antithesis of an Islamic understanding of life. During an exam does any sane person do anything except focus on getting the exam questions answered correctly? We are in an exam until we die. What we do every second that we are alive, counts in the final assessment. We can’t afford to waste time. The purpose of life is simply to qualify for Allah’s Grace and His granting us everlasting happiness in Jannah. There is no other purpose to life.

My Best Day-hadith

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah will say to the inhabitants of Paradise: ‘O inhabitants of Paradise!.... Are you contented?’ And they will say: ‘And how should we not be contented, O Lord, when You have given to us that which You have given to no one else of Your creation?’” [Bukhari]

Out of all His creations, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) chose me to give eternal life to. He made Jannat for me. Allah wishes to be with me for eternity. For this He bestows eternal life to me. After I reach Jannat I become immortal. The ultimate pleasure in Jannat is that I will be allowed to look at Allah’s face. All that exists is perishable except Allah’s face. [Al-Quran 28:88] Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) tells us that He was a hidden treasure. He created us so that we could have this treasure. Those who realize this are intense in their love of their Lord. [Al-Quran 2:165]

Allah’s justice demanded that He ask us to do something, no matter how insignificant, in exchange for which we are loved more than all creation and granted immortality. So He gave us free will – the choice to recognize Him or deny Him. But He loaded the scales heavily in favour of our being able to recognize Him. He created all our souls at the time that He created Adam (alaihis salam) and we all testified to Allah being our Creator and Cherisher at that time. Our testimony is embedded in our sub-conscious mind, because of which we know instinctively that He is to be worshipped and that the beauty of the universe is His doing.

May we love Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) as He should be loved, and may we worship Him as He should be worshipped. A dua made by a bedouin that particularly impressed Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was: “Oh Allah; Make my best day – the Day that I meet You.”

Meaningless Work-hadith

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “It is the excellence of a man’s faith that he gives up meaningless work.” [Tirmidhi, Ahmad]

List all your activities and label them to see which belong to the category of meaningless. If the activity is not taking you towards a meaningful goal for any of the roles that arise from your ideology (e.g. Muslim, parent, son/daughter, self, breadwinner, daee, etc), then it would be to your advantage to replace it with more meaningful activity. Anything that does not bring you closer to Jannat and distance you from the Fire is meaningless in the long run, and will cause you to regret when it is too late why you bothered to waste your time with it.

Marital Discord Pleases Shaytaan Most-hadith

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said that Shaytaan sits on his throne daily and dispatches his agents to work among human beings. One of the agents returns and says that I made a certain person commit a sin, another says I got so and so involved in this offence. Upon listening to all this, Shaytaan says that you have done nothing great. Eventually, one representative comes and says that I saw a husband and wife extremely devoted to each other. I sowed the seeds of enmity between them. On hearing this, Shaytaan becomes happy and embracing his agent says that you have indeed achieved something great. [Mishkat]

The love between a husband and wife is the biggest blow to Shaytaan. From this it is apparent how meritorious this love is. The Islamic prescription for success in married life is based on taqwa, fear, love, and consciousness of Allah. Taqwa -- the basis for all aspects of Islamic life -- is especially relevant to the household. That is why Sura Nisa, which contains many commands regarding the rights and responsibilities of spouses, begins with repeated reminders of taqwa.

To fight Shaytaan, one needs Allah's help and it comes with taqwa, i.e. living with the awareness that Allah is watching us and will hold us accountable for our actions. A direct and far reaching consequence of this awareness is that a fight for rights is replaced by a concern for responsibilities. One's responsibilities are other's rights. A Muslim husband and wife will be concerned with discharging their duties toward each other. This provides for a home that is a model of peace, love and harmony.

The Effect of Sins On Our Well-Being-hadith

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “A man might be deprived of a provision (that was written for him) because of a sin that he commits; Only supplication changes Al-Qadar (predestination) and only Birr (righteousness) can increase lifespan.” [Nasai]

This amazing Hadith informs us that sinning - disobeying Allah Almighty – puts up barriers in the path of our provision from reaching us and that it also reduces our lifespan. Just as righteousness increases ones blessings, sinning reduces it.

Can sins change our lives? Some points from “Al-Jawab Al-Kafi” by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyah (rahimahullah) on the worldly consequences of sins:

- Prevention of knowledge: Knowledge of the Deen is a light which Allah throws into the heart and the disobedience of Allah extinguishes this light. The light of Allah is not given to the disobedient. When the light of the intellect is extinguished it becomes weak and deficient.

- Disobedience weakens the heart and the body.

- The ill-effects of the sinner fall upon the people around him as well as the animals, as a result of which they are touched by harm.

During the reign of Umar (radi Allahu anhu) Madinah was shaken with an earthquake. Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said, “O, people! What is this? How fast (how soon after the death of the Prophet) you committed a sin. If this (earthquake) happens again, I will never live among you.” [Ahmed]

- Disobedience brings humiliation and lowliness. Every aspect of honor lies in the obedience of Allah.

- When disobedience increases, the servant’s heart becomes sealed so that he becomes of those who are heedless. “But no! A stain has been left on their hearts on account of what they used to earn (that is, their actions).” [Quran: Surah Al-Mutaffifin, Ayat 14]

- Sins cause various types of corruption to occur in the land: the spoiling of the water, the air, the plants, the fruit, and dwelling places. “Mischief has appeared on the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have earned; that He may give them a taste of some of (the actions) they have done, in order that they may return (to righteousness).” [Quran: Surah Ar-Rum, Ayat 41]

- Modesty disappears. Modesty is the essence of the life of the heart and is the basis of every good. Its disappearance is the disappearance of all that is good.

- When a person sins, benevolence is removed from his heart.

- Sins weaken and reduce the magnification of Allah the Almighty in the heart of the servants and so he sins even more.

- Sins are the cause of Allah the Almighty abandoning His servant and leaving him to fend for himself against his soul and his Satan, and in this is destruction from which no deliverance can be hoped for.

Bilal’s Footsteps in Paradise-HADITH

Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said to Bilal: “Bilal, tell me which act you did at the time of the morning prayer for which you hope to receive good reward, for I heard during the night the sound of your footsteps before me in Paradise?” Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) replied: “I did not do any act in Islam for which I hope to get any benefit, but this, that when I perform complete ablution during the night or day I observe prayer with that purification, what Allah has ordained for me to pray.” [Sahih Muslim]

What Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) used to do is not that difficult to do. He would try to stay in a state of purity, and whenever he did wudhu or ghusl, he would pray nafl rakaat with that wudhu. This enabled his footsteps to precede those of Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) in Paradise. We could try for the same.

Best Wedding-HADITH

Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The most blessed nikah is the one with the least expenses.” [Bayhaqi]

Today, the youth of many men and women is destroyed because they cannot afford the lavish weddings that have become the standard. They do not possess, in terms of dowry or mahr, what society says they must give in order to get married. Others get into debt for extravagant wedding functions. Even those who can afford lavish weddings are responsible for the wastage involved, while the money could have been put to so much better use. To make matters worse, the resulting marriage is often not even a successful one. In order to make our weddings more blessed we need to abandon these customs, and on such occasions take a lesson from the simple nikah of Fatima (radi allahu anha) whose dowry was one water-bag and one bed.

HADITH-Cheerful Woman

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Truly, Allah loves that woman who loves her husband, is cheerful and guards herself from other men.” [Kanz-ul-Ammaal]

The kind of love that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) wants to see from a wife for her husband is intense love; the type of love that ignores small hurts and offences. When you really care about someone, you don’t make mountains out of mole hills; you overlook faults and remain cheerful.

The other important characteristic of women whom Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) loves, is that they do not take interest in men other than their husbands. Nowadays, being able to talk, laugh and joke unreservedly with any man is considered to be a sign of confidence and good disposition. Know that easy familiarity with non-Mahrams is not liked by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and is not a part of Islam.

HADITH-Build Real Estate

Umm Habibah bint Abu Sufyan (radi Allahu anha) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever prays twelve rakat during the day and night will have a house built for him in Paradise: four rakat before Zuhr and two after it, two rakat after Maghrib, two rakat after Isha, and two rakat before Fajr.” (Hasan Sahih hadith) [Tirmidhi]

One of the Umayyad Khalifa’s asked Ibn Hazm, “Why do we fear death?”  Ibn Hazm replied, “Because we hate to go from what we have built to what we have destroyed.” Whatever efforts and accumulations we have made are for this Dunya and it shows in the form of our properties, businesses, possessions, etc., looking very nice. When we try to imagine our property in the Akhirah we don’t see anything, or at best, we are uncertain. Thus, we don’t feel comfortable about going there. But our death will bring an end to this life and will take us to the life of that uncertain place anyway.

So why not invest in a real estate project for the Hereafter? A person’s heart is where their wealth is, e.g. a lady is always conscious of where her purse is, and if she has to leave it and go somewhere she tells someone else to mind it for her. If we send our wealth forward and do the deeds that earn us riches for the Hereafter then our hearts will also be inclined to move on from this temporary abode. Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told us that whoever prays these 12 rakat of Sunnah, gets a beautiful mansion made for him or her in Jannah.

Let’s get on with it inshaAllah.

HADITH-Be Cautious to Avoid Animosity

Allah's Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Indeed Satan has despaired that those who pray should worship (him) in the Arabian peninsular, however (he seeks) to provoke animosity between them.” [Sahih Muslim]

We should guard our words carefully lest we say something casually while it causes a fire to blaze in the heart of a Muslim brother or sister. This would make Shaytaan very happy. We would be deceived indeed if we avoided shirk, and considered ourselves to be on the right path, while we destroyed our good deeds in our mutual rivalries and resulting animosities.

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told us that a Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe.

Do Muslims feel that their honour is safe with you?

Is your tongue a weapon against Allah’s friends?

HADITH-Begging

On the authority of Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu), the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “One of you keeps begging until when he meets Allah Most High, there is not a piece of flesh left on his face.” [Sahih Bukhari]

Imam Nahlawi states in Al-Durar al-Mubaha Fi al-Hazr al-Ibaha: “It is unlawful to ask for money or other worldly advantage from someone one has no right to ask, unless there is a necessity to. This hadith refers to anyone who asks when it is not permissible to do so. According to Imam Khalil Nahlawi, a Hanafi scholar of Damascus, the degree of necessity that permits begging is when one is unable to earn a living due to illness or weakness and does not have enough food to last one day.”

Where are we today? Despite having some of the choicest resources of the world, our Muslim governments are constantly on their knees, bending backwards to secure IMF and World Bank loans that only dig their nations deeper into poverty and debt. Unless corruption is rooted out and just systems put in place, which can only happen with eeman and total reliance on Allah’s prescribed Shariah, the problems facing individuals or countries will not go away, and begging will do nothing but disgrace them further.

HADITH- Best of Shuhada

Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) said, "The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) promised us the conquest of India. If I were to come across that I would spend my soul and wealth. If I am killed then I am among the best of martyrs. And if I return then I am Abu Hurairah the freed (from the Fire)." [Nasai, Ahmed, Hakim]

Because of the great reward promised to the participants of ghazwa Hind, the Sahabah desired that they might avail it. The merit of this particular Jihad against the polytheists of India is so great that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has promised to forgive the sins of this entire army. Those who return from it alive will be free from the threat of Jahannum. Those martyred in it will have the status of the best of shaheed, i.e. the shaheed of Badr (afzal shuhada -- the best of the martyred).

Be Careful What You Ask For

Narrated Abu Huraira (radi Allahu anhu) that he heard Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) saying, "While a lady was nursing her child, a rider passed by and she said, 'O Allah! Don't let my child die till he becomes like this (rider).' The child said, 'O Allah! Don't make me like him,' and then returned to her breast. (After a while) they passed by a lady who was being pulled and teased (by the people). The child's mother said, 'O Allah! Do not make my child like her.' The child said, 'O Allah! Make me like her.' Then he said, ‘As for the rider, he is an infidel, while the lady is accused of illegal sexual intercourse (falsely) and she says: Allah is sufficient for me (He knows the truth).’" [Book of Virtues and Merits of the Prophet and his Companions: Sahih Bukhari]

We learn three things from this hadith:

1. A lot of karamat or supernatural things happened for the Bani Israel. In this case an infant spoke and he knew about the two individuals.

2. Parents in their eagerness sometimes push their children towards the Dunya while neglecting their Akhira. The woman in this hadith was impressed by the handsome looks and expensive horse of the rider. Similarly today we look at outward appearances; fancy cars, clothes, degrees, houses, jobs and titles. We push our children to acquire these things or marry for them. But what counts with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), and will determine everlasting happiness, are eeman and the character that results from it, even if it is possessed by a person who does not appear attractive by worldly standards.

3. Be careful what you ask Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) for! We may ask for things that are not good for us in the long run, as the mother in this case did. In terms of Akhira we know that Jannah is good for us but only Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) knows what of this Dunya will allow us to have a good Akhira. Since the Dunya compared to the Akhira is like a drop compared to an ocean, we cannot afford to compromise our Akhirahs for the sake of this Dunya. We should always ask Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) to give us what is best for us in both worlds.

Boasting About Lineage

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “There are indeed people who boast of their dead ancestors, but in the sight of Allah they are more contemptible than the black beetle that rolls a piece of dung with its nose. Behold, Allah has removed from you the arrogance of the time of jahiliyya (ignorance) with its boast of ancestral glories. Man is but an Allah-fearing believer or an unfortunate sinner. All people are the children of Adam, and Adam was created out of dust.” [Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud]

Nobody has any control over which family they are born into. Therefore, a person has no right to boast about that which they had no role in. Nor do the good or bad deeds of our ancestors have any bearing on our status with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). Muslims are therefore told to shun these wrong criteria of status. What gives a person status with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is righteousness.

Bad Breath

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "When a person tells a lie, the bad smell that comes out of the lie keeps the angels one mile away." [Tirmidhi]

Keep in mind that you are pushing the angels that protect you away from you when you tell lies. Many are the lies that we are aware of telling. Yet how many more lies do we tell without even considering them as lies, so far away are we from having Islamic morals.

Once a Sahabiah called her son in telling him that she wanted to give him something. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) then asked her if she had in fact given anything to her son. She replied that she had given him a date. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told her that if she had not given him anything she would have been recorded as lying to her child.

We need to be very careful not to say anything that we are not committed on fulfilling, for all lies are written down. A small lie is noted down as a small lie and a big lie is written down as a big lie. As we are careful to keep our breath pleasant and not offend people with it, shouldn’t we be even more careful not to offend and chase away the angels that protect us?