How I came to the right path

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(This is a true story of a friend of mine of how he came to the right path of Allah (swa))

   I was born to a couple who comes from Male'. My mother and father always made sure that all my needs were fulfilled. But my parents were always having marriage problems and their marriage was very unstable. At the time I lived with my grandma. I never prayed regularly, but my grandma made sure I went to Friday prayers. In school I was doing pretty well until like all the other youths, my friends and delusions from Satan lead me far from Allah (swa). Just like any other youth music, girls and fun was always on my mind. If there is a Disco or DJ in Male' I was there. One day I was shocked to hear that my parents had separated. In the beginning they lived at the same house but later they went their own way. I was lost and had to put on the burden to support my mom. I finished school and started looking for a job. At that time I was smoking heavily and my parents didn't know that! Alhamdullilah I never touched any drugs! Actually it was my father who was preventing me from escalating from the status I was. He used to tell me that " If I get caught using any drugs or if I did anything like that he will kill me even if he had to go to jail or not ". My father always scared me to death! So Alhamdullilahi it was good in a way!
  But the real story begins when I started having some type of unexplainable disturbances. I started having headaches, fever and insomnia and all this starts at the same time every night. I was very worried. Soon I told my mom and she took me to a Witch doctor. The guy was kind of freaky, funny and retarded. He told me that a girl is doing Witch craft on me. And also he told me to stay away from the sea. Because that's the place she had done the Witch craft. But the guy never told me who she was. I visited the Witch doctor twice and he told me some incidents from my past and also from near future. Some were true and some were not! But I didn’t like the guy so I stopped going to him. Next I went to another Witch doctor. This guy had so many clients that he had to give out tokens. The guy consulted me and all he said was “You don't have a big problem ". Next he asked me whether if I prayed. When I said no he told me to go back and start praying and all this would get better. But even after I started praying I was still having these disturbances. Now I was more worried since it didn't go away even after I started praying.
  The turning point of my story starts now. Since I started having these problems I stopped going out with my friends and due to my stupidity at that time I lost my job too. My savior was a guy who was brought to my house by a brother of mine. He visited  my place and he saw my room and his first words were “Before I do anything , you should remove all your necklaces, arm bands, posters in the room and stop listening to Music. So slowly I removed everything and stopped listening to Music. Next he told me to pray. He told me that I was possessed by a Jinn. Next he performed a Ruqya (recitation of Quran for spiritual healing). He told me that I was not possessed seriously. So he gave me a glass of water after reciting Quran and told me that it was not him who cures me but it is Allah (swa) who cures people. And he said he is only making Dua to Almighty Allah (swa) and that I should do the same. So as days passed my sickness started healing and I was getting better. I started regularly attending the prayer and stayed away from my old friends. Some of my old  friends use to call me and joke at me because I was seen going to the mosque but it never bothered me. I changed  all my bad friends and started looking for good ones. At last I met a very good friend who was  a neighbor of mine. We started attending the religious sermons by Shaikhs and hanged out together. One day my friend told me to stop seeing my girl friend because I was visiting her at that time. So I told her that I can only call her and I don't want to see her like that anymore. But later I asked her to marry me but she refused and she went away to study in Sri Lanka. But Alhamdlillah I wasn't sad about the incident. I moved on !
  Later that year Alahamdullilah I got a new job and finally I got married to a beautiful girl (Masha Allah) and I have a five month daughter now. I left everything only to walk in the straight path which Allah (swa) had asked me to follow and Allah (swa) in return guided me, cured me and made my life happy.

  Therefore follow the path which Allah (swa) had ordered us to follow and He Almighty Allah (swa) will move mountains away from your path. Praise is to He the Almighty Allah (swa).

Are we prepared for Ramazan

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    All the Muslims around the globe are preparing to meet a guest who comes to visit them annually. The shopping malls, shops and night markets offering you cheap and attractive prices for all houses hold goods and groceries. Decorating your house with new furniture's and painting the walls. The local media is preparing day and night with new programs to entertain the guest which is about to visit. The women looking for new recipes to fill the emptiness in your dining table and the youth planning and organizing sport events and entertainment. Who is this guest by the way? Are we preparing to welcome the blessed month of Ramazan or are we preparing for a carnival in which the whole Islamic community is devoured in entertainment, pleasure and food. Subhanallah ! Is this how our Messenger Muhammad (saw), his companions and the salaf prepared for the holy month of Ramazan?

   Allah (swa) says in Quran "Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you many learn piety and righteousness"(Q 2:183). Are we learning piety and righteousness? The Messenger of Allah (saw) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah].

   Question is! Are we performing the obligatory prayers? Are we preparing ourselves to perform the voluntary prayers? Have we learned to perform these prayers? Are we building our patience? Are we prepared to give charity? Are we prepared to ask for forgiveness from Allah (swa)? At least have we learned the dua which we will recite in the last ten days of Ramazan to achieve the reward of Lailathul Qadr (The night which the Quran was revealed)? Answer these questions to yourself and see how ignorant we have become in preparing our self to meet Ramazan.

   Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (saw) said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”. Most of the media and big business companies had been acting like a puppet of the devil engulfing people in entertainment and fun. Just before the Ramazan, you start hearing the advertisements on TV and Radio about the programs, events and shows to entertain people. All the rest of the year there are no events, programs and events in these sources, but when the holy month of Ramazan comes entertainment is everything. How ignorant can we be!  The owners of Media and big companies should realize that they have to stand in front of Allah (swa) one day and be answerable to the fact that they have deluded the people into Haram and misguidance. Think about the punishment you will receive because of deluding and turning away a whole community from worshiping Allah (swa).

   If we look at our individual self's, how many of us sleep the whole day without performing the obligatory prayers. Performing prayer is an obligatory act. Most of the Islamic scholars say that “Prayer is the key which separates you from a Muslim and an Infidel. This is the importance of prayer! So if you leave your obligatory prayers, what will be left from the good deeds you earned by fasting! How many of us backbite during the month of Ramazan. How many of us lie and cheat. These might look to you as small things but these sins will wash away all your good deeds you got from fasting. So protecting your tongue is very important. So beautify your soul with noble characters and remember Allah (swa). Make dhikr.

   Now let’s look at the month of Ramazan in terms of economically. Islam is a religion which forbids you to waste money and food. Allah (swa) says in Quran “O children of Adam ! Wear your beautiful apparel every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, Allah (swa) loves not the wasters"(Q 07: 31). If you look at the amount of waste been dumped during the Ramazan you can see how much food we are wasting. Even some people go to the extent of renewing all the furniture of the houses. One of the key reason of fasting is remembering all the poor Muslims out there in the pangs of hunger. But instead giving out for charity we buy all these unnecessary foods and throw them away. The mosques are painted and decorated too, but are our hearts and our emaan decorated as beautiful as the mosques. The Messenger Muhammad (saw) and his companions prayed in mosques built from palm leaves. But the people who prayed in them, their hearts were the most pure hearts and most beautiful. So beautify your actions, emaan and heart first!

    My brothers and sisters! Are we going to let the blessings of another Ramazan slip away from our hands? Have the time not arrived to ask for repentance for our all the sins we have committed. Ramazan is a month the most ideal month to repent and start a new life. Narrated by Abu Huraira: Prophet (saw) said "Whoever fasted the month of Ramazan out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah (swa), then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for night prayer in the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for reward from Allah (swa), then all his previous sins will be forgiven". So wake up from this ignorance and seek the Mercy of Allah (swa) and be among the successors who will join our beloved prophet Muhammed (saw) in Janaathul Firdos. May Allah (swa) accept our prayers and good deeds in the month of Ramazan and may Allah (swa) forgive all our sins in the month of Ramazaan. Ameen.

DO WE REALLY LOVE ALLAH (SWA) ?

LOVE OF ALLAH (SWA) IN THE BELIEVERS IS MOST INTENSE ( SURAH 2 VERSE 165 )

      Its a simple question, yet the meaning roots down deep inside our creed and faith.Unfortunately everyone knows what love is but when it comes to loving the Almighty Allah (swa) most of us are  ignorant. So lets see what really loving Allah(swa) means.
     Loving Allah (swa) starts with accepting the last faith sent  through our Messenger Muhammad (saw) without any doubt. Allah (swa) says in Quran " The Religion before Allah (swa ) is Islam " ( Surah Imran Verse 19 ). Accepting Islam as a  religion  without any doubt is full fulling all the commandments revealed in Quran and implementing that into your life. For example Allah (swa) says in Quran " O you who believe ! Eat not usury (riba) double and multiplied,but fear Allah (swa) that you may be successful" .( Surah Imran Verse 130). Allah (swa) had made usury (Riba) haram in Islam but how many of us are working in Banks which deals with usury.  When a true believer in Islam is faced with a situation where he had to choose  the path Allah (swa) had asked us to follow and the path our own desires and lust is tempting us to follow, that person leaves all his concerns, own desires and lust just to please Allah (swa).If your working in a Bank which directly deals with the usury and you quit the job just because  it goes against the commandments of Allah (swa), this is what really loving Allah  (swa) is ! The Messenger Muhammad (saw) and his companions were the people who faced the worst and the hardest trials. But the only word which came out of their mouth were " In Allah (swa) we trust and to whom we shall all return'. Allah (swa) says in Quran " And put thy trust in Allah (swa) ,and enough is Allah (swa) as a disposer of affairs". ( Surah  Al Ahzab Verse 3 ) They knew this transient life is just a test to see how obedient they are in following Allah's (swa) guidance. But what we see is the opposite today.Husbands shaving their beards because their wives don't like it,women working in the offices going against Allah (swa) teachings in fear of loosing their jobs and women taking off their hijab to please their husbands.Others are going against the teaching of Allah (swa) due to fear of loosing their wealth and status. My question is will your wife,boss,husband,wealth or status suffice you in the day you lie in your grave,will you wife,boss,husband,wealth or status  suffice you when you have to stand in front of Allah (swa) in the day of Judgement. Great empires,kings and rulers had come and gone who hoarded  wealth and status. Can you even hear a cry of them ?
    Secondly Following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Allah (swa) says in Quran  " And obey Allah  (swa) and his messenger (saw). That you may obtain mercy ". (Surah Imran Verse 132 ). Following the last Messenger Muhammad (saw) and his guidance comes within the scope of loving Allah (swa). Cause without following the sunnah of prophet Muhammad (saw) our religion is incomplete. For example Allah (swa) ordered us to perform prayer. But the step by step instructions to perform the prayer is taught to us by Muhammed (swa).
    So fear only Allah (swa),Love only for the sake of Allah (swa),please only Allah (swa) and pray to Allah (swa) only .Say " No"  to anyone who tells you to disobey the commandments of the Allah (swa). May Allah (swa) fill our hearts with love to almighty Allah (swa) and his Messenger (saw). Give us strength  and guidance to stand against the oppressors of our faith.

The conditions of those who feared Allah

Uthman bin Affan (RadiyAllah anhu) used to cry until his beard was soaked each time that he stood at a grave. He used to say, “If I were standing between the garden and the Fire, not knowing in which one of the two I would end up I would rather be turned into ashes before I learned my fate.”

Muslim Ibn Bashir (RadiyAllah anhu) says that during his last illness Abu Huraira (ra) began weeping bitterly. He was asked the reason of his weeping. At this he said, 'I am weeping because I have a long journey to cover and have the least provisions with me. In the morning I have found myself at a hillock which leads to both paradise and to hell, and I know not wither I would be made to go.'

One day Abu Bakr (RadhiyAllah anhu) entered a garden where he saw a bird standing under the shade of the tree. He sighed deeply and said: O bird! How lucky you are. You eat from tress and take shade under them. When you die you do not have fear of reckoning on the day of judgement. I wish i were just like you.

In the presence of Ibn Masud (RadiyAllah anhu) a man once said " I do not like to be from among the companions of the right hand, but I would like to be from among those who are nearest to Allah" Ibn Masud replied " But there is a servant here, who wishes that when he dies he will not be resurrected again (meaning himself).

Abdullah bin ‘Amir (RadiAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiAllahu ‘anhu) picked up a piece of straw from the ground and said, “Would that I were this piece of straw! Would that I had never been created! Would that my mother never gave birth to me! Would that I didn’t exist! Would that I were a non-existent, forgotten thing! ‘Umar (radiAllahu ‘anhu) did not say these words out of ungratefulness; rather, he said them because of his prodigious fear of Allah (Azza wa-jal) and His punishment.

One night Hasan al Basri woke up weeping, and he disturbed the other people in the house with his weeping. They asked him what was the matter and he said: “I remembered a sin that I committed and I wept.”

Haram bin Hiyaan said, “I wish, by Allah, that I was a tree that a camel would eat and discharge as droppings, and that I would not endure the reckoning of the Day of Resurrection; verily, I fear the Great Calamity.“

Ismaa’eel ibn Zakariya described Habeeb ibn Muhammad, who was a neighbour of his. He said: “Every evening I heard him weeping and every morning I heard him weeping, so I went to his wife and said: ‘What is the matter with him? He weeps in the evening and he weeps in the morning!’ She said to me: ‘By Allaah, when evening comes he fears that he will not live till morning and when morning comes he fears that he will not live till evening.’”

Abu Bakr bin Aiyash said, "If you saw Habib bin Abu Thabit while in Sujud, you would think that he had died because of his long prostration."

O Prisoner by Ali al-Timimi

O Prisoner

Be patient O prisoner
Think not of what lies behind that door

Because you are the rain that gives life to the barren
Because you are the sun that flowers yearn for

Go forth despite your shackles
Nothing holds your spirit at bay

By sabr and yaqin, Allah made you
A leader despite the boulders in your way

You are defiant, and you are like
A brilliant star guiding the multitude

Your truthful words burn every accursed rebel
A shining blaze in an era of servitude

You are the bold one leading falcons
Perverse crows mock you with false portrayal

Their black lies did cast you
In the prison of betrayal

I know that you’re tired
But forget not your bargain

Leave cowardly hyenas to laugh and play
For you are a brave lion

I know that you’re exhausted
The evil one whispers “no longer can you cope”


Remain firm, O servant of Allah
For you are the great hopes

I know that you’re weak
Dizzy, wanting to swoon

Night envelops the world with its darkness
But you are the shining moon

I know that you’re confident
O favoured son of the nation

You never doubted Allah’s promise
That victory is for the patient

We are surrounded by the petty
Whose only goal is to eat, drink and mate

But you in your solitude
Are with the Most High, the Great

So rejoice in your prison
Let others sink in the worlds mire

Continue to speak words of truth
A devastating sword on every arrogant denier

You display determination
In following the straightest of ways

You keep watch at every mountain pass
While the petty only sleep in haze
 
Time has stopped in front of your prison
Your nights and days are of constant motion

Heaven and earth will sleep at your passing
Amazed at your sincere devotion

You are the boldest
Because Allah made you cling to the pious word, the firmest.

 This poem is a tashteer of a nasheed by Abu Ali which can be found here

Terrorism Part 2

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  Jihad and Terrorism

What is the different between Jihad and terrorism? I don't think I have to explain the word " terrorism "again. But what does Jihad means in Islam ?.Jihad in Islam means to struggle in the path of  Allah (swa). There are three types of  Jihad;
1- Verbal Jihad.
2- Personal Jihad.
3- Physical Jihad.

Verbal Jihad
Verbal jihad is to convey the message the last and the final Prophet Muhammad (swa) has brought us. This could be through media,literature and our voice.This also includes the strive against the people who reject  the faith non violently.Muhammad (swa) used this method of Jihad in the Meccan period to convey the revelations of Allah (swa) to the Guraish.


Personal Jihad
Personal Jihad is the strive against your own self in the fight against sinning and prevailing the delusions of this world and over coming it.For example a Mother fighting her emotions when a child of her passes away and over coming it by believing that it is  the decree of Allah (swa) and being patient about it.

Physical Jihad
Physical jihad is the physical force used in defense against  oppression,injustice and persecution. Allah (swa) says in Quran " To those  against whom  war is made,permission is given ( to fight),because they are wronged;verily, Allah (swa) is most powerful for their aid". ( Quran Surah 22 and Verse 39 ).


The wars that we see in the Muslim lands is it real Jihad ?
  The wars we see in Afghanistan ,Iraq,and in Palestine is it real Jihad in Islam ? The first thing we should ask ourself is " Is the people in these lands are oppressed or not ".  Lets look at the situation in Iraq. To bring down just one person the American Government used sanctions in Iraq which caused the death of 1.5 million Iraqi children. Next to end the regime of Saddam Hussain the American Government used  chemical warfare which spilled the blood of how many innocent civilians. Where is the weapons of mass destruction the American Government was bragging about ? Palestine for more than fifty years the Palestinians had been persecuted  by the Israeli government who is illegally occupying Muslim lands. Where is  UN ? Where is Human Rights ? Where is the American Government who loves peace so much ? Afghanistan one of the poorest country in the world was totally demolished to the ground by American Forces just to get Usama bin Ladin. If the Taliban where really terrorists why are they negotiating with the Taliban now.. We have heard on media so many times George W Bush saying that " The American Government doesn't negotiate with terrorists".

  The American Government use the word " Terrorism" to enslave these countries  just to get to the natural wealth of these countries. In doing this how many children,women and men they have killed. So when Muslims takes weapons to defend their lands they are labelled as terrorists and suicide bombers. But when American soldiers Invade countries and massacres a whole community they are peace keepers.
  Its time we wake up brothers and sisters and use all that  we can do to stop the oppression of our Muslim brothers and sisters in the world. For once think about if your family gets raped,killed and persecuted in front of your eyes,How would you feel ? How would your reaction be ? We cannot sit in our comfortable houses and see our Muslim brothers and sisters been persecuted. Our Messenger Muhammad (swa) said " A Muslim is like a single body,when one part of the body is in pain the whole body feels it ". My  question is are we feeling the same for our Ummah ? Where is our Emaan ? Where is our love for our holy Lands ?

  I would like to advice the Maldivian government to end the idea of sending troops to the UN specially if there are going to fight against our Muslim brothers and sisters who are fighting in the way of Allah (swa). I advice the soldiers who are joining the UN to clarify more about this by asking a Sheikh . Also I would advice the government to stop the relationship with Israeli government as long as they are occupying Palestine. May Allah (swa) grant victory to our Mujaheddin and guide our top government officials to the right path.

Terrorism

What is terrorism? The Latin word “Terre” means to frighten ,but when we look at the word in-depth the word refer to those violent acts which are intended to create fear, are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians, and are committed by non-government agencies. The United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological. Now let’s look a the types of terrorism's.

   There are six types of terrorism they are:

• Civil disorder – A form of collective violence interfering with the peace, security, and normal functioning of the community.
• Political terrorism – Violent criminal behavior designed primarily to generate fear in the community, or substantial segment of it, for political purposes.
• Non-Political terrorism – Terrorism that is not aimed at political purposes but which exhibits “conscious design to create and maintain a high degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end is individual or collective gain rather than the achievement of a political objective.”
• Quasi-terrorism – The activities incidental to the commission of crimes of violence that are similar in form and method to genuine terrorism but which nevertheless lack its essential ingredient. It is not the main purpose of the quasi-terrorists to induce terror in the immediate victim as in the case of genuine terrorism, but the quasi-terrorist uses the modalities and techniques of the genuine terrorist and produces similar consequences and reaction. For example, the fleeing felon who takes hostages is a quasi-terrorist, whose methods are similar to those of the genuine terrorist but whose purposes are quite different.
• Limited political terrorism – Genuine political terrorism is characterized by a revolutionary approach; limited political terrorism refers to “acts of terrorism which are committed for ideological or political motives but which are not part of a concerted campaign to capture control of the state.
• Official or state terrorism –"referring to nations whose rule is based upon fear and oppression that reach similar to terrorism or such proportions.” It may also be referred to as Structural Terrorism defined broadly as terrorist acts carried out by governments in pursuit of political objectives, often as part of their foreign policy. ( The information was collected using the Wikipedia).

 To be continued..

          

          

Purpose

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Indeed the best speech is the word of the almighty lord Allah (swa).The best way of life is the sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammad (saw).The best affairs are the prescribed matters and the worst of the affairs are the novelties of the innovated matters. The most noble death is the death of a Martyr.Best of the knowledge is what that benefits.The upper hand is better than the lower hand.Veiling over the  death is from ignorance.The worst of the earning is the filthy dirty earnings from Rib-ah (Usury).The worst of the food is the eating  the inheritance of orphans.The worst of the reports are those which are lies.Abusing a Muslim is wickedness. Killing him is Kufr. And backbiting him is eating his flesh.He who with hold his anger Allah (swa) grant him rewards. He who is patient in calamities Allah (swa) turns his affairs making it right.He who is proud of himself, who is arrogant , who loves himself Allah (swa) will debase him.He who does actions to be seen by man to be known by man to be heard by man to be loved by man the almighty lord will  make not know of him nor the creatures. Allah (swa) is the most gracious most merciful. The king the sovereign the master the lord that rose  over his throne in manner which suits his glory that suits  his majesty. He is indeed the first and the last and the most high. He is the know er of everything ,he is the know er of everything. Lord of the seven heaven lord of the seven earth.There is nothing like him there is nothing comparable to him. ( This is taken from a speech by Sheikh Feiz ) May Allah (swa) reward him to the fullest.

This blog had been created to give knowledge, guidance,advice and strength to fellow brothers and sisters about our religion( Islam). May Allah (swa) give me strength , guidance and  time to update this site.

Jazaakallahuma khair