Day 15: Flood Them with Your Mercy - Please!

“O you who believe! Bow down prostrate yourselves and adore your Lord; and do good; that you may prosper.” (Qur'an 22 verse 77

This month presents us with an opportunity to bow down to Allah’s Will, show our love and obeisance of Him and engage in good deeds. These –Faith, Worship and Deeds - lead to prosperity in this life and in the life-hereafter. The deeds are not directed at your persons, there are selfless actions from you towards other people.

The biggest calamity yet this year is the current flood destroying lives and livelihood in Pakistan. This flood has brought deaths to thousands of lives. It has caused vicissitude to the status of thousands. It is changing the landscape of hundreds of communities, destroyed thousands of farms and homes. It has displaced millions of people rendering them homeless, defenceless and distraught. If this is the worst of calamities today, offering them a flood load of your good deeds is the greatest good you can do today, outside your immediate scope of responsibility and concern, that is.

Ramadan is a month of mercy and we Muslims must prove this to be true. And we are doing this already. The British public (including a sizeable number of Muslim populace) has already raised over £30 millions. A local mosque in Oxfordshire where I prayed Asr yesterday has raised over £16,500. And this is happening all over the world. If you have not donated, now is the time to do it. Remember while you break your fast with sumptuous meals, those affected by the flood, may not be fasting and those who are, will be doing so with even more difficulty than it used to be.

Our Creator says, “Those who give alms (donations), both men and women, they lend unto Allah a goodly loan, it will be doubled for them, and theirs will be a rich reward.” (Qur'an 57 verse 18) In essence, do it for your own benefit if not for the sake of the humanity we see suffering the cold and diseased caring flood.

Don’t know about you, buy the video clips of the flood humbles me. I marvel at those who see all these and do not FEEL the need to give even a widow’s mite. They probably lack humanity as they do not see humanity in the flood victims. “… their hearts were hardened and the devil made all that they used to do seem fair unto them!” Qur'an 6 verse 43.

Please for the sake of Allah and the sake of the Day of Judgement, let us this Ramadan throw open the flood gate of benevolence as our beloved Prophet used to do. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) “…was the most generous of the men; and he was the most generous during the month of Ramadan when Jibril visited him every night and recited the Qur'an to him. During this period, the generosity of Messenger of Allah waxed faster than the rain bearing wind.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

This act may count in our benefit on the Day of Judgement like we read in the hadith below on the importance of care and concern for those in difficult situations. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "A person (from amongst the people who lived before you) was called to account by Allah on the Day of Resurrection. No good deeds were found in his credit except that he being a rich man had (financial) dealings with people and had commanded his servants to show leniency to those who were in straitened circumstances. Upon this Allah, the Exalted, and Majestic said: `I am more entitled to this attribute, so waive (his faults)’.'' (Muslim)

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.

Day 14: A Husk and a Kernel

The goal of fasting is the acquisition of one of the qualities of God, namely steadfastness (samadiya), as well as following the examples of the angels by abstaining as far as possible from the desire of the flesh, for they are immune to such passions. The human status is superior to that of the animals, since man is able by the light of reason to tame his lust; yet it is inferior to that of the angels…. The angels are near to the presence of God, so those who follow their example and model themselves on their character will likewise draw near to God. To resemble one who is near is to be near. This nearness, however, is not spatial but qualitative.

If this is the meaning of fasting among men of profound understanding, what benefit is to be derived from postponing a meal only to combine two meals after sunset, while indulging in other passions the whole daylong? If there were any good in such conduct, what could the Prophet (peace be upon him) have meant by saying: “How many of those who fast get nothing from it but hunger and thirst?”

This is why Abu-Darda said: “How fine is the sleep of the wise and their non-fasting! Don’t they put to shame the fasting and wakefulness of fools? A mere atom from those possessed of certainty and true piety is better and weightier than the seeming mountains of worship by the misguided.” For the same reason, one of the scholars said: “How many who fast are not keeping fast and how many who do not keep fast are fasting!” 

The fasting non-faster is he who keeps his limbs and organs pure of sin while still eating and drinking (not in Ramadan); the non-fasting faster is he who goes hungry and thirsty while giving full licence to his limbs and organ. Those who understand the significance of fasting and its secret meaning are aware that he who abstains from food, drink and sexual intercourse while breaking fast by involving himself in sins, is like one who performs his ablution by wiping part of his body three times (in compliance with the external legal requirement), yet neglects what is really important, namely the actual washing. Because of this stupidity, his ritual prayer (salaah) is rejected. By contrast, he who does not abstain from eating yet does fast in the sense of keeping his organs free from all that is unworthy is comparable to one who washes the proper parts if his body only once each. God willing, his ritual prayers is accepted, since he has paid due attention to the essentials, even if he has omitted the details. But he who combines the two may be compared to one who does not only wash each part of his body, but does so three time each, for he attends to essentials and details alike, and this constitutes perfection.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) once said: “The fast is a trust, so let each of you keep his trust!” And when he recited the words of Allah, “Surely Allah bids you restore trusts to their owners.” (Qur'an 4 verse 58), he touched his ears and eyes, saying: “Hearing is a trust and sight is a trust.” If speech were not likewise a trust of the fast, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not have said: “Say: I am fasting.” In other words, “My tongue has been entrusted to my care, so how can I release it to answer your insults?” It therefore becomes apparent that every act of worship has both an outer and an inner aspect, a husk and a kernel.

-Imam Al-Ghazali, Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship.

Day 13: Ramadan Sermon

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) delivered a very powerful sermon on Ramadan. It is concise and rich and no doubt if you sincerely want to benefit from Ramadan, you would almost memorise this sermon. This sermon emphasised the value, use, opportunities, and the uniqueness of Ramadan. Enjoy the sermon:

Importance of Ramadan: O People! Ramadan…is the blessed month of Allah. A month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness. A month which is the best of months with Allah. Its days, the best of days, its nights, the best of nights, and its hours, the best of hours. It is the month which invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him. Each breath you take glorifies him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and your supplications are answered.

Usefulness of Ramadan: So, ask Allah, your Lord; to give you a sound body and an enlightened heart so you may be able to fast and recite his book, for only he is unhappy who is devoid of Allah's forgiveness during this great month. Remember the hunger and thirst of the day of Qiyamah (Judgement) with your hunger and thirst; give alms to the needy and poor, honour your old, show kindness to the young ones, maintain relations with your blood relations; guard your tongues, close your eyes to that which is not permissible for your sight, close your ears to that which is forbidden to hear, show compassion to the orphans of people so compassion may be shown to your orphans.

Free Yourself with Ramadan: Repent to Allah for your sins and raise your hands in dua during these times, for they are the best of times and Allah looks towards his creatures with kindness, replying to them during the hours and granting their needs if he is asked. O People! Indeed your souls are dependant on your deeds, free it with Istighfar (repentance) lighten its loads by long prostrations; and  know that Allah swears by his might: that there is no punishment for the one who prays and prostrates and he shall have no fear of the fire on the day when man stands before the Lord of the worlds. O People! One who gives Iftaar to a fasting person during this month will be like one who has freed someone and his past sins will be forgiven. [Some of the people who were there then asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Not all of us are able to invite those who are fasting?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "Allah gives this reward even if the Iftaar (meal) is a drink of water.”]

Actions for Ramadan: One who has good morals (Akhlaq) during this month will be able to pass the Siraat (the Bridge over the Hell) on the day that feet will slip. One who covers the faults of others will benefit in that Allah will curb His anger on the day of Judgement. As for one who honours an orphan; Allah will honour him on the day of judgement. And for the one who spreads his kindness, Allah will spread His mercy over him on the day of Judgement. As for the one who cuts the ties of relation; Allah will cut His mercy from him...Whosoever performs a recommended prayer (nawafil) in this month Allah will keep the fire of Hell away from him. Whoever performs an obligator prayer (Salaah) Allah will reward him with seventy prayers’ worth in this month. And whosoever prays a lot during this month will have his load lightened on the day of measure.

Ramadan, What A Wonderful Month: He who recites one verse of the noble Quran will be given the rewards of reciting the whole Qur’an during other months. O People! Indeed during this month the doors of heaven are open, therefore ask Allah not to close them for you; the doors of hell are closed, so ask Allah to keep them closed for you. During this month the Shaytan is imprisoned so ask your Lord not to let him have power over you.

And the words of the Rasul (peace be upon him) are true!

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.

Day 10: The Wing of Humility (Part 2)

The instruction to lower our wings of humility is directly from our Creator who knows all that has transpired between us and our parents. He has not permitted rudeness under no account. The Qur'an says: “Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you are kind to your parents.  Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life say not to them a word of contempt nor repel them but address them with words of honour. And out of kindness lower to them your wing of humility and say: "My Lord! bestow on them Your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood’.” (Qur'an 17 verses 23 and 24)

For those who had grudges against their parents due to previous incidences of abandonment, neglect, abuse, discriminations, etc and have in turn abandoned their parents or have been rude to them or even disrespected them privately or publicly, God offers forgiveness in the verse immediately following the above: “Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts: if you do deeds of righteousness verily He is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in true penitence)” (Qur'an 17 verse 25) You may well wonder why you need to seek forgiveness for giving them a dose of their own pill? Well, under no circumstance are you allowed to behave injuriously to your parents!

Firstly, in Islam, the consequences of someone’s failure will be faced by them either in this world or in the next world, and the consequence of your own actions will similarly confront you in due course. Therefore, do not let someone’s error cause your bitter reactions leading to unintended consequence – your doom.

The place of parenthood in Islam is such that kindness to parents is an act of piety, a measure of your humility and obedience of God. Love and care for parents is more than simple human gratitude, it is purely divine and spiritual. Abdullah Yusuf Ali similarly concluded, “our spiritual advancement is tested by this: we cannot expect Allah's forgiveness if we are rude or unkind to those who unselfishly brought us up.”

Although it is encouraged that though they may have failed once in a while to show you compassion and fairness when you were young, weak and helpless; now that they are old, weak and hapless and you are strong, viable and mobile, you should nevertheless still return the favour they bestowed upon you. Yes, that is true, but that is not the main reason why you should be kind and humble to them. It is basically the respect for the sanctity of parenthood. Did you not notice how God placed kindness to parent next to worship of Himself? “Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you are kind to your parents….” Kindness to parents is akin to divine love and negligence of this duty is similar or equal to negligence of duty to your Creator. None of these can be excused. Never!

Patience and understanding is therefore important in dealing with aged parents. There is consequence if you take a dim view of this instruction.

For those who have lost their parents, there is still something you can do for them to show your kindness towards them. A man asked Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), “O Messenger of God, is there any kindness left that I can do to my parents after their death?” He (peace be upon him) replied: “Yes, you can invoke blessings on them, forgiveness for them, carry out their final instructions after their death, join ties of relationship which are dependent on them, and honour their friends.” Simple! Islam does not ask you to do anything beyond your capability.

“On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray): "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error….” (Qur'an 2 verse 286)

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.

Day 9: The Wing of Humility (Part 1)

Kuffa is a town in Modern Day Iraq and it was a bubbling intellectual city. About 1,275 years ago, Imam Abu Hanifa was the undisputed Chief Judge of Kuffa. Everyone turns to him for legislative rulings or juridical clarification (fatwah). Everyone! But not his mother.

One day, his mother told him she needed to go out to ask for religious advice on what to do as she has seen some blood on her cloth. Imam Abu Hanifa gave her the ruling, but she said “No! You don’t know that much. I must go to Abu Zurha for the fatwah.” Abu Hanifa was amazed because Abu Zurha is not even amongst the legal luminaries of the day. He exclaimed, “Abu Zurha, The Storyteller?” “Yes!” She said.

Abu Hanifa humbly and patiently took his mother to Abu Zurha. Abu Zurha was surprised to see Imam Abu Hanifa in his compound. “Why?” he wondered. Imam Abu Hanifa went into Abu Zurha’s abode telling him that his mother wanted a fatwa from him. Abu Zurha shook his head, flatly refusing, saying he does not know the ruling on that question. He declared that he is not a scholar, but just a storyteller. Abu Hanifa whispered the answer in his ear and took him out to his mother. Abu Zurha listened to Abu Hanifa’s mother and pretended to ponder deep before giving a ‘scholarly’ (hmm borrowed) response. The old woman was satisfied, patted his son on the back saying, “You were right, you know!”

How many times have your opinion been rubbished by your parents, Uncles or older siblings? It’s a common phenomenon; parents always regard their children always as children regardless of their age and achievements. That should be expected and our efforts to convince close relatives (even sometimes including spouses) of the stuff we are made of have to be doubled. Too much familiarity brings contempt; and the family is fully familial. But the issue here is how do we deal with our parents no matter how annoying they are?

Imam Abu Hanifa, a true scholar that he is, had the humility to fulfil the mother’s desires without argument or abandonment. Even when he was vindicated, he was not haughty or naughty. He lowered his wing of humility, allowed his mother to ride on them. When our parents are old, surprisingly, they still have the energy to challenge us, because it’s just like yesterday that we were helpless and knew absolutely nothing and they taught us the basics in life. Thus their obstinate attitude to us; and this we must understand, appreciate and accept as human nature for which we might one day also be guilty of.

Part 2 continues shortly...

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.

Day 8: The Beloved of Allah

“Allah is the Protecting Friend of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.  Of those who reject faith the patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness.  They will be companions of the fire to dwell therein (for ever).” Qur'an 2 verse 257

The above verse is one of the most profound verses of the revealed scriptures I have ever read. It gives hope to me as a person and in so many ways resonates with my inner desires. That God is a friend of anyone and this can really be any ordinary person. How can I not desire to be befriended by Allah? We value friendship of people who are more powerful than ourselves, or more pious, or richer or more knowledgeable, why not Allah who is far beyond anything and anyone and in every way.

He promises not only just to be a friend but a protecting one. Protects from the ultimate misfortunes of Hell, Punishment, Evil, Harm and Calamity. To earn His protection and friendship, he only requires true faith. True faith is in every decision we make in every moments. Do you choose God’s guidance and instructions over personal desires and pleasure? Do you seek His pleasure and nearness to Him or you drift ever so often into personal passion and mundane acknowledgement? If in every decision you choose the Supreme over the Self, then you will be close to him and will be God’s friend, beloved and protected.

“… My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him.  When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks.  Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.  I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.”

Once you have gained nearness to Him, he promises never to leave you in darkness, you will forever be in the light of His guidance and His love.

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.

Day 7: Look Around You Again, Anew!

Kristiane Backer is a former MTV (Music Channel) presenter interviewing ‘famous’ and ‘the big guys’ in the music industry. She reverted to Islam and now champions eco-friendly agenda. She believes that every Muslim should be environmentalists by nature.

She makes the following statement on a very interesting YouTube Video:

“We have lost our respect for creation and our sense of the sacred. The Qur'an tells us how God has created everything in balance and it we upset the balance, it has disastrous consequences, not only for the world around us, but also for our souls… What we need is a revival of spiritual consciousness which will inspire us to all get together no matter what faith to try and save the planet.”

I have always held that part of the peace Islam brings to humanity is the Concord will other non-human creations. Therefore, as a Muslim must have a satisfactory relationship with His Creator which qualifies him or her to Paradise, he or she must also display satisfactory certification of successful relationship with people around him as well as non-human creations around him.

Harmony with all of Allah’s creatures equally attracts to Paradise and should be given equal visibility in our doctrinal teachings as theology and jurisprudence. Be minded that we shall be taken to task if we neglect devotion to Him, as well as to our body, other people and other creations around us (including mother earth), because these are all trust from Allah upon us.

The Rasul (peace be upon him) discouraged a 24/7 worship of Allah (in the mosque or through fasting) to the detriment of the duties owed to your body and others with equal rights over you. Pets and animals in general are a trust upon us, we owe a duty of care to them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A lady was punished because of a cat which she had imprisoned till it died. She entered the (Hell) Fire because of it, for she neither gave it food nor water as she had imprisoned it, nor set it free to eat from the earth.” (Bukhari)

Similarly, the Prophet (peace be upon him) narrated that a man was walking on his way he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting due to excessive thirst. Its tongue was lolling out and it was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself, 'This dog is suffering from the thirst like I was.’ So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, holding it with his mouth, he climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him." The companions with the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked in wonderment, "O Messenger of Allah! Shall we also be rewarded for showing kindness to (or serving) animals?" He replied, "Yes, there is a reward for serving any living creature."

Look around you today and see every creature of Allah as your responsibility to whom you are a steward, wouldn’t your attitude be more positive towards them all. That was how the Prophet (peace be upon him) was in his lifetime and this is what Kristiane Backer, a revert, is calling us all back to.

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.