Ayaat 9-11 ~ Al-Munafiqun (The Hypocrites)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

9. O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allâh. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers.

10. And spend (in charity) of that with which We have provided you, before death comes to one of you and he says: “My Lord! If only You would give me respite for a little while (i.e. return to the worldly life), then I should give Sadaqah (i.e. Zakât) of my wealth , and be among the righteous.

11. And Allâh grants respite to none when his appointed time (death) comes. And Allâh is All-Aware of what you do.

Sura 63. Al-Munafiqun (The Hypocrites)

Hadith ~ What does this Prophet (SAWS) teach you?

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb (May Allah be pleased with him) mentioned Heraclius in a long Hadith and said: Heraclius asked me: “What does this Prophet (SAWS) teach you?” I said: “He orders us to worship Allah Alone and not to associate a thing with Him in worship, to discard what our ancestors said (in false beliefs), to perform the Salat (prayer), speak the truth, and maintain the ties of kinship”. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Commentary: Besides Tauhid (Oneness of Allah), this Hadith enjoins punctuality in Salat and excellence of character. In all the forms of worship, Salat is the most important, and the best in the nobility of character is righteousness. After professing faith in Tauhid and belief that Muhammad (SAWS) is the last Prophet of Allah, a Muslim should be punctual in Salat and make himself a model of excellent character.

Note: Abu Sufyan was not a Muslim when he gave that statement to Heraclius, at the time he was one of the enemies of Islam. May Allah guide us to the straight path. Ameen.

SAWS: May Allah exalt his mention and protect him from imperfection

Riyaadiss-Saliheen (The Meadows of the Righteous)
By Imam An Nawawi
Chapter 40, Page 109, No 327

Ayaat 55-57 ~ An-Nur (The Light)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

55. Allâh has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islâm). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh).

56. And perform As­Salât (prayers), and give Zakât and obey the Messenger that you may receive mercy (from Allâh).

57. Consider not that the disbelievers can escape in the land. Their abode shall be the Fire, and worst indeed is that destination.

Sura 24. An-Nur (The Light)

Commentary ~ Water down the milk

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

During Umar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) caliphate, it was not unusual for him to be seen patrolling the streets during the night. It was in fact his routine to do so in order to make sure that everyone was safe. On one such night, he was patrolling the streets with his servant. Becoming tired after a while, both of them stopped to rest beside a house. They could clearly hear the voice of an old woman from inside the house; she was ordering her daughter to water down the milk they were going to sell the following day. But the daughter refused her request; instead, she said, “Indeed, the Leader of the Believers has sent someone to make the announcement that it is forbidden to mix milk with water” (of course, referring to milk that is for sale and not for personal consumption).

The mother was not necessarily angry with her daughter, but she insisted that her daughter comply with her request. She even tried to reason with her, saying, “Where is Umar now? Verily, he does not see us.” Her believing, trustworthy daughter answered, “If Umar does not see us, then indeed, the Lord of Umar sees us.” The Leader of the Believers was very impressed by what he heard from the young woman, impressed by her faith and by her trustworthiness. On the following morning, he asked about her and found out her name was Umm Ammarah bint Sufyan bin Abdullah Ath-Thaqafi and that she was unmarried. He then married her to his son Aasim (may Allah be pleased with him). Allah blessed their marriage, for one of their grandchildren turned out to be a just and pious Caliph: of course, I am referring to Umar bin Abdul-Aziz.

Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 283