Salaat Time

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

1. Know that if you do not live within the scope of today, your thoughts will be scattered, your affairs will become confused, and your worrying will increase – these realities explain the Hadith:

“When you are in the morning, do not expect to see the evening, and when you are in the evening, do not expect to see the morning.”

2. Forget the past and all that it contained. Being absorbed in things that are gone is sheer lunacy.

3. Do not be preoccupied with the future. Because the future is in the world of the Unseen, do not let it bother you until it comes.

4. Do not be shaken by criticism; instead, be firm. And know that in proportion to your worth, the level of criticism rises.

5. Faith in Allah and good deeds: these are the ingredients that make up a good and happy life.

6. Whoever desires peace, tranquility, and comfort can find it all in the remembrance of Allah.

7. You should know with certainty that everything that happens, occurs in accordance with a divine decree.

8. Do not expect gratitude from anyone.

9. Train yourself to be ready and prepared for the worst eventuality.

10. Perhaps what has happened is in your best interest (though you may not comprehend how that is so).

11. Everything that is decreed for the Muslim is best for him.

12. Enumerate the blessings of Allah and be thankful for them.

13. You are better off than many others.

14. Relief comes from one hour to the next.

15. In both times of hardship and ease, one should turn to supplication and prayer.

16. Calamities should strengthen your heart and reshape your outlook in a positive sense.

17. Indeed, with each difficulty there is relief.

18. Do not let trifles be the cause of your destruction.

19. Indeed, your Lord is Oft-Forgiving.

20. Do not be angry… Do not be angry… Do not be angry.

21. Life is bread, water, and shade; so do not be perturbed by a lack of any other material thing.

And in the heaven is your provision, and that which you are promised. (Koran 51.22)

22. Most evil that is supposed to happen never occurs.

23. Look at those who are afflicted and be thankful.

24. When Allah loves a people, He makes them endure trials.

25. You should constantly repeat those supplications that the Prophet (May Allah exalt his mention and protect him from imperfection) taught us to say during times of hardship.

26. Work hard at something that is productive, and cast off idleness.

27. Don’t spread rumors and don’t listen to them. If you hear a rumor inadvertently, then don’t believe it.

28. Your malice and your striving to seek revenge are much more harmful to your health than they are to your antagonist.

29. The hardships that befall you atone for your sins.

La Tahzan (Don’t be sad)
By Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni
Translated by: Faisal ibn Muhammad Shafeeq, 2nd ed. Riyadh 2005
Publisher: International Islamic Publishing House
ISBN Hard Cover: 9960-850-36-6
ISBN Soft Cover: 9960-850-44-7
Page 135

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

Imam, Al-Qadi, Abu Bakr Muhammad bin’ Abdul-Baqi Al-Ansari – may Allah have mercy on him – used to live in Makkah. Having gone without food for longer than was comfortable for him, he became extremely hungry, but had nothing with which he could fend off his hunger. As he was walking through the streets of Makkah, thinking about his predicament, he found a silk bag that was tied by a silk string. After he picked up the bag, Imam Abu Bakr took it to his house. There he opened the bag and found in it a pearl necklace, the likes of which – in terms of beauty and quality – he had never before seen in his entire life. But if he felt any joy at having found such a valuable thing, that joy was short-lived, for when he went into the street, he came across an old man who was announcing that he had lost a silk bag that contained a valuable necklace. The old man said that there was a reward of 500 dinars for the person who returned the bag and necklace.

Many others who are put through a similar test fail, especially those who are poor and for whom the temptation of a valuable item is simply too much. But not so for Imam Abu Bakr, who instead of reflecting on his own situation, took the old man back with him to his house and asked him to describe the bag, the string, the pearls, and the string to which they were attached. The old man of course gave an accurate description of everything, after which Imam Abu Bakr took out the lost items and gave them to him. The old man immediately took out 500 dinars and tried to hand them over to Imam Abu Bakr, who then refused to take the reward, explaining that it was a religious duty upon him to return the lost items and that, therefore, it was not befitting for him to take a reward for having fulfilled that duty. The old man continued to insist for a while, but Imam Abu Bakr was adamant that he was not going to take the money. The old man then took his leave and went on his way.

Shortly thereafter, Imam Abu Bakr, perhaps seeking out a new life and a new means of gaining sustenance, left Makkah and became a passenger on a sea vessel. During his journey, the ship began to sink, and as a result, many people died, and their wealth went with them to the bottom of the sea. The ship was breaking into pieces, and with a great deal of difficulty, Imam Abu Bakr managed to hold on to one of those pieces and thus remain afloat. He continued to hold on to the broken piece for a long time, and when he finally reached an inhabited island, he could not tell how many days he had spent all alone in the sea.

As a newcomer to the island, he did not know anyone, and needing a place to rest and recuperate, he sat down in a Masjid. While he was seated in the Masjid, reading the Quran, many people heard him and approached him, asking him to teach them the Quran. He was all too happy to teach them, and as a reward for his services, they paid him a significant amount of money.

Later on, he found papers on which was written chapters of the Quran. He finally found an opportunity to read directly from the Quran instead of reciting from memory. Apparently, at least most people on the island were illiterate, for seeing that he could read, a throng of people approached him and asked him if he was able to write. He answered in the affirmative, and they said, “Teach us how to write.” They then brought to him children of all ages and he became their teacher. And again, in return for his services, he was paid a handsome sum of money.

Being pleased with both the character and knowledge of the newcomer, the leaders of the island approached him, saying, “Among us lives a young female orphan. She is rich, and we want you to marry her.” At first Imam Abu Bakr refused, but they insisted until he finally gave in and agreed to marry her.

On the day of their marriage, the leaders of the island presented Imam Abu Bakr’s new bride to him. With a look of utter amazement in his eyes, he began to stare at the necklace that she was wearing. So long did he stare at it, that the leaders of the island said, “You are breaking the heart of this young orphan, for instead of looking at her, you are looking at her necklace.” Imam Abu Bakr then told them of his story with the old man in Makkah. Everyone present began to pronounce the Testimony of Faith and to extol Allah’s greatness; they were so loud that their voices could be heard by all of the inhabitants of the island. Imam Abu Bakr asked, “What is the matter with you?” They said, “The old man who took the necklace from you is the father of this girl, and he used to say: ‘I have never found a [true and sincere] Muslim in the world except for the man who returned this necklace to me.’ And he used to supplicate, saying: ‘O Allah, bring me and that man together, so that I can marry my daughter to him.’ And now that has happened.”

Imam Abu Bakr outlived his wife and the children she bore him. Inheriting the necklace and then selling it for 100,000 dinars, he remained a wealthy man to the end of his days.

Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 270

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

Here is a saying of Hassan al-Basri, one of the Tabi’en (second generation after the Companions RA).

“There are three degrees of fear: the first is to always tell the truth, the second is to keep his person away from all works that the Lord most High does not love, the third is to behave so as to see ones acts accepted by Allah.” And he added, “A mitzqal (about six and a half grams) of fear is better than a thousand mitzqal of fasting and prayers.” The most excellent of all works is the practice of fear and reflection on one’s own acts. One whose heart does not go hand in hand with ones tongue (speech), whose exterior and interior are not in unison, bears on him the imprint of hypocrisy. The true believer is the one who makes efforts constantly to not fall into hypocrisy, who does not do anything that one should not do, that never utters a word that one must not say.”

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

Nadr bin Shumail said that in a certain place the price of silk had increased and that if it increased there, it should also increase in Basrah. Yunus bin ‘Ubaid was a silk manufacturer and when he learned of this fact, he bought from a man a quantity of goods for thirty thousand. Yet, afterwards, he asked the seller if he was aware of the price increase. The seller replied that he was not and that had he been, he would not have made the sale at such a price. Yunus insisted that his money be returned for the goods that were sold to him. This illustrates the piety of our predecessors, for even in their business transactions they attempted to maintain the highest level of honesty and clarity in all matters, pertaining to both the buyer and seller.

Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 50

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

Here is a saying of Imam Ali (May Allah be pleased with him):

“Science is linked to action, the one who knows acts, science calls out to action: either action responds to it or science goes away”.

Commentary: Science i.e. Religion.

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

Words of Imam Ali (may Allah grant him His Satisfaction):

People hurt themselves in three things:

1. Their overeating, relying on their good health.
2. Their acceptance of intolerable burdens, relying on their strength.
3. And their choice of deliberate inaction, relying on Destiny.

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

A story related to Suliman ibn Abdel Malek, a Muslim Caliph, during a golden era of Islam when the Muslim Ummah was expanding, the wealth of the world was coming to the Islamic nation and Allah was giving this Ummah rizk (provisions) so much so that the Ummah was living an extravagant lifestyle. Damascus, the capital of the Muslim Caliphate at the time was the greatest city in the world, the most luxurious city in the world and Beni Oumaya were living a life that no one else in the world would dream of.

Suliman ibn Abdel Malek was accompanying a scholar from al Tabiyeen (second generation after the companions), so he asked this scholar a question: “How come we hate death?”, so the scholar responded and said: “Ya Emir Al Moumineen (O Leader of the Believers), you have constructed your dounia (this present world) and you have destroyed your ekhira (the hereafter). So you would not want to think of leaving what is constructed to what is destroyed.”

The scholar is saying that all you have done is prepare for yourself a good life for this world but you haven’t done much for the hereafter. You built a palace here but you didn’t build a palace there. You made for yourself an easy lifestyle here but you didn’t make sure that you will have a similar one in the hereafter and that is why you don’t like death. But for somebody who is investing all of their money, their effort and time in building for themselves a better life in the hereafter, for these they would love to go from this world to the hereafter.

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

We dictate how others think of us. If a person were to see you in the market and frown at you, then see you at the grocer’s and frown at you, and then you bump into him at a wedding party and see him frowning at you, you would form a picture of him in your mind. If you were to see him again, or even hear of him again, his frowning face would instantly come mind. Isn’t that true?

If a person meets you with a smile, then he meets you elsewhere with a smile, and so on, there will be a positive smiling picture of him imprinted in your mind.

This is concerning someone with whom you have no relationship and only meet with every now and then. But as for those whom we meet all the time, like a wife, children, work colleagues and neighbours, then we don’t always deal with them in the same manner. Yes, they will see us laughing and joking, but no doubt they will also see us sometimes angry, frowning, argumentative or even insulting because we are, after all, human beings.

Consequently, their love for us is governed by our good or bad conduct towards them. If you wish, you can say that their love for us is in proportion to the emotional credit that we may have in our accounts with them. How so?

When you show good conduct towards a person, you are in reality depositing fond memories about yourself in his memory register. In other words, it is as if he has opened up an account for you in his heart where he keeps safe his love and respect for you. Thereafter, your bank balance either increases or decreases. Hence, each time you meet him with a smile, your emotional bank balance increases. Each time you give him a gift, it also increases. Every act of courtesy increases it further. Similarly, each time you offend, insult or curse a person, you make a withdrawal from that emotional bank balance.

Similarly, if you have a huge balance with a person and one day end up angering him, you withdraw only a small percentage from your emotional bank balance due to the huge original balance.

If a beloved comes with one vice,

His virtues come to the rescue with a thousand intercessors

However, if you don’t have an emotional bank balance with a person to begin with and then begin to withdraw, then your account with him will be in deficit. Subsequently, he may develop a dislike for you since you continue to withdraw but never deposit.

You may have heard the story about a wife who was divorced by her husband. When asked about the reason for the divorce, she said, “It was a trivial reason. He wanted me to go with him to see his sister and I refused. He became angry and began insulting and cursing me, and then eventually divorced me!”

If you contemplate a little why she got divorced, you would discover that the reason was not as trivial as she claimed. Rather, the incident was the last straw that broke the camel’s back!

It is said that there was once a man who had a strong camel. One day he decided to travel, so he placed all his belongings on the camel’s back and tied it up. The poor camel tried to withstand the pressure as he managed to place on its back the load of four camels. The camel began to waver as the people shouted at the man saying, “Enough!” But the man didn’t listen. He finally took a belt made out of straw and placed it on the camel, saying, “This is very light, and this is the last thing I will place on it.” As soon as he placed the belt on it, the camel fell to the ground. Thus, his story became an idiom and it was said, “The last straw which broke the camel’s back!”

If you think about it, you will realise that the belt was quite innocent, for it was not the belt that broke the camel’s back. Rather, the back was broken due to the heavy overall load that was placed on it, which it tried to withstand with patience until it could stand it no longer. The miniscule weight of the belt then finally broke its back.

The same goes for the woman who was divorced by her husband (*Note: the same applies to a husband towards his wife). I can say for certain that the reason was not just the fact that she refused to visit his sister. Rather, it was a number of things including refusing to fulfill his requests and his wishes, the lack of love between the two, her arrogance and the lack of respect she had for his views. She continued to withdraw from her emotional bank account without depositing anything. She continued to hurt him without healing his wounds. He continued to bear her with patience, until this incident happened which broke the camel’s back.

If she were to have contributed to her emotional bank account on a regular basis by meeting him nicely, spoiling him a little, making herself beloved to him, joking and being light-hearted with him, taking care of his food and clothes and respecting his views, she would have had a huge emotional bank balance. She would have been a millionaire in his heart. Consequently, it would not have mattered much if her emotional bank balance decreased slightly because her wrong actions would have disappeared in the sea of her virtues.

You can say the same about a troublemaking student who has made one mistake due to which his teacher become very angry and perhaps punish him, or threw him out of the classroom. Then the student may complain, “Such-and-such a colleague of mine does things much worse than me, yet he isn’t punished! As for me, I didn’t do anything, except that I made a joke without permission.” He doesn’t realise that the joke was the last straw which broke the camel’s back. He had always hurt his teacher without healing his wounds. The same can be said about colleagues or neighbours who argue amongst each other.

Hence, we are always in need of depositing into the emotional bank balance that lies in people’s hearts. The husband should look for opportunities to deposit into his wife’s heart and continue to increase his points. The wife should do the same. The son should likewise deposit some love in his mother and father’s heart, as should the teacher with his students and a person with his brother. In fact, even the manager should do the same with those who work under him.

In short…
If a beloved comes with one vice,

His virtues come to the rescue with a thousand intercessors

Enjoy your life
Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Rahaman Al-Arifi
Translated by: Saleem Beg
Edited By: Nasim Chowdhury
Published By: Darussalam
P510

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

Fudail bin ‘Iyad said: “If you are not able to fast or pray, then know that you are shackled and confined by your sins.” Allah (the Exalted) says:

“Yes! Whosoever earns evil and his sin has surrounded him, they are dwellers of the Fire (i.e. Hell); they will dwell therein forever.” (Quran 2:81)

Ibn Mubarak said: “I saw that sins cause hearts to die, that base actions lead to their addiction, that avoiding sins is life for the heart, and that it is better for your soul for you to disobey it.”

Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 149

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

Hasan, the son of Abul-Hasan, entered upon Abdullah bin Ahtam, visiting him during his illness. He saw Ibn Ahtam point his finger toward a box in his house. He went to the box and asked Hasan, “O Abu Sa’eed, what would you say about one hundred thousand in this box, of which I have never paid Zakat and from which I have never joined ties of relations.” Hasan replied, “May your mother lose you. For whom were you gathering this wealth?” Ibn Ahtam explained, “I gathered it for difficult times, or the harshness of a cruel ruler, or for an increase in wives and children.”

Shortly after this meeting, Ibn Ahtam died and as he was being buried, Hasan said to those present, “Look at this pitiable person. Satan came to him, making him fear poverty and kept him from spending of that which Allah (the Exalted) gave to him. And now he has departed from this world, empty-handed and miserable.” Hasan then turned to the inheritors of the deceased and said, “Let not this wealth deceive you as it deceived this companion of yours. This wealth has come to you in a Halal manner, so do not let it be your destruction. For indeed the greatest sorrow on the Day of Judgment will be to see your wealth, which you toiled to gather (from both Halal and Haram sources), in the scales of your inheritors – if they do good with the money (charity, etc.), the good deed is with them, and the sin of that wealth is upon you.”

Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 33

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

Shu’bah and Qatadah related from Yunus bin Jubair, who said that he and his companions visited Jundub and said to him, “Give us some advice.’ He replied, “I advise you to fear Allah. I advise you to adhere to the Qur’an – for it is light in the darkest of nights and it is guidance during the day. Apply it… and if a trial, such as poverty, comes to you, give precedence to your religion over wealth. If that trial worsens, continue to put your religion before your wealth and your soul, for indeed the only one who is destroyed is the one whose religion is destroyed; the one who is poor is the one who has lost his religion. Know that there is no poverty after Paradise and there is no richness after the Hellfire.”

Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 42