Its amazing subhanAllah, how fast life moves, some would say “duh! thats a given”, but I don’t think one realises how fast it does move and how quickly things change until you’re in the midst of it all.

The past few months especially the past 3, have taught that when things don’t move they just don’t and when Allah decides the time is right for you to get it moving, boy do you get movin’ !

Alhumdulillah getting married was maybe the catapult for it all, in three months so much has happened. Marriage, Hajj, Travelling and Moving to the middle east! Looking back at the months prior to that, and at the comfort of what life was, the everyday routine rota of things, it brings one to realise the true essence of this life, any moment any one of us could have the dust of the earth kicked in our faces (death), then what utter chaos and turmoil will we be thrown in if we haven’t prepared?

The true reality of emaan, and the value of it is only shown to those of us sat in our comfortable lives, when shown what life is like out of this comfort, how used to we are to the people around us, to the area, to the stores, to the masjids to the ready available knowledge. How we take for granted all that our forefathers have set up for us, the quaint little muslim community hubs where all is readily available, yet forgetting how they set these hubs up. They weren’t set up seeking comfort or an easy life (though an easier life for their progeny would be a by product not the aim), they set these hubs up with eman, for Allah , to protect the deen of their beloved children and children to come, yet it seems now that it is the by product (that of comfort) which is the aim and no longer the true goal of preserving emaan, and excelling in the eyes of Allah .
How attached we have become to the comfort to the dunya (world) and all that is in it, ask me, there is nothing more of a reality shock at how we collate things in this world than trying to emigrate with only bare essentials, how suddenly everything becomes an essential, how we attach our hearts to the items of this world when we all know most definitely we will soon enough be leaving it all behind on a permanent basis.

Though a lesson to be learnt which indeed I have many a time over the past learnt, and a lesson the many founders of our muslim communities here in England have tried to pass on to us, is have tawakkul (trust) in Allah , He is the provider, He will give, all we need in the end is our eman, and all else will come to be as destined until the one day when we all stand in front of him with nothing but our book of deeds.

May Allah enable us to leave the love for the dunya from our hearts, may He fill it with love of Him and His Rasool.
May He increase us in emaan and the knowledge of how we may please Him, and enable us to act upon it.

Ma’assalam

Assalamualaykum Wa RahmatuAllah

From the Wise Sayings of Luqman

“If you’re in prayer, take care of your heart;

If you’re eating, take care of your throat;

If you’re in another man’s house, take care of your eyes;

If you are among people, take care of your tongue.

Remember two matters and forget two matters:

Remember Allah and death;

Forget any good that you have done to another and any evil that was done to you by another.”

“A Teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops”

“Teaching is not a lost art. But the regard for it is a lost tradition”

Assalamualaykum WaRahmatuAllah;

So whilst teaching the other day I had the Ultimate “DUH” moment …

I’ve been teaching kids for 2 years minus a few weeks now … Alhumdulillah

So one of my beloved little students who’s 5 has been with me since learning the arabic alphabet from Alif Baa, now MashaAllah she’s on Juzz Amma with complete fluent recitation and a good grasp on tajweed, SubhanAllah the amount of effort this little girl puts in is amazing, when she doesn’t know her dars I can just tell, cos she comes in to class in tears.

Now you can say she cries cos she’s afraid I’ll shout, Unfortunately that isn’t the case, I’m apparently the biggest walk over teacher.
But she cries cos she feels she’s let me and her self down. SubhanAllah I love this child!

I ask her why she comes into class crying:

Child: Apa I dont know my dars
Me: Its ok, you know I won’t shout, let me help you learn it.
Child: No apa its not that, Its because I dont like it when I don’t know it.

SubhanAllah! This love for learning Quran is becoming very rare, How the child finds happiness in every page they advance in Quran.

I ask the child, what do you wish to become when you grow older? She says I want to become and Apa like you.

That bought me to tears … such innocence and love for teaching deen!

That bought on the “DUH” moment …
I thought I have taught this child from alphabet through to Quran, now each time she recites Quran, reads salah all the ajr comes back to me. And she wants to go on to teach so the line is infinite … Woooooooooooaaaaah!

SubhanAllah, We all know teaching is a sadaqah jariyyah but this time the realisation actually caught up with me in real time.

Alhumdulillah! I make dua to Allah that he bless’ each one of my students and the muslimeen with the love of deen, love for the Quran. May Allah grant them barakah in their lives so they may grow up to work for his deen.
May Allah instill in me in the correct adaab, so that I may teach them in the correct manner, and May He forgive me for my shortcomings.

Duas Requested for Me and My students.

WaAlaykumAssalam WaRahmatuAllah

Assalamualaykum

Those who know me, know that I fall in and out of love quite often.
Well my latest love is this amazing album by Talib Al Habib called Rahma

My favourite has to be the last one Kalimataan, That nasheed brings back so many memories of madrassah.How for 6 years, we’re studying and wishing, when will we get the chance to recite those last words of the collection of Imam Bukhari, and when we, do its the most heart wrenching experience knowing that 6 years of total amazement have now ended.

If that makes no sense read on if it does you may skip this paragraph:
The final books studied in the Ilmiyyah course (aalimah course) are the sihah sitta (the authentic 6 books of hadith). From them the most final being Bukhari, The collection is concluded in the graduation ceremony, when each student has to recite the words from the book, and we are then given our final dars (lesson) in the ceremony. Its the final thing we are ever taught.

Then after Kalimataan, Knowledge is Light, and so forth every one

The track listings are:
Light of the Dawn
Rahma – the Hadith of Mercy
Tasbih – the Seedlings of Paradise
Tauhid – the Unity of Allah
Knowledge is Light
Iman - The Articles of Faith
Hilya – the Description of Rasulullah (SAW)
Kalimatan – the Seal of al-Bukhari

If you want to know more about the album:
Islamic Goods Direct (click here)

If you want to listen to clips:
Nasheed Shop (click here)

Radiant Lights Final Comment: BUY IT ! ! !

Dua’s Requested

WaAlaykumAssalam WaRahmatuAllah

Allah says in the Qur’an:
“When my servants ask you concerning me, (tell them) I am indeed close (to them). I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on me.” [2:186]

The place of duaa is so high to Allah , that the Prophet had said:
“Nothing is more honourable to Allah the Most High than du`a.”
[Sahih al-Jami` no.5268].

He also said: “The most excellent worship is du`a.”
[Sahih Al-Jami` no. 1133]

Assalamualaykum

Alhumdulillah had a roller coaster weekend!
Its started of on Saturday By having to recite in an awards evening organised by the local committee of mosques.
I chose to recite Surah Maryam, the ayaat of the conception of Isa (as) through to his birth.

Alhumdulillah it went really well, its funny I don’t really suffer stage fright but once I actually get up there its kind of daunting.

The evening wasn’t an all an all out dawah event, non-muslims were invited, and I was asked to recite so why miss out on a dawah opportunity! It was received well by the non-muslims as well Alhumdulillah!

There were local muslim female councillors there who spoke about their work in politics and when she asked the crowd (which consisted of mostly under 18’s) who was thinking about going into politics, no one raised their hands! It just doesn’t seem appealing, yet ask anyone if they would want to become Prime Minister it would have been a different matter!

The entire event well Alhumdulillah, and it was beautiful to see the sisterhood between all the sisters, all working together for the sake of Allah

Then today it was the Al Birr Hifz Competition (we were stationed at the girls one obviously!), subhanAllah, some of the contestants were so young, they made me feel ashamed, yet in a way enlightened in the heart, seeing these young muslimahs memorise, showed in reality Allah ’s promise to always protect the Quran. AND it motivated me to pick up memorising again, inshaAllah I’m hoping to enter the competition one day, Make dua for me!!

I met some amazing sisters, friends of a friend, but also sister’s from sunniforum (oh how small is the world!!), I love meeting like minded people and one of the sisters was from Vancouver (Yup my ultimate dream place!), and I could see the mysterious ways in which Allah works, and how meeting everyone is for a reason!

Over all it was such a beautiful weekend, working for the sake of Allah through most of it! You can’t get time spent better than that!! SubhanAllah, and bonding together in the way only muslimah’s can, the power of sisterhood!

May Allah grant us all the ability to carry on working for His deen.

May He accept from us our humble efforts and prayers, and grant us what He befits best for us.

May He keep our intentions pure and only for His sake.

May He increase us in Ilm and bestow on us deeper bonds of brotherhood, as He did upon the Ansaar and Muhajireen.

May He grant us all Jannatul Firdous.

Ameen

Please keep me in your duas in these blessed days and the days to come.

If anyone wishes for special dua’s especially for Ramadan please just leave a comment.

WaAlaykumAssalam Wa RahmatuAllah

So to fulfill our needs and wants, we must call on Him. Making Du’a to Allah , is a recognition of our weakness and His greatness. The Prophet had said: “Ask Allah for everything, even the lace of your shoes. If Allah does not provide, it will never be available.”
Tirmidhi

And let not there be anyone who says: “… my Lord won’t answer my prayer, because of this and that.. or because of so and so..”. No! Indeed Allah is the Most Generous King. Is there anyone who met a king, and praised and glorified him, and then asked, yet the request was not granted? So what about Allah , the King of the Heavens and the Earth - who has total control over your life, your wealth and your future. Why would He not grant you your request? Indeed, our beloved Prophet had said: “Verily your Lord is the One modest and Generous, and when His servant raises his hands to Him in supplication, He is diffident (in some wordings, shy or hesitant) from returning them empty.”
Abu Dawood

و من الشَقاوة أن تحبَ
و من تحبُ يحبُ غيرك
أو أن تريد الخير للأن
سان و هو يريد ضيرك

“And from misery is that you love,
and (the one) who you love, loves other than you,
or that you want good for a person,
and he wants to hurt you”.

(Imam Shafaee RH)

Assalamualaykum WaRahmatuAllah

I’ve often come to realise that people can mistake your true intentions. The time that it hurts the most is when you’re being truly sincere and you wish only good for that person or you wish to be only sincere with them, but they retaliate in such a manor that they end up hurting you. It does kinda take alot out of you.

One thing which always has to be remembered, and I try to keep a constant reminder of it, is the ayah in Surah Yunus where Allah (swt) states that No hurt can come besides from Allah , and only he can remove it.

Everything in life is an experience. Like the Hadith says that A muslim never falls into the same hole twice. Basically we learn from our first mistake, even falling into a hole teaches us lessons, going through life we’re bound to fall in holes everywhere, its the experience of life, the experience that carves our character and makes us who we are. So if we go through life avoiding those holes, when we fall into a major one, we won’t have the experience of how to handle it.

So be thankful for every little thing. Even the people in life who seem to set out to just hurt you. Its all a learning experience and you can only rise out of it a better person

WaAlaykumAssalam

Assalamualaykum

A friend of mine left the following poem as a comment. I believe it deserves more than that.

This is the reflection of a sister who recently lost her mother.

May Allah (swt) instill in us the correct respect and love for our parents. Ameen.

Mother

I first saw light
my eyes blinked and opened
within your womb

In pain and distress
I entered life

You touched death
when I took my first breath

So small
I could lie, squirming and stretching
upon your gentle hand

Through tiredness and concern
I grew and learned

I found safety on your lap
a love that never fades

In later years I stood
and challenged you
rejecting your authority

But I returned.
where else to go
but to the one who knows me so well

Here I am again
a mother now
and you are gone

Your memory shines in my mind
I speak to mind
as you did to me

Arms outstretched
to collect broken fallen life
a haven
eagerly awaited

A lap, on which to rest
as I found comfort in you

Now I close my eyes
and feel your loving arms
hold me tight

Every word, kiss and kindness
is never lost
it shines in my being
and reflects onto mine.

It is not usually until we grow up and have children of our own that we truly appreciate the love and nurturing we received at the hands of our mothers….. may Allah have mercy upon them.

“Mum, you are so far away from me, yet in my heart, my dreams, you are always near.”