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Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan – A Reality Check from Surat Al Qiyāmah – YouTube

Date: February 13, 2015

Usthad Nouman Ali Khan is a great speaker and Islamic thinker well known for his video speeches on Islamic subjects. He is the CEO and founder of Bayyinah Institute, an Arabic studies, educational institution in the United States. He is a speaker at ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America Conventions about Islam, family and other topics. In the initial segment of his lecture on Surat Al QiyaMah, he says that all the religion is emphasizing three major things. They are Guard, Soul and an Afterlife. He says that we must learn well what Islam is before going to normal system of education. Spirituality is something related to psychology and we must pray to Allah all the time. Allah can create a security feel in your inner most soul, which will help you to stay alive peacefully in this universe. He says that Holy Quran is the only moral for the balance between the seen world and the unseen world.

Precious Gifts a Person Leaves Behind

"The best of what a man leaves behind are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, ongoing charity the reward of which reaches him, and knowledge that is acted upon after him."

Sunan Ibn Mājah

Angelic Daily Prayers for Generosity

"Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,' and the other (angel) says, 'O Allah! Destroy every miser.'"

Sahih Bukhari

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Aisha RA (Daughter Of Abu Bakr) – A must watch

In the great epic books, it’s noted that Aisha Ra was the most beloved to the Prophet SAW. She is known as the woman who exonerated by Allah SWT in the Qur’an. History and Prophetic words claims that it was upon her lap that prophet Muhammad SAW he breathed his last. Now you might have understood that who this elegant and great woman is. She is the lovable and respectful wife of Prophet Muhammad. She loved her husband, Prophet Muhammad. She was the most eloquent and compassionate wives of Prophet. She was a complete example for innocence, eloquence, wise, knowledge and much more. We can definitely say that she is the complete instance of what a Muslim woman should be like. Aisha Ra is the number four in the most prolific narrators of Hadith. There is no book of Fiqh, which does not have the opinions of Aisha Ra. Every Islamic book has mentioned the name of Aisha Ra. Aisha Ra was the daughter of Muhammad’s close friend Abu Bakr. She was born after four years of prophet hood of Muhammad. Muhammad called her Humaira, means one who has reddish skin. She was engaged to Prophet at the age of six. Many sources say that she stayed with her parents at home until the age of nine when the marriage was declared with Muhammad. Her role to the spread of Prophet’s message was astonishing, and she helped the Muslims for 44 years after the death of Prophet. Histories say that after the migration of Prophet, she lost her father and mother. Years passed and she was living under the rein of Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Muawiya Ibn Abi Sufian Ra. Many of her lovable people and companions of Prophet were assassinated in the war. Then she went to do the holy Haj. From there she returned by hearing these assassination and war news. Aftermath, many conflicts had took place and our mother Aisha Ra also participated in the great battle of the camel for peace. She was a great woman who struggled for peace and truth and the follower of Prophetic messages. In her last days in the earth, she was very calm and not even accepted a word of praise from the visitors. At the time of her last breath, she said: “I am OK if I fear Allah SWT. Aisha Ra was buried in Al Baqi at night time as that was her will.

The Beauty of the phrase, “Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem”

Our parents, elders, and teachers have greatly emphasized from our early childhood to start all our activities by saying Bismillah Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem. What does this phrase really mean? Most, if not all of us have been explained its meaning also as, “In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate”. When we say “Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem”, we are asking Allah’s help which may be different for different people. We want Allah to cure us when we are sick, to enlighten us when we are confused, to feed us when we are hungry, to energize us when we are tired and so on. Allah, the Exalted has different names representing His different attributes like: Al-Hadi, the one who guides; Al-Razzak, the one who provides; As-Salam, the one who delivers peace; and so on. The scholars of Islam have described ninety-nine attributes (names) of Allah, SWT and all of us don’t know all His attributes. Allah, SWT, has honored us with His two beautiful attributes from among the ninety-nine, which HE loves and wants us to remember at every step of our lives. These are AR-RAHMAN and AR-RAHEEM, which when expressed as “Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem” embraces all the attributes of Allah (SWT). By saying these words, we are committing and expressing our love for Him (SWT). Simultaneously, we are acknowledging that if we love Allah (SWT) truly, and ask His help in resolving our issues’ then, the resolution will be real. A true Muslim who says these words, with sincere belief in Him, has no reason to be depressed. As genuine believers, we believe in the knowledge, power, and wisdom of Allah, SWT. He is always present for our help. He is unique in everything he does and each of His attributes are unique. Even the word, ALLAH is unique. Allah is pronounced uniquely which says you are dealing with someone like nobody else. It is said that the word “Allah” is originated from “Al- ilah,” which means the one and the only, to be worshiped. Now, back to the phrase, “Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem”. The word, “Bismillah”- when you call on that phrase, the believer is to be filled with gratitude as in how many ways Allah has helped us. We go to Allah for all our needs and worries. Then on to, “Ar-Rahman” which means love, care and mercy of Allah (SWT), which is extreme as well as immediate. But, this is temporary like thirst and hunger which needs immediate action to quench the thirst and reduce the hunger. And the second one, “Ar-Raheem”, which is again love, care and mercy of Allah (SWT) but with high degree of His Compassion, that is permanent. So not to worry at all, Allah (SWT) will take care of you immediately and will take care of you on a permanent basis. All we need to do is firmly believe in Him, SWT, the one and only one worthy of worship; submit ourselves to Him as His obedient servants, take all guidance from Him as practiced by our beloved Prophet Mohammad, SAW and complete all actions of our lives starting with “Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem;” and ending with thanking Him, SWT. This is the desired life of a Muslim.

Welcoming Muharram, the Month of Allah

The Islamic calendar consists of twelve months, the first of which is the month of Muharram. The name “Muharram” is derived from the word “haram,” which means forbidden or impermissible, as it is considered unlawful to engage in any war or fighting during this month. This was the case even before the advent of Islam for the people of Makkah and surrounding tribes. Muharram can also be defined as “sacred,” and it is a blessed month which has been mentioned by God Almighty, Allah, in the Qur’an as one of the four sacred months of the Islamic lunar calendar. Allah says: “Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred, (i.e. the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar). That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein.” (9:36) In this verse, Allah mentions the four most sacred months of the year, the 1st, which is Muharram, Rajab, the 7th, and Dhul Qadah and Dhul Hijjah, which are the 11th and 12th, respectively. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, confirmed this in a hadith narrated by Abu Bakrah, in which he said, “… The year is twelve months, of which four are sacred: three consecutive months, Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab of Mudar which comes between Jumada and Shabaan.” (Bukhari) Not only is Muharram sacred, but also referred to as the month of Allah, as mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, when he said, “The best fast after Ramadan is in the month of Allah, Muharram.” (Muslim) From this hadith, it is understood that the month of Muharram has a unique status with Allah, given the honor of being associated with His glorious name. Another lesson that can be extracted from this saying of the Prophet is that fasting during the month of Muharram is recommended. This fast is even compared to that of Ramadan, one of the pillars of Islam, to emphasize its importance. There is one particular day during the month of Muharram in which it is highly encouraged to fast, and that is the day of Ashura. The day of Ashura coincides with the 10th of Muharram. Several authentic reports in the books of ahadith note that fasting on the day of Ashura was a popular practice even before Islam was established. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to Madinah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura. He asked, “What is this day you are fasting?” They responded, “This is a good day; this is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy and Musa (Moses) fasted on this day.” The Prophet said, “We are closer to Musa than you.” So he fasted on this day and told the people to fast. (Bukhari and Muslim) In fact, before the fast of Ramadan was made obligatory for the Muslims, the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered his followers to fast on the day of Ashura. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that fasting on the day of Ashura became voluntary only after fasting the month of Ramadan was made compulsory. (Muslim) Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Fast the Day of Ashura and be different from the Jews by fasting a day before it or a day after it.” (Ahmad) This is the reason why Muslims often fast the 9th and 10th of Muharram or the 10th and 11th of Muharram. There are immense rewards associated with fasting in general. Allah says in a hadith qudsi: “Every action of the son of Adam is his, except for fasting. It is Mine, and it is I who reward it.” (Bukhari and Muslim) Of course, it is Allah who will assess a believer’s worship and ultimately reward or punish mankind for his deeds. However, fasting is an action which is private, unlike prayer, charity, and even the pilgrimage. No one can “see” another person fasting; and thus, only Allah knows whether or not that individual is upholding his fast. Given that the month of Muharram is the month of Allah, it can be presumed that the reward will be great, in accordance with the status of this sacred month. The Prophet, peace be upon him, did expound on some of the recompense for fasting the day of Ashura. He is recorded as saying, “I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Arafa may atone for the sins of the preceding and the coming years, and I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura may atone for the sins of the preceding year.” (Muslim) In another hadith in Sahih Muslim, when he was asked about the reward for fasting the day of Ashura, he clearly stated that it was an expiation for the sins of the previous year. Many other narrations speak about the virtues of the day of Ashura and the month of Muharram in general. No doubt the month of Muharram is blessed and the believers should take advantage of this time to increase in their ibaadah, by virtue of fasting, remembering Allah much, praying, and giving in charity. The Prophet said, “The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah, Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night.” (Muslim) At the very least, one should strive to fast on the day of Ashura, which was a practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions. While the Muslim community does not hold a celebration for the coming of the “New Year,” Muslims are encouraged to embrace the first month of the Islamic calendar by performing good deeds and as a result, set the stage for a fruitful year, insha’Allah.