Time will tell

I realise that it is down to ones impatience as to finding the reason of why things happen to us and why we meet some people. We are not patient enough to let time tell. We want the answer
there and then, and when we dont get the answer, we give up on Allah, but we dont realise, that He does not give up on us.
He gives us another chance to get it right - when we find ourselves in similar situatuion, similar tests except its with different people, a different place, a different situation, but in essence the same test.

More importantly, not only do we find that certain people are in our life, we also find that at certain points of our life we are alone. I find this more as I get older. Uni life was full of hussle and bussle, and when you leave, your left to your own devices wandering aimlessly to the next chapter, where again you may find someone, who then leaves and again your alone. Its important to note, that each chapter led you on to the next.
A person may have come into your life because Allah wanted to guide you somewhere through that person. And I have found, that certain doors are open to me because people came into my life and led me to that door. They showed me how to get there, and its up to me to take the next step. It may be that I must take the step alone, but I believe that this is Allahs way of training me, because at the end of the day, we face the Lord alone on the day of reckoning.

I admit I grow attached to people quite easily, and I find it hard to let them go. But let them go I must, for their sake if not mine, and I apologise to those who have hurt because of my own selfish attachment.

This reminds me of the Journey "Israa wal Miraaj" when Gibrael accompanied the Prophet (saw) throughout the journey but at the point of reaching the Lote tree, the Prophet is told to go ahead alone (without his companion Gibrael) to meet his Lord. And so we may all have company in our lives, to show us the way, but at some point they must leave, and we must have the courage to move forward alone, with the hope of reaching something better.

A Choice between Dunyah and Aakhirah

I have found on numerous occasions, where it seems that I have to make a choice, and the choice is quite blatantly between the Dunyah and the Aakhirah, whether it be a choice between a good career/academic education and islamic education, between choosing to marry a deeny man or
a rich-dunya orientated man etc.
One profound thing remains in my mind that the Sheikh in class once said: That "the Dunyah
and the Aakhirah are like two sisters, if you choose to marry one of them, the other one becomes Haram for you."
I dont believe in these kind of people who think they can have the best of both worlds. I think they are confused/deluded in their intentions. The message here is quite clear, you cant have both, Allah does not allow it.

Hadith 3: Al-Arba'in Collection Of 40 Hadiths on Ramadhan - Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari

Al-Arba'in Collection of 40 Hadiths on Ramadan.
Mufti Muhammad Ibn Adam Al Kawthari http://www.daruliftaa.com/

40 Hadiths related to the blessed month of Ramadan.

The companion Abu Hurairah (RA) says that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:  “Whoever stands up in the middle of the night and worships Allah in Ramadan with two conditions: With full Imaan and with the hope of reward from Allah, all his previous sins will be forgiven.  Whoever Fasts in Ramadan with the two conditions, his previous sins will be forgiven. Whoever stays awake and worships Allah on Laylatul Qadr with the two conditions Imaan and Ihtisaab, his previous sins will be forgiven.”

Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim

Imaan: to have full conviction, devotion, concentration and love for Allah

And so whosoever does these things, fasting, nightly prayers and laylatul Qadr with the sole sake of doing it for the love of Allah with complete devotion and concentration then all his sins will be forgiven.

Ihtisaab: with the hope of reward from Allah, so his intention is 100% for Allah, to earn Allah’s pleasure

The sins that are forgiven are the sins between the person and Allah. However the sins that involves another person; this still requires the forgiveness of the other person.

Hadith 2: Al-Arba'in Collection Of 40 Hadiths on Ramadhan - Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari

Al-Arba'in Collection of 40 Hadiths on Ramadan.
Mufti Muhammad Ibn Adam Al Kawthari http://www.daruliftaa.com/

40 Hadiths related to the blessed month of Ramadan.

The companion Sahl (RA) relates that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Verily in Paradise (Jannah) there is a door called Rayyaan. This door Rayyaan is reserved for people who observed fasting in the month of Ramdaan. It will be announced, “Where are those people who fasted in Ramadaan?” and those who observed the fasts will stand up, and no one else besides them will enter through this door.  Once they enter, the door will be closed.

Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim

Explanation:

There will be different doors to Jannah reserved for people, based on their different acts of worship.  For example, the people who observed Salah excessively will enter through a door called Baab-usallah and people of Jihaad will be called from the door of Jihaad (Baab ul Jihaad) and people of charity will be called from the door of charity. And thus, the people of fasting will be called from Rayaan.

Abu Bakr once asked the Prophet (SAW), “Will there be anyone who is called from all the doors?” and He (SAW) said “Yes, and I hope that you will be of those people.”

In summary, this just shows that there are specific doors that will open for specific people, based on their acts of worship either it be nafl  prayers, Dhikr, charity etc. and thus one of the virtue of fasting.

Hadith 1: Al-Arba'in Collection Of 40 Hadiths on Ramadhan - Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari

Al-Arba'in Collection of 40 Hadiths on Ramadan.

Mufti Muhammad Ibn Adam Al Kawthari http://www.daruliftaa.com/

40 Hadiths related to the blessed month of Ramadan.

 Hadith 1:

Translation of Hadith:

The companion Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him relates, that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:

"When the month of Ramadan enters, the doors of the Heavens are opened up and the doors of hell are closed and the Satan (shayateen) are chained."

Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim.

Explanation of Hadith:

The messenger of Allah says that 3 things happen in the month of Ramdan

In this variation of the Hadith, the doors of the Heavens are mentioned, and in another variation, the door of Jannah is mentioned. Thus some Ulema say that the doors of the Heavens in this hadith actually refer to the doors of Jannah (Paradise).

The term "opened up" means: some Ulema say it means literally to open up, and some say it refers to the great opportunities for a Muslim to enter Jannah, in terms of excess worship, offering salah, Qiyamul layl, fasting, recitation of Quraan, and all the types of ibaadat that a person can carry out in this month.

The second thing mentioned is that the doors of hell fire are closed. And that Satan and his offspring are all chained, which means it is easier for a Muslim to avoid committing a sin and so refrain from it in the month of Ramadan. However there are still some Muslims that do commit sin. Two reasons why sin is commited are:

1. that the shaytann whispers (Was wasa)

2. due to that persons nafs (soul)

Hence why some Muslims still commit sin in this month - due to their own nafs.

In summary, in Ramadan it is easier to be pious and refrain from sin, and perform acts of worship, and easy to enter Jannah. Thus we should take maximum benefit from this month and strive to take it further into the other months aswell inshallah.

Letting go

"Whatever it is, You just have to let go. If you can." were her words to me...
I smiled nervously and turned away, not just to hide the tears, but from the truth aswell. I hadn't realised that the past few weeks was leading to a downward spiral attack on myself. And just as I had had enough, I said to her "I dont know what to do with myself to make it better?" and thus her response; it came so naturally as she shrugged her shoulders whilst she said it, like the answer was so simple and obvious. It was so spot on and relevant it scared me. She didnt know the story behind my recent anguish, yet somehow, she managed to see the hidden tears and she responded as if she completely understood, like she also, had been in that same dark place and learnt, that there is a way out; "just let go."
And so I carried on walking, leaving behind my reflection in the window, leaving behind. Letting go.



“If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.”
― Khalil Gibran

The Choice to Destiny

They say you cant choose your destiny. I say there is an element of choice in arriving at the door of your destiny.
They say that life is like a journey. I say life is a bunch of interconnected cross roads, we are always having to make decisions, small cross roads and large ones, reflecting the small decisions and the major life changing ones. Each road may take us to a different destination. We may be aware of what lies at the end of some roads and quite unaware of others, not knowing if it will get us to where we want to be. Choosing an unknown road is like taking a chance in life. It can be a tough journey, and at each cross road something is left behind. Sometimes you find that something/someone is blocking your way to go down a certain path, it holds you back and you make a choice to stay there or to overtake, break through. Most of the time you find it is yourself that blocks your own way. There are cross roads where we cant make decisions or we are just fed up of making them. We take a breather, because we know that when we push ourselves too hard, this in itself holds us back, the burden too heavy, unable to move on. Its important to make your journey a little at a time, consistant, meaningful.
And when we take a wrong turn, we may need to go back a few steps...take the other road. But its ok, because you learnt that the first road leads to no where - you wont take that one again. But then there are roads that we went down, but we failed to follow correctly, and sometimes we wish we had a chance to take that road again, perhaps we live in hope, that one day we will arrive back at it, a chance to succeed and not to fail again.
Along the road we may stumble and fall. They say that when you fall it makes you stronger. I say that when you fall it makes you weaker. I mean a broken cup when mended still has cracks right? and when the cup gets knocked again it doesnt just break...it shatters. Yes you may fall, we all do, but it just makes you aware of the pitfalls in life, and you become cautious of falling again because you know you are weaker - the cracks of your heart just can't take another fall...
It is your choice to avoid certain roads that will avoid you getting hurt and it is your choice to take a chance down the unknown, hence why I think it is down to your choice, which will infact lead you to the door of your destiny.