Eid Mubarak ! ❤

Eid Mubarak Family ! ❤

We made it Alhamdulilah. May you all have a blessed Eid with your families and friends and Inshallah Allah will forgive all of us for our sins and lead us all to the right path.

Just a few tips to make the best out of this day :)

After Fajer

Shower
Put on your Eid Clothes

Have Dates for Breakfast

Pray with your Family

Say 'Allahu Akbar' on your way to Prayer

Listen to the Lecture

Come back a new & improved you

❤

Tweet me your Eid plans here :)

Stay Blessed & EID MUBARAK !!



Farewell Ramadan !

It's finally over & that really sad thing about is, it only feels like yesterday I was posting my 'A thousand Ramadan nights' post !

The thing about Ramadan, is every year it comes 10 days earlier and every year, it feels 29 days shorter. This amazing month of blessing and forgiveness and absolute calmness of the soul really leaves you to question your life and your actions. The only thing that you might have at the end of Ramadan, especially me in this case is - regret. Because you always know that you could have done a little better, you could have gone an extra bit further with your prayers and religious activities.

That being said, Ramadan is also a spirtual cleansing period. Honestly, by the end of it I always feel like a new born with a new outlook on life. This year, has been an exceptionally tough journey for me- even through Ramadan it was pretty tough but alhamdulilah the Quran and Allah's rememberance helped me a lot through it. With Eid coming, I will not only be celebrating the end of this blessed holy month but also, my personal journey through this year.

If you are like me and always feel that little bit of regret at the end of it then, look back at everything that you have achieved during the month and those little extra steps you took closer to Allah and Islam.If you have been keeping up with my Ramadan nights series, then of course all you need to do is check your notebook to see how far you have gotten!

IF you haven't done much this year, then it's fine. Just make sure you sort yourself out and keep your soul all set and ready for next year ! It's not over, Allah is still giving you a second chance and just because you feel like you missed the train that is this Ramadan, don't worry you can always catch the next one that will come 10 days earlier!

Now, Ramadan is over - it doesn't mean you can go back to your old ways. The real success of Ramadan, is those who hold on to their faith the days after and keep nurturing it, raising it and making it bigger. Just because you know who is back, doesn't mean you can blame him and do stuff you know in your heart is wrong.

Stay Blessed,

Ramadan Nights : Seek Repentance

Salam Everyone !

I recently came across a picture online, which got me thinking quite a lot. The picture is actually, the second picture on this post. It basically shows a guy checking out somethings on the internet he really shouldn't and wouldn't want other people finding out what it is. However, because he is so caught up in doing this dirty habit in private he has forgotten that the most important being is watching him. Allah of course ! The ayat next to it (you can find it in surat al Nisa ayat 108 ) basically explains how some people are so embarrassed from other humans but not Allah, even thought He is with them all the time and He knows everything they do.

This brings me to the topic, how many of us do/ have done things that we're not really proud of. How many of us sin and brush it off ? Or do certain things, that we know if the prophet was standing right in front of us whilst we were doing these things, we would not have the ability to look up ever again ! If you got that really shameful feeling whilst reading the prophet example, imagine how you would feel in judgement day when Allah subhan wa tallah brings the situation up again and you have to face Him?! 

As humans, it is in our nature to commit sins. Abu Huraryrah once narrated the Prophet to have said ' I swear by the One whose hand is my soul. If you did not commit sins, Allah would have surely gotten rid of all of you and He would have surely brought another people who would commit sins - so that they would then seek Allah's forgiveness and so He would forgive them!' As you can see, Allah expects humans to sin however, He also expects humans to seek His forgiveness - because that is one of the main reasons why we were even created. So we can constantly do Tawabah to Allah.

So how do we repent to Allah ?

1 ) One can repent to Allah, by simply saying 'Istaghferallah' (seeking forgiveness) in all sincerity of quitting and never repeating their sin again and being truly sorry about it.

It is said, that the Prophet Muhammed PBUH used to seek forgiveness 70 times a day ! It is also said, if you ask for forgiveness 70 times (that's saying Istaghferallah x 70 ) all of your sins will be washed out, even if they were the size of the ocean. Of course, there is no limits to how many times you seek forgiveness from God because really, this is a matter between you and Him and only He can be the judge of that.

2) The Prophet PBUH said ' Whoever says it during the day with firm faith in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise ; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it and dies before the morning he will be from the people of Paradise. '

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلا أَنْتَ

“O Allah! You are my Lord! None has the right to be worshiped but You. You created me and I am Your slave, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat You to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You.” [Bukhari]

3) The Prophet PBUH said 'whoever commits a sin, then performs wudhu then offers prayer (2 Rak'ahs) seeking forgiveness of God, God will certainly forgive him.'

Tabarani has also quoted the Prophet PBUH saying  'The Scribe on the left delays registering the sin of a Muslim for six hours. If he repents (within the six hours) and seeks Allah's forgiveness, they drop it off. If he doesn't they write it down as a single sin.'

 The Prophet ﷺ tells us in this hadith: “The Scribe on the left delays registering the sin of a Muslim for six hours. If he repents (within these six hours), and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, they drop if off. If he doesn’t, they write is down as a single sin.” [Tabarani]

4) Tasbeeh is another way of seeking forgiveness and repenting. At the end of every Salah, sit for a few moments and remember Allah and say 'Subhanallah' 33 times, 'Alhamdulilah ' 33 times, 'Allahu Akbar' 33 times and after that say the shahadah ' la illah illa allah wahduh la shareek lah, lah il mulk wa lah il hamd wa howa alla kul shay kadeer'( لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له, له الملك, وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير )  

5) The Prophet PBUH also told us, that when we pray the 5 prayers, fast Ramadan, attend the Friday Prayer , then all of our minor sins will be forgiven,

Also, if we constantly seek forgiveness from God and repent, He turns all of our sins in to good deeds :

"Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur'an, 25:70]

~

Sometime we avoid seeking forgiveness, out of fear of being rejected or that it will be too hard. But how can you avoid seeking forgiveness from Allah, when it is also a form of worshiping Him? 

Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi :

“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.” [Tirmidhi

Subhanallah ! May Allah forgive all of us for our sins whether they are minor or major, for certainly He is the al Ghafoor (the Forgiving)  and Al Tawab (the One who constantly accepts repentance)

Stay Blessed & Ramadan Mubarak,

Ramadan Nights : Laytul Qadr ♡

Salam Everyone !

Layatul Qadr is the most beneficial and blessed night of the year. Known in English as 'The Night of Power' -  Laytul Qadr is the night in which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammed.

Ibn Abaas said ' Allah sent down the Quran at one time from al - Lawh al Mahfooz to Bayt

Ibn ‘Abbaas and others said: “Allaah sent down the Qur’aan at one time from al-Lawh al-Mahfooz to Bayt al-‘Izzah in the first heaven, then it was revealed to the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in stages according to events over twenty-three years.” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/529) 

It is truly a blessed night,  where Muslims can earn reward worth over 83 years of worship !

"Whoever spends that night in prayer, seeking Laylat al Qadr then he catches it, his previous and future sins will be forgiven " - Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) 

Every single act of worship performed in this night will be valued as one thousand months of worshiping on any other night.

During Laylatul Qadr, the angels including Jibril descend in great numbers and Allah subhan wa ta-alla gives them knowledge of what is going to happen during the coming year, this includes the earning and the changes in the situations of the slaves. The angels copy the matters that will happen during the coming year  from the Gaurded Tablet, these matters include the births, deaths, sustenance, calamities, enjoyments etc. 

Al- Hakim narrated from the Prophet, that during the Night of Power Jibril comes down with a group of angels and the make Duaa for every slave mentioning Allah.

 It is narrated from Abu Hurrayrah that the number of angels who descend to earth during the night may be more than the number of pebbles on earth - Jibril is reffered to as 'ar Ruh'  in the Surat, will be among them. The angels will descend to earth at sunset and will remain there until dawn.

~

There is some confusion about when exactly does Layaltul Qadr occur. There is a popular belief  that it occurs on the 27th night of Ramadan - however, it is also believed, that Laytul Qadr occurs in the last ten days Ramadan on an 'odd numbered' night to be exact. 

At Tirmidhiyy narrated from Aisha, that she said 'O prophet of Allah, if I encounter the night of Qadr then what should I say?' The Prophet answered 'Say : اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تحِبُّ العَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنَّا ' (O Allah you are the One who forgives a great amount and You love forgiveness, so forgive me.)

As well as that, it is advised that you do extra Salah and make lots of Duaa during this blessed night. As we don't know the exact date of it, it is best that you put as much worship in these last ten days.

Stay Blessed,

RAMADAN NIGHTS : LAST 10 DAYS !

Salam Everyone !

Today's post is a pretty exciting one , its all about making the most out of the last ten days of Ramadan and maximising your chances of getting in to Jannah and of course, inshallah winning Allah's mercy. As always, don't forget to share this post and of course comment any extra tips for making the most out of these precious few days. Let's start !

According to Al Bukhari and other muslim records, Aisha reported that the Prophet Muhammed PBUH would strive to acts of worship during the last ten days in Ramadan more than he would at any time.

1 ) So the first tip would have to be, sign out of the hotel that is this world's dutys and sign in for a 10 day vacation of pure dedication to  worship. Of course, this is harder said than done, especially those of us who have families to take care of and day jobs. But, the whole point of this 'mini vacation' is to  give more than you would usually. So rather, than sitting down watching that ramadan drama series, why not sit down for a 45 minute session watching an islamic lecture ? Or rather than having that little 30 minutes of magazine surfing why not surf the Quran? It's little acts like that, that will Inshallah bring you closer to Allah and make you more dedicated to your religion.

2) Recite the Quran -  It is said, that for every letter you read in the Quran you get 10 Hasanat. Not only that, but every single surat and ayat in the Quran has its own benefits and lessons that other books can never offer you. As well as that, when you recite the Quran you get this amazing peaceful sensation that starts in your heart and spreads all over your body and that sensation you can only get after / whilst reading the Quran. 'Verily in the rememberance of Allah, do hearts find peace.' (13:28)

3) Increase Prayers - What better way to get your sins wiped out and your wishes come true, than by praying and engaging in a meangiful conversation with your Lord ? The most effective way of praying, is when you reflect on the surah you are speaking (or the Imam is speaking) and when you concentrate and give every movement in your prayer the same amount of deep attention. It's also a really good idea, to research on the surah you usually use when praying - by finding out information about them , you will appreciate them more and ofcourse that will (inshallah) help make your salah more meaningful. The more you appreciate a surah and your prayers the less fidgety and distracted you will be !  Another really good tip would be, to carry out the sunnah with your prayers this includes , doing the extra prayers before and after your mandotary prayers , making certain duaa's , reading Ayat Al Kursi after each prayer and carring out Tasbeeh. All of these little acts of worship add up to great ajr. For more insight about the hidden advantages of Salah please click this link.

4) Make Duaa - It is said , that one of the best times to make Duaa , is at the last 1/3 of the nights so about an hour or two before suhoor.

 It is reported that the Prophet PBUH said : 'When the last one-third of the night remains, our Lord, the Glorious One descends towards the heaven of the earth and proclaims: Who is that who supplicates for Me, and I grant his supplication? Who is that who begs Me for anything and I grant it to him? And who is that who seeks My forgiveness, and I forgive him?' (Bukhari, Muslim).

5) Carry out Traweeh with a group of people, this can be in the mosque, with your friends or with your family. The bigger the group , the more inshallah you will be blessed with ajr and it's also very fun !

6) Spend more time with your family - if you are studying abroad or far away from your family, then spend some time with your friends, if you don't have any friends, the mosque is a good place to make some. In the mosques, the imam usually has an islamic lecture or recites the Quran - so why not do the same thing with your friends and family? Why don't you take it in turns every nights, someone can bring up an islamic subject they've been researching or a question they're confused about  - a really fun thing if you have little children in the house, is sharing stories about the Prophets ! You'd be surprised at the impact it can have on their lives. Who ever you choose to spend your time with , make sure you spend it wisely.

7) Start preparing for Laylut - Il Qadr

8) Start planning and evaluting yourself - remember that little notebook I told you to keep in my first post about ramadan ? how is it working out for you? have you learnt any lessons ? Do you know where you're heading ? would you like to change anything about yourself ? Now is a really good time, to open that notebook and start assessing yourself and working on changing or maintaing your lifestyle ! Of course, if you haven't bothered with a notebook it's never too late , to start !

9) Make lots of ISTAGHFAR - as humans , we make a lot of stupid mistakes during the year but thank goodness, Allah is very merciful - so now would be a good time to make lots of istaghfar and ask for his mercy. Saying 'alhamdulilah' and doing tasbeeh is also really good because even though as humans we do alot of stupid things that need to be forgiven, we are also given a lot blessings that deserve gratitude.  

LETS TURN TO ALLAH BEFORE WE RETURN TO ALLAH.

Stay Blessed & Ramadan Kareem ,



RAMADAN NIGHTS : Why is my Dua not being Answered ?

Has any of you ever asked why your duaa wasn't being answered ? Have you ever wished and needed something so bad but, it just never happened ? Have you ever felt like Allah subhana wa talah wasn't listening ?

In the Quran {2 :186 } Allah Subhana wa Tala Says :

وإذا سألك عبادي عني فإني قريب أجيب دعوة الداع إذا دعان فليستجيبوا لي وليؤمنوا بي لعلهم يرشدون"

"And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided."

~

It can be frustrating sometimes when you want something so much and nothing is happening for you and you cry and ache and think 'why am I being tortured, what have I done wrong ?' But you need to remember , that Allah never wants to hurt you. He LOVES YOU ! Allah is the only one who is always here for us, He knows you even more than you know yourself and most importantly He knows what the future holds and what is BEST for you.

Allah doesn't reply to your duaa's and needs with words , he replys to them with ACTIONS . Sometimes, this action may only take a few seconds after the duaa for it to come true and sometimes it may take 50 years . All is with reason. Everything, that He does is to guide you to the right path, to make you good and happy and made for Jannah.

"To completely trust in God is to be like a child who knows deeply that even if he does not call for the mother, the mother is totally aware of his condition and is looking after him." –Imam Al Ghazali

Times when duaas are most readily accepted:

* Duaa at the time of Sehri (Surah Ale Imraan, Ayat 17)
* Duaa between azaan and iqaamah (Tirmizi- Anas ibn Maalik (R.A.))
* Duaa made after azaan (Abu Dawood- Sahl ibn Saad (R.A.))
* Duaa after fardh salaat (Tirmizi- Abu Umaamah Al Baahili (R.A.))
* Duaa at the time of Zawaal (midday) (Musnad Bazaar- Ayesha (R.A.))
* Duaa on the day of Arafat (Tirmizi- Abdullah ibn Amr (R.A.))
* Duaa in the month of Ramadhaan (Tabraani- Ubaada ibn Saamil (R.A.))
* Duaa on the 15th of Sha`baan (Sahih ibn Hibbaan- Mu`aaz ibn Sahal)
* Duaa upon completion of Quran (Tabraani- Irbaad ibn Saariyah)
* Duaa at the time of drinking Zam-Zam water (Haakim/Darul Qutni- Ibn Abbas (R.A.))
* Duaa on Wednesday between Zuhr and Asr (Musnad Ahmed- Jaabir (R.A.))

* Duaa on Friday at the following times:
When the Imaam ascends a mimbar for the khutbah till he completes the Jummah Salaah.
-Time between Asr and Maghrib
-The last few moments before maghrib (Sahih Muslim – Abu Hurrairah (R.A))

“I respond and accept the duaa of the one who supplicates unto me”. (Surah Al Baqarah: Ayat 186)

Make lots of Istaghfaar & Pray to Him. He is the only one who can help you.

All will be revealed in time.

Inshallah.

Stay Blessed,