A Poem

Loneliness engulfs me

A soaring thought of fear

Uncertainty and longevity

Are my worst fears

I’m not asking for anything

Which I know u cannot do

Because I know you would do anything for me

If you could ever do

I know that you love me

And I know that love is deep

that is my only solace

In times as tough as these

I feel lost and lonely

And the tunnel seems so dark

Would I ever see the light?

Hope seems so dull and dark

I’m a weak human

Struggling to see it through

Applying reason and logic

To help us get through

I don’t say I’m right

Nor do I say you are wrong

Everything seems against us

Leaving us helpless and worn

I just want us to be happy

Whether we are far or close

Because our souls are bound by a love

That is true and pure

I miss u a lot

And my pain runs deep

Each time I remember you

Tears trickle down my cheek

I know that u suffer more

Being all alone there

Hopes seems so shattered

When we are so far

I pray to god to help us

To see this through

To unite our hearts forever

And help us fight through

Allah is our only hope

Our only light and strength

Forgive me my lord

When I ’m feeble and complain

I promise to turn back to you

With all my strength and courage

Please help us my lord

To be happy and unconstrained

My Guiding Light

The going is getting tougher, new challenges and obstacles cloud my way. At times the stress overwhelms my soul. At these testing times I appease myself by reassuring myself that inshallah with Allah’s grace and rahma everything will be fine. Allah swt has always shown me the way through happiness and pain, inshallah he will bless me with the strength to conquer all mountains.

I feel I need to return back to Allah and also ponder over the fact that it was always between me and my lord and whatever others might do to is immaterial and insignificant. It’s time I woke up and stopped being emotional, its prudence that I need to hold high amidst these challenges. Acting weak or being emotional, it is sure not the way to success. Some decisions are hard to make, but times are such that I need to make them placing my complete trust in the one who created me. My Allah is my strength, source of all wisdom, source of peace and tranquillity, My Guiding Light! Ya Allah, please help me see through these tough times, to spend each and every moment of my life in your way.

~Contemporary Marital Advice~

A contemporary woman advised her daughter saying:

You are about to enter a new life; different from the one you grew up in, a life in which you will not have your father, mother nor your brothers and sisters. You will become the wife of a man who wants nobody to share you with him, even your closest relative. 

You should be to him like a wife and a mother; make him feel that you are everything in his life. You should keep in mind that a man is like a big child; the slightest sweet word can make him happy. Never make him feel that by marrying you, you will lose your family and relatives, because he has left his family as well for you. Normally, a woman longs for her family's affection and home, in which she grew up. However, she should get used to her new life and her husband who is her children's father and support. My daughter, this is your life and future, the new family, which you and your husband will form. I do not ask you to forget your mother, father and brothers and sisters because they will never forget you. All I want from you is that you love and live with your husband and feel happy with him.

~Marital Advice~

Umamah Bint al-Harith at-Tghlibiyyah was among the esteemed ladies in Arabia. She had some renowned and wise ethics and advice. When her daughter, Iyas Bint Awf, got married to the King of Kindah, al-Harith Ibn Arnru', and was ready to go to her new life, she gave her some valuable advice.

Umamah Bint al-Harith told her daughter: "Oh my daughter, if one ignores advice because of one's moral values or noble descent I will not bother to advise you, but it is a reminder for the rational and a warning to a negligent. oh daughter, if a woman could dispense with a husband because of her father's wealth, I would be the richest of all people, but we were created for men as they were created for us. Oh daughter, you are now going to leave the house in which you were brought up and move to a new nest which you do not know and a husband you are not familiar with. Your husband has control over you now, so you should be to him like a slave girl and he will become your slave. You should bear in mind ten characteristics and your husband will be yours forever.

First and second: Companionship with satisfaction and obedience, because there is happiness of the heart in contentment and pleasure of the Lord.

Third and fourth: never do anything which annoys him and always put on a nice scent for him. You should know my daughter that Kuhl (antimony powder used both as decoration and a medicine for the eyes) is the most excellent beauty that exists and that water is the best thing for purity. 

Fifth and sixth: never ignore his hunger and spoil his sleep. 

Seventh and eighth: Looking after his house, money and children.

Ninth and tenth: never disclose his secrets nor disobey his orders, because if you disclose his secrets you will be unable to regain his trust and if you disobey him you will arouse his anger. More than that, never show delight at his misery, nor sadness at his joy, because the former shows lack of consideration for your husband and the latter disrespect.

And the more you respect him the more he will be kind to you, and the more you agree with him the longer he will remain with you. You should know my daughter that you will not be able to do that unless you prefer his pleasure to yours and his desires to yours in what you love and hate. I ask Allah to guide you and grant you happiness. And Allah be with you.

 

Repenting !!!

I felt the pain deep within
A pain so deep and relentless indeed
The pain of sin so extreme
My heart bled with remorse defying my peace

At times my lord it was habit not intent
But my heartfelt remorse is so intense
Would you punish me or banish me for my neglect
It’s in your mercy my lord that I depend

Times are tough and evil dominates
Every day is a struggle with forces intense
Take it or leave it, is the order of the day
I try to carry on, amidst the pain

At times I’m choice less
At times I’m weak
I feel that I’m lost
Broke and weak

I kneel down before you
Seeking your help
Please forgive me my lord
When I’m feeble and weak

I’ll strive to be obedient
I’ll strive to be strong
I‘ll strive to be a martyr
In a world that’s rough and torn

Please help me my lord
To be sinless and strong
Please forgive me my lord
When I err and I’m wrong

You are my only hope
In a world that’s gloomy and dark
The most merciful and compassionate
Greatest of All!!!

Islamic Ink

http://islamicink.wordpress.com/

Honesty

By 'Ali Ba Dahdah

Honesty is one of the greatest of all moral virtues. From it springs forth many of the noblest of human qualities like integrity, chastity, and valor. Some people might suppose that honesty is restricted to words. This is not the case. Honesty can manifest itself in our actions as well as in our innermost state of being.

The great scholar and ethical thinker, al-Muhâsibî, once said: “For honesty to be complete, it must exist in three things. It must exist in the heart as one’s faith, it must exist in the intentions behind one’s deeds, and it must be present in the words that one speaks.”

Honesty penetrates to the innermost fiber of a person when his inner being is in harmony with his outer self. A person’s deeds are honest only when he practices what he professes. Dishonesty in deed is more despicable than dishonesty in word, for it is naught but a hypocritical display of sincerity. This is what the brothers of Joseph (peace be upon him) did when they came with Joseph’s bloody clothing to their father. Allah says: “So they came with his shirt stained with false blood.” [Sûrah Yûsuf: 18]

Allah warns us saying: “O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do? It is loathsome indeed with Allah that you say what you do not do.” [Sûrah al-Saff: 3]

Truth in word is the most familiar and obvious kind of truth, since every statement that is inconsistent with reality is obviously a lie. Allah says: “Verily those who fabricate a lie against Allah will not find success.”

Allah commands the believers, saying: “O you who believe, fear Allah and be among those who are honest.”

Allah gives glad tidings to the believers who are honest. He says: “Allah will reward the honest people for their honesty.”

Allah informs us that our honesty will bring us good even in this world: “And when a matter is resolved upon, it would be best for them if they were true to Allah.” And of course, honesty will be of doubtless benefit to us in the Hereafter. Allah says: “This is the day that the honest people will benefit from their honesty.” [Sûrah al-Mâ’idah: 119]

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was renowned for his honesty long before he began to receive revelation and became Allah’s Messenger. He had been known among his people for years as al-Amîn (the Trustworthy).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) informed us of the effects that both honesty and dishonesty have on our personalities when he said: “Honesty brings about security and lying fosters doubts.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: “Honesty leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man remains honest and concerned about honesty until he is recorded as an honest man with Allah. Lying leads to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to the Fire. A man keeps lying and remains partial to lies until he is recorded as a liar with Allah.” [Sahîh al-Bukharî and Sahîh Muslim]

He also explained the effects that honesty and dishonesty have on our interpersonal dealings: “Honesty and clarity are blessed for both parties to a sale, while concealment and deceit destroy the blessings of their sale.” [Sahîh al-Bukharî and Sahîh Muslim]

We must be honest in our relationship with Allah. There are many dimensions to this most important expression of honesty. There is our sincerity to Allah. Then there is being cognizant that Allah is ever watchful of what we do. There is the sense of humility and shame that we must feel before Him. If we truly want to be honest in our relationship with Allah, we must become so fully sincere to Him that there remains in our hearts no other motive for what we do but to seek His pleasure. We must care nothing for the thanks and appreciation of our fellow men. We can achieve this by making our greatest concern the attainment of Allah’s mercy. We must be constantly aware that Allah is ever watchful over us. This will make us feel too shy to ever willingly disobey Allah.

Honesty with other people is also extremely important. There are many aspects to this as well.

First, we must be honest in our dispensation towards others. We should not behave deceptively and present a false face to people. Instead, we must be genuine and straightforward with people as much as possible.

We must be honest in what we say. This requires from us to be careful to ascertain the truth of the news that we hear before we go ahead and pass it on to others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “It is enough to make a person a liar that he tells others everything that he hears.”

We must be honest in giving advice to people. We should be sincere in our advice and truly do our best to help people avoid misfortune and attain what is good for them.

We need to be even more honest with our spouses. We must be able to confide in them and speak freely to them about our concerns, our secrets, and our ambitions. A husband or wife is a life partner, a friend, a confidant. The more openly a husband and wife are able to communicate with each other in an atmosphere of trust and confidence, the stronger their relationship will be.

Honesty, in fact, engenders strength on every level. On the personal level, it provides integrity, self worth, and inner fortitude. On the social level, it lends depth and substance to our relationships with other people. On the spiritual level, it brings about the sincerity to our Lord that is the key to our salvation.


Courtesy Of: IslamToday.net

My Little Daughter – A heart rendering story about patience

By Sister Khadejah

Little Sarah (pronounced the Arabic way Sar – ra – h with emphasis on the ‘h’) Vachor was with us for 1 hour and 4 minutes this morning. She was hugged and loved by her brothers and sisters, spent some quality time in her parents’ arms, and as everyone was leaving she was placed in my arms where she died peacefully.

Imam (our religious leader) came to the hospital to wash and shroud her, then the Janazah prayer was prayed for her in Marion mosque, with her brothers (Zakariyya 11 and Omar 7) there to farewell her.

She was finally put to rest in the cemetery at Al-Khalil Mosque this afternoon.

In accordance with her rights in Islam she was buried as quickly as possible so she receive her glad tidings of Paradise from the Angels.

It was the day she was meant to arrive, even though it has been planned for weeks. Sarah was ready today because when I got up this morning her little toes were presenting from the cervix. We were blessed with this sign so we can be relieved of any doubt that we chose the right time to have her.

My dear husband, Ali, was beside me the whole time telling me beautiful stories of the Prophet SAW and the Sahabah RA to distract me from what was happening in the operating theatre. The Qu’ran (our Holy Book) was being recited in the background. And when Ali had our daughter in his arms for the first time he said the Adhan (the call to prayer) in her right ear and the Iqama (the call to line up and pray) in the left ear. It was a moment that all in the theatre felt a tear in their eyes.

She arrived in this world with her ears filled with the sound of the Qu’ran and her father’s call to prayer.

When I was cleared to return to my room, my children Zakariyya, Omar, Soukaina (5) and Thoraiya (20 months) were waiting with their grandparents to meet her. My parents were wonderful, they made it so easy for me, knowing the children were being looked after in the best way emotionally and physically. They played a very special role today, one that I am so grateful for. All the children had a cuddle and photo with her. Thoraiya was getting restless and it seemed time for Mum to take the kids. Ali handed Sarah to me so he could comfort Thoraiya as the family was leaving the room.

She held on by the Will of Allah for everyone to have their turn, and once she was in my arms again, it was as if she knew she was back with mum now and she could quietly slip away. It was hard to tell she was breathing the whole time but I knew in my heart the moment she closed her eyes that she had breathed her last breath. The moments of her life were so perfect, and her passing so peaceful. She never cried once.

Ali then juggled all the arrangements for Sarah’s burial, time with his precious little girl and still managed to be so supportive and caring towards me. He is a very special person, the best husband and dad. I held her while arrangements were being made and her colour and look deteriorated. I truly saw the wisdom in hastening the burial, to preserve the memory of her beautiful face. After Imam had washed her and before the last piece of shroud was placed across her face my husband brought her to me for one last look, she was so peaceful surrounded in white and smelt so beautiful of the perfume they bathed her in. Then she left for her final journey to her grave.

The hospital staff were amazing and really made today a very special day. I cannot think of a single thing that any of the staff could have done differently! Not only did they take into consideration all our religious needs, they were extremely patient and understanding, without hesitation, for every request we had. They did go beyond the call of duty and with the greatest respect towards us and our faith.

Today has been a very special day. She was so beautiful. I do not regret a single moment of suffering or anguish of the last months of knowing how unwell she was, because that few moments she was with us were so precious and gave us all so much.

When a child dies at a young age she goes straight to Paradise , and on the Day of Judgment she will call from the Gates of Paradise for her parents to be allowed to join her. From Allah we come and to Him we return. We have truly been blessed today with a beautiful daughter, who in her short presence has been a gift and a source of so many life lessons.

Alhumdu Lillah (Praise be to Allah)
Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’oon. (From Allah we come and to Him we return)

The biggest lesson from today is placing our trust in Allah SWT. When you choose the path pleasing to Allah SWT, stand up for what is right no matter what the personal sacrifice; Allah SWT blesses you with more than you can ever dream of! Allahu Akbar.