I have undying love and respect for people who have every reason to give into circumstance but choose not to. Like the sister who had a miscarriage but a few weeks later chose to show up for tafsīr classes to learn about her Rabb. Or like the elderly lady who cannot walk unsupported but dutifully arrives at the masjid for tarāwīḥ and prays till the end. Or like the mother of five, who despite being a mother of five, pursues…
There are seven traits of the People of Nobility (Ahl Al-Kamāl; People who possess a lofty character) listed in Sūrat Al-Qaṣaṣ. Amongst them is one contained in the following āyah: ❰وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱللَّغۡوَ أَعۡرَضُوا۟ عَنۡهُ وَقَالُوا۟ لَنَاۤ أَعۡمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمۡ أَعۡمَـٰلُكُمۡ سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَیۡكُمۡ لَا نَبۡتَغِی ٱلۡجَـٰهِلِینَ❱ ❰and when they hear frivolous talk, they turn away, saying, ‘We have our deeds and you have yours. Peace be with you! We do not seek the company of ignorant people.’❱ Al-Qaṣaṣ:55 Abū Bakr al-Jazāʾirī…
One of the best gifts you can get from Allāh is lofty aspirations (علو الهمة) and ability (tawfīq/توفيق) to follow through with them. Much of the worldly good and that of the Hereafter is then achieved with Allāh’s permission. Be it ḥifḏh of the Qurʾān, a healthy body, children who do well at school, knowledge of the dīn, children who do ḥifḏh of the Qurʾān, success at work, pursuing passions (as opposed scrolling yer ol’ timeline day in and day…
The best ṣalāh of a woman (and man!) is one that she comprehends. The ṣalāh where her mind is present and her heart is humble. The ṣalāh in which she fulfils the purpose of ṣalāh which is connection with the Lord and submission to Him. There is a Ḥadīth graded weak by Imām Al-Albānī, but the meaning of which is correct, it says, “A person’s share of his prayer is that which he comprehends.” The rewards she acquires through her…
Sins prevent goodness from Allāh. Goodness in the form of material blessings and in the form of spiritual ones, like understanding of the Qurʾān, humility in prayer and high attainment in periods of mercy, like the month Ramaḍān. When people enter the blessed month of Ramaḍān with high hopes for themselves and achieve only a little, more often than not, it is their sins preventing them from success. This is why scholars advise that to prepare for a month like…
When you are trying to understand an āyah and you know that there is a treasure trove right at your finger tips, yet you cannot seem to access it. When you are frustrated, you are upset, you have done all that you can, yet you end up at a closed gate–a figurative one, but one that keeps you from getting to that treasure. That block that you experience is the darkness of the heart that prevents you from understanding the āyāt…