Remember Allah when you go to the mall

As Salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu,

As some may have encountered a hadith that states the worst of places are the markets and the best place is the masjid, we may tend to always think of the negative.  Certainly there are a lot of negatives in the market places: mixing, bad business practices, inappropriate advertisements, music, haram items, disregard of hijab, etc etc.  Yet there is one specific hadith related to markets that can be found in Fortress of the Muslim which relates to the market:


Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said,

"Whoever enters the market and says:

 ا إلهَ إلاّ اللّه وحدَهُ لا شريكَ لهُ، لهُ المُلْـكُ ولهُ الحَمْـد، يُحْيـي وَيُميـتُ وَهُوَ حَيٌّ لا يَمُـوت، بِيَـدِهِ الْخَـيْرُ وَهوَ عَلىَ كلّ شيءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Laa ‘ilaaha ‘illallaahu wahdahu laa shareeka lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, yuhyee wa yumeetu, wa Huwa hayyun laa yamootu, biyadihil-khayru, wa Huwa ‘alaa kulli shay’in Qadeer.

None has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, Who has no partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise. He brings life and He causes death, and He is living and does not die. In His Hand is all good, and He is Able to do all things.

Allah will record for him a million good deeds, obliterate from him a million wrong actions, and raise him a million degrees.” [At-Tirmidhi]

A million good deeds is huge for something so simple.  Just remember it, keep a copy of the dua in your wallet, purse, or phone.  Remember Allah when you walk into the hang out of Shaytan (the market), and try to keep yourself safe from its evils.

Find something better to do for lunch

As Salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu,

As Ramadan as recently left us once again, fasting is still fresh in our minds.  As we are in the month of Shawwal, we are often reminded of the additional 6 days of fasting that is recommended to make up for deficiency in our fasting during Ramadan and to provide the reward of a full year's worth of fasting.  Fasting itself is mentioned in many hadith in relation to great reward, when it should be performed, and the use of fasting as a defense.  In one hadith related to its importance, we see the importance of reward:

Abu Umamah reported:  "I came to the Messenger of Allah and said: 'Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter Paradise.'  He said: 'Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.' Then I came to him again and he said: 'Stick to fasting.'" (Ahmad, Nasa'i)

and in another:

Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Allah said: The fast is for me and I will give the reward for it, as he (who observes it) leaves his sexual desire, food and drink for My Sake.  Fasting is a screen (from Hell) and there are two pleasures for a fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord.  and the smell of the mouth of the fasting person is better in Allah's Sight than the smell of musk." (Bukhairi)

Here we also see the basics of fasting in this hadith, however it doesn't cover another important aspect of leaving bad actions and speech.  So the act of fasting is a conscious effort to avoid sin above our normal struggles.  In other hadiths, it is mentioned that fasting restricts Shaytain's ability to flow through the veins of the body, thus reducing influence from outside as well.

Clarifying another point in the previous hadith, the screen from Hell:

Abu Sai'd Al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said. "No servant fasts on a day in the path of Allah except that Allah removes the hellfire seventy years further away from his face." (multiple collections)

In another hadith, we see that fasting is one of the intercessors on the Day of Judgement

Abdullah ibn 'Amer reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The fast and the Quran are two intercessors for the servant of Allah on the Day of Resurrection.  The fast will say: 'O Lord, I prevented him from his food and desires during the day.  Let me intercede for him.'  The Quran will say: 'I prevented him from sleeping at night.  Let me intercede for him.'  And their intercession will be accepted." (Ahmad)

From this brief view of fasting, we can see that there is an immeasurable reward waiting for the one who performs it.  Some other aspects to it, fasting improves the acceptance of Du'a, it gives us extra free time during the day that can be used for additional ibadah, and it helps us spend the whole day focusing on our Lord in this full day act of ibadah.  It is a great opportunity for all of us to improve ourselves and seek success in the hearafter.  Let us strive to increase our fasting and learn the sunnah's related to its practice, and the recommended days to perform it.


A piece of Laylat al-Qadr every night?

As Salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu,

Ramadan 1434 has come and gone and we all hope our actions were accepted. During the last few days of the month, I saw an interesting post on Abdurrahmann Murad's facebook page. I will just share it here in its entirity:

"Important Narrations: Brothers and sisters I want to share a few interesting narrations with you... you may have not heard of them...but that doesn't mean they are incorrect or inaccurate. Before I do mention them, I ask Allah to reward brother Mohamed Zainal, who brought this to my attention...after an in depth look at the narrations and Hadeeth, I decided to post it here so that the benefit could be spread.The narrations which are on the authority of the Companions, and they are as follows:

a. مَنْ صَلَّى أَرْبَعًا بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ كُنَّ كَقَدْرِهِنَّ مِنْ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ
"Whoever prays four Rakah after Isha would be like praying four Rakah during Lailutil Qadr."[Musanaf ibn abi Shaybah 2/342]

b. أَرْبَعَةٌ بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ يُعْدَلْنَ بِمِثْلِهِنَّ مِنْ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ.
"Performing four Rakah after Isha would be like praying four Rakah during Lailutil Qadr." [ Musanaf ibn Abi Shaybah 2/342]

c. مَنْ صَلَّى أَرْبَعًا بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ لاَ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُنَّ بِتَسْلِيمٍ عُدِلْنَ بِمِثْلِهِنَّ مِنْ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ.
“Whoever prays four rakat after Isha without separating between them with a tasleem, then they would be equal to praying four during Lailutil Qadr.” [ Musanaf ibn Abi Shaybah2/342]

Sh. Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Although they are authentic only to the Companions, they would be in the ruling of what was heard directly from the Prophet, may Allah praise him...as the Companions would not issue rulings like this from their own accord." (Silsilah ad-Daeefah #5060)

With this, you would have an option of praying the normal two Rakah after Isha, or the four that are mentioned here.

May Allah make us among the successful in this life and in the next. Ameen"