Monday, March 29, 2010

Blessings again ...

I shared in the blog a post about a week ago about Yusuf Estes coming to Muscat. I attended two of his lectures here and both were wonderful =) I was so so so excited to see him right in front of me rather than on Youtube like I usually do. He used the same jokes as always but I still ended up laughing anyway LOL xD

During the first lecture, a man reverted to Islam. I believe he was British judging from the accent. I can't tell you how emotional that was for me. I never cry in public, but on that day I found the tears streaming down my face. I kept thinking how fortunate I am to be here, to witness a man who's sins are about to be replaced with mountains of Hasanat. I also felt happiness from the great blessing Allah has bestowed upon this man to give him Hedaya and guide him to Islam. I hear sniffling and turn my head around to find most if not all the women in the row I was sitting in (including my Mama) with tears in their eyes also. Yusuf explained to the man the words of shahada that he is about to say in English, then guided him through the Arabic words. It was wonderful =)

I did not attend the third lecture unfortunaltly, but my cousins did and they told me that four people on the day reverted to Islam, mashaAllah. One before the lecture and three right after it. I was super disappointed that I did not make it =( Al Hamdullah in the end of it all.

Blessings take different forms in our life. There are the super obvious ones, like the people that have reverted back to Islam with the guidance of Allah Subhanho wa Taala. Then there are the less obvious ones, the tiny ones if you may. The day before yesterday, I went for my usual walk in the park with my Mother. At the end of it, I was thirsty and hot and I craved for oranges. As soon as I got my hands on a piece of orange, I bit into it and its sweet juice exploded in my mouth and cooled me off as well as quenched my thirst. I realized how incredible this simple little fruit is, how blessed we are that Allah gave it to us. You must remember that as Muslims, we have to bear in mind that NONE of what we have in this world is ours. Even our own limbs are not ours, but all blessings from Allah. He gave us arms and hands, and did not give others. He gave eyes to see with, and did not give others. He gave us a family and a home, and did not give to others. He blessed us with the ability to eat whenever we want to, rather than starve like many people in the world. It just goes on and on.


وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآ‌ۗ
إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَظَلُومٌ۬ ڪَفَّارٌ۬

"If you count Allah's blessings, you can never encompass them all.

Indeed, the human being is transgressing, unappreciative."

(Surat Ibrahim, verse 34)

Try to think about the blessings in your life, the tiny ones and the big ones. Take a few minutes out of your busy time in the day and think about it. Thank Allah for it all, for bear in mind that the most blessed in this world will be asked the most of what they did with their blessings and if they appreciated and thanked Allah for it. Another thing that is also good to mention is that many people these days seem to think that they are loved by Allah because of their wealth and health and good life ... and therefore better than the people whom are not as blessed. Do not for a second even believe that.

ثُمَّ لَتُسۡـَٔلُنَّ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ عَنِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ

"Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about the joy (ye indulged in!)."

(Surat Al Takathur, verse 8)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

[Aya] Blessings


وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآ‌ۗ
إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَظَلُومٌ۬ ڪَفَّارٌ۬


"If you count Allah's blessings, you can never encompass them all.

Indeed, the human being is transgressing, unappreciative."

(Surat Ibrahim, verse 34)

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Heaven Lies Under the Feet of the Mother

It was Mother's Day yesterday =) People all over the Arab World celebrated the day by making their mums feel extra special with showers of gift and love. In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, I want to write a post showcasing the great respect Mothers are given in Islam.

It begins with the hadith of the Prophet Mohammad Peace and Blessings be upon him: "Heaven lies under your mother's feet" (Ahmad, Nasai) Imagine now, you're mother standing in front of you and Heaven surrounds her. Allah has bestowed this great rank on her.

A second hadith that showcases the respect Islam gives to mothers is the following:
A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari, Muslim).



My little brother and sisters know this song =P


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Yusuf Estes ...

Is coming to Oman!

In accordance with the plan of cultural activities 2010, the Sultan Qaboos Centre for Islamic Culture will organise three lectures in English by world renowned Islamic preacher Yusuf Estes. The first lecture will be on the topic, ‘Islam’s relationship with other heavenly religions’, on March 24 at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque Auditorium. Seating will be extended to the mosque courtyard. The second lecture on the topic, ‘Let us come to the common terms’, will be held on March 25 at the city amphitheatre in Qurum Natural Park while the third lecture will be held on March 26 at the same place on the topic, ‘Why preachers of other religions convert to Islam’.

Q&A session

All the lectures will start at 8pm and will be followed by a question and answer session. The organisers have appealed to people of all faith to benefit from Yusuf Estes’ educative and inspiring lectures.

Yusuf Estes, who reverted to Islam, is today engaged in delivering lectures across the world. He was raised in a strong Christian home, educated in Texas and became successful owning music stores, TV shows and used his talents for piano and organ as a music minister while preaching the Bible. Estes converted to Islam in 1991 after meeting an Egyptian man he identifies simply as “Mohammed”, with whom Estes’ father had undertaken business dealings. According to Estes, he learnt about Islam accidentally and gradually while himself in the process of earnestly attempting to convert Mohammed to Christianity.

He served as a delegate to the United Nations Peace Summit for Religious Leaders and US Federal chaplain from 1994 until 2000.

His lectures in universities, institutions, military and public venues are for all faiths — Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Jewish alike. Many preachers, priests and rabbis have complimented his way of presenting a fresh and enlightening picture of the world’s fastest growing religion — Islam. He works to share Islam and its correct message with our youth, new Muslims and others in simple English terms, and he makes it fun and easy to understand, while referring to the Holy Quran and the teachings of Islam.

He uses the latest in website technology on the Internet and offers hi-tech technology like DVDs and CDs to encourage us all to share the message of “Peace, Surrender and Obedience to God”.
Source

This piece of news really drew a huge smile on my face ... I am so looking forward to going to the lectures! (InshaAllah) I've become such a fan of this grandpa and his way of speaking out to people with such wit and humor (I guess this blog is evidence of that =P) May Allah reward him for all his efforts and keep him safe during his journey.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Nouman Ali Khan - Surat Al Takathur

Surat Al Takathur is the 102nd Sura in the Quran. The Arabic word (takathur) translates to (rivalry in worldly increase). In the sura, Allah tells mankind how they go through their life, competing with each other at worldly gain, and how petty this all this once they finally reach their graves to realize the ultimate truth.

Allah also tells us how we will all be asked about the blessings that have been bestowed upon us. Many people these days seem to believe that because they have been given wealth and many blessings in this world, it comes to the conclusion that they are special and Allah loves them more than others. The last verse in Surat al Takathur tells us that we will be questioned about these blessings, and what we have done with them. This could prove to be fatal in the end.

I've always had the first 6 verses of the Sura in the back of my mind ... our wake up call is always death, weather it was with someone we know or to us ourselves. Some of us are lucky to have been blessed with "waking up" when someone close to them passed away in order to have a chance to make better their life in the current world, rather than face "waking up" in their own grave in the unseen world.

أَلۡهَٮٰكُمُ ٱلتَّكَاثُرُ (١) حَتَّىٰ زُرۡتُمُ ٱلۡمَقَابِرَ (٢) كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ (٣) ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ (٤) كَلَّا لَوۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ عِلۡمَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ (٥) لَتَرَوُنَّ ٱلۡجَحِيمَ (٦

Rivalry in worldly increase distracteth you (1) Until ye come to the graves. (2) Nay, but ye will come to know! (3) Nay, but ye will come to know! (4) Nay, would that ye knew (now) with a sure knowledge! (5) For ye will behold hell-fire. (6)


Here's the lecture by Nouman Ali Khan on Surat Al Takathur. Now you guys already know am a big admirer of this guy, so this lecture is pretty good =)

Download in .mp3 format

Nouman Ali Khan - Surat Al Takathur

One last thing, you can be notified by email everytime a new tafseer lecture has been posted by Nouman to his website. Sign up here --> http://bayyinah.com/dream/podcast/

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