A beautiful dua

Hadith:

Those who recite the last two ayahs of Surah Al-Bakarah at night, it will suffice.

"The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers. "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His messengers." And they say: "We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."

On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray:) "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden Like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith." (2:285-286)

Those who read/ recite Surah Baqarah are protected from the Shaitan, Inshallah.

Benefits of reading/reciting Surah Baqarah: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3672668/Benefits-of-Reading-Surahs

Verses from Quran on Marriage

Marriage is such a beautiful thing. Allah has said, He grants love and mercy to those united in marriage.

My all time favorite verse from the Quran:

"And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect. (30:21)"

Allah has created us from a single person, of similar nature. It's true there's a lot of similarities between spouses:

O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women...(4:1)

25:74] And they say, "Our Lord, let our spouses and children be a source of joy for us, and keep us in the forefront of the righteous."

[40:8] "Our Lord, and admit them into the gardens of Eden that You promised for them and for the righteous among their parents, spouses, and children. You are the Almighty, Most Wise. (40:8)

Congratulatory remarks for those enjoined in marriage:

Today, all good food is made lawful for you. The food of the people of the scripture is lawful for you. Also, you may marry the chaste women among the believers, as well as the chaste women among the followers of previous scripture, provided you pay them their due dowries. You shall maintain chastity, not committing adultery, nor taking secret lovers. Anyone who rejects faith, all his work will be in vain, and in the Hereafter he will be with the losers. (5:5)

We were made from ones like us, and we build families from that unit, Inshallah:

It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her (in love). When they are united, she bears a light burden and carries it about (unnoticed). When she grows heavy, they both pray to Allah their Lord, (saying): "If Thou givest us a goodly child, we vow we shall (ever) be grateful." (7:189)

Skimmed this article on marriage in Islam and the balance of men and women in a relationship.
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/marriage/inislam.asp

...Inshallah to be edited when I get home! lol

Forgiveness

I used to think it was okay to look the other way
When others used to the wrong things.

But now I know as a Muslim I have every right to say
Don’t do that, not tomorrow nor today.

I used to feel deprived of reality
I used to deprive myself .

And I used to think
No one was listening.

But I forgot that God was there,
He was always watching.

It didn’t matter if no one else cared
Nor if I didn’t listen to reasonable advice

I was my own worst critique
I was my own form of despair.

Now Alhamdulillah I know better,
Why suppress this message?

I am a lot stronger, Inshallah to last longer
I have to stay afloat by showing others I care.

Not a person is too young to bear their burdens,
The burdens of others, we cannot bear.

No soul shall bear a burden,
Greater than they can bear.

So why burden others with
An empty mind, an empty heart and empty despair?

May God help the misguided,
May He show us the right way

And may He grant forgiveness,
To those who are repenting for their mistakes.

Feelings.

Don't be angry. Stay silent. Do not engage in talk which does not concern you. Forgive others. Forget mistakes. Do not ignore society but do not be obligated to become a part of the norm. Follow the truth. Be truthful. God sees all.

1. Patience is rewarding, anger leads to sins.
2. Stay silent, it is better than committing a grave sin - gossip.
3. Do not engage in talk which does not concern you, you are responsible for your own actions.
4. Forgive others. Not everyone will ask you for forgiveness but God will not forgive you until you forgive others. No one is too small to ask forgiveness, nor too big.
5. Forget mistakes. Remembering mistakes is living in the past. Be concerned with today - is today your last day? Are you prepared for the afterlife?
6. Do not ignore society but do not be obligated to become part of the norm. You have to care about what people say, enough to be in the right. When you are in the wrong you should correct yourself according to the Quran and Sunnah, not by what people think you should or shouldn't do. It is important to know how our neighbors, the sick, the orphans, and the less fortunate are doing. It is not important to feed the rich, the well, the most fortunate with gossip and worthless information.
7. Follow the truth. The truth is all around us, in the breeze, in the stars, in the guidance by which God gives. He tells us to forgive, to reconcile between parties, to be patient, to pray and ask for guidance. He gives us the truth, we need to look read and understand it.
8. Be truthful. Do not live in lies and secrets. It only hurts us. If in the past, forgive, forget, move on and think positive. If in the past, you cannot change it you cannot bring it back and you cannot ignore it. Tell the truth and move on.
9. God sees all. He sees us whispering behind backs of the sinners, we become their equals or worse. He sees us judging others. He sees us hurting each other. He sees us being closed-minded. He sees us forgetting Him, as we forget one another. He sees all. He will judge between us, every single one of us, for every single thing we do.

There is no difference for those who do little or big; we all are sinners and we all deserve what our hands have earned. By being older, taller, smarter doesn't help us escape Allah's wrath when He is angry. Repent, come together and ask for forgiveness.

God sees all.

God sees all; He sees the mother starve her child of his/her rights. He sees the son plead to his mother for her sympathy. He sees the children who are treated unequally. He sees the ones who are quiet. He sees the mother who hurts. He sees the tears in the eyes who are left in-between. He sees the one who feels abandoned. He sees the one plotting their evil plots. He sees the differences. He sees the similarities.

Shouldn't we try to be better than the worse? Why stoop to the lowest of levels?
Should we not be steadfast in prayer, patience and perserverance rather than discussing all our difficulties? Should we not be wishing for the best of wishes, for Paradise, rather than worldly materials?

How low have let our souls go that we forget...He sees all.

Time flies...

Subhanallah.

The world is ever-changing
It's hard to catch up
Look behind for a second
And times almost up!

Not a word not a sound but
So many things around
Laughter envelopes sorrow
Yes, one today is one more tomorrow (Inshallah)

Have we forgotten ourselves
In the midst of the chaos
Are we leaving behind memories
Or a bunch of goodness?

Did we forget that this was promised
This time span that is leaving us behind
These years will seem but a few days
When we leave this world from here...

"And on the Day when He shall gather them together, [it will seem to them] as if they had not tarried [on earth] longer than an hour of a day..." (10:45)

Planned Parenthood

People say they can plan when they want to have kids. But is it really true?

There are three things that are pre-written for us:

1. When you're born and who your parents.
2. When you will die.
3. Who your spouse will be.

Therefore, according to that if you are destined to be with certain parents at a certain time, can they really "plan" when they have you?

Similarly I've heard the argument that if you're really careful, then you can avoid parenthood. Um no.

Even if you "plan" not have to have kids for say five years, when you do want to have kids in the sixth year, you cannot pinpoint the exact year, month, or day when it will happen. According to sunnah, a couple can concieve a child within a year if God so wills.

And even then, what if you just can't have kids and didn't know? Or in one case a woman lost her child during pregnancy and may not ever be able to get pregnant again without severely endangering her life.

If you look at Prophet Zakariyah, his wife and him were impotent. He did not have a child until he was in the feeblest age and with the help of dua. Allah so willed.

Vigin Maryam had Prophet Jesus without a husband or a mate. Allah so willed.

Prophet Ibrahim cohabited with Hajira and had Ismail because Sarah was unable to have children. Suddenly she had Isaac. Allah so willed.

Nothing is planned. It's all in Allah's divine plan. Destiny is written, but fate can change with duas. So you can make duas to help you and try your best to do what's best for this world and the hereafter.

If you're "planning" to have children later, ask for the best time.
If you're "planning" to have children sooner, make dua to be well-qualified and prepared. If you're not "planning" for anything, just believe...if Allah so wills it can happen.

Ameen.

"Verily with every difficulty there is relief"

'Verily, with every difficulty there is relief' (94:6).


This is such a short verse in the Quran, yet it can mean so much.

The Quran is so beautiful, subhanallah. Every time you read it (the translation) you will find out something new and the same verses will mean something else. It has the power to heal, to lift you from distress and guide you. Quran is the literal word of Allah in the form of a 'book' for all mankind to learn from, revealed through Angel Gibrael and exemplified by Prophet Muhammad (sws).

On most Sundays I spend my time at the masjid trying to reach out to young girls. Some are innocent to the reality of this world. They have yet to learn. Some are going through things I may have gone through, or perhaps even worse things.

Often we discuss Quranic verses and I try to find a way to relate it to them. Mind you I try to be as straight forward as possible because I realize how important it is for them to learn the truth.

During today's program hijab came up. Hijab is mandatory for women and men. Yet, there are many of us who cannot bear with the reality of things being haram and halal. We have our own ideas and we draw fine lines to suit our cause. Sometimes we struggle to go one step further to get closer to Allah.

For example,

Some wear hijab, but not all the time.
Some cover themselves, but do not dress modestly.
Some hang with good friends, but also bad friends.
Some know what's right but are fearful for what people will say so they stay in the wrong.
Some pray, but not five times a day.

Hence we have religion. Religion came here to give us hope. Hope to increase our faith, help us get through the small struggles and attain Paradise.

We have the choice to worship Allah, however our hearts were made to worship Him. Therefore naturally our instincts will incline towards good and sometimes verge towards bad when we're caught off guard.

And all the things we're holding ourselves back from; wearing a little less make-up, wearing loser clothing, hanging out less with the bad friends, wearing our hijab all the time, praying on time is all a test. It is all a struggle. It can all be hard.

But Allah says, "No burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear" (6:152) therefore that reassures us that we can get through our struggles.

And Allah says if we struggle in hardship, it will be followed with ease...as long as we're doing it to please Allah.

Allah judges us for efforts more than our actions. What more do we need to move ourselves forward?

Well, we need faith.

"La illaha illallah" There is no God but Allah. Miraculously the solution is in the verse itself. Remember Allah, repeat this verse and associate no partners with Him. He will elevate your faith Inshallah.

The Quran also has great stories to learn from. For example in Surah Al-Anbiya, The Prophets(21:76-93), I found six major Prophets mentioned that all had their unique struggle. Overall they all displayed patience, perseverance, gratefulness, and they remembered Allah in times of hardship (and always).

Not only was their message important - to believe in and worship One God - but their lives were examples to learn from.

Allah says He gives us hardships to make us stronger in faith.

What do we have to complain about? Neither did a flood destroy all but a handful of the inhabitants of the Earth like during Prophet Noah's time, nor did we get swallowed by a big fish like Prophet Jonas. And still we are ungrateful.

(21:76-93)
http://searchquran.net/quran.php?q=21:76-93&lang={$lang}

So what is the best way to worship Allah and get through our struggles?

Remembering Allah. "Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (13:28)

And Allah knows best. Ameen.