Podcasts about our prophet

BYU-Idaho Budget Officer Marc Stewart gives devotional talk titled, "Our Prophet's Teachings for Our Day."

A new MP3 sermon from Church of Christian Liberty is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Suffering of Our Prophet, Priest, and King Subtitle: Luke Speaker: Calvin Lindstrom Broadcaster: Church of Christian Liberty Event: Sunday Service Date: 7/7/2024 Bible: Luke 23:26-43 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Affirmation PCA Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Prophet, Priest, and King Subtitle: The Trinity Speaker: Rev. Bill Spanjer Broadcaster: Affirmation PCA Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 6/2/2019 Bible: Revelation 1:4-8 Length: 33 min.

2. Jesus, Our Prophet, Priest, and King (2 Corinthians 5:17) by Church in the Square (Sermon Audio)

A new MP3 sermon from Providence Reformed Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Prophet, Priest, and King Speaker: Kris Wassam Broadcaster: Providence Reformed Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 3/24/2024 Bible: Luke 23:26-43 Length: 36 min.

Things You'll Learn In This Episode of Our Prophet:- 2 reasons why the hadith about Uthman's pledge is self-contradictory - Did the Prophet return to Hudaibiyya to take the pledge from Uthman?- Muslims' treatment of the Tree of Ridwan and Umar's response- Was Umar justified in cutting the Tree? - How Umar repressed women through his ban-culture- Umar striking Abu Bakr's sister and how it relates to his striking of Lady FatimaJoin us in creating the most comprehensive life story (seerah) of Prophet Muhammad (s). Dedicate episodes in the memory of your loved ones by visiting https://thaqlain.org/ourprophet.Visit https://app.thaqlain.org and download the first "Knowledge App" from the School of Ahlulbayt.#ProphetMuhammad #PropheticBiography #OurProphetSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/our-prophet/donations

As Muslims, we are obligated to constantly purify our bodies and our hearts in order to protect ourselves from physical and spiritual sin. Our Prophet warns us that the doors of paradise will not open for those who have even an ounce of arrogance in their hearts, but what about the opposite of arrogance? Our beloved Nabi is the best role model for keeping our hearts clean from such a spiritual illness.

00:00 Introduction 1:49 Importance of the Qur'aan 5:57 The previous prophets told their nations about the Qur'aan 7:19 What Allah said about the Qur'aan 14:36 The Quran is where honour lies 18:57 Allah raises nations through This Book 22:54 What if Allah took the Qur'aan back? 25:25 None can bring the likes of this Qur'aan 26:56 The Qur'aan clarifies everything 29:26 Nothing is like the Qur'aan33:54 This Qur'aan is better than all the revelations that were ever sent36:06 The Qur'aan surpasses everything! 45:36 Why was the Qur'aan sent down? 50:36 Gatherings of the People of the Qur'aan 55:50 Virtue of learning the Qur'aan57:22 Our Prophet ﷺ was the duaa' of Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام 58:48 The best of you are... 1:05:27 Good deeds and steadfastness from the Qur'aan1:09:45 The Qur'aan is a proof, for or against you 1:10:18 The Status of the Haafidh1:16:29 The Effect of the Qur'aan on the hearts 1:27:35 The people of Allah 1:32:07 Recite and rise 1:32:50 Powerful tips for memorizing the Qur'aan 1:38:13 How much should one memorize daily? 1:40:43 Method to quickly memorize the Qur'aan 1:46:59 How should one revise?1:52:09 The Sahaba would finish the Qur'aan every 7 days 1:55:53 Final wordsSpeaker: Abdulrahman Hassan

At the time when Muhammad was charged with the prophethood a terrible custom prevailed in Arabia. Some families regarded daughters as a source of shame and killed them as soon as they were born. Our Prophet interest in and love of children swiftly did away with such barbarity. He told them to make no distinction between male children and female. He also taught them that killing their daughters was a grave sin and an act of cruelty. By demonstrating equal love for and interest in both, he set an excellent example to the whole society. The following is an example of what the Prophet said about female children. ''A daughter is a lovely child; affectionate, eager to help, mild and full of sacred feelings of motherhood.'' Our Prophet also warned the faithful to treat their children justly and said, ''Fear God and treat your children with equal justice.''

During and after the time of the Prophet there have been those who denied that the Quran is a Divine book. Some of these people even went so far as to claim it was the Prophet himself who had written it. Yet, this was a grave error and a manifest slander. The Quran is the word of God and contains many miracles and superior wisdom the like of which no human being could ever conceive of. The Prophet reminded people of this and announced that the Quran had been sent by God. This fact also appears in the Quran. Say: ''The One Who sent it down is He Who knows all hidden secrets in the heavens and Earth. He is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'' (Surat al-Furqan:6) Those who allege that the Quran was written by a human being are unaware of the Miracles that contains and that its wisdom comes from God. Our Prophet was commanded to reveal this truth to his people. Say: ''If both men and jinn banded together to produce the like of this Quran, they could never produce anything like it, even if they backed each other up.'' (Surat al-Isra':88). In another Hadith the Prophet stated that the Quran was the word of God. ''Honesty descended from the Heavens and settled in the roots of the hearts of men (faithful believers), and then the Quran was revealed and the people read the Quran, (and learned from it) and also learned it from the Sunnah. Both the Quran and Sunnah strengthened their (the faithful believers') honesty.'' (Sahih Bukhari) Our Prophet had other most important advice. The Quran is the most important guide to salvation. This fact is set out as follows in the Hadith. ''Acquire the knowledge and impart it to the people. Learn the Quran and teach it to the people; for I am a person who has to depart this world.'' (Tirmidhi Hadiths, 279)

The Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet charged with warning humanity like all the other Messengers the Prophet called people to the true path, to have faith in God, to live for the hereafter and to exercise good morality. In his time, some people have elected to follow the most mistaken paths in order to supposedly find salvation. These paths were full of perversion, superstition and nonsense. Our Prophet aroused them from their ignorance and heedlessness calling them to the path of God. He made great efforts for their salvation in their lives of this world and of the hereafter. When he communicated the message of the Quran our Prophet was exposed to enormous oppression and animosity. Yet he took no notice of these. Our Prophet upon whom great compassion was bestowed drew his power from the love of God and knew that our Lord was always with him. God commands the prophet thus in one verse. Proclaim what you have been ordered to and turn away from the idolaters. We are enough for you against the mockers. (Surat al-Hijr:94-95) The prophet Muhammad first told people of God's might and of the proofs of His incomparable creation. He then explained them that God had no equal and was the sole Lord of all. Say: ''What do you think? If God made it permanent night for you till the Day of Resurrection, what deity is there other than God to bring you light? Don't you then hear?'' Say: ''What do you think? If God made it... permanent day for you till the Day of Resurrection, what deity is there other than God to bring you night to rest in? Don't you then see?'' (Surat al-Qasas:71-72)

Our Prophet was a protector and administrator for believers. Muslims therefore referred to him in all matters and sought his permission and opinion before engaging in anything. When they disagreed among themselves or were unable to resolve an issue, they immediately communicated this to the Prophet and implemented the most auspicious and reliable solution by learning it from him. Because they knew that he was the most intelligent of the community, his commands and judgments were under the protection of God. His decisions were there for always the most auspicious. Our Prophet Muhammad a chosen individual is a role model in our time and his Sunnah is an important guide for all humanity. Therefore obedience to him is the true path to salvation both in this world and the eternal life of the hereafter. It is revealed in the Quran that those who obey the Prophet are actually obeying God. Those who rebel against him on the other hand actually rebel against God. ''Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed God. If anyone turns away, We did not send you to them as their keeper. (Surat an-Nisa':80)

In communicating the message of God, Prophet Muhammad encountered all kinds of obstacles placed in his path by the idolaters. They behaved aggressively and sought to set traps for the Prophet. Eventually they went further, exiling and seeking to imprison or even kill him. However, no matter what befell him our Prophet was always patient and resigned and maintained his submission to God. With great determination he continued to preach the word of God. Because he knew that there was goodness and something auspicious in all things created by God even the very worst difficulties. One of the clearest examples of this is his words when he was hiding in a cave with Abu Bakr after leaving Mecca. Our Prophet's words are related as follows in the Quran. ''If you do not help him, God did help him when those who did not believe drove him out and there were two of them in the Cave. He said to his companion, ''Do not be despondent, God is with us.'' Then God sent down His serenity upon him and reinforced him with troops you could not see. He made the word of those who did not believe undermost. It is the word of God which is uppermost. God is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surat at-Tawba:40) The prophets words and actions are the best possible models for believers because interpreting events auspiciously is an important virtue stemming from sincere faith in God and a way of life and imposed by that faith. Believers face up to everything that befalls them with great maturity and know that there is a reason for these events. They first do all they can to resolve a matter. They then place their trust in God and accept the outcome and try to see its auspicious aspect. In one Hadith our Prophet described the reward that those who put their trust in God can expect. ''If you put your faith completely in God, He will arrange for your sustenance in the same way as He provides for the birds. They go out in the morning with their stomachs empty and return filled in the evening.'' (Tirmidhi Hadiths)

The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) possessed an exemplary morality that he called upon the world to adopt, and which was revealed to him by God. He also counseled Muslims to follow his moral example, which included such advice as to not envy or hate one another, to not undersell each other, to show reverence both externally and internally, to speak truthfully, and to forgive those who injure us. These nine moral values are a timeless example of the Prophet's exemplary morality that all of us should strive to emulate. The Prophet possessed a morality that constitutes a model for the whole world. He called on others to conform to that morality and described what kind of morality and behavior would be pleasing to God. God reveals in verses the kind of superior moral values possessed by Prophet Muhammad. ''Nun. By the Pen and what they write down! By the blessing of your Lord, you are not mad. You will have a wage which never-fails. Indeed you are truly vast in character. (Surat al-Qalam:1-4) Our Prophet also counseled Muslims to abide by his own moral values. Some of this advice is described in these terms in the hadith. ''Do not envy one another; do not hate one another; do not turn away from another; and do not undercut one another, but be you, O servants of God, brothers.'' ''My Cherisher has ordered me nine things: To reverence Him, externally and internally, to speak true, and with propriety, in prosperity and adversity, moderation in affluence and poverty, to benefit my relations and kindred who do not benefit me; to give alms to him who refuses me; to forgive him who injures me; that my silence should be in attaining knowledge of God; that when I speak, I should mention Him; that when I look on God's creatures, it should be as an example for them.''

Zakat is the third pillar of Islam. Zakat translates to mean "the act of giving alms to the poor and needy." Offering Zakat is a religious obligation for Muslims. In Islam, it is considered the duty of individuals of wealth to assist the poor and needy. The term Zakat in Arabic linguistically carries several meanings, including "to purify, to increase, cleanliness, blessings, and goodness." Zakat means to purify. According to the Islamic faith, your wealth and property are not pure unless you share a divinely appointed proportion of your earnings with people in need. The principle of Zakat also purifies your heart of greed and selfishness. Whereas the humanistic love of wealth is natural, Zakat is intended to free you from the excessive and all-consuming love of money and selfish desire, thereby teaching you self-discipline."Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase and invoke Allah's blessings upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing." (Quran 9:103) Zakat also translates to mean growth and blessings. If you give and help others in times of ease and difficulties, God will be pleased, increasing and blessing your wealth in response. Allah, the Glorious, has promised that if you spend your wealth in Zakat, your prosperity will increase manifold."The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed of grain which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies His reward for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing." (Quran 2:261)Our Prophet has stated that the act of Charity does not decrease wealth; instead, this act blesses, purifies, and ultimately increases one's fortune. Islam requires you to pay an annual contribution of 2.5 percent of the wealth and liquid assets you have accrued over one lunar year. Your personal Zakat is calculated on your earned net balance; that amount remaining after paying all other necessary expenses. Zakat is not an income tax; the amount due is based on what you have saved and held for an entire year. Zakat is not paid from the funds needed for debt repayment or necessary living expenses such as food, water, shelter, clothing, and transportation.It's important to note that Zakat money needs to be given from an untainted pool of 100% pure and halal funds—not taken from thefts or bribes, nor profits from interest-based loans or sales of alcohol, pork, drugs, or anything prohibited in Islam. God, the Almighty, is Good and Pure and accepts only that which is good and pure. 

A Look at Our Prophet's Ongoing Warning Call

A Look at Our Prophet's Ongoing Warning Call

Things you'll learn in this episode of Our Prophet:- 2 reasons Islam limited but allowed polygamy- Shortage of eligible bachelors in modern societies- How does polygamy protect vulnerable women?- Tradition of polygamy in other religions and culturesTo watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RiHeMJZFsGwHelp us create the most comprehensive biography of the Prophet of Islam. Dedicate episodes in the memory of your loved ones by visiting https://thaqlain.org/ourprophet#ProphetMuhammad #PropheticBiography #OurProphetSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/our-prophet/donations

Things you'll learn in this episode of Our Prophet:-3-step solution from Quran if the wife commits Nushuz- What does Nashiz/Nushuz mean?- What does it mean to abandon the wife?- What are the different meanings of the word Zarb?- Why can physical abuse not be the implied meaning of the verse?- Prerequisites by Imams of Ahlulbayt if a man desires to apply Zarb- Prophet's hadith to solve the Nushuz problem- Can women beat their husbands too?- Did the Prophet or the Imams ever hit their wives?To watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j3GalkKcHFoHelp us create the most comprehensive biography of the Prophet of Islam. Dedicate episodes in the memory of your loved ones by visiting https://thaqlain.org/ourprophet#ProphetMuhammad #PropheticBiography #OurProphetSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/our-prophet/donations

In our teaching this Tuesday, Bishop Dag will focus on thanksgiving and how being thankful and grateful in all aspects of your life can lead to miracles and blessings. Bishop Dag will also enlighten you on how thanksgiving leads you to be more stable and you will discover why God wants you to be thankful not just from your words but also from your heart. Our Prophet will also share powerful prayers and blessings that will carry us all through 2023: The Year of Being Thankful. Be blessed by the word!

In our teaching this Tuesday, Bishop Dag will focus on thanksgiving and how being thankful and grateful in all aspects of your life can lead to miracles and blessings. Bishop Dag will also enlighten you on how thanksgiving leads you to be more stable and you will discover why God wants you to be thankful not just from your words but also from your heart. Our Prophet will also share powerful prayers and blessings that will carry us all through 2023: The Year of Being Thankful. Be blessed by the word!

A new MP3 sermon from Grace Free Presbyterian, Newtownards is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Christ, Our Prophet, Priest & King Subtitle: Children's Day (Christmas) Speaker: Rev. Patrick Baker Broadcaster: Grace Free Presbyterian, Newtownards Event: Sunday - AM Date: 12/18/2022 Bible: Psalm 24:7-10 Length: 24 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Grace Free Presbyterian, Newtownards is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Christ, Our Prophet, Priest & King Subtitle: Children's Day (Christmas) Speaker: Rev. Patrick Baker Broadcaster: Grace Free Presbyterian, Newtownards Event: Sunday - AM Date: 12/18/2022 Bible: Psalm 24:7-10 Length: 24 min.

Mehdiyet dünya tarihinin gelmiş geçmiş en büyük olayıdır. Bunu Peygamberimiz söylüyor. Deccaliyet ve Mehdi'nin zuhuru dünya tarihinin en büyük olayıdır.The Mahdi is the greatest event in the history of the world. Our Prophet says this. The Dajjal and the appearance of the Mahdi is the greatest event in the history of the world.

Samimi bir insan doğal olarak ilim sahibi olur. Peygamberimiz de ümmiydi ama alimdi, hikmet sahibiydi. İlim samimi insanlara verilen bir nimettir. Samimi olan, olumluyu olumsuzdan, doğruyu yanlıştan ayırt eder.A sincere person is naturally knowledgeable. Our Prophet was also an ummi, but he was a scholar and possessed wisdom. My year is a blessing given to sincere people. The sincere one distinguishes positive from negative, right from wrong.

Cennette Peygamberlerle hep birlikte olacağız, aynı sofralarda aynı mekanlarda olacağız. Dünyada çile çekiyorlar ama cennette sonsuza kadar itibarlı, sonsuza kadar çok sevilen olacaklar maşaAllah. İmam Mehdi de cennette çok sevilecektir. Peygamberimiz Mehdi için “cennetin tavuskuşudur o” diyor.We will all be together with the Prophets in Paradise, we will be in the same places at the same tables. They suffer in the world, but they will be respected and loved forever in Paradise, masha'Allah. Imam Mahdi will also be loved in Paradise. Our Prophet says of the Mahdi, "he is the peacock of heaven".

“Mehdi gelmedi, Mehdi gelmeyecek” diyenler Mehdi'nin çıkış alametlerinden hiç bahsetmiyorlar. Mehdi gelmeyecek diye sabah akşam yaygara yapacaklarına, “Peygamberimiz (sav) şu alametleri saydı ve bunlar daha olmadı” desinler. Diyemezler, çünkü Peygamberimiz (sav), 600'den fazla alamet saymış ve bu alametlerin hepsi tek tek bu dönemde meydana geldi.Those who say, "The Mahdi has not come, and the Mahdi will not come," never talk about the signs of his coming. Instead of making a fuss morning and evening that the Mahdi will not come, let them say, "Our Prophet (saas) has counted these portents and they have not happened yet." They cannot say because our Prophet (saas) counted more than 600 portents, and all of these portents took place one by one during this period.

The Greatest Man Ever Walked On The Face Of The Earth, The Role Model For The Entire World, Sent As A Mercy To The Worlds, The Intercessor On The Day Of Judgement, The Most Trustworthy, The Best Of Mankind, The Beloved, The Chosen One, Our Prophet, Our Messenger - Muhammad ﷺSpeakers: Ustadh Wahaj Tarin, Mufti Menk, Yusha Evans, Sheikh Omar Suleiman, Sheikh Khalid Yasin, Dr. Yasir Qadhi & Saeed Mohamed.

Bilaal ibn Rabaah(ra) "The Rock of Fortitude " Session 43 Bilaal(ra) at the Holy grave of Our Prophet ﷺ. Sprinkling water and placing red pebbles over the grave is from the Sunnah.

A new MP3 sermon from Covenant United Reformed Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Prophet, Priest, & King Subtitle: The Heidelberg Catechism Speaker: Chris Engelsma Broadcaster: Covenant United Reformed Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 10/9/2022 Bible: Acts 2:14-36 Length: 40 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Sandlick Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Jesus, Our Prophet, Priest and King can make you a Fisher of Men Subtitle: Luke Speaker: Rev. David B. Cummings Broadcaster: Sandlick Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 3/6/2022 Bible: Luke 5:1-16 Length: 38 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Sandlick Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Jesus, Our Prophet, Priest and King can make you a Fisher of Men Subtitle: Luke Speaker: Rev. David B. Cummings Broadcaster: Sandlick Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 3/6/2022 Bible: Luke 5:1-16 Length: 38 min.

Things you'll learn in this episode of Our Prophet:- 3 Stages of the prophetic mission- How and why the relatives were invited to Islam- Miracle during the Feast of Dhul Asheera- Abu Lahab's attempt to sabotage the event- Prophet's call for support and response to it- Prophet's announcement in regards to Imam Ali- Why didn't Abu Talib or Hamza respond to the call?- Can we dismiss Imam Ali's support because he was too young?To watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kefnVy9uxmQHelp us create the most comprehensive biography of the Prophet of Islam. Dedicate episodes in the memory of your loved ones by visiting https://thaqlain.org/ourprophSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/our-prophet/donations

This is a very important episode with respect to Last Ten Nights of Ramadan. It's not known to us which night is exactly the laylatul qadr, but Our Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that search for Laylatul Qadr in the last ten nights of ramadan. And we get to know a few weather signs as well, how does the sunrises the next morning? How hot or cool the weather is? May Allah help us to make the most Ib'adah and Dua on the Laylatul Qadr Night. MUST READ DUA in these days : Allahumma Innaka Afuwwun Tuhibbul Afwa Fa'fu Anni Meaning : Oh Allah, You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The enemies cannot attack through medical science, either. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' praised medical science in various ways. For example, he stated: “Knowledge is of two kinds: physical knowledge and religious knowledge.” That is, by saying that the most necessary kinds of knowledge are religious knowledge, which will protect the soul, and knowledge of health, which will protect the body, he declared that first of all it is necessary to try to keep the soul and the body healthy. This hadîthi-sherîf is written in the three hundred and eighty-first page of the book Riyâd-un-nâsihîn, which also writes that it has been quoted from the book Zubda-tul-akhbâr. There are also scholars who say that these are the words of Imâm-i Shâfi'î ‘rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaih'. Every word of this great imâm is an explanation of âyat-i kerîmas and hadîth-i sherîfs. Islam commands us to learn physical knowledge before religious knowledge. For, all kinds of virtuous deeds can be done with a healthy body. As is taught in all universities today, medical science is of two sections: the first one is hygiene, that is, the protection of health; the second one is therapeutics, the treatment of diseases. The first one is of primary importance. It is the first task of medical science to protect people against diseases, to safeguard their health. For the most part, a diseased person remains damaged and unhealthy, even if he is cured. Islam has guaranteed and ensured hygiene, the first task of medical science. In the second part of Mawâhib-i ladunniyya, it is proved through âyat-i-kerîmas that the Qur'ân-al-kerîm recommends both sections of medical science. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' used to correspond with Heraclius, the Greek Byzantine emperor. They used to exchange messages. We can read the words and the letters of both parties in books. The originals of the letters exist in the two hundred and thirty eighth page of the Turkish translation of Mawâhib-i ladunniyya. As the names of the ambassadors, together with their biographies and many events are obvious, who on earth, both learned and considerate, will say that these are lies, thirteen hundred years later? Their hostility towards the religion, their grudge against our Sayyid Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' must have covered their minds and ravaged their discernment to the extent that they cannot see the events, proofs or documents; so they do not hesitate to openly lie in order to deceive youngsters. Lying and slandering will disgrace, dishonour one in front of everybody! O our Allah! Your justice is very correct. Those who attack Islam, and thereby attack the comfort and peace of others, deserve eternal torment! Once, Heraclius sent a few presents. One of these presents was a doctor. The doctor came to Rasûlullah and said, “Sir, His Excellency sent me to serve you. I will examine your patients free of charge.” Rasûlullah accepted him. He ordered the Muslims to give him a home, and it was carried out. Every day they brought him delicious food and drinks. Days, months passed, but no Muslim visited the doctor. Ashamed, the doctor came to Rasûlullah and said, “Sir, I came here to serve you. Up to now, no patient has visited me. I have just sat idly, eating and drinking. Let me go back now.” Upon his request, Rasûlullah smiled and said, “It is up to you! If you would like to stay longer, it is the first duty of a Muslim to serve a guest, to show honour to him. If you would like to go, good luck! Only, let it be known that nobody will visit you if you stay here for years, since my Ashâb do not become ill! The Islamic religion has shown the way of how not to become sick. My Ashâb are extra careful about cleanliness They do not eat anything before getting hungry, and they leave the meal table before becoming satiated with food.” Endless Bliss First Fasicle | Page 272-274

Rasûl-i akram ‘sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was born in Mecca, in the hijrî year 571, on a Monday night, (i.e. a night that was between Sunday and Monday, and) which was the night (following the eleventh and) previous to the twelfth day of the month of Rabî'ul-awwal and which coincided with the twentieth of April, towards morning. Every year, Muslims all over the world celebrate this night as the Mawlid Night. Everywhere, Rasûlullah is remembered by reciting Mawlid Qasidas [Eulogies of Mawlid]. The Sultân of Erbil, Abû Sa'îd Muzaffar-ud-dîn Kukbûrî bin Zaynaddîn Ali, used to organize festivals on mawlid nights and used to give gifts and presents. The beautiful character, benevolence and good deeds of the sultân is noted in detail in a history book by Ibni Khilligân, on the 234th page of Hujjatullâhi 'alal'âlamîn and in a pamphlet entitled Mawlid-î sherîf by Sayyid 'Abdulhakîm-i Arwâsî. ‘Mawlîd' means ‘the time of birth.' ‘Rabî'ul-awwal' means ‘the Spring.' Our Prophet, after he had become the Prophet, used to lay very much stress on this night every year. The ummat of each Prophet had made the birthday of their Prophet a feast day. And this day is the Muslims' feast day. It is a day of pleasure and happiness. When Hadrat Âdam was between soul and body, he (Muhammad) was the Prophet. Hadrat Âdam and everything were created for his honour. His blessed name is written in Islamic letters on the Arsh, on skies and heavens. His name Muhammad was given to him by his grandfather, 'Abdulmuttalib. He had dreamt that (Muhammad's) name would be spread over the world and that everybody would praise and laud him. ‘Muhammad' means ‘he who is praised much.' Endless Bliss First Fasicle | Page 236

Our Prophet's descendants until the end of the world will be beautiful and sympathetic. For example, the Amîr of Jordan, the late 'Abdullah, who had been to Istanbul, was such a person. The virtuous Ahmad Makkî Efendî, the late mufti of Kadiköy, was a sayyid (a descendant of the Prophet), and like his ancestors, he was white with black eye-brows, big black eyes, very sympathetic and affable. Rasûlullah's Ashâb were sympathetic and beautiful, too. Hadrat 'Uthmân was white with blond hair. Dihya-i Kelbî, the ambassador whom Rasûlullah used to send to Heraclius, the Emperor of Byzantium, was very handsome, and as he went around on the streets of Istanbul, the Byzantine girls used to rush out into the streets in order to see his face. Hadrat Jabrâil (Gabriel) usually came in the guise of Hadrat Dihya ‘radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Endless Bliss First Fasicle | Page 232

"Jesus (a.s.) Our Prophet"  by Sh. Shahid Ali  December 24, 2021

Principal Wadud Hassan reflects on how remembering Allah in our hearts can control our tongues. When our time is up in this world, we will return to Allah and we must be wary of how we spend our time and resources before we meet Allah SWT. Allah will grant us what we desire in the hereafter if we follow what he desires in this world. Therefore, we must be mindful of how we speak to others and ensure that we are always speaking kindly to each other even during disagreements.Our Prophet peace be upon him was kindest when he was speaking to others and said that the strongest person is the person who can control their anger. Principal Wadud tells the story of Abu Bakr and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. They were sitting in the masjid when a man came up to Abu Bakr and began to argue, saying ill-mannered things to him. Abu Bakr looked at the man, stayed calm and didn't respond. After the third argument, Abu Bakr responds to the man to correct him and the Prophet ﷺ gets up and walks away. Abu Bakr follows the prophet ﷺ and asked him why he left. The prophet ﷺ said that when you are quiet, there is an angel responding on your behalf because you had patience but when you engage, shaytan appears. When we engage in an argument, we are in the presence of the shayateen and this will take us away from the prophet ﷺ and Allah SWT.We must be mindful of what we are saying with our tongues and say things that bring us closer to Jannah. By remembering Allah in our hearts, and practicing patience, we are able to regulate our tongues from hurting others. Talk to Allah often and your heart will see Allah.Support the show (http://www.goodtreeacademy.org/donate?id=pd)

You should say “Subhânallâhi wa bi hamdihî” a hundred times every day and every night. There are many blessings in it. Also, it is necessary to say once every morning and once every evening the prayer, (Allâhumma mâ asbaha bî min ni'matin aw bi-ahadin min khalqika, fa minka wahdaka, lâ sharîka laka, fa laka-l-hamdu wa laka-sh-shukr) by substituting (mâ amsâ) for (mâ asbaha) in the evenings, which the Prophet has prescribed. Our Prophet stated: “He, who says this prayer during the day, will have offered the gratitude for that day. When he says it at night, he will have offered the gratitude for that night.” It is not necessary to have an ablution for saying it. You should say it every day and every night. Endless Blıss First Fasicle | Page 186

After performing each fard namâz, you should try to recite the Âyat-ul-Kursî. Our Prophet stated: “Between Paradise and the person who recites the Âyat-ul-Kursî after fard namâz, there is no obstacle besides death.” After each of the daily five prayers of namâz, you should silently say the word tanzîh (Subhânallâh) thirty-three times, the word tahmîd (Alhamdulillâh) thirty-three times, the word takbîr (Allâhu akbar) thirty-three times and a certain prayer (Lâ ilâha illallâhu wahdahu lâ sharîka-lah, lahu-lmulku wa lahu-l-hamdu yuhyî wa yumîtu wa huwa 'alâ kullî shay'in qadîr) once; all of them add up to a hundred. Endless Blıss First Fasicle | Page 186

Our Prophet is known to be very forgiving and merciful. However, in the Quran, Almighty Allah has shared a complaint the Holy Prophet has from his Ummah.As the birthday of our beloved Prophet approaches near, let's make a promise not to be amongst those about whom he has complained.This Podcast is part of the #100Days100ClipsChallenge originally launched in October 2020To watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Lhzp56fV26QTo help us create more content, visit: https://thaqlain.org/supportSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/thaqlain/donations

We should try not to miss Tahajjud namâz (namâz performed after midnight) unless there is a darûrat. [The namâz which is performed after the two-thirds of the night has elapsed is called the tahajjud; it is performed before dawn. Tahajjud means to forgo one's sleep. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' would perform tahajjud even during war. He who has omitted prayers of namâz should perform his omitted prayers during the time of tahajjud. Thus he will both pay his debt of omitted prayers and earn the thawâb of tahajjud. If it is difficult to wake up at midnight, order some of your servants to wake you up then. After getting up for a few nights, you will make it a habit and will begin to wake up. He who wants to wake up for tahajjud and morning prayer should go to bed immediately after performing the night prayer, instead or being late for sleep by busying oneself with useless things. At the time of tahajjud, it is necessary to make tawba, to say istighfâr, to trust oneself to Allâhu ta'âlâ, to entreat Him, to think of one's sins, to remember one's faults, defects, to fear with the thought of the torment in the next world; and to tremble in anticipation of the bitter torments of Hell. One should beg for afw and maghfirat (forgiveness) very much. At that time and also at any time, it is necessary to say istighfâr (Astaghfirullahal-'azîm-allazî lâ îlâha illâ huwa-l-hayy-al-qayyûma wa atûbu ilayh) a hundred times and to think of its meaning. [‘'Azîm' means one whose person and attributes are perfect. ‘Kabîr' means one whose person is perfect. ‘Jalîl' means one whose attributes are perfect.] One should say it a hundred times after late afternoon prayer [after saying one's tasbîhs and invoking one's blessings.] It may be said when one has an 'abdast (ablution) as well as without an 'abdast. Endless Blıss First Fasicle | Page 185

On the Day of Rising, with the permission of Allâhu ta'âlâ, the virtuous ones will perform shafâ'at for the bad ones; that is, they will intercede for them. Our Prophet stated: “My shafâ'at is for the ones with grave sins from among my Ummat.” After settling accounts, disbelievers will go into Hell and will stay in Hell and be tormented eternally. Believers will stay in Paradise and in the blessings of Paradise eternally. Those Muslims whose sins are greater than their good deeds will possibly go into Hell, being tormented there for a while or as much as they deserve on account of their sins. Yet they will not remain in Hell eternally. A person with îmân equaling a speck will not remain in Hell eternally, but being blessed with Divine Mercy, he will enter Paradise. Endless Blıss First Fasicle | Page 179

Paradise also is a creature of Allâhu ta'âlâ, as everything is. Allâhu ta'âlâ does not enter or stay in any of His creatures. But His divine lights appear on some of His creatures. And others do not have that talent. The mirror reflects the images of the things opposite itself. But stone or soil does not reflect them. Though Allâhu ta'âlâ is in the same nisbat (relation) to each of His creatures, the creatures are not the same in respect to one another. Allâhu ta'âlâ cannot be seen in the world. This world is not convenient for attaining the blessing of seeing Him. He who says that He can be seen here is a liar, a slanderer. He has not understood the truth. If this blessing were attainable in this world, Hadrat Mûsâ ‘'alaihis-salâm' would have seen Him before anybody else. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was honoured with this good luck in the Mi'râj [1] . Yet it did not happen in this world. He went into Paradise. He saw Him there. That is, he saw Him as He will be seen in the next world. He did not see Him in the world. While being in the world, he went out of the world, went into the next world and saw Him. Endless Blıss First Fasicle | Page 174

” Our Prophet said to Abû Hurayra ‘radiy-Allâhu 'anh': “Be a man of wara' so that you may be the most 'âbid (devoted) of human beings.” Hadrat Hasan-i Basrî ‘rahmatullâhi 'alaih' says: “Attaining wara' as much as a mote is more useful than a thousand supererogatory fasts and prayers of namâz.” Abû Hurayra ‘radiyAllâhu 'anh' said: “On the Day of Rising, those who are valuable in the presence of Allâhu ta'âlâ are people of wara' and zuhd.” Allâhu ta'âlâ said to Hadrat Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm': “Among those who become close to Me and who attain My love, there will not be anyone who approaches as close as people of wara' do.”

Our Prophet stated: “Allâhu ta'âlâ declares: ‘O My born slave! Do the fard that I command; you will be the most devoted of human beings. Avoid the harâm which I prohibit; you will be a man of wara'. Be contented with the sustenance that I give you; you will be the wealthiest of human beings; you will not need anybody.'

Listen to the meaning and explanation of this surah and understand the words of Our Holy Book Qur'an sent to us as a guide by Allah through Our Prophet ﷺ

Listen to the meaning and explanation of this surah and understand the words of Our Holy Book Qur'an sent to us as a guide by Allah through Our Prophet ﷺ

A child is an entrustment in the hands of its parents. The child's pure heart is like a precious gem. Like wax, a child can take any shape. When small, it has not taken any shape. It is like pure soil. You will reap what you sow in pure soil. If children are taught the tenets of iman, the Quran al-Karim and the commandments of Allahu Taala and accustomed to doing them, they will attain religious and worldly happiness. Their parents and teachers will share this happiness of theirs. If they are not taught and trained, they will become miserable. The sin of each evil they will commit will be given to their parents and teachers, too. Allahu Taala declares in the sixth ayat of Tahrim Sura: “Protect yourselves and those in your homes and under your command from the fire!” It is more important for a father to protect his children against the fire of Hell than against worldly fire. And to protect them against the fire of Hell is to teach them iman, the fard and the haram, to accustom them to worshipping, and to protect them against irreligious and immoral friends. The source of all kinds of immoral deeds is an evil friend. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam), by stating, “All children are born fit and suitable for Islam. Later, their parents make them Christians, Jews, or irreligious,” indicates that both for the settlement and for the annihilation of Islam the most important work on children can be done when they are still young. Then, the first duty of each Muslim is to teach their children Islam and the Quran al-Karim. The child is a great blessing. If the blessing is not appreciated, it will be lost. Therefore, pedagogy, that is the science of teaching children, is a very valuable science in the Islamic religion.

It must be believed that there will be shafaa (intercession). Prophets, walis, pious Muslims, angels and those who are allowed by Allahu Taala will intercede for the forgiveness of small and great sins of Muslims who die without having repented, and their intercession will be accepted. [Our Prophet (sall-Allahu Taala alaihi wa sallam) stated: “I will intercede for, among my Umma, those who commit great sins.”] In the next world, intercession will be of five sorts: Firstly, the sinful, becoming tired of the crowd and of waiting so long at the place of Judgment, will wail and ask that the Judgment start as soon as possible. There will be intercession for this. Secondly, there will be intercession so that the questioning will be done easily and fast. Thirdly, there will be intercession for the sinful Muslims so that they shall not fall off the Sirat into Hell and so that they shall be saved from torture in Hell. Fourthly, there will be intercession for taking seriously sinful Muslims out of Hell. Fifthly, there will be intercession for the promotion of Muslims to a higher grade in Paradise where, although there will be innumerable favors and an eternal stay, there will be eight grades and every person's grade will be in proportion to the degree of their belief and deeds.

Today we explore what scripture has to say in regards to Jesus being THE-Our Prophet and how it is applicable to us today.

Quraysh violates one of the conditions of the Hudaybiyah Treaty. They send Abu Sufyan to prevent war without any avail. After being captured, Abu Sufyan embraces Islam. The Prophet enters Makkah in the blessed month of Ramadan, 8 H, without fighting, wearing a black turban. Our Prophet says, “O Quraysh, people of Makkah, what do you think I am going to do to you?” They say, “We expect good from you. You are a good brother and cousin.” Our Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, says, “Go. You are free.” A large tribe called Hawazin ambushes the Muslims in the valley of Hunayn, hurling arrows and projectiles at them. The battle intensifies. God puts fear in the hearts of Hawazin and they are defeated. At the end of the 8th Hijriyy year, a son named Ibrahim, is born to the Prophet with his slave Mariyah. However, he lives for less than two years. The Prophet weeps for his death and states that weeping out of sadness for the departure of a dear one is permissible.

Name It is derived from the word zukhruf-an which occurs in verse 33 of this Surah. Period of Revelation It could not be known from any authentic tradition, but a study of its subject matter shows that this Surah also was sent down in the same period in which the Surahs Al-Mumin, As-Sajdah and Ash-Shura, were sent down. It appears that the revelation of this series of the Surahs began when the disbelievers of Makkah were planning to put an end to the Holy Prophet's life. Day and night they were holding consultations in their assemblies as how to eliminate him, and even an attack on his life also had been made as has been clearly referred to in vv. 79-80. Theme and Topics In this Surah a forceful and severe criticism has been made of the Quraish and the common Arabs creeds and superstitions of ignorance in which they persisted, and their stubbornness has been exposed in a firm and effective way, so that every member of the society, who was reasonable in some degree, should be made to consider the evils in which the community was involved and its tyrannical treatment of the person who was trying to redeem it. The discourse starts in a way as if to say: "You, by means of your mischiefs, want that the revelation of this Book should be stopped, but Allah has never withheld the appointment of His Prophets and the revelation of His Books because of the mischief of the people, but has destroyed the wicked people, who obstructed the way of His guidance. The same He will do again. A little further in vv. 41-43 and 79-80 the same thing has been reiterated. Though the people who were plotting against his life are meant, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "whether you remain alive or not, We will certainly punish the wicked," and the people themselves have been plainly warned to the effect: "If you have decided to take an action against Our Prophet, We too will take a decisive action." Then, it has been told what is the reality of the religion that the people are following so devotedly and what are the arguments on whose strength they are resisting Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and Blessings). They themselves admit that the Creator of the earth and heavens and of themselves and their deities is only Allah. They also know and admit that the blessings they are benefiting from, have been bestowed by Allah; yet they insist on making others associates of Allah in His Godhead. They regard the servants as the children of Allah, and that too daughters, whom they regard as disgraceful for themselves. They believe that the angels are goddesses; they have carved their images as females; they adorn them with female dresses and ornaments, and call them daughters of Allah: they worship them and invoke them for the fulfillment of their needs. How did they know that the angels were female? When they are rebuked for these superstitions, they present the pretense of destiny and say :"Had Allah disapproved of these our practices, we could not have worshiped these images, whereas the means of finding out whether Allah had approved of something or not, are His Books and not those things which are happening in the world according to His Will. For under His Will not only idol worship but crimes like theft and adultery, robbery. murder, etc. also are being committed. Can this argument be used to justify as right and proper this commission of every crime and evil is the world? When it is asked: Have you any other authority, apart from this wrong argument, for the polytheism of yours? They reply, "The same has been the practice since the time of our forefathers." In other words, this in their opinion is a strong enough argument for a creed's being right and true, whereas the Prophet Abraham, descent from whom is the only basis of their pride and distinction, had rejected the religion of his elders and left his home, and he had discarded every such blind imitation of his forefathers,

Name It is derived frog the sentence, wa amru-hum shura baina hum, of verse 38, implying thereby that it is a Surah in which the word shura has occurred. Period of Revelation Although it could not be known from any authentic traditions, yet one feels after a study of its subject matter that this Surah might have been sent down consecutively after Ha-Miim As Sajdah, for it seems to be, in a way, a supplement to it. This will become clear to every person who first studies Surah Ha-Mim As Sajdah carefully and then goes through this Surah. He will see that in that Surah the Quraish chiefs had been taken to tack for their deaf and blind opposition so that anyone in Makkah and in its out-skirts, who had any sense of morality and nobility left in him, should know how unreasonably the chiefs of the people were opposing Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace), and as against them, how serious he was in everything he said, how rational was his standpoint and how noble his character and conduct. Immediately after that warning this Surah was sent down, which did full justice to teaching and instruction, and made the truth of the Holy Prophet's message plain in such an impressive way that anyone who had any element of the love of the truth in him and who had not been blinded by the errors of ignorance, could not help being influenced by it. Theme and Subject Matter The discourse begins in a way as if to say:"Why are you expressing surprise and amazement at what Our Prophet is presenting before you?What he says is not new or strange, nor anything novel, which might have been presented for the first time in history: that Revelation should come down to a man from God and he should be given instructions for the guidance of mankind. Allah has been sending similar Revelations with similar instructions to the former Prophets before this. It is not surprising that the Owner of the Universe should be acknowledged as Deity and Ruler, but what is strange is that one should accept another as divine and deity in spite of being His subject and slave. You are being angry with him who is presenting Tauhid before you, where as the shirk that you are practicing with regard to the Master of the Universe is such a grave crime as may cause the heavens to break asunder. The angels are amazed at this boldness of yours and fear that the wrath of Allah might descend on you any moment." After this the people have been told that a person's being appointed to Prophethood and his presenting himself as a Prophet does not mean that he has been made master of the people's destinies and he has come to the world with that very claim. Allah has kept the destinies in His own hand. The Prophet has come only to arouse the heedless and guide the strayed ones to the Right Path. To call to account those who do not listen to him and to punish or not to punish them is Allah's own responsibility. and not part of the Prophet's work. Therefore, they should take it out of their head that the Prophet has come with a claim similar to those that are made by their so called religious guides and saints to the effect that he who would not listen to them, or would behave insolently towards them, would be burnt to death: In this very connection, the people have also been told that the Prophet has not come to condemn them but he is their well wisher; he is warning them that the way they are following will only lead to their own destruction. Then, an answer has been given to the question: Why didn't Allah make all human beings righteous by birth, and why did He allow the difference of viewpoint owing to which the people start following each and every way of thought and action?The answer given is this: Owing to this very fact has it become possible for man to attain to the special mercy of Allah, which is not meant for other dumb creatures, but is only meant for those endowed with power and authority, who should take Allah as Patron and Guardian not instinctively but consciously by wi...

Name This Surah takes its name from v. 27. Period of Revelation As this Surah contains the characteristics of both the Makki and the Madani Surahs, the commentators have differed as to its period of revelation, but in the light of its style and themes we are of the opinion that a part of it (vv. 1-24) was sent down in the last stage of the Makki life of the Holy Prophet a little before migration and the rest (vv. 25-78) during the first stage of his Madani life. That is why this Surah combines the characteristics of both the Makki and the Madani Surahs. The sudden change of the style from v. 25 shows that probably vv. 25-78 were sent down in the month of Zul-Hijjah in the very first year after Hijrah. This is indicated by vv. 25-41 and confirmed by the occasion of the revelation of vv. 39-40. It appears that the month of Zul-Hijjah must have brought to the immigrants nostalgic memories of their homes in Makkah and naturally they must have thought of their Sacred City and of their Hajj congregation there, and grieved to think that the mushrik Quraish had debarred them from visiting the Sacred Mosque. Therefore, they might even have been praying for and expecting Divine permission to wage war against those tyrants who had expelled them from their homes and deprived them of visiting the House of Allah and made it difficult for them to follow the way of Islam. It was at this psychological occasion that these verses were sent down. That is why the purpose for which Masjid-al- Haram was built has been specifically mentioned. It has been made plain that Hajj(pilgrimage) had been enjoined for the worship of One Allah. But it is an irony that afterwards it had been dedicated to the rituals of shirk and the worshipers of One Allah had been debarred from visiting it. Therefore, permission for waging war against those tyrants has been given to oust them from there and to establish the righteous way of life for establishing virtue and eradicating evil. According to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Urwah bin Zubair, Zaid bin Aslam, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Qatadah and other great commentators, v. 39 is the first verse that grants the Muslims permission to wage war. Collections of Hadith and books on the life of the Holy Prophet confirm that after this permission actual preparations for war were started and the first expedition was sent to the coast of the Red Sea in Safar A.H. 2, which is known as the Expedition of Waddan or Al- Abwa. Subject Matter and Theme This Surah is addressed to: (1) The mushriks of Makkah, (2) the wavering Muslims, and (3) the True Believers. The mushriks have been warned in a forceful manner to this effect: "You have obdurately and impudently persisted in your ideas of ignorance and trusted in your deities instead of Allah, though they possess no power at all and you have repudiated the Divine Messenger. Now you will meet the same end as has been the doom of those like you before. You have only harmed yourselves by rejecting Our Prophet and by persecuting the best element of your own community; now your false deities shall not be able to save you from the wrath of God". At the same time, they have been admonished time and again for their creed of shirk and sound arguments have been given in favor of Tauhid and the Hereafter. The wavering Muslims, who had embraced Islam but were not prepared to endure any hardship in its way, have been admonished to this effect: "What is this faith of yours? On the one hand, you are ready to believe in Allah and become His servants provided you are given peace and prosperity but, on the other, if you meet with afflictions and hardships in His Way, you discard your Allah and cease to remain His servant. You should bear in mind that this wavering attitude of yours cannot avert those misfortunes and losses which Allah has ordained for you." As regards the true Believers, they have been addressed in two ways: (1) in a general way so as to include the common people of Arabia also,

Name This Surah takes its name from its "first word "Ta Ha." This name, like the names of many other Surahs, is merely symbolic. Period of Revelation The period of its revelation is the same as of Surah Maryam. It is just possible that it was sent down during the Migration to Habash or just after it. Anyhow, it is certain that this Surah was revealed before Hadrat Umar embraced Islam. According to a well known and authentic tradition when Hadrat Umar set out to kill the Holy Prophet, he met a certain person, who said, "Before you do anything else, you should know that your own sister and brother-in-law have embraced Islam" Hearing this, he directly went to the house of his sister. There he found his sister, Fatimah, and his brother-in-law, Said bin Zaid, learning the contents of a scroll from Khabbab bin Art. When Fatimah saw him coming she hid the scroll at once, but Hadrat Umar had heard the recital, so he began to interrogate them about it. Then he began to thrash his brother-in-law, and wounded his sister, who tried to protect him. At last both of them confessed, "We have become Muslims; you may do whatever you like." As Hadrat Umar was moved to see blood running down from her head, he said, "Show me the thing you were reading." The sister asked him to promise on oath that he would not tear it, and added, "You cannot touch it unless you have a bath." Accordingly, Hadrat Umar took his bath and when he began to read the scroll, which contained this Surah, he spontaneously spoke out, "What an excellent thing!" At this Hadrat Khabbab, who had hidden himself at the sound of his footsteps, came out of his hiding and said, "By God, I have high expectations that Allah will get great service from you to propagate the Message of His Prophet, for just yesterday I heard the Holy Prophet praying to Allah, 'My Lord, make Abul Hakam bin Hisham (Abu Jahl) or Umar bin Khattab a supporter of Islam. So O Umar, turn to Allah, turn to Allah." These words proved to be so persuasive that he at once accompanied Hadrat Khabbab and went to the Holy Prophet to embrace Islam. This happened a short time after the Migration to Habash. Theme and Topics of Discussion This Surah begins with the enunciation of the object of the Revelation of the Qur'an to this effect:"O Muhammad, this Quran has not been sent down to you to put you unnecessarily to some great affliction. It does not demand from you to perform the impossible task of imbuing the hearts of the obdurate disbelievers with Faith. It is merely an admonition meant to guide on to the Right Path those who fear God and want to save themselves from His punishment. This Quran is the Word of the Master of the earth and the heavens and God-head belongs to Him alone:These two facts are eternal whether one believes them or not." After this introduction, the Surah abruptly moves on to relate the story of Prophet Moses without any apparent relevancy and without even hinting at its applicability to the events of the period. However, if we read between the lines, we realize that the discourse is addressed very relevantly to the people of Makkah. But before we explain the hidden meaning of the discourse, we must keep in view the fact that the Arabs in general acknowledged Moses as a Prophet of God. This was so because they had "been influenced by the large number of the Jews around them and by" the neighboring Christian kingdoms. Now let us state those things which are hidden between the lines of the story: Allah does not appoint a Prophet by the beat of drums or My celebrating the occasion in a regular and formal ceremony, as if to say, "We are appointing such and such a person as Our Prophet from today." On the contrary, He bestows Prophethood in a confidential manner just as He did in the case of Prophet Moses. Therefore you should not consider it strange if Hadrat Muhammad has been appointed as a Prophet all of a sudden and without any public proclamation.

Haqq Dawah Media Present Nabbi The Prophet of The ProphetsToday's episode of Rootamemtry Islam is a cross over show with Nabi The Prophet of The Prophets. Today's show is about the character of Our Prophet, Prophet Muhammad. If you enjoy please search Haqq Dawah Media where you play and download your favorite podcast.Feel free to email us any questions or comments at haqqdawahmedia@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @TheHaqqDawahGrp and Facebook/thehaqqdawahgrpUntil next time,Fe Aman Allah

The term Da’wah in Arabic translates to mean, ‘to call or to invite’. In the Islamic context, the word refers to the process of calling, conveying, inviting people towards the Message of Islam, towards God, towards the Truth, towards the right path prescribed by the Almighty for all of mankind. The call of Da’wah invites, inclines, and encourages people to voluntarily submit to the Will of Allah, by worshipping Him alone and following His commandments. Da‘wah, in essence, was the call of all the Messengers and Prophets of God. They were selected by the Almighty to call people to submit and worship Allah, following the path of Islam. They called people out of darkness into light by summoning them to worship the One True God and shun false deities. Prophet Muhammad is the last and final Prophet and Messenger of God sent to mankind. Without any more Prophets to guide us, it becomes a noble obligation for Muslims to convey the Message of God; guiding mankind to the truth. In Prophet Muhammad's final farewell sermon, he ended this powerful message with the words, ‘Let those who are present convey to those who are not present.’ God states in the Quran: "And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful" (Quran 3:104) The person who engages in spreading the word of Islam is called a da’ee. However, not all means of spreading the word of Islam would require specialized training to conduct. Whereas the act of preaching to a group of people would require some training, dawah can be given by any Muslim-- simply by living and following the teachings of Islam as an example. When it comes to dawah by speech, our prophet narrated, ‘Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence’ So, the act of calling people to the path of Allah is not meant only for scholars, rather it’s a general command to everyone to spread the message on a basic level. A Muslim most achieve four requirements to enter paradise, which includes having faith, performing righteous deeds, advising others to the Truth and righteousness, and being consistent and patient while doing so. Muslims are blessed and honored to possess God’s Revelation and are directed to present this Message to mankind with Hikmah (Wisdom) to clarify the meanings and explanations of this Message in effective ways. They tailor the Message toward the listener, in ways he or she can understand based on his/her individual capacity and background. "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction and argue with them in the best manner possible. Indeed, your Lord is Most Knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is Most Knowing of who is [rightly] guided" (Quran 16:125) The act of giving Dawah or spreading the word of Islam can come in different forms and is not delivered solely via speech, preaching, or passing literature. In fact, the most effective and significant way to demonstrate and teach Islam is by having a good character, strong personality, and kind manners, and by being kind, gentle, honest, truthful, and a good role model and living example. The caller of Islam must possess these characteristics, to effectively convey the Message. In fact, before a person or a community invites others to join Islam, certain good qualities must be established in them to prove their creditability and strength--like truthfulness, good morals, manners, character, reliability, etc.--so that their Message can hold strong and be taken seriously by others. Without these qualities, the Message one delivers would not carry weight; nor will it be taken seriously by others. One’s message would not be taken seriously if their character or actions is disreputable and not coinciding with their sermons. Listeners would not believe their words, especially if they steal, lie, or cheat. Our Prophet was known as ‘the truthful, the trustworthy’ among his community decades before he started preaching Islam. Dawah also involves helping and reminding other Muslims who may be lacking in prescribing to certain areas of their religion, by commanding good and forbidding evil. It should be noted that not everyone is intended to be a scholar or preacher and that dawah comes in many different forms. People can engage in dawah in many ways to benefit people and society. It is the duty of every Muslim to better his or her family, community and society to the best of their ability. A Muslim should be involved in and committed to the forefront of battles and struggles against racism, injustice, poverty, aggression, etc. A Muslim is one that gives back to his community and society and is not one that is selfish and only self-serving. A Muslim is one that serves something of value to others, making a positive change and impact on others; whether it comes in the form of volunteering, social work, helping local orphanages, helping the poor, counseling, political activism, building schools, or advising one’s peers or community youth. For example, a Muslim doctor should devote one day a week or month to give back to his community, by offering free services to those who do not have health care or volunteering at a free clinic. One needs to ponder and reflect over his or her own talents, unique skills, strengths, education, background, and personality, discovering those specific qualities that God has gifted them that can be used to benefit others. That gift can come in the form of teaching others, creativity, leadership, knowledge, etc. Our ummah (Islamic community) needs help and services from all angles. God’s last and final prophet stated: ‘The most beloved to Allah are the most beneficial to the people.’ Whereas a Muslim does not perform these deeds with the intention to show off to others, their display in public can become a good means of dawah to non-Muslims--or even, for that matter, to weak or non-practicing Muslims. One can become inspired by and curious about Islam when seeing a female Muslim doctor or nurse--with hijab on--representing Islam by volunteering and offering complimentary services at a free clinic. The one that engages in the work of da’wa needs to be patient and not surrender or lose hope. One does not know which of one’s words will be planted in the listener’s heart, growing and changing their life. The one that engages in the work of da’wa also needs to realize that he or she does not have the ability to transform anyone’s heart or mind. Rather, guidance can come only from God the Almighty. Allah knows who is worthy of and qualified for His guidance. God tells his Messenger in the Holy Quran: "Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided" (Quran 28:56) The job and duty of God’s Messengers and Prophets, as well as ours, is to remind others of the Message in clear terms and as kindly as possible. The rest is up to God. “Your duty is only to convey the message; and on Us is the reckoning” (Quran 13:40) The one that engages in conveying God’s message needs an understanding of the Islamic discourse, as detailed in the Quran and Sunnah, and should be knowledgeable about the issues he addresses. If one is discussing or debating people of other religions, he or she must have an understanding of these faiths; thus, allowing them to build common ground and talk to them about Tawheed (Monotheism—the Oneness of God), which they might be neglecting in their religion. The Quran instructs Muslims to give dawah to people of the Book (Christians and Jews) by emphasizing the similarities between the different faiths and establishing common ground—while reminding them that we should worship None but Allah (the One and Only Creator) and to not associate Any partners with Him. "Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to common terms between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]" (Quran 3:64) When engaging in a dialog with people of the Book, our main goal is to present and invite them to join our beautiful religion; and not to necessarily talk down or prove their faith or book wrong as there is a time and place for that. Our goal is to prove that what we offer is the true word of God and that our religion is the only faith acceptable to God. The one engaging in dawah dialogue has a goal--not to win the argument--but to win over the person. Sometimes heated arguments serve only to distance a person from Islam. When giving dawah, one should not make the other feel worthless or denounce him. The attitude of the person inviting should be gentle, kind, and beautiful; the same one would offer if they were inviting them to their own home. It becomes imperative that one conveys the Message with softness and gentleness because an attitude of harshness could discourage and further people from the truth. In fact, God tells Prophet Muhammad in the Quran that if he was harsh and stern in conveying the Message to his companions, known to be the best of people that ever lived, they would disperse from him. "It was by the mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been stern and harsh (in speech and heart), they would have dispersed from you. So, pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely (upon Him)”  (Quran 3:159) God also instructed Prophet Moses and his Brother, Prophet Aaron (Harun in Arabic), to gently and softly convey the Message of Islam to the Pharaoh—despite his repute as the worst human being that ever lived, who proclaimed himself a god and killed babies and innocent people. "Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah]" (Quran 20:43-44) The success of Dawah is measured by one’s intention and effort, and not necessarily from the number of people they convert. One might give dawah for years and not convert a single soul. In fact, Prophet Noah preached the Message of Islam for about 950 years and witnessed very few conversions. It’s important that one continues to constantly remember the intention of his work, which is all and always for the sake of God. For those that feel they don’t have the time to spread the word of Islam, they must realize that those currently spreading the word are themselves busy people who make time in their hectic schedules for Dawah; an activity they see as an obligation. This is what God expects from them; something they do in exchange for the great rewards that await them. Additionally, God states that the best manner of speech one can utter in this world is those words of invitation that draw people to God’s religion; inviting others to grasp and comprehend the purpose of their creation. God states: "And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims" (Quran 20:23-24) Additionally, for the ones that spread the word of Islam and teach others well, our Prophet narrated: 'Indeed Allah, His Angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths - even the ant in his hole, even the fish - pray for blessings upon the ones who teaches the people to do good.' In addition, our Prophet narrated: ‘Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does the good.’ So, if someone accepts Islam from you, you will receive great rewards from God for the effort. On the Day of Judgement, non-Muslims will face Allah, the Ultimate Judge, and will be questioned regarding their faith. Your non-Muslim friends, colleagues, classmates, and neighbors can potentially incriminate you as the person who failed to give them the Message. This is why you must convey the Message of Islam, carrying it out in your daily life in speech and actions. God states in the Quran that He has made us a middle nation, so we can testify to all people. God has honored and chosen us to service humanity, guiding people back to God. Oh, my dear brother and sister, you need to carry the message of Islam in your daily life. It should show in your character, your dealings with others, your business transactions, and in your everyday tasks; otherwise, our Prophet may serve as a witness against you on the Day of Judgment, and you could potentially get punished for your neglect of this vital and important life task.

In today’s modern vernacular Arabic, the word ‘Hijab’ refers to a ‘headscarf.’ Yet in classical Arabic and the language of the Holy Quran, Hijab refers to a physical curtain, a screen, a partition, or a barrier, that separates one from others when they stood behind a curtain. The one that is being covered by or that is found behind the Hijab is not only covering their head and whole body but also the space around them as they stand behind a curtain, a screen, a partition, or a barrier. According to the Holy Quran, this covering was an extra layer of coverage required to be worn only by Prophet Muhammad’s wives “…And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts...” (Quran 33:53) Not only did the Prophet’s wives have to cover their heads and body, but they were required to place a cover or a curtain in front of them to conceal their space when speaking to people other than their mahram (a person whom that individual may not marry because of their close blood relationship such as a brother, uncle, nephew, etc..). The Almighty gave additional rules of etiquette pertaining to how one should speak to the wives of the Prophet peace be upon him, dictating that there should stand a physical separation of the noble Women from the common folk, by a barrier that would be opaque, not see-thru, and impenetrable. It provided an extra layer of privacy and is simultaneously a symbol of their high status and dignity. It’s essential to express that the classic meaning of the term ‘Hijab’ in the Holy Quran is not the same as how we understand and use the term today. The wearing of the Hijab was not required by anyone other than the Prophet’s wives, as is outlined in the Holy Quran. As for all other Muslim women, the Quran explicitly instructs that women should wear a headscarf in a different verse. "And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed" (Quran 24:31) The Holy Quran uses the word ‘Khamar’ to refer to a headscarf—that which covers your head. The word Khamar comes from a root word which means to cover something. The word Khamar is similar to the Arabic word Kha’mir which is the word for alcohol, as alcohol impairs one’s intellect---one cannot think straight while under the influence of alcohol, as it creates a barrier between the mind and the power of speech and reasoning. God states in his Book to tell the believing women to wear their Khomar (the plural of Khamar) over their bosom as in throwing their shawl over and cover their chest area. So, besides covering one’s chest, the head should be covered too—as the covering of the head is already implied by the use of the word Khomar in this Verse. So, the essentials of the Khamar dictate that the hair is covered, and that cloth cover the chest of the women. Whereas generally the women of the days of the Prophet peace be upon him would wear headscarves, some of them would push their veils back exposing their chest area. So, God commanded them to cover their chest as well. Besides covering the head, neck, and chest area, God instructs the believing Muslim woman to throw unto themselves a Jilbab—which references a loose outer garment which does not define their body shape and conceal their beauty. This is regarding a situation in which a Muslimah leaves her home or is in the presence of those who are not her Mahram. "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful" (Quran 33:59) Because these Verses in the Holy Quran are explicit and direct, no disagreements or disputes have been posed to this edict by representatives of Islamic scholarship in the past; unless it concerns whether women should also cover their face and feet. The primary reason why a Muslim woman wears the Hijab can be attributed to a Muslima’s belief that her true purpose in life is to worship God the Almighty according to His instructions; as revealed in God’s final Revelation to mankind, the Holy Quran and through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, the final Messenger of God. God made the wearing of the Hijab an obligation and instructed the believing women to wear the head covering in the Holy Quran. So, wearing it is an act of righteousness and an act of obedience to God. A Muslim woman wears the Hijab to gain the pleasure of her Master. It is the core teaching of Islam that whatever God instructs one to do; it is always best for them to follow the instruction—whether or not one may understand the logic behind it or not. A Muslim woman trusts God and does whatever He instructs her to do, believing that it is best for her, as God knows what’s best for her more than she knows herself. God is the Creator of everything and is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Only when she submits to God and obeys His commands, does she reap the benefits and feel tranquility and contentment of life; as she knows that God is pleased with her. By focusing on and submitting to the demands of God, she is set free and is no longer a slave to and prisoner of society’s pressures and desires. “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do" (Quran 16:97) Islam stresses the relationship between the body and the mind. In covering her body, a Muslim woman shields her heart from spiritual impurities. A Muslim woman wears the Hijab to uphold Islam’s code of modesty. Islam’s code of modesty extends to all aspects in one’s life, including their dress and how they carry themselves. A Muslim’s clothing is an outer manifestation of inner purity, beauty, and humility, as wearing the Hijab embodies moral conduct, character, manners, and speech. A Muslim woman guards her modesty and does not attract unnecessary attention from people, such as a second look, admiration, praise, or sexual attraction from those other than her husband. Whereas attention from others may boost one’s ego for a short period, a Muslim woman acknowledges that this attention might lead to consequences in the long term, such as jealousy from others, envy, competition, affairs, being a bad role model for children, and possibly a marriage break-up; as we see all so often in the west and around the world where dressing immodestly is common. A Muslim woman boasts the trait of Hayaa’ (modesty, bashfulness, and a sense of shame) within her and values her beauty, so she veils herself as the Hijab diverts attention away from her and conceals and protects the Muslimah. God also instructs women to lower their gaze when the opposite gender is present, which shows the trait of Haya. “And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts (by being chaste)…” (Quran 24:31) A Muslima is honored in Islam and Sharia (Islamic Law). Islam elevates the one that covers herself, safeguarding her integrity by not allowing herself to be treated as a sexual object; to be valued and judged externally based solely on her appearance, rather than internally on her righteousness, character, mind, and intellect. A Muslima woman does not desire to adorn her body for men, sexualizing herself to gain attention from those other than her husband. "...That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused (molested). And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful..." (Quran 33:59) According to this Verse in the Holy Koran, a Muslima should wear a Hijab and dress modestly so she can be recognized as a Muslima, a woman that is chaste and serious about her modesty. A Muslima sets a standard for herself and sends a message for everyone around her she is not one to sell herself cheap and knows her value, that she is a strong woman with courage, inner strength, endurance, and is a practicing Muslima that would not harm, oppress, or cheat anyone. The Hijab is a shield that helps prevent a Muslima from being a victim of molestation, taunting, humiliation, or teasing. Not only does she wear modest garb to protect herself, but she wears it to protect men and society at large. Contrary to popular belief, many assume that the Hijab is worn solely to restrain men’s illicit desires. It is not the women’s responsibility to regulate a man’s behavior. Every man is responsible and accountable for their conduct and action. The Holy Qur’an also instructs men to be modest, lower their gaze, guard their modesty, and to handle themselves sensibly in every sphere of their lives. God states: "Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do" (Quran 24:40) The Holy Koran instructs men to observe modesty first before addressing women. While many often incorporate the concept of the Hijab with wearing a headscarf, that is only one application of the idea. The Hijab is much more than a head covering, but the overall concept of being modest and humble in other aspects of life as well. A similar instruction is given in the Bible: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart’ (Gospel of Mathew 5:27-28) In the Holy Quran, the Almighty specifically addresses women when He asks them not to show off their adornments, except that which it is proper and easily apparent, and to draw their veils over their bodies due to the physical and biological distinctions that exist between males and females and their modes of attraction to one another. This is evident in today’s world, where the disgraceful exposure of sex-appeal is catered overwhelmingly to men as opposed to women—by corporations and industries mindful of how their advertising and selling of products influence their purchasing behavior. Some feminist movements and media outlets portray the Hijab as a depiction of oppression and slavery of women. While sadly some Muslim women are oppressed in some Muslim countries even though it goes against the teachings of Islam, the overall oppression of women happens in many parts of the world regardless of the oppressor’s religion or culture, even if they are atheist in faith. While one can say that a particular government or group of people generally oppress women, it is not truthful to say that Islam oppresses women. No Islamic laws oppress women, Islam states women have every right to a decent life without facing aggression or abuse of any sort. If women were indeed granted their God-given rights, oppression would not exist in the manner it does today. Unfortunately, Islam is not being practiced as it should be—even in Muslim land. Islam honors women; yet sadly across the globe, Muslim women fall victim to cultural aberrations that have no place in this beautiful, perfect faith. A Muslim woman who covers her hair or places her religion above worldly pursuits is sometimes labeled oppressed; but in reality, oppression is not defined by a piece of material on one’s head, but by a weakening of the heart and mind. Liberation means freedom, but not freedom to do as one pleases. Freedom must never come at the expense of oneself or others. When a Muslim woman fulfills the role for which she was created, to find God, build a relationship with, and follow His guidance and commands, not only is she liberated—but is empowered and honored. She is liberated and freed from the shackles of society, the pressures of society, and the unrealistic stereotypes and images dictated by the media. Muslim women who chose to cover their hair and dress modestly view the act as a right, and not a burden. The concept of Hijab is not a concept unique to Islam. Both Christianity and Judaism share many beliefs, including covering one’s hair in public with a veil. It was the custom of Jewish women and Catholic Nuns to go out in public with their heads covered. As recently as 40-50 years ago, it was unheard of for a Christian woman to go to church without covering her head nor wearing a long skirt. In fact, the concept of a female head covering is found in the Bible stating a woman must cover her head and if she shows her head uncovered, she dishonors her head—and should have her head shaved off: ‘But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one las if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be ma shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered’ (1 Corinthians: 11: 5-6) Unlike related passages found in the Holy Qur’an, Paul in this verse presented the veil as a sign of man’s authority. A woman wearing her headscarf, in his view, should do so to show her subordination to a man. This sexist view of women covering their heads reflects the influence of certain individuals in the west, who think the Hijab is oppressive and a symbol of inferiority and degradation. This is because they subconsciously are reacting to the Judea-Christian concept of the veil which is the symbol of woman’s subjection to her husband. This is not the case in Islam at all. The concept of the Hijab comes with necessary conditions which should be followed by Muslima women. The terms are that the whole body, except for the face and hands, should be covered, and by clothing that is loose, not tight, and not transparent. The dress should not attract attention or accentuate the body, should not be perfumed, and should not resemble clothing worn by men or unbelievers—nor should it be overly elegant nor ornate. God has given an exception to this rule to those who are no longer capable of bearing children, who no longer desire marriage or sexual relations, and who cannot excite the passions of men. These ladies do not need to cover themselves to the same degree as other women do. They are allowed to remove their outer garment, known as a Jilbab in Arabic. "And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment. But to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing"   (Quran 24:60) The Prophet of God peace be upon him praised modest women, who guard their chastity, and the beauty bestowed upon them by God. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him also cursed those women that display and flaunt their beauty in public, stating that those women will not smell the fragrance of Paradise. Our Prophet peace be upon him has warned us that towards the end of time, women will exist who are dressed yet naked, he warned us of women who will turn away from righteousness and will be inclined to do evil, leading others astray—including their husbands. To my dear believing sister, let not the whispers of shaitan (satan) mislead and misguide you. And let not satan drag you from your Creator, the All-Merciful, All-Loving. You need to recognize that you are not in a position to negotiate your faith, what you should accept and what you should decry. You need to submit fully and willingly. And realize, my dear sister, that you are blessed and honored to be amongst the people of La Ala Ila Allah (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). Do not procrastinate, as your death can occur at any moment, bringing with it an end to the test of your faith and actions. The act of not wearing a Hijab or not dressing modestly is a sin, but to justify your actions is much worse. When you are honest with yourself and will admit your transgressions, you gain the chance for repentance, change, and forgiveness. Feeling guilty of sin is the first step of repentance. Like any other act of worship, the act of dressing modestly and wearing Hijab will require faith, sacrifice, discipline, and patience. Dressing modestly strengthens the relationship between you and your Lord. To my dear sister who is struggling through her journey of Hijab, strengthen your prayer rituals and connection with God and His Holy Book. Supplicate to Him and beg for His Help. Pray and enhance your relationship with Him, as these acts will keep you away from sins and unlawful acts—giving you the power you need to resist evil elements. Take the first step now and never give up on your quest for faith. Wear the Hijab for the sake of God alone and ignore the outside noise, ignore people’s stares and comments, and realize that this journey is worth the struggle. Realize that pleasing people is a goal you can never achieve and that pleasing your Creator is the road to contentment and peace. Our Prophet peace be upon him narrated: ‘Whoever seeks Allah's pleasure by incurring the wrath of the people, Allah will suffice and protect him from the people. And whoever seeks the people's pleasure by Allah's wrath, Allah will entrust him to the people.’ Surround yourself with righteous, practicing sisters, realizing that you are too precious to be on display for each man to see. And realize, my dear sister, that you and your believing sisters are the last true representatives of femininity on this Earth.

The last pillar of the Islamic faith in which every Muslim must believe is the concept of Al-Qadr, which closely translates to pre-ordainment (or predestination/ Divine Decree, destiny, fate). When one believes in the tenet of Al-Qadr, which we'll translate as 'Divine Decree,' he or she affirms that everything good or bad that happens in his or her life comes from God the Almighty; something He Willed to happen. Al-Qadr in Arabic linguistically means to measure, to determine, to assess, to decide, to judge. In the context of Religion, the term translates to ‘Divine determined measurements and sustenance for everyone and everything, in accordance with His Wisdom and Power.’ God states in his Book: Indeed, all things We created with predestination (Quran 54:49) God the Almighty, being All-Knowing and All-Wise, knows of what we have done in the past, what we are doing now, and what we will do—even before the time of our birth. After all, can God truly be God if He didn't know everything, including the future? Whereas mankind has the free will to make their own choices in life, everything that occurs in life occurs only with the Will and Power of God. Al-Qadar comprises four components. The first component is the belief that God is All-Knowledgeable of and instigates all things and events—whether major or minor—at all times and places and regardless of their occurrence. The Almighty's foreknowledge is infallible and complete. "And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the Earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record" (Quran 6:59) The second component of Divine Decree is the belief that Allah has recorded everything from the beginning of time to the Day of Judgment, in a Tablet He has kept known as the 'Lawh Al-Mahfooth' (The Preserved Tablet). Each's lifespan, amount of substance, deeds, happiness, sorrow, and more is written and recorded in this Tablet. In fact, according to a narration of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, Allah, the Glorious, had recorded the measurements of all matters pertaining to His creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and earth. "Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the Heaven and Earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy" (Quran 22:70) The third component of Divine Decree is the belief that nothing can occur without the Will and Power of Allah, whether the event stems from the action of the Almighty or actions of humanity. Nothing Occurs Haphazardly; the Almighty has planned everything. "And your Lord creates what He Wills and Chooses..." (Quran 28:68) A Muslim acknowledges that whatever has touched or afflicted him, was meant to afflict him, and could not have been avoided or prevented. And whatever has not reached or afflicted him, was not meant to touch or afflict him, and he can avoid nothing unless God has willed it. Our Prophet peace be upon him narrated, 'Know if all of humanity gathered to harm you, they could not harm you unless Allah had decreed. The Pen has been lifted, and the pages have dried.' The fourth and last component of Divine Decree is the belief that Allah is the Creator and Originator of all things. "...and has created each thing and determined it with [precise] determination " (Quran 25:2) Whereas Allah, the Merciful, has bestowed on every human being the free will to make his or her own decisions, that does not provide an excuse for one to sin or abandon the tasks and responsibilities they are obligated to do. The fact that God has predestined everything does not change the fact that human beings have the free will to choose their course of actions. Just because each's choices are known to God beforehand, doesn't mean that they will not be held accountable on the Day of Judgment for the decisions they make and actions they take. God forces nothing upon anyone. It's also important to note that God will hold no one accountable for things out of their control, or for things they cannot do. Allah is All-Just, All-Wise, and He tests humanity according to their strength and what their soul can bear. A Muslim acknowledges the fact that whatever difficulty they are facing will be made easy for them and that they will have a way to resolve it. "God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" (Quran 2:286) A Muslim acknowledges that whatever befalls him or her, is in accordance with God's Will and Plan, whether or not they understand and accept this fact. A Muslim place his trust and reliance in God, as God brims with Wisdom in all matters. A Muslim affirms that God is All-Loving and loves His servants over one's parents do; and a Muslim affirms that whatever God does must have a good motive, so a believer always assumes good and does not lose faith. The topic of Divine Decree will never fully be understood and comprehended by humans, as this concept deals with the essence of God's Power and Will—which is beyond what our finite minds can comprehend. A Muslim benefits from the act of learning, believing, and understanding in Divine Decree in several ways. Amongst the benefits is the peace of mind and contentment in the heart that a Muslim attains as he or she acknowledges that nothing happens without a purpose. A Muslim is confident that whatever afflicted him could not have escaped him, and whatever missed him could not have reached him, as God is in full control of all happenings and events, and he predestines everything. This recognition would help a believer endure difficulties and hardships. A believer would not grieve about what could have happened if things had taken a different course, and a believer would not worry about the future because he knows that the events of tomorrow are written and predetermined already. The act of learning and believing in Divine Decree increases one's belief in, the trust of, and reliance on God, and increases one's likelihood of performing good deeds. Faith in Divine Decree decreases one's pride and arrogance, as he acknowledges that his intelligence and actions did not emanate from him and that God is the source of all that comes his way. Belief in Divine Decree makes a person refrain from fearing anyone else; inspiring his bravery as he acknowledges that no one can afflict harm on him without the Permission and Will of God. Without a strong belief in God, the human learns, life would not be worth living.

On this episode I am narrating two stories from a couple of ex-muslims that I reached out to on a reddit thread. I included the entire podcast narration in the show notes so if someone could read it safely if preferred.  So join the discussion in the comments section and lets show these 2 some love and support. why-is-the-apostate-to-be-executed-in-islam www.mindfulskeptics@gmail.com www.disbeliefclothingcompany.com       Hello, Hello my fellow primates and welcome back to another episode of the Mindful Skeptics Podcast. This episode is going to a little different because of the safety concerns for my guests.  I was looking for some places to find some ex-muslim apostates to interview and share their stories of leaving their religion and what their future plans would be moving forward.  So I was talking to reddit users on an ex-muslim thread and asked if anyone would be interested in sharing their story.  I was contacted by one male and one female that did not want their reddit ID, real names, faces or voices to be used on the podcast.  So I gave them my email address and started a dialogue with them individually.  After several emails back and forth, the young man sent me an email with his story and he asked me to narrate it for him and to send him a link when the show was released. The second person to email me back was a young lady from California that was a college graduate and is living in her own place now and is enjoying her new found freedom.  She was comfortable with doing a video interview but still didn’t want her real name personal information out there.  So I will be using a pseudo name, Badu. I chose this name specifically because it means, “A strong Person”.  So I thought that was appropriate.  So I will be narrating Badu’s story first.  So, with that being said.  Sit back, relax and lets get into it….   Lets start out with some background information.   I asked her when and why did her family immigrate to the United States?  She said her family came to the US from Pakistan to provide a better life and opportunities for their children.   I asked her when did he start having doubts and when did she have that final ahah moment and mentally check out of the faith? She states that she started having throughout her youth,  and when she voiced her doubts, she was immediately shut down and was told that questioning god/Allah is a major sin.    Eventually she forced or coerced to wear the hijab in high school, or else not go to school or step outside. Of course, seeing that school was her only escape, she abided her parents “requests.” As challenging as it was, she continued to wear it for several years.   While trying to juggle the clashing western and eastern cultures, her parents continued to push her for marriage as soon she was done with high school. The emotional abuse and psychological manipulation pushed her over the edge to run away from home after being set up for an arranged marriage to her cousin, like Pakistani tradition. After realizing how serious she was about not getting married and with a lot of convincing, she returned back home.    Unfortunately, after a few months of returning home, they went back to their old ways.    Throughout those years, she started to become conscious of her doubts. Her doubts strengthen as she witnessed the hypocrisy flooding the the mosques and communities of so-called “Muslims... or any religion she is exposed to in the US.” Her breaking point was the bigotry and the ingrained sexism that persisted in the culture and enforced by the religion. The misogyny supported by the religion told her who to marry, be covered from head to toe, higher education being pure evil, not to pursue a career, travel without a male guardian over 40 miles, or have any sort of freedom. Nothing was ever good enough for her parents, and her accomplishments meant nothing cause she was not married —Simply because she was a woman. After she became serious with a boyfriend (a non Muslim), whom she can never introduce to her family, she realized that the rules and rituals are out of touch with the  changing world and west was not brainwashing her-  it was her family.   The toxicity of living at home and being a continuous disappointment to her parents became unbearable and she spent the last few years saving up to move out. & she did. She took the leap that every “muslim” woman dreams of and left her home- unwed and uncovered.    If that don’t give you goosebumps, you need to check your pulse.  I can not imagine how that must have felt to be trapped in a home where everyone is expecting you to marry your cousin and you have grown up in the US of A and know that stigma attached to marrying your cousin and the laws in place to prevent that for many reasons, religious or not.  And to live with the fact that your will not be good enough in your family’s eyes because you are disappointing them being a unwed woman and living on your own.   I then asked her, “Are you still in contact with any of your family? And do any of them know about your apostasy?”    She states that she has not talked to certain family members in a few years. After we discussed this aspect of her life in more detail, I mentioned that this was too specific and could possibly make her identity easily known, so we agreed to leave these details out to maintain her annonimity.     So lets’s step back for a second. Badu has shared her story with me, a stranger from Michigan, and had to trust me to not make her identity known and lets not forget that she was willing to talk to me via video conference calling and showing me her face.  That is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly.  Her religion calls for the death of apostates and it is written in the Quran. So I did some research into the laws of islam in regards to apostasy and the rules for punishment for it.  I went to an Islamic website islamqa.info and read a question that was written by a non muslim. And this was the lengthy answer he was given by the leaders of this website.   As a non Muslim, I find myself Intrigued and attracted to your faith. However, I find it difficult to comprehend how a man can be sentenced to death for speaking( Salman Rushdie). I would have thought that we as humans do not have that right to make those decisions, only god can?   Answer   Praise be to Allaah. We thank you for your confidence in us and for sending this question to us, and we appreciate your being intrigued by our beliefs and your eagerness to find out the answer. We welcome you as a visitor and reader and learner.  What stood out from your letter is that you are impressed with the religion of Islam. This is a good sign for us and for you. We are happy for our religion to reach people like you who are seeking for the truth. Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that this religion would reach all places on this earth. It was narrated that Tameem al-Daari said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘This matter (i.e., Islam) will certainly reach everywhere that night and day reach, and Allaah will not leave any house or tent [i.e., all dwellings, in towns and in the desert], but Allaah will cause this religion to enter it, and some people will be honoured because of it [by converting] and others will be humiliated because of it [for refusing to embrace it], and they will be ruled by the Muslims, an honour which Allaah will bestow on Islam and a humiliation which He will inflict on kufr (disbelief).” (Narrated by Ahmad, 16344; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3).  In your case, your admiration for Islam will motivate you to find out what this pure monotheistic religion teaches, and how it is in accordance with sound human nature and common sense. We advise you to avoid completely and preconceptions that may influence you and take your time in reading about the teachings of the Islamic religion. Perhaps you could read material on this site about Islam, such as questions no. 219, 21613,20756, 10590.  With regard to your question, “However, I find it difficult to comprehend how a man can be sentenced to death for speaking. I would have thought that we as humans do not have that right to make those decisions, only god can” – what you say is correct, because no-one has the right to condemn another person to death without evidence from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).  The ruling of execution because of a word that somebody utters is what the Muslim scholars call al-riddah (apostasy). What is apostasy and what constitutes apostasy? What is the ruling on the apostate (al-murtadd)?  1 – Riddah (apostasy) refers to when a Muslim becomes a disbeliever by saying a clear statement to that effect, or by uttering words which imply that (i.e., which imply kufr or disbelief), or he does something that implies that (i.e., an action which implies kufr or disbelief).  2 – What constitutes apostasy  The matters which constitute apostasy are divided into four categories:  (a)Apostasy in beliefs, such as associating others with Allaah, denying Him, or denying an attribute which is proven to be one of His attributes, or by affirming that Allaah has a son. Whoever believes that is an apostate and a disbeliever. (b)Apostasy in words, such as insulting Allaah or the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). (c)Apostasy in actions, such as throwing the Qur’an into a filthy place, because doing that shows disrespect towards the words of Allaah, so it is a sign that one does not believe. Other such actions include prostrating to an idol or to the sun or moon. (d)Apostasy by omission, such as not doing any of the rituals of Islam, or turning away from following it altogether. 3 – What is the ruling on the apostate?  If a Muslim apostatizes and meets the conditions of apostasy – i.e., he is of sound mind, an adult and does that of his own free will – then his blood may be shed with impunity. He is to be executed by the Muslim ruler or by his deputy – such as the qaadi or judge, and he is not to not be washed (after death, in preparation for burial), the funeral prayer is not to be offered for him and he is not to be buried with the Muslims.   The evidence that the apostate is to be executed is the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever changes his religion, execute him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2794). What is meant by religion here is Islam (i.e., whoever changes from Islam to another religion).  The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no god except Allaah and that I am His Messenger, except in one of three cases: a soul for a soul (i.e., in the case of murder); a married man who commits adultery; and one who leaves his religion and splits form the jamaa’ah (main group of Muslims).” Ok so, that was a long response but it demonstrates how the Islamic faith has such confidence in their beliefs and justication for carrying out Sharia law punishments for apostates, as well as all other rules broken in the Quran.   Now lets jump back into the interview with Badu. I asked her does she want to have kids and how does she plan to raise said hypothetical kids in regards to her family’s religion.   She would like to have kids possibly but is reluctant to, but wants to be a part of the start of change.  Reluctant to because she doesn’t want her kids to go through what she did with the battle with her family. (Please put this in your own words, I believe this is an important topic that shows how much religion and culture affects people long after they have left the faith) —> She would like to have kids to be the start of the change in this culture/religion, but is reluctant because she does not want her kids to witness the battle with her family or have them told they will be going to hell.    Badu, from what I witnessed during our video conference, is an intelligent, a critical thinker, compassionate human and looking to make a better life for herself and others in her situation.  She would like to write a book about her story and I hope we can all encourage her to pursue her passions by reaching out with words of love and compassion in the comments section.  I will make sure she can read them securely.   If anyone has any friends or family that have walked this path out of islam or is currently trying to escape any religion, please forward this episode to the with the link on any social media or by a secure means of communication to maintain their anonymity as well.   Friends, this is why I love podcasting.  I want to use this platform to make the world a safer and more understanding world.  I didn’t start this podcast to become an Ex-muslim advocate or contact person for apostates, but I feel compelled to offer myself and my platform to do just that.  I am now inviting anyone that is questioning their faith, or knows someone that is scared to come out as an atheist or an apostate, to reach out and let them know its going to be ok because there are secular humanists that will help them through these difficulty and often dangerous times.  Please, if you want to, give them my email address mindfulskeptics@gmail.com or send them my link to this episode or just tell them about us in the secular community that are sympathetic to their situation and are available as a sound board or whatever.  Now I know I am speaking for myself, but I know that other humanists feel the same way I do when they hear about someone in this situation.    Now onto the second story. This young man is under 18 and lives in Egypt.  Nobody knows about his disbelief and he is scared to have anyone recognize his voice, name or face.  Now that we know more about the dangers of apostates in countries under sharia law, I hope you can appreciate the gravity of this brave and scared young man’s story.    First of all, I would Prefer you don't show my email or reddit name. Okay, let's start   My family has always been super religious, especially my dads side of the family, which is sadly my preferred side if the family (important for later), I've always been a skeptic, asking questions about Islam and things I can't find explanations to in the Quran, when a Google Search would give me a proven scientific answer, I would get answers like "because of Allah's will" or "it's a gift from Allah to humans as proof of his love" to questions like why is there day and night or why do things fall to the ground. It was about 3 years ago when I had actually started researching Islam, other religions, atheism and evolution. One problem is that my dad monitored every thing I do on the internet, and would block URLs to sites I use for research within just 2 days of me visiting them, which made it harder to find trusted sources as you'd imagine, fast forward 2 years. My parents were on the verge of a divorce and while they were doing paperwork to get it done, I was using this as an opportunity to start researching again, dad had no time to monitor what I do and I just went crazy with looking up stuff, it was at that time where I had no more faith in Islam but would still beg Allah for any proof of his existence as I was deeply scared of hell, it didn't work. (you can skip this part if you want as it'll include some personal drama) now, with my parents going through a divorce and me basically refusing to believe I was an atheist, my parents were nearly in the final stages of the divorce and I had to choose who I'm staying with, and both choices weren't great, I wanted to stay with my father but if I had to come out as atheist him and his family would be deeply dissapointed, my mom's side is stubborn, they think they know everything when they (including my mother) believed that the sun revolved around the earth and not the other way around, they would shun me for life and most likely physically abuse me if they knew. Then this happened, the divorce was cancelled and now I have to come out to both families, the first 2 were the most relatives I trusted, or at least I thought, they were my brother and and my favorite cousin. We're talking about 2 months ago now, my cousin told my uncle (dads brother) and till know I don't know if he told anyone else or not, and my brother literally laughed at me and was celebrating that I was going to "hell", 2 weeks later I had to tell my parents. My mom was in deep shock and shunned me for the first week after telling her, then tried to pursue me to go to a sheikh with her to sort this out. We'd argue for hours and she would always stop when I ask her "why does everything require a creator but the creator?" my dad also doesn't talk to me and cut my allowance entirely and took my laptop from me, "you'll only get them if you start using your mind" he said, and that's where I'm today, shunned by both my parents, betrayed by my most trusted cousin, and the only way I talk to people is on reddit. If you have any questions that you want me to answer you can just ask me here.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi divulges on the tangent of Death and how prepared are we to meet our Rabb. Our Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Frequently remember the destroyer of pleasures.’ i.e. death. Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your (full) compensation on the Day of Resurrection – [Surat Al Imran].  The Shaykh ... Read more

The word Shirk comes from an Arabic word generally meaning, 'to share.' In the context of Religion, it means giving Rights of Allah to someone other than Allah (God). Shirk is the act of ascribing a partner or rival to Allah in Lordship (Ruboobiyyah). Only God has the right to be worshipped or venerated. One who believes that anyone other than Allah created him or believes there is an entity worthy of worship besides Allah (God), is committing the grave sin of Shirk. Shirk is often translated to mean the practice of polytheism. The act of Shirk includes failing to worship God, denying His Existence, and sharing or associating a partner with Him; whether the partner is a prophet, an idol, the sun, the moon, or any other being or thing. Shirk is considered the most severe sin in Islam. Shirk is regarded as the cardinal sin in Islam. Shirk nullifies all of one's good deeds and denies one the rewards of the hereafter. "And it was already revealed to you and those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers" (Quran 39:65) Shirk is the only sin that God will not forgive of an individual, if not sincerely repented for before his or her death. "Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin" (Quran 4:48) If one repents and ceases from engaging in Shirk, then he or she would be forgiven; as repentance wipes out every sin, without exception, as long as one repents before death. The very reason for our creation was to worship the One God solely, and not anyone or anything else. Shirk denies the purpose of man's creation. Shirk deviates from the natural state of man, which is the belief in the One God and the worship of Him Alone. It was not until much later that Shirk started to spread in humanity—after the existence of Tawheed (monotheism- the worship of the One God). Worshipping and praising deities other than Allah, who have no power to benefit or harm, is an act of injustice to Allah—who created this whole Universe and gave life to you and me. Shirk is also an act of ingratitude. Shirk is the root of evil and causes the greatest downfall of human dignity and status. Islam strictly states that all types of prayers should only be directed to God the Almighty, and no one or nothing else. God is in total control of every man's destiny and is the only One that can benefit a person, grant one's needs and desires, and that can remove one's harm and distress. In the Holy Qur'an, one that engages in Shirk is referred to as a 'mushrik' or 'mushrikeen' (in its plural form) --- one that takes part in Shirk and plots against Islam. The Holy Quran refers to them as the enemies of Islam. The mainstream Christian belief of the Trinity is considered a type of Shirk, although not the worst kind of Shirk, such as worshipping, bowing down, or sacrificing for an idol or an image. Any shared divinity is considered Shirk. "They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three,’ And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment" (Quran 5:73) The opposite of Shirk is Tawheed (Monotheism), which is the maintaining and observing of the worship of the One and True Creator while acknowledging his Uniqueness and Attributes. The Christian belief that Jesus is the son of God, or God himself, is the direct opposite of Tawheed. "They have certainly disbelieved who say that Allah is Christ, the son of Mary..." (Quran 5:17) Trinity—father, son, holy spirit—and the concept that Jesus died for our sins is firmly rejected in Islam. "O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your Religion or say about Allah except the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So, believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, ‘Three’; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is on the Earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs" (Quran 4:171) God makes it clear in the Koran that the act of ascribing a son to Him, angers him. Ascribing a son to God is beneath the Almighty. God states: "And they say: ‘The Most Beneficent (Allah) has begotten a son (or offspring or children) Indeed you have brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing. Whereby the Heavens are almost torn, and the Earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins. That they ascribe a son (or offspring or children) to the Most Beneficent (Allah). But it is not suitable for (the Majesty of) the Most Beneficent that He should beget a son" (Quran 88-92) Having multiple gods is illogical. According to the Holy Quran, there can only be One God; if there were various gods, they would have been competing to establish superior strength. The aggressive presence of two gods would have also destroyed the Heavens and the Earth. "If there were in the Heavens and the Earth other gods besides Allah, there would be confusions in both (Heaven and Earth), but glory be to Allah, the Lord of, the throne; high is He above what they attribute to Him" (Quran 21:22) Shirk is a very serious matter in Religion, as it makes something scared that God has not made sacred—an act of obscuring the truth. The Holy Koran and Sunnah (sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him) indicate that the act of Shirk sometimes expels a person from the Religion of Islam, and sometimes it does not. Therefore, Islamic scholars divided Shirk into the categories of Major Shirk (Shirk Al-Akbar) and Minor Shirk (shirk Al-Asghar). Major Shirk (Shirk Al-Akbar) is very serious and takes one out of the folds of Islam. Major Shirk is ascribing to someone other than Allah something that belongs Only to Allah, the Glorious, such as Lordship (ruboobiyyah), Divinity (uloohiyyah), and the Divine Names and Attributes of God (Al-Asma' Wa-sifaat). These 'gods' can be in the form of priests, kings, objects, animals, spirits, or anyone or anything other than Allah, the Almighty. Major Shirk can come in the form of beliefs, words, or actions. Major Shirk can be seen outwardly, such as when one worships idols or graves; and can be hidden, such as when one who relies upon gods other than Allah. Major Shirk occurs when one prays or supplicates to one other than Allah. Major Shirk includes believing someone or something other than Allah who creates and gives life and death and is in full control of everything. Major Shirk also comprises the belief that someone other than Allah must be obeyed. Major Shirk also includes the idea that others apart from Allah know the unseen. Major Shirk also comprises the act of loving something that is a created being, equally or more than Allah. For example, this occurs when one is so emotionally attached to wealth, they make its attainment their goal in life. Wealth becomes everything to them. Those individuals took money as their God. Major Shirk also includes loving to obey one's desires more than Allah. One would follow their desires even if it leads to disobeying Allah. Such one takes their desires as their god as they act according to their whims. God states: "Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So, who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded?" (Quran 45:23) Minor Shirk (Shirk Al-Asghar) does not make the doer a disbeliever or remove one from the folds of Islam. However, minor Shirk is still a major sin. Minor Shirk includes everything that may lead to major Shirk. Minor Shirk consists of any action which is done to gain praise, fame or any other worldly purpose. This is considered Shirk because the individual is doing an action for other people, instead of for the sake of God. Examples of this can take the form of praying to God in front of others, intending to gain praise from people, or the case of donating to a charity to show off, to gain fame, or for any worldly purpose. When one commits such action, the good action gets nullified, and the doer receives no reward for it. Our Prophet stated: 'The thing I fear most for you is minor Shirk.' They (the Companions) said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what is Minor Shirk?' He (peace be upon him) said, 'Riya.' Indeed, Allah (Blessed and Exalted be He) shall say on the Day of Resurrection to the people who used to do good deeds for show: Go to those for whom you were showing off with your acts in worldly life and see if you can find with them recompense.' Minor Shirk also includes swearing oaths made by those other than Allah; for example, saying, 'I swear by such as such…’ It can be major Shirk depending on particular situations. Minor Shirk also includes the belief in evil omens or superstitions. When the act of minor Shirk becomes a habit in all of one's deeds, it becomes Major Shirk. One should be cautious of Shirk, as this evil can be inconspicuous and not as noticeable. Our Prophet stated: ‘Ash-Shirk-al-Khafi (The inconspicuous Shirk) in the Muslim nation is more inconspicuous than the creeping of a black ant on a black rock in the pitch-darkness of the night.’ Therefore, one should take extra precaution to avoid the commission of this sin. According to the Holy Qur’an, one who commits Shirk and believes in a deity other than Allah— will live a life of constant fear and anxiety. "We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allah of which He had not sent down [any] authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers" (Quran 3:151)  

Life is a test, and the test ends upon death. Every little atom of good and evil one performs in his or her lifetime is recorded in their book of deeds which will be presented to them on the Day of Judgement and every soul will be held accountable for their actions. When one dies, he or she will remain in the grave waiting to be resurrected. While in the grave, the deceased souls that deserve to go to Hell will experience some suffering in the grave whereas the deceased souls that are bound for Paradise will experience peace while they wait for the Day of resurrection. When the hour comes, God will raise every dead person including the Jinn (supernatural creatures) to judge them according to their deeds. God is The Judge, The Arbitrator who will Judge, recompense, reward and punish his creation. Whereas God is Most-Forgiving, he is also Just. If one's good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, he will enter Paradise and be amongst the successful. As for the one that his bad deeds outweigh his good deeds, he will enter the Hellfire. One of the most fundamental aspects of Islam is the purpose of life is to save oneself from the punishment of the Hell Fire and to enter Paradise eternally. "Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except for the enjoyment of delusion" (Quran 3:185) Believing and accepting the reality of the Last Day, Judgement Day, Paradise and the Hellfire is a component of the six pillars of Iman (Faith) in which every Muslim must believe and accept to become a Muslim. There are many references to the Hell Fire throughout the Holy Quran. The ones in the Hell Fire will suffer tremendously both physically and spiritually. The pain, the horrors, the anguish, the hardship, the humiliation, the restlessness, and all forms of punishments of the Hellfire cannot be imagined nor perceived, nor grasped by the human finite mind. Not everyone in the hell Fire will suffer the same. The gravity of one's sin will distinguish the severity of one's suffering. Allah the exalted prepares the Hell Fire for those who do not believe in Him, believe in Gods other than Allah, rebel against God's Religion and Laws, and reject God's Message and Messengers. The Hellfire is also prepared for sinners, criminals, murders, tyrants, hypocrites, the proud and arrogant, the stubborn, and the unjust, and all forms of evil people. "Do they not know that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger - that for him is the Fire of Hell, wherein he will abide eternally? That is the great disgrace" (Quran 9:63) Islam states one's salvation is based one's faith in Allah, His Messenger, good deeds, and God's Mercy. As part of the Justice of God the Almighty, He punishes no one or any group of people until He has sent them a Messenger relaying his Message and warning the people. It is the nature of God that he treats no one unjustly or unfairly. "…And never would We punish until We sent a messenger" (Quran 17:15) Of the biggest suffering the unbelievers and the evildoers will face is when they come into the realization on the Day of Judgment that they did not follow God's Message nor His Guidance and have failed, thus earning God's Wrath. Many of the dwellers of the Hellfire will instantly regret the choices they made in their lives and will beg for another chance. The Quran states: And those who followed would say: ‘If only We had one more chance, we would clear ourselves of them, as they have cleared themselves of us’ Thus, will Allah show them (The fruits of) their deeds as (nothing but) regrets. Nor will there be a way for them out of the Fire” (Quran 2:167) The Quran shares a dialogue that will take place between the dwellers of the Hellfire and the Angel Gate Keeper of the Hell. “It almost explodes in rage. Whenever a group is thrown into it, its keepers will ask them, ‘Did there not come to you a warner?' They will reply: 'Yes indeed; a Warner did come to us, but we rejected him and said, 'Allah never sent down any (Message): You are but lost in a great delusion!' 'And they will add: 'Had we but listened [to those warnings], or [at least] used our own reason, we would not [now] be among those who are destined for the blazing flame!' They will then confess their sins: but far will be (Forgiveness) from the Companions of the Blazing Fire!” (Quran 67:8-10) However, no matter how much the sinners beg for forgiveness, it would be too late. The intensity of the Fire will be so terrifying that people will disown their closest and most beloved people in their lives on the Day of Judgement and flee from them on this great Day. "But when there comes the Deafening Blast. On the Day a man will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his wife and his children. For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him" (Quran 33-37) Man will give up everything he holds dearest to him to save himself from the Hellfire. They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children. And his wife and his brother. And his nearest kindred who shelter him. And whoever is on Earth entirely [so] then it could save him" (Quran 70:14) A quick dip in the Hellfire will have a person forgetting about all the pleasures he or she had in their lifetime. Our Prophet narrated: 'One of the people of Hell who found the most pleasure in the life of this world will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection and will be dipped into the Fire of Hell. Then he will be asked, 'O son of Adam, have you ever seen anything good?' Have you ever enjoyed any pleasure?' He will say, 'No, by God, O Lord.’ Whereas there are a minority of scholars that state the Hell Fire is not eternal, most Islamic scholars' state that the polytheist and unbelievers will reside in the Hell Fire forever and that the Hell Fire is eternal for most people that enter it. "Indeed, Allah has cursed the disbelievers and prepared for them a Blaze. Abiding therein forever, they will not find a protector or a helper" (Quran 33:64-65) God, the Almighty created the Hell Fire and Paradise before mankind. Hell is so deep that if one were to drop a stone into it, it would take seventy years for that stone to hit its bottom. The Hellfire is black and dark as night. The Hell Fire has various levels of severity and punishment according to the extent of disbelief and sins of those being punished in it. The lower the level of the Fire, the greater the intensity and punishment one suffers. Our Prophet narrated the lightest punishment of the Hellfire will be a man under the arch of whose feet will be placed a smoldering ember, and his brains will boil because of it. As for the most severe punishment in the Hellfire, it will go to the hypocrites, as God states in His Book: "Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will you find for them a helper"       (Quran 4:145) The Hell Fire has Seven Gates in which its inhabitants will enter. Each gate deals with a specific group or category of sinners and each gate contain different torture and punishments. The distance between each gate is equal to the length of seventy years. Before the inhabitants of Hell enter, they will stand before the gate feeling the heat in terror. They will be shoved and piled thru the first gate until it fills, then the rest will be stacked and shoved into the second gate until it fills, and so on. The Hell Fire has nineteen Angels who are led by the Chief Keeper of the Hellfire named Angel Malik who has never smiled since he was created. Angel Malik and the Angels of the Hellfire are very severe, harsh, and stern who would never disobey God's commandments. After the inhabitants of the Hellfire enter, its gates will be shut and there will be no hope of escape for the dwellers of the Hellfire. The dwellers of the Hellfire will beg and plea to Angel Malik to let them out and he will respond 'Be quiet, surely, you shall abide forever!' The Angels of the Hellfire will have wipes made of iron which will whip the inhabitants in it. The dwellers of Hellfire will bear animosity and hate amongst other inhabitants of the Hellfire. "Indeed, the criminals will be in the punishment of Hell, abiding eternally.  (The torment) will not be lightened for them, and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein. And We did not wrong them, but it was they who were the wrongdoers. And they will call, ‘O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!’ He will say, ‘Indeed, you will remain. We had certainly brought you the truth, but most of you, to the truth, were averse.’ (Quran 43:-74-78) As for the Believers who practiced Tawheed (monotheism) and believed in the Prophet that was sent to them from God but lived a sinful life, they will be his punished in the Hell Fire for a length that commensurate the level of their sins. Then they would be brought out of it and eventually sent to Paradise. Some of them will be taken out of the Hell Fire with the intercession of their Prophets, some by the intercession of righteous individuals, and some will be taken out solely by the Mercy of God, the Most Merciful. The Hell Fire has different names with different descriptions that are mentioned in the Islamic tradition. Amongst the names of the Hell Fire are: Jaheem because of its blazing Fire Jahannam because of the depth of its pit Laẓā because of its blazing flames Sa'eer because it is kindled and ignited Saqar because of the intensity of its heat Hatamah because it breaks and crushes anything into debris that is thrown into it Haawiyah because whoever is thrown into it, is thrown from the top to the deep bottom of its chasm or abyss. The dwellers of the Hellfire will be made huge, so every part of their body can feel the punishment. A person's molar tooth will be as big as Mount Uhud (a Mountain in the city of Medina). The distance between the shoulders of the dwellers of Hell will be equivalent to three days of walking. The Fire that exists and burns in this world we live in is 1/70th of the severity and intensity of the Hellfire in the Hereafter. The Fire kindled by the Almighty will burn the skin of its inhabitants and every time their skin gets roasted; their skin will melt to their feet and God the Almighty will replace their burnt skin with a new one to be burnt again and the process will keep on repeating so they may taste the punishment. Other forms of punishment include super-heated scalding burring oil which will be poured on their heads in which will melt away and liquefy their internal organs. The inhabitants of the Hellfire will be in chains and shackles which will be tied around their necks and feet. "Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blaze"        (Quran 76:4) The clothing in the Hellfire will be garments of Fire tailored for them with copper so they will boil inside. And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in shackles, their garments of liquid pitch and their faces covered by the Fire" (Quran 14:49-50) The Quran references three types of food in the Hellfire which in fact worsen a sinner's torment when consumed. The food and drink of the Hellfire do not provide nourishment, nor does it relieve hunger nor thirst. The dwellers of the Hellfire will experience intense thirst only to have hot boiling water mixed with puss given to them. Water so hot and intense, if a drop of it touches a mountain of this world today, it would turn it to dust. Amongst the food of the dwellers of the Hellfire is the tree of Zaqqum in the lowest level of Hell. Its branches are described like heads of devils. Its vicious fruits severely burn the insides of a sinner's stomach. If a drop of its juice lands on Earth, it will poison the whole Earth and everything it contains. God the Almighty, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, did not create the Hellfire to just throw people in it nor does he want to. In fact, God asks a rhetorical question in the Holy Koran stating: "What can Allah gain by your punishment, if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing" (Quran 4:147) God will get nothing from punishing anyone and he wants reasons not do it. In fact, God states in Holy Quran that He created mankind and Jinn to worship Him, glorify Him, and exalt Him, as He is the Only One worthy of worship, and he states in another verse, from his end, He created mankind so He can show them His Mercy: "Except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them...." (Quran 11:119) One needs to realize that he is a slave, and that God is his Master and one cannot question Him nor His authority nor do they have any right to. A Master can be just and kind or can be unjust and unkind. Allah, the Exalted, is an All-Merciful Master. If one accepts that he is Allah's slave and submits to Him fully, he or she will find that God is The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Only when one submits to His Master, does one find his life become easier and better. Why would God want to punish an individual when He created him or her with love and mercy in the first place? God wants to warn his servants about Hell now, so one can fix themselves and avoid it to their best of ability. It is best to be informed about the Hellfire now and to recognize its severity, harshness, and how gruesome its punishment is in detail then it is to come across it in the Hereafter unprepared and not knowing. That is a Mercy as God the Almighty could have chosen not to warn one beforehand of the consequences of one’s actions. While God is All-Merciful, He is Also All-Just. He states in the Quran: "Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom's weight..." (Quran 4:40) If one commits murder or oppresses an individual, God may punish that person to serve justice to the person killed or oppressed or to serve justice to the family members. God states every soul shall receive their full compensation for the good and evil deeds they commit on the Day of Judgement. If God allows the oppressors to oppress without punishing them, it would encourage people to oppress and to commit evil which would spread corruption even further. The fear of punishment prevents some people from committing evil. God has also stated he will surely forgive any soul that repents from their sin as He is Extremely Forgiving and Extremely Loving. There are certain individuals that want to blame God for Hell because they do not want to fix their act, face reality, or be held accountable for their actions. It's important to realize, whether you believe and accept in God and the Hellfire or not, it will not change the reality that God and the Hellfire do exist, and you will soon find out. "O, you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones…" (Quran 66:6)

To mark the World's end, God the Almighty will order Angel Israfil to blow a trumpet to announce the arrival of this fateful Day. At the blast of the trumpet, a blast will be heard so horrendous and terrifying that the inhabitants of the Heavens and the Earth will fall unconscious, except those whom Allah wills. The Mountains will be lifted, crushed and crumbled into pieces likening wool, the sky above will split open and crack piece by piece, the Oceans will boil over as they burn in flames. The Planets, the Moon, the Stars will fall from their orbits, losing their shine. Darkness will commence everywhere. The Earth will shake in a terrifying quake, flattening and leveling with no peaks or troughs. Every living thing will cease to exist. "Then when the Horn is blown with one blast, And the Earth and the mountains are lifted and leveled with one blow, Then on that Day, the Resurrection will occur" (Quran 69:13-15) Then Allah will command His Angel to blow the trumpet for a second time, and a violent earthquake will erupt, causing the graves to split open and all of the creation from the beginning of time will be resurrected. "And the Trumpet will be blown (i.e. the second blowing) and behold!  From the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord" (Quran 36:51) Then God will replace this Earth and Heavens with another creation. Every deceased person will rise up from their grave, reclaiming their original physical body. Bones and body parts will be reassembled in their original form. Just as God created the everything the first time, he will do so again. "The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a sheet of paper. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it" (Quran 21:104) People will rush from their graves so quickly in chaos, terrified and confused. A child's hair will turn grey and their face will wrinkle from fear. A nursing mother will forget her child, and pregnant women will miscarry. People will run about in chaos as if in a drunken state, but they are not drunk, but the punishment of Allah is severe. "They will say, ‘O Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?’ [The reply will be], ‘This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers spoke truth’   (Quran 36:52) On this Day, a man will flee from his brother, mother, father, spouse, and children nearest and dearest to him, even as they beg for help. Man will think only of himself, terrified as his soul peers into the eyes of infinity. God will gather all mankind naked, bare-footed, and uncircumcised, including both the believers and non-believers, all jinn (spirits made from smokeless fire), and all animals, all of whom will be brought to a plain known as the place of gathering. No one will speak, and heads will be lowered in humility as they hear only footsteps. "And they will be presented before your Lord in rows, [and He will say], ‘You have certainly come to Us just as We created you the first time. But you claimed that We would never make for you an appointment’" (Quran 18:48) Everyone will be stripped of the titles and roles which they held in their worldly lives. The kings, the presidents, the millionaires, the poor, the slaves, all will be lined before their Lord regardless of the ranks and classes they possessed throughout the course of their worldly lives. The area will be so overcrowded, with humans, jinn, and animals all pressing each other, that every individual would be crowded into the space covered by their own two feet. People will stand nervously waiting for judgment, and mankind will perspire in agony. Anxiety levels will run so high that not a single person will sit down on that frightening Day. As humankind awaits the decree of the Almighty, the sun will descend so low above their heads, it will linger a mile away and each person will sweat according to the level and intensity of their good and bad deeds. Some will sink to their own ankles in their own perspiration, while others would sink to their thighs and waist, and still others would drown in their own sweat, flowing up to their mouths. The only souls that will be shaded will be seven categories of righteous people who will be granted shade during this traumatic day in which there will be no other shade but the shade of Allah's Magnificent Throne. On this Day, Allah the Exalted will gift Prophet Muhammad a pond called the pond of Kaw’thar; one located in the courtyard of the place of gathering, where the water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. He will drink from the pond and invite the Believers and the righteous of his nation—those who died in the way of Allah and His Messenger—to drink from the same pool. A personal invitation will be required to drink, and Prophet Muhammad will recognize the righteous of his nation by the foreheads, hands, and limbs rendered bright and shiny from the effects of their wudu (ablution that is performed before prayer to remove impurities of the body). Those who reach this pool will drink from it and quench their thirst permanently. "Indeed, the righteous will be among shades and springs" (Quran 77:41) Judgment Day will equal 50,000 years in duration of our time, but for the believers, it would only feel like the time elapsed between the Asr to the Maghrib prayer, which is a roughly a couple of hours. For the unbelievers and the wrongdoers, conditions on this Day will be intense and unbearable, this because of the terror, the heat, the standing, and the thirst prevalent during this period. All of mankind, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews from all nations, would unite and some would exclaim, 'Let us ask somebody to intercede for us and ask our Lord to begin the accountability.' Then all of mankind will rush to Prophet Adam and ask, 'O Prophet Adam; you are the father of all mankind, whom Allah created with his own hands, please intercede for us.' Prophet Adam then will respond, 'Myself, Myself, I am not fit for this. I fear the same thing you fear as I disobeyed my Lord once, and today my Lord is in the state of anger which He has never been before. Please go to Prophet Noah!' Then mankind will go to Prophet Noah, who will respond the same to the effect, 'Myself, Myself, I cannot do this, go to Prophet Abraham!' Then mankind will go to Prophet Abraham, then to Prophet Musa, then to Prophet Jesus. Prophet Jesus then will respond, 'I am not fit for this as people took me for a God and I have to answer to that.' Finally, all of mankind will reach Prophet Muhammad, who will respond, 'This is what Allah has favored me for and the only intercession I'll be able to give is on behalf of my nation who followed me. As for the nations before me, they will need to go after their Prophets; and as for the disbelievers and for the ones that worshipped other than Allah, they will need to follow those who they followed and worshipped in their worldly life.’ Prophet Muhammad will then prostate to His Lord and will praise His Lord with words inspired within him by God. God, the Almighty then will say, 'O Muhammad, lift your head and ask for anything and I will give you.’ Prophet Muhammad then will respond, 'O my Lord, save my nation, save my nation.' Then Judgement will begin. God will call upon each individual to stand before Him, to judge and question him/her according to his or her faith and how they lived their life, with no translator or interpreter needed. The conversation will involve only you and Your Master, who will judge you and your deeds. Each individual will be held accountable for every action they took, said, and intended, all of which were recorded inaccurate records by each person’s assigned Angels. The first thing that will be questioned is whether each person performed their mandatory prayers. Each individual will be asked terrifying questions about how he/she lived their life, utilized their youth, earned and spent their wealth, and what One did with the knowledge they acquired. One will be reminded and informed of the good and bad deeds they have done. On that Day, one would either meet the Mercy of God or the Justice of God. As the disbelievers will try to argue and lie their way out of their deserved punishment, God will seal their mouths, hands, feet, ears, skin, and body parts; with these body parts testifying against them as surprise witnesses of their life actions. Their body parts will complain to God, their Master, on how that person made them sin. "That Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify about what they used to earn." (Quran 36:65) The disbelievers will ask their own body parts why they bore witness against them, to which they then will reply, 'God, who gave speech to all things, has made us speak.' Everyone shall be dealt with according to their deeds and actions. No injustice or transgression will occur on this Day, not even for the disbeliever or the evilest of people. When the Reckoning is completed, books of each records and deeds will fly to each person. Everyone will be given his or her Book, that will contain records of all the deeds he or she performed in their life. "And then the record of their deeds shall be placed before them and you will see the guilty full of fear for what it contains and will say: ‘Woe to us! What a Record this is! It leaves nothing, big or small, but encompasses it.’ They will find their deeds confronting them. Your Lord wrongs no one" (Quran 18:49) The believer will be given his Book in his right hand, as a sign of honor. The One who will receive his record in his right hand will undergo an untroubled audit. His sins will be overlooked, and he will turn to his people rejoiced. "As for him who is given his Book in his right hand, he will say, 'Here! Take and read my Book! Indeed, I was sure that I would have to face my Reckoning (one day), So he will have a pleasant life, in an elevated garden, whose clusters [of fruits] will be within easy reach, [He will be told]: 'Eat and drink pleasantly for what you did before in the days gone by' (Quran 69:19-24) As for the disbeliever, the wrongdoer, he or she will receive their book in their left hand or from behind their back, receiving the worst kind of auditing with full regret, wishing he or she were dead as they anticipate their descent into the Hellfire. "But as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will say, 'Oh, I wish I had not been given my record And had not known what is my account. I wish the death (that I suffered in the world) was the final death. My wealth has not availed me, and my power has perished from me.' [It will be ordered], 'Seize him and shackle him. Then into Hellfire drive him. Then into a chain whose length is seventy cubits insert him.' Indeed, he did not use to believe in God, the Most-High, nor did he encourage the feeding of the poor.  So there is not for him here this Day any devoted friend. Nor any food, except from the discharge of wounds; none will eat it except the sinners." (Quran 69:19-37) Then the scales intended for weighing people's deeds will be presented for view. A balancing scale which is real and accurate in its results. No act, even of an atom's weight of importance, will be overlooked, whether it took the form of cursing, backbiting, stealing, or something that was done or said for the good of helping someone. "And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant" (Quran 21:47) A person's good deeds will be placed in one pan, and his evil deeds in the other. If his good deeds outweigh the evil, then—with God's Mercy—success and salvation will be rewarded for that individual. If one's evil deeds outweigh his good deeds, then he or she would be condemned to the Hellfire for severe punishment. "And the weighing [of deeds] that Day will be the truth. So those whose scales are heavy - it is they who will be the successful. And those whose scales are light - they are the ones who will lose themselves for what injustice they were doing toward Our verses (Quran 7:8-9) Then Allah will destroy all lights and pure darkness will fall everywhere, so dark that if one placed his hand in front of his face, he could not see it. Paradise will lie on one side and in order to reach it, one would have to cross a very narrow bridge. A bridge so narrow, it would stand thinner than a hair and sharper than a knife; under the bridge will burn Hellfire. People will need to pass this bridge with the aid of his or her light, which would shine from their bodies in accordance with their belief and the righteousness they presented in their lives. And there is none of you except he will pass over it. This is upon your Lord an inevitability decreed (Quran 19:71) Some people will reflect very strong bright lights emanating from their bodies and will pass the bridge in a blink of an eye. Every act of worship accepted by God will be transformed into light on that Day. Our Prophet stated, 'Convey glad tidings to those who walk to the Mosque in the darkness. For they will be given full light on the Day of Resurrection' Others will emanate only enough light to see one step ahead, some will crawl, and some will fall into the Hellfire. This slippery bridge has thrones, and hooks that will snare people, and the soul will struggle and fight against the fall. The ones that do not deserve to pass the bridge will fall. And those who successfully cross the bridge will approach Paradise. The Prophets will wait on the other side, praying to God to save their nations. Amongst the people will stand the Hypocrites who will ask the believers to share their lights, so they can pass over the bridge and they will be told in response, ‘Get your own light.’ "On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, ‘Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light.’ It will be said, ‘Go back behind you and seek light.’ And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment" (Quran 57:13) The final stage before the admission to Paradise is what's known as the Gon'ta'ra, where one would have to make amends with people they harmed or wronged in their life—those to whom they never made amends or of whom they never asked forgiveness. If a person were wronged and did not receive justice from his abuser, he finally would see justice by benefitting from some of that person's good deeds, which would adjust the level of Paradise they enter. On the Day of judgment, 70,000 Angels will conjure the Hellfire and every single person will ponder and reflect on the quality of his/her life. But of what purpose will this remembrance and recounting serve at that point? Those who fell into worship of false deities, those who denied the belief of God, and those who lived a wicked and evil life of sin, will be condemned eternally to the Hellfire. They will be led into the Hellfire by the idols and false gods they followed and worshipped to receive their everlasting torture, punishment, pain, and disgrace. The Hellfire is a place of an unimaginable and immense suffering, extreme blazing temperatures, an unquenchable thirst, a residence prepared for the disbelievers. They will feel remorse and terror as they beg for safety and forgiveness, but it will be too late. "Indeed, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say, ‘Oh, I wish that I were dust! (Quran 78:40) As for sinful believers, they will be placed into the Hellfire in accordance with their sins—but only to be cleansed from all their sins and eventually sent to Paradise. As for the ones that believed and worshipped God Alone and lived a righteous life, they will be rewarded generously and warmly welcomed to God's Paradise; where they will live eternally in a garden of physical pleasures and spiritual delights, where every wish shall be granted. "And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, ‘This is what we were provided with before’ And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally (Quran 2:25) The people of Paradise will live in beautiful mansions, where rivers will flow beneath them. They will know no disease, sickness, hardship, pain, sorrow or animosity, as God will remove all ill feelings from people's hearts. A place of riches, servants, streams of wine that does not intoxicate, milk that never changes in flavor, honey of utmost purity pleasant in color, taste, and smell, water which does not brackish, pleasant fragrances, and pure, gorgeous partners. Never will a person of Paradise ever feel tiredness, exhaustion, boredom, nor will they ever have to taste death again. The believers will be rewarded with the greatest bliss of all, which will be the honor of looking upon the Holy and Beautiful Face of God, the Glorious. The unbelievers will be deprived of this vision. "...Say, the enjoyment of this world is little, and the Hereafter is better for he who fears Allah..." (Quran 4:77) Faith in the last Day, Resurrection, and Judgment Day are fundamental beliefs that Muslims must hold to complete their faith. Everything the Almighty creates and does has a purpose, including the creation of each of our lives. God states in the Quran: "Did you think that We created you for no reason and that to Us you would not be returned?" (Quran 23:115) God proves life after death as stated in the Holy Quran. Amongst his proofs is a moral and ethical argument. Certain evil people in this world have gotten away with horrific crimes, and good people have lived difficult lives. If a person was wronged and did not see true justice in his or her life, God will give him his justice on that Day. Without Judgement Day, un-convicted mass murderers would never be punished, and life would be unfair. Everyone shall be judged, and justice shall be served. God states in his Book: "Do the evildoers think that we will make them like those who believed and done righteous deeds in their life and in their death? Bad, indeed is their judgment!" (Quran 45:21) If God created mankind the first time, why couldn't He create mankind a second time? To re-create mankind a second time will be even easier. Mankind has already witnessed the Almighty's first creation, in which people were created out of soil: "And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own (origin and) Creation: He says, 'Who can give life to decomposed rotten bones?' Say, 'He will give them life Who produced them (the) first time; and He (is) of every creation All-Knower'" (Quran 36:78-79) The creation of the heavens and Earth is greater than the creation of mankind. He, who can create such a vast, and complex world can certainly raise the dead. Amongst Allah's signs of life after death is the continuous Resurrection of plants and vegetation. Every year we observe the phenomenon of dead land with no vegetation, with the land being dead in the winter only to return to life in the spring. "And He (is) the One Who sends the winds (as) glad tidings before His Mercy, until, when they have carried clouds - heavy, We drive them to a dead land then We send down from it the water then, We bring forth from it all (kinds) of [the] fruits. Thus, We will bring forth the dead so that you may bear this in mind (Quran 7:57) God asks man to ponder over the situation of seeds placed on the ground. When water and Earth surround the seeds, they logically should decompose—as opposed to opening and splitting into a root that grows out of the ground, producing magnificent life forms like trees and plants. These are all signs of Allah's Power, Infinite Wisdom, and the Capabilities of bringing about life after death. The Holy Koran has over 40 names of Judgement day. Among its names is the Day of Standing; since everyone will be too nervous to sit, the Day of Accounting, the Day of Sorting Out, the Day of Eternity, the Day of Meeting, and the Hour. Judgment day will be such a heavy, difficult day that every page of the Quran mentions Judgement Day, either directly or indirectly. The Quran contains many vivid descriptions of Judgement Day. It's a true blessing that one can acquire knowledge about Judgement Day and its severity now, so he or she can prepare themselves adequately for this Great Day. The possession of faith in life after death encourages one to do righteous deeds, to fear God, to increase his God consciousness, and to avoid wrongdoing. "O, you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones..." (Quran 66:6) Do not stand amongst people that have convinced themselves that Judgment Day is far away and that they don't have to prepare themselves for this fateful occurrence. "O, you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do" (Quran 59:18) Video and Blog From: TheSincereSeeker

Zakat is the third pillar of Islam. Zakat in Arabic translates to 'the act of giving of alms to the poor and needy.' Offering Zakat is a religious obligation for Muslims. In Islam, it is considered the duty of individuals with wealth to assist the poor and needy. The term Zakat in Arabic linguistically has several meanings, including 'to purify, to increase, cleanliness, blessings, and goodness.' Zakat means to purify; because, according to the Islamic faith, one's wealth and property are not pure unless the owner shares a divinely appointed proportion with people in need. The principle of Zakat also purifies one's heart of greed and selfishness. Whereas the humanistic love of wealth is natural, Zakat is intended to free Muslims from the excessive and all-consuming love of money and selfish desire; teaching self-discipline. "Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase and invoke [Allah's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing" (Quran 9:103) Zakat also means growth and blessings; because if one were to give and help others in times of ease and difficulties, God will be pleased and return with increase and bless his wealth. Allah, the Glorious, has promised that the one who spends his wealth in Zakat will see his prosperity increased manifold. "The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing" (Quran 2:261) Our Prophet has stated that the act of Charity does not decrease wealth; instead, it blesses, purifies and ultimately increases one's fortune. There are three primary types of giving in Islam. Two of these giving methods are mandatory, while one is highly recommended but not obligatory. The first obligatory act of giving is called Zakat Al-Mal, which is the Zakat given from one's saved wealth and liquid assets. The second obligatory Zakat is called Zakat Al-Fitr, which is a special Zakat due at the end of the Month of Ramadan—to be paid by the head of the household. The third type of giving in Islam is called Sadaqah, which is voluntary and can be given at any time on any amount. Sadaqah comes from an Arabic word meaning sincerity, as giving Sadaqah or charity is a sign of sincere faith in God by the person who gives it. Sadaqah is described in the Holy Quran as a beautiful loan; which includes any act of charitable giving made as a gesture of love and generosity; whether the act stands in the form of giving money or time, helping others, praying for someone, spreading knowledge, giving advice, forgiving someone, visiting the sick, or even smiling at someone. Zakat plays a significant role and holds a commendable high standard in Islam, to the extent that about three dozen Verses in the Holy Quran link the obligatory prayer to charity. God describes the true believers as the ones that both pray their obligatory prayers and give Zakat. This proves the concept that Zakat is the believer's most important obligation, after the obligatory prayer. "Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish Prayer and give Zakah will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve" (Quran 2:277) All things belong to God, and God has given wealth to specific individuals so they can distribute resources to those not as fortunate. People are given wealth as a trust from God, to distribute to and benefit the ones in need. The true Owner of all things is not man, but God, and we human beings are merely His trustees. God, the Glorious, who provided wealth to the intended recipient, reserved a portion of the resources for the poor, so the underprivileged have a right to claim a portion of one's wealth. The concept of Zakat reminds Muslims that everything they possess belongs to the Almighty. People are given their wealth as a test from God. Wealth should be acquired, distributed, and spent in a way which is pleasing to God. "And it is He who has made you successors upon the Earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has given you" (Quran 6:165) The acquisition and hoarding of wealth for one's own sake to increase a man's worth, is condemned. Mere acquisition of wealth counts for nothing in the sight of the Almighty, as it does not give man any merit—in this life or the hereafter. Islam teaches that one should acquire wealth to spend it on his/her self, family, and people in need. The act of giving and helping others shows one's love of God, more than the amount or quantity of one's own wealth; as when they give to others, they donate funds they otherwise would have spent on themselves--doing so to please God the Almighty. Zakat is a sign of true belief and love in God. "The ones who establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. Those are the believers, truly. For them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision" (Quran 8:3-4) Zakat offers both humanitarian and socio-political benefits. It is designed by our Creator to reallocate and redistribute wealth in a society. Zakat establishes social justice and—if practiced collectively by a population—can lead a community to prosperity and security. Zakat helps to circulate wealth in a balanced way, stabilizing and equalizing the flow of money in a society; eliminating as it does the eternal cycle of poverty. Zakat is an interest-free financial strategy that could help prevent society from undergoing an economic recession. Every Muslim who has wealth exceeding a specific minimum—a level known as Nisab—and who maintains that wealth for over one lunar year, must give Zakat. Zakat is given annually based on the Islamic lunar calendar and is not based on the western calendar—which is 11 days longer than its counterpart. The Nisab is the specific minimum amount of wealth that a Muslim must possess before being required to pay Zakat. One must pay Zakat if what they own is equal to or more than the equivalent to 3 ounces of gold, or its value in cash or trade goods. Zakat must be paid for gold and silver currency, cash, agricultural produce such as date farms, livestock, rent income, and business commodities such as inventory stock in a shop warehouse. Islam requires Muslims to pay an annual contribution of 2.5 percent of the wealth and liquid assets they have accrued and held for over the course of one lunar year. Zakat is calculated on the person's earned net balance; that amount which remains after paying all other necessary expenses. Zakat is not an income tax, rather the amount due is based on what a Muslim has saved and held for an entire year, and not on their income level. Zakat is not paid from the pool of funds used for debt repayment, or necessary living expenses such as food, water, shelter, clothing, and transportation. The recipients of Zakat are the poor, the needy individuals who live in turmoil, those who have accumulated much debt, captives, the Zakat administrators, and more recipients. Scholars state that the poor and the impoverished are the most important categories of people eligible to receive Zakat. "Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [Zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise"           (Quran 9:60) The purpose of Zakat is to help those who cannot help themselves. Zakat can be given to an individual's extended family; however, one may not give this specified amount to his parents or his children, as one is already obligated to support them. When one offers Zakat in this world, he or she is really helping themselves; as they are transferring needed goodwill from their worldly life to their afterlife, which is the best investment one can make. When one gives to someone in need, he shouldn't think of the gesture as a favor; instead, he is giving to God. The one giving is more in need of the beggar, than the beggar needs him. Whereas the beggar is in need only of money, the giver needs the Almighty's forgiveness. "Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful?" (Quran 9:104)  The benefits of giving in charity are many and varied. Amongst the benefits is the pleasure that God expresses to the one who gives. Zakat is known to extinguish the Wrath that the Almighty may hold for one who doesn’t give. Giving Zakat also protects one from the punishment of hellfire. The act of giving to the needy awakens the soul and initiates genuine concern and sympathy for the well-being of the underprivileged and others. It is recommended to give charity in secrecy to ensure that one is offering for the right, pure reason, of pleasing God, and not to receive praise or to boast before others—both acts which would nullify good deeds. However, under certain circumstances--for instance, if one has the intention to encourage others to donate similarly one may give Zakat in public. It's important to note that Zakat money needs to be given from an untainted pool of 100% pure and halal funds—not taken from thefts or bribes, nor profits from interest-based loans or from sales of alcohol, pork, drugs, or anything that is prohibited in Islam. God, the Almighty is Good and Pure and only accepts that which is good and pure. 

The ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of the Father should stir us to excitement, joy, and action. Our Prophet, Priest & King set in motion His mission at His ascension. We are a part of that mission! This message was preached by Pastor Erick Cobb on May 06, 2018.

A new MP3 sermon from Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details: Title: Christ, Our Prophet, Priest And King Speaker: Joe Anady Broadcaster: Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 12/24/2017 Bible: Hebrews 2 Length: 41 min. (64kbps)

Name The Surah takes its name from the word dukhan which occurs in verse 10. Period of Revelation Its period of revelation also could not be determined from any authentic tradition, but the internal evidence of the subject matter shows that this Surah too was sent down in the same period in which Surah Zukhruf and a few other earlier Surahs had been revealed. However, this Surah was sent down somewhat later. Its historical background is this: When the disbelievers of Makkah became more and more antagonistic in their attitude and conduct, the Holy Prophet prayed: O God, help me with a famine like the famine of Joseph. He thought that when the people would be afflicted with a calamity, they would remember God, their hearts would soften and they would accept the admonition. Allah granted his prayer, and the whole land was overtaken by such a terrible famine that the people were sorely distressed. At last, some of the Quraish chiefs among whom Hadrat Abdullah bin Masud has particularly mentioned the name of Abu Sufyan came to the Holy Prophet and requested him to pray to Allah to deliver his people from the calamity. On this occasion Allah sent down this Surah. Subject Matter and Topics The introduction to the address revealed on this occasion for the admonition and warning of the people of Makkah contained some important points, which are as follows: "You, O People of Makkah, are wrong in thinking that the Quran is being composed by Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace). This Book by itself bears the clear testimony that it is not the composition of a man but of Allah, Lord of the worlds." "You are making a wrong estimate of the worth of this Book. You think it is a calamity that has descended on you, whereas the Hour when Allah, out of sheer mercy, decided to send His Messenger and His Book to you was highly blessed." "You are foolishly involved in the misunderstanding that you will fight this Messenger and this Book and will win, whereas the fact is that the Messenger has been raised and the Book sent down in that particular Hour when Allah decides the destinies, and Allah's decisions are not so weak that they may be changed to a person's liking, nor are they based on ignorance and folly that there may be the likelihood of a mistake or error or weakness in them. They are rather the firm and unalterable decisions of the Ruler of the Universe, Who is All Hearing, All Knowing and All Wise. Therefore, they cannot be treated lightly. "You yourselves acknowledge that Allah alone is the Master and Lord of the earth and heavens and of everything in the Universe and also admit that life and death are only in His power, yet you insist on making others your deities, for which the only argument you offer is that that had been the practice since the time of your forefathers, whereas if a person has the conviction that Allah alone is the Master, Sustainer and Giver of life and death, he can never entertain the doubt that there can be other gods also beside Him, who can be worthy of worship. If your forefathers had committed this folly, there is no reason why you also should continue committing it blindly. As a matter of fact, their Lord too was only One God, Who is your Lord, and they also should have worshiped only Him, Whom you should worship." "The only demand of Allah's Providence and Mercifulness is not this that He should feed you, but also this that He should arrange guidance for you. For this very guidance He has sent His Messenger and His Book." After this introduction, the question of the famine that was raging in Makkah has been discussed. As already mentioned, this famine had occurred on the Holy Prophet's prayer, and he had prayed for it so that when the calamity befell it would break the stubbornness of the disbelievers and then they would listen to the rebuke. It looked as if this expectation was being fulfilled to some extent, for some of the most stubborn enemies of the Truth, on account of the severities of the famine, had cried out: "O Lord, avert this torment from us and we will believe." At this, on the one hand, the Holy Prophet has been foretold :"These people will not learn any lesson from such calamities. When they have turned away from the Messenger, whose life, character, works and speech clearly show that he is Allah's true Messenger, how will a mere famine help remove their disbelief?" On the other, the unbelievers have been addressed, so as to say : "You lie when you say that you will believe as soon as the torment is removed from you. We shall just remove it to see how sincere you are in your promise. There is a graver disaster about to fall upon you. You need a much more crushing blow :minor misfortunes cannot set you right." In this very connection, a reference has been made a little below to Pharaoh and his people, implying that those people also had met with precisely the same trial as the chiefs of the disbelieving Quraish are now afflicted. To them also a similar noble and honorable Messenger had come; they also had seen those express pointers and signs which clearly showed that he had been appointed by Allah; they also had gone on witnessing one sign after the other but they did not give up their stubbornness, till at last they made up their mind to put an end to the Messenger's life, and they met their doom, which has since become an object lesson for the people for ever. After this the theme of the Hereafter has been taken up, which the disbelievers of Makkah vehemently denied. They said: "We have never seen anyone rising back to life after death. Raise our forefathers back to life if you are true in your claim about the life hereafter." In response to this, two arguments for the Hereafter have been presented briefly (1) That the denial of this creed has always proved destructive for the morals; and (2) that the universe is not a plaything of a thoughtless deity, but it is a wise system and no work of wisdom is ever vain or useless. Then the disbelievers demand to bring their forefathers back to life has been answered, thus : "This cannot be done every day to meet the demand of the individuals, but Allah has appointed a time when He will resurrect all mankind simultaneously and will subject them to accountability in His Court. If one has to protect oneself there, one should think about it here. For no one will be able to save himself there by his own power, nor by the power of any one else." In connection with this Court of Allah, mention has been made of the fate of those who will be declared as culprits and of the rewards of those who will be declared as successful. The discourse has been concluded with this warning: "This Quran has been revealed in simple language in your own tongue so that you may understand it; yet if you do not understand it and insist on seeing your evil end, you may wait; Our Prophet too is waiting. Whatever is to happen, will happen at its own appointed time." Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

Name It is derived from the word zukhruf-an which occurs in verse 33 of this Surah. Period of Revelation It could not be known from any authentic tradition, but a study of its subject matter shows that this Surah also was sent down in the same period in which the Surahs Al-Mumin, As-Sajdah and Ash-Shura, were sent down. It appears that the revelation of this series of the Surahs began when the disbelievers of Makkah were planning to put an end to the Holy Prophet's life. Day and night they were holding consultations in their assemblies as how to eliminate him, and even an attack on his life also had been made as has been clearly referred to in vv. 79-80. Theme and Topics In this Surah a forceful and severe criticism has been made of the Quraish and the common Arabs creeds and superstitions of ignorance in which they persisted, and their stubbornness has been exposed in a firm and effective way, so that every member of the society, who was reasonable in some degree, should be made to consider the evils in which the community was involved and its tyrannical treatment of the person who was trying to redeem it. The discourse starts in a way as if to say: "You, by means of your mischiefs, want that the revelation of this Book should be stopped, but Allah has never withheld the appointment of His Prophets and the revelation of His Books because of the mischief of the people, but has destroyed the wicked people, who obstructed the way of His guidance. The same He will do again. A little further in vv. 41-43 and 79-80 the same thing has been reiterated. Though the people who were plotting against his life are meant, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "whether you remain alive or not, We will certainly punish the wicked," and the people themselves have been plainly warned to the effect: "If you have decided to take an action against Our Prophet, We too will take a decisive action." Then, it has been told what is the reality of the religion that the people are following so devotedly and what are the arguments on whose strength they are resisting Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and Blessings). They themselves admit that the Creator of the earth and heavens and of themselves and their deities is only Allah. They also know and admit that the blessings they are benefiting from, have been bestowed by Allah; yet they insist on making others associates of Allah in His Godhead. They regard the servants as the children of Allah, and that too daughters, whom they regard as disgraceful for themselves. They believe that the angels are goddesses; they have carved their images as females; they adorn them with female dresses and ornaments, and call them daughters of Allah: they worship them and invoke them for the fulfillment of their needs. How did they know that the angels were female? When they are rebuked for these superstitions, they present the pretense of destiny and say :"Had Allah disapproved of these our practices, we could not have worshiped these images, whereas the means of finding out whether Allah had approved of something or not, are His Books and not those things which are happening in the world according to His Will. For under His Will not only idol worship but crimes like theft and adultery, robbery. murder, etc. also are being committed. Can this argument be used to justify as right and proper this commission of every crime and evil is the world? When it is asked: Have you any other authority, apart from this wrong argument, for the polytheism of yours? They reply, "The same has been the practice since the time of our forefathers." In other words, this in their opinion is a strong enough argument for a creed's being right and true, whereas the Prophet Abraham, descent from whom is the only basis of their pride and distinction, had rejected the religion of his elders and left his home, and he had discarded every such blind imitation of his forefathers, which did not have the support of any rational argument. Then, if these people had to follow their elders only, for this also they selected their most ignorant elders and abandoned their most illustrious elders like the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael (on whom be peace). When they are asked: "Has ever a Prophet or a Book sent down by God also given this teaching that others beside Allah too are worthy of worship? they present this practice of the Christians as an argument that they took Jesus son of Mary as son of God and worshiped him; whereas the question was not this whether the community of a Prophet had committed shirk or not, but this whether a Prophet had himself taught shirk. Jesus son of Mary had never said that he was son of God and that the people should worship him. His own was the same teaching which every other Prophet had given "My Lord as well as your Lord is Allah: so worship Him alone." They were disinclined to believe in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet because he was neither a rich man nor a person of high worldly position and rank. They said "Had Allah willed to appoint a prophet among us, He would have appointed one of the great men of' our two cities (Makkah and Taif). On that very basis, Pharaoh also had looked down upon the Prophet Moses and said: "If Allah, the King of the heavens, had to send a messenger to me, the king of the earth, He would have sent him with bracelets of gold and a company of angels in attendance. Where from has this mendicant appeared I am superior to him, for the kingdom of Egypt belongs to me, and the canals of the River Nile are flowing under my control. What is the status of this man as against me? He has neither wealth nor authority." Thus, after criticizing each practice of ignorance of the disbelievers and rejecting it with rational arguments, it has been pointed out: "Neither has God any offspring, nor are there separate gods of the earth and heavens, nor is there any intercessor who may be able to protect from His punishment those who adopt deviation knowingly. Allah is far above this that He should have children. He alone is the God of the whole Universe: all others are His servants and not associates in His attributes and powers, and only such men can intercede with Him, who are themselves followers of the Truth and they also can intercede only for those who may have adopted obedience of the Truth in the world." Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

Name It is derived frog the sentence, wa amru-hum shura baina hum, of verse 38, implying thereby that it is a Surah in which the word shura has occurred. Period of Revelation Although it could not be known from any authentic traditions, yet one feels after a study of its subject matter that this Surah might have been sent down consecutively after Ha-Miim As Sajdah, for it seems to be, in a way, a supplement to it. This will become clear to every person who first studies Surah Ha-Mim As Sajdah carefully and then goes through this Surah. He will see that in that Surah the Quraish chiefs had been taken to tack for their deaf and blind opposition so that anyone in Makkah and in its out-skirts, who had any sense of morality and nobility left in him, should know how unreasonably the chiefs of the people were opposing Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace), and as against them, how serious he was in everything he said, how rational was his standpoint and how noble his character and conduct. Immediately after that warning this Surah was sent down, which did full justice to teaching and instruction, and made the truth of the Holy Prophet's message plain in such an impressive way that anyone who had any element of the love of the truth in him and who had not been blinded by the errors of ignorance, could not help being influenced by it. Theme and Subject Matter The discourse begins in a way as if to say:"Why are you expressing surprise and amazement at what Our Prophet is presenting before you?What he says is not new or strange, nor anything novel, which might have been presented for the first time in history: that Revelation should come down to a man from God and he should be given instructions for the guidance of mankind. Allah has been sending similar Revelations with similar instructions to the former Prophets before this. It is not surprising that the Owner of the Universe should be acknowledged as Deity and Ruler, but what is strange is that one should accept another as divine and deity in spite of being His subject and slave. You are being angry with him who is presenting Tauhid before you, where as the shirk that you are practicing with regard to the Master of the Universe is such a grave crime as may cause the heavens to break asunder. The angels are amazed at this boldness of yours and fear that the wrath of Allah might descend on you any moment." After this the people have been told that a person's being appointed to Prophethood and his presenting himself as a Prophet does not mean that he has been made master of the people's destinies and he has come to the world with that very claim. Allah has kept the destinies in His own hand. The Prophet has come only to arouse the heedless and guide the strayed ones to the Right Path. To call to account those who do not listen to him and to punish or not to punish them is Allah's own responsibility. and not part of the Prophet's work. Therefore, they should take it out of their head that the Prophet has come with a claim similar to those that are made by their so called religious guides and saints to the effect that he who would not listen to them, or would behave insolently towards them, would be burnt to death: In this very connection, the people have also been told that the Prophet has not come to condemn them but he is their well wisher; he is warning them that the way they are following will only lead to their own destruction. Then, an answer has been given to the question: Why didn't Allah make all human beings righteous by birth, and why did He allow the difference of viewpoint owing to which the people start following each and every way of thought and action?The answer given is this: Owing to this very fact has it become possible for man to attain to the special mercy of Allah, which is not meant for other dumb creatures, but is only meant for those endowed with power and authority, who should take Allah as Patron and Guardian not instinctively but consciously by willing choice. Allah supports the man who adopts this way and guides and helps him to do good and right and admits him into His special mercy. On the contrary, the man who misuses his option and makes his patron those who are not, in fact, the guardians, and cannot be, are deprived of divine mercy. In this connection, it has also been made clear that only Allah is the Patron of man and of all other creatures. Others are neither the patron nor have the power to do full justice to patronage. Man's success depends only on this that he should make no mistake in choosing a patron for himself by the use of his free choice, and should take only Him his Guide Who, in reality, is the real Patron. After this, it has been explained what the Din being presented by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) really is: Its primary basis that as Allah Almighty is the Creator, Master and real Patron of the Universe and Man, He alone is Man's Ruler, He alone has the right to give Man Faith (Din) and Law (system of belief and practice) and judge the disputes of man and tell what is Truth and what is falsehood. No other being has any right whatever to be man's lawgiver. In other words, like the natural sovereignty, the sovereignty with regard to lawmaking also is vested only in Allah. No man or creature, apart from Allah, can be the bearer of this sovereignty. And if a person does not recognize and accept this Divine rule of Allah, it is merely futile for him to recognize the natural sovereignty of Allah. On this very basis has Allah ordained a Din (True Religion) for Man from the very beginning. It was one and the same Religion that was vouchsafed in every age to all the Prophets. No Prophet ever founded any separate religion of his own. The same one Religion has been enjoined by Allah for all Mankind since the beginning of creation, and all the Prophets have been following it and inviting others to follow it. This Religion and Creed was not sent so that man may rest content only with believing in it, but it was sent with the purpose and intention that it alone should be introduced, established and enforced in the world, and no man made religion be made to prevail in Allah's earth apart from His Religion. The Prophets had not been appointed only to preach this Religion but to establish it particularly in the world. This same was the original Religion of mankind, but after the death of the Prophets, selfish people created new creeds by creating schisms for vested interests due to self conceit, vanity and ostentation. All the different religions and creeds found in the world today have resulted from corruption of the original Divine Truth. Now, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace,) has been sent so that he may present before the people the same and original Religion in place of the various practices and artificial creeds and man made religions, and may try to establish the same. On this, if instead of being grateful, you feel angry and come out to fight him, it is your folly; the Prophet will not abandon his mission only because of your foolishness. He has been enjoined to adhere to his faith at all costs and to carry out the mission to which he has been appointed. Therefore, the people should not cherish any false hope that in order to please thee he would cater to the same whims and superstitions of ignorance which has corrupted Allah's Religion before. You do not understand how great an impudence it is against Allah to adopt a man made religion and law instead of the Religion and Law enjoined by Allah. You think it is an ordinary thing and there is nothing wrong with it. But in the sight of Allah it is the worst kind of shirk and a grave crime whose punishment will be imposed on all those who enforced their own religion on Allah's earth and those who adopted and followed their religion. Thus, after presenting a clear and visible concept of Religion it is said:"The best possible method that could be employed for your instruction and for bringing you to the Right Path has already been employed. On the one hand, Allah has sent down His Book, which is teaching you the truth in a most impressive way in your own language; and on the other, the lives of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) and his Companions are present before you by which you can see for yourselves what kind of men are prepared by the guidance given in this Book. Even then if you do not accept this guidance, nothing else in the world can bring you to the Right Path. The only alternative, therefore, is that you should be allowed to persist in the same error in which you have remained involved for centuries, and made to meet with the same doom which has been destined by Allah for such wrongdoers." While stating these truths, brief arguments have been given, here and there, for Tauhid and the Hereafter, the world worshipers have been warned of the evil consequences and their punishment in the life hereafter, and the disbelievers have been criticized for the moral weaknesses, which were the real cause of their deviation from the truth. The Surah has been concluded with two important themes. First, that the Holy Prophet was wholly unaware of this concept of the "Book" or the True Faith during the first forty years of his life and then his sudden appearance before the people with those two things, is a manifest proof of his being a Prophet. Secondly, his presenting his own teaching as the teaching of God does not mean that he claims to have spoken to God, face to face, but God has conveyed to him this Guidance, as in the case of all other Prophets, in three ways: He speaks to His Prophets either through Revelation, or from behind a veil, or He sends an angel with the message. This thing was clarified so that the opponents did not have an opportunity of accusing the Holy Prophet of claiming to have spoken to God, face to face, and the lovers of the truth should know by what methods Allah gave instruction to the man whom He had appointed to the mission of Prophethood. Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

Name This Surah takes its name from v. 27. Period of Revelation As this Surah contains the characteristics of both the Makki and the Madani Surahs, the commentators have differed as to its period of revelation, but in the light of its style and themes we are of the opinion that a part of it (vv. 1-24) was sent down in the last stage of the Makki life of the Holy Prophet a little before migration and the rest (vv. 25-78) during the first stage of his Madani life. That is why this Surah combines the characteristics of both the Makki and the Madani Surahs. The sudden change of the style from v. 25 shows that probably vv. 25-78 were sent down in the month of Zul-Hijjah in the very first year after Hijrah. This is indicated by vv. 25-41 and confirmed by the occasion of the revelation of vv. 39-40. It appears that the month of Zul-Hijjah must have brought to the immigrants nostalgic memories of their homes in Makkah and naturally they must have thought of their Sacred City and of their Hajj congregation there, and grieved to think that the mushrik Quraish had debarred them from visiting the Sacred Mosque. Therefore, they might even have been praying for and expecting Divine permission to wage war against those tyrants who had expelled them from their homes and deprived them of visiting the House of Allah and made it difficult for them to follow the way of Islam. It was at this psychological occasion that these verses were sent down. That is why the purpose for which Masjid-al- Haram was built has been specifically mentioned. It has been made plain that Hajj(pilgrimage) had been enjoined for the worship of One Allah. But it is an irony that afterwards it had been dedicated to the rituals of shirk and the worshipers of One Allah had been debarred from visiting it. Therefore, permission for waging war against those tyrants has been given to oust them from there and to establish the righteous way of life for establishing virtue and eradicating evil. According to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Urwah bin Zubair, Zaid bin Aslam, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Qatadah and other great commentators, v. 39 is the first verse that grants the Muslims permission to wage war. Collections of Hadith and books on the life of the Holy Prophet confirm that after this permission actual preparations for war were started and the first expedition was sent to the coast of the Red Sea in Safar A.H. 2, which is known as the Expedition of Waddan or Al- Abwa. Subject Matter and Theme This Surah is addressed to: (1) The mushriks of Makkah, (2) the wavering Muslims, and (3) the True Believers. The mushriks have been warned in a forceful manner to this effect: "You have obdurately and impudently persisted in your ideas of ignorance and trusted in your deities instead of Allah, though they possess no power at all and you have repudiated the Divine Messenger. Now you will meet the same end as has been the doom of those like you before. You have only harmed yourselves by rejecting Our Prophet and by persecuting the best element of your own community; now your false deities shall not be able to save you from the wrath of God". At the same time, they have been admonished time and again for their creed of shirk and sound arguments have been given in favor of Tauhid and the Hereafter. The wavering Muslims, who had embraced Islam but were not prepared to endure any hardship in its way, have been admonished to this effect: "What is this faith of yours? On the one hand, you are ready to believe in Allah and become His servants provided you are given peace and prosperity but, on the other, if you meet with afflictions and hardships in His Way, you discard your Allah and cease to remain His servant. You should bear in mind that this wavering attitude of yours cannot avert those misfortunes and losses which Allah has ordained for you." As regards the true Believers, they have been addressed in two ways: (1) in a general way so as to include the common people of Arabia also, and (2) in an exclusive way: The Believers have been told that the mushriks of Makkah had no right to debar them from visiting the Holy Mosque. They had no right to prevent anyone from performing Hajj because the Holy Mosque was not their private property. This objection was not only justified but it also acted as an effective political weapon against the Quraish. For it posed this question to the other clans of Arabia: Were the Quraish mere attendants of the Holy Mosque or its owners? It implied that if they succeeded in debarring the Muslims from Hajj without any protest from others, they would feel encouraged in future to debar from Hajj and Umrah the people of any other clan, who happened to have strained relations with the Quraish. In order to emphasize this point, the history of the construction of the Holy Mosque has been cited to show that it was built by Prophet Abraham by the Command of Allah and he had invited all the peoples to perform Hajj there. That is why those coming from outside had enjoyed equal rights by the local people from the very beginning. It has also been made clear that that House had not been built for the rituals of shirk but for the worship of One Allah. Thus it was sheer tyranny that the worship of Allah was being forbidden there while the worship of idols enjoyed full license. In order to counteract the tyranny of the Quraish, the Muslims were allowed to fight with them. They were also given instructions to adopt the right and just attitude as and when they acquired power to rule in the land. Moreover, the Believers have been officially given the name of "Muslims", saying, "You are the real heirs to Abraham and you have been chosen to become witnesses of the Truth before mankind. Therefore you should establish salat and pay the zakat dues in order to become the best models of righteous life and perform Jihad for propagating the Word of Allah." (vv. 41,77, 78.) It will be worth while to keep in view the introductions to Chapters II (Al-Baqarah) and VIII (Al Anfal). Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

Name This Surah takes its name from its "first word "Ta Ha. " This name, like the names of many other Surahs, is merely symbolic. Period of Revelation The period of its revelation is the same as of Surah Maryam. It is just possible that it was sent down during the Migration to Habash or just after it. Anyhow, it is certain that this Surah was revealed before Hadrat Umar embraced Islam. According to a well known and authentic tradition when Hadrat Umar set out to kill the Holy Prophet, he met a certain person, who said, "Before you do anything else, you should know that your own sister and brother-in-law have embraced Islam" Hearing this, he directly went to the house of his sister. There he found his sister, Fatimah, and his brother-in-law, Said bin Zaid, learning the contents of a scroll from Khabbab bin Art. When Fatimah saw him coming she hid the scroll at once, but Hadrat Umar had heard the recital, so he began to interrogate them about it. Then he began to thrash his brother-in-law, and wounded his sister, who tried to protect him. At last both of them confessed, "We have become Muslims; you may do whatever you like." As Hadrat Umar was moved to see blood running down from her head, he said, "Show me the thing you were reading." The sister asked him to promise on oath that he would not tear it, and added, "You cannot touch it unless you have a bath." Accordingly, Hadrat Umar took his bath and when he began to read the scroll, which contained this Surah, he spontaneously spoke out, "What an excellent thing!" At this Hadrat Khabbab, who had hidden himself at the sound of his footsteps, came out of his hiding and said, "By God, I have high expectations that Allah will get great service from you to propagate the Message of His Prophet, for just yesterday I heard the Holy Prophet praying to Allah, 'My Lord, make Abul Hakam bin Hisham (Abu Jahl) or Umar bin Khattab a supporter of Islam. So O Umar, turn to Allah, turn to Allah." These words proved to be so persuasive that he at once accompanied Hadrat Khabbab and went to the Holy Prophet to embrace Islam. This happened a short time after the Migration to Habash. Theme and Topics of Discussion This Surah begins with the enunciation of the object of the Revelation of the Qur'an to this effect:"O Muhammad, this Quran has not been sent down to you to put you unnecessarily to some great affliction. It does not demand from you to perform the impossible task of imbuing the hearts of the obdurate disbelievers with Faith. It is merely an admonition meant to guide on to the Right Path those who fear God and want to save themselves from His punishment. This Quran is the Word of the Master of the earth and the heavens and God-head belongs to Him alone:These two facts are eternal whether one believes them or not." After this introduction, the Surah abruptly moves on to relate the story of Prophet Moses without any apparent relevancy and without even hinting at its applicability to the events of the period. However, if we read between the lines, we realize that the discourse is addressed very relevantly to the people of Makkah. But before we explain the hidden meaning of the discourse, we must keep in view the fact that the Arabs in general acknowledged Moses as a Prophet of God. This was so because they had "been influenced by the large number of the Jews around them and by" the neighboring Christian kingdoms. Now let us state those things which are hidden between the lines of the story: Allah does not appoint a Prophet by the beat of drums or My celebrating the occasion in a regular and formal ceremony, as if to say, "We are appointing such and such a person as Our Prophet from today." On the contrary, He bestows Prophethood in a confidential manner just as He did in the case of Prophet Moses. Therefore you should not consider it strange if Hadrat Muhammad has been appointed as a Prophet all of a sudden and without any public proclamation. The fundamental principles presented by Prophet Muhammad - Tauhid and the Hereafter - are just the same as were taught to Prophet Moses at the time of his appointment. Prophet Muhammad has been made the standard bearer of the Message of the Truth among the people of the Quraish all by himself without material provisions, just as Prophet Moses was entrusted with the Mission to go to a tyrant king like Pharaoh and ask him to give up his attitude of rebellion. These are the mysterious ways of Allah. He catches hold of a way farer of Midian on his way to Egypt and says, "Go and fight with the greatest tyrant of the time." He did not provide him with armies and provisions for this Mission. The only thing He did was to appoint his brother as his assistant at his request. You, O People of Makkah, should note it well that Pharaoh employed the same devices against Prophet Moses as you are employing against Prophet Muhammad -- frivolous objections, accusations, and cruel persecutions. You should know that Allah's Prophet came out victorious over Pharaoh, who possessed large armies and war equipments. Incidentally, the Muslims have been consoled and comforted, though not in so many words, that they should not be afraid of fighting with the Quraish against fearful odds, for the mission which is supported by Allah comes out victorious in the end. At the same time, the Muslims have been exhorted to follow the excellent example of the magicians of Egypt, who remained steadfast in their Faith, though Pharaoh threatened them with horrible vengeance. An incident from the story of the Israelites has been cited to show in what ridiculous manner the idolization of false gods and goddesses starts and that the Prophets of God do not tolerate even the slightest tinge of this preposterous practice. Likewise, Prophet Muhammad is following the former Prophets in opposing shirk and idol worship today. Thus, the story of Moses has been used to throw light on all those matters which were connected with the conflict between the Holy Prophet and the Quraish. Then at the end of the story, the. Quraish have been briefly admonished, as if to say, "The Quran has been sent down in your tongue for your own good. If you listen to it and follow its admonition, you will be doing so for your own good but if you reject it, you will yourselves meet with an evil end." After this the story of Prophet Adam has been related, as if to tell the Quraish, "The way you are following is the way of Satan, whereas the right way for a man is to follow his father Adam. He was beguiled by Satan, but when he realized his error, he plainly confessed it and repented and again turned back to the service of Allah and won His favor. On the other hand, if a person follows Satan and sticks to his error obdurately in spite of admonition, he does harm to himself alone like Satan." In the end, the Holy Prophet and the Muslims have been advised not to be impatient in regard to the punishment to the disbelievers, as if to say, "Allah has His Own scheme concerning them. He does not seize them at once but gives them sufficient respite. Therefore you should not grow impatient but bear the persecutions with fortitude and go on conveying the Message." In this connection, great emphasis has been laid on Salat so that it may create in the believers the virtues of patience, forbearance, contentment, resignation to the will of God and self analysis for these are greatly needed in the service of the Message of the Truth. Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

AsSalaam Alkuim,   This is your Brother Kareem from The Haqq Dawah Group, and this is Haqq Dawah Media Presents Glad Tiding Season 3 Episode 7 AsSalaam Alkuim In the Name of Allah The Beneficent Most Merciful   This week's episode is titled Tell me about Our Prophet. In this episode we will cover facts and proof that Muhammad ibn Abdullah (SAW) is and was last Prophet of Allah.   If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email us at: haqqdawahmedia@gmail.com   Please catch the show notes at our blog: haqqdawah.blogspot.com Don’t forget to follow us on: Twitter @thehaqqdawahgrp Tumblr: .haqqdawah Facebook: /thehaqqdawahgrp Blogger: haqqdawah.blogspot.com (more than show notes) Subscribe to our podcast on ITunes and Stitchers: Glad Tidings or Haqq Dawah Media Youtube: Haqq Dawah Media You can also catch our newest radio show: Haqq Dawah Media Radio on Spreaker: http://www.spreaker.com/user/haqqdawahradio Check it out let me know how you feel about it.   I pray you enjoy,   AsSalaam Alkuim,   Fe AmanAllah ( I leave you in the care of Allah)   The Haqq Dawah Group

Confession: Heidelberg Catechism QA 31-32 Scripture: Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Psalm 110, Hebrews 1:1-4 Preacher: Rev. David Inks Sermon Outline Introduction, I. Christ’s Anointing II. Christians’s Anointing Conclusion Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 31 Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”? A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with […] The post “Christ” Our Prophet, Priest, and King (Heidelberg Catechism QA 31-32, Deu 18:15-19, Psa 110, Heb 1:1-4) appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.

Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi explicitly elaborates on the importance of having good manners in Islam. What constitutes good manners? Some of them are listed below. Our Prophet ﷺ said, “Verily, I have only been sent to perfect good manners.” Whenever someone came to the Prophet ﷺ for advice, it always was more often than not ... Read more

Shaykh Yasir now expands our knowledge by delving into the incidents that transpired between Khandaq and Hudaybiyyah. Our Prophet ﷺ sent 14 Sareeahs and participated in two Ghazwas in between Khandak and Hudaybiyyah. The first incident to be discussed is the minor expedition of Muhammad ibn Maslamah involving 30 sahabah to deal with the tribe ... Read more

In this video, Shaykh Yasir Qadhi delves into uncovering the details pertaining to the early manhood of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The early life is almost undocumented but whatever could be found has been made possible. Our Prophet ﷺ was a shepherd at a very young age and used to tend for the flock of Makkah. ... Read more

Normally the angel of death will come unannounced and separate the soul from the body... But in the case of the best of creation Prophet Muhammad (saw) the greatest man in history the Angel of Death approached the door of the Prophet (saw) asking for his permission to come to him. He has never asked for anyone's permission before, and so the Prophet (saw) said, let him come in... This is how loved he is by Allah (saw) and they dare to insult such a creation! Our Prophet! Our Honour!Click here to watch this talk (video)Click here to listen to this talk (audio)