Anna mé (My Mother)

(Dedicated to my lovely mother)

Her kind, heart penetrating words have been her sword

With which she slays all kinds of thorny thoughts

Out of her gullible children; her very beloved

She's my pride

My ride or die

Silence is loud and clear in its meaning to her

So she hears her children

Even when they are silent

God gave me to her

And her to me

That I may be cared for

And not be in grief

That I may be schooled rightly

And not be misguided

That I rise up sweet

In a world so bitter

She bore me out of severe pain

Yet kissed my dirty forehead

And made me taste "dabino"

And proclaimed to me the name of my Lord

That I should conceive His greatness

And told me the true meaning of success

Salaah...

That I know now

For the earlier the better

That I do not become lost

In the tempting distractions I shall find

Coming to me from even behind

She wore the face of happiness

With a painful smile on her face

Giving me sweets while she fed on bitters

Passing through unsung hardships

All so that I live happily

All so that I may be nourished

Mé vê annâ mé (I thank you my mother)

Salaam Beyond Greeting

Arabic in its origin,  the word "Salaam سلام" comes from the Arabic root word "salima سلم". Salaam means peace. The phrase "Assalaamu alaikum" which means "peace be upon you" has been prescribed to be the "greeting phrase" for Muslims. It is the best greeting for it's holistic, comprehensive and beautiful nature and Allah has chosen it amongst others.

But does it only connote a "greeting phrase" like other ones? What makes it stand out amongst others and why?

Ibn al-Qayyim says in his book (badaa'il-fawaa'id)
"Allah الله, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Peace, prescribed that the greeting among the people of Islam should be ‘As-Salaamu Alaikum’, which is better than all the greetings of other nations which include impossible ideas or lies, such as saying, ‘May you live for a thousand years,’ or things that are not accurate, such as ‘An’im sabaahan ( أنعم صباح،Good morning),’ or actions that are not right, such as bowing in greeting. Thus the greeting of salaam is better than all of these, because it has the meaning of safety which is life, without which nothing else can be achieved”

As stated earlier, the word "salaam" comes from "salima سلم" . It connotes dissociating oneself from evil or any form of harm whatsoever. So when I salaam to a fellow Muslim, I mean "I'm a Muslim like you, Will not harm you and you should be at peace with me". And since As-Salaam السلام is also one of the Beautiful Names of Allaah, the greeting of salaam also means, “May the blessing of Allah descend upon you, may Allah be with you, may Allah guide and protect you, May Allah grant you peace, tranquility and contentment.”

Imagine the depth and breath of meaning this powerful word or phrase connotes. And that is the beauty of the Arabic language. Words with very deep meanings.

In essence, by saying salaam, you're actually passing the following statements alongside:
- I'm a believer in Allah just like you; your brother.
- Rest assured that no harm shall come to you from me.
- May the blessings of Allah descend upon you.
- May Allah grant you everlasting peace and tranquility in your life.

The best part is that it is compulsory to reply with the same statement or that which is better (by the addition of extensions to the former; e.g warahmatullah)
You can't afford to miss saying these words every time.
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The best of the two persons is the one who begins with salaam.” (Related by an-Nawawi)

So race up in saying salaam to your spouse, siblings, children, friends and other associates and enjoy the magnanimous benefits.

Say "Assalaamu alaikum" السلام عليكم

SHATTERED PLANS

(Dedicated to Nusaybah bint Isah)

Sometimes, a strategy
Sometimes, a grave mistake
I've tried to learn the times
But have failed woefully in that regard

The tender will still turns out
Soothingly upon our spirits
Before the very debris of our sweat
And after due yanking of our eyes
Oh, my strained sight!

How often shall our minds fluctuate
To and fro the boundaries of deluge

Is it memory spillage?
Is it a calculation not well prescribed?
Or is it lack of capacity to communicate
With one's own spirit...

All wills surely converge
Gradually under varied, tapered areas
As in a needle from bottom to top
To One who owns The Affairs

So I seek the Face of my Lord
In patience, hope and fear
And a conviction that He'll choose for me the best

Derivable Lessons From The Story of Khosrau and The Old Lady

Dedicated to Aisha Asila Ahmed

Buzrjamhar, the wise man of Persia, related the story of Khosrau the king and the old lady. The latter possessed a chicken and a small hut, which was situated on a small plot of land that neighboured the palace of the king Khosrau. One day, she had to travel to another village and before departing, she prayed, ‘O’ my Lord, I entrust my chicken to you.’ During her absence, Khosrau usurped her property in order to expand the gardens of his palace. His army slaughtered the chicken and destroyed the cottage. When she returned and discovered the deplorable act, she turned her gaze to the sky and said, ‘ O’ my Lord, I was absent and where were You.’ Then Allah did her justice and granted a revenge for her. It came to pass that the son of Khosrau attacked his father with a knife and killed him on his bed. (Laa tahzan by ‘Aaidh Ibn ‘Abdullah Al-Qarni translated by Faisal Ibn Muhammad)

“Is not Allah sufficient for His slave? Yet they try to frighten you with those [whom they worship] besides Him! And whom Allah sends astray, for him there will be no guide.” (Qur’an 39:36)

Would that we were all like the worthier of Adam’s sons, who said to the other:

“If you do stretch your hand against me to kill me, I shall never stretch my hand against you to kill you” (Qur’an 5:28)

The Old lady didn’t take to revenge – she simply puts her trust in Allah and was hopeful of His help:

The muslim has a mission and message much more important than revenge, malice and hate. Also, the Muslim is known for his complete reliance in Allah’s decree (whether good or bad) while striving and working hard to protect his property from harm as far as he can. This is because of the hadeeth where the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

“Strive to do that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah, and do not feel helpless.” (Muslim, 2664)

Allah answered the prayers of the Old Lady:

In as much as we seek Allah’s face appropriately in the calamities that befall us, Allah will come to our aid. This is as Allah says in His book:

 “And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.” (Quran 2:186)

It is for the believer then, to believe in Allah as the One to whom all his burdens should be tabled to and have hope for same. And this is undoubtedly one of the fundamentals for happiness.

One of the attributes of Allah is 'The Most Just" and sufficient is e also, as a helper for the oppressed and unfairly treated:

“And Allah is most knowing of your enemies; and sufficient is Allah as an ally, and sufficient is Allah as a helper.” (Qur’an 4:45)

The old woman has been oppressed by the King and the prayer of the oppressed is most effective as the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

“Fear the prayer of the oppressed, even if he is a disbeliever, for there is no barrier (between it and Allah).” (Ahmad, 12140; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb, 2231)

The King wielded his powers unjustly so Allah punishes him disgracefully:

“Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful” (Qur’an 16:23)

Justice means giving each person who has rights his rights and putting everything in its proper place. The reverse of this is certainly injustice and an extravagant display of pride. When given power, we must not forget that the source of power is Allah and He gives it to whomever He wills and takes it away from whomever He wills and to Him shall both the powerful and weak return.

Where and When Dua's are Accepted

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

Seriously, my intention was to bring all the ahadeeth I could source out that are related to this subject.

But when I saw Sheikh Muhammad Salih Almunajjid's elaborate write up, there was absolutely nothing more I could write.
So here is the link.

https://islamqa.info/en/22438

Enjoy reading.
And please put me in your prayers.

Don't Despair of Allah's Mercy

"… and My Mercy embraces all things.” [7:156] 
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." [39:53]

Peace.

Disobedience to Allah comes generally from forgetfulness, ignorance, shear arrogance and laziness. All these causative agents constitute the materials, by which man was built. It's man's nature!

Undoubtedly, it is part of the human nature to forget, be arrogant and lackadaisical with instructions coming from whomever, especially entities who aren't cognitive authorities over them. Well, one other side of the coin is the realization that the entity or entities are in fact, cognitive authorities. A third side is the will power to do just as instructed.

For us Muslims, we submit fully to the instructions of Allah, realizing that He possesses all kinds of authority over us, as our Lord and us, His humble servants. That is the basics. That is basically what it means to be Muslim. And that is the basis for the instructions that follow. A servant would obey His master.

These traits continue to chase us even though we are still. But since it is natural to possess these traits, it then becomes difficult to restrain oneself from them and hence, from disobedience to Allah.

Rather than run away from them from unknown to no where, it is better to employ a control mechanism - Islam in other words. The sole reason why we take to control these traits is because we are Muslims - people who submit fully and willfully to Allah's will.

But how strong is our hold to this "control mechanism"? So we falter all the time. And hence, seek forgiveness for He is most forgiving and "...(His) My mercy embraces everything"

As often as we falter and disobey, and no matter how massive our disobedience is, we are encouraged to seek Allah's forgiveness and strive to not go back to it (or them).

Muslims are hopeful people. They are hopeful that Allah, the all forgiving would forgive them, no matter how much they have transgressed the limits He set for them so they seek His forgiveness. They are also fearful of Allah's punishment so the practice self restraint and refrain from doing all acts of disobedience. They do not despair of the mercy of Allah the often forgiving as in the verse 53 of chapter 39 of the Quran stated in the beginning of this article.

No one enters Jannah by the amount of work he puts in but by Allah's infinite mercy. All the work and striving tends to pleasing Allah and seeking His face. The Muslim is urged to be always hopeful of Allah's mercy and fearful of His punishment - moderate and in between the two extremes.

Don't ever despair of Allah's mercy. No matter what you've done. No matter how shameful it is. Allah created you. Allah Has said He would forgive you so long as you seek His forgiveness. There isn't any sin Allah won't forgive you for. All you need to do is seek His forgiveness sincerely, feel remorseful about it and resolve to never go back to it.