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Friday Talks |
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Friday Talks |
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133 |
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Importance and grace of remembering Allah
Part 2
Written by: Sk. Omar Khadrawi
Translated by: Dr. Faheem Bukhatwa
07 Jumada Al-Thani 1431
21 May 2010
All thanks be to Allah, we ask His help and guidance. It is with Him we fortify ourselves against the evil within us and against the evil of our deeds. This who is guided by Allah; no one shall lead astray, and this who is misguided by Allah shall not find a guide.
Allah commanded His slaves to remember Him a lot. Allah says: {O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance (41). And glorify Him early mornings and late evenings (42). It is He who blesses you, and His angels (bless you), that He may bring you forth from darkness unto light; and He is Merciful to the believers (43). Their salutation on the day when they shall meet Him will be: Peace. And He has prepared for them a goodly recompense. (44)} 33:41-44.
One of the scholars explained Allah’s saying: {Remember Allah with much remembrance} by saying that each time Allah Has imposed an obligation He Has made a limit or an end to it, and an excuse for those who can not do it except for the commandment of remembering Him. He Has placed no limit (time or otherwise), and Has given no excuse for not doing it other than not being able to do it. Allah says: {and remember Allah while standing, and sitting and reclining} 4:103.
How did the messenger ppbu remember Allah:
Nothing kept the messenger’s heart off remembering Allah. He kept constant contact with his God either glorifying or praising or remission (asking for forgiveness) or reciting Koran. He did that at all time. Aesha said: “The messenger ppbu used to remember Allah all the time. And he used to recite the Koran while standing or laying down, when he had wado (fit for a prayer) or not. The only thing that would stop him was Janabah.”
The messenger ppbu said: {Saying: “Praise be to Allah, and thanks be to Allah and no God other than Allah, and greatness be to Allah” is more loved to me than all the sun has shined on}. The messenger ppbu spent all his free time remembering Allah. He used to start and finish each day with an hour or an hour and a half in remembering Allah. He used to sit and remember Allah after he does dawn prayer until the sun rose.
How did the companions remember Allah:
Abo-Bakr As-Siddique had a tong which constantly remembered Allah. Abo-Bakr never was satisfied by remembering Allah just after each prayer. It was reported that once he was holding a crow and he was spreading its wings and said: “no prey has been hunted, and no tree has been cut down except though the wasted praising of God which they missed to do”.
Omar ebn Al-Khuttab said: “The messenger ppbu taught me if I get afflicted by trouble or distress is to say: No God but Allah the most wise and the most generous, praise be to Allah. Blessed be the Lord of the mighty throne. And all thanks be to the Lord of the worlds”.
Benefits of remembrance:
Remembering Allah develops the love of Allah to the slave.
Remembering Allah expels the devil or Satan and oppresses and crushes it. And remembering Allah eliminates gloom, depression, worry, sadness and sorrow and brings joy and happiness. The messenger ppbu said: {As a man leaves his home if he says: “in the name of Allah, and in Allah I trust, and no strength and no means except with Allah” then he is told: “You have been guided, and you have been spared and you have been protected, and satans clear out of his way. One Satan would say to another: How could you with a man who has been guided, and spared and protected”}.
Allah said through His messenger ppbu: {if a slave remembers me to himself, then I remember him to a crowed of my angels, and if he remembers me in a crowed then I would remember him at the highest companion}.
The remembering of a human being by Allah is much greater than the remembering of Allah by a human being. Allah says: {and establish Regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest without doubt} 29:45. There is a hidden meaning in this verse which is that when you do your prayer your do remember Allah, but yet Allah remembering you is still greater. When you remember Allah you merely doing a worship obligation, but when Allah remembers you then He is bestowing the blessings of security. When your remember Allah He gives you’re the blessing of wisdom and satisfaction and tranquillity, assurance and hope.
The messenger ppbu stated that Allah boasts to angles about those humans who remember Him.
The messenger ppbu said: {whenever a group of people meet in some home to recite the book or Allah, and do a group study of it, then Allah will descend upon them mercy, kindness and tranquillity, and angels surround them and Allah remembers them to who He has}.
Remembering Allah is one reason the tong will be too busy to indulge into backbiting, slander and lying, wrong and evil verbal deeds. A human being has to speak, and if he does not speak in remembering Allah then he would speak in the forbidden. And it is very difficult to keep safe from such acts.
Dear faithful, those were some of the benefits of remembering Allah. Remembering Allah is one of the easiest and simplest things to do and with the least cost. Let us enrich our time, our meetings and our recluses and recesses. We just might make some of the benefits which can be achieved. It is a great deprivations and letdowns for an individual to pass the hours either in silence or in useless talk which would be of no benefit in this life or next.
Notes:
Adhan - The call to prayer.
- The inhabitants of the city of Al-Medina that received and supported the messenger (PPBU) when he immigrated from Mekkah in the very early years of Islam.
Ansar (or Al-Ansar):
Assalam Alaikum - The Islamic greeting, literately means: Peace be with you. Used when approaching or leaving. When used during approaching it will be like saying: I bring no harm to you . and when said during leaving somebody it will mean: No harm will come to you after I leave.
- is a verse of the Koran. It also means a miracle or a sign from God.
Aya (or Ayah):
- is a mountain outside the city of Mecca that represents the climax of the Hajj worship. All doing Hajj must stay at this location on the same day.
Arafa (or Arafah or Arafat):
Badr - The place of the first significant battle between the Muslims and the pagans of the Quraish. It is located in Saudi Arabia.
Caliph - A Muslim ruler. See: (Khalifa)
Dajjal - Antichrist or the False Massiah.
Dawah - The proliferation of Islamic teachings through word and deed.
Deen (Din) - Religion or way of life.
- talking to Allah; praising him and asking him for help.
Duaa: a prayer in the form of
Fatwa - Legal verdict given based on the Qur'an (Koran) and the Sunnah which are the recorded sayings and deeds of Muhammad.
Ferdose: is the highest level of the all the gardens of Eden or paradise.
Fiqh - Religious law.
Hadeeth: is something reported that the messenger have said. It includes all the speeches and ceremonies he gave. It is usually narrated or told by one of his companions. There is a list of hadeeths approximately 14000 that are reported and checked to be genuine. No more hadeeths are acceptably added to this list.
Hajar - The Black Stone set into the corner of the Ka'aba in Mecca. It is said to be a stone from Heaven.
Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca which takes place in the last month of the Islamic calendar. One of the five pillars of Islam.
Hasana or hasanas: is the reward for a good deed. a hasana is a point or a merit for a good deed.
Hadith - The sayings and not deeds of the prophet Muhammad recorded by his followers. Considered authoritative and perfect.
Hajj: is the worship of pilgrimage.
Hijra (or Hejrah): the event of the immigration of the messenger from Mekkah to Madina. This event marks the start of the Islamic calendar. the Islamic calendar has 12 months based on the lunar cycle, each is 29.5 days. Hijra is also used as a name for the Islamic dating system.
Ibadah - Worship. All the words and deeds with which Allah is pleased. These deeds could be prayer and charity.
Iblis - (Ibleese): On of Satan's names.
Ibn (Ebn): the son of. Used by Arabs as part of an individual's name. Example: Ali whose father is Omar or the son of Omar, would be called: Ali Ibn Omar.
Imam (or Emam)- The leader for a prayer. In the Shiaa sect, an Imam is the individual who has the religious authority.
Iman: belief or faith
Injil (Enjeel) - The Bible. The book inspired to Jesus for the Christians.
Islam - Submission, the religion of all the prophets of Allah culminating in Muhammad.
Jannah - The heavenly garden, Paradise. The place of the faithful in the afterlife.
Jihad: is striving in the line of Allah in many forms. Includes a very wide scope varying from improving oneself to fighting a defensive war in protection of Allah's word. The greatest Jihad is the fight one's self against temptations. It also means "holy war."
Jinn - Supernatural, invisible beings race of beings, below angels. They were made from fire. Like humans, there amongst them are the faithful and the non beleivers and Jinn shall be judged on Judgment Day.
Ka'aba: A cube shaped building in Mecca containing a stone laid there by Abraham and Ishmael. Some say Ka'aba was first built by Adam, and some say by Abraham. It is the holiest place for Muslims. It is where all Muslims face in their daily prayers. Ka'aba also makes a major part of the pilgrimage in a ritual known as Tawaf.
Khalifa: is the Muslim ruler. Head of the Islamic empire. Exact translation: "Successor".
Khutbah - A sermon given in a Mosque, usually on Friday.
Kufr - Denial or Disbelief. A term Muslims use for anyone who denies existence of Allah or the prophecy of Muhammed.
Koran - Also spelled Qur'an. The holy book of Islam revealed to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel. Koran literally means "the recital." It is the final revelation of Allah given to the prophet Muhammad. It consists of 114 surahs (or chapters.)
Madinah - (Medinah): A city in the Arabian peninsula (in the country known now as Saudi Arabia). A city where the messenger had to immigrate to. Then it was called Yathrib.
Masjid - A center for Muslim activity. It is referred to as a mosque.
Masiah - A sin, or a sinful act
Mecca or Makkah: is the holiest city for Muslims. It contains the Ka'aba mosque with the famous black cubical shape. Mecca is the birth place of the messenger (PPBU).
Mosque - A Muslim house of worship.
Muhajir - (Muhajireen) Immigrant, one who leaves his home town due to lack of religious freedom. It was first used to describe early Muslims immigrating from Mecca to Median and Ethiopia.
Muhammad - the final messenger and prophet of God whose message abrogated all previous revelations. He received the Koran through the angel Gabriel over a 23 year period. Born in Mecca and died in Medina at the age of 63. His full name: Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah
Muslim - One who holds faith to the religion of Islam.
Nafilah: a voluntary prayer other than the five obligatory prayers; performed at any time.
Nasara - Christians. Nasrani: A Christian individual. Nasraniah: Christianity.
Ommah: is the Arabic word for a nation. It usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise specified.
Paradise - Another word for heaven. A garden of bliss, fruits, rivers and all forms of pleasures imaginable and imaginable. No suffering, disease or death. Service is provided by angels. All live in it an ever lasting youthful life. Promised by Almighty Allah to all faithful, true Jews, true Christians and True Muslims. Paradise is one of two places every person will go to, either Paradise or Hellfire.
PPBU (P.B.U.H.) : Peace and Prayers Be Upon him. A statement Muslims use any time they mention the name of the messenger or make a reference to him.
Qadar - Fate. Preordainment is the teaching that all things, good and bad, are preordained to occur.
Qadr - (night of Qadr): The night when the first revelation of the Koran took place. Most likely it happened during one of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Or when the Koran was brought down to the nearest heaven in one go, and from there it was brought down in bits and few verses at a time over a period of 23 years. This night is considered the holiest night for Muslims with tremendous advantages.
Qibla - The direction which Muslims turn for daily prayers, towards Mecca.
Quraish - An ancient Arab tribe to which the messenger Muhammad belonged.
Ramadan - The ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the month of the fast. The holiest month in the Muslim colander.
Salat - Prayers. Generally it covers all forms of worship, but more specifically refers to the Muslim rituals which is performed to worship Allah five times daily.
Shiaa: A sect of Islam that teaches that a religion leader (Imam) should be the political ruler and must be direct descendants of the messenger (PPBU). Therefore, disapproving of all Muslim leaders who ruled After the messenger (PPBU) except Ali, the messenger's grandson.
Shirk - Associating another god with Allah. Or associating anyone or anything with Allah. Or using anyone or anything as a medium to Allah. The opposite of Monotheism or Tawheed.
Siam or Soam- Fasting
Sunni: is a the title of those Muslims who are suppose to be following the life style of the messenger. This differentiates them from the Shiaa of Iran.
Sunna (Sunnah): Is how the Messenger PPBU lived, what he did or said. It includes the way he dressed, ate, drank, prayed, interacted with other people and fought. Basically, sunnah is the life style of the messenger PPBU. It is considered the second source of legislation in Islamic laws and it is considered to be an important reference to be used for concluding arguments and disputes. It is also a title give to the main stream Muslims who make 90% if all Muslims.
Surah - A chapter of the Koran.
Tawaf: part of the pilgrimage (Hajj) ritual. It involves walking round the Ka'aba Mosque in anti-clock wise direction a number of seven circles.
Tauhid - Tawheed - Monotheism, in Islam is the teaching that there is only one God who alone is worthy of worship. The first requirement of becoming a Muslim. It is included in the testimony of faith for new Muslims when declaring that God is one: (No God but Allah)
Taqwah - Proper fear and veneration of Allah. A divine spark that enables the person to understand God.
Taurat: The old Testaments and scriptures of Mosa.
Ummah - the word means: a Nation. Usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise stated.
Umrah - (Amrah): A mini hajj. A Minor form of pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike Hajj which can only be done on the 12th month of the Islamic year, Umrah can be performed at any time.
Wathoo (wadoo): a washing up ritual done by Muslims before each of the five daily prayers known as ablution.
Zaboor - The Psalms
Zakat - The third pillar of Islam. Alms giving, charity that is given to the poor.
