"Summer Fling vs. Soul Mate"

Summer Fling vs. Soul-Mate

What is a summer fling?

            A summer fling is an instant satisfactory limited gift for our need for love. A summer fling is temporary and primarily based on attraction more than capability.  

Examples?

-middle school boyfriend

-the guy from the summer camp

-the “religious” guy from the conference

-your high school soul mate

What are the main connections between all of these?

They are temporary, not soul mate potential and based primarily on looks.  

Good vs. Evil

Although we are making this temporary life partner sound horrible and makes you question, who would want temporary happiness?  BUT there is a reason why people do it, there is some presumed “good” in it. Every human being wants to be loved, and yearns for love and when we get it, we become intoxicated. A heart that is in love is intoxicated. We are blind and engulfed in happiness. Everything is amazing. This is the nly good from these relationships, happiness but it is a blind and temporary happiness.

Now on to the evil…

Do you really think you are going to marry someone you met in middle school? Or even high school? You are only 13, 14, 15 years old, the chances are slim. And do you think Allah will bless a relationship that began from haram?

If we look back at the first relationship between man a woman, their relationship was not founded on just a simple attraction, take the good only and as soon as something bad happens, you just leave and move on-which is pretty much the essence of what a summer fling is. Marriage, this concept of ‘soul mates’ is much more beautiful, much more modest that what it is has become in the light of movies today.

The first love in humanity was between a husband and wife. The first relationship of Adam and Eve was described by Allah to be one in which tranquility was found amongst one another.  Allah does not describe a relationship as something that is superficial, something based on looks, something that is just for ‘fun’ and temporary. Allah describes marriage with the word ‘zawj.’

“And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.” [30:21]

Marriage is something whose purpose is to find tranquility with one another- with rahma. Gender relations are only through this bond, only through this relationship and every other means becomes ‘haram’.

To some people, it seems so weird to get married and THEN fall in love when everyone and everything around you tells you that love comes first and then marriage. But the biggest benefit is accepting the good and bad. In a summer fling, its all good and fun. You are intoxicated by attraction, it consumes you in a way. All you think about is the good of that person and as soon as some kind of commitment or responsibility comes along, people leave each other. You see it all the time. Whether its through cheating or whether its through a random baby that comes around. You probably have seen teen mom in which the guy leaves or most guys leave as soon as a baby comes into the picture. Reason being? Responsibility.

When you get married, when you find a soul mate, it’s a stable bond that automatically comes with responsibility. You don’t know every little thing about the person, so it keeps building and you grow and learn together. There is responsibility involved, the mahr, the obligations of each spouse on the other.

If you take a glimpe at the Prophet’s relationship with Aisha, salla Allahu alayhi waslam, you’ll realize the light, fun relationship and bond they had. If you look at his relationship with his first wife, Khadija, you’ll notice the level of trust and the relationship of a best friend.

So would you rather choose something temporary, that ends really quick with people hurt or would you rather choose something that will actually last, living in rahma, mercy, and compassion amongst one another. 

Avoiding Temptations

Temptations are all around us, we live in a society that is marked by these temptations.

Discussion: So what are some common, everyday temptations that we face whether it be at school or home or our jobs?

§  Wealth

§  Shopping

§  Laziness

§  Opposite gender

§  Music

§  TV

All these temptations that we have just discussed are absolutely prevalent in our daily lives.  First we’re going to briefly generalize all these temptations that we just listed into several categories according to the what the Quran and Sunnah of our beloved, salla Allahu alayhi waslam. And then we will spend most of out time speaking about relevant and practical ways in dealing with these everyday temptations.

Definition of Fitnah:

§  Fitnah in Arabic language in its origin refers to the cleaning and purification process that gold and silver is put through. The process of heating it and processing it. Just like this purification process separates the pure from the impure, the good from the bad, that’s how fitnah is.

§ Fitnah is treated like it is something bad but in reality it isn’t. It is up to you; fitnah can either be the best thing that happened to you or the worst thing. It could either be your doom and destruction or cause you to come out from the side, amazing and purified like the gold and silver does after its been purified.

Types of Fitnah: (Surah Kahf)

§  Surah Kahf talks about four main, four big fitnahs and for each one Allah provides us the solution

§  First one: Fitnah of Iman- how to really stay Muslim. This is definitely targeted for us, going to public school or college. Keeping iman can be a constant struggle. It’s a challenge these days and so Allah presents the story of the youth early on in Surah Kahf. ‘They were youth that believed in their lord and we increased them in guidance” Allah took care of them and just like that Allah will also take care of us. So the solution? 1, have your priorities straight. Make preserving your iman your number 1 priority. When that is set in stone, just like the youth mentioned in Surah Kahf, Allah will take care of you but make that your priority. 2, Allah tells us in Surah Kahf, how there is a huge discussion of the number of youth that were present, there was a group of them, they became each other support system so number 2, find good company. Find someone who has the same concern for them, who when you find yourself slipping you can go talk to them and then help you do a self-check, who you are comfortable enough to tell each other, look look look, maybe you shouldn’t have done that or this would have been a better way. But you need a support system; find a support system even if is just one person, we all naturally need companionship; it is an innate desire that we all have. So you might not always be with the cool people if you want to keep your iman, you might not always be part of that big possy .

-So make iman your priority. These youth went to the cave cause they had to to protect their iman. They did what they needed to to protect themselves, keeping iman at the top. And Allah tells us that ‘we took care of them’ and I want you to see this, this is epic, blew me away because Allah’s mercy is just subhanAllah.

-One in the story in Surah Kahf, there is a dog. A dog randomly just joined along with them, a big old mean dog, protection provided by Allah.

-They go to cave, called Al-Kahf. In the Arabic language, there are two types of names for caves, there is 1) a ghar, ghar e-Hira, the cave that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi waslam would used to go to right? It was a huge cave. This kahf is more of an opening, its not very deep inside, its has a huge entrance, not very deep. So these youth were not protected really, they were just in an opening where Allah put them to sleep and listen to this, in Surah kahf it tells us they were asleep for 309 years.

-And heres the amazing part, look what Allah does to them. ‘Allah tells us, they were sleeping when the sun would rise, Allah would command the sun to kinda move away a little bit so it would burn them for hours and hours’ For these youth, Allah moved the sun a little bit to protect these youth. He moved the sun a tad bit for them so it would avoid them.

-And not just this, but you know how if you lie somewhere for too long, you get bedsores. And these youth were asleep for 309 years and if they had stayed in the same place they definitely would have got their body damaged. So look what Allah did for them, to protect their body from damage, every morning and evening we would flip them over. Allah is saying we did it, we turned them over. The dog was also preserved, but he arranged him to the way where he sat there just like a guard dog would right at the front of the cave.

-Not just this, but Allah says if you were to see them you would think they were awake while they were asleep. They were asleep but to an outsider it would seem like they were awak and Allah says, that if you had looked at them, you would have been terrified. You would have gotten scared and ran. Look at the way Allah took care of them when they made iman their priority.

§  The second fitnah was the fitnah of wealth, of money. The story of the guy with the two gardens is mentioned in Surah Kahf. This guy that has these two gardens, is being by another guy to appreciate the blessing to be grateful to believe in Allah but he kept denying, he was arrogant cause of his wealth and then overnight, everything that they guy had, was wiped out. So how do we survive through the test of wealth? Solution provided is simple: 1, realize the reality of material things and wealth. ‘give to them the example of this world that rains down from the sky, it mixes with the ground, and it becomes scattered dust’. For a while the flowers grow or something will grow but eventually it becomes garbage and the wind blows it away. That is the reality of the world. Its flashy, sweet at first but it ends. 2, you’ve got money, awesome, but balance it with the akhirah. Invest into something that will last: good deeds. You have money? Put it into something that will last like charity, building a masjid, money you can do a lot with: use it.

§  Third fitnah: story of Musa alayhisalam and Khidhr, his teacher. It is the fitnah of knowledge. This can be one of the most problematic. A lot of the people that are more active and knowledge, their lack of character become a way to push people away. When the guy or girl that does know a lot that pray etc but then acts like a jerk, it pushes people away. Solution: humility. Humble yourself. Find a teacher or mentor that you constantly seek advice from, constantly be taught, realize that no matter how knowledge you have, there is always more to learn. Your knowledge is a blessing, if your smart it is because Allah made you smart. Don’t start calling yourself awesome, your 4.0 GPA is a blessing from Allah who put that potential in you who made your brain in the first place. So Be grateful, be humble. In the story of Musa and Khidhr, Khidhr is his mentor; he’s constantly keeping him in check. He’s constantly telling Musa to be quiet; but Musa sticks with it.

§  Fourth fitnah: fitnah of power. This is depicted in the story of Dhul Qarnaiyn towards the end of Surah Kahf. You will be held responsible for your flock. The word in Arabic for responsibility literally means ‘you will be held accountable’. We are all responsible for our flock. Solution: mingle with the people. Talk with them. Don’t over use your power as an older sibling to be mean and harsh and brutal to your younger ones. Don’t use the power as being a parent to be cruel and harsh to your children and likewise with children to parents. Power can be a fitnah; use it in moderation and in a way that brings about benefit.

Practical Steps in Dealing with Fitnah:

§  Niyyah and the right mindset to avoid the temptation. This goes for everything. If you want to change something, start with setting the proper niyyah even if you keep failing in the beginning. Only if you set your mind to avoid it, only if you make the niyyah and ask Allah to help you will your path be eased.

§  Making Iman your priority: Remember the story of the youth in Surah Kahf; they had their iman as their priority and look at how Allah helped them.

§  If you want to stay away from fitnah, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Prophet Yusuf, alayhisalam was being approached by Zulaikha as Allah tells us in Surah Yusuf. Zulaiqa wanted to ‘do the deed’, Prophet Yusuf was one of the most handsome people to have lived and she too was pretty. She had bolted all the doors, not like today where it is just a small lock, she had literally BOLTED the doors. There was no one watching, they were all alone but Prophet Yusuf, alayhisalam feared Allah so naturally he was temped. What he do? He first asked Allah for help and then RAN towards the bolted doors. If a door is bolted, what do you expect? To crash into it, right? But watch what happens. Prophet Yusuf, alayhisalam is running towards the bolted doors and the doors SWING OPEN for him. These bolted doors just fly open subhanAllah. So when you are faced with some kind of fitnah, do not just sit there and expect the fitnah to magically disappear; DO SOMETHING about it. You make the effort and watch the way Allah will help you inshaa’Allah.

§  Keeping the following three attributes of Allah in mind: All-Knowing, All-seeing, All-hearing. No matter where you, if you are about to engage in something haram or are on the verge of falling into temptation remember that if no one is watching, Allah is still the All-Seeing, All-Hearing, and the All-knowing.

§  Stay away from the place of fitnah. For example, if guys are a fitnah for you and you are you know constantly struggling to stay away from talking to them or getting into relationships that you know are not permissible and say one of them is facebook chat. Say that Bob always messages you like late at night and now you really are trying to avoid this, well a really awesome way would maybe be 1, not getting on facebook chat, or 2, deleting Bob. So you see, staying away from the fitnah, you keep away from what is causing the fitnah. Another example could be maybe wealth let’s say and you know that every time you go to the mall, you psycho splurge, well keep away from it and maybe go to the mall less frequently.

§  Purify yourselves 5 times a day: The importance of this cannot be stressed enough, I think we all by now get the point but how many of us actually implement it. You want to avoid temptation, you want to avoid fitnah? Start with the most vital connection with your creator: salah. If you are still struggling to pray Fajr or would like a call just to make sure you get up, right now we can do a buddy system calling where you know if you want a wake up call, give us your number or pair up with someone and inshaa’Allah we can get this going. Salah is key, and any beginning starts here. [Tell story about the guy who used to drink]

§  Attach yourself to the Quran: The Quran if full of lessons, full of reminders and is a the perfect way to feel Allah speaking directly to you. The more you will get to learn about your deen, about Allah, about Prophets, the harder it will be to choose temptation over the beauty of Islam.

§  Employ Istighfar: Continuously ask Allah for forgiveness for your sins. We are all sinners and as Ibn Taymiyyah said ‘Every son of Adam is a sinner and the best of sinners are those who repent’. We may say we won’t engage in such and such but we may fall into it. We as humans are weak but don’t let a fall ruin the climb uphill. Get back up on your feet and constantly employ istighfar. It is more important to get rid of the stain on your robe then to keep adding to the robe while the giant stain is still there. So ask for forgiveness, constantly keep purifying yourself.

**Much of the information was extracted from Shaykh Abdul Nasir Jangda’s talk on the Four types of Fitan (Trials) by Quran Weekly. Check out their Youtube page, inshaa’Allah!  

And to Allah belong all things good and pure. 

Shariah Law

Islamic Shariah Law: Core Concepts and Definition 

via lecture By: Abdool Rahman Khan

Shariah is an embodiment of all laws, beliefs, ordinance and regulations from Allah; a combonation os Allah’s laws that is vital to human life given to us in the 23 year period of revelation of the Quran. If someone says that it is “just laws”, it is so much MORE than that! They are not penal laws or laws that were sent down to punish people, they are laws which impact every aspect of human life. If you read the preamble of the constitution, minus the last sentence, this is the goal of shariah, “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity…” Every religion was sent its on shariah, the Christians were sent the “kha- nun” and the Jews were sent the “halaqa” or “bet-deen”.  Shariah is not some new phenomenon and not just a set of rules, it is truth from Allah.

Shariah vs. Fiqh

Shariah is from Allah whereas fiqh is scholarly interpretations of laws. Shairah is inclusive, meaning that you can wake up in the morning and be obliged to follow the rules given to us by Allah but you cannot become a master of fiqh overnight. Shariah is how to live our life and fiqh is the implementation of these laws. Shairah is complete and will never change but fiqh is never complete it changes from generation to generation, the sheikh even said when he was younger there were teachers of fiqh who said that the microphone was haram because it was not the voice of the person but the voice of shaitan coming from the microphone, but we all know that today, sheikhs would not be able to address their congregations without the use of the microphone.

Limitations with Shariah debates

1.      -You can change what people think but you can’t change the way they feel, so you can be telling the truth and honestly winning the debate but the person can still go away from the conversation thinking “sheery-ah” is evil. Sometimes these debates are a waste of time when it comes to changing the beliefs of a person or trying to eradicate the ignorance amongst them.

2.       -We cannot mock other beliefs where as Christians can say whatever they want about Muhammad or Islam.

3.       -When we are debating these people we are focused on their agenda and there for we are defending ourselves but not really telling people about the beauty of Islam and the basic of our religion. One thing is for certain, Muslims do not need to defend themselves.

Objective of Shariah Law: From the Quranic Perspective

via lecture By: Nouman Ali Khan

Before thinking about the objective of Shariah Law, we need to think about ourselves for a second and the way in which we treat our religion. As Muslims, we cannot compromise with our Islam. Remember when the Prophet (sws) came the people they wanted him to compromise his religion and they will compromise but Muhammad (sws) would never compromise and should not either; so it is either this way or the highway. And yes, we can be polite but we should never compromise. Some Muslims today are caring more about what people think rather than what Allah thinks, it is about the people first and Allah second, when in reality Allah comes first in all of our matters. What does Allah want? It is in Surah Nisa, Allah mentions what he wants, Allah wants us to follow what he has ordained for us, and not to burden us but to lighten our burden. The objective of shariah is for us to learn forgiveness. An easy way to get forgiveness is to obey Allah. Allah also mentions those before us. Think about it, who are the people Allah mentions the most in Quran? The Children of Israel, who were the 1^st given shariah, and every religion, is given their own laws and it is our duty to follow them.  

The summary of shariah is to follow the laws established by Allah and give zakat, all laws serve Allah and humanity. Shariah fulfills the traditions from Ibrahim. 

If Allah says to do something, shut-up and DO IT!

JUSTICE IN ISLAM

Justice: A Quranic Requisite for Society

via lecture by: Mohammad Yunus

Justice in the Quran:

“Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and Liberality kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He you, that ye may receive admonition.” 16:90

“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, As witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. for Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” 5:8

It is a commandment from Allah to be just, and do justice on yourself and others. Allah is most just and the ultimate dispenser of justice. The goal of Muhammad (sws) was justice,

“We sent aforetime Our apostles with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the balance (of right and wrong), that men may stand forth In justice; and we sent down iron, In which is (material for) mighty war, As well As many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help, Unseen, Him and His apostles: for Allah is full of strength, Exalted In might (and able to enforce His Will).” 57:25

This is the job for the Ummah, and a leader who is just will be one of the people under the shade of Allah.

7 Principles of Justice in Islam

“Haqq al din”: respect for religion

“Haqq al nafs/haya”: respect of human person

“Haqq al nafl”: respect human family

“Haqq al mal”: right of private property

“Haqq al hurriyah”: respect of self-determination (khalifa, shura, ijma)

“Haqq al kirama”: respect human dignity

“Haqq al Ilm”: respect of knowledge, thought, press.

Justice is the CORE of Islam and there are two types of justices, social and judicial, both are equally important.  

Judicial justice is established in case of disputes and social justice is expanding rights among people. There are three foundations of social justice:

1)     1)  Freedom of conscience

2)      2) Complete human equality

3)     3)  Take care of each other

 “Say: "It is not In My power to cause you harm, or to bring you to right conduct." 72:21

Justice is an obligation amongst us and the principles of justice should be our guide on all matters no matter who the person is; muslims, non-muslim, boy, girl, friends, foes, etc. This is obligatory at all levels of society.

“Now then, for that (reason), call (them to the faith), and stand steadfast As Thou art commanded, nor follow Thou their vain desires; but say: "I believe In the Book which Allah has sent down; and I am commanded to judge justly between you. Allah is Our Lord and your Lord: for us (Is the responsibility for) Our deeds, and for you for your deeds. there is no contention between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and to Him is (our) final Goal.” 42:15

“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, As witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. for Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” 5:8 

“Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who Fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.” 60:8

“The word of Thy Lord doth find its fulfilment In truth and In justice: none can change His words: for He is the one who heareth and knoweth all.” 6:115

MODERATION:ISLAM

The Balanced Nation: A Universal Responsibility 

via lecture by: Hafiz Tauqeer Shah

A great Persian once asked a poor Arab, “Why would uncivilized Muslim Arabian come to the biggest super power?”

All the Arab said was “I am here to help you”

Allah sent us so we can liberate human beings from their slavery to other human beings and bring them closer to their Lord. Allah wants us to take them from their narrowness of this world and to its spaciousness.

“Thus, have we made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves; and we appointed the Qibla to which Thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (from the Faith). indeed it was (A change) momentous, except to those guided by Allah. and never would Allah make your Faith of no effect. for Allah is to all people Most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful.” 2:143

“ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing In Allah. if only the people of the Book had Faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have Faith, but Most of them are perverted transgressors.” 3:110

Launch of our new website, alhumduiallah

Check it out: destination-jannah.com

pass the word, inshallah (: (: (: 

I am more religious than my parents, what do I do?

I am more religious than my parents, what do I do?

(via notes from Quran Intensive 2011)

Any good is from Allah, everything bad, I apologize.

When looking at how to live our daily lives we must look at the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (sws). In hardship, this is just as important. An important story to look with this issue is the story of Prophet Ibrahim and his father mentioned in Surah Mariam (Tafsir notes are attached at the bottom)

ÇÍÌÈ  

42. we said: "O Adam! dwell Thou and Thy wife In the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein As (where and when) ye will; but approach not This tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."

43. then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) In which They had been. we said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. on earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time."

44. then learnt Adam from His Lord words of inspiration, and His Lord turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

45. we said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, As is sure, there comes to you guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall They grieve.

46. "But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, They shall be companions of the fire; They shall abide therein."

47. O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your Covenant with me As I fulfil My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me.

48. and believe In what I reveal, confirming the Revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear me, and me alone.

49. and cover not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth when ye know (what it is).

50. and be steadfast In prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).

What can we take from this story of Ibrahim?

The Encounter

-Ibrahim did this out of goodness and fear that his father will be punished on the day of judgment, nit to show his knowledge or in any way to be greater than his father.

-We must stat with love and admiration; Ibrahim does not address his father in a stern tone or with any sense of arrogance. He address his father with love “Dear Father”, he says.  This shows your sincerity and respect for you parents.

-He is not preaching or overpowering, he pauses giving his father a chance to speak, maintaining the roles of father and son and extending respect to him although he is a disbeliever.

The Message

-He does not point our flaws in the parent but in the action. He does criticize his dad but the actions he takes part it in.

-He maintains composure, keeping himself and understanding to his father’s situation.

-After trying to hit his point in a roundabout way, he continues to clarify but never blames the father.

-there is NEVER a reason to get disrespectful, EVER.  You have a prophet, with divine revelation speaking to a super mushrik and he still keeps his composure and humility.   

The Effect

-We have to remember that change and accepting Allah is in ones’ heart, giving our parents a talk even if it is with greatest intentions and follows the way of Ibrahim, our parents might still believe but we still must hold them as our parents

Kufi vs. Kufr

If your parents would rather you not wear a kufi when around them, take it off out of respect for your parents if this is going to cause an unnecessary rift in your family. If your parents would rather you not pray, pray out of respect for Allah, you can’t have any rifts in your relationship with Allah.

Sometimes when someone is trying to get closer to the deen they go into ultra- mode, wear a kufi, eat thabiha (zabiha), don’t shake hands, carry a tasbeeh openly; we begin to do many voluntary things to get closer to Allah, alhumduiallah. But our environment necessarily does not. When we are getting closer to Allah, our parent might not be. And this is not in any way to shame them, wanting to be close to Allah is a self-effort you cannot make people want to get closer to Allah they have to want to themselves. And as children we have to respect this especially with our parents. If your mother would rather you not do your tasbeeh with your beads in the mall and this will upset her greatly, Allah gave us hands. We must make a distinction between what “leading us to kufr” really is, if your father would rather you not wear hijab, wear hijab it is commanded by Allah. If your mom would rather you not bust our your prayer rug in the middle of the mall but rather to the side in the corner, go to the corner and pray, if you are still facing the qiblah, you are still praying. As Muslims we have to respect the wishes of our parents.

When we pray all our Sunnahs in the middle our living rooms, bust out our prayer rugs in the middle of the mall, wear our kufis, and (mashallah) all of these things, there is no benefit in it to your parents. Our parents do not get or seek any benefit in their children becoming more religious, so doing these things do not seem beneficial but annoying.  How to change this annoyance to a respect for your new found closeness to Allah is to please them. Clean your house once a week, take your siblings off your parents hands for a day, clean your room without your dad asking you to do so, call your mom and say you love her, treat your dad to lunch; do random acts of kindness along with you trying to get closer to Allah. And your parents will notice the effect of you trying to get closer to Allah. They will associate goodness with you trying to get closer to Allah, inshallah.

Conclusion

We must remember that getting closer to Allah is a unique gift from Allah hat we will all experience at different times. We must remain humble and respect that not everyone is experiencing the same iman high but inshallah they will soon.  

Any good you got out of this is from Allah and from him Alone. (:

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TAFSIR NOTES: 

VERSE 42: Behold, He said to His father: "O My father! why worship that which heareth not and seeth not, and can profit Thee nothing?

Explanation: This begins the discussion Ibrahim has with his father. Some question whether it was his actual father or his uncle, “Ab”=uncle or father. Ibrahim addresses his father with a loving tone, “my dear father” he starts to express the love for his parents, he is sincerely asking why do you worship these idols? He address him in a practical way not in a complex way which seems to be a problem sometimes when we address our parent who seem to not be on the same level of deen as ourselves. He maintains his humility and shows hat he is not trying to be some super knowledgeable person. 

Words:

·         “Ab”: uncle or father

·         “nabi”: someone who carries very important and very relevant news

·         “nabwun”: elevated platform, status of prophet

VERSE 43: "O My father! to me hath come knowledge which hath not reached thee: so follow Me: I will guide Thee to a way that is Even and straight.

Explanation: He begin again, “my dear father”, maintaining his composure. There are 4 degrees of emphasis- he is not preaching or screaming, he is crying out to his father, it brakes his heart. Like Muhammad talked to Abu Talib, in a loving tone. He continues, “it is okay if you don’t get it at first but you have to get it dad. listen.”   He is not ebing bossy or anything but trying to show hum the right way, he makes his motive clear.

Words:

·         “ja”: heavy word for coming, huge emphasis

·         “lamyaatekam”: which has not reached you

·         “min”: just a little bit of knowledge

·         “fuattabe3”: listen

VERSE 44: "O My father! serve not Satan: for Satan is a rebel against ((Allah)) Most Gracious.

Explanation: [no answer] He does not become frustrated with his silence but begins again. “my dear father”, showing sincerity, the conversation becomes more direct.  He equates idols to evil, trying to appeal to the reasoning and decency of his his father. He uses the word “rahman”, excessively merciful. While he is speaking of the worse he slips in Islam.

VERSE 45: "O My father! I fear Lest a penalty afflict Thee from ((Allah)) Most Gracious, so that Thou become to Satan a friend."

Explanation: subhanallah! Again, “Dear Father”. He is worries that the punishment of Allah will touch him. Again he mentions the words “rahman”, most merciful, again he speaks of bad and brings up good.

This is a good part for those who are extremely interested in dawah: we have to do it for care and consideration for the people.

VERSE 46: (the father) replied: "Dost Thou hate My gods, O Abraham? if Thou forbear not, I will indeed stone thee: Now get away from me for a good long while!"

Explanation: His father responds, “Are you saying you are disgusted? You want nothing to do with me? You can not like m gods? (And with extreme emphasi), if this is the case, I will kill you, stone you, get away from me, forever.” Ibrahim is crushed, what does he do?

Words:

·         “raghebun anta”: “are you digusted?”

·         “larjumana…”: super emphasis, “if this is the case, I will stone you…”

·         “maleyyan”: a very long period.

VERSE 47: Abraham said: "Peace be on thee: I will pray to My Lord for Thy forgiveness: for He is to me Most Gracious.

Explanation: “assalamualaykum”, this could be taken as an actual good-bye or he is telling his father that he has no hatred toward him, he will continue and will ask forgiveness for him. There are two issues scholars bring up: first, giving salams to a mushirk  and second, asking forgiveness for a mushrik. It is permissible to give salams to a nonbeliever by most scholars but it is an Islamic greeting. Secondly, when someone is alive you are allowed to pray for them but when dead we cannot. When Ibrahim found out his father was dead he stopped seeking forgiveness.

VERSE 48:"And I will turn away from you (all) and from those whom ye invoke besides Allah. I will call on My Lord: perhaps, by My prayer to My Lord, I shall be not unblest."

Explanation: He says “ I will leave all of you and everything you worship, don’t worry Allah will take care of me. Why did he not show conviction? He showed hopefulness. Even if our parents are not up tp par in their religion this never given us a right to disrespect them in any way, we must treat them with repect.

Words:

·         “hiba”: give as a gift

·         “3saa”: uses this word to show hopefulness

VERSE 49: when He had turned away from them and from those whom They worshipped besides Allah, we bestowed on Him Isaac and Jacob, and Each one of them we made a prophet.

Explanation: When he isolated himself from them and idols they were worshipping, Allah gave him Isaac (child) and Jacob (grandchild) and if you continue, yusuf (great grandchild). Allah did not just bless him with pious children, but a family, a blessed family of prophets. 

VERSE 50:  and we bestowed of Our Mercy on them, and we granted them lofty honour on the tongue of Truth.

 This shows that Allah just didn’t leave him but blessed him after this test with his prophet. His family became legends. We must realize that ,Allah will bless us for our efforts.  This also shows that calling to Allahis a form of worship. Good Character=shade under Allah. Again Allah uses a plural “our mercy” to show the greatness in it. All blessings of Ibrahim is a drop in the ocean of Allah’s mercy. Why did Allah not mention ibrahim’s son ismail? Because he is spoken about separately, exclusively. 

Shoe Sadaqat

Alhumduiallah. 

The Shoe Sadaqat is over, and I would like to say thank you a trillion to those who had the opportunity to donate shoes may Allah bless you for your donation. The refugees were really excited especially the boys! Most of the boys wear their sisters shoes or parents shoes due to the lack of shoes. But alhumduiallah we were able to provide shoes for some of the children. Inshallah, we hope to continue this again, inshallah :) :) So save your shoes! :) :) 

Here is the total: 89 pairs of shoes 
Girls: 61 pairs 
Boys: 28 pairs 

Alhumduiallah to the max! :) :)

Taqwah Tammy

Salam! 

Bismiallah….

There is a sister in our ummah who was been a brutal car accident and suffered from severe injuries. She needs surgery but does not have the means to pay for the procedure. Her condition is now getting worse, the bones in her back are rubbing against each other. The doctors said that if she does not get the surgery soon, she will be paralyzed. When I asked her what she was going to do, she simply replied, “Its up to Allah.” She has full faith in our mighty creator, she is truly Taqwah Tammy. 

Here is the link: http://destinationjannah.tumblr.com/taqwahtammy

Please go to the bottom of our page and donate, Allah does not care about quantity but quality, Even a dollar will help….may Allah bless you in the dunya and akhira for your donation, inshallah. 

Goal: $8500 

Amount: $0

Please, reblog and spread the word….

if you have any questions contact: dsntjannah@gmail.com