Khalil Gibran

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

"Your prayer cannot change the Order of the Universe,
But it is possible that praying will alter your being;
If there is a revolution in your inner Self
It will not be strange, then, if the whole world changes too"
- Allama Iqbal (rah)

Quran verse

And whosoever fears Allah and keep his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things.
(Surah at-Talaaq: 2-3)

Hadith

Hadhrat Ibn Abbaas (radiallahu anhu) narrates: “I was (once) behind Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) when he said to me: ‘O son! I shall inform you of a few things. Remember Allah and He will protect you. Remember Allah and you will find Him close to you. When you have to ask for something, ask of Allah Ta’ala. When you require aid, seek His Aid. Believe firmly that if all creation desires to benefit you in anything, they can never benefit you but that which Allah has decreed for you. If they all unite to harm you, they will not be able to harm you in anything, but that which Allah has decreed for you.”
(Tirmizi)

The Dua Barometer: How Bad Do You Want It?

As salaamalaykum,

The following article is from muslimmatters.org

The Dua Barometer: How Bad Do You Want It?

What do you make dua for the most? Do you look for the special times that dua is accepted only when in a time of difficulty? Do you pray for others?

“Remember Allah in times of ease, and He will remember you in times of distress. What hit you could not have missed you, what missed you could not have hit you. Remember that victory comes with patience, relief comes with affliction and ease comes with hardship.”

After listening to a halaqah on the hadith related to dua in Riyadh as-Saliheen, and reflecting on my own situation, I began to ponder about how we are in our relationship with Allah (swt), and how we utilize this magnificent tool of dua in our lives.

I do not think it is a far stretch to say that a person (or guys at least) make dua for marriage more than anything else in their lives. Every sajdah, the end of every prayer, after every adhan, every juma, and every late night is repetitions of “Oh Allah grant me a beautiful and attractive wife who is also very pious” - or something to that effect.

In any case, the focus here is not on marriage, but rather a look at our relationship with dua. In this case, it is how a person’s desperation pushes them to such a high level of consistency and dedication. When things are good though, do we keep up that same level of dedication we had before? The time that we feel this regret most though, is when we step up our dua in face of a hardship, Allah (swt) answers our dua and grants us ease. Then when we face another hardship, we realize how negligent we were in that time of ease.

“Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. [40:60]

Say (O Muhammad): My Lord only pays attention to you because of your du’a to Him. But now you have indeed rejected (Him), so the (torment) will be yours permanently. [Furqaan:77]

The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wassallam) said,

Whoever wishes that Allah responds to his dua at times of hardship, then let him increase his dua at times of ease!” (Tirmidhi)

To make fervent dua at times of relative ease can be a tough test for the heart, especially because the duress of an immediate hardship is absent.

What Do You Pray For?

What you ask Allah for most shows what the heart is attached to. If a person supplicates only for dunya benefits, then even though he is asking from Allah, his heart is attached to the material world.

When we look at the dua’s narrated in the Sunnah (the chapter of dua in Riyadh as-Saliheen is an excellent reference for this), we find general dua’s asking for goodness. We find the same with the supplications found in the Quran. We find supplications asking for good in this life, good in the hereafter, forgiveness, contentment, chastity, righteous offspring, forgiveness for our parents, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, victory, success, guidance, mercy, Paradise, and help in worshipping Allah more. We find supplications seeking refuge and protection from evil manners, cowardliness, miserliness, fitnah, debt, torment of the grave, hellfire, knowledge that does not benefit, a heart with no khushoo’, supplications that are not answered, sickness, and evil desires.

Think about if you are a parent, what do you pray for in regards to your children? Are the supplications oriented only around their worldly successes?

Who Do You Pray For?

We know that a prayer made for someone in their absence is one of the du’as that gets accepted, and an angel supplicates for us to be granted the same thing. One of the reasons given for this is that it shows sincerity in the supplication, to remember the needs of another person and to help them in the best way possible [by asking Allah for assistance].

But who you pray for is often a bigger test. Do you pray for your children? Do you pray for your parents? How often?

Do you pray for your teachers? I try to make du’a to Allah (swt) to cover the faults of my teachers from me, and to allow me to benefit from them, and to grant them tawfeeq and barakah in their efforts. If you are a teacher - do you pray for your students? Do you pray that Allah (swt) enables you to teach what is correct and beneficial, and for the students to learn from it and be successful?

Do you pray for those you do not like? Saying, “May Allah guide you” in an email or online chat is what comes to mind in this example, but this is usually more sarcastic than anything else. Do we actually sincerely pray for their guidance in our salaat, or our sujood? Do you pray for Allah (swt) to forgive the sins of someone who you dislike to a great extent? That is something that is really tough to do, but it is something that can humble us significantly.

Do we pray for our friends, and for their families, asking Allah (swt) to give them all the great things we wish for our own families?

I know that the articles and books on dua are quite numerous, so it is practically impossible to offer up anything that hasn’t already been covered elsewhere. I just hope that this might serve as a gentle reminder to us to revitalize the dua in our lives. I have felt many times in my life where I felt that I was making dua almost 24/7, and yet at other times it was nearly the opposite. So I hope that this might be a small nudge for those of us not at the level we know we should be at - especially with Ramadan quickly approaching.

Will You Accept the Answer?

One thing I have personally struggled with, is coming to grips with the fact that I, in fact, have absolutely no idea what the khayr is in, no matter how strongly I may feel about something. In this vein, I find myself getting further away from asking for specific things (especially dunya things) and instead making supplication for the actual objective. Case in point, you may like a particular home that is close to the masjid. Instead of supplicating for the specific house you had your eye on, you may supplicate to be granted a house close to the masjid.

What happens though, when the house you are given is next to the masjid - but it’s not the masjid you had in mind? The du’a is answered, even though in the heart it is not what you were expecting. This is a small example, but it is something we may sometimes face. Are we willing to see though, when Allah (swt) opens up a path for us, for us to embark on it? How far does our tawakkul go in leaving our affairs up to only Him?

These struggles of the heart can only be put at ease with constant dua, and in fact also asking Allah (swt) to grant us contentment with whatever He decrees.

Hamza Yusuf's Keynote speech

Prophet's Ramadan Sermon

Assalamu alaikum,

Prophet's Ramadan Sermon

O people! Ramadan is laden with blessings, mercy and forgiveness; Ramadan is a month which Allah (God) considers BEST of all months. Ramadan days, in the sight of Allah, are the best of days; its nights are the best of nights; its hours are the best of hours. Ramadan is a month in which you are invited to be the guests of Allah, and you are regarded during it as worthy of enjoying Allah's Grace. During Ramadan your breathing praises the Almighty, and your sleeping adores Him. Your voluntary acts of worship are accepted, and your pleas are answered. Ask Allah your Lord, therefore, in sincere intentions and pure hearts to enable you to fast during it and to recite His Book [the Holy Quran], for only a wretched person the one who is deprived of Allah's forgiveness during this holy month. And during Ramadan let your hunger and thirst remind you of the hunger and thirst of the Day of Resurrection. During Ramadan grant more alms to the poor and indigent among you; surround your elderly with respect, and be kind to your youngsters. Visit your kin and safeguard your tongues, and do not look at what Allah has prohibited you from seeing (the base), nor listen to anything your ears are forbidden to hear (the evil). Be kind to the orphans of others so that your own orphans will equally receive kindness. Repent your sins to Allah and raise your hands to Him in supplication during the times of your prayers, for these are the best times during which the Almighty looks with mercy to His servants and answers their pleas when they plead to Him. O people! Your souls are a pawn of your deeds; therefore, release them by seeking Allah's forgiveness. Your backs are over-burdened by the weight of your sins; therefore, lighten their burden by prolonging your prostration. Be informed that Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, has sworn by His Loftiness to relieve the torment of those who perform their prayers and prostrate to Him, and not to terrify them by the sight of Hellfire when people are resurrected for judgment. O people! Whoever among you provides iftaar (breaking fast) to a believer during Ramadan will receive a reward equal to one who sets a slave free, and his past sins will be forgiven. Shun Hellfire even by [offering] half a date! Shun Hellfire even by [offering] a drink of water [to others fasting]! O People! The one who improves his conduct during this month will have a safepassage on al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem [the straight path during the Day of Judgment], when many feet will slip away, and whoever among you decreases the burdens of his workman will be rewarded by Allah in decreasing his reckoning [on the Day of Judgment]. The one among you who abstains from harming others during this month will be spared the ire of the Almighty when he meets Him. The one among you who affords generosity to an orphan during this month will be amply rewarded by Allah on the Day of Judgment. The one among you who improves the ties with his kin during this month will be rewarded by Allah in His mercy, and the one who severs his ties with his kin during this month, Allah will withhold His mercy from him upon meeting Him [in the Day of Judgment]. The one among you who offers voluntary prayers during this month, Allah will decree a clearance for him from the agony of the Fire. The one among you who performs an obligatory prayer during this month will receive the reward of one who has performed seventy obligatory prayers in other months. The one among you who increases the sending of blessings unto me during this month, Allah will make the balance of his good deeds weigh heavily when the scales will be light [in the Day of Judgment]. The one among you who recites one verse of the Holy Quran during this month, will receive the blessing of one who recites the entire Holy Quran in another month. O people! The portals of Heaven in this month are kept open; so, pray Allah (God) your Lord not to close them against you, and the portals of the Hellfire are kept closed; so, pray Allah your Lord not to open them for you; and the devils are kept leashed; therefore, pray Allah your Lord not to unleash them against you.