«reviving The Heart»

This was the stance of Shaykh Sulāyman al-Alwān in prison when he smiled and swore:

“By Allah, I am pleased with this trial, and all praise is due to Allah! I see victories unfolding.”

O Allah, free Your servant Sulaymān al-‘Alwān, grant him steadfastness, relieve his distress, and grant him victory over those who have wronged him.

The Qur’an is to be acted upon!

When you read the Quran and come across “O you who have believed”, do you think that those who have believed are living on Mars? No, Allah is addressing you! You are among those who believe. And when you come across “O mankind”, do you think mankind is living on Saturn? Pay attention—you are part of mankind.

When commands and prohibitions appear in the Quran, they are not just directed at Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهم. They are directed at you. These commands and prohibitions are meant specifically for you. The Quran does not only address the Muslim community as a whole—it addresses each and every individual Muslim personally. Every single person is being addressed directly by the Quran.

So when you read these verses, understand that they are messages from Allah to you. Read them as if a servant is reading the commands of his master with purpose and intent. Imagine a slave whose master sends him written instructions—commands and prohibitions in a letter. The worker receives this letter, kisses it, places it on his head, perfumes it and puts it on a shelf. But that’s all he does. He doesn’t follow the instructions.

Now, if the master later asks him, “What did you do with my message?”, and the worker replies, “I received it, kissed it, perfumed  it, placed it on the shelf, and every day I take it down, kiss it again, read it, and put it back.”—what will the master do? He will hit him! He will say, “Did I send this letter just for you to honor it, open and close it, and place it on a shelf? Or did I send it for you to act upon it?”

Likewise, the Quran is not just meant to be recited and admired—it is meant to be followed. That is why the Prophet ﷺ said, “The Quran is either a proof for you or against you.”

So if you read “O you who have believed”, but then act like those who disbelieve, how will you answer Allah when you meet Him? Allah will surely question you about what you recited.

-Shaykh Muhammad Bin Abd-Al Hameed  Bin Abdullah Al Zubaydi

Ibn Rajab رحمه الله said:

يا من ضاع عمره لا شيء استدرك ما فاتك في ليلة القدر فإنها تحسب بالعمر.

O you who have wasted your life, nothing can make up for what you’ve lost except the Night of Decree (Laylatul Qadr), for indeed, its value is equal to a lifetime.

(191)كتاب لطائف المعارف فيما لمواسم العام من الوظائف - ط ابن حزم

The Forgotten Sister

My dear sister whom I have not met, Let me begin with my apologies for that is all I can offer, I’m sorry I can not do more than apologies, But in my dua is where your remembrance lies, I’m sorry your screams and cries go unheard of in the depths of the night, under ground in dark rooms of confinement where strangers imprison you and hurt you, I’m sorry they raped and bruised you, Broke you and shattered you, Squeezed you and shackled you, Choked you and battered you, I’m sorry I was too busy with my life, I wasted my time on my phone chilling out, Checking out what’s new and what’s old, I maybe only thought of you once every few months, Your screams I could not bare so I chose not to listen, We all overlooked you and your struggle, We kept quiet just so we don’t get in trouble, We had the answer all along, I’m sorry we’re too busy saying you and those that defend you are wrong, Once upon a time a single tear falling from your eye would have ranked and sent forth armies to your defence, But it seems as though this ummah has lost its common sense, Sometimes I imagine being in your place, But every time I do I feel like I’m lost in time and space, I admire your strength, If this test was given to just anyone they would have surely crumbled, So my dear sister I am sorry, But Alhamdulilah the ummah is slowly awakening and rising, Your relief after hardship is soon, So bear with beautiful patience, For Allah subhanu wata'ala gives His greatest tests to His strongest soldiers. الْحَمْـدُ للهِ الّذي عافاني مِمّا ابْتَـلاكَ بِهِ، وَفَضَّلَـني عَلى كَثيـرٍ مِمَّنْ خَلَـقَ تَفْضـيلا Praise is to Allah, Who has spared me what He has afflicted you with, and preferred me greatly above much of what He has created. Make dua for the ummah this Ramadhan, Alhamdulilah we have it way better than others, the purpose of Ramadhan is to remember the less fortunate and the struggle and to be greatful to Allah subhanu wata'ala for all that He has blessed us with, it’s so much more than just refraining from food and drink, it’s a month of beautiful lessons and a month to feed our souls. A reminder to myself first and foremost In Sha Allah.

A believer never enjoys his sin, never finds his delight completed. Rather, even while committing the sin his heart is faced with grief, though the intoxication of desire covers up his feeling of it.

If the heart ever becomes void of this remorseful ache and the joy of sinning overpowers any feeling of remorse, then one should doubt one's faith, and cry over the death of his heart.

Were the heart alive, the committing of sin would make it sad, upbraid and constrict it, and it would sense it.

A wound, after all, does not cause pain to a corpse.

[ Madarij al-Salikin ] Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzi

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:

“(By fasting) one narrows the passageways of Shayṭān within the servant (of Allāh), by narrowing the passageways of food and drink. As well, it restrains the force of the limbs from giving way to its dominating nature of that which is harmful to it in this world and the hereafter.

And, (fasting) subdues every limb and might of the soul from (following its) whims, and harnesses it by its bridle.

For, surely (the fast) is the bridle of the muttaqūn [the righteous, those having taqwá] and the shield of the warriors [a shield between them and the Hell-fire].”

[Zaad al-Maʿad | 2/28-29]

Talks are plenty, words are in abundance, what’s actually lacking is the true sincere action.

O’ Allaah, don’t put us into trial with our words and make us people of real action

Q: How can one be patient upon trial?

A: “In the same way we fast, we’re absolutely and completely sure that the adhān of Maghrib will eventually come…”

دوامُ الحالِ من المُحال

“The permanence of one condition is impossible”

‫وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَن یُقۡتَلُ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ أَمۡوَ ٰ⁠تُۢۚ بَلۡ أَحۡیَاۤءࣱ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَشۡعُرُونَ﴿ ١٥٤ ﴾‬

‫وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَیۡءࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَ ٰ⁠لِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَ ٰ⁠تِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِینَ﴿ ١٥٥ ﴾‬

‫ٱلَّذِینَ إِذَاۤ أَصَـٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِیبَةࣱ قَالُوۤا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّاۤ إِلَیۡهِ رَ ٰ⁠جِعُونَ﴿ ١٥٦ ﴾‬

‫أُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ صَلَوَ ٰ⁠تࣱ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةࣱۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ﴿ ١٥٧ ﴾‬

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And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allāh, They are dead. Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,

Who, when disaster strikes them, say, Indeed we belong to Allāh, and indeed to Him we will return

Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.

إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

وكلُّ شيءٍ حُرمتَ منهُ؛ رُحمتَ مِن شرّه.

And everything you were deprived of, you were spared from its harm.