Tag Archives: Islam

The jar of life…

Posted on by

In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful

I came across a story which I later found was documented in Stephen Convey’s book, First Things First.  In the story, a lecturer conducts an experiment using a glass jar, rocks, pebbles, sand and water. He begins to fill the jar with rocks until no more rocks would fit. The audience was convinced that the jar was now full. He then added a few pebbles to the jar which filled the gaps between the rocks. This time the audience agreed that the jar was probably not yet full. He then added some sand to the jar which filled the gaps between the rocks and the pebbles. When the audience agreed that the jar was still not full, he poured water into the jar which filled the gaps between the rocks, the pebbles and the sand. The audience was convinced that the jar was now full. Finally, the lecture explained that if we don’t put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them in later.

If you think of the jar as your life, what are the rocks in your life? Family? Love? Friends? Religion? What we must remember is that it is most important to include the lager stones in our lives, because if we don’t do so, we are likely to miss out on life altogether.  If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us.

The rocks in our lives should be our family & our faith. Pray and seek spiritual guidance, spend time with your family, take your wife out, play with your kids and make time for yourself. There will always be time to go to work and do your chores.

Sometimes the less important things in life can distract us, filling up our time and keeping us away from what really matters. If we get our priorities in order, we can fit everything in…

May Allah grant us the ability to identify the rocks in our lives and grant us Barakah in our time… Ameen.

Thank your parents through prayer…

Posted on by

In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful.

“Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or more attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say, “my Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy, even as they cherished me in childhood.” (Quran 17: 23,24)

We often take for granted the people closest to us and neglect to acknowledge some of the greatest bounties Allah has bestowed upon us. We live in a world where love and respect for one’s parents is frowned upon and laughed at. Society has stripped us of  our basic instincts… to love and respect those dearest to us.

Islam promotes and encourages love and respect towards parents and the Quran itself makes reference to parents no less than 15 times. When asked about the signs of the last day, the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) mentioned two prophecies regarding the treatment of parents:

  1. When the offspring become a cause of grief and anger (for their parents).
  2. When a man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his friend kindly while shunning his father (at-Tirmidhi)

We can all relate to these predictions and while we probably aren’t able to prevent them, the least we can do is change the way we treat our loved ones. The Quran and Sunnah have explained the status of parents in Islam and the importance of love and respect towards them. Some of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), about our responsibilities towards parents include:

  • “Paradise lies under the feet of the mother.”
  • “God’s pleasure is in the pleasure of the father, and God’s displeasure is in the displeasure of the father.”
  • “He who wishes to enter Paradise through its best door must please his parents.”
  • “It is a pity that some people may not attain Paradise, on account of not serving their old parents.”
  • “If a person looks with love at his parents, God writes in his favor the reward equal to the performance of one Hajj.”

Remember these teachings when dealing with your parents and reflect on the sacrifices they have made for you. Acknowledge them, respect them, show gratitude towards them and pray for them.

رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِمَنْ دَخَلَ بَيْتِي مُؤْمِنًا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَلاَ تَزِدْ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلاَّ تَبَارًا

Rabbighfir lii wali-waalidayya walilmum-iniina yauma yaquumul hisaab, Rabbirhamhumaa kamaa rabbayaani shag-hiiraa

O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they have nourished me when I was young.

Let us pray to Allah that He guide us to be respectful, kind, and obedient to our parents, and that we continue to show them humility regardless of the power, position, wealth, and influence we may possess. Let us also pray that we be patient, kind, thoughtful, and friendly with our children, as we guide them through their lives, and that we discharge our responsibilities towards them as required by our religion, so that Allah may be pleased with us, and may He Bless us and reward us, both in this world and in the Hereafter- Ameen.

If those who burnt or threatened to burn the Quran had read the Quran, what would they have found???

Posted on by

Despite the cancellation of Pastor Terry Jones’s “Burn a Quran Day”, there were many copycat incidents reported throughout the world. Shameful as it is, I am convinced that the publicity the Quran and Muslims have received since the incident, though negative, will benefit the religion in many ways – Allah works in mysterious ways.

Anyone who was previously oblivious to Islam and the Quran was suddenly bombarded by the media with all things Muslim and despite the current “Islamophobic” environment; the beauty and truth of Islam will always reach those whom are destined to receive it.

The 9/11-Eid Coincidence also played its part in creating awareness about the month of Ramadhan and the celebration of Eid by Muslims around the world. This year, everyone knew when Ramadhan began and ended, people learnt about the role of the lunar calendar in Islam and everyone became aware of the requirements and rules of fasting. The fact that I received more Ramadhan and Eid messages from (non-Muslim) colleagues and clients this year could not have been a mere coincidence. This awareness alone is enough to bring people to Islam and I think we should capitalise on these situations.

I remember seeing a number of blogs and Facebook groups declaring “Read a Quran Day” instead of “Burn a Quran Day” and it got me thinking, what would they find if they actually read the Quran?

They would find that the 19th chapter of the Quran is named after Jesus’ mother, Mary. They would read that the Quran has high regard for the Virgin Mary:”And [we have propounded yet another parable of God-consciousness in the story of] Mary, the daughter of Imraan…” (66:12)

They would find 73 passages in the Quran detailing the story of Moses and they would read that the Quran says that God bestowed His grace upon Moses and Aaron (37:114), that he was “specially chosen” by God (19:51) and that God bestowed on Moses “wisdom and knowledge” (28:14) as a reward for doing good. In addition, the Book of Moses in the Jewish Bible is described by the Quran as a “Light and Guide” (6:91).

In the Quran they would find a passage that states “Verily, those who have attained to faith, as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians — all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds — shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have and neither shall they grieve. (2:62)

Our faiths have so much in common, we need to use these common beliefs to bring people together and put an end to the media’s misinformation of Islam and Muslims. Though it may seem like it at times, the broader community is not out there to put Islam down; they are simply acting and reacting to what they are being fed through the media. It’s up to us to exercise discretion, tolerance and patience to allow the beauty and truth of Islam to be exposed. Sometimes the only thing stopping people from coming to Islam… are Muslims.

Prophecies by the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and the world today…

Posted on by

Assalaamu Alaikum Wr. Br.

I came across a few interesting articles and notes relating to some of the prophecies of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) that Muslims today should ponder upon and take heed from. Here are some of them:

  • The barefooted bedouins competing in building tall buildings.
  • Mosques would resemble palaces.
  • Disappearance of trustworthiness.
  • The increase in killing/murder.
  • The increase of the use of riba (usury/interest).
  • The increase of literacy.
  • The decrease of religious knowledge due to the disappearance of scholars.
  • The increase of musical instruments, and the Muslims making it lawful even though the Prophet has forbidden them.
  • The increase of sexual promiscuity, and new diseases that people had not herd of before spreading amongst them as a consequence of that.
  • Appearance of Dajjals (liars), each claiming to be a Messenger of Allah, while Muhammad is the last messenger.
  • Nakedness of women while still being dressed.
  • The consumption of alcohol becoming common, and the Muslims making it lawful by calling it another name.
  • Shouting in the mosques.
  • The worst and most ignorant will become leaders and they will be oppressors.
  • A man will obey his wife and disobey his mother, and treat his friends kindly and shun his father.
  • Men will wear silk and gold, and the making of it lawful by the Muslims even though the Prophet had forbidden it for the men of his ‘Ummah.
  • People will abandon the religion for a small worldly gain, and keeping to the religion will be like holding two hot coals.

Sound familiar? These are some of the prophecies made by the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) over 1400 years ago. These were warnings for people of faith and understanding. If you’re too busy to notice these signs or too occupied to learn from them then ask yourself…  What else has History prophesied for us?