Tag Archives: Jumuah

The first ‘Amaanah’…

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In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful. 

As a young father, I recall the feeling of maturity and a sense of responsibility at the birth of our 2 kids. It’s a scary yet amazing emotion I experienced when I held my son for the first time almost 4 years ago. The emotion was even more intense and brought me to tears at the birth of our daughter earlier this year. The father-daughter relationship is probably the best understanding of the concept of ‘Amaanah’. 

I was reminded at Jumuah this week of another Amaanah… One that we often take for granted and can so easily forget. A man’s first Amaanah… He’s wife! 

As the Imam spoke out against violence against women, he emphasized the fact that when we marry our wives, they too are a trust from their parents and indeed from the Almighty. 

Marriage moves quickly from the honeymoon period into the daily grind and though children often remind you of a trust we have with the Almighty, it’s not fair to simply overlook our first Amaanah. 

It’s only when you realize the importance of the relationship with your wife can you truly appreciate the value of her as the mother of your children and the means through which Allah has entrusted you with so much more. 

Something very often neglected. A reminder to myself before anyone. Our wives were and remain entrusted to us… This is something we need to remember! 

I pray that our wives too, are the coolness of our eyes.

Filling empty containers…

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In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

Today’s Jumuah sermon was a continuation of Dr Mohamad Abdalla’s lecture on the importance of time management. The entire lecture series has been absolutely inspiring and has captivated the Jumuah audience over the last 4 weeks. 

The issue of Time Management is something I am passionate about and I was blown away by the 1st lecture in the series a few weeks ago. Since then, the audience has grown in number with many attending Jumuah at Kuraby just to hear Dr Abdalla speak. 

In his talk today, Dr Abdalla mentioned a letter of advice from Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi to his son on the issue of Time. The story caught my attention so I noted a few details and looked it up this evening. This is what it read:

“Know, dear son,
that days are but hours,
and hours are but breaths,
and every soul is a container,
hence let not any breath pass without any benefit,
such as on the Day of Judgment you find an empty container and feel regret!
Be aware of every hour and how it passes,
and only spend it in the best possible way;
do not neglect yourself,
but render it accustomed to the noblest and best of actions,
and send to your grave that which will please you when you arrive to it.”

As a Muslim, I’ve heard this advice many times before but I found this particular line very intriguing… “let not any breath pass without any benefit, such as on the Day of Judgement you find an empty container and feel regret”. The idea of an ’empty’ container got me thinking. 

We place so much emphasis on either doing whats right or whats wrong that we forget about the time we’re not doing anything at all. How many containers do we leave empty each day? 

Perhaps by focussing solely on the good and the bad, we overlook the amount of time we waste each day. The fact that with each hour, we have the choice of filling these containers with good deeds, bad deeds or no deeds at all really puts things in to perspective.  Despite all the good we try to accomplish with every hour, I don’t like the idea of having too many empty containers. 

What are we doing with our spare time? 

Friday morning…

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In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

As I took out the trash this morning I was reminded of a little story … The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was seen by one of his companions while taking out the trash.  His companion was alarmed and said to the Prophet: Oh Messenger of God, you are taking out the trash!  The Prophet replied: who should I have take out the trash, the mother of the believers?

Following the Sunnah is really not that difficult… Blessed Jumuah!

Etiquette of the day of Jumuah: A short reminder…

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In the Name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

Ali Ibn Abu Taalib (RA) narrated:  When Friday comes, the devils go to the markets with their flags, and involve people in their needs and prevent them from the Friday prayer. The angels come early in the morning, sit at the door of the mosque, and record that so-and-so came at the first hour, and so-and-so came at the second hour until the imam comes out (for preaching). When a man sits in a place where he can listen (to the sermon) and look (at the imam), where he remains silent and does not interrupt, he will receive a double reward. If he stays away, sits in a place where he cannot listen (to the sermon), silent, and does not interrupt, he will receive the reward only once. If he sits in a place where he can listen (to the sermon) and look (at the imam), and he does not remain silent, he will have the burden of it. If anyone says to his companion sitting besides him to be silent (while the imam is preaching), he is guilty of idle talk. Anyone who interrupts (during the sermon) will receive nothing (no reward) on that Friday.

Blessed Jumuah…

Etiquette of the day of Jummah: A few reminders…

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In the Name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

“O believers, when the call is proclaimed for the prayer on Friday, come to the remembrance of Allah and leave off business, that is better for you if you but did know.” [Al-Jumuah, 62:9]

Etiquette of the day of Jumuah:

  • Purifying and cleaning oneself
  • Dressing well for Salat-al-Jumuah
  • Reciting Surah al-Kahf
  • Going early to the Masjid
  • Going to the Masjid in a state of calmness and not being hurried.
  • Walking to the Masjid whenever feasible as there is a reward for every step taken to the Masjid.
  • Avoiding stepping over people to get to a particular spot in the Masjid.
  • Avoiding dividing two people who are sitting together.
  • Performing tahiyyat al-Masjid (The prayer of greeting the Musjid)
  • Sitting in the front rows and close to the Imam whenever possible.
  • Reciting Durood upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W)
  • Remaining quiet while the Imam is delivering the Khutbah. This actually includes listening to the Imam and not playing with anything while the Imam is speaking.
…and remember… “The deeds most loved by Allah are those done regularly, even if they are small.”
Jumuah Mubarak!