|
THE BEST ALMS
(CONTINUATION)
AL-EITHAAR
(GIVING PREFERENCE TO OTHERS)
The third kind of
Sadaqah that is also considered as the best and superior in the
sight of Allah (SWT) is the one, which, a believer gives despite his own
financial troubles to those who are more needy.
This act is known as
Al-Eithaar
in the Holy
Quran and it has been highly praised.
Read More |
|
THE BEST ALMS:
In traditions, there
are certain Alms, which have been regarded as the best and
superior in the sight of Allah (SWT). Some of them are as follows:
Unconditional
Sadaqah:
The Holy Prophet (saww)
was once asked,
“Which type of Sadaqah
is the best?”
He (saww) replied,
“That
Sadaqah which you give whilst you are still healthy, (by nature)
tight-fisted (possessive over wealth), hoping to remain alive (forever)
and you fear poverty.”
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
Read More |
|
Praising
the people who are Muttaqeen (those who are God wary) Allah (SWT)
says in the Holy Quran:
“And there was a share in their wealth for the beggar and the deprived”.
(51:19)
BENEFITS OF AL-SADAQAH (CONTINUATION)
The first
benefit of al-Sadaqah as already discussed (refer FLZ issue of
19th Shawwal) is that it serves as atonement for our
sins. Other benefits are:
Al-Sadaqah is one of those good acts
that is personally received by Allah (SWT).
Allah (SWT)
says:
“Do they not know that Allah is He Who accepts repentance from His
servants and takes the alms…”
(9:104)
Read More |
|
There are
many advantages of giving al-Sadaqah. By giving it, one does not
loose his wealth thereby causing miseries for one, on the contrary one
stands to gain from it in this world and in the Hereafter.
Let us
look at some of the many benefits of al-Sadaqah.
BENEFITS OF AL-SADAQAH
Al-Sadaqah serves as atonement for our sins.
If we
want our sins to be forgiven, and that of our beloved ones who have
passed away from this world then in addition to Taw bah and
Istighfar (repenting and seeking forgiveness), we must also give
al-Sadaqah (alms to the poor).
Read More |
|
AL-SADAQAH
(ALMS) – Part One
Muhammad
Ibn ‘Ajlaan has reported that:
I was
in the company of Imam Ja’ffar al-Sadiq (a.s.) when a man from a distant
city arrived and greeted the gathering.
“How were your brothers when you took leave of them?”
The Imam
(a.s.) asked him.
The
man spoke well of them and praised them a great deal. The Imam (a.s.)
then asked,
“Do the rich visit the indigent when they fall ill?”
The man said that
they seldom did. The Imam (a.s.) then carried on and asked,
Read More |
|
ENJOINING GOOD & FORBIDDING EVIL
Once Prophet ‘Issa (a.s.) and his disciples passed through a city which
was destroyed by Allah (SWT). They saw the inhabitants of that city had
perished and their desiccated bones were scattered everywhere. Prophet
‘Issa (a.s.) said to his disciples:
“It appears that these people were punished collectively. If they had
died one after another then (those alive) would have buried their dead”.
The disciples said,
Read More |
|
PROSTRATING ON EARTH DURING SALAAT
According
to Shia’h school of thought, Sajdah ‘prostration during
prayers’ must be performed on Turbah ‘earth’. Ayatollah Seyyid
‘Ali al-Husayni al-Seestani states:
Sajdah should be performed on earth and on those things which are not
edible or worn, and on things which grow from earth (e.g. wood and
leaves of trees). It is not permissible to perform Sajdah on things
which are used as food or dress (e.g. wheat, barley and cotton etc), or
on things which are not considered to be parts of the earth (e.g. gold,
silver etc).
(Islamic
Laws, Ruling no.1085, Page 201)
NARRATIONS:
Abu
Sa’eed al-Khudri narrates:
Read More |
|
LYING
BRINGS SHAME
Once, the
king of Azerbaijan and ‘Iraq, Sultan Ya’qoob sent a request to the king
of Khorasan and Zablistan, Sultan Hussein Mirza to send him a book
called Kulliyyate Jame’.
Sultan
Hussein Mirza ordered his envoy Ameer Hussein Abirawi to collect the
book from his library and proceed to ‘Iraq to deliver it to Sultan
Ya’qoob. However, in haste, the envoy packed a different book called
Futoohaate Makki and departed from Khorasan.
Read More |
|
HUBB AD-DUNIYA (LOVE
FOR WORLDLINESS)
“Surely who do not rest their
hope on their meeting with Us and are pleased with this worldly life and
are content with it, and those who heed not Our signs.Their abode
(ultimate residence) is the fire (of Hell) because of what they earned”
(Yunus:7-8)
“And what is the life of this
world but goods (means) of deception”
(Alhadeed:20)
Read More |
|
“And
yield not to any mean swearer. Defamer, going out with slander”.
(Al-Qalam:10-11)
There
was once a wise man, who, after a very long time met his friend.While
they were both chatting, his friend said,
“Do you know so and so (name of a person) whom
you always considered as your best friend? Well, he has been speaking
ill about you to others”
Read More |
|
AN-NIYYAH (GOOD INTENTION)
“So set your face
uprightly to the (true) religion, in harmony with the nature Allah has
made for man”
(Rom:30)
This ayah clearly
commands us to set our all purposes and intentions straight for the
religion which is the right path of nature created by Allah for all men.
It is the path of ma’rifah
i.e. awareness of Allah. Hence all our actions have to be with intention
and purpose of the pleasure of Allah.
Read More |
|
JAMA’AH ( CONGREGATION –
TOGETHERNESS )
A story
is related of an old man who was lying on his death-bed expecting to die
soon.He had several sons, to whom he wanted to teach a lesson on the
benefit of unity and working together.
He
therefore once asked his sons each to bring one stick of wood from the
jungle.When all the sons brought the sticks, he asked them to tie them
all in a bunch with a string.Then he asked them to bend and break the
bunch but all efforts made together could not do so. He then asked them
to untie the bunch and then break every stick separately. When they
untied the bunch they could break the sticks very easily.
Read More |
|
MUHASABAT AN-NAFS
(SELF-ACCOUNTING)
In verse
no.2 of Sura Al-Quiyamah, Allah (SWT) says;
“Nay, I swear by the self-accusing
(reproaching/accounting) soul”.
One of
the stages of development of human soul (Rooh) as mentioned in this
verse is known as Lawwamah which
means the accuser / the critisizer.It makes him feel concious and aware
of an evil and wrongdoing and he resists in doing it. It makes him ask
for God’s grace and pardon.
Read More |
|
AN-NADHAFA (CLEANLINESS) -
Part 2
CLEANSING OF ARMPITS
Medical
science has proved that microbes (germs) grow in damp and dark places
where there is also good heat temperature.Human armpit meet these
conditions for the growth and multiplication of microbes.If the hair
growing therein is long , and the sunlight does not fall on it, besides
its washing also takes place after long intervals,the danger is
aggravated.The Holy Prophet (saw) has said;
Read More |
|
AN-NADHAFA (CLEANLINESS) -
Part 1
Islam
highly emphasises on cleanliness.If we refer to the Holy Qur’an and
prophetic narrations, we will find a lot of importance has been given to
cleanliness.
“Verily Allah loves those who repent and loves those who purify
themselves”
(2:222)
The holy
prophet (saw) has said:
Read More |
ADVANTAGES OF PARTICIPATING IN
JUMU’AH:
There
are many advantages of attending and participating in the prayer of
Jumu’ah.Some of them are as follows:
Responding to the command of Allah (SWT).
O you who believe, when the call to prayer is
made on the day of congregation (Friday), hasten to the remembrance of
Allah and leave off all business, this is better for you, if you know. (62:9)
Read More |
|
AL-JUMUA’H (FRIDAY)
O you who believe, when the call to prayer is
made on ‘ yawmil-jumua’h’ hasten to the remembrance of Allah and
leave off all business.That is better for you,if you know (62:9)
In Arabic
yawmil-jumua’h literally means the
day of congregation.This day (i.e Friday) is also known as:
Sayyidul-ayyaam the master of all
days.In Islam, just as Makkah is the most preferred city and Ramadhan is
the most blessed month, Friday is superior to the other six days of the
week.The Holy Prophet (saw) has said:
Read More |
|
Al-Salaat Amood Al-Deen
Sr Nahla Abbas
Have you ever wondered why some of you pray and feel you have no outcome
and do not feel anything? Salaah you find is just too boring or
spiritual-less.
Salaah is Amood Al dean (Pillar of our religion). Life will collapse
without communication between us and Allah SWT we have this salaah
without it our life will be shattered and lost. Salaat is the very first
foundation of our deen, if this is taken very lightly and is therefore
not accepted from us then our other actions (amaals) will not be
accepted such as charity and going to Hajj. We need to start with
communication with Allah Swt then we can go towards other things.
Read More |
|
Lying
The Holy Prophet
Muhammad (s.a.w.) said:
“Do
contemplate before speaking so that you may guard yourself from
(committing) errs.”
Qurar ul Hikam, p. 228
Imam Muhammad al
Baqir (a.s.) said:
“No one is
safe from sins unless the one controls his/her tongue.”
Bihar ul Anwar,
vol. 78, p. 178
Reads More |
|
Backbiting
It is
natural for us to look for mistakes and faults in others in order to
make ourselves feel better and powerful. Many people may not realize
that backbiting is a sin. It is related that the Prophet said:
“Backbiting means that you
say about your brother something which pains him.”
Before
speaking ill of others ask yourselves these two questions:
Read More |
|
Prayer
Prayer is one of the most important
acts in the Branches of Islam (Furooa-a-Deen). It is way to worship
Allah showing love and devotion to Him. It keeps the soul and mind free
from any pollution such as paganism. Prayer is also a cleansing agent
for our hearts and soul. It brings spiritual happiness and prevents our
souls from becoming depressed, dull, or sad. When making prayer a
habit, it discourages carelessness and helps to progress oneself in
life. If a person's prayer is accepted, then other acts of worship are
accepted. If a person thinks that prayer is unimportant and ordinary,
then he is like the person who does not pray. The word prayer in Arabic
is "salat" and in Urdu and Persian it is "namaz".
Read More |
|
The Branches of Religion
To be a sincere and good, practicing
Muslim in the way of Islam and Allah, you should know Fooroo-e-deen. To
consider yourself a lover and follower of Ahl-lul Bayt (a.s.), you
should test yourself and practice these ten Practices’ of Faith. They
are of the following:
Read More |
|
The Aim of Prayer
We do not expect any kind of help or
support from your rivals and clammier of divinity. Because of their
denial to accept the divinity of God Almighty, they can not be of any
help for the seekers and followers of the path of God. The path of God,
is the path followed by the prophets, is a source for accomplishing
truth, justice, brotherhood, and co-existence for the mankind; and
bestows exaltedness upon human beings, while condemning and negating all
sort of prejudices, oppressions and unequal treatments (or preferences)
shown towards a certain class or group.
Read More |
|
E'tikaf is a form of worship
E'tikaf is a form of worship. It is
formed by staying in a Mosque for a certain time. It is Ehtiyat that one
should stay with the intention to worship Allah by praying formal or
informal prayers although prayer is not a condition therein.
The time for this form of worship could
be anytime when one is allowed to fast. The best time is the month of
Ramadan, especially, the last ten days.
Read More |
|
Usurpation means that a person unjustly
seizes the property or right of another person. This is one of the major
sins and one who commits it will be subjected to severe chastisement on
the Day of Judgement.
2554.
* If a person does not allow the people to benefit from a mosque, a
school, a bridge and other places which have been constructed for the
use of the public, he usurps their right. Similar is the case of a
person who reserves a place in the mosque for himself and does not allow
any other person to use it. And also one who drives that person out from
that place commits a sin.
Read More |
Some rulings on Khums
by Ayatullah al Uzama Sayyid Ali al
Husaini al Seestani
Q:
A person buys a garment for an occasion. After wearing it, he puts it
away and a year passes without it being worn a second time. Is khums
obligatory on it? Likewise, (is khums obligatory) with respect to
jewelry temporarily used and then set aside for more than a year without
being used?
Read More |
by Ayatullah al Uzama Sayyid Ali al
Husaini al Seestani
Q1:
It often happens that I shake hands with someone while my hands are wet.
I do not know whether the one with whom I shook hands is a Muslim or an
unbeliever (kafir), who is not regarded as ritually pure (tahir). Is it
obligatory for me to ask him in order to make sure?
Read More |
|
Precaution (taqwa) has three facets:
1. Precaution by dependence on Allah
(SWT), which means leaving behind contradiction and going beyond any
shade of doubt, and this is the precaution exercised by the highest.
Read More |
|
The punishment for illegal sexual act
with a woman is hundred lashes. The penalty of illicit sexual
intercourse between a married woman and married man is stoning to death.
Hazrat Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (a.s.)
says:-
"There are three types of people with
whom Allah will not even speak on the day of Qiyamat. There is a
terrible punishment for them. One of these three group will that be of
the women who inspite of having husbands commit adultery with others."
Read More |