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I was inspired to write this earlier today when a friend of mine asked me for advice: “I just cannot stop listening to music…I want to, but it’s too hard!” This is something we’ve all probably said to ourselves, or listened to others say. Whether the issue at hand is music or something else, we have a hard time letting go of the things that we hold dear in our hearts. There is a burning fire in some of us that makes us want to let go and change, but we just can’t actually do it. Being in this situation a few times, I can say that it is not easy. When Islam was first delivered to the people of Arabia, it was an aberrant message. At that time, people used to practice a lot of things that today, we, as Muslims, consider Haraam. The people who received the message had a choice: to choose to live Islam or go on to live as they usually did. The people who wanted change and who wanted to do the right thing abandoned the actions they were told were wrong and struggled to change their lives for the best. Similarly, if you want to change something, you have to sincerely want to change it. You can’t claim that you want change and show no effort, no sign of improvement, and no progress toward your goal. No one will force you – the choice is all yours. As many of us know, the companions of the Prophet used to drink tons of alcohol before the divine revelation came down forbidding alcohol. Alcohol is one of those things which people develop an inveterate habit to and drink abundantly. It’s so hard to stop drinking once it’s a part of one’s life that nowadays, they have rehab centres and specialists to help people overcome their alcoholic addictions and problems. For the companions, when they were told that they weren’t allowed to drink alcohol and that it was forbidden, they instantly threw the alcohol out. If one had it in his mouth, he’d spit it out. If he was bringing the glass to his lips, he’d throw the glass down. Some even went as far as gagging themselves to induce vomiting to remove the alcohol they just drank. What caused these people that loved alcohol to do such a thing? How did they abruptly stop when they were commanded to do so? How did they instantly accomplish what takes people years of rehab to stop? Well, here’s the thing; it wasn’t truly “instant”. The first verses revealed to the Prophet in the early days were verses that talked about heaven and hell. They were verses that increased the Iman (faith) of the believers and struck fear into their hearts. They warned the believers about the consequences of not obeying their Creator. These verses rooted a connection between Allah and the believers. This was the connection that allowed them to overcome their obstacles and hardships. Whatever love they may have had for anything in this earth, it was nothing compared to their love for Allah. Whatever they may have feared in this world, their fear of Allah was even greater. When the companions heard that Allah told them to stop drinking, they stopped immediately because no matter how powerful their love for alcohol was, their hearts were overflowing with love for Allah. When the companions heard that Allah told them to stop drinking, they stopped immediately because no matter how powerful their love for alcohol was, their hearts were overflowing with love for Allah. After all of these years of working on their Iman, the companions’ hearts were ready and they were able to stop drinking once the command came down because of their connection with Allah. It wasn’t instant, but rather, an exceedingly long process. We ourselves need to strive as well to establish a true connection and relationship with Allah. We need to want to fill our hearts with love for Allah as it will benefit all of us, myself included, tremendously. When we want to let go of something and when we want to change, it should be out of our love for Allah that we abandon these things. If we aren’t able to do it for the sake of Allah, then we should at least fear Allah and His punishments so that our fear will overcome our love for these things. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether we want to stop listening to music, or if we want to start reading more Qur'an; rather, it lies in our connection with Allah that will empower us to attain any goal we strive to achieve. We should never forget to ask for Allah’s help for after all, He is the turner of hearts. In At-Tirmidhi, it is recorded that Shahr Bin Hawshab said, “I asked Umm Salamah what was the supplication that Messenger of Allah used to make the most when he was by her. She said: The supplication that He used to make the most was: يَا مُقَلِّبَ‏ الْقُلُوبِ‏ ثَبِّتْ‏ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ‏ Ya Muqallibal-Qulub, Thabbit Qalbi Ala Dinik “Oh turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.” 12 Issue 48 www.rabetah.org July / August 2013
(Part 1) By Ha d hrat Mau lan a Ab dur Rau f S ufi (D. B) We Will Be Accountable For Every Blessing Given By Allah It is a great blessing and grace of Allah - towards us that He has endowed us with the greatest gift of Imaan and has caused us to be born into Muslim families. Verily, Allah - increases His favours upon us when we give thanks for the favours which we have already received from Him. Allah - Himself proclaims in the Noble Qur’an: “If you express gratitude, I shall certainly give you more...” (Surah Ibrahim: Verse 7) We should obviously offer thanks to Allah - with our tongues orally, however, in reality being thankful is to utilise each blessing of Allah - for the purpose that it has been given to us. Our eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet and our brain are all great blessings and we should employ these according to how Allah - has commanded us. Similarly, money, wealth and possessions are also blessings of Allah -. Hence, we should consider them to be blessings and utilise them for permissible things. Our most honourable prophet has informed us to the nearest meaning, “On the day of Qiyaamah, a person will not be able to move both of his feet (from the place of reckoning) until five things have been questioned and their satisfactory answers are given: 1) How has one spent his life? 2) How has one spent his youth 3) Where was wealth earned from? 4) Where was it spent? and 5) How has one acted upon one’s knowledge?” (Fadhaa’il e Sadaqaat) Hence, Allah - will present everyone with these five questions. Two of these questions will be about wealth. How had one earned his wealth? By lawful means or unlawful means? Halal or Haraam? Where was this wealth spent? Upon lawful things or unlawful things? There can be millions of different things which we could do with some money; but if a person does not have money at all then how could he ever spend or distribute it anywhere? This can only become possible by attaining the pleasure of Allah .Therefore, we must focus on the fact that money can also become the means of attaining the happiness and pleasure of Allah ; and for this reason, we must pay attention to our daily dealings such as how we are earning our money and how we are spending it. Thus, for us, there is restriction with regards to earning wealth and also restriction with regards to spending wealth. This wealth of ours is a trust given to us by Allah - and He will surely ask us to give an account of this trust. It is not considered to be our own. If it was our own then we would be able to spend it as we please. The point is that we should spend our wealth where Allah - has permitted and commanded us to spend it and not spend it where permission has not been granted or where He has said it is unlawful and Haraam to do so. We will be accountable for every penny or portion of our wealth. Spending it accordingly will render it into an act of worship). It should not be done for fame or ostentation and in fact, the pleasure of Allah - should be aimed for at all times. Wealth and Possessions Are Also Blessings from Allah Amongst the countless blessings which Allah - has blessed us with, there exists one great blessing of wealth and possessions. Our elders have concluded that saving money is not generally a bad thing and is permissible. If it had been deemed to be unlawful and bad to save money then the rules (Masa'il) regarding Zakaah would not have existed. These rules pertaining to Zakaah are actually for those who have had wealth in their possession for one whole year. If gold, silver, cash, stock etcetera stays in one’s possession for a year then Zakaah will become compulsory (Fardh) upon that person. Therefore, from this it can be deduced that it is not Haraam but is in fact permissible to keep wealth. Furthermore, if it has been earned in the correct manner and has been spent in the correct manner then this will render it into an act of worship. Such a person will gain the same reward as that earned through other forms of worship because the commands of Allah - are fulfilled. Similarly, earning an income will not be classed as worldly in this case. It will only be considered to be worldly if a person is not mindful of Allah - and wealth is earned in such a manner that the commands of Allah - are not adhered to. May Allah - enable us all to earn and spend in a manner which He has commanded us to do so and help us to earn His pleasure in every possible way. Aameen To read more discourses of Hadhrat visit: www.maseehulummat.com ADVERTISE in AL-ISLAH MAGAZINE Advertisement Price List Size BC: Business Card £25 Size A6: 1/4 Page £50 Size A5: 1/2 Page £100 Size A4: 1/4 Full Page Inside £195 Size A4: 1/4 Full Back Cover £225 Call: 07828106251 / 07886922388 Email: al.islah@hotmail.com Issue 48 www.rabetah.org July / August 2013 13
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Page 4 and 5: TO MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT By Maulana
Page 6 and 7: Ramadhaan Ramadhaan is a period of
Page 8 and 9: The Difference Between HADITH & SUN
Page 10 and 11: Answered by Rabetah Iftaa Panel Que
Page 14 and 15: ‏ًء By Apa binte Gulam My dear
Page 16 and 17: Special Discourse on the Insight to
Page 18: The Story of the Revelation of the
Page 22: Any time is BBQ time, with .com We

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