Renew your faith
Written by: SK.
Translated by Dr. Faheem Bukhatwa
30 / 12 / 1435 h
24 /10 / 2014 ac
Dear
Muslims, refresh and renew your faith. That is because; the level of faith
goes down; as one commits sins and disobediences, and the level of faith
increases (and goes up) as one does good deeds of obedience. And also
because the fact that faith is those three things: spoken words, and belief
and deeds. Words spoken with the tong, and believing in paradise and
physical deeds done by you. Faith increases and becomes stronger as you do
deeds of obedience, and decreases as you commit sin and deeds of
disobedience. Allah says: {It
is He Who sent down peace and calmness and reassurance into the hearts of
the believers that they might have more faith on top of their faith}
48:04. Yes, as the clouds of disobedience pile up over the heart; that;
causes the light of faith to be dimmed or obscured, just as the heavy cloud
in the sky can obscure or conceal the moon light from reaching earth. But as
soon as the clouds clear away, the light of the moon appears again to the
people on earth. It is exactly the same, when the clouds of sins and
disobediences clear away from the heart; then the light of faith appears
within those hearts. It is necessary dear faithful; it is necessary to take
care of your hearts. Faith in the heart must be refreshed or renewed or
strengthened every now and again. That is done by exposing the heart to
faith-strengthening material. Such as:
1.
reciting of Quran, and
2.
remembering the Most Gracious Allah, and
3.
saying prayers upon the prophet ppbu; and
4.
the frequently asking for forgiveness, and
5.
visiting graveyards; and
6.
visiting the sick; and
7.
the keeping up of morning and evening supplications (duas) or
Azkar;
8.
and donating or giving to or spending on the poor and destitute;
9.
and being kind to widows and orphans and the deprived.
Those
are the deeds which will strengthen faith within the heart. The heart, dear
Muslims; is the master of all organs. All other organs and senses are its
subjects and soldiers (or tools at its disposal). If the king (heart) was
good then so will be his soldiers and subjects. And if the king was bad then
so follow his soldiers and subjects. The messenger ppbu said: {there is a
part within the body; if it goes good then the entire body becomes good; and
if it goes evil then so does the whole body. That is the heart}. You
must take care of your heart, you must renew faith within your heart every
now and then; because faith grows stronger or weaker; and it gets refreshed
or it gets rusted and depleted.
Slaves
of Allah; hearts have hardened away; and sins have piled up over them; and
fear from Allah has lessened. Allah says: {Is
it not time for the hearts of those who believe to submit to the remembrance
of Allah, and to the truth which is revealed, that they have not become as
those who received the scripture in the past but the term was prolonged for
them and so their hearts were hardened, and many of them are sinners. }
57:16. Yes, is it not time for hearts to submit and revere in remembrance of
Allah? Is it not time for the hearts of those who believe in Allah as the
One and only; and believe in His messenger ppbu; is it not time for their
hearts to humble and submit to His Greatness and His Majesty? And is it not
time to comply with His command; and refrain and abstain from His
prohibitions; and is it not time to stop at His limits? Is it not time to do
so; before time passes and hearts become hardened; just as happened with
people of the scriptures before you?
I do
take oath in the name of Allah; the one and only; that lack of fear of Allah
is a bad or sour result of a hardened heart; and a darkened and desolate
heart. You would definitely see those of us; who could hear the Quran being
recited; but no tear appears in their eyes; and their hearts are not moved;
and their senses are not softened or relaxed; and their skin does not
tremble or shivers. Why is that?? It is because their hearts have hardened;
and because their hearts are barren and desolate; and because their hearts
are in darkness. Yes indeed; lack of fear of Allah is a sour consequence of
a hardened; darkened and desolate heart. Just as it is that God-fearing is a
good consequence of having faith in Allah. It is true that according to how
much faith you have in Allah; and how much love you have for Allah; and how
much knowledge you have about Allah; and how close you live to Allah; all
that will determine how much respect you have for Allah; and how much you
revere Him watching you. The more knowledge and understanding you have about
Allah; the more you shall fear and revere Him; and the more modest and timid
towards Him you would be. In fact; the level of God fearing and respect is
in accordance to the level of knowledge you have about Allah. Allah says: {The
learned (or scholarly or the knowledgeable) among His slaves fear Allah.}
35:28. The messenger ppbu said: {I amongst you who knows Allah the most;
and I amongst you who fear Him the most}. It is for that; the messenger
ppbu used to do his prayers with a hissing or humming sound in his heart
from the crying he used to do. That is despite the fact that he was the one
who was assured that his earlier and later sins were forgiven.
One
day the messenger ppbu was giving a talk about paradise and hellfire. He
said: {By the Almighty Allah; if you knew what I know, you would laugh a
little and cry a lot}. The companions covered their faces while crying
because of those few words had affected their sensitive hearts.
The
messenger ppbu once said: {How do I relax and have joy when the owner of
the great horn has grabbed his horn. (Referring to angel Israfeel who
will blow the horn terminating this worldly life). He said: How do I
relax and have joy when the owner of the great horn has grabbed his horn;
and got ready and paid attention by listening; and bent his forehead; ready
and waiting when he will be ordered to blow}. The companions found that
so tremendous, and they asked the messenger: what shall we say then? The
messenger ppbu said: {Say
ÍÓÈäÇ Çááå æäÚã Çáæßíá
In
Allah we trust, Allah suffice us, He is the best protector}
If we
look at how much our prophet ppbu feared his God, and he was the most
knowledgeable of Him, and it was he who revered Allah most; we would be
absolutely astonished. If we realize the huge difference between us and the
early Muslims then we would know how hardened our hearts have become. Omar
ebn Khattab; may Allah be pleased with him, used to fear Allah so much that
it tore his heart. As he was on his deathbed, Ebn 3abbas came to him and
said: “You should be happy with your life Omar, you were with the prophet
ppbu and you were a good companion, then he died while he was happy with
you. Then you were with Abu-Baker and you were a good companion, then he
died while happy with you. Then you ruled and you practiced justice. If you
die today all the messenger’s companions will be happy with you”. Omar then
turned to Abu-3abbas and said: “That is what Allah had given me out of His
grace. He who is vain and delusional is the one people make him so. By
Allah, I would just hope to leave this life just even; neither for me nor
against me. By Allah, if I have the earth’s fill of gold then I would be
happy to trade all today to avoid the punishment of Allah before I see Him”.
You, who have over-whelmed yourself with sins and disobediences, remember
what Omar said.
The
messenger ppbu once said to Muaad (ãÚÇÐ)
“O Muaad, by Allah, I do love you”. Imagine Muaad was loved by the
messenger ppbu, clearly stated; what do you expect Muaad to say at his
deathbed? Muaad got infected by the plague at the age of thirty three; he
laid in bed waiting to die on seemingly a long night. He asked: “is it
morning yet?” They say: no. he repeated that many; many times. He cried and
said: “O Allah, protect us from a night that its morning leads to hellfire”
Malik
Ebn Dinar was a famous Imam. He used to pray at night and hold his beard and
cries saying: “O God, you know who shall live in paradise and who shall live
in hellfire. Where is the destiny of Malik Ebn Dinar?”
Have
you dear Muslim, you slave of Allah? Have thought about your final destiny?
Where it shall be? Will it be paradise or hellfire?
All
thanks be to Allah; and I know that having faith in Him is not just a word
uttered by the tong. Faith is with which we shall be made winners,
dignified. Faith is what will save us and make us happy in this life and
next.
Faith
is words spoken and deeds done according to foundations of Islam. Faith
increases by deeds of obedience and decreases by deeds of disobedience.
Faith
has foundations; and they are: to believe in Allah, and His angels and His
books and His messengers and the day after, and to believe in fate both good
and bad.
Faith
has a sweet taste, have you tasted the sweetness of faith?
The
messenger ppbu said: {there are three characteristics; whoever possessed
them; then through them the person will find the sweet taste of faith. They
are:
1-
that Allah and His messenger are more loved to the person than anything or
anyone else.
2- is
to love another person for no reason whatsoever except for Allah’s sake,
3- for
a person is to hate to go back to being faithless (or Kufr) after being
saved by Allah, just as one would hate to be thrown into a fire}.
The
messenger ppbu said: {He/she who has accepted or is contented with Allah
as God, and with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad as a prophet and a
messenger, he will taste the flavour of faith }
Also
dear Muslims remember that faith has a light. The messenger ppbu said: {Each
and every heart has a cloud like the moon’s cloud which comes and goes with
it. While the moon shines, if a cloud obstructs it then it darkens, and if
the cloud clears off then it shines}. Meaning that the clouds of sin
would obstruct the light of faith in the heart, and when the cloud of sin is
pushed off with repentance and good deeds then the light of faith shines
within the heart.
I see
that sin kills the hearts and sin addiction will inherit humiliation.
Abstaining from sin gives life to hearts; and it is better for your sole to
be disobeyed when it entices you to sin.
Dear
Muslim, make an effort to renew faith in your heart, and remember the
messenger ppbu saying: {faith wears out within the heart of a person;
just as the clothes you wear; wears out}
The
wise one is that who knows the true values of the days he lives through in
this life. Life may be taken away at any moment. Upon death, one would hope
if he could come back to life to do one good deed. He is denied that hope.
Allah says: {As death comes to one of them he says: My Lord send me back
so I may do a good deed}. Notice as he says: I may do a good deed. He is
not even certain whether he would or not do a good deed. Despite that, the
answer comes to him: {No, it is just a word said by him. There behind
them is a barrier until the day they are resurrected}.
Dearly
beloved, make a promise to your Lord to repent and return to Him, a promise
to refrain from what is forbidden, give up sins and deeds of disobedience.
Make a pledge to give up dealing in (Reba) usury, and give up consuming or
taking the money of the orphans. Pledge to give up ill-treatment of parents,
give up being abusive and offensive towards Muslims. Promise your God now to
adhere to His commands and refrain from He cautioned or warned against, and
promise to limit yourself to his boundaries, and do your prayers on time. Do
all that in love for Allah, and in full satisfaction with Allah.
We ask
Allah to renew faith in our hearts and grant us the good ending.
Notes:
-
Adhan
- The call to prayer.
-
Ansar (or Al-Ansar):
The inhabitants of the city of Al-Medina that received and supported the
messenger (PPBU) when he immigrated from Mekkah in the very early years of
Islam.
Assalam Alaikum -
The Islamic greeting, literately means: Peace
be with you. Used when approaching or leaving. When used during approaching
it will be like saying: I bring no harm to you . and when said during
leaving somebody it will mean: No harm will come to you after I leave.
Aya (or Ayah):
is a verse of the Koran.
It also means a miracle or a sign from God.
Arafa (or Arafah or Arafat):
is a mountain
outside the city of Mecca
that represents the climax of the Hajj worship. All doing
Hajj must stay at this location on the same
day.
Badr
- The place of the first significant battle between the Muslims and the
pagans of the Quraish. It is located in Saudi Arabia.
Caliph
- A Muslim ruler. See:
(Khalifa)
Dajjal
- Antichrist or the False Massiah.
Dawah
- The proliferation of Islamic teachings through word and deed.
Deen (Din)
- Religion or way of life.
Duaa:
a prayer in the form of
talking to Allah;
praising him and asking him for help.
Fatwa
- Legal verdict given based on the Qur'an (Koran) and the Sunnah which are
the recorded sayings and deeds of Muhammad.
Ferdose:
is the highest level of
the all the gardens of Eden or paradise.
Fiqh
- Religious law.
Hadeeth:
is something reported
that the messenger have said. It includes all the speeches and ceremonies he gave.
It is usually narrated or told by one
of his companions. There is a list of hadeeths approximately 14000 that are
reported and checked to be genuine. No
more hadeeths are acceptably added to this list.
Hajar -
The Black Stone set into the corner of the
Ka'aba in Mecca. It is said to be a stone from Heaven.
Hajj -
The pilgrimage to Mecca which takes place in
the last month of the Islamic calendar. One of the five pillars of Islam.
Hasana or hasanas:
is the reward for a good deed. a hasana is a point or a merit for a good deed.
Hadith
- The sayings and not deeds of the prophet Muhammad recorded by his
followers. Considered authoritative and perfect.
Hajj: is
the worship of pilgrimage.
Hijra (or
Hejrah):
the event of the immigration of the messenger from Mekkah to Madina. This
event marks the start of the Islamic calendar. the Islamic calendar has 12
months based on the lunar cycle, each is 29.5 days. Hijra is also used as a
name for the Islamic dating system.
Ibadah -
Worship. All the words and deeds with which
Allah is pleased. These deeds could be prayer and charity.
Iblis - (Ibleese):
On of Satan's names.
Ibn (Ebn): the son of. Used
by Arabs as part of an individual's name. Example: Ali whose father is Omar
or the son of Omar, would be called: Ali Ibn
Omar.
Imam
(or Emam)- The leader for a prayer. In the Shiaa sect, an Imam is the individual who has the religious authority.
Iman:
belief or faith
Injil (Enjeel) -
The Bible. The book inspired to Jesus for the
Christians.
Islam
- Submission, the religion of all the
prophets of Allah culminating in Muhammad.
Jannah -
The heavenly garden, Paradise. The place of
the faithful in the afterlife.
Jihad:
is striving in the
line
of Allah in many forms. Includes a very wide scope varying from improving
oneself to fighting a defensive war in protection
of Allah's word. The greatest Jihad is the
fight one's self against temptations.
It also means "holy war."
Jinn
-
Supernatural, invisible beings race of
beings, below angels. They were made from fire. Like humans, there amongst
them are the faithful and the non beleivers and Jinn shall be judged on
Judgment Day.
Ka'aba:
A cube shaped building in
Mecca containing a stone laid there by Abraham and Ishmael. Some say
Ka'aba was first built by Adam, and some say by
Abraham. It is the holiest place for Muslims. It is where all Muslims face in their daily prayers.
Ka'aba also makes a major part of the pilgrimage
in a ritual known as Tawaf.
Khalifa:
is the Muslim ruler. Head of the Islamic empire. Exact translation:
"Successor".
Khutbah -
A sermon given in a Mosque, usually on Friday.
Kufr -
Denial or Disbelief. A term Muslims use for
anyone who denies existence of Allah or the prophecy of Muhammed.
Koran
- Also spelled Qur'an. The holy book
of Islam revealed to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel. Koran
literally means "the recital." It is the final revelation of Allah given to
the prophet Muhammad. It consists of 114 surahs (or chapters.)
Madinah - (Medinah): A city in the
Arabian
peninsula
(in the country known now as Saudi Arabia). A city where the messenger had to
immigrate to.
Then it was called Yathrib.
Masjid -
A
center for Muslim activity. It is referred to as a mosque.
Masiah -
A
sin, or a sinful act
Mecca or Makkah:
is
the holiest city for Muslims. It contains the Ka'aba mosque with the famous
black cubical shape. Mecca is the birth place of the messenger (PPBU).
Mosque - A Muslim
house of worship.
Muhajir -
(Muhajireen)
Immigrant, one who leaves his home town due to lack of religious freedom. It
was first used to describe early Muslims immigrating from Mecca to Median
and Ethiopia.
Muhammad -
the final messenger and
prophet of God whose message abrogated all previous revelations. He
received the Koran through the angel Gabriel over a 23 year period. Born in
Mecca and died in Medina at the age of 63. His full name: Muhammad
ibn Abd-Allah
Muslim
- One who holds faith to the religion of
Islam.
Nafilah:
a voluntary prayer other
than the five obligatory prayers; performed at any time.
Nasara -
Christians. Nasrani:
A Christian individual. Nasraniah:
Christianity.
Ommah:
is the Arabic word for a
nation. It usually refers to
the Islamic nation unless otherwise specified.
Paradise -
Another word for heaven. A
garden of bliss, fruits, rivers and all forms of pleasures imaginable and
imaginable. No suffering, disease or death. Service is provided by angels.
All live in it an ever lasting youthful life. Promised by Almighty
Allah to all faithful, true Jews, true Christians and True Muslims. Paradise
is one of two places every person will go to, either Paradise or Hellfire.
PPBU
(P.B.U.H.) :
Peace and Prayers Be
Upon him. A statement Muslims use any time they mention the name of the
messenger or make a reference to him.
Qadar -
Fate. Preordainment is the teaching that all
things, good and bad, are preordained to occur.
Qadr - (night of Qadr):
The night when the first
revelation of the Koran took place. Most likely it happened during one of the
last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Or when the Koran was brought down to
the nearest heaven in one go, and from there it was brought down in bits and
few verses at a time over a period of 23 years. This night is considered the
holiest night for Muslims with tremendous advantages.
Qibla -
The direction which Muslims turn for daily
prayers, towards Mecca.
Quraish -
An ancient Arab tribe to which the messenger
Muhammad belonged.
Ramadan -
The ninth month of the Islamic calendar which
is the month of the fast. The holiest month in the Muslim colander.
Salat -
Prayers. Generally it covers all forms of
worship, but more specifically refers to the Muslim rituals which is
performed to worship Allah five times daily.
Shiaa:
A sect of Islam that teaches that a religion
leader (Imam) should be the political ruler and must be direct descendants
of the messenger (PPBU). Therefore, disapproving of all Muslim leaders who
ruled After the messenger (PPBU) except Ali, the messenger's grandson.
Shirk -
Associating another god with Allah. Or associating anyone or anything with
Allah. Or using anyone or anything as a medium to Allah. The opposite of
Monotheism or Tawheed.
Siam or Soam-
Fasting
Sunni:
is a the title of those Muslims who are suppose to be following the life
style of the messenger. This differentiates them from the Shiaa of Iran.
Sunna (Sunnah):
Is how the Messenger PPBU lived, what he did or said. It includes the way he
dressed, ate, drank, prayed, interacted with other people and fought.
Basically, sunnah is the life style of the messenger PPBU. It is considered
the second source of legislation in Islamic laws and it is considered to be an
important reference to be used for concluding arguments and disputes.
It is also a title give to the main stream Muslims who make 90% if all
Muslims.
Surah -
A
chapter of the Koran.
Tawaf:
part of the pilgrimage (Hajj)
ritual. It involves walking round the Ka'aba Mosque in anti-clock wise
direction a number of seven circles.
Tauhid - Tawheed -
Monotheism, in Islam is the teaching that
there is only one God who alone is worthy of worship. The first requirement
of becoming a Muslim. It is included in the testimony of faith for new
Muslims when declaring that God is one: (No God but Allah)
Taqwah -
Proper fear and veneration of Allah. A divine spark that enables the person
to understand God.
Taurat: The old
Testaments and scriptures of Mosa.
Ummah -
the word means: a Nation. Usually refers to
the Islamic nation unless otherwise stated.
Umrah - (Amrah):
A mini hajj. A Minor form of pilgrimage to
Mecca. Unlike Hajj which can only be done on the 12th month of the Islamic
year, Umrah can be performed at any time.
Wathoo (wadoo): a washing up ritual
done by Muslims before each of the five daily prayers known as ablution.
Zaboor -
The
Psalms
Zakat -
The
third pillar of Islam. Alms giving, charity that is given to the poor.
