• 
  Why a Jew can grow his beard in order to practice his faith, b ut when Muslim does the same, he is an extremist and terrorist?
  
• 
  Why a nun can be covered from head to toe in order to devote herself to God, but when a muslim women does the same she is oppressed?
  
• 
  Any girl can go to university wearing what she wills and have her rights and freedom. But when muslim girl wears a Hijab, they prevent her from entering her university?
  
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  When a Christian or a Jew kills someone, religion is not mentioned. But when Muslim is charged with a crime, it is Islam and Muhammad that goes to trial!
  
• 
  When someone sacrfices himself to keep others alive, he is noble and all respect him. But when a Muslim does that in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinian  and Kashmir to save his son from being killed, his brother's arm being broken, his mother being raped, his home being destroyed, and his mosque being violated -- He gets the title of a terrorist! Why? Because he is a Muslim!
  

Salaat is a practice that takes a person closer to his soul. When a person is acquainted with the knowledge of his soul it becomes clear to him that it is Allah Himself who is guiding him. Just think what our life would be like if Allah Himself was guiding us and just how close we would be to Allah. Truly, with this course of conduct our every movement would become based upon Allah's movement. If we contemplate on the psychological depths of this course of conduct we find that whenever we do a good deed for Allah's sake, we find great satisfaction and happiness in it. That happiness penetrates deep within and illuminates every part of the soul. With that joy the soul becomes so light that it forgets about its physical body.


If we look into the lives of saints we realise that they spent their lives in the same way as an ordinary person spends his life. The only difference is that they were acquainted with the pleasures of a good course of conduct whereas we are not. How is it not possible for every descendant of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to achieve what was possible for the saints? Certainly it is possible for us all but we are careless and ignorant.


The saints, after acquainting themselves with this pleasure and with the blessings of real Salaat managed to gather people to perform congregational Salaat . The congregational Salaat of those few people managed to change the condition and structure of the whole world. But when Muslims stopped performing Salaat in the way it should be performed and turned this sacred alchemic worship into a ritual, as a punishment nature took all kinds of leadership and authority away from us. There was no warmth left in our hearts. We became deprived of softness, passion, humility, modesty, tolerance, knowledge, intellect, understanding and a healthy mind.


// This is an excerpt from the Book "Roohani Nimaaz" written By Alsheikh Khwaja Shamsud Din Azeemi.

If you are interested in finding the Yearly Salat (Namaz) times of Pakistan's Cities or their Qibla direction, simply click here.

P.S.: All salat times are calculated according to Fiqh Hanfi and are verified against the US Naval Observatory's data.

On the Hijri calendar of 545 at the month of Ramadhan, while Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani was at his mature age of 75, he gave a series of discourses which are compiled in the book, Al-Fath ar-Rabbani (The Sublime Revelation), translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Following are some selection from the discoure of Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani:

The knower ('arif) is one who at every moment comes closer to Allah than he was the moment before. At every moment his humility toward his Lord is renewed as is his submissiveness toward Him. He humbles himself to One who is present, not absent. His humility increases in proportion to his nearness to his Lord and his bewilderment increases in proportion to his witnessing (mushahada).

Where is your obedient service to the Lord of Truth, if you do not behave properly? If you do not do so, you will be evicted from the house in disgrace but if you are well behaved and compliant, you will be kept there and be treated with honor. The lover (muhibb) of Allah is a guest in His presence, and the guest does not pick and choose his food, his drink, his clothing and all his circumstances ahead of the people of the household. Instead he is always accommodating, patient and easily pleased, so he is sure to be told: "You are welcome to what you see and find here!"

Whenever one puts what one learns into practice, Allah endows him with knowledge of what he did not know. He makes the heart stand upright on its feet and sincerity (ikhlas) moves his step toward the Lord of Truth. If you are practising but you notice that your heart is not close to the Lord of Truth and you do not experience the sweetness of worship and intimate friendship (uns) you should realize that you are not practising correctly and that you are hindered by the defects in your practice. What are those defects? Pretense (riya), hypocrisy (nifaqa) and pride (ujb). O practitioner, you must have sincerity, otherwise do not bother. You must be attentively aware of the Lord of Truth in private and in public. Attentive awareness (muraqaba) in public is for hypocrites, and in private and in public alike for those who are sincere.

To command what is right and proper and forbid what is wrong and improper (al-amru bil ma'ruf wan-nahyu 'anil munkar) is dearer to me than a thousand hermits in their cells.

Take the shovel and the palm-leaf basket and sit at the entrance to the place of work, so that when you are called you will be close to the Employer. Do not sit on your mattress, under your blanket and behind locked doors, then expect to find work and employment. Keep your heart close to remembrance (dhikir) and remind it of the Day of Resurrection. Reflect on those crumbling tombs. Reflect on how the Lord of Truth will assemble all creatures and resurrect them in His presence. If you persist in this reflection, your heart will lose its hardness and be purified of its murky confusion. If the building rests on a good foundation it will be firm and stable, but if it has no foundation its collapse will come quickly. If you construct your state (hal) on the rules (ahkam) of the outer law (hukm zahir), no creature will be able to demolish it, but if you do not construct it on this basis, no state will be firmly established for you, you will not attain to any station (maqam), and the hearts of the champions of truth (siddiqun) will always despise you and prefer not to see you."

There is nothing to be said until your heart and your mind and your face turn away from creatures and toward the Creator, so that your back is toward creatures and your face toward the Lord of Truth. Your outer being and your physical form must go toward creatures, and your inner being, your kernel (lubb) and your spiritual content (ma'na) toward the Creator. Then your heart will come to be like the hearts of the angels and the Prophets (nabiyyun).

O you who lay claim to knowledge, do not take from the hand of your lower self (nafs), your natural impulses (tab') and your devil (syaitan). Do not take from the hand of your present existence (wujud). Do not take from the hand of your pretense (riya') and your hypocrisy (nifaq). Your pious abstinence (zuhud) is on the outside (zahir), while your appetite is on the inside (batin). This is a futile abstinence, for which you will be punished. You are trying to cheat the Lord of Truth, but He knows what is in your private and public lives, and what is in your heart. In His presence there is no distinction between private and public, and there is no concealment.

When the human being is sound, there is none so sound as he. When he is pure, there is none so pure as he. When he is near to his Lord, there is none so near as he .. He has nothing left apart from the Lord of Truth, so at this point he says, "He is the First and the Last, the Outer and the Inner" (Qur'an 57:3). The Lord of Truth becomes his outer and his inner, his first and his last, his form and his content. He has nothing but Him, so now he establishes his love permanently with Him in this world and the hereafter.

 

// Credits: Inspirations and Creative Thoughts

Read carefully the last sermon of our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) and answer the following questions:

1. Why are Muslims backward in every field of life ?
2. Is extremism or terrorism allowed in Islam?
3. Is sectarianism allowed in Islam ?
4. Why are there so many sects in Islam ? Is there any justification for sectarianism ?
5. How can Muslim Ummah revive itself ?

I will be waiting for your answers to these questions in the comment section of this post. I will appreciate if you make this last sermon of our holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) the basis of your answer. To make easy referencing to the contents of the last sermon, I have divided it into 14 points.

After praising, and thanking Allah Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) said:
"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.”

1. O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust.
2. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.
3. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.
4. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds.
5. ALLAH has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived...
6. Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
7. O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.
8. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
9. O People, listen to me in earnest, worship ALLAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.
10. All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.
11. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
12. Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
13. O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.
14. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

Kudos to Brasstacks for producing such an important and thought provoking talk show on role of spiritual forces in geo - politics. Watch both the parts to appreciate the role of spiritual forces and how these were used in the past.

PART 1:



PART 2:



MP3 of these two parts can be downloaded here and here.

// Image Credits: Muskurahat.com

Click the image to enlarge it.

// Poet: Anonymous

After performing ablution one should sit down in a comfortable position facing the Holy Kaba. After this, one should recite the Durood Shareef “Sallalahu Taalaa Alaa Habeebihee Muhammadan Wassallim” three times, followed by reciting Astaghfar "Astaghfirullahi Rabbee Min Kulli Zambin Wa Atoobu Alaihi" three times.

After this, one should close the eyes, whether it is for a minute, three minutes or five minutes, any length of time is fine depending on how much time one has. With the eyes closed one should imagine that Allah is watching me. After this, one should stand up and offer his intention to pray. Care should be taken to ensure that the feet are parallel to each other at a distance of approximately six inches apart when standing in Salaat . In all the actions of Salaat the backbone should be kept straight while the head should be kept a little bent down. The eye should be kept focussed on the position of prostration. The feet should be kept still and not moving.

When reciting “Subhana Kallahumma”, Sūrah Fātiha and other verses from the Qur’ān that follow, the words should be pronounced clearly and separately. Listen to the words being recited and notice that each word is being separately recited.

A better and more appropriate method is to memorise the meanings of these Sūrahs. Pay attention to the meanings when reciting the Sūrahs that have been memorised in Arabic. One who is attentive towards the meanings of the Qur’ān becomes unaware of his surroundings when performing Salaat and achieves concentration in Salaat . This is the concentration that has been called ‘Qiyām Salāt’ or a connection with Allah.

// This excerpt is taken from the Book "Roohani Namaz" of Spiritual Scholar, Alsheikh Khwaja Shamsud Din Azeemi.

Arabic transcription of Astaghfar and Darood Sharif is given below to facilitate the readers:

Listen Complete Holy Quran With Urdu Translation in MP3 Format on your mobile.

Recitation: Qari Wahid Zafar Qasmi

Translation By: Maulana Fateh Muhammad Jalundhri

Voice: Shamshad Ali Khan

Click here to download Holy Quran and its translation in MP3 format.

You can also download complete Holy Quran recitation in AMR Format.

Recited By: Sheikh Meshary Bin Rashid Al-Afasy

Click here to download Holy Quran in AMR format.

Tip: Right click the file and select "Save Target As". A dialogue box will appear select the desired location and click “Save”.

Have you searched the cyber world to get the Quran in Usmani font for your mobile device and are feeling disappointed because of available choices, Look no further. You have come to the right place.

I am a big fan of Usmani font. Its very easy to read Quran in this font. A screen shot of the Quran is given to the left, so that you can have a taste of application before downloading.

The download is free. Click here to download the complete Holy Quran in Arabic for Java-enabled phones. This application does not require Arabic support. 

I have tried to search the developer of this java application but could not able to find.

 

// Note: Kindly pray for the developer of this application and me.

Second facet of Islam is Iman (faith). Generally, translators translate Iman as faith or belief. This translation is incomplete and leave out its important connotation. Iman is derived from root which means to be secure, safe, and tranquil. Hence literal sense of Iman is to render secure, safe, calm and free from fear. This imply that by faith in Allah, one becomes secure from error and rooted in truth. Actually Iman is a step in the direction of certainty.

Notice in the quoted hadith, our beloved Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) repeated the word faith in definition itself. It means that here meaning of faith is not an issue, but rather objects of faith. Philosophers, proponents of Kalam and Sufis explore this aspect of Deen (Islam), but this is outside the scope of Jurist. A Philosopher explores this field with the help of pure reason (aql) without prophetic intervention. On the other hand, specialist of Kalam gives primacy to revelation, although he interpret it in rational terms. Whereas a Sufi agrees with specialist of Kalam that revelation has to play the primary role but unlike specialist of Kalam he stresses that to gain the full understanding of revealed texts a direct knowledge from Allah is necessary. This direct knowledge is given various names, like kashaf (unveiling), shuhud (witnessing), baseera (insight) etc.

The third facet of Deen (Islam) is Ihsan (virtue). Ihsan is derived from the root which means beautiful and good. Thus Ihsan means to accomplish what is beautiful and good, to do something perfectly and to gain perfect and virtuous qualities.

State of Ihsan can be achieved by following the Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) advice, “worship (or serving) Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don't see Him, He, verily, sees you.”

Ihsan brings depth and inner attitude that accompany activity and thought. This is the area which belongs to Sufi exclusively. Although, Philosopher, and specialist in Kalam have explored this aspect of Deen, but strictly speaking this field does not belong to their area of expertise.

Our task as follower of our beloved Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is to deepen our understanding and practice of Deen (Islam) gradually. The more deeper will be the depth, more nearer we will get to Allah, until we reach the state of Ihsan. But if we have not given due importance to the last two facets of our Deen (Islam), we will be left with meaningless activity and verbal definitions.

Umar ibn al-Khattab reported,: One day we were sitting in the company of Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). He knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), inform me about Islam (submission). The Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him)said: Islam implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you establish obligatory prayers, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Prophets, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about Ihsan (virtue). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don't see Him, He, verily, sees you. [Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 0001]

This saying of our beloved Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) clearly shows that there are three facets of our Deen (Islam); Islam, Iman and Ihsan.

Islam means we should submit to the will of Allah by doing what Allah has ordered for doing and restrain our selves from acts which Allah has forbidden. Islam is concerned with outward bodily activities like voicing the Shahada, offering obligatory prayers, giving Zakat, etc. Jurists (Faqeeh) study this aspect of Islam and are expert in it. If one want to know how to do ablution, or draw a will, he asks a Jurist.

Iman and Ihsan will be discussed in part 2 of this post.