Ramadhan desserts ( part 29)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 29)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهر

G) tafakkur and tadabbur

And this type of zikrullah is being described in the second part of the same verse وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

'reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth'

As mentioned earlier by reflecting & pondering on the creation of the heavens and the earth, we will understand His greatness and perfection and thus knowing our own weaknesses and limitations, making us more humble and obedient to Him.

These are just some of the main parts of zikrullah. 

Then Allah swt mentioned that these men then recite the doa as follows رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

 Our Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee; save us then from the chastisement of the fire

And this is the doa when we see the full Moon or anything that marveled us of His creation or perfection.

This doa also explains that everything that Allah swt created are not without purpose or in vain. And after acknowledging this, we praise Him -'subbhanaka'  and then we ask from Him to be saved from the hellfire. 

And if we noticed, many of the Doas that are being taught by the prophet saw always mention then hereafter. This is a clear indication that although we are making doa for eating or doing something,  we refer back the hereafter so that we know that life in this world is just a test or traveling space & our real goal is the hereafter.

Wallahualam.

Subhanallah forgive me for all My shortcomings and inadequacy. If there are mistakes in these tazkirah / reminders (in which I believe there are), may Allah swt forgives me. In these last hours of ramadhan, don't forget to make a special doa for me- guidance and khusnul khotimah (good ending). Million syukr. And may Allah swt accepts our fast, qiyam, zakah and all the good deeds and make us among those who fast and qiyam in this blessed month with iman and ihtisaban and forgives our previous and future sins.

تقبل الله منا و منكم

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 28)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 28)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهر
B) solat
Assolat is also always refer to as azzikr. When a person perform his prayer, he is actually conversing with
his Lord. It's a communication between the creation with his creator, between the slave and his Lord. And what best way of making zikrullah standing up than in the form of solat?
C) tasbihat, tahmid, takbir etc
These are the most common type of zikrullah. The words are recited with the tongue, felt with the hearts. Once an Alim advised me that when you are saying subhanallah, say it with remembering its meaning, marveling his power & felt it in your heart. When saying allahuakbar with the greatness of Allah in mind and saying alhamdulillah with making thanks in our hearts for all the bounties and blessings from Him remembering and reminiscing on the nikmats that we have. This is better than saying it in your tongue with our hearts blank or remembering other things. There are a lot of Hadith on some of these tasbihat but will not be elaborated here. And these form
Of zikrullah can be done anytime but the emphasis from the Quran is to make zikrullah in the morning (after fajr) and evening (after Asar), after daily prayers etc.
D) alazkar warid derived and taught by/from the prophet saw.
These types of azkar is well documentedj in the books of Hadith and alhamdulillah can be found in many small booklets such as hisn muslim etc. These authentic zikr is very important and taught us what to say in every condition and situation. In this way all our actions will be considered ibadah and saved from the evils of syaithan and Jinns.
E) doa (will not be elaborated here due to time constraints)
F) seeking knowledge
A majlis of taalim is also always referred as majlis of zikr. Every step taken towards knowledges is considered as zikrullah.



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Ramadhan desserts ( part 27)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 27)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهر

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ 
'Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides'
Here Allah swt has further clarify who are the ones with understanding, that is they are in constant zikrullah at all times and places. Zikrullah is the most versatile form of worship. In fact worship with the absence of His remembrance is not really worship. It is so important that the legislation of solat is His remembrance. Allah swt said : إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
'Surely I am Allah, there is no god but I, therefore serve Me and keep up prayer for My remembrance'
Solat is for His remembrance. Someone who prays but his mind is elsewhere and not remembering Him cannot be called a real proper Solat, only just the physical movement of solat. 
In this verse, the merit of those who remember Him constantly is being highlighted. 
And zikrullah is always misunderstood as tasbih and tahmid etc only. Yes tasbih (saying subhannallah) and tahmid (alhamdulillah) and takbir (allahuakbar) and etc are part of zikrullah but it is just a fraction / part of zikrullah. 
Inshaallah we will discuss the different forms of zikrullah here:
A) al- quran
This is the best form of zikrullah. What words is better than His almighty words Himself. In fact zikrullah mentioned in the Quran many times refers to the Quran itself. Some people emphasis on tasbih, making thousands of them daily but forgot or neglect to recite the Quran is actually making a grave mistake. What better way to remember Him than His words? Our predecessors as solihin had made a great emphasis on its reading, learning and understanding. So read the quran daily wherever you are and ponder on its meaning.


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Ramadhan desserts ( part 26)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 26)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهر

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ
Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for men who understand.
This verse explains that without doubt in the creation of heavens and earth are clear signs and proof of His Lordship, Greatness and perfection. How great and vast are the universe. So how great is the Creator who created them? He had created them with no flaw. And these creations are signs for those who understand, or have the capacity to think.
How many times have we once stop and ponder on the greatness of Allah swt who created this beautiful universe? When is the last time we look at the sky and marvel at His greatness? Or are we too busy with our worldly affairs that we don't even have a second to see the world around us. Or are we too engrossed in the new technology or gadgets or sophisticated machines when all these things combined are nothing when compared to Allah's creation. If all mankind are to combine forces and intelligence they can't even create a fly!
This verse teaches us to use our brain to recognize His greatness. Once we recognize and realize how great is He, we will understand how insignificant are we. We will have awe of Him and there's is nothing for us to be proud of ourselves. And this is the essence of worship when we really recognize who we are worshipping and knowing our own position.
So thus this morning, take a moment to look outside your window and look at his creations, look at the sky. Look at the clouds which weight tonnes of water droplets but are floating and moving like a cotton wool in the sky. Or at least look at ourselves how beautiful are we. For example look on how our lungs remove oxygen from the mixture of gases in the air for our body supply- what a wonderful and sophisticated filtration and distillation  systems we have in our body! Look and ponder don't waste your brains.



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Ramadhan desserts ( part 25)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 25)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهر

For the last parts of this desserts and reminders, Inshaallah we will discuss on two of my favourite verses in Ali Imran. There are many Hadith pertaining to these particular verses and one of them is below which was related by Aisyah ranha :

 ،.........' فَبَكَى حَتَّى رَأَيْتُ الدُّمُوعَ بَلَغَتِ الْأَرْضَ ، ثُمَّ أَتَاهُ بِلَالٌ بَعْدَمَا أَذَّنَ الْفَجْرُ ، رَآهُ يَبْكِي . قَالَ : لِمَ تَبْكِي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ غُفِرَ لَكَ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ ؟ قَالَ : " يَا بِلَالُ ، أَفَلَا أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا ، وَمَا لِي لَا أَبْكِي ، وَقَدْ نَزَلَتْ عَلَيَّ اللَّيْلَةَ " : إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ سورة آل عمران آية 190 ، إِلَى قَوْلِهِ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ سورة آل عمران آية 191 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : " وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرْ فِيهَا "

'......then he (the prophet saw)cried till i saw the tears reached the earth/ floor and then came Bilal after making the fajr azan and saw him crying and said' why are you crying o prophet of Allah? verily Allah had forgiven your past and future sins'. He replied' o bilal, how I am not be a grateful servant? And why Iam not crying when tonight these verses are revealed-

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for men who understand.

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: Our Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee; save us then from the chastisement of the fire

 (al Imran 190-191) and then he said' cursed are those who read them but do not ponder and think about what in it.'

What is in these 2 verses that made the prophet saw cried heavily? And to an extent that he said curse to those who read it but do not ponder upon it?

Inshaallah we will try extract some of the pearls from these 2 verses and may Allah swt gave us all the understanding ...

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 24)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 24)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهري
But once these entities (sun, moon) does not follow their orbits, that is the time of qiyamah. So does the 'qiyamah' in the family will occur if every member transgress the limits ordained by Him. As the eclipse is the sign of Hour, the constant 'collision' of the moon and sun (husband & wife)is the sign of Hour!
SUN- is giving out light brightens the world and becomes the source of life biznillah. So does the father has the role to brightens the family with nur Islam and iman and become the source of growth and life. However we can't have day 24hrs as we need night for the continuity of life.
Moon- the moon obtained its light from the sun. So by right the husband are responsible for the light of Deen in his wife. The light from the moon is so pleasing and beautiful to the eye. Thats why the mother had a role to nurture her kids and she is pleasing and beautiful in nature to the family.
Stars- they are in fact suns, some may be brighter than the sun while others are not. So does the children, they have the potentials of the father in Deen , some may outshine him while others not. But even though they are present in the day, they are not seen due to the brightness of the sun, but once the sun goes, they will light up the sky beautifully with the moon. This also shows a special relationship between mother and her children. And stars are made for 1) beautification for the sky, so does the children are suppose to beautify the family. 2) guides for travelers, they will also be beacons and guide for the astray by becoming the beacons of hidayah.
And there are many more we can talk about this parable but Inshaallah this will serve as the appetizer for now.
May Allah swt make all fathers as the sun, brightening up their family with iman and Islam, beautify all mothers with the light and as the apple of the eye and all children to be the qurratun ain - beauty of the eye and beacon of guidance to others. Amin


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Ramadhan desserts ( part 23)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 23)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهري
Subhannallah we are coming to the last lap of our short marathon. Its time to raise our final gear and make it to the top!
Inshaallah today we will discuss on one verse from surah Yusof and try to extract as many gems and wisdom from this just one verse as best as we can.
إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ
'When Yusuf said to his father: O my father! surely I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon-- I saw them making obeisance to me.'
The above verse told about the dream young Yusof as had. And a sunnah, we can relate our good dream to someone trustworthy, and in this case his father yaakub as. This dream is a sign of 1) honour and bounties that Allah swt had promised to Yusof as & 2) prophethood.
The sun signify his father, moon his mother and eleven stars signify his brothers. This can be seen near the end of this surah verse 100 as follows:
وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّوا لَهُ سُجَّدًا وَقَالَ يَا أَبَتِ هَٰذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَايَ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّي حَقًّا وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بِي إِذْ أَخْرَجَنِي مِنَ السِّجْنِ وَجَاءَ بِكُم مِّنَ الْبَدْوِ مِن بَعْدِ أَن نَّزَغَ الشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِي إِنَّ رَبِّي لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ
'And he raised his parents upon the throne and they fell down in prostration before him, and he said: O my father! this is the significance of my vision of old; my Lord has indeed made it to be true; and He was indeed kind to me when He brought me forth from the prison and brought you from the desert after the Shaitan had sown dissensions between me and my brothers, surely my Lord is benignant to whom He pleases; surely He is the Knowing, the Wise.'
In a deeper note, These parables or masal in the dream also shows the ideal Muslim family structure. Each entities( sun, moon & stars) have their own roles to play, complement and complete each other, does not goes overboard out of their orbits and outdo each other. So does every member of the family, each have their own role, complement and complete each other and does not transgress the limits that Allah swt had set......



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plurality and singularity

وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَّمَّا كَذَّبُوا الرُّسُلَ أَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ آيَةً وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

And the people of Nuh, when they rejected the apostles, We drowned them, and made them a sign for men, and We have prepared a painful punishment for the unjust;

Last week I got a little confused on the above ayat for Allah swt used plural instead of singular for the prophet nuh as. وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَّمَّا كَذَّبُوا الرُّسُلَ

'..... The people of nuh .rejected the apostles'

Why rusul (prophets) and not rasul (prophet)?

After having some time to spare today alhamdulillah, I managed to look into some of the tafsir books such as tabary, zamakhshary and assamarqandy and some other books on this particular verse and I will like to share the beauty and latoif of this verse, particularly on why it is in plural and not singular wallahualam bissowab. I will try to summarize it into 2 main explanations as follows:

1) rejection of one of the prophets is like rejecting the whole or every prophets that were sent by Allah swt. This is because all of them were sent for the same message of tauhid and kalimah laa ila ha illallah. And every prophet testified the other prophets' testimony and trueness and message. 

2) the 2nd is close to my heart which is from assamarqandy 

.....لم يكن الا واحد وقت هذا الخطاب فيجوز ان .يذكر الجماعة و يراد به الواحد كما يذكر الواحد و يراد به الجماعة كقوله والعصر ان الانسان لفي خسر و انما أراد به الناس الا تري انه استثنى منه جماعة- السمرقندي 

That is in short, the prophets (rusul) in plural only refers to nuh as alone. And this is common as sometime plurality is used for singularity while singularity is used in another occasion for plurality. 

As in the verse al asr, ' al insan' the man is used for the meaning of men ' an-naas'...

So why the plurality. This is ilihtiram for the prophet nuh as. That is as a respect, honour, homage and esteem for this prophet who is also a ulul azmi.

prophet nuh as was the only one sent to his people for a very long time, making dakwah for a very long time, facing all the hardships every day. They stoned him, run away from him as though he was a plague or stuffed their ears with their fingers everytime he tried to invite them to Allah swt. His hardship, perserverance, patience was so great. Even his own wife and son rejected him. It is as though that he is doing work for not just 1 prophet but the work of prophets! 

Ala kulli Hal, the best understanding is when we combine both explanations as they complement each other, subhanallah.

Nb there are also other explanations but I think this 2 suffice Inshaallah 

والله أعلم

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 22)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 22)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهر
5)وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them.
As mentioned previously (part 14), the command of solat is commonly follow with the command of zakat. Therefore for a Mukmin, the 5th characteristic is to fulfill the obligation of zakah. After fulfilling the rights of Allah swt, especially the solat which is the pillar of Islam by performing it in a way that is wanted by Allah swt, we are commanded to fulfill the rights of fellow humankind, by especially giving the money due from our wealth that has been given by Allah swt. Verily zakah does not decrease our wealth, in fact it purifies it. We have to understand that the money that is due for zakah does not belong to us (although it is in your bank) but in fact it belongs to those who are entitled to it from the fuqara wa masakin etc. Don't steal what is not rightfully us. Don't feel that we are doing a favour to the poor by giving them zakah or any sadaqah! In fact we are doing ourselves a great favour by giving them as a) our wealth will be purified and increased b) we will get reward for every cent we gave c) our love for our own wealth will decrease and the love among the brotherhood will increase d) Allah swt will elevate our status in this world
And hereafter ...& many more.
In Conclusion, these 2 verses of al-anfal is a good yardstick or measuring gauge for our iman. Does our heart feel anything when we hears His name? Do our iman increase after hearing the Quran? Do we have tawakkul in our heart ? Do we 'naqumu' perform the solah by fulfilling the rights of the solah ? Or do we have fulfill the rights of the poor or those who are stranded or in need or etc?
May Allah swt grants us iman.


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Ramadhan desserts ( part 21)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 21)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

d) priority in our life 

We had not make the Quran the most priority in our life. We put all our effort , wealth and time to learn all the things in this world except the Quran. We never had intention or put an effort to learn the language it was revealed, learnt the stories in it, the parables that been put forth, the warnings and glad tidings in it. In fact some talibil ilm( seeker o knowledge) are also guilty of it in some extend. We learnt all the intricate matters in fiqh, seerah, Hadith but we forgot the main source of the Deen, Quran! 

3) وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

and in their Lord do they trust

The 3rd character is tawakkul that is sole reliance to Him. We put all our affairs and matters to Him, asking Him for help for all the matters of this world or hereafter. المخلوق لا ينفع و لا يضر الا بإذنه

All things are in His hands. That's why in one of the doa that the prophet saw taught us to recite every morning and evening is

يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث أصلح شأني كله ولا تكلني الى نفسي طرفة عين

Ya hayyu ya qayyum! With your mercy I ask for your help /invoke /appeal. Reform / correct all my matters and do not leave me to myself for a blinking of eye (moment)

4) يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ keep up prayer

Iqamat solat means more than just performing the daily prayers 5x. When the word iqamah was used for solat, it means guarding it well at its early times, taking care of the actions and recitations in it, with congregation (for male)and many more. Even straightening the sof in jamaah is included as the prophet saw sometimes say before the prayer

(شرح النووي على مسلم) قال: 

وَقَدْ ثَبَتَ فِي الصَّحِيح أَنَّ رَسُول صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: "اِعْتَدِلُوا فِي الصُّفُوف فَإِنَّ تَسْوِيَة الصَّفّ مِنْ إِقَامَة الصَّلاة". مَعْنَاهُ وَاَللَّه أَعْلَمُ: مِنْ إِقَامَتهَا الْمَأْمُور بِهَا فِي قَوْله تَعَالَى: {وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلاة}، ... وَاَللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ .

Imam nawawy said that it is established in the sohih that the prophet saw said' straighten your sof verily straightening of sof is part of iqamatis solah.

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 20)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 20)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

 وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا 

' and when His ayats are recited to them they increase them in faith'

Another sign of the believer is when he heard His words being recited his iman increases. We have heard so many Quran but have it increases our iman. What are some  of the ways for our iman to increase when we hear the Quran?

a) our salafussoleh, pious predecessors really believe that the Quran is the word of Allah, and treat it with respect. They will learn a few ayats, understand the meaning, memorise it, practice it, convey it and then proceed to learn new ayats. But we are just concerned about how it sounds only without pondering on its meanings.

b) out Adab with the Quran

The predecessors have a 2 way communication with the quran whereas that is not in our case. We treat the Quran as just some kind of amulet or beautification. We beautify our houses, cars and etc with the Quran but we do not beautify our hearts with it.

c) the Quran is our loved Almighty's word 

Another major problem is that our love to Him is just superficial. If we have a deep love to Him we will treat His words seriously and with love. When we get a message from our missed loved ones, we will missed them, cherishing every words of the message and shed a tear or two. But that is not in our case with the quran.

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 19)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 19)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

Yesterday @ en-naeem, the imam started the terawih with surah al-anfal. I am compelled to discuss about some of the first verses of this surah as an admonishment for myself and self-rectification and a yardstick for us to measure our iman; has our iman reached the level which is required by Him or not. These 2nd & 3rd verses of this surah explain clearly the characteristics of a real believer (mukmin) and may Allah swt forgives us for our shortcomings. The verses are:

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His ayats are recited to them they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust.

الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

Those who keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them.

In summary, there are 5 main characteristics of a mukmin mentioned in these 2 verses. They are:

1) إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قلوبهم

hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned

Subhannallah this is a great characteristic which many of us especially myself are lacking of. For example, how many of us when are busy doing our own things when we heard the call of prayer have our hearts trembled? Some of us are walking or working by the mosque and suddenly heard the azan, do we stop and haste to solat or we continue with our own petty things as though the words 'Allah is the Greatest' is nothing and have no any effect in our little hearts? The companions of the prophet saw when they heard the name of Allah being mentioned in azan, they will stop their works and will hasten to prayers. Some will became pale

In awe and reverence to His name.

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 18)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

....... These verses also taught us  indirectly that the closer we are to someone, the more we have to take care of our responsibilities towards them. 

كلكم راع وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته، فالإمام راع ومسئول عن رعيته، والرجل راع في أهل بيته ومسئول عن رعتيه، والمرأة راعية في بيت زوجها ومسئولة عن رعيتها، والخادم راع في مال سيده ومسئول عن رعيته، وكلكم راع ومسئول عن رعيته.

Every1 is a leader and will be asked on his responsibility....

As a man we are responsible to ensure no only we give our family shelter, food etc but more importantly, have we taught our family the religion. Do we provide opportunities for our family to obtain knowledge and practice Deen ? Have we reminded them on their duties towards Allah and Rasullulah ? Do they know the Quran and diligent in their solat?

How about our parents? Have we fulfill our duty as a son? Have we gave them good service to them in their old age? Have we raised our voices or broke their hearts with our bad actions or insensitivity? When is the last time we call them? When is the last time we gave them a good hug or a kiss in the cheek, forehead or hands? Or say I love you to them?

Or to our brothers? Have we invite him towards maaruf and prevents him from munkar? Do we talk bad things or backbite him or slander him? Or even took his things without his permission? Do we help him when he is in need? 

This for myself to ponder. May Allah swt save us all in the day of judgement where there is no shelter (shade) except from the shelter of Allah swt. 

Wallahualam

Ramadhan desserts ( part 17)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 17)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهري
.... Because 
لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ
Every man of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him
Coz everybody will be busy with their own problems and reckoning! Everyone is in the state of ' nafsi nafsi' - myself myself. Afraid of the hisab and standing in front the Rab. No additional burden, responsibilities, weightings in the wrong side and accountability required. ' I have enough of my own problems which I can't solve myself! 'And we know we had wronged another parties, be it our siblings, parents, wife, children or any other man,knowingly and unknowingly. And we know they will ask justice, recompense from Rab for what we had done or they will try to lighten their burden and sins by offloading them to us. We had often heard Hadith about a person who came with mountain loads of thawab but due to his sins towards another, bad dealings or etc to another, his good rewards are given to the mazlum(those who are oppressed) till there are no more rewards but still many are still claiming from him, so the mazlum's sins were offloaded to his account and this person is the one described by the prophet saw as the bankcrupt. Return with so many good deeds but alas end up with all the bad deeds. May Allah swt save us all.
The verses also taught us that how close you are to someone in this world, in the hereafter we may run away from him due to the fact that we are afraid of his claims against us.......


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Ramadhan desserts ( part 16)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 16)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

From the previous verse, the soul after being resurrected will be asking for another chance to be in this world for just a moment to do good deeds as they now have yaqin- full believe, but alas to no avail. Even if he can cry a seaload of tears it will be no use. We can see the graveness and terrifying the day of judgement by the understanding a few verses from surah abasa as follows:

يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ

The day on which a man shall flee from his brother

وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ

And his mother and his father,

وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ

And his spouse and his son--

لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ

Every man of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him.

Subhannallah! The verb يَفِرُّ that is being used means flee or escape from danger to safety. For example yafirru Ahmad Minal asad, which means ahmad flees/ escape/ run to safety from the lion. So the verse basically means that in that terrifying day, man will flee and try not to meet his brother as though that his brother is danger! Not only from his brother, also from his parents who loves him as he loves them! Even from his wife that he deeply loves and his sons who he is proud of!

Why? Are they danger? What is he trying to escape from? Aren't they are the ones who love him and he loves them? Arent they the one who supported him and he supported them?.......

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Ramadhan desserts ( part 15)

Ramadhan desserts ( part 15)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهري
The imam @ almawaddah today recited a beautiful  surah an-naba during the fajr prayer. This surah describes the situations and events of the Hour after describing the bounties and nikmats that he had bestowed upon mankind. He then described both the azab (punishment) of the hereafter and the beautiful rewards of jannah and the greatness of the day of judgement. And then at the end of the surah, Allah swt says:
إِنَّا أَنذَرْنَاكُمْ عَذَابًا قَرِيبًا يَوْمَ يَنظُرُ الْمَرْءُ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَابًا
Surely We have warned you of a chastisement near at hand: the day when man shall see what his two hands have sent before, and the unbeliever shall say: O! would that I were dust!
This last verse of this surah serves as a reminder to all of us many things, such as :
a) that the azab/chastisement/ punishment for those who had transgress the limits is actually qoriban, that is near. We may think that we have the whole lot of time but suddenly death can overtake us any time. Sometimes it comes in an unexpected times or situation or way that we least expect. So this serves as a reminder not to take time for granted and prepare ourselves for the great day.
b) the day of judgement will be day that every man will present what that he'd done in this world. What his two hands had done he will present it to the Almighty Judge. Will it be a good presentation or vice versa?
c) the disbeliever will lament and regret on what he had done and say isnt it better if they were just dust! But alas it is of no use. In fact most people will regret of what they had not done in this world for their hereafter. Even a believer will regret for wasting their time in this world for not remembering him or lost w/o zikrullah. How about those who are not even close. In another verse  He mentioned the condition of the mujrim or those who had transgress His limits
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُو رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ
And could you but see when the guilty shall hang down their heads before their Lord: Our Lord! we have seen and we have heard, therefore send us back, we will do good; surely (now) we are certain.
Wallahualam




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ramadhan desserts 14

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Saturday, 4 August 2012, 14:50

Ramadhan desserts ( part 14)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

And this month is the best training session for standing infront of Allah and making doa to him asking for all the goodness and mercy.

If in this month we are not able to leave our beds for a short time, then it will be nearly impossible to do it in others than ramadhan. Get accustomed to be with Him. Get offline from the net and goes 'online' with our Creator.

In another verse, He mentioned the merit of this prayer

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَىٰ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا

And during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud beyond what is incumbent on you; maybe your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory.

And what great the glory will be if the glory is been mentioned & promised by the Almighty, owner of all glories.

And the prophet saw had mentioned : قيام الليل شرف المؤمن

Standing at night (for prayer) is the honour of a believer.

And this verse ends with وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ and they spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them

Not only a believer stands before him by praying and calling him at night, but he further reinforce these deeds with infaq fi sabillilah and charity. As we can see in many verses in the Quran usually Allah swt mentions the command of azzakah after assolah, they came hand in hand together. One deed is primarily between the servant and his Rab, while another is between a servant and another servant.

From this we can also derive the important of both habluminnal and hablumminnas, Connection with Allah and the connection with people. Our relationship to both our Rab and other mankind should be strong as this is the emphasis shown by the prophet saw.

On a finer detailed note, the exact translation will be 'out of what we gave them, the spend in infaq' and not 'they spend in infaq out of what we gave them'. Hmm what's the difference. No difference except that Allah mentioned first that he is the one who gave the rizk before mentioning the infaq. This emphasis is to remind us that the rizk is from Him and we are spending on what is what originally not ours. So why be calculative on what we give?

والله أعلم

ramadhan desserts 13

Ramadhan desserts ( part 13)
ابو حنظلة محمد زهري
Greedily hoping for his mercy and blessings. Greed in the worldly things is abhor and detestable but the greed to get His mercy and Jannah is a greatly encouraged. Just like a greedy person asking and wanting this and that in this world, we should ask Him more and more. Ask for the best of Jannah that is jannatul firdaus, not just any Jannah and this is what the prophet saw had taught his companions, to ask for the best of paradise that is jannatul firdaus. However, remember that the doa must also be accompanied with خَوْفًا as this is another characteristic of the doa-prayer. Fear. Fear of His wrath, anger as we are sinners who sins everyday the moment we opened our eyes. Fear that He did not forgive us. Fear that our deeds caused us to be further away from Him. Fear of not pleasing Him. And this is what Iman is all about. Iman is Khauf wa roja. Fear and hope. Fear without hope is not complete just like hope without fear. The former will cause us to despair and this Allah swt has commanded us not to despair on His mercy. While the latter that is hope without fear will cause us to be complacent and take things for granted.
So in this verse we had learnt that a believer will leave and forsake his bed and spouse just to be with His Rab in prayer, fearing Him and hoping for His mercy abundantly.
Wallahualam


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ramadhan dessert 12

Ramadhan desserts ( part 12)

ابو حنظلة محمد زهري

Subhannallah nearly half of this blessed month had gone. It's time for us to reevaluate ourselves. Has we achieved our set goals? How much have we done? And how much have we lost? This is the time for us to make the change before ramadhan passed us just like a breeze of wind.

Inshaallah in the next parts we will share about some of the verses in the Quran randomly which I came across as to discuss a complete surah will takes a longer discussion.

Today's verse is from the surah assajadah which was commonly recited, as the prophet saw used to recite it in the first rakaah of Friday's fajr prayer.

The surah starts with Him mentioning His greatness and grandeur in how He created His creations and then talk about the disbelievers and their 'rewards' for their disbelieve. And then He mentioned about the believers and their characteristics. They will prostrate when hears His reminders and are not proud.

And then He further describe the believers in the following verse

تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

'Their sides draw away from (their) beds, they call upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and they spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them.'

This verse explains the characteristics of the believer is that they forsake their beds and pleasure just to stand before Him and call to Him in doa

It is hard to grasp the complete meaning of the verse in other language than Arabic as it will take a whole lot of description to translate just some of the words. For example, Allah swt had used the description of the kind of doa that the believer did: يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا

They call to Their Rab in the state of fear and hope greedily.Greed? Yes greed and that is the meaning of وَطَمَع, hope or want with greed in it. This is how a Muslim should make doa, showing in his doa greedily his want & need for Allah's mercy, love, forgiveness, pleasure. Not just doa for the sake of doa.....

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Ramadhan Desserts 11

Ramadhan desserts (part 11)

أبو حنظلة محمد زهري

B) Adab of making doa

Also we can learnt the Adab of making doa from this surah, in which we start with praise and syukr to Him, realizing that the one we are conversing with are the lord of the worlds and knowing His great mercy we will have hope that the doa will be accepted, bearing in mind of the day of judgement always, with proper doa and tawakkul and asking the best of all things first, that is the constant guidance from Him.

These are just some of the pearls which can be extracted from this surah. I hope this will act as an appetizers for all of us to learn and try to understand Quran as He had commanded us to contemplate and reflect on His words:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا

Do they not then meditate on the Quran? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy.

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

Do they not then reflect on the Quran? Nay, on the hearts there are locks.

So let's us all try to understand the meanings of His words and reflect on them everytime we recite them, whether in our solat or outside the solat. And ramadhan is the best time for us to do it. If on this blessed month we are not able to do it, then it will be more difficult for us to do it in the other months. May Allah swt grant me and all of us the strength. Ameen.

Wallahualam

ramadhan desserts 10

Ramadhan desserts (part 10)

أبو حنظلة محمد زهري

Nasara- Christians

Among the characteristics of this group mentioned in the Quran are 1)lying about Allah swt knowingly ;2) innovating the Deen and changing them ;3) ascribing partners with Allah swt ; 4) taking their priests 'arbaban'- giving them divinity; and etc

As we can see that they had changed the Words of Allah swt and this also serves as a warning not to change any of His words and commands as to our own whims and desire lest we shall also be grouped with them in the day of judgement. And regarding the innovation of Deen, we can clearly see that their rituals and prayers, hymn and singing are all innovated which was not done and performed by Isa as or shown by him. therefore Muslims must not fall to the same as Allah swt had completed the Deen with Rasullulah saw. We must also take extra note on not to ascribe any partners to Allah swt and just like the nasara, they gave attributes of rabb to their priests such as infallibility or power to forgive sins etc.

From this short but important surah, we had learn so many things and as a summary:

A) principles, characteristics and guidelines of a believer- he always start his every actions with alhamd ( praise and syukr) to His creator, always feel the greatness of Allah in his heart, knowing & understang His great mercy and not lose hope, conscience that he will be judge for his actions in a situation where there's no help except by his mercy, putting his believe in practice in proper ibadah, reaching the state of tawakkul reliance on Him and perfection of Iman, and always asking for guidance by following and emulating the people who had been given Guidance and not following the characteristics of the yahud and nasara which had been explained by Allah swt in His Book

Wallahualam