Archive for the ‘With the Divine’ category

Peaceful Nights

Allah, the Exalted, says: “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and day are signs for those of understanding–who remember Allah while standing, sitting and [lying] on their sides” (Qur’an, 3:190-191). The moments right before you fall sleep are beautifully serene. Everything is still and quiet [...]

Paradise: Safe and Sound

Paradise and Hell Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII After enduring the hardships of the dunya (this world) and the horrors of the grave and Last Day, Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) will bless the believers with something that will make their worries [...]

What’s Done Is Done

By Ruzky Aliyar A myriad of matters put weight on your mind. It heaves under the sheer pressure of it. Thoughts, actions, endless precipitant emotions all occupy this undefined space and define your outlook on life. It could be anything and everything: doubts, missed prayers, a glance, a stolen conversation, an act of pride, that [...]

Paradise and Hell

Paradise and Hell Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII Imagine that you knew the angel of death was coming to you in a few hours. What would your first thought be? For most of us, it would be: What have I prepared for the next life?! Doctors today [...]

Lessons of a Traveler – Temporariness

By Ammar M. Ali “Leave your country in search of loftiness and travel! For in travel there are five benefits: Relief of adversity, earning of livelihood, knowledge, etiquettes, and noble companionship.” – Imam As-Shafi I was born and raised in a small suburb of Houston, Texas called Sugar Land, where I spent the first nineteen years of my [...]

Ten Principles for Those Seeking the Path of Allah

by Imam Ghazali | Translated and Abridged by Webb Translators Principle 1: Have a sincere, unwavering intention.  Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “each person will be rewarded for what he intended” (Muslim). This calls for determination in the heart to continuously act or to abstain from something only for God’s sake. A sign of having sincere [...]

A Gift for the 27th Night: Ramadan Du`a’ with English Translation

By Shaykh Muhammad Jebril | Translated by Shazia Ahmad Many of us spend a good portion of our Ramadan nights with our hands raised in du`a’ (supplication), listening to the heart-felt words of our imam or shaykh calling on Allah in the witr prayer.  For those of us who don’t speak Arabic, it is a [...]

30 Reasons for Redemption and Elevation, Not Despair

Note: These lessons were acquired while participating in the ipersonalenrichment.com program. Scholars have often noted that a Muslim should have an almost balanced level of fear and hope in Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (Exalted is He), while their hope in Him should actually be more due to the hadith (narrations) of the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon [...]

The Abandonment of the Qur’an

By Iman Badawi It is known as “al-Kitab” (the Book). It is so well known and highly revered that when any Muslim refers to “the Book,” it is understood to mean the Holy Qur’an. It is the book above all books because it is the complete and final revelation of Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted [...]

On Filling the Inner Hole and Coming Home

We’re Home. And then we aren’t. Torn away from our origin, we came across time and space to another world. A lesser world. But in that separation, something painful happened. We were no longer with God in the physical space. We could no longer see Him with our physical eyes, or speak to Him with [...]

In the Shade of the Throne

by Raiiq Ridwan Glimpses into the World of the Unseen Part: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII Muslim narrates a terrifying hadeeth (record of the words or actions of the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) who said that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say, “The sun will get closer to the creations on the Day of Resurrection until it is [...]

Throw the Baby: Trusting in Allah

One of the pillars of imaan (belief in Allah) is to believe in the Divine Decree – the good and bad of it. This means that we as Muslims are supposed to have complete belief and unwavering certainty in the Plan of Allah and His Decrees for us, whether they may appear good or not [...]

Returning to the Qur’an

The relationship between us and the Qur’an is undoubtedly of great importance; therefore, it is strange that it is this relationship which we often neglect. I have a theory as to why we tend not to focus on the Qur’an: we are drawn towards controversy. The Qur’an and its sciences have no such divisive opinions. [...]

Loving Allah: The Greatest Aspiration

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX| Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX Finally we come to [...]

Contentment: A Paradise on Earth

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX| Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX As we mentioned in previous [...]

Where the Day of Judgement Begins

by Raiiq Ridwan Glimpses into the World of the Unseen Part: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII In the previous article, we put together the various names Allah uses for the Day of Judgement. Insha’Allah (God willing), we will be moving on today. However, moving on is not necessarily moving forward. What we will do is step back a bit and look [...]

Where is the Love?

by Nabil Ahmed If these past few years have taught me anything, it is that as long as we do not have love firmly implanted in all our hearts, we will never succeed. You see, when love truly exists, nothing else matters. Nothing matters at all. You don’t do something for another because you have [...]

Happens for a Reason, Happens for the Best

There was a bus blocking the right turn lane and its emergency lights were flashing. “I need a quick detour!,” thought the woman driving. She turned into a parking lot to cross through to the adjacent street. As she made the turn, she felt her car heave forward heavily and realized she had not seen [...]

Modesty: An Inside-Out Approach

Think modesty (hayā’). What comes to mind? It could be wearing hijāb and dressing modestly. Or maybe it is using decent and clean speech. Or it might be conducting ourselves with dignity and self-respect around the opposite gender. If we know we’ve fallen short in our modesty, we feel the need to change in some [...]

To Become Allah’s Wali

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII| Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX Today we will move on [...]