The Effects of Our Deeds on Spiritual Progress

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

As I'm stumbling and fumbling my way along this long and arduous Path, I'm discovering a few things... One of the things I'm discovering now-a-days is that there are certain things which effect your spiritual progress *greatly* and for the most part they differ from person to person. For this reason you really have to be extremely careful about and protective of your imaan, because most people aren't going to help you with it. Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (may Allah increase him) was saying how imaan is a treasure... it's this bag of of gold which must be protected. Say you're given a bag of gold and have it on you while you're walking in the city. Even though no one knows you have it, you're going to be *extra* careful. You'll keep looking over your shoulder to make sure no one's following you.. you'll keep your hand on it all the time so no one can take it.. because it's precious and you don't want it stolen. He was saying how our imaan is the same way. It's this bag of spiritual gold which you hold within your heart that must be protected carefully, and everytime you look at something you shouldn't look at, or say something you shouldn't say, you're selling your imaan for that filthy thing. What a miserable bargain...

The thing which I realized recently is that for each person the things they do which eat away at that bag of gold can really differ. For example, if I look at a billboard of a scantily dressed woman I'm just gonna be like, "Ew. Astaghfirullah," then continue with my dhikr... with mininal effect on my heart, by the Grace of Allah. But for a brother that glance could greatly effect his spiritual state. That example is rather obvious, but my point is that you can't judge how severe an effect a sin could have on your heart based on the effect it appears to have on others, even if they seem to be on the same lines as you or further than you on the Path. Your path to Allah is your path to Allah, and no one else's path will line up exactly with yours. Of course the Siraat al-Mustaqeem is one, but each individual's experience on that *true* Path will be different, though similarities can and do occur. Alhamdulillah for teachers, well-versed in the nuances of the Path, who can shine the nur burning in their hearts upon the rocky road ahead, hold your desperate hand and take you step by step to your Final Goal...

A sincere request: please keep me in your du'as...

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Sajdah

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

I hope you're all in the best of health and imaan, using your time in a manner that will draw you near to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and spending your every free moment emersed in His remembrance..

I was just thinking something today, which I think about often but it kinda hit me stronger now than it has in the past. I realized how much I love doing sujud. I have yet to discover a physical act more pleasurable than sujud. I mean, think about it... our purpose here is to worship and love Allah. What act better embodies this purpose than sujud? It's like you're saying, "Nothing matters, not my body, not my intellect, not my face by which I'm recognized on this earth, nothing. All that matters is You, so here I am. Submitted. Here I am for You." SubhaanAllah... profound. If I didn't get such a headache after a while I'd stay in sujud for hours. Ooh, now would be a good time to mention... if ever you want to cry in sujud, make sure you won't be seeing anyone for the next hour or two, because your face will maintain that puffy, swollen, post-crying look for a looooong time. Even people who hardly know you will be like, "What's wrong?"

[...]

On another note, alhamdulillah, it's raining : ) I usually don't like rain, but my father's made me realize that rain is barakah from Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, and we should make du'a when it's raining coz it's a time when His barakah is descending from the heavens and a good time to make du'a : ) I did today and I was very grateful that I took the naseeha. I've heard it so many times before, but for some reason hearing it from my father really made it sink in. May Allah increase him..

Please make du'a for me... I'm quite in need of du'as.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Starting Up

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

All praise belongs to Allah, Creator and Cherisher of the universe, Who causes the sun to rise and set effortlessly, Who brings life from death, Who softens hearts and fills them with His remembrance, Who bestows His blessings on any who seek Him, Who raises man in ranks of righteousness and stations of nearness to Him and decreases him whenver He wills. In His Hand lies our life and sustenance, and to Him we turn for guidance and help. May the most perfect peace and blessings be upon His Beloved Emissary, the Best of Creation, the perfect example for mankind, whose presence on this earth filled it with a nur that continues to shine on the Path before us, whose love, work and dedication continues to penetrate the hardest of hearts and darkest of souls, whose teachings have been passed on from heart to heart through generations of scholarship and whose heirs continue to light the flame of "Laa ilaaha ilAllah Muhammad Rasool Allah" in minds and hearts today. May peace and blessings be upon his family, his companions, his heirs and all the rightly guided who ever lived and will ever live until the Day of Judgment.

Insha'Allah so begins the sharing of my thoughts on this page, which I pray will be a beneficial experience for me... to see on paper (or screen, rather) what runs through my mind and heart. Such has been the practice of both young and old for centuries and on a few occasions I, too, attempted to write my thoughts out, though it's never lasted more than a few days, and upon looking back at what I wrote I get terribly embarassed. I have one request: if at any time during my writings anyone finds that I've said something which could be displeasing to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and not in accordance with sunnah, please notify me so that I may correct myself immediately.

I'd like to first thank a few sisters I met on sunniforum.com who introduced me to the concept of blogging and through them I discovered that there is an Islamic Institute somewhere (in Canada? or England?) where young Muslims are studying to become 'aalims and 'aalimahs. When I read some of their blogs I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty and power of their lives, which have beat in accordance with the ryhthm of the Qur'an and sunnah since they were children. After reading a few of their blogs last night I was so taken in that I had to share my thoughts and did so in the sister's section of sunniforum.com. I'll paste below what I wrote there, because those thoughts are still lingering in my mind. It's a message to/about the Muslims studying to become 'aalims and 'aalimahs all over the world, especially in the West:

SubhaanAllah I'm learning about an entirely new world that I simply knew nothing about. I looked at your blog, Sister [a sister from the forum], and one other person's blog and I'm discovering this community of 'aalims and 'aalimahs and young people my age studying to be counted among that blessed group of people. SubhaanAllah, I knew nothing about this... I knew that somewhere in some places some people go to Islamic institutes, but that's all I knew. Nothing else. Now I feel like I've discovered this treasure, this pocket of spiritual gold that actually exists in the West.. in the very same community I was born and brought up in. SubhaanAllah.. it brings tears to my eyes. Reading your blogs and hearing about the things you all do, and the things you learn and what you're teaching, subhaanAllah. This brother's the imaan of this masjid and that sister's teaching fiqh to those girls... all groomed by this beautiful Islamic environment where children run around in gardens of sunnah and students bask in the fragrances of the 'ulema and awliyaa... SubhaanAllah.. what a gift.. what a blessing.. not only that it exists today due to the barakah of Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim, the sahabah radiAllahu 'anhum and the 'ulema.. but the fact that it exists here, in this society, in these times. One moment you're in the madrasah studying the hadith of our beloved Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim, the next moment you drive out and you're in the same dunyaa I see all around me.. the same dunyaa I grew up in.. the same stores and roads..

SubhaanAllah... I never thought I'd find a group of Muslims my age who see Islam the same exact way I do, who take pleasure in the same exact things I do, who see life the same exact way I do, who love the awliyaa and 'ulema and who grew up loving them. Me... I looked here and there, once in a while closed my eyes, held my breath and just ran becuase it was the easiest thing to do.. and alhamdulillah I wound up with a traditional understanding of Islam. Meanwhile there are brothers and sisters whose best friends are all studying to be 'aalims and 'aalimahs... whose friends all go for 'umrah.... who grew up in this beautiful environment, surrounded, comforted and nurtured by the nur of the Qur'an and sunnah.

SubhaanAllah.. I don't know really what I'm saying, or why I'm saying it.. or if it's even coming out right.. but I was just so overwhelmed by the beauty of what I was reading, I had to say something... SubhaanAllah, discovering all this brought me to tears... and I just had to say something. What a blessing you all have.. may Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala increase it for you all. May He increase your knowledge of His deen and your desire to learn more. May He make you among His most beloved servants, entirely submitted to His Divine Will. May He fill your limbs, hearts and souls with the sunnah of His beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim.. May He make you among those who weep to Him in the pre-dawn hours.. May He raise you in the company of those whom He loves the most and grant you shade on the Day there will be no shade save that of His Throne.. and May He grant you the unimaginable gift of being in His Divine Presence for all of Eternity... Ameen...

Your humbled sister in Islam, Imaan and striving for Ihsan,
Zareen