Preparation for the Sweet Days of Ramadan

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

I pray you're all in the best of health and imaan, deeply emersed in remembrance of Allah 'azza wa jal and making the very most of every moment of your time.I added a section on the right in which I'm counting down the days to Ramadan. You may be wondering, "Why on earth is she counting the days 'till Ramadan already?" Well, to be entirely honest I made a mistake. I should have started counting a few months ago. Some of the salaf radiAllahu 'anhum used to make du'a for a full six months before Ramadan that Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala allow them to make the very most of the upcoming Ramadan, and they'd make du'a for six months after Ramadan that He accept the 'ibaadat they did during the previous Ramadan. Such should be our attitude, as we are in far greater need of the barakah that blessed month brings than they were.

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db) said in one of his talks that the fayd of Ramadan actually begins two months before Ramadan itself. SubhaanAllah, this is an amazing thing to take advantage of.

[Stuff editted out. The rest is about the importance of preparing yourself for Ramadan. The following is a description of how it's like before Ramadan....]

It's like this... you know when it's really, really windy out and you're trying to walk against the wind? Especially for sisters, this can be really hard coz of all our periphery garments that catch the wind and slow us down. So imagine you're late for class and you're trying to speed walk towards it, but the wind is blowing insanely hard against your body causing you to walk in an almost ruku' position, grimacing against the sand and dirt being whipped into your face. It's hard... and you're moving slower than you'd like to, but at least you're getting somewhere. You're going to stumble a little bit, but insha'Allah you're bound to make some progress. Such is the nature of hard work. Now imagine that all of a sudden the wind stops blowing, and then starts up from behind you, pushing you forward. That's Ramadan.

When the wind's blowing against you, you're still trying your hardest to make progress towards your classroom and step by painful step you inch closer. As soon as the wind blows with you, you're now able to run... practically fly to class because your body was already so used to working in that direction. So subhaanAllah it's the same way as our time before Ramadan, except much more profound and your destination is faaar more rewarding than sitting before your professor in a big, poorly lit lecture hall.

Before Ramadan you should be training yourself *hard*... working on removing those bad habits (talking less, eating less, sleeping less) and increasing in good works (reading Qur'an more, waking up for tahajjud, increasing in dhikrullah.) It's really hard, because you have the wind of your nafs, shaytaan and dunyaa to fight against, and they're powerful warriors. But you know that at the end of this wind tunnel will come Ramadan, when all of a sudden everything you're doing becomes far easier.... you talk less coz you're tired, you eat less coz you're fasting, you sleep less coz you wake up for suhur (tahajjud : ), you read more Qur'an because you have all this free time which appeared out of no where (yes, eating takes up a lot of precious time) and you find your heart deeply engaged in remembrance of your Beloved, morning, afternoon and evening. It's no longer a struggle. Durng the year you have to keep checking yourself- "Oh, oops, I'm not doing dhikr," and then start up again. But during Ramadan barakah will be showering upon you, your heart will yearn for that connection and shaytaan won't be there to blast your mind with thoughts of anything ghayrullah.

So subhaanAllah, we have a gift! We have an unbelievable gift approaching us, and its benefit has already begun to seep into our lives. Tap into the barakah that's beginning to trickle from the blessed month of Ramadan, and start making changes now. The more changes you make now, the easier it'll be to dive head first into Ramadan. Don't be like I was last year... realizing on the first of Ramadan that the time has begun and then starting my struggle... only to realize that it's Eid ul Fitr and I've made no progress. Take advantage now. Take this time now to make the changes you didn't have the tawfiq to make before. Begin to fight against that bitter wind so that the moment the sun sets on the 30th of Sha'ban and Ramadan dawns upon you, you can bask in its light, soak up its sweet spiritual fragrances and run to your Lord, Who has been waiting for you....

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to make the changes we've been dying to make, to drop the habits we've been pining to drop and to taste the nearness we've been yearning to taste for all these years. May He allow us to benefit from this upcoming Ramadan far more than we ever have from previous Ramadans. May He make this time a means through which we draw near to Him greatly, so that when the sweet days of Ramadan begin we can drown ourselves in remembrance of and love for our Creator. Ameen.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Please do take a moment to hear one or more of the following lectures -if not now, then later- in order to prepare yourself for these sweet and blessed approaching days.

Hazrat Maulana Zulfiqar Ahmad (db) -Urdu
Physical and Spiritual Benefits of Ramadan
Hazrat Zulfiqar's lecture series during I'tikaf in Zambia

Mufti Taqi Usmani (db) -Urdu
Ramadan: How to Make the Most of it

Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed (db)-English
The Purpose of Ramadan

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db) -English
Preparing for Ramadan - The Month of Sha'ban
The Path to Ramadan - Limited Days of Ramadan
The Path to Ramadan - Purification
The Path to Ramadan - Prayer
The Path to Ramadan - Fasting
Taking Advantage of Ramadan
Making the most of Ramadan

Jum'a Mubarak and Istighfaar

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

Haven't blogged in a while. I suppose I just haven't felt inspired. But I just thought I'd write up a quick post and blurt out a couple things I'm thinking about. Firstly, don't forget to read Surah Kahf today. Insha'Allah he who reads Surah Kahf on Jum'a, preferably before Jum'a Salaah, will be protected from the Dajjal when he comes. And we all need protection from him. I've heard that righteous people will run and hide from him out of fear that if they meet him they'll be convinced by him and swayed off the Path. Imagine- that'll be state of the righteous. What'll happen to us?

Also increase in your salawaat upon Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim. On any other day, when you say "Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad" an angel rushes to deliver that gift to our beloved Prophet. But on Yawm al-Jum'a those sweet words are heard directly by him salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim. SubhaanAllah, reflect upon that...

And one last thing... don't ever think it's too late. So long as there is breath in your lungs, blood in your veins and beats in your heart, it's not too late. It doesn't matter how far you've gone down the wrong path, it doesn't matter how many times you've made the same mistake, it doens't matter how ashamed you feel going back and asking Allah jalla jalaaluh to forgive you for something you've done for the 23rd time.... what matters is that you're still alive, you're not in your grave and you can do istighfaar and change. Don't even think about it. Just don't. Don't give yourself that extra moment of thought for shaytaan to come in and whisper. If you're doing something wrong, *stop* and do istighfaar.

Imagine.. Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala has said that He loves the one who turns over and over in repentance, seeking forgiveness. Hear these words! "Allah loves..." Think about that! Just stop, clear your mind and heart and reflect upon that phrase, "Allah loves..." And what comes after it? You'd think, "Allah loves those who do good... Allah loves those who are patient... Allah loves those who stand up in prayer in the predawn hours..." Yes, Allah 'azza wa jal may well love those people... but what is He saying here? "Allah loves the one who turns to Him over and over in repentance." And who falls in that category? Sinners! Sinners who sin.. over and over.. such that they are in need of turning over and over in repentance! SubhaanAllah! Allah has said to you, Oh you who are sinning, Oh you who are filthying your heart with blackness, Oh you who are wrong, Oh you who are destroying your soul.... Allah *loves* you.... if you but turn in repentance. SubhaanAllah.. He loves you.. just turn to Him. Ask Him sincerely for forgiveness, He will grant it. He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy... He is the Most Kind of those who have kindness... It's not too late.... you're alive... and look at Who you're asking forgiveness from.. if it were your best-friend that you'd wronged over and over and over, would she forgive you after the 100th time? Probably not. But this is Allah.. Allah Most High.. Allah Most Kind.. Allah Most Loving...

Just do it... you have nothing to lose and everything to gain... stop what you're doing. Just stop... it's not worth it.. it's sooo not worth it. SubhaanAllah, it really isn't. Stop, do istighfaar with sincerity again, for the umpteenth time.. and Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala will forgive you... He loves you, oh frequent sinner....

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to leave those things that are keeping us away from Him, for verily in the moment you are committing a sin you have almost definitely left the remembrance of Allah and thus our purpose in this life, and if you were to die in that state you may well die in heedlessness... May He grant us the tawfiq to stop, do istighfaar, and return to our Lord, Who loves us for our ability to repent.. again and again and again... May He fill our last moments on this earth -and those last moments began the day we were born- with love for Him and remembrance of Him... let us not spend a single moment of our time in heedlessness of Him, for only in those moments are we prone to sin... Ya Rabb let us love You the way the people of our previous generations loved You.. with our every breath, heart beat, tear, blink, step and sigh, Ya ArhamurRaahimeen. Ameen.

Lessons from a Majestic Blue Canopy

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

I've decided I don't really like being on the computer, especially not for long periods of time coz there's only so much you can do that's truly of benefit, and after a few hours you're most probably just wasting time and draining anything you may have attained spiritually. (Unless, of course, you're a computer science person or a web designer or someone whose actual vocation invloves the computer.) Thus it's been a little while since I last posted, but I decided to come on and post because I had some really fun reflections which I wanted to share.

Alhamdulillah, nature really stimulates beautiful chains of thought. Not to get all Emersonian or Thoreau-ian but I do think spending time in unadultured nature with contemplation, reflection, deepness of thought and expansion of mind is good for the soul. So I was looking at the sky the other day, and SubhaanAllah it really is so beautiful. There's so much to learn from it... so many of its qualities to reflect upon. Firstly, it's just so perfect. Utterly flawless. I think Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala even said in the Qur'an to look at His creation and try to find fault in it... you will fail. It's so true (obviously... it's in the Qur'an : ) It's this perfect blue canopy which hangs effortlessly overhead, covering and protecting us by the Grace of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala.

I was also thinking about its quality of expansiveness. I mean, firstly we've established that it's utterly flawless because that's the way Allah created it. And on top of this quality it appears as though it goes on forever. We know it doesn't, obviously, but the naked eye unsupported by the intellect and heart could easily fall into thinking it does. Look in any direction at it and you'll never see the end of it. No matter where you stand, what elevation, what location, no matter what longitudinal and latitudinal region you are in, the sky above will always appear as though it just keeps on going. It makes me think of the Glory of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, because imagine: here's this thing that's so unbelievably expansive, so beautiful in its physical appearance, so necessary for our survival and sustenance and appears as though it's limitless. Yet despite the greatness of each of these qualities it falls hopelessly short of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala Who created it, sustains it, maintains it and has Himself the most Beautiful and Perfect manifestations of all its aformentioned qualities. If I can barely comprehend the majestic beauty of the sky above me, can you even begin to imagine how unimaginably Beautiful and Majestic must be its Creator? SubhaanAllah : )

The third reflection I had about it was again in regards to its expansiveness and solidarity, yet this time not physically but over time. The gentle blue canopy I call the sky has contained the same glittery stars, burning sun and soothing moon for centuries, and will continue to do so until the day the universe collapses. Stars do die, of course, but most major constellations and such have remained for centuries as we can see in our study of ancient civilizations and the importance they gave to the night sky. What's so amazingly beautiful is this powerful yet unassuming constant... I mean, think about it- throughout all the wars, all the bloodshed, all the sick things mankind has done, all the transgressions we've committed against Truth, all the sins man has done -hidden and open- since the beginning of time, all the damage we've caused to this sweet planet... throughout all of this, one thing which has remained untouched and ever-peaceful is the sky.

On the flip side we have the serenity... subhaanAllah, this brings tears to my eyes... the sky I gaze upon in the middle of a tiring day, after weeks of feeling spiritually low... that very sky is the same sky that my beloved Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim gazed upon when he was on this earth. SubhaanAllah... the moon... that very moon which lights up my neighbourhood at night with a gentle blue glow, is the very same moon upon which the blessed gaze of my dear and beloved Prophet Muhammad salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim fell over 1400 years ago. That moon is the same moon that is referred to in a hadith, when one of the sahaba radiAllahu 'anh said that he was with the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim on a night when it was a full moon and he looked at the Prophet, then he looked at the moon, then he looked at the Prophet, then he looked again at the full moon and he said, "I had never seen anything as beautiful as the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim." Just think- this celestial smile which, when it grows to be full, is used to describe the face of the beloved of Allah... this beautiful moon was actually compared to the beauty of the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim by one of the sahaba. SubhaanAllah...

Just try it: one day when you're feeling distant from Allah, or things are just going terribly wrong in your life, or even if you're bursting with love for Allah jalla jalaaluh and His messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim and don't know where to channel it, go outside at night, turn your face toward the heavens and look. Look at that sky, gaze at those stars and soak in the light of the moon... and know that the sweet and blessed gaze of the habib of Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim once glanced upon the very same gentle moon, once used those very same sparkling stars to guide him from Mecca to Madina on his blessed Hijrah... and once raised his perfect hands towards that very same majestic sky to make a heartfelt du'a for you, his ummah...

Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad...

Mothers

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

So many ponderings I want to write about. I hope this doesn't get too long...

I just finished vacuuming the upstairs plus the staircase and my arms are, like, throbbing. I also started sweating up a storm, especially on the staircase coz the vacuum cleaner itself was generating a lot of heat on top of the already warm/humid weather.

Anyway, I was thinking about it.... we always talk about how *amazing* mothers are, masha'Allah, because of the fundamental/crucial/pivotal role they play in bringing up children. I had attended a talk by Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db) on raising children, and he was saying that every child born is an uncut diamond and the responsibility of the parents is to cut, carve, shape and smooth that rough diamond into a beautiful gem, so that Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala will purchase that child for Jannah. Before he mentioned this point, he started off his talk by saying that the first step in bringing up righteous children is to marry a righteous wife, because the mother will essentially be the child's companion for his/her entire childhood and then some, and will play the largest role (out of creation) in nurturing that child into a mu'min, or a muhsin.

So we have this person, the mother, who has the responsibility of raising pure, untainted babies into devoted servants of Allah. That is no easy task, let alone the endless nights awake feeding the baby, rocking her back and forth to put her to sleep, the hectic days running around the house after the baby, keeping an eye on her at all times, never able to enjoy a single meal because the mother's attention and focus is always on her child, where she is and what she's doing. I mean, subhaanAllah, the things a mother does to maintain and raise a child is immense. (Alhamdulillah, the father certainly has his critical role as well, but I want to focus on the mother for a moment...)

So, anyway, what I'm discovering is that *aside* from the immense and unimaginable responsibility and duty of a mother in raising a child, let alone children, she has a house to maintain! She has to vacuum here, dust there, tidy this, clean that, wash clothes, cook food... subhaanAllah!! The CEO of a billion dollar corporation can't multi task as beautifully as a mother can! And the key thing about her mutli tasking: it's completely selfless. It's purely out of the rahm Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala placed in her that she does these things. SubhaanAllah... I keep discovering over and over why Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim loved women, and why he said that Jannah is under the feet of the mother. If you begin to think of the number of things (weighty things) a mother does everyday without tire or complaint and really, truly refect upon it... you'll want nothing more than to serve you mother, give her anything her heart desires and take care of her every need. SubhaanAllah, you may well earn Jannah as a result of just that.

So that was my first pondering for this post... inspired by my aching muscles and beating heart. Now, having spoken about something as profound and beautiful as motherhood, I've kinda lost desire to write about my other ponderings... So maybe I'll come back in a couple days and ponder out loud again. Until then, please keep me in your du'as : )

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen