The reality of the ego

Source: osmannuritopbas.com

By: Shaykh Osman Nuri Topbas

Man gives directions to his life depending on the exact nature of the battle taking place in his inner dimension between the animal and lordly souls. When the lordly soul wins the battle, man becomes inclined towards good deeds and morality. But when the animal soul takes the control, man becomes inclined towards all kinds of sin and immorality. Man’s responsibility for his actions is based on his preferences and decisions between good and evil deeds. Since man is given a capacity to perform his actions in accordance with his free will, and thereby take his animal soul under control to a certain extent, he is liable for what he does and eligible for both reward and punishment.

Position of the Heart

Source: blog.islamiconlineuniversity.com

By: Bint Mirza

The Prophet  said: “Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.” (Saheeh Bukharee) ¹

Unlike the belief of several doctors and philosophers who say that the function of the human heart is to merely pump blood throughout the human body, Qur’an emphasizes on the role of the human hearts in mental, emotional and spiritual decisions of man. Allah  mentions the heart or “qalb” in the Qur’an more than 130 times. Of these Qur’anic statements, some describe this sentient organ as having the capacity of being a center of reasoning, intentions and decision-making. Consequently, human hearts can either be healthy or diseased.

It is better to do what matters most now, than to watch all hope slip away over time.

 It is better to do what matters most now, than to watch all hope slip away over time.
 Es mejor hacer lo que más importa ahora, que para ver toda la esperanza se escape durante la hora.
 Het is beter om te doen wat het meest telt nu, dan om naar te kijken alle hoop weg te glijden in de tijd.
 Il est préférable de faire ce qui importe le plus maintenant, que de regarder tout espoir filer sur l’heure.
 Es ist besser, zu tun, was am wichtigsten ist jetzt, als zu beobachten, alle Hoffnung weg gleiten über die Stunde.
 這是更好地做什麼，最重要的現在，而不是看所有的希望溜走隨著時間的推移。
 Det är bättre att göra det som betyder mest nu, än att titta på allt hopp glida bort över tiden.
 Лучше делать то, что самое главное сейчас, чем смотреть всякую надежду ускользнуть с течением времени.
 Bu zaman içinde uzak tüm umut kayma izlemek yerine, artık en önemli şey yapmak daha iyidir.
 E ‘meglio fare ciò che più conta oggi, oltre a guardare tutti scivolare via la speranza nel tempo.
 Hal ini lebih baik untuk melakukan apa yang paling penting sekarang, daripada menonton semua harapan menyelinap pergi dari waktu ke waktu.

You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else.

 You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else.
 No se puede arreglar usted mismo rompiendo otra persona.
 Je kunt jezelf niet oplossen door het breken van iemand anders.
 Vous ne pouvez pas résoudre vous-même en brisant quelqu’un d’autre.
 Sie können nicht selbst beheben durch Brechen jemand anderes.
 Dǎpò biérén nǐ bùnéng xiūfù zìjǐ.
 Du kan inte fixa själv genom att bryta någon annan.
 Vy ne mozhete ispravit’ sebya , lomaya kogo-to drugogo.
 Başka birini kırarak kendinizi düzeltemez.
 Non si può risolvere da soli rompendo qualcun altro.
 Anda tidak dapat memperbaiki diri sendiri dengan melanggar orang lain.

10 habits of highly effective Muslim husbands

Alhamdullilah, I have been married for almost three years now and I feel that Muslim Marriage is one of the most beautiful gifts that Allah has given to Muslims in this world.

However, Muslim Marriage doesn’t come easy right away. Actually, many husbands today have been spoiled by family or their environment or even society and media. This has caused us to lose our manliness and personal striving that our forefathers and great men in the history of Islam had.

Now, as a Muslim Husband in this generation, I know how important and necessary it is for every Muslim Husband to work hard at their marriage in order for this Ummah to be strong again. After all, without the Muslim Family foundation, all other foundations cannot be formed.

I’ve put together some habits as a personal reminder to myself first and hopefully it can benefit Muslim Husbands out there who want to create a blissful marriage. Some ideas presented are from what I’ve read and heard and some are from experience. Take what applies to you and act on it.

So, let’s start…

1. Exercising, Staying Fit and Healthy

Sorry, brothers, you know this was coming. It is important that we stay healthy, exercise and keep fit for our wives and children. Many of us let ourselves go after marriage when it should be the other way around. When we are fit, we can do more for our wives and children. We also feel good that we are a strong contributing member of the Ummah.

My wife told me a story of how she was visiting a Muslim country recently and saw many couples where the wife was still dressed up nicely but the husband had totally let himself go.

I’m not asking everyone to be Arnold Schwarzenegger but to exercise so that when your kids are 12 years old, you can still kick a soccer ball with them. Because of my career in the software industry, I have to especially work hard at it as it is so easy for me to slack off (which I already have on a few occasions).

Doing what you enjoy will also help you stay fit. You don’t have to lift weights to stay in shape. As long as whatever you do helps you maintain a healthy, fit, Islamic lifestyle.

Also, it is imperative to eat a healthy diet. It doesn’t make much sense to work-out and stay fit and indulge in sweets and desserts everyday. Having a sweet tooth my whole life, I have now limited my sweet intake to one day of the week and have noticed positive changes like having more energy.

2. Dress well and with Ihsan (Excellence)

This is something I had to work on as I was never a good dresser when growing up. It doesn’t mean you have to wear rich expensive clothes. It means that your clothes are in good condition and you look presentable.

Muslims in history were known to dress excellently and to take care of their bodies. In the middle ages, Muslim Spain had running water and baths while the rest of Europe hardly washed their bodies.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to wear Musk to smell good.

Prophetic Saying:

Muslim narrated that Abu Sai’d Al-Khudri said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The best type of perfume is Musk.”

Try to buy quality over price or quantity as this is what dressing with Ihsan (Excellence) is about. At the end of the day, your wife will be happy with you and be thinking “MashaAllah.”

3. Read

It is no surprise that the first word revealed from the Quran to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was “Read…” (Surah Alaq 96:1).

I always struggled with reading growing up as I was too preoccupied with TV and video games. Even though I excelled in school, reading was always a chore and I didn’t do a lot of it.

However, as a Muslim Husband, reading is an important skill to have. Not only will it enrich you with more knowledge, it can also help with your communication and conversation skills with your wife and children. You will have much more interesting and important things to say and teach your children too.

Especially in today’s age of changing media and technology, if you are not reading and learning, you will be more susceptible to negative influences around you.

Fear your sins more than your enemies.

 Fear your sins more than your enemies.
 Teme a sus pecados más que sus enemigos.
 Vreest uw zonden meer dan je vijanden.
 Craignez vos péchés plus que vos ennemis.
 Fürchtet euren Sünden mehr als Ihre Feinde.
 Dānxīn nǐ de zuì bǐ nǐ de dírén.
 Frukta dina synder mer än dina fiender.
 Boytes’ svoikh grekhakh bol’she vashikh vragov.
 Daha fazla düşman daha senin günahlarını korkuyorlar.
 Paura vostri peccati più i vostri nemici.
 Takut dosa-dosamu lebih dari musuh Anda.

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do; it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t do.

 Strength doesn’t come from what you can do; it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t do.
 La fuerza no viene de lo que puede hacer, sino que proviene de la superación de las cosas que una vez pensó que no podía hacer.
 Kracht komt niet uit wat u kunt doen, het komt uit het overwinnen van de dingen die je ooit dacht dat je niet kon doen.
 La force ne vient pas de ce que vous pouvez faire, il s’agit de surmonter les choses que vous pensiez lorsque vous ne pouviez pas faire.
 Stärke nicht von dem, was Sie tun können, kommen, es von der Überwindung der Dinge, die Sie einmal gedacht, dass man nicht kommt.
 Lìliàng bùshì láizì nǐ kěyǐ zuò shénme, tā láizì kèfú nǐ céngjīng rènwéi nǐ bùnéng zuò de shìqíng.
 Styrka kommer inte från vad du kan göra, det kommer från att övervinna de saker som du en gång trodde att du inte kunde göra.
 Sila iskhodit ne ot togo, chto vy mozhete sdelat’ , eto proiskhodit ot preodoleniya , chto vy kogda-to dumali vy ne mogli sdelat’ .
 Güç ne yapabilirim gelmiyor, bu kez yapamayacağını düşündüm şeyleri üstesinden geliyor.
 Forza non viene da ciò che si può fare, ma viene da superare le cose che una volta si pensava non si poteva fare.
 Kekuatan tidak datang dari apa yang dapat Anda lakukan, yang datang dari mengatasi hal-hal yang Anda pernah berpikir Anda tidak bisa melakukan.

The answers often lay right infront of you, the problem is you seek in the distance, when in reality the answers are simple.

 The answers often lay right infront of you, the problem is you seek in the distance, when in reality the answers are simple.
 Las respuestas a menudo ponen justo en frente de ustedes, el problema es que usted busca en la distancia, cuando en realidad las respuestas son sencillas.
 De antwoorden liggen vaak direct voor u, het probleem is dat je zoekt in de verte, terwijl in werkelijkheid de antwoorden zijn eenvoudig.
 Les réponses pondent souvent juste en face de vous, le problème est que vous cherchez dans la distance, alors qu’en réalité, les réponses sont simples.
 Die Antworten lagen oft direkt vor Ihnen, das Problem ist, die Sie suchen in der Ferne, wenn in Wirklichkeit die Antworten sind einfach.
 Zhèxiē wèntí de dá’àn wǎngwǎng huì zài nǐ yòu qiánfāng, wèntí shì nǐ xúnqiú de jùlí, dāng xiànshí zhōng de dá’àn hěn jiǎndān.
 Svaren låg ofta rätt framför dig, är det problem du söker i fjärran, när det i själva svaren är enkla.
 Otvety chasto lezhal pryamo pered vami , problema v tom, vy ishchete na rasstoyanii, kogda na samom dele otvety prosty.
 Cevaplar genellikle sizin infront yatıyordu, sorunun gerçekte cevapları basit zaman, mesafe aramak olduğunu.
 Le risposte spesso depongono a destra davanti a voi, il problema è che cercate in lontananza, quando in realtà le risposte sono semplici.
 Jawaban sering berbaring infront dari Anda, masalahnya adalah Anda mencari di kejauhan, ketika pada kenyataannya jawaban sederhana.

You will keep making the same mistakes until you start to learn, your mistakes speak about you, if you would listen.

 You will keep making the same mistakes until you start to learn, your mistakes speak about you, if you would listen.
 Va a seguir cometiendo los mismos errores hasta que empiece a aprender, sus errores hablan de usted, si usted desea escuchar.
 U zal blijven dezelfde fouten maken, totdat je begint te leren, je fouten spreken over jou, als je zou luisteren.
 Vous continuer à faire les mêmes erreurs jusqu’à ce que vous commencez à apprendre, vos erreurs parlent de vous, si vous voulez écouter.
 Sie werden immer wieder die gleichen Fehler, bis Sie zu lernen beginnen, Ihre Fehler sprechen über Sie, wenn Sie hören.
 Nǐ huì bùduàn fàn tóngyàng de cuòwù, zhídào nǐ kāishǐ xuéxí, nǐ de cuòwù tánlùn nǐ, rúguǒ nǐ yuànyì tīng.
 Du kommer att fortsätta att göra samma misstag tills du börjar lära dig, dina misstag talar om dig, om du vill lyssna.
 Vy budete prodolzhat’ delat’ te zhe oshibki , poka vy ne nachnete uchit’sya, vashi oshibki govoryat o vas , yesli vy khoteli slushat’.
 Eğer öğrenmeye başlamadan, aynı hataları yapmaya devam edecektir, senin hataların senin hakkında konuşmak, dinlemek olsaydı.
 Potrai continuare a fare gli stessi errori fino a quando si inizia a imparare, i vostri errori parlano di te, se volete ascoltare.
 Anda akan terus membuat kesalahan yang sama sampai Anda mulai belajar, kesalahan Anda berbicara tentang Anda, jika Anda mau mendengarkan.