Blog Archives
Don’t despair, He is with you
Source: virtualmosque.com
By: Jinan Yousef
Sometimes it feels like it’s just too much – these fluctuations in our iman, the repeated sinning, the feeling that “I just don’t deserve Allah’s mercy.” The tests always feel like punishments. There is a constant worry about the future: my marriage, my money, my career, my ummah (community)… And some difficulties just feel like they are too great to overcome. We know we’re not supposed to ask this, but the question at the back of our minds is, “Why me?”
We have all heard that we should never despair of Allah’s Mercy. And on the surface, we try not to, butShaytaan (the Devil) has a trick. We tend to despair of ourselves and our incapacity to change things, especially the inner turmoil that we feel. And the effect of this is basically the same as despairing of Allah’s mercy. We do not always accept that Allah can take us out of the situation we are in and we don’t need to ‘deserve’ the trouble; Allah isn’t punishing us and we don’t need to be perfect.
Modesty: An Inside-Out Approach
Source: virtualmosque.com
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 way. So, we try to wear more loose-fitting clothes, for example, or wear less make-up. Or we might try to curse a little less, look at lewd images less often, or flirt a little less with a guy friend or girls at work. But sometimes we find it difficult to change these habits and behaviors. Why is that? Part of the reason is that we overlook the inner spiritual dimensions of modesty; we try to cure the symptoms without dealing with the problem at its root. It is almost like trying to save a dried out plant by dipping its leaves in water or fertilizer.
“I’M BORED!” – Tips for parents with kids on vacation
By: Umm Ammarah
Source: eislam.co.za
Dad what can I do next???…Mum I’m BORED!!! For parents vacations can be really demanding keeping our children occupied. Vacations pose a great challenge for many parents. However holidays can be great fun if parents are positive, creative and interactive. Also during the vacation there is a good opportunity to recharge our kid’s spiritual batteries and start afresh in daily activities. It is a joyous period and a unique break from our busy schedules. We should welcome vacations for its fun.
The excitement surrounding vacations and family trips usually kicks off with strong excitement. However, after only a short time away from the daily routines of school, one phrase parents dread hearing begins to creep into the language of children almost instinctively: “I’M BORED”!
Success in this world and the next
Source: muslimvillage.com
BISMILLĀHIR RAHMĀNIR RAHĪM
Glory to Allāh and Salutations on Rasulullāh Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam.
Allāh Subhānahu wa Ta’ala with His infinite Mercy has endowed us with numerous bounties. Out of all these bounties the biggest and the most significant is that of Imān. It is imperative that we value this bounty and protect it by bringing complete Deen in our life.
Mathematical miracles of the Quran: Word Repetitions
Source: miraclesofthequran.com
Apart from the miraculous characteristics of the Qur’an which we have looked into so far, it also contains what we can term “mathematical miracles.” There are many examples of this fascinating Qur’anic aspect. One example of this is the number of repetitions of certain words in the Qur’an. Some related words are surprisingly repeated the same number of times. Below is a list of such words and the number of repetitions in the Qur’an.
The statement of “seven heavens” is repeated seven times. “The creation of the heavens (khalq as-samawat)” is also repeated seven times.
“Day (yawm)” is repeated 365 times in singular form, while its plural and dual forms “days (ayyam and yawmayn)” together are repeated 30 times. The number of repetitions of the word “month” (shahar) is 12.
The number of repetitions of the words “plant” and “tree” is the same: 26
The word “payment or reward” is repeated 117 times, while the expression “forgiveness” (mughfirah), which is one of the basic morals of the Qur’an, is repeated exactly twice that amount, 234 times.
When we count the word “Say,” we find it appears 332 times. We arrive at the same figure when we count the phrase “they said.”
The number of times the words, “world” (dunya) and “hereafter” (akhira) are repeated is also the same: 115
The word “satan” (shaitan) is used in the Qur’an 88 times, as is the word “angels” (malaika).
The word faith (iman) (without genitive) is repeated 25 times throughout the Qur’an as is also the word infidelity (kufr).
The words “paradise” and “hell” are each repeated 77 times.
The word “zakah” is repeated in the Qur’an 32 times and the number of repetitions of the word “blessing” (barakah) is also 32.
The expression “the righteous” (al-abraar) is used 6 times but “the wicked” (al-fujjaar) is used half as much, i.e., 3 times.
The number of times the words “Summer-hot” and “winter-cold” are repeated is the same: 5.
The words “wine” (khamr) and “intoxication” (saqara) are repeated in the Qur’an the same number of times: 6
The number of appearances of the words “mind” and “light” is the same: 49.
The words “tongue” and “sermon” are both repeated 25 times.
The words “benefit” and “corrupt” both appear 50 times.
“Reward” (ajr) and “action” (fail) are both repeated 107 times.
“Love” (al-mahabbah) and “obedience” (al-ta’ah) also appear the same number of times: 83
The words “refuge” (maseer) and “for ever” (abadan) appear the same number of times in the Qur’an: 28.
The words “disaster” (al-musibah) and “thanks” (al-shukr) appear the same number of times in the Qur’an: 75.
“Sun” (shams) and “light” (nur) both appear 33 times in the Qur’an.
- In counting the word “light” only the simple forms of the word were included.
The number of appearances of “right guidance” (al-huda) and “mercy” (al-rahma) is the same: 79
The words “trouble” and “peace” are both repeated 13 times in the Qur’an.
The words “man” and “woman” are also employed equally: 23 times.
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Will they not ponder the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it.
(Qur’an, 4:82) |
The number of times the words “man” and “woman” are repeated in the Qur’an, 23, is at the same time that of the chromosomes from the egg and sperm in the formation of the human embryo. The total number of human chromosomes is 46; 23 each from the mother and father.
“Treachery” (khiyanah) is repeated 16 times, while the number of repetitions of the word “foul” (khabith) is 16.
“Human being” is used 65 times: the sum of the number of references to the stages of man’s creation is the same: i.e.
Human being 65
Soil (turab) 17
Drop of Sperm (nutfah) 12
Embryo (‘alaq) 6
A half formed lump of flesh (mudghah) 3
Bone (‘idham) 15
Flesh (lahm) 12
TOTAL 65
The word “salawat” appear five times in the Qur’an, and Allah has commanded man to perform the prayer (salat) five times a day.
The word “land” appears 13 times in the Qur’an and the word “sea” 32 times, giving a total of 45 references. If we divide that number by that of the number of references to the land we arrive at the figure 28.888888888889%. The number of total references to land and sea, 45, divided by the number of references to the sea in the Qur’an, 32, is 71.111111111111%. Extraordinarily, these figures represent the exact proportions of land and sea on the Earth today
Imam Afroz Ali: Faith & Service – Knowledge without Barriers (Video)
Imam Afroz Ali speaks about the importance of service in the religion of Islam. He stresses the importance of knowing our deen, as ‘Knowledge comes before action’. It is our manifested responsibility is to be people of Khidma (service). SO, it is the human being who can and should be the ‘distribution agency’ of Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He. This lecture was given during the SeekersHub Global, Sa’ada & Radical Middle Way UK Tour – Knowledge Without Barriers – in June, 2013.
Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def – Umi Says (Video)
An epic night to say the least. Mos Def back stage with a glint in his eye, seeing so many people from diverse backgrounds coming together on Chicago’s South Side in celebration of humanity and civic action. The event, hosted by the Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Taking it to the Streets, was held is Marquette Park, a place where Dr. King would talk to the people and was met with racism in the past, now the park is becoming a place where people of all races can come in celebration of diversity and our shared humanity! Amazing! We’ve come a long way but have a long way yet to go.
Mos Def was the highlight of the night and his music brought the crowd together and inspired us all. Thank you, good sir, for respecting the deen and for being a gentleman, an artist, and an activist always!
And thank you IMAN for being a pillar of Chicago’s South Side activist community dedicated to social change in all the right directions. You are all inspirational and I am proud to call you family.
PASS THE KNOWLEDGE (LIGHT & LIFE) 