Blog Archives

6 Steps to Achieve a Quality Salah

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Source: productivemuslim.com

By: Abu Umar

Alhamdulillah, achieving a quality salah is something we, as Productive Muslims, are all striving towards. None of us likes to recite Quran during our salah without having our faith refreshed. We would all like for us to feel that peace from showing our obedience to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He).

We’re all leading busy lives and this can affect the time we spend in worship to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). Therefore, in the little time we spend worshiping Him, we want to make sure this is done right and in a way that is pleasing to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). This will help benefit us in this life and our worldly duties, as well as the hereafter.

Here are a few points which, inshallah, will help you improve the quality of your salah in terms of improving the prayer itself and also bearing in mind what can harm it.

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Role of Islam in the management of Psychiatric disorders

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Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

By: Walaa M. Sabry and Adarsh Vohra

With the significant growth of the Muslim population all over the world, there exists a corresponding increase in the need for mental health services that suit this group of patients. Research demonstrates the effectiveness of the integration of spirituality and religiosity into psychotherapy and how religious beliefs could affect the management plans. This article discusses the impact of various beliefs in the Islamic faith on the bio-psychosocial model for the management of different psychiatric disorders including focusing on the modification of psychotherapeutic techniques as cognitive restructuring. It also shows other types of therapies such as music therapy, meditation therapy, and aromatherapy. The main emphasis remains to ensure that Muslim psychiatric patients get ethical, acceptable, and effective treatment.

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Signs of the times, the End Times

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Source: jamiat.org.za

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) foretold 72 signs that would appear near the Day of Doom:

1. People will leave prayer
2. People will usurp Ama’naat
3. Lying will become an art
4. There will be murders on the slightest of disagreements
5. Interest will become common
6. There will be very tall buildings
7. People will sell Religion for the world
8. People will treat relatives badly
9. Justice will become a rarity
10. Lies will be considered truth
11. Clothes will be of silk
12. Persecution will become common
13. Divorces will become common
14. Sudden deaths will increase
15. The usurper of Ama’naat will be considered honest and honourable
16. The keeper of Am’naat will be called an usurper of things given to him for safekeeping
17. Liars will be thought of as honest
18. Honest people will be thought of as liars
19. False accusations will become the norm
20. It will be hot in spite of rain
21. Instead of wishing for children, people will pray that they not have children
22. People from bad backgrounds and with bad upbringing will live a life of luxury(material, not peaceful)
23. Good people, when they try to practice, will be cut off from the world
24. Previously good people will also usurp Ama’naat
25. Leaders will become persecutors
26. Ulema and Qaris will commit adultery
27. People will wear clothes of animal skin
28. But their hearts will smell and will be dead
29. And will be bitter
30. Gold will become common
31. Demand for Silver will increase
32. Sin will increase
33. Peace will become rare
34. Ayaats from the Quran will be decorated and calligraphy will become common
35. Mosques will be decorated
36. And will have tall minars
37. But hearts will be empty
38. Alcoholic drinks will be consumed more than ever
39. Punishments ordered by the Shariah will be revoked and will no longer be implemented
40. Women will order their mothers around
41. People who are with naked feet, naked bodies and against religion will become kings
42. Women will trade along with men
43. Women will imitate men
44. Men will imitate women
45. People will swear by things other than Allah and the Quran
46. Even Muslims will be prepared to give false testimony, without being incited to it
47. Only people one knows will be greetedwith the salaam
48. The knowledge of the shariah will be used to earn worldly things
49. Acts which earn the Akhirah, will be used to earn the world
50. Assets belonging to the nation will be considered and treated as personal treasures by the rulers
51. Ama’naat will be considered ones personal asset
52. Zakaat will be considered a burden
53. The lowest and the worst man in the nation will become its leader
54. People will not obey their fathers
55. And will mistreat their mothers
56. And will not hold back from harming their friends
57. And will obey their wives
58. And the voices of men who commit adultery will be raised in mosques
59. Women who sing will be treated with great deference
60. Instruments of music will be kept with great care
61. Alcohol will be drunk on the highways
62. People will be proud of their acts of persecution
63. Justice will be sold in the courts
64. The number of men in the police force will increase
65. Instead of music, the Quran will be used to gain pleasure for its tune and style (qirat), not for what it preaches, its meaning or for rewards in the Akhirah
66. Animal fur will be used for clothes
67. The last of the Ummat will curse thosebefore them. (clearly seen today in peoplewho call the Prophet’s companion’s names)
68. Either Allah will send a Red Storm upon you
69. Or Earthquakes
70. Or your faces will be changed
71. Or a rain of rocks from the skies. Asteroids, Meteors
72. Lies will become a habit of the rulers and the rich

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also said:

1. Alcohol will be called Sherbat, and will be considered Halal
2. Interest will be called Trade, and will be considered Halal
3. Bribes will be called Gifts, and will be considered Halal
4. Women will have hair, like the hump of a camel. (This is the fashion of people today, yet they do not realise they will neither enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance.)
5. Women will be naked in spite of wearing dresses. (This Hadith has baffled the Ulema for a very long time until now)The 3 kind of naked women are:(1) Those who wear see-through dresses(2) Those who wear tight dresses and(3) Those whose dresses are so short,thatthey expose the body

5 Islamic Tips To Improve Focus, Fight Procrastination, And Increase Efficiency

Do You Want To Improve Your Focus As A Muslim?

Source: http://islamiclearningmaterials.com/

By: 

Do you want to fight procrastination? Would you like to increase your efficiency?

Many Muslims are stricken with the twin evils of laziness and procrastination. These twin sisters kill productivity and endanger our ability to increase our Islam and Imaan.

To be a good Muslim, and to truly please Allah takes work.

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How Smoking Harms Your Vision

Source: http://www.allaboutvision.com/smoking/

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. It harms nearly every organ in your body — including your eyes.

Adverse — and often fatal — health effects of cigarette smoking such as heart disease and cancer are all too familiar, but sight-threatening vision and eye problems generally are less well-known.

Here are more reasons you should kick the habit:

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Smoking and Cataracts

Cataracts (clouding of the eye’s natural lens) are a leading cause of blindness in the world. More than 50 percent of Americans will have a cataract or have had cataract surgery by age 80.

Smokers significantly increase their risk of developing a cataract compared with non-smokers. In fact, studies show that people who smoke double their chance of forming cataracts, and the risk continues to increase the more you smoke.

Smoking and Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the center of the retina, which is responsible for sharp, central vision needed for everyday tasks such as reading and driving.

Macular degeneration causes “blind spots” and often severely impairs central vision. AMD is the leading cause of permanent vision loss among Americans age 65 and older.

Studies show smokers can have a three-fold increase in the risk of developing AMD compared with people who have never smoked. And female smokers over age 80 are 5.5 times more likely to develop AMD than non-smokers of the same age.

But it’s not all bad news: because smoking is the biggest controllable risk factor associated with AMD, quitting smoking at any age, even later in life, can significantly reduce your risk of developing AMD.

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Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of eye conditions that cause vision loss.

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Ebola the Grant Lie

Source: iternchange.wordpress.com

We all heard many times. it is on the radio, TV and Newspaper 24/ so that you better don’t forget. Ebola Ebola Ebola, and then when a pop singer like Chris Brown voices his opinion he becomes the genius of the century. In 50 years Africa is going to be the continent with the biggest population just making this connection one will understand the bigger picture. UN predicted 10 thousand deaths every week ????

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15 Facts and Benefits of Ayatul Kursi

Source: forum.netmuslims.com

By: Arifa Hudda

* Our Holy prophet (SAW) has said: whoever recites the first 4 ayats of Surae Baqarah, then Ayatul Kursi and then the last 3 ayats of Surae Baqarah will not be inflicted with any kind of difficulty in his wealth or himself, Shaitaan will not come near him and he will not forget the Qur’an.

* Imam Ali (AS) was told by our Holy Prophet: Qur’an is a great word, and Surae Baqarah is the leader of the Qur’an and Ayatul Kursi is the leader of Surae Baqarah. In Ayatul Kursi there are 50 words and for each word there are 50 blessings and good in it.

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Need something? Just ask Allah

By: Jinan Bastaki

Source: http://www.suhaibwebb.com/

“Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him…” (Qur’an, 27:62)

For whatever problem we have, whatever difficulty we find ourselves in, we have the most powerful weapon to ward off the pain that plagues us. It is the weapon of du`a’. We know with certainty that Allah is Al-Mujeeb (The Responsive). We have read many articles telling us about the importance of du`a’, but in order for our du`a’ to be truly meaningful, we must accompany that du`a’ with a certain brokenness in the heart. This brokenness is the feeling of utter need, submission and surrender to Allah, and realizing that truly it is only He who can get us out of our state. In a beautiful hadith qudsi, Allah says:

“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.

O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you,

O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you.

O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.

O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.

O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it.

O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good, praise Allah, and let him who finds other than that, blame no one but himself.” (Muslim)

Subhan’Allah (exalted is Allah), this hadith requires us to read it more than once to truly grasp its meaning. In essence, Allah is telling us that everything is from Him – He possesses this whole world and all that is in it, therefore we should seek all of our needs from Him.

Allah has named Himself Al-Mujeeb, which means the One who responds. Just as we are certain that the Qur’an is true, we must be certain that Allah, Al-Mujeeb, will answer our call. We should never think that Allah will not answer, because by feeling so, we are denying this attribute (siffat) of Allah. Whenever we are feeling down, we should not hesitate to ask Him over and over again, and to go into sujood (prostration) and plead because that is the closest that we are to Him. If we realize this, the doors of mercy have been opened for us, because the Prophet ﷺ said, “For whoever the door of du`a’ opened, for him the doors of mercy are opened.” (Tirmidhi).

Your du`a’ is deposited with Allah, and as was narrated from the Prophet ﷺ, your du`a’ does something. Either Allah will speedily answer your du`a’ or He will save it for you until the Hereafter, or He will avert something bad equal to the value of the du`a’ (Ahmad). So we should never leave du`a’. The Prophet ﷺ told us, “Do not stop making du`a’, because nobody who makes du`a’ is forsaken.” (Hakim)

Insha’Allah, you will be answered. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty.” (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

Remember: our Lord is not forgetful. Sometimes you might even forget that you once made du`a’ for something, but He might give it to you years later.

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Follow the Sunnah and increase your beauty

Source: alahazrat.net

Hadrat Ibn-e-‘Umar Radi ALLAHu Ta’ala Anho reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “Do the opposite of what the polytheists do; let the beard grow long and clip the mustache.” A version has, “trim the mustache down and leave the beard.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 875]

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