“We need more, not less democracy” and “Intelligence services have failed us” by Jacob Appelbaum (Video)

Journalist and researcher for the Tor project, Jacob Appelbaum talks about technology, freedom and resisting surveillance at the World Forum for Democracy.

Read a transcript of the speech here: https://goo.gl/WSE3mK

This video is published as part of an openDemocracy editorial partnership with the World Forum for Democracy.

Nouman Ali Khan – In Need of Wisdom (Video)

Dr. Muhammed Salah – About Hajat prayer (Video)

Advice on Interactions with Others

It is reported that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattab May Allah be pleased with him – said:

Whoever exposes himself to suspicion, let him blame only himself for whoever suspects him.

He who covers his secret is in a position to choose [to correct himself].

Assume the best about your brother until what comes to you from him overcomes you [and you have to change your opinion].

3 Steps to be the Best Child to your Parent!

By: Zohra Sarwari

Source: http://zohrasarwari.com/

Bismillahhe Rahmanee Raheem – Often when I give a speech for the Muslim Youth, at the end of it I am asked “How can I change and be the best child to my parent?”

SubhanAllaah, this shows me that if we were to teach our children the importance of parenthood, then they would actually reflect on the subject and possibly change their behaviors for the better.  Glory be to Allaah for all of His favors.  The problem that many of us have is that we do not teach our children how to be the best child.

InshAllaah today I will be teaching just that.  I am writing this article for all of the youth out there who want to know in 3 simple steps how to be the best child inshAllaah.   If you are one of those youth, then I would like to begin by saying mashAllaah I am proud of you first for reading this article.  That tells me a lot about you as a person.  If you have the courage to admit that you could be a better child, and you want to learn more skills that alone says a lot about your character.  However, to fully benefit from this article you need to actually put the information from this article into action- inshAllaah.

Before we get started I want to ask you one question.  Will you commit to me that you will use these 3 steps as often as you can until it eventually becomes habit?  Please say YES.  InshAllaah you said yes, and our journey begins.

Let’s start with Bismillah:

 

Step 1.  Always say “At your Service Umme or Abi (Mom or Dad)”:

What does this mean.  Well when you’re called upon to do something without a second thought say “At your service Umme or Abi.  That means I am ready to do as you wish.  With those words coming out of your mouth, your actions inshAllaah will be sincere as they take into effect next.   You see sometimes the words coming out of our mouth helps us put our actions to ease as they take effect into the next few minutes.  Believe me just saying this will make you smile and be ready to serve your parents.

 

 Action Step:  Practice saying “At your service Umme/Abi.  Say this 20 times to yourself, until you feel comfortable saying it inshAllaah.

It should be natural and easy to come out of your mouth.   Everytime you say these words to your parents and actually do what they ask you to do inshAllaah Allaah will bless you more, and you will feel happier.  When our parents are happy with us, Allaah subhana wa Tala is happy with us, when our parents are angry with us Allaah subhana wa Tala is angry with us.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said:“The pleasure of Allaah is from the pleasure of the parents, and the anger of Allah is from the anger of the parents.”

So let’s not make our parents angry and instead earn their pleasure, for when we do good to them, we make our Lord happy.  SubhanAllaah what a beautiful religion Islam is, Allaah subhana wa Tala only wants the best from each of us.   By taking the action step as I proposed you’re on your way to success inshAllaah.

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.

Spirituality in Modern Civilization

By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/

We have been asked to address the topic of “Spirituality in Modern Civilization.” Such topics are typically chosen by professors who find such combinations of concepts catchy, flashy and even a little spicy. However, when I hear the term “modern civilization” bandied about, I often wonder what it really means. After all, did people in the past consider themselves backwards, out-of-date, ancient, or behind the times? Did they consider their time uncivilized, looking towards our era as one in which they would finally be “modern?” Was not the time of our Prophet (s) also a “modern” one for those who were blessed to live during it? I propose that “modernity” exists in every era, depending on the circumstances of the time, and thus can be applied equally to each of them as well.

Allah reminds you

By: Ibn al-Jawzi Rahimahullah

“I wonder at you! Allah draws near to you though He is in no need for you, whereas you are arrogant of Him though you are in need of Him. When you are far, He draws you near to Him and when you are negligent, He reminds you. He did not favor any other creation over you but nevertheless you still favor everything over Him. Lower the head of your regret before the commencement of the day at which you are blamed because then you will not have the face to answer any of that.”

It’s more than just a dollar: What you’re giving when you give

Source: islamic-relief.com.au

By: Jasmin Ghandour

Only a few days ago, I read a Facebook post by our friends at Islamic Relief Palestine that reminded me how easy it really is to forget how fortunate we are.

With some of us having so much to do in what seems like so little time, we sometimes find it difficult to take a moment to appreciate the things in our lives that we’re most thankful for like the people that make you smile, our homes, the food on our table, living in a country where we can execute our right to an education, our jobs and of course the generous supporters that make our life changing work possible.