Origin of the Hadra – Shaykh Babikir Babikir

Shaykh Babikir Ahmed Babikir explains importance and etiquette of dhikr as well as the history behind the Hadra practice.

Mufti Menk: Importance of the Masjid (Video)

SpiritualPsychologist: Imam Al Ghazali on the Secrets of the Heart (Video)

The Proper Way To Make Dua

Question: I would like to know the proper way to make du’aa’ during prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did it. Is it after the prayer or between the two prostrations or whilst standing or when?

Source: muslimlinkpaper.com

By: Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid

Answer: Praise be to Allah. 

First:

Note that there is not one particular part of the prayer when du’aa’ should be offered, rather there are several parts of the prayer where the scholars have stated that the Messenger of Allah offered du’aa’, from the opening takbeer to the final tasleem.

It is also Sunnah to make du’aa’ after the prayer and there are several du’aa’s that we will mention below insh’allah. It should be noted that the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad and the best of du’aa’s are those which are in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet . The wording of the Messenger of Allah is the best of wording, because he is the most knowledgeable of all people about the Arabic language, and the most eloquent in speech. Allah enabled him to express the most profound of meanings in few words, which is called conciseness of speech.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
“I have been sent with concise speech.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6611; Muslim, 523. 

Al-Bukhaari said: I heard that conciseness of speech means when many meanings which it would have taken books to write before are summed up in a phrase or two, and so on.

Based on this, if you want to say du’aa’ in your prayers at the points at which it is prescribed and recommended (mustahabb) to say du’aa’, the best of du’aa’s are those which are said in the wording of the Prophet .

New Muslim: How to Minimize the Stress?

Source: onislam.net

By: Theresa Corbin

With negative pressure from fellow Muslims at the mosque, the daily media pressure of negative news about Muslims and Islam, and all the challenges of learning a new religion and getting the right understanding about Islam, many new Muslims find themselves more stressed than ever before.

Which can lead them to wonder where is the peace promised in Islam?

How does a new Muslim cope with all these pressures?

Talk to Allah (swt)

Source: hibamagazine.com

By: Binte Aqueel

There are times in life when we feel confused – when our mind seems to be an endless cycle of thoughts and emotions, which just seem to be driving us crazy. There are times when we feel sad about how people treat us; when we feel hopeless about how things are; when we feel that the world is just not on our side, and when we feel completely alone.

At times like these, we often forget that there is one Being, Who is always with us and never leaves us – Allah (swt)! Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor).” (Al-Baqarah 2:186)

There is a beautiful Hadeeth-e-Qudsi narrated by Abu Hurairah (rta): “The Prophet (sa) said: Allah (swt) says: ‘I am in accordance with the thoughts of My slave about Me; and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I also remember him in Myself. If he remembers Me in a group, I remember him in a better group (i.e., angels); if he draws near Me by the span of a palm, I draw near him by a cubit. If he draws near Me by a cubit, I draw near him by the space covered by two hands. If he walks towards Me, I go to him running.’” (Bukhari and Muslim)

This is the love Allah (swt) has for us!

The Blessings and Benefits of Fajr Prayer in Islam

Source: islamicrenaissance.com

“Those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, and establish regular prayers and regular charity — they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”

— Surah al-Baqarah (Holy Quran, 2:277)

Consistent and daily prayer practice constitutes one of the Five Pillars of Islam, holding a place of such importance and benefit that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) stated that it is the observance of daily prayers that delineates belief from disbelief.

And it is one of the great gifts of Islam that Allah Almighty has enjoined prayers upon believers, in effect providing a means to fortify and continually reinforce faith and belief, and to continually remember, for indeed, “faith without works is dead.”

By actively and consciously engaging one’s daily prayers, one can benefit greatly from this unique spiritual practice. Islamic prayer, or salah, provides the following three key benefits.

6 Steps to Achieve a Quality Salah

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 .

We’re all leading busy lives and this can affect the time we spend in worship to Allah . 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 . 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.

Hadith on forgiveness and justice

Source: lastprophet.info

By: Shaykh Abdal Hakim Mura

Forgiveness and Justice: Meditations on Some Hadiths by Abdal Hakim Murad

(1) The Prophet prayed for pardon for his people, and received the reply: ‘I have forgiven them all but acts of oppression, for I shall exact recompense for the one who is wronged, from his oppressor.’

In the Quran, God is just, and requires justice; but he is also forgiving, and requires forgiveness; in fact, its references to the latter property outnumber those on justice by a ratio of approximately ten to one. Islamic theology has not always been clear how the ensuing tension is to be resolved. ‘My Mercy outstrips My wrath’ is a well-known divine saying (hadith qudsi) but one which nonetheless is far from abolishing God’s wrath. Indeed, a righteous indignation about injustice is integral to the prophetic representation of God’s qualities, and from the earliest moments of its revelation the Qur’an links God’s expectations of His creatures to justice towards the weak. Often the same texts are explicitly eschatological, affirming that those who do not uphold God’s justice in this world will be at its receiving end in the next. Indigenous Arab religion can expect a stern retribution, given that its demands are for tribal solidarity, not for the upholding of universal canons of justice. The idol cannot demand justice, only retribution (tha’r); and the prophetic vocation must therefore link the destruction of paganism with the establishment of a code of justice which overturns Arab norms by refusing to discriminate between the tribes. This hadith is to be read against the background of clan vendettas: instead of seeking collective retaliation against a miscreant’s tribe, the victim of injustice is to appeal to the new law, and to recall that all apparentimbalances will have a just settlement at the judgement seat.

(2) There is an act of charity [sadaqa] to be given for each part of the human body; and for every day over which the sun rises there is a reward of a sadaqa for the one who establishes justice among people. 

Justice (‘adl) is due balance (i‘tidal): it is impartiality. The same word is employed to describe the balance of the body’s four humours. When these are in balance, right thinking and health are the consequence. When they are not, the Qur’an speaks of the last day when ‘their tongues, their hands and their feet will bear witness to what they used to do.’ (Quran 24:24)