Summary of Bayans (Islamic Lectures)

[Live for Islam]

Assalamu Alaikum Wr Wb,

In this thread write about the bayans (Islamic lectures) you've heard and benefited from, so that, Insha-Allah, others can also benefit from them by just reading your summaries. It can be in depth, or as short as you like. The bayans could be ones you've heard online, on cassette/cd, at Islamic conferences, at your local mosque, through the receiver (transmitter relaying bayans/talks directly from the masajid to our homes). These bayans should be by Shuyuk, traditional Islamic scholars, Insha-Allah.

Wassalam

[Live for Islam]

Assalamu Alaikum Wr Wb,

One of the bayans I’ve heard on cassette and greatly benefited from is The History of the Sunnah by Shaykh Maulana Ahmed Ali. I’ll try to summarise it as best as I can, Insha-Allah.

In this bayan firstly Shaykh Ahmed Ali mentioned how he had with him the kitab 'Sahih al Bukhari'. He narrated how it is our belief, the belief of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah that this is the most authentic book after the Qur'an, it is the most authentic book of Hadith.

He related how it is pointless talking about the history of hadith if one does not even know what hadith means. The Muhadditheen have defined a Hadith as being any of the following four things:

(a) Any saying related to the Prophet (SAW)
(b) Any action related to the Prophet (SAW)
(c) Any taqreer (confirmation) related to the Prophet (SAW)
(d) Any report containing the Prophet’s (SAW) Sifat (features or character).

Shaykh went on to give a summary of all the four above mentioned and also gave examples from the hadith of Rasulullah (SAW).

Just quickly going into what Taqreer means – Taqreer to the nearest English definition means confirmation. However, it means slightly more than that. Someone said or did something, and whatever that person said or did came to the knowledge of Rasulullah (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) found out about it, and he either confirmed it in express words or he remained silence. This silence in itself is a confirmation, because if the Prophet (SAW) had disapproved he would not have remained silence. This is the meaning of taqreer. (Taken from Shaykh Ahmed Ali’s bayan.)

Next Shaykh Ahmed Ali talked about why we need the Hadith of the Prophet (SAW). We need the Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) because:

(1) It is impossible to act upon even the basic commands of the Qur’an, the basic commands of Deen, without the Sunnah/Hadith of the Prophet (SAW). Let me quickly give you just one of the examples from the many examples Shaykh Ahmed Ali gave. After the Kalimah, the next most important pillar of Islam is Salaah. Allah (SWT) has mentioned over 73 times in the Qu’ran 'Aqimu-(a)s-Salaat' (observe your prayers, perform your prayers). Now open the Qur’an and begin reciting from the beginning till the end and you will not find a single verse telling you how to perform Salaah, though the Qur’an itself has ordered the believers to perform Salaah. A basic command of deen, we cannot carry out without the Hadith/Sunnah of Nabi (SAW). We are not told in the Qur’an how to perform Salaah, how many prayers in one day, the times for Salaah, what to recite in Ruku, Sajdah, what breaks Salaah, what is Fardh in Salaah, what is Waajib etc. All these answers we get through the Hadith/Sunnah. The Prophet (SAW) practically demonstrated and taught the Believers how to perform Salaah. Thus, we need the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) because without it we would not be able to practise even the basic commands of the Qur’an.

(2) The second reason as to why we need to the Hadith/Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW) is that it is impossible to understand the Qur’an as it should be understood, it is impossible to understand the meanings intended by Allah (SWT) in the Qur’an, without the Hadith/Sunnah of Nabi (SAW). The Arabs at that time, though they were illiterate, they had the command of their language and literature. Their eloquent speeches and poetry clearly showed this. Inspite of this, they sometimes could not understand some of the meanings intended in the Qur’an by Allah (SWT). Shaykh Ahmed Ali related two examples from the Hadith of Rasulullah (SAW) where the Sahaba (R.A) took the literal meaning of some of the verses, and where the Prophet (SAW) explained to them what the verses actually meant.

Next Shaykh went on to talk about the preservation of Hadith. Two factors helped to preserve the Hadith, whilst there were three methods actually used to preserve the Hadith/Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (SAW).

Two factors:

(1) The love that the Sahaba (R.A) and their successors had for the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), knowing that the Qur’an could not be understood without it. They sacrificed each and everything they possessed in order to acquire this knowledge (e.g. the example of Abu Hurairah (R.A)). They used to walk thousands of miles just to acquire this knowledge, because they did not have blood flowing through their veins, they had the love of Allah and Rasulullah (SAW) flowing through them. They used to be very careful when relating the Hadith of Rasulullah (SAW) so much so that Hazrat Umar (R.A) used to ask for proof before accepting a narration. (Shaykh Ahmed Ali mentioned many Ahadith relating to this first factor.)

(2) The second factor which helped preserve the Hadith of Rasulullah (SAW) was the actual teaching method used by the Prophet (SAW) to teach his Sunnah. He (SAW) used to talk to people according to their level of understanding and in the language they understood. Whoever attended the gatherings the Prophet (SAW) did not leave without fully understanding what the Prophet (SAW) said or what the Prophet (SAW) did. At times he (SAW) used to repeat the difficult bits twice. When different delegations used to come to the Prophet (SAW) he used to speak to them in the language, the dialect they understood, for e.g. in some cases in place of the ‘laam’ he pronounced the ‘meem’. And this was the second factor which helped preserve the Hadith/Sunnah of Nabi (SAW).

Thereafter Shaykh Ahmed Ali related three methods which helped preserve the Sunnah/Hadith. (Summarising it as briefly as I can... )

(1) Al-Hifz – memorization. The Arabs at that time were gifted with superb memory powers. Many of them could remember the poetry of others by just listening to it once. (One example Shaykh gave was of Ibn Abbas (R.A) who repeated poetry of 70 long verses having just listened to it once, without any mistakes.) They utilised this memory power to help to preserve the Hadith/Sunnah of Nabi (SAW). (Shaykh Ahmed Ali went into this in detail, giving a lot of other examples.)

(2) The second method used was acting upon the Sunnah. The Sahabah (R.A) tried their utmost best into bringing the Sunnah into every aspect of daily life. They used to even copy the Prophet’s (SAW) personal habits. Learn the Sunnah, observe the Sunnah, practice the Sunnah, and teach others the Sunnah, all of this the Sahabah (R.A) and their Successors did. They sacrificed everything for the Hadith/Sunnah of Nabi (SAW). (Shaykh Ahmed Ali gave many examples of this. One such example was of Abu Hurairah (R.A) who despite asking Allah for ‘knowledge that is not forgotten’ and despite his prayer being answered he used to divide his night into three parts. One third of the night he spent in prayer, another third sleeping, and the last third in memorising the Hadith.) And this acting upon the Sunnah was one of the methods that also helped preserve the Sunnah.

(3) The third method was the writing down of the Hadith – Thousands of Hadith were written at the time of Rasulullah (SAW). However this third method of writing down the Hadith in order to preserve it was used less in comparison to the first two, not less in general but less in comparison to the other two methods used. This was due to a number of reasons (which Shaykh Ahmed Ali related.)

Shaykh went on to relate how during the four Caliphs the Hadith had not been compiled on government level.This was also due to a number of reasons again which Shaykh Ahmed Ali mentioned. But later on it was compiled and the reasons why are also mentioned in the bayan.

I’ve mentioned the main points of the bayan, but Insha-Allah if you listen to the bayan in its entirety you will really benefit from doing so. When summing up the bayan, I’ve tried to make it as accurate as possible, using a lot of the Shaykh’s own words (by taking notes whilst listening to the bayan). But to err is human, so if you find any errors please do point them out. Jazakallahu khair.

"And the end of our prayer is; Praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of the worlds and blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, the chief of His messengers and his family and all his companions."

Wassalamu Alaikum Wr Wb.

[Saleel]

:salam:

:mash: that was an excellent post... :jazak: for your effort in summarising it. Was a very worthwile read, I'll make sure I listen to the full bayaan :insh:.

:jazak:

:salam:

[Live for Islam]

:salam:

:mash: that was an excellent post... :jazak: for your effort in summarising it. Was a very worthwile read, I'll make sure I listen to the full bayaan :insh:.

:jazak:

:salam:

Wa alaykumus salaam,

Wa iyyak.

I don't think the bayan is online to listen to, but for anyone who wants to purchase it online you can buy it, Insha-Allah, here: History of the Sunnah (http://www.azharacademy.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=438)

Wassalam.

[al-kushiari]

:salam:

:jazak: for that

i might just buy that cassette :insh: my Usool is weak :confused:

[Sajeda]

:salam:

:jazak: :mash: excellent account of the bayaan...

Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

[Undercover]

:salam:

moulana Ahmad Ali is just excellent

:alhamd: he has so much knowledge and his style of delivery is really good, it's almost as if he 'has' to get the knowledge out and spread it, like he can't keep it in

:insh: i'm going to listen to my tapes again and refresh things.

wasalaam

[Sadiq]

Thankyou for the summary.

Shaykh Ahmad Ali, is one of the best scholars around, the way he attracts the youth and the old alike. With this busy schedule, i wish he comes down to london more often.

His new talks are just more finer than ever.

His latest one i heard (live) was in regards to iraq, and in azhar academy, were his words of hope were worth writing in gold. As alot of brothers and sisters, were losing hope, and the shaykh reminded us of the hope that we should never lose.

Keep on posting and let us make this a sucessful and vibrant board.

Sadiq.

[Sajeda]

:salam:

The following is a summary of a bayaan to the best of my knowledge and rememberance that i heard when i attended the talk delivered by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq at Masjid-e-Umar...

Which may i also mention has been added to this forum in audio form by brother Ibnu Rashid:
Man: Higher than Angels or Lower than Animals (http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=911&postcount=1) If anyone would like to hear the talk :insh:

Man: Higher than Angels or Lower than Animals

The talk was based on good deeds (amaal) and faith (Imaan)... The Imaam started of with the verse of how man is honoured i found this verse which i think the shaykh was referring to:

"Verily we have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment." [Surah Al-Isra' 17:70]

Main emphasis was made on man being honoured...

How man has been created as the most beautiful species, and how they are better than jinn, better than animals and some of the ordinary angels in terms of piety... the selected angels are obviously better than man but man who worships Allah and fully submits to Him is ranked higher than some of these angels in terms of praising Allah... again emphasis made on piety of man... He then went on to mention - surah At-Tin

1. Waaltteeni waalzzaytooni
1. By the fig, and the olive,

2. Watoori seeneena
2. By Mount Sinai,

3. Wahatha albaladi al-ameeni
3. And by this city of security (Makkah),

4. Laqad khalaqna al-insana fee ahsani taqweemin
4. Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),

5. Thumma radadnahu asfala safileena
5. Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low,

6. Illa allatheena amanoo waAAamiloo alssalihati falahum ajrun ghayru mamnoonin
6. Save those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, then they shall have a reward without end (Paradise).

7. Fama yukaththibuka baAAdu bialddeeni
7. Then what (or who) causes you (O disbelievers) to deny the Recompense (i.e. Day of Resurrection)?

8. Alaysa Allahu bi-ahkami alhakimeena
8. Is not Allah the Best of judges?

The Shaykh emphasised the 4th verse...

I have added tafsir below to the above surah for further explanation of the surah: (the verses are in bold)

Man becoming Lowly even though He was created in the Best Form

and the Result of that Allah says,

(Verily, We created man in the best form.) This is the subject being sworn about, and it is that Allah created man in the best image and form, standing upright with straight limbs that He beautified.

(Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low.) meaning, to the Hellfire. This was said by Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Al-Hasan, Ibn Zayd and others. Then after this attractiveness and beauty, their destination will be to the Hell-fire if they disobey Allah and belie the Messengers. This is why Allah says,

(Save those who believe and do righteous deeds.) Some have said,

(Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low.) "This means decrepit old age.'' This has been reported from Ibn `Abbas and `Ikrimah. `Ikrimah even said, "Whoever gathers the Qur'an (i.e., he memorizes it all), then he will not be returned to decrepit old age.'' Ibn Jarir preferred this explanation. Even if this was the meaning, it would not be correct to exclude the believers from this, because some of them are also overcome by the senility of old age. Thus, the meaning here is what we have already mentioned (i.e., the first view), which is similar to Allah's saying,

(By Al-'Asr. Verily man is in loss, except those who believe and perform righteous deeds.) (103:1-3) Concerning Allah's statement,

(Then they shall have a reward without end.) meaning, that will not end, as we have mentioned previously. Then Allah says,

(Then what causes you to deny) meaning, `O Son of Adam!'

(after this the Recompense) meaning, 'in the recompense that will take place in the Hereafter. For indeed you know the beginning, and you know that He Who is able to begin (the creation) is also able to repeat it which is easier. So what is it that makes you deny the final return in the Hereafter after you have known this' Then Allah says,

(Is not the Allah the best of judges) meaning, 'is He not the best of judges, Who does not oppress or do any injustice to anyone' And from His justice is that He will establish the Judgement, and He will give retribution to the person who was wronged in this life against whoever wronged him. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat wat-Tin waz-Zaytun and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.

[Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

The Shaykh said how man has been granted intelligence and physique and is unique to all of Allah's creation... How we are just like animals and angels but we still differ... he went on to say how we are like animals in eating, drinking, procreating, pleasure etc but differ because we have intelligence and we do more than what the animals do we have been granted intelligence which animals do not have, we have physique which is unique to us alone. we are like the angels in terms of praising Allah although they are made of light and they do not need to do the necessities eat, drink, procreate. So we have the like characteristics of the angels and animals but more which is unique to us humans alone. So humans are created; the best form of creation and thereafter what you do as a believer determines your final abode in the hereafter... That is why we should hold the characteristics of a true and pure believer and continue to make the right choices with the guidance of Allah (SWT) seeking His help by supplicating and praising him... We have a choice of doing what is right and should continue to do so for as long as we live and not give in to shaytaans whispers which will lead us to nothing but distress and hellfire. To avoid this we must always supplicate to Allah to Guide us amongst the righteous and save us from all of shaytaans schemes Ameen... There are some people who live like the animals just do the necessities and do not praise Allah, and just enjoy the pleasures in this life and eat, drink and procreate. Astagfirullah surely they are in the wrong... May Allah save us from falling into error... Ameen...

Shaykh then went on to say how it is not only good enough to say laillaha illallah and expect that you will achieve jannah, no its not enough you need to do good deeds continously as you do not know which one of those good deeds will take you to jannah, it only takes one misdeed yes only one misdeed to take you to hell-fire... Subhan'Allah just think you can commit all the good deeds you want but it is possible that it may not be accepted and your one mis-deed can take you straight to the hell-fire...

Astagfirullah nowadays, the attitude of people is oh its ok as long as i believe and say laillaha illallah i will go jannah, its ok for me to commit the odd sin now and then eventually after going jahannam for my appointed time i will still enter jannah... Subhan'Allah can you believe this is the attitude of the so called believers, this is an incorrect approach to achieve jannah... we need to abstain from commiting bad deeds and to continue with the good deeds as we do not know which one deed may please Allah (SWT) and for that one deed we may be granted Jannah so for as long as we live we should keep doing good deeds Insha'Allah...

The Shaykh referred to many ahadiths and verses from the Qur'aan...

Volume 1, Book 2, Number 33:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr:

The Prophet said, "Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up.

1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays.

2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.

3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous.

4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner."
[Al-Bukhari, Vol. 1 : No. 33]

Whoever possesses all four of the above mentioned traits, is a PURE hypocrite. However, whoever has one of the those four characteristics is not a pure hypocrite, but should strive to remove it from his character as soon as possible.

Shaykh then elaborated on lying as to how much people lie and lie and for some people it becomes a habit, he went on to give examples of people he came across who have lied to him personally lie upon lie...

For example this man was telling people in a mehfil how his brother who was a doctor in america was so good and how he helped so many people in america and what a good doctor he was etc that when the military needed him he was taken in a b52 and the story goes on... well as you can imagine we all started laughing because the shaykh was telling us how people lie and this was one of them examples. (This is roughly the example used i cant remember accurately word for word what it was but am sure you will get the gist of it)

he went on to say how one man admitted he lies but cannot stop... the shaykh mentioned that some people who are able to lie and make up innovative stories in there minds and they can see it so vividly in their minds that some actually believe it happened he mentioned a scientific name for it which i cant remember now hmmm... but Subhan'Allah it is still lying and this is known as one of the traits of hypocrisy if not eliminated from the muslim character can lead to hell-fire...

The Shaykh then went on to say how you can continue doing good deeds but your one word not even one sentence, two sentences but one word can lead you to the brink of kuffar and hellfire... So we should be careful and committed to doing good deeds at all times and abstaining from bad deeds totally... Shaykh also mentioned how on yawm al Qiyaamah (Day Of Judgement) that Imaan will be seen from our heart and not our tongues... as there are those who say and talk about Imaan but what is in their hearts only Allah knows and on yawm al Qiyaamah all shall be revealed...

Shaykh gave examples of the people who were forgiven for their sins, granted paradise and some who went hellfire which am sure many of us have heard of many times but it is always a good reminder, i shall mention some of them here for those who may not know and for those who do know a reminder...

* The woman who mis-treated her cat... went hellfire

[I got the following from hadith sources]

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "While a man was walking on his way he became extremely thirsty. He found a well, he went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself: `This dog is extremely thirsty as I was.' So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins". The Companions asked: "Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to the animals also?'' He (PBUH) said, "A reward is given in connection with every living creature".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In the narration of Al-Bukhari, the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said: "Allah forgave him in appreciation of this act and admitted him to Jannah".

Another narration says: "Once a dog was going round the well and was about to die out of thirst. A prostitute of Banu Israel happened to see it. So she took off her leather sock and lowered it into the well. She drew out some water and gave the dog to drink. She was forgiven on account of her action".

Commentary:
1. This Hadith emphasizes the importance of kindness to every creature, even animals, because Allah is pleased with such kindness.

2. Allah's Quality of mercy and forgiveness is immensely vast. If He wants He may forgive a person even on a minor good action done by him.

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Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "I saw a man going about in Jannah (and enjoying himself) as a reward for cutting from the middle of the road, a tree which was causing inconvenience to the Muslims".
[Muslim].

Another narration says: "A man who passed by a branch of a tree leaning over a road and decided to remove it, saying to himself, `By Allah! I will remove from the way of Muslims so that it would not harm them.' On account of this he was admitted to Jannah".

According to the narration in Al-Bukhari and Muslim: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "While a man was walking, he saw a thorny branch on the road, so he removed it and Allah appreciated his action and forgave him".

Commentary: The act of saving people from harm and loss is greatly liked by Allah, no matter how small it is. Allah is greatly pleased if a person removes from the passage something that causes harm to people. On the contrary, persons who restrict or obstruct passages and thereby create inconvenience for the passers-by, as is usually done with great audacity on marriage parties, or create trouble for people by encroachment, do in fact incur Allah's displeasure. But our moral sense has been so blunted that rather than feeling any compunction, we do such things boastfully forgetting that 'Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.' We have now become so low that we take pride in going against our religious teachings and practices thus incurring Allah's displeasure. Is there any further stage of moral turpitude and revolt against Him?.
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The shaykh then went on to say that we need both Amaal and Imaan (Good deeds and faith respectively) to enter Jannah Insha'Allah... We should NOT be laid back and be like those who think oh its ok to commit bad deeds now and as long as we say laillaha illallah Jannah will be our final abode what is the least that will happen we will go to hellfire for an appointed time and eventually we will be in jannah, no this should not be the attitude we adopt as it is verily this characteristic we hold that can take us to the brink of kuffar and straight to hellfire, we should completely and totally stay away from bad deeds and abstain from lying and continue to do good deeds for as long as we live and with full submission to Allah recite laillaha illallah with support of Amaal and Imaan and only then shall we be true believers striving for jannah...



"whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it
and whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it."


May Allah give us the tawfiq to do good deeds and keep away from all signs of hypocrisy and grant us the true meaning of laillaha illallah in our hearts and to strengthen our Imaan for as long as we live...

Ameen

This is all i can remember from the talk as it was roughly an hour long bayaan which is not that long but still my short term memory is not good enough to recall all that was mentioned. However, i did my best in trying to recall here as much as i could... If you see any errors please let me know as i may have accidently mis-written something as it took me ages to write this post and i may have overlooked some errors (any spelling mistakes? let me know, i know how some of you like pointing out spelling errors but lets not go as far as grammar please lol.... ok ok just let me know if there is an error Jazak'Allahu Khairan Katheera)... May Allah forgive me for any mistakes in this post...

Wassalaamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

[Saleel]

:salam:

:jazak: for your efforts in typing this up. May we all benefit immensely from it, and may Allah swt grant you Sadaqah Jarriyah for it. Ameen.

:salam:

[Usama]

Assalamualikum! Here's a khutbah written and delivered by Usama Khan (that would be me)...checked by Shaykh Hafiz Rafaqat Ali

"Praise be to Allah, we thank Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We believe in Allah and put all of our trust in Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and bad actions. Whoever Allah guides can not be misguided and whom ever He allows to be led astray can not be guided aright. I bear witness there is no one worthy of worship except Allah alone, He has no partners, no associates. And Muhammad (SAWS) is His obedient messenger and the seal of Prophet hood.

"O mankind! Be grateful to your lord, Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate, and from these two, created countless men and women, So, fear Allah through Whom you demand your rights and do not cut relations of Kinship especially the wombs that bore you. Surely Allah is ever a watcher over you "

I’m going to start off by asking you to think and reflect about something. If you were given a choice to select two things that you would want most out of any other things…what would be at the top of your list? Your answers may include any exotic cars, any degrees, any amount of money, position of powers such as Kings or head of states multiple wives..kids.. WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I'll tell you two things that will eclipse anything worldly …Allah's forgiveness and Paradise

Because when the horrifying angel of death pays you a visit, that billion dollars in the stock market will not and can not help you…what will help you at that time is Allah’s forgiveness
When your ruh is leaving your body, and you are in unimaginable pain…all your palaces or your positions will not give you any comfort, you can not just flash your business card…Allah’s forgiveness is the only thing that will help you

When you are buried and all of your wives and kids leave you 6 feet in the ground and when the angels start questioning you in the grave....only mercy and forgiveness from Allah will bring you at ease…

However long you have to wait until the day of resurrection…your condition in the grave in terms of the torture you receive or the hospitality you receive is only dependent on one factor: Forgiveness from Allah…The only thing that ever will be valuable...IS ALLAH'S FORGIVENESS

And then when the day of resurrection…and you stand naked in front of your Lord, forgetting your own blood relatives, when you think the whole time you spent in the world was a mere couple of seconds and you anxiously await to see if you have more good deeds then bad...what is the ONLY I repeat ONLY thing that can save you there…Allah’s forgiveness
and there when you will see the comparison between hellfire and paradise...one dip in hellfire you will forget everything in the world and all the pains of the dunya...the person of the most miserable conditions in the annals of history, one dip in jannah will make him forget everything of the world...

then you will realize that PARADISE is the place you would rather spend eternity...we will realize....when you see and compare the gardens and rivers and spouses of Jannah, to the misery, torture and loneliness of the Fire…you will realize that what you need is certainly Jannah

but hold on, all this realizing at that time will be useless....because at that time..everyone including the disbeliever in dunya will wholeheartedly agree that jannah is what the want and that they are willing to do anything for paradise...
but Nope! Tooo late - thats what the test is, that’s what this life is about...To realize and accept and confirm RIGHTNOW in this dunaya that Allah’s forgiveness and Paradise are the two most valuable things any person from any time of any land of any color could ever want. ARE YOU WILLING TO WORK to achieving this target of yours?..are you willing to sacrifice a bit of your brain, a bit of your enjoyment, a bit of your time, a bit of your energy into getting Allah’s forgiveness and Jannah?

“Verily, the Muslim men and Muslim women, for believing men and believing women, for the men and women who are obedient, for the men and women who are truthful, for the men and women who are patient, for the men and women who are humble, for the men and women who give charity, for the men and women who fast, for the men and women who guard their chastity and for the men and women who remember Allah much. For them, has Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward (Paradise). [Ahzab : 35]

This is it! This amazing ayah is the solution to how we can achieve our target. This is the roadmap to how we will get to win Allah’s forgiveness and Paradise.

1. Muslim: What does it take to become a Muslim? A person who testifies the kalimah...whoever says ‘There is no god worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah’, is considered a Muslim. When you say this, when you testify that you are a muslim..you have a great responsibility. You now put this testimony over anything in the heavens and the earth… A Muslim is one who would never ever trade this testimony for anything else.



2. Mu’min: “The bedouins say: "We believe.'' Say: "You believe not but you only say, `We have surrendered (in Islam),' for faith has not yet entered your hearts.'') (49:14)
This shows that there is a difference of saying that you have faith..from actually having Emaan and faith. So, while being a Muslim can be considered external, being a Believer is something that is totally within the oceans of your heart. Faith in what? Faith is mandatory in Allah and His Power, In knowing and accepting all of His Prophets. in the revelation of his Books, in the Angels and in the Hereafter.

3. Obedience…So great, we testify that we’re muslims…we’ve got faith in Allah..but how do you prove this? How are you going to prove that you believe in Allah and the Prophet and the Quraan and hereafter? You MUST prove it through your actions, brothers and sisters… When a company claimed to have cloned a human being..the first thing the reporters said was..PROVE IT....so I ask us the questions...PROVE your testimony and belief...You must Obey and do what Allah has made compulsory, you must Obey what the Quraan says, and you should try your best to emulate the sunnah of the Prophet. For us, this is probably the toughest part….too actually go out and become Practicing Muslims…But if your having trouble motivating yourself in becoming a practicing muslim..then perhaps the problem is in Faith…do you REALLY trust Allah? Do you REALLY think that you will be questioned on the Day of Judgement? Do you REALLY believe that there is eternal Paradise or eternal Hell-Fire? These are all questions that MUST ask yourself on a continuous basis…and if your answer to these is a YES – that you do believe all of that – then u MUST prove that by following the laws set out by Allah and his Messenger.

These first three (muslim, momin, obedience) are the fundamentals of Islam…and without these three it is awfully difficult to get Allah’s forgiveness and paradise

4. Sadiq/Truthful: If you have something sealed up in a container, and the only interaction it has with the environment is by the means of an input tube and an output tube. Our hearts are like that…it gets effected with the inputs and outputs..YOUR heart is effected with everything you output out of your body and everything that is inputted into your body. And the toungue is one of the most important organs that effect the heart very much. So in order to have a healthy heart, you must speak with truthfulness, sincerity and honesty.
Prophet (SAWS) mentions in a hadeeth: “You have to be truthful, for truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. And beware of lying, for lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hell.”



5. Sabir/Patience : "Certainly, We shall test you with fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits; but give glad tidings to the patient - those who, when afflicted with calamity say, "Truly to Allah we belong, and truly to Him shall we return." it is those who will be awarded blessings and mercy from their Lord; and it is those who are the guided ones." [ 2:155-157 ]
First of all, its clearly shown in the ayah that as Allah (swt) tells us that indeed we will be tested. And we need to understand that punishment is not always the cause of the test.. it maybe that Allah is just testing our faith by throwing the trial. DO you know how diamond is made? Taking carbon and putting it under pressure for millions of years make this precious jewel. The diluted carbon that is unable to withstand that much pressure, breaks and disintegrates…only pure carbon has it in it to withstand the pressure. Similarly, if we want to become a sparkling believer like the diamond, we too must be tested and put under pressure and even during the trials we must be holding on to the rope of Allah (swt).

In the ayah I mentioned, Allah also advises us on how to handle these trials. Say: To Allah we belong and to him is our return. Our destination is not this world, our destination is too Allah. It’s like… say you live in Mississauga but your temporarily in Hamilton right now. As your going to your destination, your car has a flat tire on the QEW. I don’t think we’d make such a big deal ..cuz we know, the traveling and this test is short lived, our destination is Mississauga. so we do what we need to do..replace the tire and move on…move onto our permanent..you wont be worried about the environment around the highway, now if somebody burns your permanent home, then that would be a problem...but the road..is a mechanism for traveling...not the destination…brothers n sisters,…this world is not our permanent home…our permanent home will be inshallah Paradise…so treat this like your traveling, bear with patience with whatever trials come your way…but always remember that if you can get through these while still staying abiding by Islam, you will be eternally in paradise. So whenever u are tested and tried and the chips are down.. bear it with patient constancy..remember your goal…and inshAllah you will be rewarded.

6. Khashi’ is being modest for Allah because of the great awe and reverence for Him. And this is explained in the hadeeth where the Prophet(SWS) says: (Worship Allah as if you can see Him, for if you cannot see Him, He can see you.).… In movies when you see people getting interrogated in a room, usually there’s a one way mirror. That’s basically a room with a mirror..and from inside the room, you think it’s a mirror, bu tin reality there are other detectives on the other side of the mirror that can see you and hear everything your saying. Now, if you know that its one of those types of mirror, you’ll be carefull..you wont be your normal self, cuz u know someone’s watching and listening..BROTHERS N SISTERS..OUR LIVES ARE A ONE WAY MIRROR..ALLAH IS ALWAYS WATCHING AND HEARING..Just compare at our insignificant selves..and the Glorious Allah...In the Quraan: Make the trees of the world pens, and the 7 oceans the ink...and start writing the wisdom of Allah, the trees will finish, the seas will exhaust...but even then the words of Allah will not be exhausted..For Allah is exalted in Power, Full of wisdom” [Luqman]

7. Zakat
There are two reasons why we give zakah…one of them is mentioned in the ayah where Allah says "O Prophet ! Take charity from their property so that if may clean them and purify them." Tauba: 103. The second reason is that the rich sharing their wealth with the poor builds a strong ummah and society. Muslims are not self-centered people, we do whatever we can to make the life of everyone around us better.
Zakah is Mandatory..u must do it...if you have excess wealth, you have to pay ..u must..there’s no option..give it up for Allah swt, who gave it to you? Why don’t you trust him that He will reward you with something better!
Another hadeeth by the Prophet (PBUH) which mentions some alternate forms of charity :

"To smile in the company of your brother is charity. To command to do good deeds and to prevent others from doing evil is charity. To guide a person in a place where he can go astray is charity. To remove troublesome things like thorns and bones from the road is charity. To pour water from your jug into the jug of your brother is charity. To guide a person with defective vision is charity for you.''

8. Sa’im is person who fasts. : “Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you ..so that you may become righteous” (Baqrah: 183) Fasting is the Zakah of the body. The word Sawm means fast but literally it means "to abstain and to control". So this means that the eyes Allah (swt) has given us, we thank him for those eyes by controlling their movements to only what is halal. That we thank Allah for the tounge and the ears that he has given us by only saying and listening to what is halal and keeping away from the haram. Even though we don’t need a worldly reason to obey Allah’s commands…scientist have proven that fasting is indeed very good for the body; especially our digestive systems. This shows that by obeying this command of Allah you are following a way that is best for your physical body as well as it being spiritually nourishing.

9. Hafiz al-Farj : Gaurding your chastity…staying modest is one of the characteristics required to gain Allah’s forgiveness and Paradise. Islam stands for morality / modesty and the equal rights for men and women. SO each of you have responsibilities to ensure that you don’t put yourself in a situation where you have lost control over your morality. You need to think creative ways for yourself of how you can help your own self by staying away from these evil acts. Your decisions might include how you dress and how you interact with others. Know and Believe that assuming involving yourself in sexual relations outside the boundaries of marriage is forbidden. It causes the displeasure of your Lord, it rots away your dignity and self respect…and it is totally detrimental to society. This is a major disease in the world today, where families across the globe are being shattered because of the sexual immorality mankind is indulging in.

10. Remembrance of Allah :
So remember Me-I will remember you. (2:152)
Dhikr is to keep some one in mind, to remember in the heart, and to mention by the tongue. And usually, whoever u love most, they are the ones that remain in your thoughts…Make that love Allah (swt)!!! There is absolutely no one in the heavens or the earth that deserves more of your love and remembrance too. You can remember Allah in different ways and at different times. Salah, zikar and the recitation of the Quraan are all very powerful and effective ways to remember Allah (swt).

Second Khutbah:

Know that if everyone in the world was to become a disbeliever, it would not effect Allah in the slightest of ways…and if EVERYONE , all 6 billion ppl became the best of muslims..Allah’s Power would not increase…so Allah is not dependent on you and make yourself know that by becoming a better muslim…you are not in any way, shape or form doing Allah a favor! We are doing it only for ourselves…to save our own soul.
WE ARE BLESSED..AND FORTUNATE...BECAUSE THE ROUTE TO OBEDIENCE TO ALLAH AND PARADISE IS ALSO THE ROUTE TO SUCCESS IN THIS WORLD..on an individual for your hearts, for your physical bodies and for the general society...Truthfulness, Charity, Sexual morality are all solutions to wipe the majority of physical and spiritual diseases off the face of this earth. Poverty, corruption, mass murder, AIDS are the main things that ail this world, and what do u know…these 10 characteristics contain the solutions to each of these problems!!
These 10 things look daunting. but to get anything valuable in life, u need to put that effort.. The function of Success and Effort is liner…The amplitude of your effort is going to be the same ratio of the amplitude of your reward… Revive that passion of Jannah that Dr. Haddara frequently refers too…This is the time to identify that Allah’s forgiveness and Jannah are the two most important things..Now is the time to work for them!...Make decisions right now to makes sure that you stick to these 10 characteristics and implement them into everything you do… Some people like making written records of their goals and how they are achieving them, some people like to set goals with friends and then check up on each other..do whatever works for you.

The last point I want to make is… this is one ayah from the Quraan..there is an ocean of intellectual wisdom from the All-knowing Allah, advice for the creation by the Creator....Glad tidings of Jannah from the Loving Allah...warning of the fire from the All Punishing Allah...It has soo much to offer but regrettably, the majority of us fail to take advantage of this “Miracle giving to Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)…So READ THE QURAAN...UNDERSTAND THE QURAAN...add it somewhere in your daily schedules, make a daily routine to read the Quraan with its translation, even if its not for long but do it consistently and inshallah, there will be a huge difference in your life…read it with understanding and apply it into your lives, for the sake of your own selves and I promise, inshAllah you will see the difference in your lives! Dua!

[Sajeda]

:salam:

'Me, Myself and I' A Talk on Selfishness by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq...

It is a beneficial talk for all and I recommend it to all... I will share with you of what i remember from the talk Insha'Allah... I have added notes of my own in brackets (...)

----------------------------------------------------

ME
MYSELF
&
I

A Talk on Selfishness

by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq...
-------------------

"We as Muslims, our religion teaches us more about Sacrifice, Self denial, Selflessness than any other religion, yet we have sadly adopted all the selfish ills of non Muslims and we have added to them ourselves and the level of selfishness to be witnessed in the Muslim community is unbelievable.
The truth is we will never attain righteousness and piety, we will never be successful in religion, we can never become close to Allah, we can never be true believers until we develop in ourselves this spirit of sacrifice, self denial, selflessnes, more consideration for others and less self centredness even as believers we pray, we fast, we give in the way of Allah, we go for pilgrimage, we frequent the masajid; we appear to be practicing people/
But even amongst practicing muslims who dress islamically, who speak islamically, who behave islamically apparently there's such a level of selfishness that its unbelievable."

Selfishness at times can be the root cause of many ills.

Allah azza wa jall says:

Fattaqu Allaha Ma Astata'tum Wa Asma'u Wa 'Ati'u Wa 'Anfiqu Khayraan Li'nfusikum Wa Man Yuqa Shuhha Nafsihi Fa'ula'ika Humu Al-Muflihuna (At-Taghabun: 16).

'...That whoever is protected from the greed and from the covetousness of his soul, those are the ones who are successful.'

Subhan'Allah, this was mentioned at the beginning of the talk...

Greed + Covetousness = Selfishness

one of the successor to the companions relates he was doing tawwaf around the kabaa he heard and saw onw person praying to Allah and he was just constantly making one Du'aa

'Oh Allah protect me from the greed of my soul'

when he arrived close to him, he discovered it was none other than the famous sahabi 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (RA) one of the ten exclusively and specially promised jannah...

(I got to this point and just pondered upon what i had heard thus far... makes you think doesn't it, who are we? what are we doing? do we know where our end destination will be?

everyday in our salaah we recite:

Ahdina As-Sirata Al-Mustaqim (Al-Fatihah: 6).

'Guide us to the Straight Way'

Ya Allah increase our Imaan, Grant us Ihsaan, bestow on us sabr delight us in our Dhikr, bless us with Taqwaa, accept our Tawba & Honour us in Jannat.

Ameen)

continuing with the talk...

I also got from the talk that many of us are in self denial that selfishness exists within us... Subhan'Allah...

"Selfishness is destructive it lies in the core of all our problems...
Everybody just looks out for himself...
Nobody's got time for anybody else...
only if someone feels they will get a tangible reward will they precede"

(how true is this last sentence, in this day and society how many people will help you in the time of need?)

looking at selfishness from the Deeni perspective

We come to the masaajid, why?
Why do you pray salaah?
Why do you practice?
Why do you do ibaadah?
Why do you fast?
Why do you go hajj?

Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq talked about selfishness and how we even do ibadat for our selfish means. Even in Salaat, Zakat, Haj we have selfish motives. Why do we give Zakat...because it makes us feel less guilty about the rest of our wealth. Why do we fast, because it helps me etc, in everything it's me, myelf, I. When really we should be doing all this solely for Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) says that fasting is for His sake, and He alone will give it's reward. (additions by maryam bhen)

some people, not all may reply: 'because it gives me a peace of mind', 'solace', 'peace'...

Subhan'Allah people are selfish also in terms of the deeni aspects , its all about me myself and I... the response above is not and shouldn't be the prime reasons we do the actions we do, those are just secondary bonuses...

our response should be:

'We establish Salaah for Allah's Rememberance'
'We fast for the sake of Allah'

'Every deed of man belongs to man, except fasting...'

(right what am about to mention from the talk is quite funny, subhan'Allah)

"once in jummah salaah, after salaam when people stood up to pray the two sunnats...
one person was in the 4th/5th row he touched the person in front of him and said to him: 'could you move forward please slightly' so he said: 'no, you move back' 'no, you move forward'... 'no you move back' and then started arguing so one of them said: 'come on then, come on outside' so he said: 'wait let me pray, just pray my 2 sunaah then i'm coming'

what did we get from salaah?
what does he seek to achieve in the two rakaah salaah?...."

(Ya Allah! Subhan'Allah makes you think even in the masaajid- no compromise)

"There are amongst men those who worship Allah upon the verge... thus if a good fortune meets him, he is content with it. But if a calamity befalls him then he flips flat on to his face, he loses both this duniya and the akhirah and this is a clear loss"

meaning:

"people worship Allah upon the edge, just like a friend befriends another because he wants something from him purely on selfish grounds

'A friend in need, is a friend in deed'

a person befriends another and remains close or mantains relationship with him because he feels 'I'm getting something'
the moment the other person expires his usefulness his dumped...

this is exactly what people do with Allah subhana wa ta'llah...

(khallas!!! Ya Allah save us from becoming the likes of such people)

as long as man gets what he wants he will continue to pray, worship and fast in whatever way, but the moment he does not get what he wants, the moment he feels he lost out, the moment he feels his not getting anything out from practicing or walking the path of Allah he flips flat on to his face he looses both the Duniya and the Akhirah...

(subhan'Allah he goes on to mention many beneficial points)

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "No one of you shall become a true believer until he desires for his brother what he desires for himself." (Bukhari)

'Love only for the sake of Allah and dislike only for the sake of Allah'

our religion does not teach us to be selfish, to look out for ourself...

true piety, true righteousness, true sucess lies only in making oneself totally selfless... and denying oneself ones priveleges and granting those priveleges and preferences to others only then in the clear words of the Quran and Ahadith will we attain true piety and righteousness will become trully successful and will we become believers...

May Allah azza wa jall give us the taufeeq to understand
May Allah makes us amongst those who do give privelege and preference to their fellow muslims over themselves
May Allah make us amongst those who are selfless

Ameen

End of talk...

:mash: a fantastic talk indeed...

Dua Me Yaad

Wa Salaamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

[Live for Islam]

Assalamu Alaikum,

Jazakallahu khairun brother Usama and sis Sajeda for all your summaries. Alhamdulillah they were very beneficial.




:mash: a fantastic talk indeed...



I second that. 'Me Myself and I' by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq is truly one brilliant talk, Masha-Allah. Definitely worth listening to.

Wassalam.

[Sim]

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

mashallah great thread, great bayans too! i'll add some in due course inshallah.

wsalam :)

[Live for Islam]

Assalamu Alaikum Wr Wb,

Another of Shaykh Ahmed Ali’s bayans which I found to be brilliant is ‘Human Rights (in Islam) (http://www.azharacademy.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=449)’. Trying to summarize it as best as I can (Insha-Allah):

(In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)

Shaykh Ahmed Ali began with reading out the Human Rights charter of 1948 declared by the United Nations. One right mentioned and which was the focus of this bayan was ‘Article 3: Everyone has the right to life’.

Shaykh related how our western brothers (the reason why he said ‘brothers’ is because we all have the same father & mother, Sayyidina Adam (A.S) and Sayyidina Hawa (A.S)) have the habit of always attributing any beneficial development or discovery to themselves. Shaykh related some of what Muslims have contributed to society and which has been wrongfully attributed to others: The great Zakariya al Razi wrote 200 books in the field of medicine. The first hospital was set up by Muslims. It was the Muslims who invented the algebra, the name taken from the treaties of Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi. It was Muhammad ibn Ahmed who invented the zero. Al Battani was the first to use the expressions sine, cosine in his works. It was the Arabs who were the real founders of physics. Chemistry didn’t even exist as a science before the Muslims. (Shaykh gave other examples also.)
Everything that has been mentioned and much more that the Muslims contributed, nothing has been attributed to them.

Shaykh talked about how the West believes they were the first to give human rights to us, that is humans. Yet the reality is that Islam beat the United Nations by 1400 years. If you look into the books of history, the West had no concept of human rights before the 17th century. Not only did Islam beat the West with regards to human rights, Alhamdulillah Islam declared a universal charter for Animal Rights 1400 years ago, something the West still has to do!

(Shaykh Ahmed Ali mentioned some of the rights Islam gave to animals): Islam teaches that animals should be treated with kindness. They should not be persecuted or killed without a valid reason or for mere sport as is the case with fox-hunting. Shaykh Ahmed Ali gave references from the Qur’an and Hadith with regards to the treatment of animals. Two examples he quoted from the Hadith are:

Narrated Abdullah bin Umar:

Allah's Apostle said, "A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger." Allah's Apostle further said, (Allah knows better) Allah said (to the woman), 'You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up, nor did you set it free to eat the insects of the earth.'” (Sahih al Bukhari: volume 3, number 553)

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that."(Sahih al Bukhari, volume 4, number 535)


Even when one sacrifices an animal, even at that point Islam teaches: Do not sacrifice the animal in front of another. You will make sure that the tool you use is sharp, and only one who is able to sacrifice should do so, so that there is minimal pain.
If this is the value of an animal in Islam, then what about humans, the very beings that the heavens and earth were created for, the being which is made a representative of Allah on dunya, the very beings who Allah gave preference over many of His creatures…?

If you look at this charter of 1948 of the UN, the most important right in it is the right to life, and this is the most important right Islam gave, irrespective on one’s colour, creed, whether he is poor or rich, whether he is an Arab or not, everyone is equal in this respect.

Shaykh went on to relate how this life has been given only by Allah (SWT) and since He is the only Being able to give life, He is the only one who can take life. No human can take life, not even that of his own. The Qur’an says: “Nor take life which Allah has made sacred except for just cause.” (17:33)
The person who takes his own life, whatever he uses, if it is a metal, that weapon will be with him in hell and he will keep on cutting himself with it.

If this is the situation of taking one’s own life, taking the life of another is considered a greater sin and Islam warns of the consequences of committing such a sin:

“If a man kills a believer intentionally his recompense is Hell to abide therein (for ever): and the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.” (4:93)

Shaykh Ahmed Ali related how after the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (SAW) sent Khalid bin Walid (R.A), the great Muslim general, to invite the people of Yemen to Islam. Khalid bin Walid (R.A) was a soldier, he was not a preacher, and in the 6 months he stayed no one accepted Islam. The Prophet (SAW) sent Hazrat Ali (R.A) for the same mission, and everyone accepted Islam. The Prophet (SAW) sent Khalid bin Walid (R.A) to the tribe of Bani Jadhimah and strictly instructed that no force be used. The Prophet (SAW) heard that forced had been used and some people had been killed. Immediately the Prophet (SAW) raised his hands to heaven, saying he had nothing to do with what Khalid bin Walid did. The Prophet (SAW) sent Hazrat Ali (R.A) to the same village to pay the blood money of even the dogs that had been killed. SubhanAllah!

This is the value of life in Islam and Islam gave this right to everyone 1400 years ago and the UN only realised it in 1948. Shaykh went onto relate how this right has been violated these days.

The value of life in Islam is so important that Islam laid the rights 1400 years ago even in war so that nobody is killed unjustly and so that the war is as humane as possible.
The Prophet (SAW) when dispatching an army unit, every time he would remind them not to kill women, children, the old or weak, all those who were not participating in the war and he would also tell them that you will not deceive.
And these were not just written down; they were implemented by the Prophet (SAW) himself. Shaykh Ahmed Ali gave a great number of examples of this.

Shaykh also went on to talk about the Battle of Badr and Uhud. Later on he talked about how there is no freedom of expression anywhere in the World today. Compared to that look at the times of the Prophet (SAW) and the Khulafaa-e Rashideen, people had the freedom to express their views as Shaykh gave many examples from Hazrat Umar’s (R.A) time as Khalifa, how people were able to speak out as Hazrat Umar (R.A) said ‘There is no good in you if you do not say these things, and there is no good in us if when these things are said we do not accept.’

Alhamdulillah, Shaykh Ahmed Ali did say a lot more, which I haven’t included in this summary. Insha-Allah if you listen to the bayan you will benefit from doing so. Once again I’ve tried to summarize it as best as I could, but if there are any mistakes then please point them out. Jazakallahu khair. (May Allah (SWT) forgive me for any errors I may have made in the summary.)

Wassalamu Alaikum Wr Wb

Maryam

[Live for Islam]

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

The Leicester people visiting this forum may have listened to Shaykh Mufti Ahmed Falahi’s (DB) (from India) bayan in Jameah Mosque yesterday after Taraweeh. (It was also broadcast on the receiver/transmitter for us to listen to at home..Alhamdulillah). It was an exceptionally brilliant bayan…words cannot describe its excellence, but subhanAllah, it was one of the best bayans I have ever heard.

Relating a few things from what Mufti Ahmed Falah talked about, Insha-Allah…

1) Mufti Saab talked of what our beloved Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) first word was. Hazrat Halimah (R.A) related that Rasulullah (SAW)…the first time he spoke, he said; ‘Allahu Akbar kabeera, Alhamdulillah katheera, SubhanAllah buq ratow wa aseela’. SubhanAllah, simply amazing!!

2) Mufti Falahi also talked about Hazrat Abu Huraiyrah (R.A). Huraiyrah in the Arabic language means ‘small cat’…thus Abu Huraiyrah means ‘father of a cat’. Now today if someone were to say you were a father of a small cat we’d probably shout and say ‘you’re calling me the father of a bilari (cat)??’ But the story behind how Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) acquired this name goes as follows. Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) was lying down on the ground sleeping. He only had one garment which he clothed himself in and also used the same material as a chadder to sleep on. It so happened that as he was sleeping a cat came and went to sleep on his chadder. The Zuhr Adhan went, and Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) woke up. He saw that a cat was sleeping on his chadder. He waited for the cat to wake up, but it didn’t. So the time of namaz was going, and Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) was put in a dilemma as to what to do. He did not want to disturb the cat, as he thought if he disturbed it then on the Day of Judgement he would be asked as to why he harassed a creature of Allah. So instead he tore his garment so that the part the cat was sleeping on would not be disturbed, and thereafter made his way to the Masjid. After Salaah the Prophet (SAW) on seeing Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) asked to how come his clothes were torn, when in the morning it had been a full garment. Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) related the incident of the cat to the Prophet (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) on hearing his story remarked that because Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) had shown mercy to a creature of this Ummah, Allah (SWT) would show mercy on him on the Day of Judgement. He was also given the title of ‘father of a cat’ (Abu Huraiyrah) and thus he became known and referred to with this name. SubhanAllah.

3) Shaykh related how one who does fazul kharchi (spends extravagantly, wastes money etc) has been likened as the brother of Shaytan as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.

4) Whoever reads Surah Ikhlaas 200 times 50 years of past sins will be forgiven. Whoever read Surah Ikhlaas 100 times at night, Jannah will become wajib on him. SubhanAllah!!

That’s just a very short summary of Shaykh’s bayan which was in Urdu. If I have made any mistakes in the translation of the bayan please let me know, my Urdu isn’t umm very fluent, so I’ve probably made loads of mistakes : $.

Also the bayan which was given by Mufti Ahmed Falahi on Thursday night at Masjid e Umar is available for purchase. Does anyone know if the Friday bayan cassette at Jameah mosque (Leicester) is available for purchase?

Jazakallahu khairun.

Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

[Abu Suliman]

Masha'Allah great thread and very good summaries keep up the good work jazak'Allah.

[islamonline]

Great Thread :mash:

Worth the Bump!!

[Noble_Woman]

:salam:

The following is a summary of a bayaan to the best of my knowledge and rememberance that i heard when i attended the talk delivered by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq at Masjid-e-Umar...

Which may i also mention has been added to this forum in audio form by brother Ibnu Rashid:
Man: Higher than Angels or Lower than Animals (http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=911&postcount=1) If anyone would like to hear the talk :insh:

Man: Higher than Angels or Lower than Animals

The talk was based on good deeds (amaal) and faith (Imaan)... The Imaam started of with the verse of how man is honoured i found this verse which i think the shaykh was referring to:

"Verily we have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment." [Surah Al-Isra' 17:70]

Main emphasis was made on man being honoured...

How man has been created as the most beautiful species, and how they are better than jinn, better than animals and some of the ordinary angels in terms of piety... the selected angels are obviously better than man but man who worships Allah and fully submits to Him is ranked higher than some of these angels in terms of praising Allah... again emphasis made on piety of man... He then went on to mention - surah At-Tin

1. Waaltteeni waalzzaytooni
1. By the fig, and the olive,

2. Watoori seeneena
2. By Mount Sinai,

3. Wahatha albaladi al-ameeni
3. And by this city of security (Makkah),

4. Laqad khalaqna al-insana fee ahsani taqweemin
4. Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),

5. Thumma radadnahu asfala safileena
5. Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low,

6. Illa allatheena amanoo waAAamiloo alssalihati falahum ajrun ghayru mamnoonin
6. Save those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, then they shall have a reward without end (Paradise).

7. Fama yukaththibuka baAAdu bialddeeni
7. Then what (or who) causes you (O disbelievers) to deny the Recompense (i.e. Day of Resurrection)?

8. Alaysa Allahu bi-ahkami alhakimeena
8. Is not Allah the Best of judges?

The Shaykh emphasised the 4th verse...

I have added tafsir below to the above surah for further explanation of the surah: (the verses are in bold)

Man becoming Lowly even though He was created in the Best Form

and the Result of that Allah says,

(Verily, We created man in the best form.) This is the subject being sworn about, and it is that Allah created man in the best image and form, standing upright with straight limbs that He beautified.

(Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low.) meaning, to the Hellfire. This was said by Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Al-Hasan, Ibn Zayd and others. Then after this attractiveness and beauty, their destination will be to the Hell-fire if they disobey Allah and belie the Messengers. This is why Allah says,

(Save those who believe and do righteous deeds.) Some have said,

(Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low.) "This means decrepit old age.'' This has been reported from Ibn `Abbas and `Ikrimah. `Ikrimah even said, "Whoever gathers the Qur'an (i.e., he memorizes it all), then he will not be returned to decrepit old age.'' Ibn Jarir preferred this explanation. Even if this was the meaning, it would not be correct to exclude the believers from this, because some of them are also overcome by the senility of old age. Thus, the meaning here is what we have already mentioned (i.e., the first view), which is similar to Allah's saying,

(By Al-'Asr. Verily man is in loss, except those who believe and perform righteous deeds.) (103:1-3) Concerning Allah's statement,

(Then they shall have a reward without end.) meaning, that will not end, as we have mentioned previously. Then Allah says,

(Then what causes you to deny) meaning, `O Son of Adam!'

(after this the Recompense) meaning, 'in the recompense that will take place in the Hereafter. For indeed you know the beginning, and you know that He Who is able to begin (the creation) is also able to repeat it which is easier. So what is it that makes you deny the final return in the Hereafter after you have known this' Then Allah says,

(Is not the Allah the best of judges) meaning, 'is He not the best of judges, Who does not oppress or do any injustice to anyone' And from His justice is that He will establish the Judgement, and He will give retribution to the person who was wronged in this life against whoever wronged him. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat wat-Tin waz-Zaytun and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.

[Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

The Shaykh said how man has been granted intelligence and physique and is unique to all of Allah's creation... How we are just like animals and angels but we still differ... he went on to say how we are like animals in eating, drinking, procreating, pleasure etc but differ because we have intelligence and we do more than what the animals do we have been granted intelligence which animals do not have, we have physique which is unique to us alone. we are like the angels in terms of praising Allah although they are made of light and they do not need to do the necessities eat, drink, procreate. So we have the like characteristics of the angels and animals but more which is unique to us humans alone. So humans are created; the best form of creation and thereafter what you do as a believer determines your final abode in the hereafter... That is why we should hold the characteristics of a true and pure believer and continue to make the right choices with the guidance of Allah (SWT) seeking His help by supplicating and praising him... We have a choice of doing what is right and should continue to do so for as long as we live and not give in to shaytaans whispers which will lead us to nothing but distress and hellfire. To avoid this we must always supplicate to Allah to Guide us amongst the righteous and save us from all of shaytaans schemes Ameen... There are some people who live like the animals just do the necessities and do not praise Allah, and just enjoy the pleasures in this life and eat, drink and procreate. Astagfirullah surely they are in the wrong... May Allah save us from falling into error... Ameen...

Shaykh then went on to say how it is not only good enough to say laillaha illallah and expect that you will achieve jannah, no its not enough you need to do good deeds continously as you do not know which one of those good deeds will take you to jannah, it only takes one misdeed yes only one misdeed to take you to hell-fire... Subhan'Allah just think you can commit all the good deeds you want but it is possible that it may not be accepted and your one mis-deed can take you straight to the hell-fire...

Astagfirullah nowadays, the attitude of people is oh its ok as long as i believe and say laillaha illallah i will go jannah, its ok for me to commit the odd sin now and then eventually after going jahannam for my appointed time i will still enter jannah... Subhan'Allah can you believe this is the attitude of the so called believers, this is an incorrect approach to achieve jannah... we need to abstain from commiting bad deeds and to continue with the good deeds as we do not know which one deed may please Allah (SWT) and for that one deed we may be granted Jannah so for as long as we live we should keep doing good deeds Insha'Allah...

The Shaykh referred to many ahadiths and verses from the Qur'aan...

Volume 1, Book 2, Number 33:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr:

The Prophet said, "Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up.

1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays.

2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.

3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous.

4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner."
[Al-Bukhari, Vol. 1 : No. 33]

Whoever possesses all four of the above mentioned traits, is a PURE hypocrite. However, whoever has one of the those four characteristics is not a pure hypocrite, but should strive to remove it from his character as soon as possible.

Shaykh then elaborated on lying as to how much people lie and lie and for some people it becomes a habit, he went on to give examples of people he came across who have lied to him personally lie upon lie...

For example this man was telling people in a mehfil how his brother who was a doctor in america was so good and how he helped so many people in america and what a good doctor he was etc that when the military needed him he was taken in a b52 and the story goes on... well as you can imagine we all started laughing because the shaykh was telling us how people lie and this was one of them examples. (This is roughly the example used i cant remember accurately word for word what it was but am sure you will get the gist of it)

he went on to say how one man admitted he lies but cannot stop... the shaykh mentioned that some people who are able to lie and make up innovative stories in there minds and they can see it so vividly in their minds that some actually believe it happened he mentioned a scientific name for it which i cant remember now hmmm... but Subhan'Allah it is still lying and this is known as one of the traits of hypocrisy if not eliminated from the muslim character can lead to hell-fire...

The Shaykh then went on to say how you can continue doing good deeds but your one word not even one sentence, two sentences but one word can lead you to the brink of kuffar and hellfire... So we should be careful and committed to doing good deeds at all times and abstaining from bad deeds totally... Shaykh also mentioned how on yawm al Qiyaamah (Day Of Judgement) that Imaan will be seen from our heart and not our tongues... as there are those who say and talk about Imaan but what is in their hearts only Allah knows and on yawm al Qiyaamah all shall be revealed...

Shaykh gave examples of the people who were forgiven for their sins, granted paradise and some who went hellfire which am sure many of us have heard of many times but it is always a good reminder, i shall mention some of them here for those who may not know and for those who do know a reminder...

* The woman who mis-treated her cat... went hellfire

[I got the following from hadith sources]

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "While a man was walking on his way he became extremely thirsty. He found a well, he went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself: `This dog is extremely thirsty as I was.' So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins". The Companions asked: "Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to the animals also?'' He (PBUH) said, "A reward is given in connection with every living creature".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In the narration of Al-Bukhari, the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said: "Allah forgave him in appreciation of this act and admitted him to Jannah".

Another narration says: "Once a dog was going round the well and was about to die out of thirst. A prostitute of Banu Israel happened to see it. So she took off her leather sock and lowered it into the well. She drew out some water and gave the dog to drink. She was forgiven on account of her action".

Commentary:
1. This Hadith emphasizes the importance of kindness to every creature, even animals, because Allah is pleased with such kindness.

2. Allah's Quality of mercy and forgiveness is immensely vast. If He wants He may forgive a person even on a minor good action done by him.

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Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "I saw a man going about in Jannah (and enjoying himself) as a reward for cutting from the middle of the road, a tree which was causing inconvenience to the Muslims".
[Muslim].

Another narration says: "A man who passed by a branch of a tree leaning over a road and decided to remove it, saying to himself, `By Allah! I will remove from the way of Muslims so that it would not harm them.' On account of this he was admitted to Jannah".

According to the narration in Al-Bukhari and Muslim: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "While a man was walking, he saw a thorny branch on the road, so he removed it and Allah appreciated his action and forgave him".

Commentary: The act of saving people from harm and loss is greatly liked by Allah, no matter how small it is. Allah is greatly pleased if a person removes from the passage something that causes harm to people. On the contrary, persons who restrict or obstruct passages and thereby create inconvenience for the passers-by, as is usually done with great audacity on marriage parties, or create trouble for people by encroachment, do in fact incur Allah's displeasure. But our moral sense has been so blunted that rather than feeling any compunction, we do such things boastfully forgetting that 'Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.' We have now become so low that we take pride in going against our religious teachings and practices thus incurring Allah's displeasure. Is there any further stage of moral turpitude and revolt against Him?.
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The shaykh then went on to say that we need both Amaal and Imaan (Good deeds and faith respectively) to enter Jannah Insha'Allah... We should NOT be laid back and be like those who think oh its ok to commit bad deeds now and as long as we say laillaha illallah Jannah will be our final abode what is the least that will happen we will go to hellfire for an appointed time and eventually we will be in jannah, no this should not be the attitude we adopt as it is verily this characteristic we hold that can take us to the brink of kuffar and straight to hellfire, we should completely and totally stay away from bad deeds and abstain from lying and continue to do good deeds for as long as we live and with full submission to Allah recite laillaha illallah with support of Amaal and Imaan and only then shall we be true believers striving for jannah...



"whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it
and whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it."


May Allah give us the tawfiq to do good deeds and keep away from all signs of hypocrisy and grant us the true meaning of laillaha illallah in our hearts and to strengthen our Imaan for as long as we live...

Ameen

This is all i can remember from the talk as it was roughly an hour long bayaan which is not that long but still my short term memory is not good enough to recall all that was mentioned. However, i did my best in trying to recall here as much as i could... If you see any errors please let me know as i may have accidently mis-written something as it took me ages to write this post and i may have overlooked some errors (any spelling mistakes? let me know, i know how some of you like pointing out spelling errors but lets not go as far as grammar please lol.... ok ok just let me know if there is an error Jazak'Allahu Khairan Katheera)... May Allah forgive me for any mistakes in this post...

Wassalaamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

wow. did u do this by yourself or did u get it from somewhere?

[Sadiq]

*Please post more here*