Letters To My Precious Mother... (3)

 
Delicious Pomegranates of Dammaj

Well, this was a day I had been longing for so long .. and well finally here in Dammaj. Allaah azzawajal united us all as a family once again... the missing part of the puzzle finally fit in its slot.. and we are now a complete family. Alhamdulillaah wa minnah! (All Praise & Graces are due to Allaah). At the request of Abdullah I am not writing about him.. smile! He is very shy and a private person so I want to respect his wishes. While I pen this, he is reading this.. so I have no choice but to avoid writing about him.

Alhamdulillaah things are falling into place for us with the Mercy of Allaah azzawajal. Adjusting to the new country, environment, culture etc.. especially for the sake of Allaah is a Jihadh in itself. Our enthusiastic minds leap forward whilst our bodies are unable to cope with it. Alhamdulillaah in all situations. All Praise is due to Him for helping us. We will be tested in our struggle to please Him azzawajal and we ask Him alone for sabr and thawfeeq in all our affairs. Ameen.

          

                                         Typical Dammaji Homes of the locals                                        

It was a strange feeling when Abdullah took us into our so called home.. our house made of clay bricks. The clay ofcourse keeps the house cool in winter and supposedly warm in winter. Well the first thing we wanted to do was to know the direction of the Qiblah to do Sajda Shukr for bringing us safely to the fortress of Sunnah, a place many could only dream of coming. There were several checkpoints of the Rafidha but Allaah (azzawajal) made it smooth sailing for us… it was like a breeze. In several checkpoints there were hardly anyone manning it. All Praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the worlds! 

Well, I didn't have to pinch myself to know whether this was real or not...our feet were actually in the sands of Dammaj ... our duas answered by my Rab, our dream to make a home in the land of the Sunnah finally a reality.. we are really really in Dammaj... not ila Dammaj but fil Dammaj.. (not to Dammaj anymore but in Dammaj!). Alhamdulillaah!

Alhamdulillaah I was able to post part 3 today after a struggle. Smile! It is indeed a cultivation of sabr for me to sit here waiting for the pages to reload, edit and post. Phew it takes such a long long time!! The treat tonight was burghers!! Yummy! The local store near the Masjid had frozen burgher patties for sale and voila what do you know we enjoyed diving into home assembled mock McDonalds made by my daughter with yummy sauce. D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!! Anyone wants the recipe?

The Difference between Taubah and Istaghfar

Ibnul Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (751H)

There are two types of Istaghfar:

1.    Istaghfar that is mentioned alone.

2.    Istaghfar that is mentioned with Taubah.

The Istaghfar that is mentioned alone is found in the words of Nuh (peace and blessings be upon him):

“I said (to them): ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; ‘He will send rain to you in abundance.”

[Nuh 10-11]

People will lose their minds…

 

 Abu Musa (radi Allaahu anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Before the Hour comes there will be Harj,” I asked: “O Messenger of Allaah what is Harj” He said: “Killing.” Some of the Muslims said: “O Messenger of Allaah, currently we kill such and such number of pagans in a year.”  The Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “That killing won’t be like killing the idolaters, instead you will kill one another, until a man will kill his neighbor, his cousin, and close relatives. Some people said: “O Messenger of Allaah will we be in our right minds during that time.

"Remembrance of Allaah for the heart is like..."

 

 

Shaikhul Islaam Ibnu Taymiyyah [rahimahullaah] said:- - ”Remembrance of Allaah for the heart is like water for the fish, & what will be the state of affairs of the fish when it is separated from water.”

[Al-waabilus sayyib of Ibnul Qayyim]

Allaah is " Al Haleem "

"One of the ninety-nine names of Allaah is “Al-Haleem” which translates to “The Most Forbearing” meaning, Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) is NOT quick in judgment.

Allaah gives all his servants time. He is patient & waits to see His servants return to Him even if it is after leading a sinful life. There is a beautiful hadeeth which elaborates this attribute of Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) showing us mortals how Merciful He is when it comes to recording our bad deeds.

Abu Umaamah [May Allaah be pleased with him] reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sal allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,

“The angel of the left raises [and holds] his pen for six hours from the Muslim servant of Allaah who has wronged or committed a mistake. So if he regrets & seeks Allaah’s forgiveness from it, he [the angel] returns it back, & if that’s not the case then it is written as one”

[Mu’kam al Kabeer, Hasan according to Shaykh Al-Albaany [rahimahullaah ] ]

"....... How does one humiliate oneself ? "

Imaam Ahmad recorded that Hudhayfah said that the Prophet [sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam] said:

لاَ يَنْبَغِي لِمُسْلِمٍ أَنْ يُذِلَّ نَفْسَهُ

“It is NOT required of the Muslim that he humiliates himself.”

They said, “How does one humiliate himself?”

He [sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam] said:

يَتَعَرَّضُ مِنَ البَلاَءِ لِمَا لا يُطِيقُ

“He takes on trails that he is NOT capable of enduring!”


Recorded by Ahmad 5:1405, this was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi & Ibn Majah & At-Tirmidhi said, “This hadith is Hasan Sahih Gharib.” In Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi 6:531, Ibn Majah 2:1332

"You are going to face something difficult..."

  
Umar ibn al-Khattab advised Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas saying :

"You are going to face something difficult, & nothing can save you from it except the truth. Accustom yourself & those who are with you to doing good, start everything with good, & remember that for every good habit there is a means to develop it. The means of developing good is patience. If you are patient in bearing everything that befalls you or happens to you, you will gain the fear [taqwa] of Allaah.”