Rada bil Qadr

Many times in our lives we have to face some very cruel and harsh circumstances. At that time life really seems unfair. No matter how strong you pose externally, the internal flawed fibers of weekend emaan give birth to tons of unanswered questions. No matter how often and how many times you try to aviod the pricking of those unknown why or why nots, life still become a question mark to you. Your mind convinces you that you have to believe on one of the pillars of faith i.e. taqdir. To accept His decisions and to be content with them is a required part of our faith. We know that Allah is Al Wise, He is more merciful than our mother, He is our rab, our protector, our planner and our nourisher. He can never do anything wrong for us. But still there are some outcomes we are not satisfied with or even if we accept it there is always a slight clinch that why it happened to me or why it is happening to me? where did I go wrong? what did I do to suffer from all these pains and pressures. Why I am always the victim of everyone’s taunts and tantrums? Is it that we are not willingly accepting the decisions of our Lord. Is it we associating partners with Allah when making our intellect and rational to be more reasonable than the Al Mighty. How can we justify all these feelings? This is where the weakness of eman and sickness of heart peeks in and slowly and gradually push ourselves to the never ending cycle of doubts and desires i.e. ‘shubhaat and shahwaat’. We need to realize the fact that when He created us, He knows us very well. He knows us when we were not even ready to take the first breath. Still how can we think that he can be irrational in his decisions.

Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted?

But the question is how do I convince myself, how do I make sure that I’m not constantly complaining and whining about the trials and tests life is keep throwing at me. Most of the time, our lives seem like a unsolvable puzzle but only He knows that how can these parts can fit together to make the perfect picture. Life can be really rough sometimes, people will be playing with our sentiments and will drain us emotionally, sqeezing every drop of humanness within us but we have to beleive that the rough roars of the ocean can calm down when they come to the shore. Surely, sometimes the tides of troubles seem unbearable, everything seems to be haphazard like a messy painting, each and every corner of our lives need to be fixed, even our friends, family everyone we come across with is a Fitnah constant trial for us but in the midst of all these uncertainties, Quran assures us:

O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.

During that strenuous physical and mental exertion, if the acceptance of Allah’s decisions will not prevail in our hearts and Nafs, then the purpose of Abd Allah will be defeated. In return, the desired destination every abd deserved and dreamt of, will only remain a dream. To make this dream a reality, we need to overcome all our inner hurdles and hesitations. We need to start strengthening our roots of eman and taqwa. It can never happen without Allah’s help so we need to make our relationship stronger and special to the extent that we can be among those mentioned in the following verses.

[To the righteous it will be said], “O reassured soul
Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]
And enter among My [righteous] servants
And enter My Paradise.

Ihsaan

This word is definitely a combination of  a few words i.e. ‘i h s a n’</strong But in reality, the word has immense worth of depth in it, numerous pages can be written about it. but the meanings and its applications can never find true justice.When one take this word to heart and start acting on it then this word  is nothing but filled with layers and layers one after another and the true layer is yet to be found. This word is that profound!

No one can explain this word better then our own Lord. His Action of Ihsaaan starts from the womb of a mother. He starts giving us food, shelter, warmth and mercy. He give relief to the cries of an infant. When we put our hands into the gentle hands of our care taker then, immediately the relief arrives.

The life continues, the child grows up , the creator blesses him with family, water to drink, plenty to survive, friends to love, education to explore, air to breath, sky to see, earth to enjoy , consious to contemplate, parents to pamper and much more. In return what does He want? His Ibadah, His obedience, His worship. And what we do in return? Can we pay Him His dues just for His one 'Ihsaan?' Is it too much to ask ? Is it not pure Ihsaan from the Creator?

Everyday we waste food. Ask yourself how much food do you leave on the plate if not how much food you throw out everyday even from someone else's plate. Did God take the food away from us ? No! Every day we are still blessed with variety of food and we enjoy way with same joy and crave……………Is this  not Ihsaan from our Lord?

In Quran Allah used this word many times. in Surah Younus

Chapter (10) sūrat yūnus (Jonah)

 For them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra. No darkness will cover their faces, nor humiliation. Those are companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally

For them who have done good i.e. ihsaan, will have no darkness, nor humiliation. Today how many times we have been humiliated in front of the whole world, in front of many, in front of our own children , in front of our own spouses or in front of the whole crowd, how many times some bitter words pierces us like a dagger and we are doomed in darkness. The clouds of despair and darkness overcome us and we feel like the world is a deep dark dungeon for us , there is no light, there is no escape, there is no refuge, there is no where to hide, there is no shelter, but for  a few moments imagine the humiliation of that day and darkness of our deeds.

Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised.

But is that darkness and humiliation  is better then off that day. If you swallow the undigested words, if we seal the lips from throwing the fire of fierce words in return, we can be saved from the darkness and humiliation of that day. We have to decide which humiliation is better. The humiliation of some mere words is nothing as compare to that day .It is really nothing.

Remember Ihsaan of Yusuf  how he forgave his brothers and honored them even though they threw him in the well, they departed his beloved father from him , they were the cause of his father’s lost eyesight and after all that, that they called him a stealer. Can we forgive someone who did this to us? but  he did ihsaan. This word contains some real gems and treasures which can never be revealed without acting upon it,without experiencing the beauty of it.

Then Ibraheem’s ihsaan was not  an easy one to forget also. His father was with those who wanted to burn him . In fact, he was thrown in fire infront of his real father. Can we imagine the greatness of his character? He was leaving the city after the bitter betrayal of his own blood but  he still  prayed for his forgiveness. Where can we find this kind of ihsaan?

Our history and heritage is full of stories of ihsaan. Now think about our lives, how much we have painted our canvas of life with this act of ihsaan . It is not easy to throw flowers for someone who throws fire on you . It is not a piece of cake to come up with a clean plate day in and day out especially if we have been penalized by the same person everyday. Nevertheless, to come up with ihsaan in our dealings with certain people is a daunting test but Allah assures you through this ayat:

Sahih International: And We did not send before you, [O Muhammad], any of the messengers except that they ate food and walked in the markets. And We have made some of you [people] as trial for others – will you have patience? And ever is your Lord, Seeing.

Will you have patience?

Your Lord is asking you. Will you have patience? the one who does ihsaan  from the time of birth till death, the one who does ihsaan from waking you up to feeding you a morsel, from giving you strength  to bow down in front of  Him  till you feel the ray of sunlight and sense a moment of joy and feel the true peace and tranquality. Will you not do ihsaan for Him?  This can only be possible if we know the reward of ihsaan is nothing but ihsaan from our Lord  in this world and in hereafter also.

Chapter (55) sūrat l-raḥmān (The Most Gracious)

  Is the reward for good [anything] but good?

poem

khilaya jis rab nay tugh ko pilaya aur bolna  sikhaya

hua tera wajood us ki waja say is  dharti par samaya.

phir kiya hui teri taabay daari us ahsaan kay badlay

mana kay asaan nahi logo kay nishtar baharay lafz sahnaa

nahi hai asaan har berukhi ka jawaab khushdili say dayna

magar yeh bhi to soch kay kitna dafa teray rab nay tugh ko sanbhala’

kitnay shikwon kay jawab may us nay  tugh par rahm naa chora

kitni nafarmaniyon ki bawajood tujh say tera rizq naa choota 

yeh tera rab hai aur us kaa ihsaan nahi to kiya hia

Us nay to rab ban kar dikha diya ab tu yeh bata kay tera ihsaan kiya hai

ا >

To Ilm Summit Students

Ramadhan Reminder,

When we were in Ilm Summit, my dear fellow Solange started the Ramadhan Reminder where everyone can share some reminders about Ramadhan . I ‘d like to share my reminder here.

Asalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu,

How are you all. I just wanted  to share my feelings I gained through all the tafsirs and lectures attended throughout the whole month. Every year we are blessed with the month of Ramadhan. we are fortunate enough to earn the blessings of this month. Every Ramadhan passes by and we are drilled to worship, read Quran, do good deeds, not waste time, take care of relatives, extra gentle to our families but I never understand why the bubble pops as soon the month is finished. Why we can’t we climb one stair of piety, one more step of closeness to our lord, open one more door of mercy for us. Why it happens. I truly believe that Ramadhan is the month to earn the reward as much as you can but the only purpose is to earn tons of reward and then go back to zero again? The only purpose is to pray, read  read and read and then altogether leave the book of Allah. Do we think that Allah wants us to be muslim only in this month and the rest of the year is a free ride. I think that Ramadhan is the month of transformation. It is the month of connecting to Allah when shaytaan is chained so you can feel the real sweetness and try to maintain this sweetness throughout the rest of the year. you can feel the real peace in this month and try to maintain the same peace throughout the year. If you have developed the relationship with Quran and felt that it was the real food for the soul then nourish the soul after this month too.This month was the sample life style or ideal life style a muslim can adopt but there is no such thing as ideal so at least we can do even half of it. But don’t leave it altogther.Don’t stop reciting the Quran at fajr, don’t sleep after fajr, don’t backbite, call your relatives, try to help someone always, use your talent for the community . Ahh! we have so much to do and so much less time. Still we can’t see what are we doing. Where are we heading to? this life is not easy. Path of paradise is not filled with bed of roses. We are created for hard work as the Surah Inshiqaq mentions:

Chapter (84) sūrat l-inshiqāq (The Splitting Asunder)

Sahih International: O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.

Therefore, I really feel that if you have developed some relationship with your Lord, don’t let it go. Hold it. This light should enlighten the rest of your life. The power of taqwa gained in this month should energized you to do eveything for the sake of Allah, to gain His mercy, to gain His closeness. Just trust me my sisters, no one can give you the full measure of whatever good we do in this world. Only Allah can. Only He can return the reward the way it should be rewarded but for this you have to appriase him the way He should be. Then definitely, He will praise you the way you should be praised in both the worlds.

Sahih International: They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.

I pray that this month become the source of attaining real taqwa. Whatever steps we have taken to gain his pleasure should become the strong foundation to race to the tower of tolerance, patience, piety and productivity(Ameen).

Love and duas to all the seekers of knowledge.

Sharmeen Makda.

Takmeel e Quran

 It is November 20th 2011, journey of Quran came to end. well it is not an ultimate end but atleast one phase of going through it is accompolished. It seems like yesterday when I joined this class and started learning Quran word by word. The experience is so spritual and phenominal that words can not depict what the heart has witnessed and felt . Truly the book of Allah has wonders and magnetic charisma which pulls you towards it. It is a deep deep study where one can immerse and never come out feeling being finished. You want to go deeper and deeper as on the surface you can’t find many but when you go deep down the sea, wonders are many.

Similarly, I found this journey to be the most profound and unique in all the ways specaially the last juzz has surahs which have totally differnet impact on you and it is only possible to experience when you reach there. You can not have the same feeling if you read that juzz without being through the journey of all 29 juzz . After every 10 juzz the feelings were different. After 20th juzz , heart starts trembling some more but then on 30th juzz, the feelings were very intense as it was obvious how Quran in wrapping up its message.

Going through this whole proceess was not easy for me. There were numerous times when I felt the message has been slipping through my hands, all doors are being shut one by one, all my ways of guidance has been diluted but then soon any of the Quranic verses and lectures from our teacher Farhat Hashmi lifted me up. Indeed as she mentioned in the last juzz that it was Allah’s blessings and truly His mercy that I could have blessed with that gift. Now I believe it with my full heart and certainity that it was Allah’s help and favor on me to make me steadfast on this path . Every ayat, every word has incredible amount of depth and life long lessons in it. It is the food that every soul needs to taste. It was the daily doze which every seeker of knowledge has to take. It is the treasure which is buried but we have to dig it up. It is the speech which has the loudest vioce but we must bring our ear near to it. Thus, this book has given and taught  me many things which I couldn’t be able to learn  with any other book or work.

jitna bhi karoron tera shukar us nimat kay milnay par kam hai

us nimat ko paigaam ko sab ko agay phauchana hai, yehi aik gham hai

koi kamaal insaan nahi kar  sakta yeh Allah hi kaa aik nazrana hai

usi nazr e karam kay shukr may us kalaam ko parhna aur parhana hai

Surah Fajr

 

When  I read this surah, I thought the whole surah’s message is trapped in a single verse.

Sahih International: He will say, “Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life.”

This verse is very captivating yet very heart trembling. It made me think what we have sent for the next world. what have we deposited for the next world. What we have stored really for the upcoming life. This life was suppose to be cultivating phase , seeds need to be sown,  and the reaping must be done in another life. so what is really we think we have done to have sucessful destanation over there.

Yes but there will be some souls who were in continous, utmost struggle as mentiones in

Chapter (84) sūrat l-inshiqāq (The Splitting Asunder)

Sahih International: O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.

when you put that kind of effort then you will gain the highest status and will become satisfied soul  your Lord will call upon you.

Chapter (89) sūrat l-fajr (The Dawn)

(To the righteous soul will be said:) “O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction.

and the reward will be

Sahih International: Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him].

Returning to your Lord is definite. Final destination will be  paradise.

 

Sahih International: And enter among My [righteous] servant.

Sahih International: And enter My Paradise.”

 

 

Forgiveness

How often it happens that you come across someone. He is your good friend, a pious person, an ideal worshipper,  regular recitor of Quran, covered in hijaab, quoting ayahs and Hadith all the time, having a scholarly attitude but when it comes to personal possessions and forgiveness they are unreachable, hard to conquer , impossible to reach, very difficult to discover, trapped in the shell of ego, in the realm of self love and arrogance .

I wonder, why they seems so impossible even we claim to be the ideal muslims and pose to fufill all the aspects of Islamic personality but still lacking on  the funadamemtal part of islamic morals i.e. to overlook and move forward.

For them’ Ibadah’ means just mere acts of bowing and prostration and when it comes to manners and morals life become difficult for them. At that very instance all the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad regarding Akhlaq are completely overlooked. I can’t figure that out that why we stretch our religion to just this corner of ‘worshippping’ while ignoring the big picture of personal behaviors and conduct. Why we draw a blank on all these sayings of Prophet Muhammad:

3- Abu Hurairah (RA)  narrated: Allah’s
Messenger (saw) said,” The most complete of believers in Iman (Faith) are those who are best in Character.” (Abu Dawud)

4- Abu Darda (RA) narrated : I heard
Allah’s Messenger (saw) say, Nothing will be placed in the balance heavier than good conduct, and a person with good conduct will attain the rank of one who fasts and prays.”(Tarmidhi)

5- Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated : Allah’s
Messenger (saw) said, “Two characteristics are not found together in a hypocrite pleasant personality and understanding of deen.”(Tarmidhi).

 

وصفحوا Forgiveness, OverlookForget وعفوا

They read the ayahs of Quran everyday but it doesn’t touch  them .Their heart doesn’t tremble by someone’s pleas and requests. They seem to be unshaken by the cries and hues of a person. What makes a person so rugged and rough?

Every day we go through the trembling and alarming message of QURAN yet our heart doesn’t melt. Not only that,when it comes to overlooking the faults of others, forgoing the shortcoming of our fellow beings then our heart disregards the depth of the words of QURAN . There are some words in Quran whose depth just capture the soul and stick with you wherever you go. When it comes to forgive and forget, the word ‘Wasfahu‘ is mentioned in Quran several times in  different contexts. But the echoes of this word ’wasfahoo’(overlooking) fall on deaf ears in our personal lives . It doesn’t have any meanings , it doesn’t carry any weight for us. However, on the flip side, Quran mentions this word at numerous  occasions. In Surah Baqarah it is mentioned:

sūrat l-baqarah (The Cow)
Arabic word 23: … and overlook …

{وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ إِيمَٰنِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِّنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِهِم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلْحَقُّ فَٱعْفُوا۟ وَٱصْفَحُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِىَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ}

 Many of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from themselves [even] after the truth has become clear to them. So pardon and overlook until Allah delivers His command. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.(2:109)

In Surah Maidah, Allah is again mentioning the same word Wasfahu and  it is equalient to the level of ‘Ahsaan’.

sūrat l-māidah (The Table spread with Food)
Arabic word 28: … and overlook. …

{فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَٰقَهُمْ لَعَنَّٰهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا قُلُوبَهُمْ قَٰسِيَةً يُحَرِّفُونَ ٱلْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ وَنَسُوا۟ حَظًّا مِّمَّا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَلَا تَزَالُ تَطَّلِعُ عَلَىٰ خَآئِنَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ فَٱعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَٱصْفَحْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ}

 So for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded. And you will still observe deceit among them, except a few of them. But pardon them and overlook [their misdeeds]. Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good. (5:13)

Then, again in Surah Nur Allah (swt) is reminding Abu Bakr not to withhold his sadqaat when his daughter Aisha was accused in the incidence of Ifk and he took an oath not to help his poor relative ’Mistah’ who was involved in spreading the incident of Ifk .Therefore, Allah wanted the companions to rise to the height of ethics and Ahsaan so he revealed this Ayah and literally the last part  of the ayah, “Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful” creates chaos among our cluttered thoughts. It truly elevates us to the highest level of  character.No person can deny Allah’s mercy and this verse is giving us the ticket to gain Allah’s mercy and forgivness . Still, the vastness and immenseness of this command of Allah(swt) is not enough to restore our relationships.

Sūrat l-Nūr (The Light)
Arabic word 17: … and let them overlook. …

{وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَٱلسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوٓا۟ أُو۟لِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلْيَعْفُوا۟ وَلْيَصْفَحُوٓا۟ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ}

  And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants for the cause of Allah , and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.(24:22): 

Likewise, in Surah ‘Zukh’ruf’ Allah is ordering Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) to ‘Wasfah’ ( to overlook) after he has gone through so much trails and tribulations from Qureish. In this Surah, Allah is consoling Muhammad(PBUH) in regards to continous arguments from the non believers when their criteria for prophethood was wealth and worldly status. The whole surah answers the disbeliever for their continous criticism and objection on Allah’s decision of chosing Prophets and giving him the highest rank by quoting incidents from history. Finally, after all that verbal torture by the kuffars what does Allah tell Muhammad(pbuh) to do ‘Wasfahu’ overlook them, not to even feel bashful  and go on with your lives as if nothing happened and say  ‘Peace‘. Again the word ‘Wasfahu’ dominates here with its full intensity. Is this not Ihsaan again? rising one’s soul to the tower of tolerance. As the surah mentions:

 sūrat l-zukh’ruf (The Gold Adornment)
Arabic word 1: … so turn away …

{فَٱصْفَحْ عَنْهُمْ وَقُلْ سَلَٰمٌ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ}

  So turn aside from them and say, “Peace.” But they are going to know.(43:89):

In surah Tagabun the word florishes agian . Here it is mentioned inregards to family members.

Then finally, in Surah Taqabun, this words is mentioned again. here  the background is

sūrat l-taghābun (Mutual Loss & Gain)
Arabic word 13: … and overlook …

{يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَٰدِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَّكُمْ فَٱحْذَرُوهُمْ وَإِن تَعْفُوا۟ وَتَصْفَحُوا۟ وَتَغْفِرُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ}

  O you who have believed, indeed, among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. But if you pardon and overlook and forgive – then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.(64:14)

 

Jis cheez ki kami thi

Jis cheez ki kami thi(valuable lessons learned from YQ’s father)

anokha din tha jo aaj tha

thi jis chez ki kami woh mil gai

aik ageeb si khushi kaa ahsaas tha

aik agab hi saroor tha fiza may

janay kiya hua kay lafzo ko panah mil gai

aisa mehsoos hua kay sab undheray chut gai

saari uljhano ki girha hi khul gai

barso say thi jis ki talash woh jawab mil giya

thi jis ki justagoo wo intikhaab mil giya

roh ho qlab ko goya itminan mil giya

thi apni zaat may aik tashnagi har pal

they bhut pecheedgiyon  kay jaal har soo

lagti thi har manzil hi saraab janay kiyoo

aaj meray rab nay woh dua bhi sun li

us baqarari us chuban ki dawa hi dikha di

jis shay ki kami say dil may  jo halchal thi

us zaat nay rehnumai kar di us rahe hayat  ki

agar talash hai thujhay bhi haq ki

mayoos na ho kabhi bhi kahin bhi kisi lamha bhi

woh sunta hia woh raah dikahata hia weeranay may bhi

undheray may, anjanay may, beqarari may , baytaabi may,

mang apnay rab say jo bhi tujh ko  mangna hia

us rab nay tujh ko har surat raah dikhaana hia