J for Jannah

I'm sure we all know what jannah is. Paradise, obviously. Our sole goal in this life.

So in this post, I've decided to tell you guys a story about a certain Jewish rabbi in the city of Madinah: Abdullah ibn Salaam.

He once told the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم, 'Listen, I am the most famous scholar (rabbi) among my people.' 'Bring them (the Jewish people) in, let me hide behind the curtain, and ask them about me.' So the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم did what he said; Abdullah hid behind the curtain, and the Prophet brought some of the people from Banu Qaynuqa', and he asked them, 'What do you say about Husayn ibn Salaam (his name before he accepted Islam)?'

I for Intention

Intention: نيّة (Niyyah)

إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، فَهجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا، فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْه

"Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated." (Muslim and Bukhari)

Intention in Arabic is نية. Sincerity in every action we do is vital, because Islam does not allow us to carry out any deed irresponsibly. And hence, we should have sincerity in whatever we do. And this sincerity is called our intention.

H for Hypocrites

Hypocrisy: نِفَاق (Nifaq)

There are two types of hypocrites:

1. The first type are non-Muslims who pretend to be Muslims. They fake having iman, and try to fit in the Muslim community so they can cause havoc within them. 

2. The second type are the people who are hypocrites but they themselves do not know it. This is very dangerous because it can either be me or you or the people around us.

G for Greeting

تحية : Greeting

Everyone knows that we Muslims have a greeting of our own: السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you, as well His blessings. This greeting is actually a blessing from Allah, as He says in Surah Nur:

ا فَسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ تَحِيَّةً مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُبَارَكَةً طَيِّبَةً ...then greet one another with a greeting from Allah, blessed and good. (24: 61)

When we meet a Muslim brother or sister, we should greet them using this greeting. We should wish peace upon them when meeting and when departing. The point is, when we say السلام عليكم, we mean to say that we have no bad feelings towards the person, or jealousy, or any other evil judgemental thoughts.

I ask Allah to give us the strength to greet every Muslim brother or sister whom we meet with the best greeting, and also the strength to replace our 'Hi's' with 'assalamu alaikum's'. :) Ameen.

F for Fitrah

Fitrah, in English, refers to our moral compass.

Allah has gifted every human being with a moral calculator or compass. Every human being was given the ruh روح which was in the company of Allah, and each one was given the knowledge of the basics of right and wrong. This instinctive sense of justice that has nothing to do with culture or upbringing means that your fitrah is alive.

E for Envy

Envy is another word for jealousy, and it is felt through the heart. And it is the only feeling of the heart that we will be accountable for.

When people envy someone having something, they wish that they were in possession of it, instead. It is as if they are against the qadr (pre-ordainment) of Allah. They're saying that they know better than Allah, in regards to what they envy. نعوذ بالله We seek refuge in Allah.

D for Da'wah

Da'wah :- (Arabic) Translation: Invitation

In this post, in shaa Allah, I will be writing about "How to Give Daw'ah". I'm guessing a lot of us don't know the fundamentals of giving da'wah, so that's what today's post is going to be about.

Let's begin.

The fundamental term that keeps coming up in the Qur'an is the term ذكر, تذكرة, ذكرى or 'reminder'.

Islamic theology looks at the human being as a creation that was given the innate knowledge of the existence and the rights of his/her Creator. So basically, we were born with this innate knowledge. And overtime, we get absorbed in the worldly life and somewhat forget the purpose for our creation. At the end of it all, the Messengers were sent to remind us what we've forgotten about our own selves. i.e. they are leading us to what we were supposed to have known all along, and therefore, their fundamental role is to 'remind'.