Surat An-Nur

Salaams all,

InshaAllah, you are all doing well. I've been very busy the last few months with work. I've just completed my 7th month at my current job (at a law firm), and things are finally starting to make sense (you'd think that after 3 years of law school, I would have learned some of this stuff, but really, I didn't). It's been tough, but inshaAllah, it will continue to get better. Unfortunately, I won't be able to meet up with those of you going to chicago (I have to attend a wedding that same weekend that I can't miss). But for those of you who are going - have a great time. I'd like to share a verse with you all from Surat An-Nur, which I thought was very beautiful:

الله نور السماوات والأرض مثل نوره كمشكاة فيها مصباح المصباح في زجاجة الزجاجة كأنها كوكب دري يوقد من شجرة مباركة زيتونة لا شرقية و لا غربية يكاد زيتها يضيء و لو لم تمسسه نار نور على نور يهدي الله لنوره من يشاء و يضرب الله الأمثال للناس و الله بكل شيء عليم

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east (i.e. neither it gets sun-rays only in the morning) nor of the west (i.e. nor it gets sun-rays only in the afternoon, but it is exposed to the sun all day long), whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! Allah guides to His Light whom He wills. And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of everything.

The tafsir on this verse is pretty detailed and you can find it here if you want a better understanding: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/nur.html
theres also additional commentary here:
http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=659

Azim

Verifying information

Salaams,

Sorry for the late posting, I'm in the middle of a pretty busy family
medicine rotation. And yes, I know family medicine is supposed to be
relaxed...but this guy never stops. But as busy as it's been, I'm
really learning alot and realizing why I actually went to medical
school hahaha. For all those in earlier years...trust me, all that
studying actually does pay off. Unfortunately, I won't be able to
make the latest Chicago trip since I have an exam that Friday, and I
will need to travel on Sunday. I hope all those that go have an
awesome time. I found a verse of the Quran that I liked and would
like to share with the group:

"And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not, etc.)
that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing, and the
sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by
Allah)." 17:36

Take care,
Zain

Akhlaq (etiquettes)

Assalamu Alaikum brothers. I hope you are all doing well and hope to see as many of you as possible in Chicago. My hadith this cycle focuses on akhlaq or ettiquettes.

· Islam & Migration: A true Muslim is the one from whom other Muslims are safe from his tongue & hand & the true immigrant is the one who migrated from what Allah prevented him to do. (Bukhari)

May Allah give us the taufeeq to follow this advise. Ameen.

-Shamim

Fear Allah wherever you may be ...

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh, brothers,

InshaAllah all is well with everyone. I'm sorry I couldn't see more of you guys when I visited NJ/NY/Baltimore a few weeks back, but inshaAllah, we will have an opportunity to meet up in the near future.

As for me, alhamdulillah, I have no complaints. Maryam is progressing, alhamdulillah... she now stands when holding on to something, and, mashaAllah, she said her first word a little over a week ago... it was "baba" =) (alhamdulillah, I was training her to say baba for the last few months, and by the grace of Allah, it worked, mashaAllah). We've been trying to get her to say "Allah" as well, but mashaAllah, I think the "l" sound is a bit more advanced than the b's and m's :). Anyways, below is the hadeeth I would like to share. Please forgive me for being a little late on the post. As always, please keep me and my family in your duas, and please don't hesitate to give any naseehah.

Jazaakumullahu khayran.
-Ahmad

http://fortyhadith.iiu.edu.my/hadith18.htm

Hadith #18 from Imam An-Nawawi's 40 Hadith:

Abu Dhar Jundub bin Junadah and Abu Abdul Rahman Mu’adh bin Jabal, radiyallahu anhuma, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:

“Fear Allah wherever you may be; follow up an evil deed with a good one which will wipe (the former) out, and behave good-naturedly towards people.”

[Al-Tirmidhi relates it, saying: It is a good (hasan) Tradition. In some copies he says: It is a good and genuine (hasan and sahih) Hadith.]

Assalamu Alaikom

Assalamu Alaiokm brothers,

 

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

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other)). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).

~ Qur'an 49:13

 

Hope all is well with everyone. Things are cool, alhamdullilah. I need to take better care of my classes (please make Dua). I'm still working from home on the Maine project.

 

Family is fine, alhamdullilah. It looks my brother is probably going to Stony Brook. He didn't get into most of the IVs, and got waitlisted at a couple of schools . However, he has a full ride at Stony, alhamdulillah, and this is mashAllah, a nice option. Please keep him and my family in your prayers. May Allah always protect our family members from shaytan's whispers and give them peace of heart in this life and the next. Ameen!.

 

It was nice meeting up with Sam and Shamim last wknd and iA, I'm planning on going to Hopkins for the undergradate graduation (May 22nd). Let me know if anyone is interested in coming as well (hopefully, I'll roll down with Imad).

 

Also, we need to figure out our summer getaway. Any ideas for place/time?

 

Talk to you all soon, iA. Hope your brothers benefit from the ayah and advice below. May Alllah bless us all with righteous, beautiful spouses. Ameen!

 

A man goes to a Sheikh after the birth of his first child, seeking advice on how to raise him properly, and as a good Muslim. The Sheikh's response took him with surprise. He told him, "You are too late." "What do you mean?" the man asked. "My son is just a day old..." The Sheikh replied, "You are too late. Your child has already come into this world. The time to worry about your children is before you get married...when you are out to choose your wife.

 

Peace,

Nabil

 

Nurain's Post

Salam Brothers

Hope you are all doing great In sha Allah! I know its been along time
since I've spoken to many of you and I hope that you'll forgive me for
that and that we shall talk in the near future, In Sha Allah. Things
are going well for me Alhamdulillah, started a new block in med
school - immunology and microbiology and have started my peds
outpatient clerkship and preparing for the summer, In Sha Allah, i'll
be in Thailand researching child diarrheal illnesses among Burmese
refugees by surveying mothers as to their treatments and preventions
of these diseases as well as assessing their water sanitation
practices. Please pray for me that I may accomplish some good things
safety and help these people In sha Allah - also please keep this
information of my travels amongst ourselves :)

So instead of giving a hadith, I wanted to share a story that was told
to me by someone very dear. It was basically what he had learned in a
hukbah and relates to Surah Noah - and the gist of it is that if we
are to ask Allah for help - who else can help us - we should make sure
we are asking for his forgiveness before we ask for help

I tried looking up the specifics of this matter and am probably doing
it no justice what so ever (please forgive me, I ask Allah for
forgiveness and ask that you all correct me in this matter) What I did
come across from talking to this person was that the Prophet (PBUH)
would ask for Allah's forgiveness 700 times in a day (or it might have
been in a sitting after prayer)! before asking him of what he wanted.

The other part of this piece is that by asking forgiveness for
something, we should work hard not to repeat our offense. In Sha
Allah, by doing this Allah will grant us our wishes which I hope will
lead us to become closer to him and aid others.

Below are a few lines from Surah Noah that I think are pertinent to
this and the entire surah.

71:10 "Saying, 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving;
Faqultu istaghfiroo rabbakum innahu kanaghaffaran

71:11 "'He will send rain to you in abundance;
Yursili alssamaa AAalaykummidraran

71:12 "'Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on you
gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water).
Wayumdidkum bi-amwalin wabaneenawayajAAal lakum jannatin wayajAAal
lakum anharan

Surah 71. Noah

71:1 We sent Noah to his People (with the Command): "Do thou warn thy
People before there comes to them a grievous Penalty."
Inna arsalna noohan ilaqawmihi an anthir qawmaka min qabli an
ya/tiyahum AAathabunaleemun

71:2 He said: "O my People! I am to you a Warner, clear and open:
Qala ya qawmi innee lakum natheerunmubeenun

71:3 "That ye should worship Allah, fear Him and obey me:
Ani oAAbudoo Allaha waittaqoohuwaateeAAooni

71:4 "So He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a
stated Term: for when the Term given by Allah is accomplished, it
cannot be put forward: if ye only knew."
Yaghfir lakum min thunoobikumwayu-akhkhirkum ila ajalin musamman
inna ajala Allahiitha jaa la yu-akhkharu law kuntumtaAAlamoona

71:5 He said: "O my Lord! I have called to my People night and day:
Qala rabbi innee daAAawtu qawmeelaylan wanaharan

71:6 "But my call only increases (their) flight (from the Right).
Falam yazidhum duAAa-ee illafiraran

71:7 "And every time I have called to them, that Thou mightest forgive
them, they have (only) thrust their fingers into their ears, covered
themselves up with their garments, grown obstinate, and given
themselves up to arrogance.
Wa-innee kullama daAAawtuhumlitaghfira lahum jaAAaloo asabiAAahum
fee athanihimwaistaghshaw thiyabahum waasarroo waistakbarooistikbaran

71:8 "So I have called to them aloud;
Thumma innee daAAawtuhum jiharan

71:9 "Further I have spoken to them in public and secretly in private,
Thumma innee aAAlantu lahum waasrartu lahumisraran

71:10 "Saying, 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving;
Faqultu istaghfiroo rabbakum innahu kanaghaffaran

71:11 "'He will send rain to you in abundance;
Yursili alssamaa AAalaykummidraran

71:12 "'Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on you
gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water).
Wayumdidkum bi-amwalin wabaneenawayajAAal lakum jannatin wayajAAal
lakum anharan

71:13 "'What is the matter with you, that ye place not your hope for
kindness and long-suffering in Allah,-
Ma lakum la tarjoona lillahiwaqaran

71:14 "'Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages?
Waqad khalaqakum atwaran

71:15 "'See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another,
Alam taraw kayfa khalaqa AllahusabAAa samawatin tibaqan

71:16 "'And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as
a (Glorious) Lamp?
WajaAAala alqamara feehinna nooran wajaAAalaalshshamsa sirajan

71:17 "'And Allah has produced you from the earth growing (gradually),
WaAllahu anbatakum mina al-ardinabatan

71:18 "'And in the End He will return you into the (earth), and raise
you forth (again at the Resurrection)?
Thumma yuAAeedukum feehawayukhrijukum ikhrajan

71:19 "'And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),
WaAllahu jaAAala lakumu al-ardabisatan

71:20 "'That ye may go about therein, in spacious roads.'"
Litaslukoo minha subulan fijajan

71:21 Noah said: "O my Lord! They have disobeyed me, but they follow
(men) whose wealth and children give them no increase but only Loss.
Qala noohun rabbi innahum AAasawneewaittabaAAoo man lam yazidhu
maluhu wawaladuhu illakhasaran

71:22 "And they have devised a tremendous Plot.
Wamakaroo makran kubbaran

71:23 "And they have said (to each other), 'Abandon not your gods:
Abandon neither Wadd nor Suwa', neither Yaguth nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr';-
Waqaloo la tatharunna alihatakumwala tatharunna waddan wala
suwaAAanwala yaghootha wayaAAooqa wanasran

71:24 "They have already misled many; and grant Thou no increase to
the wrong-doers but in straying (from their mark)."
Waqad adalloo katheeran walatazidi alththalimeena illa dalalan

71:25 Because of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were
made to enter the Fire (of Punishment): and they found- in lieu of
Allah- none to help them.
Mimma khatee-atihimoghriqoo faodkhiloo naran falam yajidoo lahum min
dooniAllahi ansaran

71:26 And Noah, said: "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a
single one on earth!
Waqala noohun rabbi latathar AAala al-ardi mina alkafireenadayyaran

71:27 "For, if Thou dost leave (any of) them, they will but mislead
Thy devotees, and they will breed none but wicked ungrateful ones.
Innaka in tatharhum yudillooAAibadaka wala yalidoo illa fajirankaffaran

71:28 "O my Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in
Faith, and (all) believing men and believing women: and to the
wrong-doers grant Thou no increase but in perdition!"
Rabbi ighfir lee waliwalidayyawaliman dakhala baytiya mu/minan
walilmu/mineena waalmu/minatiwala tazidi alththalimeena illatabaran

--
Nurain Fuseini, MHS
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
MS1

Reaction of a Believer to Situations

Asalamu'alaikum,

Alhumdulilah, every situation is from Allah and good can be derived from it even if on the outside it seems all bad. This of course applies to situations brought upon us not bad situations that we choose to get involved in.

"How amazing is the affair of the believer! Everything which happens is good for him. And that is for no one except the believer. When he encounters good times and ease, he gives thanks and that is good for him and if he encounters hardship he is steadfast and that is good for him."
Muslim


"There is no hardship which afflicts a Muslim but that Allah expiates with it some sin of his - even a thorn which pricks him."
Muslim and Bukhari

{Every soul will taste death. And we test you with bad and with good as a trial. And unto us you will return.}
Al-Anbiyaa: 35

Ibn Abbas said about this verse: "We will test you with hardship and with ease, with good health and with sickness, with wealth and with poverty, with the halaal and with the haraam, with obedience and with disobedience and with right guidance and with misguidance - in order that we may establish how you have shown gratitude (for the "good" tests) and how you have remained steadfast (in the face of the "bad" tests)." And unto us you will return - so that Allah will reward each and every soul according to their actions.

-Usman

Even the little things...

Salaams guys,

First off, welcome Najiib! I'm kinda semi-chillin'; school's not so bad right now. As this is a time when many of us aren't where we want to be financially yet, I especially like to keep the entirety of the following in mind:

Take care,
imad

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

“There is no person who does not have the obligation of (doing) charity every day that the sun rises.”

Whereupon he was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, from where would we get something to give in charity (so often)?” To which he (peace and blessings be upon him) replied,

“Indeed the gates to goodness are many: glorifying God, praising Him, magnifying Him, saying ‘There is no god but Allah,’ enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong, removing (any source of) harm from the road, making the deaf hear (and understand), guiding the blind, showing the seeker his need, striving as far as your two legs could carry you and with deep concern to give succor to him who asks, carrying with the strength of your arms (the burdens of) the weak. All these are (acts of) charity.” And he added, “And your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, your removing of stones, thorns, and bones from people’s paths is charity, and your guiding a man gone astray in the world is charity for you.”

Traveling...

Assalamu alaikum!

This whole week I have been Spring Breaking with my whole family in California.

I've definitely noticed that traveling comes with its troubles, indeed as the prophet (SAS) is narrated to have said: "Traveling is a piece of punishment"

And as Najib mentioned, if we are patient during our trials we'll be rewarded, insha Allah.

...
Subhan Allah, the sights in California are Amazing! Some of the best in the world, no doubt.

If any of you plan on traveling anytime soon, here is a great dua ( and video) to do before traveling.
(translation below)

And as it was narrated: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Three supplications will not be rejected (by Allah (SWT)), the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the one who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveler." [al-Bayhaqi, at-Tirmidhi - Sahih]


Translation: 'Allaah is the greatest, Allaah is the greatest,
Allaah is the greatest, How perfect He is,
The One Who has place this (transport) at our service,
and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord if our final destiny.
O Allaah, we ask You for birr and taqwaa in this journey of ours,
and we ask You for deeds which please You.
O Allaah, facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly.
O Allaah, You are The Companion on the journey and The Successor over the family,
O Allaah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel,
from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament,
and I take refuge in You from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family.'

…upon returning the same supplication is recited with the following addition:(ii)

'We return, repent, worship and praise our Lord.'



Salam,
-Safi

Wealth and Poverty

It was a usual meeting. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was in his place and his companions gathered around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance. Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the assembly:

"Salamun Alaikum" (Peace be on you)

And finding a vacant place comfortably sat down.The Prophet (S.A.W.) had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any status. Now, it so happened that this poor man was seated next to a very rich man. The rich man felt very disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man didn't touch them. The Prophet (S.A.W.) observed this and addressing the rich man he (S.A.W.) said:

"Perhaps you are afraid that his poverty would affect you?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah," he said.

"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to him?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah."" Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from him?"

The rich man said:

"I admit that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess my guilt. Now to make amends for it I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."

Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said,"O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept this offer."

People present were taken by surprise, they thought that the poor man was a fool, but then he explained: "O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept this offer because I fear that I might then become arrogant and ill-treat my Muslim brothers the way he did to me."

Hard work

Salaams all,

Well I'm at the end of my second year already, I'll be done Inshallah
in one week (we end things quick here at UVA). Can't believe two
years of med school are almost over. After my finals I'll be coming
back to Baltimore to study for the boards, and I might actually spend
most of my time at the lower levels of good ol' Milton S. Eisenhower
Library...back where we all started haha. Other than that life goes
on as always...although nothing is really going on in my life other
than school right now. I know alot of us are in grad school or
working right now and I thought I'd find a hadith about working hard
and being self sufficient.

A man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and begged
from him. He (the Prophet) asked: Have you nothing in your house? He
replied: Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of
which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink
water. He said: Bring them to me. He then brought these articles to
him, and he (the Prophet) took them in his hands and asked: Who will
buy these? A man said: I shall offer to buy them for one dirham. He
said twice or thrice: Who will offer more than one dirham? Another man
said: I shall buy them for offered and bought them for two dirhams. He
gave the two dirhams to him and took the two dirhams and, giving them
to the owner Ansari, he and said: Buy food with one dirham for your
family, and buy an axe with the second dirham, and bring it to me. The
Ansar brought the axe to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), who
fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said: Go, gather firewood
and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight. The man went
away, and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned ten
dirhams, he came to the prophet and told him that he had bought a
garment with some of them and food with his earnings the others. (Abu
Dawud, Hadith 1637)

Wasalaams,
Zain

Depending on Obligatory Deeds

Assalamu Alaikum brothers. I hope you are all well. I have Alhumdullilah the last few weeks been taking a streamlined ulema course. One of the imma that went w/us to hajj is teaching. The 3 subjects this semester are Tafseer-ul-Quran (right now we're doing Surah Yaseen), Aqeedah & An-Nawawi's 40 hadith. We are supposed to memorized the Quran & Hadith in their original Arabic along w/their meanings in English. In addition we are learning to read & write in Arabic. In this spirit I want to pass on the latest hadith we covered. Enjoy.

Depending on Obligatory Deeds: A man asked the Messenger of Allah: Do you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers, fast in Ramadan, treat as lawful that which is lawful & treat as forbidden & do nothing further, I shall enter Paradise? He said: Yes. (Muslim)


-Akhi Shamim