By Khadijah Lim�

In the month of Rajab, Allah SWT emancipates as many slaves from the hellfire as possible. 

Imam Shafie 6 recommendations and embodiments for the seeker of knowledge:

• Intelligence
• Desire
  • Strive for knowledge, struggle for it for there is blessing in it.
  • Do not feel shy about sharing knowledge and practicing the knowledge. Humans are humans. Born muslims are not better than converts and neither are converts better born muslims, Allah SWT guides whomever He wills.
• Effort:
  • Share the good news of knowledge
  • Record and seek knowledge
• Sustenance
  • Have adequate sustenance to seek knowledge
  • Do not sacrifice your religion, family, important things for sustenance. Do not let sustenance control us. Ask Allah SWT to give us blessings in the sustenance and to give us adequate sustenance.
• Have Teachers
  • Do not take up every single class that comes your way. Be systematic in the way that you learn.�
  • Do not compromise what you need to learn by signing up for classes wholesale.
  • Teachers will recommend classes and schedules for you.
• Patience
  • Study for a long period of time, in a traditional, tried and tested method, just as Rasulullah ﷺ taught the sahabahs�
  • Have consistency and keep renewing your intentions for the sake of Allah SWT.
  • Humble yourself before Allah SWT, before the knowledge, before your teachers

Abu Bakr reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No man commits a sin, then purifies himself in ablution, then prays, and then asks Allah for forgiveness, but that Allah will forgive him.” Then, the Prophet recited this verse,

“Those who, if they behave immorally or wrong themselves, they remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins. Who forgives sins besides Allah? And they do not insist on what they have done, while they know better.”

Quran 3:135

Tirmidhī

The best of sinners are those who continuously repent back to Allah SWT.

Allah SWT LOVES when His creation apologises and seeks repentance.

• Istighfar and/or salaatu taubat + regret
  • Do not despair in the Mercy of Allah SWT, but never ever take advantage of His Mercy
  • Because one of the conditions is the resolve to never commit the same sin again
• There’s literally no other place to run except towards Allah SWT, even if you are the worst of creation, you are still the creation and you have to go back to Him anyway. His Mercy is greater than your sins because He is the Greatest, the Most Merciful.
• When you forget Him, remember Him again.
• Only Allah SWT can forgive sins, and Only He can save His creation.

Thauban reported:

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer. He begged forgiveness three times and said: O Allah! Thou art Peace, and peace comes from Thee; Blessed art Thou, O Possessor of Glory and Honour. Walid reported: I said to Auza’i: How is the seeking of forgiveness? He replied: You should say: I beg forgiveness from Allah, I beg forgiveness from Allah.”

Muslim

أَسْـتَـغْـفِـرُ اللهَ وَ أَ تُـوبُ إِ لَـْيهِ

Astaghfirullah wa atuubu ilaih
I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent towards Him

• Rasulullah ﷺ made Istighfar even when he is the most exemplary of mankind.
• The friends of Allah SWT (awliya)’s sins are sins of forgetting Allah SWT, instead of sins of the flesh and heart
• We are not angels, but that does not mean that we shouldn’t work towards striving for Allah SWT.

Even angels, who were made to follow every command and whose sole purpose is to worship Allah SWT, will admit that they will never be able to worship Allah SWT in a way that He rightfully deserves.

‏ ‏ مَنْ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمَ كَانَ كَفَّارَةً لِمَا مَضَى ‏

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Sakhbarah narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Whoever seeks knowledge, he is atoning for what has passed (of sins while doing so).”

Tirmidhī

• Seeking knowledge = tawbah
• Sins = cheating, betraying, going against Allah SWT
• It is a great thing because this is the same Lord who gave you everything, who wrote your life for you in the most beautiful way, who has give you the priceless gift of life and enjoyment in the world
• The nafs does not want to worship and bow down to the commands of Allah SWT
  • Knowledge is the sword that fights the nafs
  • We need to learn about Allah SWT to worship Allah SWT in the way that Allah SWT has ordained
• We haven’t perfected our love and loyalty towards Him yet.
  • Sometimes we just recite Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem without truly understanding the weight of that statement with regards to the qualities of Allah SWT
• Sometimes we worship money and power and status and sometimes we worship ourselves (our nafs, etc)
  • “Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire? Then would you be responsible for him?” [25:43]
• Sins = forgetting Allah SWT in that moment and letting those actions take over
  • i.e. in that moment you are seduced by backbiting so you forget Allah SWT and put the sin in the pedestal, hence overriding His Perfect Command
• Submit and humiliate yourself in front of Allah SWT. Do not bow down before money and things (bags, luxury etc) – use them, but don’t humiliate yourself before them.
• We think that we are in control of our lives, that this is our life, our problem, but the truth that it is not, just as how we cannot stop hearing, seeing, living because these ongoing abilities and traits, internally and externally didn’t happen by us, it is a constant gift from Allah SWT

• Mind, body, heart, soul, essence = all have to bow down and proclaim the shahadah.
• Constantly remember Allah SWT. To see things as it is (from Allah SWT) and prioritise things in the way that Allah SWT has ordained.
• Nothing can give us anything except Allah SWT, none can protect us except Allah SWT
  • You can’t get close to Allah SWT until your mind, body, heart, soul and essence declares la ilaha ilallah in every moment
  • i.e. money doesn’t give you tea, Allah SWT gave you tea
  • Use the created, don’t bow down (be fascinated) in front of the created
  • As long as you renew your intentions and do things for the sake of Allah SWT, that’s how you remove the loneliness and emptiness in you. You can have all the things in the world, job, career, spouse, children, money but if you do not attribute it back to Allah SWT and continuously thank Him and do things for His sake, you cannot get true wholesomeness, satisfaction, and the emptiness will stick with you.

He is the One who created the heart and the heart needs to be fed with remembrance of Him.

• We know the concept of oxygen and carbon dioxide, but we can’t even, in this moment, differentiate the 2 to choose which one to breathe in and out. He doesn’t need oxygen or carbon dioxide and we are the ones who are totally in need of Him.
• Even the things that He has ordained for us, only He can make us complete them and when He chooses us to complete them, He, at the same time, chose us to give the rewards to. Allah SWT showers His Love upon us unconditionally beyond our imagination.

Usman r.a. was quoted as saying

“Allah, praise be Upon Him, grants nine blessings on those who are mindful of their solat and make sure that they perform they prayers within the allocated times. The nine are: (see in context below)

A Complete Guide to Fardh Solat, P. 6

You can only delay if there are emergencies like if you are in the midst of a surgery.

• He is loved by Allah
  • Solat is compulsory and masyaallah, it is a Mercy from Him.
  • It gives you solace from the dunya for a moment , so that you can recharge with Him because the dunya dampens our spirits.
  • Therefore salaah should be something that we look forward to like how we look forward to a vacation because we are getting a vacation from the dunya
  • 5 daily prayer is the minimum
• He enjoys good health
  • Just the movement of salaah at the allocated time, you’ll reap the divine benefits
• He is always protected by the Angels
• His house is blessed
  • Wretched is the house that doesn’t remember Allah SWT
  • Even if you cannot memorise a lot of surah, or if you cannot recite the al Fatiha well, it is okay, insyaAllah, because deeds are calculated by intentions but keep on striving .
  • Men, you will be questioned if you led your family well in the religion of Allah SWT. Women, you will be questioned if you nurtured your children by the religion of Allah SWT�
• His face radiates with the light of nur taqwa
  • It is very evident in those who are pure, such as children who are always enjoying a “glow” in their faces
  • No amount of hyped-up, expensive cosmetics can give you this glow
• He has a good heart
  • The one who prays properly cannot be evil
  • Unless they do the salaah only for show
• He will cross the Siratulmustaqim – the bridge extending from this world to paradise – as fast as lightning
  • This world is a bridge to the next. The friends of Allah SWT have no fear of anything or anyone except Allah SWT
• He is saved from the fires of Hell
• His neighbours in Paradise are those whom Allah describes as “those who are not afraid nor sad”. (Al Baqarah:38)

Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said:

“Solat is a pillar of religion and has ten benefits: –

1. Source of attraction for one’s face
2. Companion in the grave
3. The channel through which Allah sends down His blessings
4. The key to Paradise
5. Weights for the balance of one’s worldly deeds
6. The way to obtain God’s blessings
7. Price for Paradise
8. Protection from fires of Hell
9. One who takes his solat seriously is also propping up his religion
10. One who delays his solat is destroying Islam

A Complete Guide to Fardh Solat, P. 7

Your religion is not complete until you complete your solat in the way that it has been ordained. Never delay your solat for any dunya things.

• Solat is one of God’s first commandments and it will also be the first thing to be questions about on the Day of Judgement
  • Right after the shahadah, you will be questioned about this
  • Did you seek Allah SWT during your years s in this world? Did you not attribute the favours of the day like breathing, seeing, eating, thinking back to Allah SWT?
• Be afraid of Allah when it comes to solat! Be afraid of Allah when it comes to solat! Be afraid of Allah when it comes to solat!
  • Be shameful in front of Him. While He is a Merciful Lord, it is still in His right to be at the highest of levels in your heart.
• Solat distinguishes the believers from infidels
  • It is already in the shahadah to worship Allah SWT, so the believer has to follow through with the worshipping portion of it and one of the top ways to do it is through establishment of solat
  • Solat is the way to fulfil this shahadah of worship
  • Iman = 3 aspect = iqra (by the tongue), affirmation in the heart, live it up by actions
• Solat is a sign of Islam. A person who performs his solat with sincerity and full concentration when the time comes for him to pray and places great emphasis on the rules of solat is definitely a true Muslim.
  • Won’t you want to, in the presence of Allah SWT, be considered a true Muslim? What an honour.
• Among the orders that Allah Almighty has issued, faith and solat are the most valuable. Indeed, if there has been anything better than solat, Allah, praise be upon Him, would have told about it to His Angels, some of whom are always bowing while others are continuously prostrating.
  • The angels will proclaim that they are unable to worship Allah SWT the way that He deserves to be worshipped
  • The angels do not sin, they are made to worship Allah SWT by Allah’s Will and Design yet they proclaim that Allah SWT deserves way more.
• Solat is a pillar of Islam
• Solat degrades satan
  • By one sujud, shaytan got expelled from Jannah�
  • Yet some of us have missed numerous solats and yet Allah SWT still is forbearing towards us
• Solat is light for a good Muslim
• Solat is the best of Mujahadah
• Allah, praise to Him, is generous towards the person who prays.
• When a calamity befalls from the sky, those who always go to the mosque will be spared from it.
  • We are afraid to die because we are unprepared to die.
  • At least if it is the Day of Judgement, we will die in the masjid and perhaps He will be pleased with us
  • Death is a reality that we need to constantly prepare for
• If a Muslim’s grave sins land him in Hell, the fires of Hell will not burn the parts of his body which touched the ground while he was prostrating during solat.
  • May Allah SWT forgive us all
• Among the ibadah (acts of worship), the solat which is performed at the stipulated times is much loves by Allah the Almighty
• Allah, praise be upon Him, is extremely fond of a person in a sujud (prostrate) position, when his forehead touches the ground with a great sense of humility.

Allah SWT loves the believer in sujud. If you want something then stay in sujud longer to ask Him.

• When a person is standing during solat, all the doors to Paradise are opened and all the curtains between him and Allah are lifted (so long as he does not destroy his niat or intention to pray by performing an act that is frowned upon)

What do you look at when you pray? Where do you find Allah SWT?
He is closer to you that your jugular vein, and the believer’s heart is the sovereignty of Allah SWT. So look inwards to your heart to find Him.

When you raise your hands for takbir, focus on one point, which is that you are praying to the One who gave you the ability to even raise your hand, the one who gave you the miracle of hayat (life) directly from Him

When you are in the state of gratitude and you are mindful, you forget the world and want to be with Allah SWT forever and you get so sad that the solat has to end.

• Building a mindful prayer
  • Humiliation in front of Allah SWT
    • Great sense of shyness because we need His help to do what He has ordained. We are incapable of helping ourselves
  • Neediness
    • The more aware you are that you are in need of Him, the more mindful you’ll be insyaallah.
  • Absolute Poverty
    • We need to realise that we are destitute and we are literally nothing without Him. Know that He doesn’t even have to give us and He don’t even need our solat
    • We must be a fakir before Him

 لاَ تُكْثِرُوا الْكَلاَمَ بِغَيْرِ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ كَثْرَةَ الْكَلاَمِ بِغَيْرِ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ قَسْوَةٌ لِلْقَلْبِ وَإِنَّ أَبْعَدَ النَّاسِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْقَلْبُ الْقَاسِي ‏

Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the  Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Do not talk too much without remembrance of Allah. Indeed excessive talking without remembrance of Allah hardens the heart. And indeed the furthest of people from Allah is the harsh-hearted.”

Tirmidhi

• Use the gift of speech from Allah SWT to remember Allah and to not engage in idle, useless talk
• If we are not using it to remember Allah then why should we be deserving of speech
• Talking idly will harden the heart

Know that what is made for you will never miss you. So remember Allah SWT so much that your everything that you do becomes a remembrance of Him.

• Block the senses from things that are bad for the heart
• One of the greatest gateway to feeling the presence of Allah SWT is through the tongue, to talk to Him, to train the tongue to fill the heart with Allah SWT
  • Think about it, in a fit of anger you say something you regret and people always say that that is actually from the heart , so on the flip side, your heart can be filled with the remembrance of Allah SWT through the tongue.

Do You Believe in One God
& Ready to [Re]start your Journey of Faith & Gratitude as a Muslim?