Green-Birds

Al-Haafidh ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee, may Allaah have mercy upon him and provide us with his knowledge, said: “The heart has been singled out for this because it is the leader of the body, and through the purification of the leader the subjects become purified, and with his corruption they become corrupted. So if you, O servant of Allaah, wish to cure your heart then it is upon you to be truthful with regards to seeking refuge with Allaah and putting your trust in Him, to pray a great deal of supererogatory prayers, to perform the actions of obedience to Allaah frequently, to pray the night prayer while the people are sleeping, and to treat your heart by making it continuously stick to the remembrances and by befriending only the righteous … and to frequently recite the Qur’aan. And Allaah will indeed allow all of this to be preserved by him.”

When my heart became hardened and my paths became narrow,

I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape,

My sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to Your forgiveness,

I found Your forgiveness to be far greater,

You are and still remain the only One who can forgive sins,

You grant and forgive out of Your benevolence and generosity,

Perhaps the One who is the source of all goodness will forgive and overlook my mistakes,

And will hide the sins and burden that I accumulated,

My sins seemed very great to me, so I turned (to You) in humility,

Were it not for my contentment in you, I wouldn’t, O my Lord, have seen any comfort at all,

So if You forgive me, You would have forgiven a sinner, A rebellious, oppressive tyrant still sinning,

So my crime is very great, past and present, But Your forgiveness that embraces Your servant is greater and higher,

So whomsoever holds fast to Allaah is truly saved from mankind, And whosever’s hopes are in Him, will be far removed from any regrets.’

…………………….

-Imaam Shafi3ee

Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.

Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): “Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.

Surah al-Imran: 190-191

The below is extracted from ibn Katheer’s tafseer of the above ayah.

Aamir ibn Abd Qais stated,” I heard more than one, two or three of the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) say, “The lamp of faith or the light of faith is al-tafakkur (contemplation and reflection.)

Ibn Marduwyah recorded that `Ata’ said, “I, Ibn `Umar and `Ubayd bin `Umayr went to `A’ishah and entered her room, and there was a screen between us and her. She said, `O `Ubayd! What prevents you from visiting us’

He said, `What the poet said, `Visit every once in a while, and you will be loved more.’ Ibn `Umar said, `Tell us about the most unusual thing you witnessed from the Messenger of Allah .’ She cried and said, `All his matters were amazing. On night, he came close to me until his skin touched my skin and said, `Let me worship my Lord.’ I said, `By Allah I love your being close to me. I also love that you worship your Lord.’ He used the water-skin and performed ablution, but did not use too much water. He then stood up in prayer and cried until his beard became wet. He prostrated and cried until he made the ground wet. He then laid down on his side and cried. When Bilal came to alert the Prophet for the Dawn prayer, he said, `O Messenger of Allah! What makes you cry, while Allah has forgiven you your previous and latter sins’ He said,

O Bilal! What prevents me from crying, when this night, this Ayah was revealed to me,

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.

Woe to he who recites it but does not contemplate it.

may Allaah make us from those who contemplate upon his word. aameen

asSalaamu 3laykum,

This is a really quick read/listen. below is the transcribed 4 minutes and 23 seconds that I would like to share with all of you. If you dont want to read it…and would rather listen..click here

Of four imams, ibn Al-Qayyim mentions the madhab of imam abu haneefa as being the strictest in this regard. And the comments of his students are the harshest. The points are that the students of the imam Abu Haneefa clearly stated that it is haraam to listen to all musical instruments and whoever listens to them is a fasiq–(someone who lacks moral restraint–or a rebelious evil doer)–whose testimony should be rejected.

Meaning just for listening to “JZ”, we shouldn’t listen to you any more.

They also said that listening to music and enjoying it…is Kufr.

Now they say that it is Kufr, but they base that on a weak hadeeth..so we are not saying what they say but it shows you the extent that hanafees went.

Abu Haneefa said, “it is one of the biggest sins that someone needs to leave immediately.”

Imam Malik–when asked about people who said singing was permissible…he said “no one would do that except someone who is a faasiq”. The scholars say that this was also based on the view of the people of medina. Meaning the people who live in madina–who had just seen the Prophet and the companions and how they lived and behaved– were upon this view..and the never saw the companions accepting something like that.

Imam el-shafei said “I left behind in baghdad, something that the heretics introduced, which they called taghbeer in which they distract people from the Quraan.” What is Taghbeer? Basically it was a type of poetry which encourages ascetic life, and it is sung by someone who strikes a rod on something…until now–no music videos…no bad clothes–they were calling people to leave the materialistic life, and yet he called it a distraction from the Quraan and was introduced by heretics.

Ahmed Ibn Hanbal said “it sprouts hypocracy in the heart and I do not like it.”

Not ONE of the four madhaahib said that music is halal…not one.

Al-hasan Albasree said that if there is music involved in a walima, do not accept the invitation.

Other scholars: Imam Alqurtubi, Abu tayib al tabaree, ibn sulah, ibnu rajab al hanbali, al mak7ul and an nawawi….[he mentioned more that I didn’t catch]…ALL of these big names saw that it was haraam…so who will convince you…if these people do not convince you?

Ibn hajar al hanbali said “whoever attributes the opinion permitting music to any of the scholars respectable in legal issues then she has surely erred.”

If you would like to listen to the entire lecture called “The End of Music” click here

The companions had Ijma’ (Consensus) on the prohibition of Music, all the four madhaahib, and major scholars say it’s haram. So who’s saying this stuff is halal?

“A calamity that makes you turn to Allaah is better for you than a blessing which makes you forget the remembrance of Allaah.” — Sheikh ul-Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah

“All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds; and those who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.” — Imam Ash-Shafi

“What is this world but a dream that a sleeper sees – he delights in it for a few moments, and then wakes up to face reality.” — Imam Hasan al-Basri

“Whoever does not find happiness in the thikr of Allah, prayer, and reciting the Qur’an, will not find it anywhere else.” — Imam Hasan al-Basri

“It is the sunnah of Allaah, that whenever he wants to establish his deen, he places it in front of it those who oppose it”

Ibn Taymiyya

We are now in a new Islamic Year, 1431, with the start of the month of Muharram. Muharram is one of four sacred months. It is also the best month to offer extra fasts outside of Ramadan. The Prophet (S) said, “The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the prayer at night.” [Muslim]. Therefore, in addittion to fasting the three white days, try and fast as many other days as you can, including Taasoo’aa and ‘Aashuraa (more on that below), which are the 9th and 10th of Muharram, respectively.

The Three White Days for this month - the 13, 14, and 15 - will be Wednesday, Dec 30 - Friday, January 1. So mark those down in your calendars to fast Insha’Allah. And the 9th of 10th of Muharram fall on THIS Saturday and Sunday, December 26 and 27.

In regards to Tasso’aa and ‘Aashuraa, Abdullah Ibn Abbas (R) said, “The Prophet (S) came to Medina and saw the Jews fasting on the Day of ‘Aashuraa. He said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘This is a good day, this is the day in which Allah (SWTA) saved the Children of Israel from their enemy [Pharoah], and Musa (AS) fasted on this day.’ He (S) said, ‘We are closer to Musa then they.’ So he fasted on this day and commanded the people to fast.” [Bukhari].

Abdullah ibn Abbas (R) also said, “When the Messenger of Allah (S) fasted on the Day of ‘Aashuraa and told the people to fast, they said, ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, this is a day venerated by the Jews and Christians.’ The Messenger of Allah (S) said, ‘Next year if Allah wills, we will [also] fast on the 9th day.’ But by the time the following year came, the Messenger of Allah (S) had passed away.” [Muslim].

The reward for fasting the Day of Aashuraa is to have one’s minor sins from the previous year erased! So it’s not an opportunity that you want to pass up! The Prophet (S) said, “Fasting the day of Arafah, I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year before it and the year after it, and fasting the day of ‘Aashuraa, I hope Allah will expiate thereby the year that came before it.” [Muslim].

i really like what abu sabaya said regarding a murtad:

“As for the reasons behind his leaving Islam, this is too complicated and private to discuss here, but let me say this: it was the inevitable outcome of practicing a dry Islam that consists of reading mostly news all day, following only controversial topics and debates, and having little time for worship and purification of his heart. Go back and look at his posts, and you’ll see that I’m right.

When we look at people who we assume to be ‘good brothers,’ we often misinterpret revolutionary spirit to be sincere enthusiasm for the religion, while it’s possible that for that person, Islam is just the flavor of the month. The biggest sign of this is when you notice the person rarely focusing on heart-softeners in his reading or speech, never performing optional acts of worship, and not trying to grasp Islam as a whole. Rather, they only pick up on the controversies and entertaining issues because they entered Islam in the first place mainly out of a desire to be part of something against the grain, something that stands out, as opposed as to a sincere desire to submit to Allah. Once the flavor of the gum fades, you want a new piece. This was 99% of the reason that he couldn’t stay on board in the end, and I fear for some who I see displaying the same symptoms.

Save yourself before it is too late”