Shahadah in Islam

  SLEEP Assalamu al a ikum wara h matu lalh i wabarakatu hu!   Would you like to know what happens when you sleep?? Allah says in the Quran: It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death;  and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep:   those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life),but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed.Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect. Quran, Chapter 39 verse 42 This means: every time you sleep, Allah takes your souls,amongst many other souls he takes during sleeping. Then Allah decides who is going to be given another chance. For those who are blessed with another chance, Allah will permit their souls to go back to their bodies, the rest he keeps back from returning to life   i.e.they die. Each time you go to bed you should never be sure you will get up again, you ONLY have 50% chance for coming back to life. This means: each t...

I have been told its Haram for Muslims to donate blood as equivalent to organ donor. I wonder how far it is true. Since non Muslims eat pork and drink beer is it ok to accept blood from a non-Muslim? (Question Asked By: Sister Maria Khan) AlHamdu Lillah, thank you for your trust and for this important question. May Allah reward you for the desire to acquire, practice and spread the correct knowledge of our Deen, Aa’meen. First of all we must understand that Allah The Almighty and His Prophet (Peace be upon him) made it obligatory for us to do all we can to save a life  "without any prejudice and without jeopardizing another life." In Surah Al-Maidah 5:32 Allah The Almighty says ; "….and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind." In a hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) said;  "Allah is on the side of His servants (helps him, etc) as long as the servant is on the side of (helps) his brother (another human be...

Don't be Sad by Azim Kidwai Life can be tough these days. It genuinely seems like we are stuck in a rat race – work is boring, family is difficult, you just can't find the social network and warm feeling of brother/sisterhood, and of course, you're still single. And then on top of all this, mum is not well and dad has passed away. This may resonate with a lot of you or parts of this may, and the consequences of all this are that many of us circumnavigate life through bouts of depression.  We feel a sadness that sometimes we do not know quite how to overcome. We feel an anxiety that we have no idea what it stems from. Ultimately what we find is that despite all the pleasures of the world, we are still fighting a sadness, anxiety and a feeling of sorrow, which manifest in different ways. So why is this? Unquestionably the reality of this situation is the gulf between our lifestyle and the prophetic example. When we find ourselves facing any ...

Amazing reminder for all mothers out there (but even if you don't have kids, many of these apply!) with lots of encouragement for Ramadan from my dear sister Ho sai Mojaddidi 's personal page. Read on... Please don't let the faint whispers of shaitan bring you down this Ramadan. 1. We may not make it to every Taraweh prayer (or even one) but God hears our prayers no matter what room we pray in, how many people we're standing among, and who is reciting the Qur'an. 2. We may not fast all 30 days (or even one) but He is the one who has given us the excuse in the first place. He knows our bodies make demands of us that are difficult and taxing, which is why He is pleased with us even when we eat and drink while others do not; indeed He wishes for us ease, not difficulty. 3. We may not be able to make it to all the iftaars and wonderful masjid gatherings to see our friends and share in the festivities but when we establish circles of remembran...

Overcoming a Broken Heart Step 1: Accepting Allah's Qadr This has got to be one of the toughest tests of qadr. Love muddles your mind and when all you see are the good characteristics of someone it is difficult to see why it is not working out, especially if this is your first real love. How can this brother who is practicing his deen, has a nice beard, soft and caring be wrong for me? How can this sister who is attractive, fun and religious not be my perfect partner? The key concept to remember here is: you do not know someone until you have lived with them for a substantial time. Even that person does not know what they are like and how they will react in certain situations. Just because you have these elated feelings of love does not necessarily mean this is the right person. Marriage is a struggle and people develop themselves and change with the experience. Only Allah knows your compatibility, only Allah knows what situations you will face and yo...

Question: I have come across various Islamic articles & write-ups that have spoken against shaving of hair on eyebrows amongst other areas of the body. I however need clarification on this does this shaving refer to TOTAL shaving? Am I allowed to reduce the amount of hair by mere shaping ? I have very bushy eyebrows that need trimming as it makes my face look crowded. Answer: Praise be to Allaah.   We will quote for you the fatwas issued by the scholars concerning the ruling on removing hair from the eyebrows and hair from the rest of the body.  Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "If removing hair from the eyebrows is done by plucking, this is namas (plucking the eyebrows) and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the naamisah (the woman who plucks eyebrows) and the mutanammisah (the woman who has her eyebrows plucked). This is a major sin, and women are singled out in this ruling because they are the o...

Praise be to Allaah. Gold is in fact yellow in colour. It may be also described as red because of having some copper mixed with it in most cases. This is what is well known among people and is mentioned in books about language, metals etc.  In al-Mu’jam al-Waseet it says: Gold is a metal that is yellow in colour.  Professor Muhammad Husayn Joodi said in his book ‘Uloom al-Dhahab wa’l-Siyaaghat al-Mujawharaat (Sciences of gold and jewels): It is well known that every kind of metal that is used in making ingots, such as copper, silver, palladium, platinum, zinc etc have an obvious effect on the ingot’s colour, hardness and melting point. Gold gives a yellow colour and prevents oxidization of the ingot. Copper gives the ingot a red colour and makes it stronger and harder. " In Islam, males are prohibited from wearing any kind of gold jeweleries (that includes ring). Based on a hadith told by Ahmad, Abu Daud, Nasa'i, Ibnu Hibban and Ibnu Majah: " Rasulullah SAW t...

Do you hate someone? Do you hate someone? Do you really hate someone? You haven't spoken to him for a while? You've been blaming him? You're not the only one; the Muslim Ummah today is diseased with this to the extent that almost every Muslim knows another Muslim who he hates. The Ummah is like a building with the Muslims as it's bricks, brotherhood is the cement. Without forgiveness you cannot have brotherhood. OK then, he wronged you. He deceived you. He backbited you. He lied to you. But even in these extreme situations the Qur'an and the Hadith teach us that we have to forgive others (especially those who hurt us the most) if we wish to earn the forgiveness of Allah on the day of judgement. We have all committed many sins, made many mistakes and no doubt we have wronged others, we have deceived others, we have backbited others and no doubt we have lied to others. So what makes us focus onto brothers' and sisters' err...

We live in societies in which most men and women have lost their sense of modesty, women are obsessed with their appearances and wear clothes to be seen by others and to attract the attention of other men even if they are married! They have lost their sense of shame. Marriage is often looked upon as old-fashioned and short term affairs and frivolous relationships are the norm, everyone waiting to attract a better partner and feeling totally justified to dump one partner for another at the drop of a hat. Feminism too has reached its peak and men and women are told to suppress their natural emotions. Men are not even embarrassed when their wives are dressed up and attract the attention of other men, they don't mind if another man sees, chats, laughs and even dances with their womenfolk and if they do mind, they are told not to be so possessive! In Islam we have a concept of Gheerah. Gheerah is an Arabic word which means protectiveness or jealousy....

Wisdom provides us with the capacity to solve real life problems. So, acquiring wisdom becomes a must if we want to live meaningful lives. As we live through life and its experiences, it is vital that we reflect on such experiences to make our subsequent steps in life easier. As Immanuel Kant, a famous philosopher said that "Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."  So, if wisdom enables a person to make more sound decisions, take a shortcut path to success, recalibrate values for the better, and simply live a better life, then why not spend time reflecting on our own experiences as well as learning from others? As Will Durant, a renowned philosopher and Pulitzer Prize winner stated, "A wise man can learn from another man's experience; a fool cannot learn even from his own." The words of the Quran and teachings of our prophet Muhammad guide us to a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. In fact, Allah calls Quran the "Book o...