Imam Ghazali lists diseases of the heart in Ihya Ulum al-Din. Here are a few. Some of them may be a bitter pill:
- [Extreme] Fear of poverty
- Hating what is destined for you
-Stinginess
- Pride
- Jealousy and Envy
- Showing off
- Obsessing with heights of the world
- Love of being praised
- Competing in the world
- Love for remaining in the world in order to take benefit from it
- Loving the rich and looking down on the poor
- Love of talking
- Beautifying yourself for the creation
- Being impressed with yourself
- Having no sorrow or fear in your heart.
- Being weak in standing up for truth
- Being heedless about blessings being taken away
- Breaking of trust
- Hardness of the heart
- Having long hopes in the world
- Being satisfied with the good you are doing
In Ihya Ulum al-Din, Imam Ghazali mentions four levels of piety. See which level you are on.
Level1: The amount that is required to give testimony in a Muslim court. This is staying away from open Haram.
Level 2: Staying away from the doubtful.
Level 3: Staying away from those halal things that can lead to Haram. For example, a person may stop talking about people lest they speak ill of them.
Level 4: Turning away from everything besides Allah.
Unfortunately, I think I am on level zero. May Allah guide me 😔
What's also interesting is that he says that fiqh only deals with level one here. For the higher levels, a person would need to abstain from some things that fiqh would classify as halal.
Imagine you are a kindergarten teacher. A student comes up and hands you a drawing to be marked.
She has scribbled with crayons and says she made it especially for you. You look at the crumpled paper, and you can see it was made with love.
(an important thread about God)
With which critera would you mark this art work?
1) You would mark the student at your level; an adult with an arts degree. 2) You would mark the student at their level; a wee little kindergartener.
Number two of course! We would not expect her to draw at our level.
Similar is the example of God.
God is Almighty. Many of us look at what He deserves and become despondent of His love. Who am I to yearn for His love? Who am I to stand before Him and see Him in paradise?
Truly, I only deserve his punishment for the wretched sins I have done.
I just finished "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely. It is one of the better books I have read in a while. It explains how humans are ultimately irrational. He writes:
“If I were to distill one main lesson from the research described in this book, it is that we are pawns in a game whose forces we largely fail to comprehend.direction our life takes;
but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires-with how we want to view ourselves-than with reality.”
From the Textbook 'How Children Develop' by Siegler et al.
Child maltreatment: Intentional abuse or neglect that endangers the well-being of a child
- In 2011, about 681,000 cases were confirmed in the U.S.
- In most cases the perpetrators were parents; mostly mothers.
- The highest rate was to children less than age 1 with 2.12% of them being abused!
- 1,500+ kids were killed by their parents in 2011; most younger than 4
Qualities common in abusive parents:
- Low self-esteem
- Strong reactions to stress
- Poor impulse control
- Drug and alcohol use
- Abusive spouse
Qualities common in abused children
- Low birth weight
- Physical challenge
- Cognitive challenge
- Difficult temperament
The Qur'an mentions two leaders of Egypt; the king at the time of Yusuf (upon him be peace) and the Pharoah at the time of Musa (upon him be peace). The Bible calls them both Pharoah. The Qur'an calls the former a king and the latter a Pharoah.
This is explained in the book, "The Man In The Red Underpants"
"It is interesting how Joseph (son of Israel or Jacob) also mentioned in the Quran, never refers to the ruler of Egypt as Pharaoh but rather calls him King, whereas Moses is clearly dealing with a Pharaoh.
The Bible calls both Pharaoh. Not such a problem one might think, except that when we try to locate Joseph in history we find that the dynasty ruling Egypt at the time were in fact the Hykos, who were Semites and didn't use the term Pharaoh,
The Hanafi school does not like it for a free-flowing cloth to be hung over the shoulders during prayer. This is because they cause distraction.
1) The First picture shows a handsome young man who has tied his scarf. Therefore, those pesky sides will not be dangling over his shoulders and will not distract him during ruku'.
2) Picture two and three show that the cloth is not tied, which will result in distraction during Ruku' for this oh so handsome man.
Each session will be divided into three portions:
1)Discourse about reforming the heart.
This section will tackle spiritual challenges of the heart like trusting in God, patience, Loving Allah and the mercy of Allah
@sadiyahrawat 2)Readind the text “A Ramadan With The Prophet (peace on him)".
The Prophet (peace on him) is our role model. Students will read and discuss the way that the Prophet would spend his Ramadan with evidence and try to emulate it. The virtues of Ramadan will also be discussed.
If you've been feeling stressed lately, just know that you are not alone. We need to understand that our bodies are better at handling short term stresses (like running from being attacked). When it comes to long term stresses, it really hurts us.
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When we stress for a long time, our body thinks we are in danger and starts putting all its efforts towards the stress system. It stops focusing on digesting food, sleep, fighting diseases etc. I mean, if you were running from an attacker, you really would not care about these.
However, long term these things can really effect us. If you are going through stress right now, please take care of yourselves. You are not alone. Many people are struggling right now:
When we look at historical figures of the past we note their big accomplishments. The amazing thing about the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that not only are his big accomplishments notable, but the smaller aspects of his life are also perfect.
(a thread)
He was such a great individual that everything he did was great.
Just by his eating, he showed us: 1) Don’t waste food
2) Eat with people on the same plate! When you talk to someone turn your whole body towards them, and do not turn away from them until they draw back first.
3)Wipe yourself in the washroom and eat with different hands
4)Wash your hands before you eat
5)Brush your teeth multiple times in a day and when you eat
"Paul Tillich has a beautiful formulation: "Language ... has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude' to express the glory of being alone."
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Loneliness is painful, emotionally and even physically, born from a "want of intimacy" when we need it most, in early childhood. Solitude the capacity to be contentedly and constructively alone-is built from successful human connection at just that time.
But if we don't have experience with solitude-and this is often the case today-we start to equate loneliness and solitude. This reflects the impoverishment of our experience. If we don't know the satisfactions of solitude, we only know the panic of loneliness."
My grandfather was the healthiest and one of the smartest men I ever met. At the age of 85, he was still able to ride a bike. He would stretch and go on long walks daily. He was extremely well read and held high positions in Pakistan.
(Thread)
He had never left Pakistan until his late 70's, but he was more proficient in English than his Urdu. Even in his 80s he had all his teeth
All in all, he was one of the healthiest and smartest individuals most people knew.
Last year, I met him after 15 years. He is over a hundred now. One of the smartest men I knew, cannot recognize me. He has almost lost all sense of reality. He also needs a helper at all times.
I've been noticing this unfortunate thing in the upbringing of children.
Children who are cute and socially interactive are often engaged by adults. Children who aren't as good looking, disabled or socially awkward are often ostracized and ignored.
Over time the former builds more stable social skills , has better learning opportunities and receives the attention and support they need. While the latter often snow balls in their awkwardness and has unstable connections and learning opportunities :/
These effects have huge consequences for them as adults :/
I am guilty of doing this too. Let's stop treating children and people on the exterior and give them all the support they deserve!
The hottest weather ever recorded on earth is 56.7 degrees celsius. The sun is 15,000,000 degrees celsius. Luckily, it is 150,000,000 km away. But on the day of judgement, it will be only a mile away. Imagine the heat.
Luckily, the following seven people will be attaining coolness under the throne of Allah.
1) A just ruler 2) A young person who grows up in the worship of Allah 3) A man whose heart is connected to the masjid 4) Two people that meet and depart solely for the love of Allah
5) When a man is seduced by a woman of status and beauty and he refuses for the fear of Allah 6) A person who gives charity with extreme secrecy 7) A person who remembers Allah in solitude until tears flow from their eyes.
Some people are concerned that I shy away from controversial issues on here because I 'want people to like' me.
If you have ever taken a course with me at Lubab Academy, @Mathabah Institute or have ever spoken to me, you know I am pretty open with going into conversations.
@Mathabah However I do hold some principles which prevent me from getting too controversial online. I'll try to pen it down to be discussed and criticized:
Principle one:
The general public does not need to be bombarded with controversies. The priority is to connect them with Allah
@Mathabah Yes, they do need 'vaccines': Strong evidences on doubts that will prevent them from straying down the road. But the goal would be to encourage them towards Deen first.
I've received my share of calls from young Muslim couples and know some common themes. If you're being offered any of these, say no and end it.
1) Secret Nikahs: Not only is this against the command of the Prophet (peace be on him), they never work. I've seen horror stories!
2) Polygamy: In principle I have nothing against it. But our current political and social climate makes it almost impossible to practice it justly. In most Canadian cases, I wouldn't recommend it. Once again, horror stories!
3) Marrying non-Muslims: Islam allows men to marry Christian and Jewish women. However, I really would advise against this now.
These commands are for when the man is the leader of the house and can ensure that the children will remain Muslim. Do not risk your children's Iman!
I've been trying to focus in Salah, but there's one thought that always beats me. I think that I am not a wali, and that the task is too hard.
However, me labelling myself unworthy is not appropriate. Allah is everyone's Allah. Even a sinner gets to harbour Him in their heart.
Don't ever label yourself good or bad.
A person who thinks they are good will:
- Stop improving on their good
- Will either be in the denial of their bad or will have a crisis when they are bad
- Will look down on those they perceive as 'bad'
- Will lack humility before Allah
A person who thinks they are bad will:
- Start thinking it's too difficult to connect with Allah or enjoy the Qur'an
- Will resist returning to Allah
- Will justify their wrong
- Will abstain from things they deem themselves unworthy of
- Will look for 'bad' friends and spouses
Note: Islam takes a very middle path when it comes to divorce. It isn't like those religions that initially completely banned it. It is also unlike those ideologies that have made it extremely easy. Here are the 9 ways:
1) Islam encourages a pre-marital screening process. The future couple are allowed to see each other and speak on a basic level without seclusion. A very important step is to do research about the person. I personally wouldnt marry someone who I did not share a close mutual with!
2) Islam discourages divorce for no reason. Consider:
"The most detestable Halal thing to Allah is divorce (Abu Dawud: 2178)"
"A believer should not hate [his wife]. If he dislikes one element about her, he will like another aspect (so he should focus on those)(Muslim 1469)."
So, after trying a million and a half apps, I think I know how to remain active on social media without giving it my life. If you are serious about this, you need to be able to do two things:
1) Not have notifications 2) Engage without logging in
( a thread)
Point 1: Not have notifications.
Delete the apps. Turn notifications off. Simple as that.
Point 2: Engage without logging on.
See, when we log onto twitter, we go down the endless feed of tweets and that sucks too much time. Especially if you come across the aggravating Tweet of the day.
3 added to My Authors
