Repentance & Forgiveness

Making mistakes and falling short are undoubtedly part of human nature and no one will be free of shortcomings in his obedience to Allaah, or free of mistakes or forgetfulness or sins. 
All of us fall short, commit sins, and make mistakes. Sometimes we turn to Allaah and sometimes we turn away from Him. Sometimes we remember that Allaah is watching and sometimes we become negligent. None of us is free of sin, and we will inevitably make mistakes. We are not infallible.

Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin Allaah would do away with you and bring people who would commit sin then pray for forgiveness.”
[Narrated by Muslim, 2749].

Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said,
“All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.”
[Ibn e Majah, Ahmed, Tirmidhi]

“And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?”
[Al-Hijr: 56].

Brothers & Sisters in faith! It is a manifestation of Allaah’s Mercy that He promises a generous reward for Astaghfaar. Plentiful Astighfaar and repentance brings forth divine mercy and success in this life and the next.

Allaah says that which translates to: “And turn to Allaah in repentance, all of you, O believers, so that you might succeed.” [An-Noor: 31].

If there is a lot of Istighfaar among the Muslims and it is done sincerely, Allaah will prevent calamities and different types of tribulations from affecting them.

Allaah says that which translates to: “And Allaah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.”
[Al-Anfaal: 33].

Allaah is the most Merciful and accepts repentance....

Beautiful Story...The Good Husband

There was a man who loved his wife very much. The couple had 3 children. He could give her everything he could but the woman never appreciated. Though the man was not rich, he would share all that he had with her. He could buy for her clothes and the only thing his wife could say was that the husband was fulfilling his duty as a Man. The man would buy a dress but in reply, the woman would mock at him, because the dress was of low quality. The man would smile at his wife and tell her "one day, I will become rich and I will buy for you all the expensive things you need". The woman could never make any phone call unless she was requesting anything from her husband and once her request was not granted, all she could do was to quarrel for days, sometimes fight. One evening, the man was coming from work, he bought a Kilogram of meat, happily the poor man expecting to surprise his wife, he reached home found the wife and showed her the package. Then she shouted: "eh! And you call yourself a man? Which husband, apart from you, do you think comes home with just one kilogram, no cooking oil, and no other ingredients? You better leave it, you're a good-for-nothing husband." Then she threw the meat in the bush and went back home. The Husband felt low but he never let down his love for her.

One day, the husband felt pain in his left foot, then a Tumour appeared on the foot, it then emerged growing big and more painful. He went to the hospital after several months of pain and was found with cancer, he was poor to have a better medical care.

Though he was sick he tried much as he could to provide for his family. Two years later the condition worsened and he was put in the special care unit, he was operated and the foot was removed,

but unfortunately it was too late, the Virus had affected more parts of the body and at last he called his wife and told him, "LOOK AFTER MY CHILDREN, i feel i can't live any longer though i'll always be with you in spirit, may God be with you". He then breathed his last and died. The woman, and three children cried, for days mourning, they buried him.

Two months later, the wife was crying by her husbands grave as she said these words:

"My love, you did all the best to me, you treated me well and gave me all you could, but all i could pay you, was endless quarrels and fights. I never realised your importance and your love until when you were gone, and when I'm the one to provide food, clothing, education and many others. I remember when i threw your one Kilogram of meat to the bush, but now i have nowhere to get even a Half a Kilo. 'THE GOOD DIE YOUNG' that's why you died when you were still young. A husband whom i could mock at but you only smiled at me. The husband who could care and had unending love.

I know you are listening to me and i ask you to forgive me for not appreciating all you did to me, when you were alive.

We are all missing your presence and your youngest daughter is always crying asking when you'll be back. But you will never leave our hearts until we Join you."

MORAL:

* Always appreciate what you are given, whether small or big.

* Love is not all about how much we have, but its all about how we share the little we have.

RELEVANCY.

Have you ever taken time to thank Allah for what He has done for you?

Many people only remember Allah when they have problems and once their problems are solved, they don't take time, to thank Him or remain close to Him.

Oh Allah, i pray that you keep Your providence towards me always and give me an appreciating heart so that i'll always be thankful to whatever you give me, aameen....

Arrange Marriage...

Arranged marriages are allowed and promoted in Islam as long as they are accepted by both the bride and the groom. One of the conditions for the Nikah (marriage ceremony) to be valid is both the man and woman are asked independently of each other as to whether they agree with the marriage or not. If either of them say ‘no’ then the Nikah cannot continue , however, silence is regarded as consent. (Radd ul Mohtar).

The parents have a responsibility to ensure that both couples are compatible and do not arrange a marriage merely for their own social or personal reasons (i.e. 'she's my brothers daughter, lets get our son married to her'!). If the latter is the case then they will have to answer to Allah. The Prophet of Allah (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) gave the strictest orders with relation to the rights of others. He said

“'Truly Allah has totally forbidden disobedience (and the subsequent hurt) to mothers, burying alive daughters, with-holding the rights of others, and demanding that which is not your right.” (Hadith Muslim 4257. Recorded by Mughirah b. Shuba).

When a suitable partner is chosen then four things are considered, out of which one should take importance and this is the religious practice of their prospective partners. Whilst the following Hadith is in relation to choosing a woman, it refers to both sexes: the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said

“A woman (or man) may be married for four things: for her wealth, for her noble descent, for her beauty or for her religion. Choose the one who is religious, lest your hands be rubbed with dust!” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Although the Prophet advised the young Muslim to look for a religious partner, it does not mean that they should ignore their preferences regarding the physical beauty. The Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) encouraged seeing a prospective partner before finalizing the marriage, so that a Muslim does not find his/herself trapped in a marriage with a woman/man he/she finds unattractive.

Al Mughirah Ibn Shaibah said “I got engaged to a woman at the time of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace). He asked me “Have you seen her?” I said “No”. He said “go and have a look at her, because it is more fitting that love and compatibility is established between you.” (Nasai)

Therefore, in the above situations we find that Islam promotes love and compatibility between husband and wife and recognizes that these are vital ingredients in a successful marriage.

Beautiful Story....Thanks

I dreamed that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around.

We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.” I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.” I noticed again how busy it was there. Therewere many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station.

To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledgment Section,” my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed. ”How is it that? There’s no work going on here?” I asked. “So sad,” the angel sighed. “After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments”.“How does one acknowledge God’s blessings?”I asked. “Simple,” the angel answered.“Just say, “‘ALHAMDULILLAHI RABBIL AALAMIIN”, (“All praise beloongs to the Lord of the Worlds” )

“And Remember your Lord has declared that, ‘If you are grateful then I will add (more favors) unto you’”. (Ibrahim 14:7) 

Beautiful Story......The Little Girl

One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.
Suddenly, my daughter, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. “Dad, I’m thinking of something.”

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear. What are you thinking?” I asked.

“The rain,” she began, “is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like Allah wiping our sins away.”

After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. “That’s really good,” Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked…
”Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?”

She didn’t hesitate one moment with her answer: “We keep on sinning, and Allah just keeps on forgiving us.”
I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on

Getting Over a Broken Heart ~ The Islamic Way

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 your reactions. Only Allah knows whether or not this marriage will bring you closer to Him or distract you from the real purpose in life. It is only Allah who knows. Have trust in Allah that He has made the right choice for you. For no matter how much this person claims their love for you or vice versa, know that no one can love you as much as Allah.

So firstly, make dua to Allah to ease your pain and help you be content with His qadr. The following is my favorite Hadith regarding qadr as it really fills you with the awe of Allah and His infinite wisdom.

“Allah `azza wa jall said: ‘Verily, from amongst My slaves is he whose faith cannot be rectified except by being inflicted with poverty, and were I to enrich him, it would surely corrupt him. Verily, from amongst My slaves is he whose faith cannot be rectified except by wealth and affluence, and were I to deprive him, it would surely corrupt him. Verily, from amongst My slaves is he whose faith cannot be rectified except by good health, and were I to make him sick, it would surely corrupt him. Verily, from amongst My slaves is he whose faith cannot be rectified except by disease and illness, and were I to make him healthy, it would surely corrupt him. Verily, from amongst My slaves is he who seeks worship by a certain act but I prevent that from him so that self-amazement does not enter his heart. Certainly, I run the affairs of My slaves by My Knowledge of what is in their hearts. Certainly, I am the All-Knower, All-Aware’.” [Tabarani]

Step 2: Awareness of the love-drug syndrome

An interesting study was conducted comparing drug users to people who claimed to be “madly in love”. They found that brain scans showed people who are in the first stages of love and people who are high on cocaine have the same areas of the brain stimulated while looking at a picture of their “beloved”. In other words, being in the first stage of love is similar to being high on drugs! With drugs, you are not in love with the powder itself – you are in love with the feelings that it gives you.

Similarly, the thing that we love is the special attention, the butterflies in the stomach, the acknowledgment that someone cares about us in a special way, looks at us in a special way, thinks about us in a special way – the constant day dreaming about the future and daily scenarios. So it is not that this person is perfect, it is that this person allows us to feel all these emotions which are addictive. In reality we are not in love with the person, we are in love with Love itself.

Being in love with Love explains how some people overlook major faults in their prospective spouse. I knew a practicing sister who wanted to marry someone who had a drug and alcohol problem. This was because in both cases these “faults” were discovered during the first butterfly phase of love and not before. Alhamdulilah, by the qadr of Allah the marriage did not take place, but it was due to circumstances, not because the sister had realised that they were not a suited match.

Awareness of this love-drug syndrome has two major benefits. Firstly, awareness is power and it breeds hope. Once you are aware that it is the feelings you are attached to, realise you can actually get them elsewhere. 

These feelings are not specific to this one person; you will get these feelings with your new, more suitable prospective partner – the one that Allah will put into your life at the right time insha Allah. Love clouds your mind and makes you think that you will not find this strong love and passion with anyone else. But this is simply not true. You will find this love to be even stronger and more passionate with the right person (the one that is written for you in the Lahw al Mahfooz).

The second benefit is knowing that just like a drug-user naturally has withdrawal symptoms when they stop, you too will naturally have withdrawal symptoms, and it will be difficult. Getting over someone is emotionally painful so don’t be too hard on yourself, validate your feelings and allow yourself time to heal. Know that this is common – nearly everyone goes through heartache at some point in their lives, and eventually recover with time.

As a side point: It is not a sin to fall in love; it is a natural emotion which the human species depends on! If you did sin in the process then repent to Allah, He is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. Love is a powerful emotion, which is why there are boundaries in Islam. If you have fallen outside those boundaries, repent and move on.

Step 3: Be proactive

Allow yourself time but also get proactive! Marriage is just one of the many aspects of your life; it is not the be all and end all of things. What are your aspirations? What do you want to achieve in your life? Write down a list of goals you want to achieve by the end of the month and get started on them right away. As Muslims, our continuous goal is striving to get closer to Allah, so working on your eman and your relationship with Allah must be included in some way. Focus your attention on moving forward rather than wasting time with something that “could have been”.

Step 4: Move on

In the spirit of being proactive, the last stage is to actively open your heart and mind to someone else. This could be difficult, as naturally comparisons will creep in, but again realise the fact that it has not worked out means that Allah has someone better suited for you. As illustrated in the famous Hadith of the birds:

“If you depend on Allah with due reliance, He would certainly give you provision as He gives it the birds who go forth hungry in the morning and return with a full belly at dusk.” [Tirmidhi]

Allah will provide for you but you have to get up and get moving again. Just like the birds, go out and seek. Make the effort on your part and leave the rest to Allah and His infinite wisdom.