Tajweed - Get it Right!

Importance of Tajweed

One of the most problematic issues that some are aware of, and some are unaware, is the need for correct Tajweed. We have a real problem in the indo-pak communities with Tajweed or more specifically the lack of it! What we are really talking about is the correct sound being made from the articulation points of the letters.


Urdu-bic?

When we read the Arabic Quran in Urdu which is a major problem because it was not revealed in Urdu. As that is a language that was ‘made up’ some time ago so that different speakers of Muslims could communicate. Arabic is a language far greater than that, far greater.

Each of us is taxed according to their ability to learn, so if someone has a chance to learn the correct pronunciation of words then they should. They will see an improvement in their prayer when they learn and they may have thought it was not possible. I would personally recommend trying to find someone who know Quranic Arabic correctly and correcting ones recitation. You may have individuals in your community who can help you and even if it is one lesson a week do and you’ll see the difference.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon peace and blessings) said, “The reciter who makes errors has two rewards, one for the recitation and one for his difficulty.” (Bukhari 4937).

“We have sent to him the Arabic Quran that perhaps you understand.” (Yunis 12.2).

Note the Quranic passage says Arabic Quran and not Urdu Quran or anything language.


Obligations

Learning the correct recitation is obligatory for all Muslims and to not do this puts your Quranic recitation in danger of being invalid. Meaning that you prayer may also be invalid as well. The Hanafi’s are not as strict as the Shafi’s because two words (or three words indo-pak) in correct Tajweed makes the prayer valid. As for the Shafi’s if it is not all correctly recited then it is not a valid prayer. Qadi Khan said if someone is trying to correct their Tajweed then their prayer is valid as they have an excuse.

I really do not excuse those people who have a chance to learn the correct Tajweed and choose not to. It is true that some letters take practice but we have to at least try. You need to know where each sound comes from and then practice it until you get it right, this make take several weeks to even this far but it is worth it.

There are two types of mistake in recitation Lahn Al-Jalali/manifest error and Lahn Al-Hafi/hidden error. The difference between the two is that Lahn Al-Jalali is when a letter is pronounced incorrectly and this can break the prayer if it occurs. Lahn Al-Hafi is a mistake with Tajweed and if it occurs it will not break the prayer.


Ramadan massacre

Ramadan is one of the most happiest months of the year and it is the month of the Quran. But sadly now it is the month that we massacre the Quran by not pronouncing anything comprehensible during the extra night prayers. This is one the saddest things that someone can hear the book of Allah (the Exalted) being massacred and we say nothing.

There is a way of reciting quickly but getting it right but no one does that now they just read it quickly trying to get to the end. We try to follow one Sunna of finishing the Quran but how many fard actions have we demolished? It’s like destroying a house but placing a big vase of yellow flowers on top. Yes, the flowers look nice but what have we done!


Are we people who mock the Quran?

“My people have renounced the Qur'an.” (25:30)

Is this us? Or are we people who recite it correctly?

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, "Perhaps someone recites the Quran and it curses him." (Muslim).

I seek refuge with Allah from this.


How did the Messenger recite?

The Prophet (May Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) used to recite the Qur’an in slow, measured, rhythmic tones as Allah had instructed him, not hurriedly, but rather he would recite a surah in such slow rhythmic tones that it would be longer than it would seem possible. (Muslim, Muwatta).


How should we recite?

That’s simple recite how the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) if you don’t know what to do in any matter then look at the Sunna and you’ll know what to do. It’s that simple we don’t need to theorise or philosophise we just need to open your ears and listen to a Qari who recites correctly. Please click here for forty hadith on the Quran complied by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani (may Allah show him mercy).

Hudhyafah (may Allah pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, "Recite the Quran in the tone of the Arabs, and their sounds." (Bayhaqi in Sha'b al-Iman 2/540).

Please click here for common misprounced letters of the Quran.


Don’t sing please

As almost a complete contrast to the Ramadan massacre many people recite the Quran like they would a nasheed or Qasida. This is really not the correct manners with the Quran as its the book of Allah not the book of a person. People who have this concept that the Quran needs to be sung have misunderstood the Quranic passage.

“Recite the Qur’an distinctly.” (73:4)

Meaning correctly and clearly but not singing okay? NO singing!

Yes, we should beatify the Quran but we should not overly embellish our recitations by elongating certain letters over above the correct amount just so we excite the gathering into throwing Scottish notes at us!

The Prophet (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, “The one who has the finest voices among the people for reciting the Qur’an is the one whom you think fears Allah when you hear him recite.” (Daarimi, Tabaraani).

“Those unto whom We have given the Scripture, who read it with the right reading.” (2.121)

Quran proof against you or for you

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, "The Quran is a proof for you or against you." (Muslim 1/203, Imam Ahmed 5/342).

Do you want the Quran to come on the day of judgement to curse you because you are reading something incorrectly? He did not read me correctly or do you want to come and help you? It’s a simple choice.


Reward for correct recitation

Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “Whoever recites a letter of the book of Allah has one good deed and one good deed is worth ten similar to it. I do not say Alif, Lam Meem is a letter rather Alif is letter; Lam is letter and Meem is a letter.” (At-Tirmidhi Hassan Sahih)

The Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “The reciter of the Quran, on the day of judgement, will stop at the first level of Paradise. He will be asked to recite then he recites as he did in the world and his abode is the last Quranic passage in which he stops.” (Abu Dawood).

This should be sufficient for you to try to correct your Tajweed and get reading to ascend great levels because of your correct Tajweed but if you don’t have the correct Tajweed and your recitation is not valid then where will you go? Also note what if someone does not read the Quran where will they go? Does this not scare you? It terrifies me just to think about it!

“The Messenger states, “O my Lord, my people ignore the Qur’an.” (25.30).

I pray to Allah (mighty and Majestic) that we are not from these people.

“An Arabic Quran without crookedness that perhaps you will become fearful.” (39:28)

We do not claim to Abdulbasit in terms of Quranic recitation nor do we claim to be the worst but we are advising people to look into this matter and try to correct themselves because it will benefit them in two worlds not just one. As with anything that I write; I accuse myself first.

Free Palestine?

Free Palestine?

We have heard this, read this and seen this phrase a lot over the last few days due to obvious events but who are we referring to and who are we ordering to do this? I was thinking about this phrase and I wondered if it meant more in Arabic. We roughly translated it as حرية لفلسطين changing it a little to freedom for Palestine. In Arabic this would be called a جملة الإسمية nominal sentence which is a sentence without a subject. So this is just a statement without a telling us who is going to do anything. This can be defined as speech قول as it has a complete meaning.

In a sentence with a verb is a verbal sentence جملة الفعلية once we have a sentence with a verb in it we know that a certain action is going to be carried out, because of the verb. Now there can be a verb which subject is known if there is a name mentioned but if there is no name mentioned then it is unknown. So only when the name is mentioned do we know who is going to do what because there is no verb or subject.

So what does this mean? Who are we speaking to? The state of Israel is a country that was founded after the brutal occupation of the British in Palestine after the division of the Ottoman empire.

So we are protesting and arguing for Palestine to be freed from those people who actually made that state! It’s like telling murders that they should not have killed anyone! It’s too late they have already done it!

Are we telling the Western governments to free Palestine? Have any of them spoken out about it? Even if they have spoken up that is a something big but very little has been said. As usual the impotence of some leaders of countries reaches further depths of decadence.

People who are silent when injustice is being committed are as bad as those committing the actions!


Protesting

We see very little point in protesting. All you are doing is wearing yourself out and when you finish the day you’ll realise that you have achieved very little and if you think that the protesting will solve this situation then you need to think again.

Just look at the protests over the Iraq war just about every country and city, in the western world, had protests but they still went ahead. Is this not proof that the democratic system does not listen to the people it actually claims to represent!
So don’t text me, email me or tell me to protest because I see it as a waste of time. It just makes the Muslims look like more of a nuisance in the media.


Awareness

We do need to spread awareness but using media that reaches people. This is most effective way of reaching a wider audience. Many people do not realise the true extent of the problems there and they need to be informed in a good manner.

This is the best way to spread information. I wonder why Muslims do not buy broadsheet newspaper and then use this to spread facts about this. Is this such a difficult thing to do? Or shall we instead buy a Ferrari and drive that around the desert! Is that better; we are totally oblivious.


Historical proof

If you look at any oppressive force or country then you’ll realise one thing that these regimes do not last. They sow their own destruction and fall spectacularly. This current regime is nothing new in terms of oppressive states and like those states they will not last nor will they prosper.

One of my teachers predicted that the fall of Israel will come within fifty years that was over four years ago. And we can see now that the more injustice is shown to innocent civilians the more opinions are changing. I can see the fall of the state within the next few years. I do think its fall is linked to the fall of the capitalism in the West which is a system that is on its knees.


Conclusion

We wish to conclude that there is much suffering on this world but there is also much hope and this hope can help us through. We should keep supplicating and keep our pens busy or whatever way is open for us to speak out in a constructive manner. If you cannot that do this, then remain silent.

Know that thanks to the deal between Saudi and the US the money that they pay to them for oil is kept in banks so they can feed off the interest. Why have they not said anything about the injustices that their paymasters have done is nothing but shocking. Those who have not spoken out fear their flimsy position in the world will lose their positions one day. So why not speak up and be remembered for courage rather than be remembered for cowardice?

Hasan Le Gai Eaton

His life and works parts one and two

Habib Ali Al-Jifri

Mahabbah

Sheikh Yahya Rhodus

Contentment

Is there a problem with the youth?

So many times have I heard this ‘question’ pop up like a sharp thorn that has been found in ones shoe. The youth are running away from Islam. What do we do? The answer is plain is simple and it does not need to be persistently asked by people.

Once a person reaches maturity we see them turning away from religion then we know one thing has occurred, for definite, we have failed. At this point a child who has grown up going to the masjid is now old enough to leave and how ceremoniously they do. They run from the religion into the arms of the world and they remain there until they get some sort of problem or shock. That's if they are lucky to get that reminder so many do not.

Now, doesn’t anyone think that there is something wrong here? A child has had six or more years of teaching in the masjid or madrasa but once they leave they do not pick up the Quran for many years and involve themselves in the world. Is it just me that thinks that we had the chance to teach them something and  failed?


We blame the youth for being naive and for falling into many traps of the world but shouldn’t we have prepared them for life before they left us? So what is the cause of the problem? Where has the system failed? It cannot be with the religion so where is the problem?


The answer is that we have failed to teach them. We have failed to give them the tools to see through the traps of this world and we have driven them out of the masjid. We are the problem not them. But now leaders look at the youth and think its them who are the problem. No its not them it's us! We had a great opportunity to make balanced human beings who are a credit to their societies  but instead we taught the children how harsh we can be.


What did we teach them in all those years? Did they ever see us practice Islam correctly? They see people like us as scourges and not people who they want to be like. We have failed to implant the prophetic model in ourselves then how can we implant it in the children? Your child learns from your behavior so whether you teach them or not they are learning. We do not teach them about the beauty of Islam. We teach them that being religious is about being a harsh hearted hypocrite!


We have to wake up and that is not going to be easy because some are perfectly happy being asleep. We have to teach with firmness but not harshness and most of those who teach but not understand Urdu. We need to teach them in a language they understand. You will not get anywhere teaching people something in a language they do not understand.


We need to engage their minds by bringing their hearts to life with the Sirah. Then teaching them stories and making them enjoy their religion. Classes should be no longer than an hour, any more than then it will cause damage to the children. We have learned this the hard way and we really need to be sure that children enjoy learning and we try to make things fun for them.


We need to encourage them and not criticise them as this will hurt them. Encouragement is a great key to help people reach heights quickly.


We try to help them by doing as much we can and supporting them as much as possible. Most of all we must practice what we preach because if we do not then our words are like rocks fallen onto seeds. Don’t be surprised if nothing good grows because children are like gardens if you plant something good in them then good will grow and if you leave then weeds will grow. The weeds are our fault because we missed our opportunity to grow something good.


We need smaller, shorter classes with teachers qualified to teach not an uncle who does not know how to perform Wudu!


I do not think there is a problem with the youth rather the problem is with the elders because they do not know how to reach them except by a clip around the ear. It's another wasted opportunity to build human beings instead we ruin them first before the world gets them. What else would they do in their lives but turn to drink and drugs because we sent them there.

The inhertance of the Prophets (upon them peace) is knowledge and this knowledge is being lost in our time. Great scholars are dying and there is no one is taking their place. We are losing knowledge from all over the place.

Yet, if someone hears about the relics of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) they will travel for miles to see it but who will sit in a class of fiqh or tajweed? This is the real knowledge and this is being lost, as we live in a time in which people follow their passions and they have long since left imiatating the only one worthy of imitation.


While you are on this planet you still have time to change your communites. Read this about the Importance of knowledge.
http://sheikhynotes.blogspot.com/2009/06/importance-and-search-for-knowledge.html

If you are on masjid committe read this.
http://sheikhynotes.blogspot.com/2010/04/role-that-masjidsmosques-committees.html

If this still does not make sense then read this.
http://sheikhynotes.blogspot.com/2009/11/do-we-know-how-to-live-in-west.html
May Allah forgive us all.

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

Welcome to Mercy

AbdulHakimMurad-WelcomeToMercy from MR on Vimeo.

The Heart/ Qalb

The heart is much more that a muscle that pumps the blood around the body.
The heart is something that can affect the whole body, if it is pure then the whole body is pure and if it is sick then the whole body is sick. The heart is the hidden secret between man and God and what happens there is only accessible to God. Although those with trained eyes can see quite clearly. The body can illustrate what the heart feels but heart can never illustrate what the body feels.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, “Allah does not look to your forms nor your wealth but He looks to your hearts and your deeds.” (Muslim 6221)

The heart in Arabic is Qalb, the root of this name means to turn over (Hans Wehr p.784). The heart is the muscle that moves the most, even if we are motionless the heart is in motion.


Hearts together

When your heart is with someone then you experience the same things and you feel the same feelings. So even though you may be apart you may say the exactly the same thing as someone else is saying or even thinking. Sometimes someone will say exactly what you are thinking. And if you are lucky your spiritual leader will answer the questions that are in your heart, without you even asking.

Sometimes the heart knows what is about to occur but the mind overrides this ‘emotion’ and keeps going. Sometimes we can feel something that someone else does not; this leads to rejection. How strange it is when someone feels something about someone and the other person does not. Rejection is not registered in the heart sometimes; it can make a person keep coming back to the one who rejected them. They have all these unrequited emotions that are being suppressed but the other person feels nothing. Unrequited love can do so much damage and many times the object of that affection is totally unaware.


Sins of the heart

We are punished for bodily sins in the world and we are punished for sins of the heart and body, in the next. Someone can hide their disbelief in this world but in the next world this hidden internal state will manifest itself.

Actions done with the heart in tune to the limbs have so much more effect that those empty actions of the limbs. The Maliki scholars consider it highly disliked for someone to encourage people to do something that they have not done themselves but only their hearts know.


Whisperings

Sometimes we get inclinations or whisperings that occur in the heart that if we spoke about them then we would be seen as persona non grata.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “Allah forgave my nation the evil whispering which arise within their hearts as long as they did not speak about them or do not act upon.” (Muslim 230).

If you have a evil whispering then don’t speak about it and turn your heart away from it and it will die away but if you let it grow then it will cause you harm.


Heart attacks

Ibn Al-Nafis was the first to find out about the pulmonary circulation of the blood, then he was plagiarised by many who refused to divulge where they obtained this information from.

Heart disease remains America’s leading cause of death, killing one American every 34 seconds, or more than 2,500 people per day. But it also remains a highly preventable disease.

The grim statistics come from the American Heart Association’s new report, “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics — 2005 Update.” The report shows that in 2002, more than 927,000 Americans died from heart disease-related conditions, such as heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, and congenital heart defects. (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,142436,00.html)

One in five deaths are caused by heart disease in the UK and if you are on a lower wage you are more likely to have heart problems. The statistics show that people who have money problems are sure to be in more in danger of having heart problems that those better off.

Worrying about provision and family can lead a person to have a perturbed or disturbed heart; this added to other factors can lead a person to problems.


Light and darkness

Both these things can affect a person in different ways. You can be affected by the light that someone has and by the light they contain. If someone has a lot of light greater than your light or your darkness then their light can affect you. Similarly, someone with more darkness than you can affect you as well.

Sometimes people with darkness and falsehood can affect your heart in the most despicable ways and you may even find yourself agreeing with their poison. Because your heart has been so affected by their darkness there is no room for light!

As can someone with truth and light can transform you if you are receptive to it. This is the point are we receptive to it or not? If we are then we can attain greater levels and if we are not because of the darkness we carry we will reject it.

The Prophets (upon them peace) came with light and the truth; some accepted and some rejected. The eyes and ears are channels to the heart and if we are not careful then we will have hearts that are not pure and open to the truth.


The heart of the Quran

Surah Yasin has been described in hadith as the ‘Qalb Al-Quran,’ (At-Tirmidhi 2887) literally the heart of the Quran. If you take a good look at the Quranic chapter then you can see that it continually refers to accepting the messenger or prophet. This has special reference to the heart because that is the seat of belief because someone can have belief in the heart and be believer with Allah but not according to the world.


Types of heart

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, “Hearts are four; a pure heart with a shining lamp; that is the heart of the believer; a black heart covered which is the heart of the disbeliever; a covered heart, linked to its cover that is the heart of the hypocrite and the heart with layers faith and hypocrisy.” (Imam Ahmed).

There are four types of heart mentioned here:
1. Pure heart
2. Black heart
3. Covered heart
4. Layered heart.

The pure heart is the healthy one and the ideal one in this list. The pure heart is to aim for and to work for but how do we work to get this type of heart? Some of us are blessed to be born with pure hearts and some of us have to work on ourselves.


Remembrance

“In the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!” (Quran: Thunder 13:28)
By performing remembrance does the heart find rest and then it can become pure. How do we know this?

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, “Is there not a morsel of flesh; if it is sound then the whole body is sound; if it is corrupt then the whole body is corrupt; it is not the heart?” (Bukhari 25 and Muslim 1599).

This hadith is a miracle because the Arabic word used is Mudghah which is something similar to a morsol. Almost like a piece of partially chewed meat and this accurately described the shape of the heart. It is nothing like the fantasy picture that we see everywhere especially on valentine cards and the like. It’s like a piece of flesh but it has a life beyond what people can measure with their medical equipment.
Bringing it to a state of purification is something that benefits us beyond this world.

“The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man); except him who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” (Quran: the poets 26:88-89)

We are not busy purifying our hearts for no benefit rather we are doing something that has infinite benefits. So this is not some new matter that has been ‘invented’ or ‘innovated’ this is part of the Quranic narrative and if adhered to brings a wealth of benefits.

Remembrance or dhikr is a way to purify the heart but hearts have to be emptied from other things.


Three stages

The spiritual masters mention three stages in spiritual development:
1. Ridding oneself of bad characteristics تخلى
2. Adorning oneself with good character تحلى
3. Manifesting the good character تجلى


The Arabic words used above have very small differences but these differences are massive in reality. If you want to decorate a room in your house properly you have to remove everything out of it that is the first level. The second level is about adding and the final level is the manifestation when the room is finally finished but this can take time, it’s not an easy process by anyone’s standards.

You see the heart can be sick and if it is starved from the remembrance of Allah then it will die. Especially, if it is allowed to follow its passions.

Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir said, “The heart dies from passions of the soul; the more you refuse the passions you attain from life its shares; so listen to the living and not to the dead.” Allah, the exalted, states, “You cannot listen to the dead.” (The Ant 16:80). (Awarif Al-Mararif Imam Sarawardi p.17).


Weak heart

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, “A strong believer is better than a weak believer; and in each is goodness.” (Muslim, Ahmed and Ibn Majah). Ibn Ata Allah says that the strong believer is he whose heart is illuminated by the light of certainty. (Taj Al-Aroos p.96-7).


Black spot

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman(may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, "Temptations are presented to the heart, one by one. Any heart that accepts them will be left with a black stain, but any heart that rejects them will be left with a mark of purity." (Muslim Book of faith 2/170).

When a white cloth has a black stain on it, it can be seen clearly and most people will notice the black spot more than they will notice the rest of the cloth being white! Similarly, the dark heart recognises darkness and is attached by it.


A reminder placed into the heart

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow upon him peace and blessings) said, “If Allah wishes goodness to his servant then he places admonition in his heart.” (Abu Mansor Ad-Dalami with a good chain).

This is something that can happen when they are about to do something that they shouldn’t the heart is reminded. Then at that moment it can chose to follow it or not.


The place of knowledge

Imam Ghazali said, “The place of knowledge is the heart.” (Ihya Ulum Ud-Deen Vol 3 p.17).

This is where knowledge is kept and if there is light in there it will be displayed for all to see and if it is not present then the knowledge will be darkened and won’t shine through.


Conclusion

The heart is something amazing if it is worked upon with remembrance of Allah or it can something sick if someone gives in to its whims. In one sense it has to be trained to love the divine and love and follow the sacred law. This can only be done by following the Messenger (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him).

Following a spiritual path allows one to make progress by the means of admonition and obedience to a spiritual master. We are talking about those who follow the sacred law correctly. A spiritual master can take you further than you can go on your own so bear that in mind.

Hearts are attracted to things that are similar and they will go for what is similar so be careful because that untrained morsel of flesh needs to be cleaned. Only then will it give its true benefits.


Interesting quote about the heart

There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950), "Man and Superman" (1903), act 4

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

The Purification of Hajj

Imam Zaid Shakir

The Power of prayer

The Power of Prayer - Imam Zaid Shakir from SeekersGuidance on Vimeo.

Imam Zaid Shakir

Khutba

Zaid Shakir - Final from The Claremont Conservative on Vimeo.

Imam Zaid Shakir

Binghamton University

Sheikh Atabek's New Book

You can purchase a Kindle version here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Towards-Understanding-Hadith/dp/B004GHNIKW/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296593648&sr=8-1-fkmr1http://scribedigital.com/177

The Disputations

Inspired by Sheikh Abdulhakim Murad’s Contentions we wanted to present our own series called the Disputations a new series for Sheikhy Notes. We hope you enjoy it.
1. It can be bitter to wake for prayer but remember that the fruits are sweet.
2. Do not mix your good actions with your bad actions.
3. Everything that afflicts you that you learn from is a blessing and everything that afflicts you that you do not learn from is an opportunity that you have failed to take.
4. I have never been more humiliated or honored by anything else except knowledge.
5. Foolish is he who believes the words coming out of people’s mouths.
6. "In sooth I know not why I am so sad, It wearies me, you say it wearies you; but how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn: And such a want-sit sadness makes of me, That I have much ado to know myself." Shakespeare - Merchant of Venice. Act one Scene one.
7. The way that I understand it is that the soul is attached to heaven as that is its original abode and the Naafs is attached to the body and the lower desires because it has earthly qualities. The heart is like the core and this is one the channels that can be used to purify the Naafs in order to get it to obey, rather than follow its base passions.
8. Back problems have lots of wisdom in them. If you try to rest your back it will get worse. So staying in bed is not an option. You have to keep moving or it'll get worse and the more you move the better the chances that it will get better quicker. Doing nothing is not an option.
9. Whoever goes into the market place in search of needs will find nothing and whoever goes into the market without any need will find what they need.
10. Qatada (one of the scholars of Basra) said, “Patience is part of faith like the position of the hands before the body. Whoever is not patient upon tribulation is not grateful upon blessings. If patience was a man he would be generous and beautiful.” Ibn Abi Dunya Patience p.112
11. Trying to live out your dreams can be a nightmare...
12. Death is no surprise.
13.There is part of God's mercy if you stand, if you trip and if you fall. There is good in all.
14. The world is full of false hopes.
15. Satan’s plan is part of Allah’s plan – so don’t worry!
16. If you look to the people for gratitude then you will always be disappointed.
17. Nothing in the world; worth having; comes easy.
18. If you look to the people for gratitude then you will always be disappointed.
19. Don't trust anyone with big secrets until you are sure that they can keep small secrets. Even then be suspect because events can change a person from being trustworthy to not, so know that your heart is always the best place for any of your secrets.
20. When the people close to you, hurt you it is because they have access to information that your enemies do not. Giving them the power to hurt you unlike no enemy ever could...
21. Broken things don't travel well they make lots of noise!
22. How can the owner of everything be unjust to anything he owns!
23. We come into the Dunya with nothing and we leave with nothing; so what have you lost? Nothing. (in terms of worldly items).
24. Do you control your laziness or does your laziness control you?
25. Sadness remains in the world the place of deception.
يبقى الحزن بلا نهاية في الدنيا الدار الغرور
26. Our imperfections make us human...
27. Sometimes I wonder if I have spent my life looking for pieces of a jigsaw that don't fit.
28. The more you experience things in the world; the more they mean nothing.
29. He is tired of the Dunya and is happy that each day is a step closer to leaving it.
30. Anything that puts you off a fard action is satan!
31. Why do you crave a place; in the place that everything perishes?
32. A fire is not put out by wine or alcohol; it is put out by water.
33. "Do good you will find good." A saying of the Arabs.
34. "Take opportunities or opportunities will be taken from you." (For good works only!)
35. Truth builds and lies destroy – A saying of the Arabs.

Imam Zaid Shakir

'Id al-Adha 1431 / 2010