Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

Dua for Sheikh

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Meanings of name Muhammad

Sheikh Gibril Haddad

Adab in Rajab

Imam Zaid Shakir

reflections
REFLECTIONS with Imam Zaid Shakir :: "The Gods Have to Go" from Ta'leef Collective on Vimeo.

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz - secrets of seeking forgiveness

Secrets of Istighfar by Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

What are the main reasons that students of knowledge fail to attain the true position of being a scholar?

They study not to find the truth but to back up their group affiliation. So they negate years of learning by backing up arguments to justify their own groups. 

Many Dar Al-Ulums are places that breed arrogance and ignorance. They come out totally convinced of their group and totally unprepared for questions of their students. Many return to worldly purists of earning a living and leave seeking knowledge. 

Wrong programs, wrong teachers and wrong systems all play their part making a student fail after years of studying. 

One must look beyond their school because no one group has a monopoly of knowledge and without looking at other scholars he will not achieve what he seeks.

Many students are lazy and want all the work to done for them and are not willing to spend their time revising the text before and after the class. They do not re-enforce their learning at all. relying on recordings in not wise because most students do not have the time to study them.

Also many students are embroiled in issues that do not concern them and thus waste the time in which they should be studying. So all they have is the term student of knowledge and have failed to realise it.

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

Suluk

Imam Zaid Shakir and Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

How Islam treats other religions

Straight Translations

Please click on the following links for our previous translations on our other blog Straight Translations.



Forty hadith collections



40 hadith commanding the Good complied by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith praise of Sunnah complied by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on honorable character by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on Riba/interest by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on Dhikr by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi


40 hadith on lowering gaze complied by Arfan Shah

40 hadith on miracles of the Messenger of Allah by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on obeying the leader by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on the Noble Quran by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on the unlawfulness of intoxicants by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on Ahl Al-Bayt by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on the intercession by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

40 hadith on right of Muslms complied by Ibn Hajar



 
Day of Judgement

40 hadith on the day of Judgement

40 hadith on the tribulation at the end of time Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani





40 Hadith on the four rightly guided caliphs

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) complied by Imam Al-Suyuti

Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) complied by Imam Al-Suyuti

Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) complied by Arfan Shah

Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) complied by Arfan Shah


Fiqh/five pillars

Forty hadith on La illa Ilu Allah complied by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

Prayer - Tufath Al Muluk 

Forty hadith on the prayer by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

Purfication - Tufath Al-Muluk

 Forty hadith on Hajj by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

Zakah -Tufath Al-Muluk

Forty hadith on Zakah by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

Fasting - Tufath Al-Muluk

Forty hadith on fasting complied by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani

Munyah Al-Musali -Purification
 
History of spread of four Sunni schools 

Supplications for Hajj

How to interact with hadith




Salawat

Dalail Al-Khayrat hadiths on Salawat



Aqida

Bequethment of Abu Hanifah to Yusuf Al-Samti

Abu Hanifah giving benefit of doubt

Fiqh Al-Abkar by Abu Hanifah

Aqida Adudiyyah

Bidyah Al-Aqaid

Jewels of Theology/Jawahara Al-Kalamiyyah

Differences between Al-Maturidi and Ashari schools

Bada Al-Maali 

Life of prophets in grave by Imam Al-Suyuti




Al-Ghazali

Adab fi deen

Backbiting

Ten directives



Ali Al-Qari

Forty hadith about marriage

Miswak



Tasawwaf

Wisdoms of Imam Al-Shadhali

Miracles of men of Allah

Bio of Abu Bakr Al-Shibli

Causes of forgiveness Ibn Rajab

Description of the believer by Dhu Al-Noon Al-Misri

Advice of Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Hadith of mercy

Ibn Ata Allah quote

Imam Al-Sharani on wird

Imam Al-Sharani on dhikr

Key to the path of the Awliyah

Keys to everything

Sheikh Abu Al-Hassan Al-Shadhali quote

And quote two

Imam Al-Darqawi quote

Usul Al-Ashara of Sheikh Najaumddin Al-Kubra

Book of probe Ibn Arabi

Principles of the path by Sidi Ahmed Zarruq



Duas

Istikharah - complete

Seeking forgiveness

Supplication of troubled

Supplication of the fire

Tunjiyya

Simple daily supplications




Tribulations

Seventeen benefits of tribulation Izzudden Abdussalam

40 hadith about Tribulations



Other

Kholwa bint Al-Azwar

Sheikh Osman Al-Naqshbandi

Sidi Abu Al-Abbas Al-Mursi

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Kittani

Sheikh Adib Al-Kallas

Time management by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

Smoking khutba by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

Water by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

Exemplary character by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

Qasida O most beautiful of Prophets

Quranic passages of healing

Enter the abode of peace

Ibrahim ibn Adham quote

The smart bird

Respecting parents Ibn Subki

Umm Ma'bud

Sandal translation

Bio - Sheikh Abdurrahman Al-Shaghouri

Sources of provision by Imam Al-Suyuti

Remember me ayah

The Disputations

part thirty seven

1. Islam will defeat capitalism.

2. Media is controlled by racist war mongers.

3. Following one sheikh is not about copying his external dress rather it is copying his internal state. Dress sense does not mean one achieves tasawwaf! It's not that easy!

4. It's quite depressing to hear of students of knowledge who have studied for years and not got anywhere.

5. I am beginning to think that this is the time when sacred knowledge is dying or is on it's death bed. Who killed it? In the UK the masjid committees killed it and the rest of the was deluded in following the egos instead of revelation. A group of Muslims will remain steadfast on the truth who follow the early masters of the four madhabs and aquida of the two. Everyone else will fall slowly until the people become amazed by ignorance as much as people were amazed by knowledge before. It will remain like this until the Mahdi comes and he will applaud this group. They are the followers of the great scholars of the past. Maybe twenty percent of the slaves were Muslim in the slave trade of America but how was the spread of Islam stopped? Knowledge was stopped in our times masjid committees are the greatest helpers of wahabism. Well done

6. Al-Tabarani reports from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) would not drive people away (from him) and they would not forsake him.”

7. If you are not a scholar then don't sit in the chair of the scholars

8. There is no point talking about Adab when there is no adherence to halal and no avoiding haram! Start at the bottom of the ladder instead of jumping to the top!

9. The student of knowledge should be more concerned with understanding a text than finishing it

10. It's strange how people have got time to criticise but no time to help

11. Well done parents who destroy their daughters. Marrying them to cousins they don't want and the untold damage it does to kids to see their parents in a loveless marriage. Just to make you happy you. Well done.

12. Allah sent each prophet with the ability to speak the language of the people. Fast forward to masjid committees in the west who appoint imams who can only speak Urdu. So neglect everyone except themselves.

13. This is not the time of religious knowledge it's the time religious ignorance. People mistake ignorance for knowledge. Ignorance is mass transmitted now and the truth is known but ignored.

14. Ponder why Allah (the Exalted) praised the character of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessing upon him). Why not the prayer or hajj? Because deen is not about merely the five pillars. Most of your deen is your character. Thats where most of the work needs to be done.

15. Divine decree: We accept everything that happens, We help those in need, We do not wish that something else occurred and We try to do best in our respective situations.

16. "If you see yourself oppose the people of Allah; know that you have been turned away from the door of Allah."

17. The point of chess is to get the king not the queen and the point of the tariqah is to reach Allah not the sheikh.

18. The best Sufis think the worst of themselves.

19. Islam belongs to Allah not to any group

20. I don't wish to be offensive but Wahhabi/seleefi arguments make no logical sense. Wake up the deen is older than two hundred years.

21. It's funny how we see lots of mawlids but very little follow up.

22. Abu Yusuf said, "Whoever seeks knowledge by singular narrations becomes misguided."

23. Humility is not when everyone knows your rank and you try to lower yourself. Its when no one knows your rank and you keep it secret.

24. What was Sheikh Al-Arabi Al-Darqawi's (may Allah show him mercy) way of getting what he wanted? He would turn away from it and find it before him.

25. This religion is taken from those who are qualified to teach and not from those who pick up translations and speak!

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

Raising Children

Imam Zaid Shakir

Defending religion in a time of athiesm

Imam Zaid Shakir

Humanity knows no bounds

Imam Zaid Shakir

In his Garden!

Imam Zaid Shakir

We have to be strong

Sheikh Yahya Rhodus

Blessed Birth 2014

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

The concept of Ihsan

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

Global Tawbah

What prayer again?

The prayer

About three years ago, the idea came to me to write something about prayer. At the time, we wrote something but it does not seem adequate now.  Therefore, we are going to try again, in sha Allah.

Prayer is something lost in this time. Some Muslims do not pray and it is such a shame and a waste of life. Imagine the benefits that you attain from forsaking the world for a short space of time are innumerable. The benefits that you will attain from forsaking the world for a short time are immeasurable. How do we take advantage of these blessings? By exposing ourselves to the prayer in these times. Each prayer time has a significance and blessing.

Work

When you pray your provision will become easy; your work will become easy. You will find yourself much calmer and more composed. Even your work colleagues will notice the difference. One of fears that make us consider not praying is the fear of loss of provision. It is the exact opposites in fact you will find ease where there was difficulty.

Without prayer 

Your life has little meaning and your time is lost without benefit. Without the prayer that you have lost. Notice the times of the day in which you have 'natural' breaks; it is as if the prayer is calling you. Benefit from this time and pray.

Your prayer

Is a reminder for others without you realising. You will be praying one day and a Muslim who does not pray will see you and feel ashamed or reflect. Not that we want him to be ashamed with us but we want him to be ashamed before his Lord. One of the more common complaints that we receive from those who do not pray is that they see those who do pray commit sins. Though we cannot condone anyone's sins but the sins of others should not prevent you from good actions. Because so and so prays and you do not, does not allow you to look down on his sins. Similarly, the one who prays should not look down on those who do not pray. If you do then you are not both as bad as each other. So both of you need not to look down on those who pray and sin like those who do not pray and do not sin (other sins). 

Prayer should remove someone's sins and if they are praying and are still sinning. Then they are not praying correctly, there is a sin somewhere. Normally it is an internal disease of following the nafs or because of corruption in belief. Therefore, if someone is praying and sinning they are not praying properly with all its conditions on their wudu maybe be incomplete. Check your fiqh.

Motion

In each motion, there is stillness, in each motion there is meaning, in each meaning there is realisation. Go through all the meanings of the prayer and memorise them. Therefore, you know what you are saying if you can learn Arabic, it will bring life to the phrases and words you say. 

Do not know how

There are many people who do not know how to pray or have simply forgotten because, like everything, if you do not practice it you will lose it. Please see basic prayer guide click here. For a basic guide a simple guide to prayer of Al-Batool is worth getting. It does take time to learn to these things. Try to ask a scholar or friend you trust that is not harsh about any matters that confuse you. Attend congregational prayers where you can put into practice what you know. If you are not praying at all and want to start praying.  Then pick a prayer that you find easy and do that daily. Use that as a starting block which you keeping adding another prayer until you have all five. Do not try doing all five prayers at once because it will overcome you. Start with one prayer and build until you have your fard and wajib prayers in place then later add the Sunnah prayers. Do not be concerned if you have missed years of prayers because that will burden you to a degree that you will not pray. Maintain it for a month or then keep adding.

One of the strange things you will that non-Muslims are more accommodating to your prayer than Muslims.

Basics

The types of prayer are divided into four main sections according to the Hanafi school: Fard, Wajib, Sunna either affirmed or non-affirmed and nafl. Each one has slightly differences in terms of strength of its proof. Fard/obligatory cannot be missed, its non-performance is not accepted and sinful, if any of the five daily prayers are missed they have to be made up. 

Wajib/necessary evidence is lesser than the fard it cannot be missed and made up if missed like the witr prayer.

Sunna affirmed: these are constant actions of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) rarely missed and deliberate non-performance is not accepted without excuse; although there disagreement here with other schools. E.g. 2 Sunnah before Fajr, 4 Sunnah before Zuhr.

Non-affirmed Sunnah: not sinful if left, one raises in rank if he performs it, he rarely done by the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him).

Nafl: extra actions done by companions or successive generations. One cannot be condemned if left; it is praiseworthy to perform. 

The other schools break prayer into fard and Sunnah like the Maliki and Hanbali school; so check your school; if you do not then use this as a guide and study prayer with a local scholar until you know what validates and invalidates prayer. The common causes of invalidation are the clothes; this is a male problem in particular. When we bend over for ruku or bow down on the floor our pants are low rise and our shirts are not long enough. So our backs are exposed to the four winds! This is part of the awrah/nakedness of the prayer and if uncovered for a full pillar breaks the prayer or the length of saying subhanullah three times then the prayer is broken. 

Therefore, on Fridays I find one thing at Jummah. No drugs in the masjid but plenty of crack on display! One day I might bring some plaster and cover those cracks up. Just joking!

It is also not something you bring up with a brother. Bro, your crack was exposed when you were bowing which breaks your prayer. How did you know? Well, the whole row behind you saw it! Thanks, you put me off my lunch and now that horrible image is implanted in my mind. Stop it! Wear long shirts and cover your backs for goodness sake! If you want to be crack commando then do it where I cannot see you! Wear long shirts that are not see through. When you are in the masjid be careful of approaching anyone except a trusted friend about a mistake.

As it might cause more friction and it almost definitely means that the person will not return to the masjid. Do not argue or make the place of the masjid a fitna. Just get on with your prayer and only help if asked.

Missed

If you miss a prayer then make it up as soon as you realise. Of course praying in its time is better but praying outside the time means the obligation is fulfilled. Some people say you cannot pray now but you can but it does not contain the same benefits. The difference between praying on time and outside its time is the difference between eating lunch when it is warm and eating it after an hour or two. It might still be warm but its taste is not the same when it was warm.

Prayer

Pray dear reader and change your world. Your prayer benefits your house and the people around you. So do not want any longer put that nose on the ground and experience the pleasure of prayer and prostration. 

If you are already praying then try to intensify your worship and concentration in prayer. This can be done by memorising different surahs. Most of all realising your incapability as a servant.

Proof of the five prayers in the Quran from Munyah Al-Musali

by Imam Al-Kashghari

These are the proofs of the prayer from the Quran:

Asr Prayer

According to the opinion of Abdullah ibn Ma’sud (may Allah be pleased with him)

“Guard your prayers and the middle prayer.”

(Surah Al-Baqarah 2.238)

Maghrib, Fajr, Isha and Zuhr

“So glorify Allah when you enter the night and when you enter the morning, unto him be praise in the Heavens and the Earth, at evening and noon.”

(Surah Ar-Rum 30.17-18)

Ibn Abbas says that entering into the night is magrib, entering the morning is fajr, evening is Isha and noon is Zuhr)

Someone who does not pray is not a disbeliever

He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The difference between worship and disbelief, is leaving the prayer.” (Abu Dawud 361, Ibn Majah 1391 and Ahmed 21737.)

Ibn Abbas says disbelief here means ingratitude or rejecting blessing not actual disbelief.