Love of Allah

   Loving Allah is the ultimate aim. Having attained the state of true love for Allah, each stage that follows it is one of its fruits and a branch from its roots - such as longing, intimacy and contentment. Each stage that precedes it - such as repentance, perseverance and doing without.

The most beautiful, the most sincere, the most elevated and the most exalted kind of love is most certainly the love of the One Whom hearts were created to love, and for Whom creation was brought into existence to adore. Allah is the One to Whom hearts turn in love, exhalation and glorification, humility, submission and worship. Such worship cannot be directed towards other than Him. It is the perfection of love accompanied by complete submission and humility. Allah is loved for His own sake in every respect. 

All except Him are loved for the love they give in return. All the revealed Books, and the message of all the Prophets, bear witness to the love that is due towards Him, as does the natural impulse He has created in all His servants, the intellect He has given them, and the blessings He has poured on them.

Hearts, as they mature, come to love whomever is merciful and kind towards them. So how much greater is their love for Him from Whom all kindness springs!

Every good thing enjoyed by His creation is one of His limitless blessings, and He is One with no associates and no partners:

"And whatever good you have - it is from Allah; and then, when misfortune comes to you, you cry to Him for help."

(Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:53)

And also:

"And from among mankind there are some who take for themselves (objects of worship as) rivals to Allah, loving them as they should (only) love Allah. And those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah."

(Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:165)

And also:

"O you who believe, whoever of you becomes a rebel against his deen (know that in his place) Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble towards the believers, harsh towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and not fearing the blame of anyone who blames."

(Qur'an, Al-Maidah 5:54)

The Prophet  has sworn that no servant truly believes until he, (the Prophet ) is more dear to that servant than his own child, father and all of mankind.(Related Bukhari, kitab al-Iman: 1/58 Muslim, kitab al-Iman, 2/15)

The Prophet  also said to Umar ibn al-Khattab, "even until I am more dear to you than your own self". (Related Bukhari, kitab al-Iman wa'n-Nadhur, 11/523)

This means that you are not a true believer until your love for the Prophet Muhammad  reaches this level.

If the Prophet  must take precedence over our own selves; as Allah says:

"The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves."

(Qur'an, Al-Ahzab 33:6)

When it comes to what we love and what this entails, then is not Allah (Most Exalted is He), even more deserving of our love and adoration than our own selves?

Everything that comes from Him to His servants whether it is something that they hate, directs us to love Him. His giving and His withholding, the good fortune and the misfortune that He decrees for His servants and His abasing them and elevating them, His justice and His grace, His giving life and taking it away again, His compassion, generosity and veiling of His servants wrong actions, His forgiveness and patience, His response to His servants' supplications even though He is not in any need of His servants whatsoever - all this invites hearts to worship Him and love Him.

If a Human being were to do the smallest amount of any of these things to another, that person would not be able to restrain his heart from loving him. How can a servant not love, with all his heart and body, the One who is constantly Merciful and Generous towards him in spite of all his wrong actions?

Allah seeks His servants friendship and love by means of His generosity towards him, even though He is not in any need of him. The servant, on the other hand, invites Allah's anger through his disobedience and wrong actions, even though he is in need of His assistance.

Neither Allah's mercy nor His generosity towards the servant deter him from disobeying his Lord. In the same way, neither the servant's disobedience nor his wrong actions deter Allah from granting him His blessings.

Furthermore, while anyone who we love and who loves us may behave like this for personal gain, Allah does so in order to benefit us.

Furthermore, while anyone with whom we trade will not do business with us if he does not make a profit from the transaction - and he will do what he can to make a profit one way or another - Allah (Most Exalted is He) trades with us in order to enable us to make the best and greatest profit for ourselves from our transaction with him. Thus one good deed counts as between ten and seven hundred good deeds, or even more, while a bad deed is recorded as only one bad deed and can be swiftly wiped out.

Allah (Most Exalted is He), in His infinite mercy has created everything for us, both in this world and in the next. Who else then, deserves to be loved and worshipped more than Allah? All that we - and the whole of creation, for that matter - require and need is with Him. He is the Most Generous. He gives His servants more than they need, even before they ask him. He is pleased with even a little right action and increases its rewards. He forgives untold wrong actions and wipes them out. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth supplicates to Him. The multiplicity of things never bewilder Him, nor is He weary by the insistent pleas of His servants. Indeed He is pleased with those who persist in their supplication.

He is ever pleased with His servants who seek His assistance, and He is angry with those who do not. He is displeased when He sees a servant being disobedient and not caring about his actions, and yet He veils His servant's wrong actions while the servant himself does not veil them. He has mercy on His servant while the servant does not have any mercy on himself.

He has called him to His acceptance and mercy through His compassion and generosity - but he declines. He has sent Messengers to him and made His covenant known through them. Allah, even draws near him and says:

"....Is there anyone who is calling on Me, so I may answer his prayer? Is there anyone who is asking of Me, so I may grant his request? Is there anyone who is seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?" (Related by Muslim, Kitab al-Musafirin wa Qasruhu, 6/36)

How then, can our hearts not love Him, the One who - and no other than Him - grants rewards, answers prayers, pardons mistakes, forgives sins, veils wrong actions, dispels grief and drives away sorrow?

He alone, is worthy of remembrance, worship and praise. He is the most generous to be asked, the most liberal to give, the most merciful to pardon, the mightiest to assist and the most dependable to rely on.

He is more merciful to His servant, than a mother is to her baby. He is more pleased by the repentance of the penitent sinner than a man who is overjoyed to find his riding beast, with all his provisions still on its back after he had lost it in a barren land and had given up all hope of survival.

He is pleased with the obedient servant for his obedience, even though it could not have happened without his help and assistance. He pardons and forgives even after He has been disobeyed. And yet, the rights which are due to Him are the ones which are most rejected and neglected.

He is the nearest witness, the most sublime protector, the most true to His Word, and the most just of all Judges. He knows the secrets of the selves:

"There is not an animal of whose forelock He does not have a hold."

(Qur'an, Hud 11:56)

He records the actions and decides the lifetimes of His slaves. To Him, the secrets in the hearts are known and the Unseen revealed. Everyone yearns for Him, faces humble themselves before the Light of His Face, and minds are completely incapable of understanding the Essence of His Being.

Love of Allah the Almighty gives life to the Heart and sustains the soul. The heart experiences no pleasure, nor feels any joy, nor tastes any success - not even life - if it does not have this love. If the heart loses this love, then the loss it suffers is more severe than that of the eye when it is deprived of its sight and the ear when it is deprived of its hearing.

Even worse than this, the decay of the heart when it is devoid of love for its Creator, Source, and True God, is far worse than that of the body when it no longer contains the soul. This truth is only recognised by the people who are alive, for a wound does not pain the dead.

A righteous man once said in a poem:

And love your Lord by serving Him
For lovers are but servants of the Beloved

When she was giving counsel to her children, one of the women of the salaf once said to them, "Make it a habit to love and obey Allah, for those who have taqwah take their obedience to the point where their body experiences aversion for anything other than obedience. If the cursed one (shaytan) tries to tempt them to do something wrong, the wrong actions is ashamed and avoids them because of the way in which it is rejected by them."

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak recited:

You disobey Allah,
and yet you still claim to love Him.
By Allah, such behaviour is disgusting,
by any standard!
You would have obeyed Him had your love been true.
For the lover is always obedient to the Beloved!

References: The Purification of the Soul - Modified  by Nawas Islam.

The Power of DUA !

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Kind

“Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi)”

Imagine your next door neighbor has a personal servant. You find out that the servant is asking for a house, a fancy car, and a large screen TV. Personally speaking, what do you think you would have done in this situation? The most probable thing that would happen is that you would just stare at him blankly. Most likely, the only thing on your mind would be, “His job is to work and just get paid – not to start asking for gifts and free handouts”. Let’s take the scene even further and imagine that not only did the neighbor say yes, but he is encouraging him to ask for more items.
If this was really to happen, any ordinary bystander would have been visibly puzzled at the peculiarity of this scene. However, if we were to look at the scene from a different angle, we might look at it differently. In reality, that scene is very much alike with the connection between Allah (swt) and his servants (except that Allah’s kingdom would not decrease at all, contrary to if we were to give). Allah’s love for His servants can be beautifully summarized in the following Hadith, “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi)”. Another Hadith that talks about the greatness of Dua:
Abu Hurairah narrates from the Prophet (), “In the court of Allah, there is no greater thing than Duaa” (Ibn Majah).
There are benefits of making Dua including:-
1. The loss of arrogance - For someone that makes constant Dua, arrogance is something that is not among their characteristics because when one beseeches Allah, he is affirming his own powerlessness.-
2. The fulfillment of the Dua - Basically, you get what you wanted. For the people that sometimes see that their Duas are not being accepted, there is either the option that the Dua will be accepted later on in this life or in the Hereafter or the option that the Dua will accepted by other means as one Hadith said, Jabir narrates from the Prophet () , “Whoever does duaa to Allah, Allah fulfills his seeking or in exchange averts misfortune until the duaa is not related to sin or breaking some relation.” (Tirmidhi)

Must read example !

One personal example that I can share is that when I was younger, I had wanted to win first place in a Quran competiton and so, I made Dua to Allah (swt) to help me win. Unfortunately, when the day for the competition came, there was another event that was taking place somewhere else and I had to go with my parents to that event instead of the competition. I felt sad because I had really wanted to win that competition and I wondered what happened to my Dua.
Two weeks later, my parents take me to a speech competition and there, I found out that the organizers will also be holding a Quran competition. I signed up for the competition and after participating in it, the awards ceremony started. Before starting, the organizers made a statement that made me awestruck; they said they would like to thank the organizers of a Quran competition that was held two weeks ago because the format of the whole competition was exactly the same as the one held two weeks back. I only became even more awestruck when I found out that I won first place.-
Looking back, I realized that if we make a Dua, Allah (swt) will answer it in the best way possible for us. Therefore, if we do not see our Dua being accepted immediately, we should not despair because either it will help us against some misfortune, or it might be accepted later…
3. The doors of mercy are opened - Abdullah bin Umar narrated that the Prophet () said, “For whoever the door of Dua opened, for him the doors of mercy are opened…” (Tirmidhi)-
4. It has the power to change destiny (only the minor Qadr - not major ones such as the signs of the Day of Judgment) - Salman Farsi narrated that the Prophet() said, “Dua turns away destiny and good deeds lengthen age” . (Tirmidhi)

There are certain things that one should keep in mind concerning the Dua:

1. The Prophet once said, “Dua is Ibadah” (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Abu Dawud). Since it is a type of worship, it is something that we must always do. This is even to the extent that the Prophet () said, “Allah is extremely displeased with the person who doesn’t do duaa to Allah” (Tirmidhi).
2. As mentioned before, the Dua must always be done. Nowadays, we only say our Duas when hardship befalls us and is the last resort, when all else has failed. However, this should not be the case as the Prophet () said, Whosoever desires that Allah answers his Duas in unfavorable and difficult conditions, he should make plentiful dua in days of ease and comfort.”
3. Try making Dua for others because if you do so, the same thing may also occur to you too. There are certain ayahs in the Quran such as the last Ayah in Surah Nuh, the meaning of which is,
“O my Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in Faith, and (all) believing men and believing women: and to the wrong-doers grant Thou no increase but in perdition!”.
If you are to recite this verse, then you get a sin erased for every Muslim living in this world. Also, the Prophet () said, ”Duaa for a person not present is accepted quickly by Allah”.
4. Have complete conviction that Allah will accept the Dua, because if you don’t, then there is a high chance it won’t be accepted. The Prophet () said, “When anyone of you does Dua then don’t say “Oh Allah! Forgive me if you want“, “Have mercy on me if you want“, “Give me subsistence if you wish” rather believe completely that HE will do whatever HE wishes. Nobody can force Him.” (Bukhari)
5. The best times to make Dua is when one is in Sujood, the times between Adhan and Iqamah, as well as at other times as indicated by the following Hadith in which the Prophet () said, “Three types of people’s Duas are not rejected:
1) At the time of Iftar the person who has fasted.
2) Adil ruler’s Dua.
3) The Dua of the oppressed. Allah raises the Dua of the oppressed on the clouds and the doors of heaven are opened for it and Allah says, “Oath of MY Majesty and Honor! I will help and aid you. Even though if the help is after few days.” (Tirmidhi)
Another Hadith listed another three in which the Prophet () said, Three Duas are such in which there is no doubt of their acceptance:
1) Father’s Dua
2) Traveler’s Dua
3) Dua of the oppressed”. (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
By: Arif Kabir
http://www.iamamuslim.org/2007/11/the-power-of-dua/

May the above information strengthen your resolve to make more Duas and may it benefit you in many ways.

Ameen…

The Green Color in The Quran

The word greenness iIs mentioned several times in the verses of the Quran; describing the state of the inhabitants of paradise, and what surrounds them of blessings in a luxury atmosphere of happiness, amusement and reassurance.

For instance :

Allah says in the holly Quran : (Reclining on green Cushions and rich Carpets of beauty) (SURAH AL RAHMAN:76).

Allah says in the holly Quran: ( Upon them will be green Garments of fine silk and heavy brocade, and they will be adorned with bracelets of silver; and their Lord will give to them to drink of a Wine Pure and Holy) (SURAH AL INSAN:21)

Allah says in the holly Quran :( They will recline on Carpets, whose inner linings will be of rich brocade: the Fruit of the Gardens will be near (and easy of reach))(SURAH AL RAHMAN:54).

A psychologist called Ardtcham stated that colours exert a marked influence on humans. In order to prove this idea a number of experiments have been conducted, demonstrating how colours affect our enthusiasm and wariness, it also gives a cold or warm feeling, brings happiness and sadness and have an impact on our personality and the way we see life.

Nowadays hospitals weigh up the role colours play in changing the inner of human beings, by taking into account the specialists suggestions about the colours that should be used inside hospitals for the walls and clothing.

Trials have indicated the stimulation of the nervous system by the yellow colour. The orange brings reassurance and calm, The blue makes people feel cold unlike the red which makes them feel warm. However, it was found that the colour of joy and happiness is the green, which makes it the favourite colour for surgical rooms and surgeon’s uniform.

One example concerning this tremendous effects colours have, comes to our minds, concerning the experiment that was carried in a London bridge called “black friar” known as the suicide bridge, as many of the suicides were committed from it. When its colour was changed from grey to a nice green colour the rate of suicide has declined enormously.

It is known that the green colour eases the vision due to its small vision area in addition to its medium wave length which is shorter than the red one and longer that the blue one.

The Journey to Mecca

when his beautiful son Ismail was born to his wife Siti Hajar, Ibrahim was instructed by Allah to leave his home, taking Siti Hajar and Ismail with him. they travelled for a long time until they reached a lonely, barren valley near two small hills called Safa and Marwah, a place we now know as Mecca. in those days the Mecca was a dry, desolate, and barren place. Ibrahim was order to leave his wife and child there, providing them only a leather bag containing some dates and water-skin.

Ibrahim started walking back, Siti Hajar followed him and saying "Where are you going, leaving us behind in this valley where there is no living being or anything else?". she repeated that question many times, and Ibrahim did not give any reply to her. then she asked again "Has ALLAH commanded you to do this?" He replied "Yes". then Siti Hajar said to him "Then, He will not let us be destroyed here." saying this, she returned to where he had left her.
Ibrhim went on until he came to narrow pass of a mountain where be could hardly be seen by them. he stopped there and faced the direction of the sacred house, raised his hands and invoke this prayer.
"Our God! I have settled some of my offspring in a valley without any cultivation, by your Sacred House, Our God! So they may establish regular prayers. So make the hearts of people yearn towards them, an provide them with sustenance that they may be grateful"
[Surah Ibrahim: 37]

The Discovery of The Well of Zamzam

After a while, little baby Ismail began to cry for a water to drink. Siti Hajar ran helplessly from one hill to another (Safa and Marwah hills) seven times to look for water to drink. she collasped beside her baby Ismail and prayed to God for deliverance.
Ibnu Abbas narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "That is the origin of walking between these two mountains."

distance of Safa and Marwah Hills

Safa ang Marwah hills

then, ALLAH caused a miracle: a spring gushed forth from beneath the feet of Ismail. Known as The Well of Zamzam.

The Well of Zamzam

The depth of The Well of Zamzam

source of the water

A Speacial Dream
when Ibrhim migrated from his land and people, he asked ALLAH to grant him a pious son and ALLAH gave him glad tidings of pious son, named Ismail. Ismail was his first-born son, and he was born after Ibrahim had reached the aged of sixty-six years old. when Ismail grew to be fine young boy (13 years old), Ibrahim (99 years old) had a dream that he was being commanded to sacrificed him. he talked to his son, Ismail about this dream.

"Ibrahim said: "O my son! I see in a dream that I offer you in sacrifice, so tell me what is your view?" [Surah al Soffat:102]

but his son was a brave boy and he said to his father

"O my father! Do as you are commanded, you will find me, if ALLAH so wills, one of patient" [Surah al-Soffat:103]

during the preparation, satan (syaitan) tempted Ibrahim and his family by trying to dissuade them from carrying out God's commandment, and Ibrahim and Ismail drove satan away by throwing pebbles at him. In commemoration of their rejection of satan, stones are thrown during Hajj. (Melontar Jamrah)

when both father and son had shown their perfect obedience to ALLAH and they had practically demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice their most precious possessions for His sake - Ibrahim by laying down hsi son Ismail patiently under the knife - ALLAH called out to them stating that his sincere intentions had been accepted, and that he need not carry out the killing of Ismail. instead, Obrahim wa told to replace his on with a ram to sacrifice instead.

a ram

ALLAH also told them that they had passed the test imposed upon them by his willingness to carry out God's command.
As a reward for this scrifices. ALLAH granted Ibrahim the good news of the birth of his second son Ishak.

Building The Ka'bah
Ibrahim and his son Ismail were asked to build the House (Ka'bah) and gave them guidance on how they should carry it out. they took stone from nearby hills and started to work.

Ibrahim prayed for this noble land and its inhabitants:

"And when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundation of the House, praying: Our God! Accept this from us, surely, You are the All Hearing, All Knowing. Our God! Make us submit to your Will, and raise from our offspring a nation which wil submit to Your Will, and show us the place of our rites (for pilgrimage) and turn to us in mercy."
[Surah al-Baqarah: 127-128]

they also prayed for the prophet to be born from among them, from their own people, who could teach them about ALLAH. their prayer was answered, a prophet was sent to them. His messeges for all people, regardless of the language that they spoke and no matter what colour they were. His name was Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muhammad was from the descendants of Ismail. he was the Seal of all Prophet and the final Messenger from ALLAH to all of humanity.


The First Invitation to Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Ibrahim was ordered by ALLAH to purify the Ka'bah for those who came to worship, and to call people to pilgrimage. today, millions of people come every year to answer to the original call of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Muhammad saw. since then, all Muslims from every part of the worls are obliged to perform pilgrimage once in a life time provided that their means and health permit them.
ibadah korban dilakukan bg mengingati peristiwa Nabi Ibrahim dan Nabi Ismail


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