Monday, April 18, 2011

tornadoesssss

call me weird, but experiencing twisters have always been one of my dreams since several times reading the wizard of oz. if not dream then, err, call it.. erm, interest? and to survive to tell the tale of course, however unlikely that may be. Leena if you're reading this, you're welcome to join me L!=P

the US tornado in the last few days brought another natural reminders for us. alhamdulillah the world is full of reminders. alhamdulillah we're still alive. another chance to edit our accounts and protect ourselves from the final judgement.

to see the strong wind being formed, fast. the dust folded. the gravity sucking things into its empty hollow middle, then thrashing them far back onto the earth, out of its way. the strength.leaving crops wasted and plants uprooted. amazing nature's work of art, bi iznillah.

imagine if all that you've worked for, all these years, destroyed in a split of a second. would u be crying just like those who did? sometimes we cry when we did bad during the exams. sometimes we cry when our house's broken in to, with furniture and electronics gone. sometimes we cry when a beloved dies. gone are the things we've worked hard for, invested much energy, time and wealth in.

its beautiful how the al qur'an uses the destroying wind to illustrate the parables of life.

10:24-25; Verily, the parable of the life of the world is as the water which We send down from the sky; so by it arises the intermingled produce of the earth of which men and cattle eat: until when the earth is clad in its adornments and is beautified, and its people think that they have all the powers of disposal over it, Our command reaches it by night or by day and We make it like a clean-mown harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday! Thus do We explain the Ayat in detail for the people who reflect.Allah calls to the Abode of Peace (Paradise) and guides whom He wills to the straight path.



18: 45-46;

 And mention the parable of the worldly life: it is like the water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green. But (later) it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter. And Allah is able to do everything.



let not our deeds, have the same fate as the worldly life. 
janganlah amalan baik kita dihapuskan oleh dosa.
janganlah kita ingat ia x apa, rupa rupanya tidak.
Ya zaljalaaliwal ikram, amitnaa 'ala deenil islam.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Alhamdulillah For Everything


These two photos caught my eye just now, from the Alhamdulillah For Everything page on facebook.   
Feel like sharing.

The Major Sins
--Al-Kaba'r--

The major sins are those acts which have been forbidden by Allah in the Quran and by His Messenger (SAW) in the Sunnah (practise of the Prophet), and which have been made clear by the actions of of the first righteous generation of Muslims, the Companions of the Prophet (SAW).

Allah Most High says in His Glorious Book:

If you avoid the major (part) of what you have been forbidden (to do), We will cancel out for you your (other) evil deeds and will admit you (to Paradise) with a noble entry. (al-Nisa 4:31)

Thus by this verse, Allah Most High has guaranteed the Garden of Paradise to those who avoid the major sins. And Allah Most High also says:

Those who avoid the greatest of sins and indecencies, and forgive when they are angry (al-Shra 42:37) Those who avoid the greatest sins and indecencies, except for oversights, (will find that) surely your Lord is ample in forgiveness. (Al-Najm 53:32)

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "The five [daily] prayers, Friday to Friday, and Ramadan to Ramadan make atonement for what has happenned since the previous one when major sins have been avoided." It is therefore very important to determine exactly what the greatest vices, technically called "the major sins" (Kaba'ir), are, in order that Muslims should avoid them.

There is some difference of opinion among scholars in this regard. Some say these major sins are seven, and in support of their position they quote the tradition: "Avoid the seven noxious things"- and after having said this, the propeht (SAW) mentioned them: "associating anything with Allah; magic; killing one whom Allah has declared inviolate without a just case, consuming the property of an orphan, devouring usury, turning back when the army advances, and slandering chaste women who are believers but indiscreet." (Bukhari and Muslim)

'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas said: "Seventy is closer to their number than seven," and indeed that is correct. The above tradition does not limit the major sins to those mentioned in it. Rather, it points to the type of sins which fall into the category of "major." These include those crimes which call for a prescribed punishment (HADD; plural, HUDUD), such as theft, fornication or adultery (ZINA), and murder; those prohibited acts for which a warning of a severe punishment in the Next is given in the Qur'an or the tradition; and also those deeds which are cursed by our Prophet (SAW). These are all major sins.

Of course, there is a gradation among them, since some are more serious than others. We see that the Prophet (SAW) has included SHIRK (associating someone or something with Allah) among them, and from the text of the Qur'an we know that a person who commits SHIRK will not his sin be forgiven and will remain in Hell forever.

Allah Most High says: Surely, Allah does not forgive associating anything with Him, and He forgives whatever is other than that to whomever He wills. (al-Nisa 4:48 and 116)

01. Associating anything with Allah
02. Murder
03. Practising magic
04. Not Praying
05. Not paying Zakat
06. Not fasting on a Day of Ramadan without excuse
07. Not performing Hajj, while being able to do so
08. Disrespect to parents
09. Abandoning relatives
10. Fornication and Adultery
11. Homosexuality(sodomy)
12. Interest(Riba)
13. Wrongfully consuming the property of an orphan
14. Lying about Allah and His Messenger
15. Running away from the battlefield
16. A leader's deceiving his people and being unjust to them
17. Pride and arrogance
18. Bearing false witness
19. Drinking Khamr (wine)
20. Gambling
21. Slandering chaste women
22. Stealing from the spoils of war
23. Stealing
24. Highway Robbery
25. Taking false oath
26. Oppression
27. Illegal gain
28. Consuming wealth acquired unlawfully
29. Committing suicide
30. Frequent lying
31. Judging unjustly
32. Giving and Accepting bribes
33. Woman's imitating man and man's imitating woman
34. Being cuckold
35. Marrying a divorced woman in order to make her lawful for the husband
36. Not protecting oneself from urine
37. Showing-off
38. Learning knowledge of the religion for the sake of this world and concealing that knowledge
39. Bertrayal of trust
40. Recounting favours
41. Denying Allah's Decree
42. Listening (to) people's private conversations
43. Carrying tales
44. Cursing
45. Breaking contracts
46. Believing in fortune-tellers and astrologers
47. A woman's bad conduct towards her husband
48. Making statues and pictures
49. Lamenting, wailing, tearing the clothing, and doing other things of this sort when an affliction befalls
50. Treating others unjustly
51. Overbearing conduct toward the wife, the servant, the weak, and animals
52. Offending one's neighbour
53. Offending and abusing Muslims
54. Offending people and having an arrogant attitude toward them
55. Trailing one's garment in pride
56. Men's wearing silk and gold
57. A slave's running away from his master
58. Slaughtering an animal which has been dedicated to anyone other than Allah
59. To knowingly ascribe one's paternity to a father other than one's own
60. Arguing and disputing violently
61. Witholding excess water
62. Giving short weight or measure
63. Feeling secure from Allah's Plan
64. Offending Allah's righteous friends
65. Not praying in congregation but praying alone without an excuse
66. Persistently missing Friday Prayers without any excuse
67. Unsurping the rights of the heir through bequests
68. Deceiving and plotting evil
69. Spying for the enemy of the Muslims
70. Cursing or insulting any of the Companiions of Allah's Messenger

Excellence of giving up Elegant Clothes for Humility

1. Mu`adh bin Anas (May ALLAH be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of ALLAH (PBUH) said, "Whoever gives up wearing elegant and expensive garments out of humbleness, when he can do so, ALLAH will call him on the Day of Resurrection and before all the creations, He will give him the choice to wear whichever garment of Iman he would like to wear.'' [At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary: To adopt humility and not to assert superiority over others, according to this Hadith, is an excellent act with ALLAH. `The clothes of Iman' imply those special clothings of Jannah that ALLAH has prepared for sincere believers only.

Excellence of Adopting Moderation in Dress

2. `Amr bin Shu`aib on the authority of his father and grandfather reported: Messenger of ALLAH (PBUH) said, "ALLAH loves to see the sign of His Bounties on his slave.'' [At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary: A simple dress is commendable if one wears it as a gesture of humility wining ALLAH's Pleasure. Yet, to zealously pursue the goal of goodness, to extend a helping hand to the indigent and the needy, to behave favourably towards one's relatives and to wear a fine dress as a manifestation of ALLAH's Favours are equally good acts of high merit. A fine dress is not impeachable in itself but it becomes so, if worn with an air of arrogance and self-importance. On the other hand, an expression of Divine bounty makes it praiseworthy. In other words, it is the intention which makes an act good or bad. Alongside the practice of the example of Messenger of ALLAH (PBUH), the sincerity of action and making right intention, therefore, become indispensable.