حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْأَشَجُّ حَدَّثَنَا عُقْبَةُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَعْدٍ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْـمَرْزُبَانِ عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ قَالَ حِينَ يُمْسِي (رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا) كَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُرْضِيَهُ (سنن الترمذي - (ج 11 / ص 249)

Sayyidina Thaubaan radhiallahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: Whoever recites the above-mentioned Du’aa in the evening, it is a right upon Allah that He (Allah) pleases him. (Tirmidhi)

Translation of the Du’aa: I am pleased with Allah as (my) Lord, with Islam as (my) religion, and with Mohammed as (my) Messenger.

To be pleased with Allah as Lord means to accept that He is the One Allah who created us and cares for us, and we are pleased with all His decisions at all times.

To be pleased with Islam means that we accept Islam as the chosen religion of Allah for us, we happily accept all the laws of Islam, and we practice on it to the best of our ability.

To be pleased with Nabi Mohammed sallallahu alaihi wa sallam as the messenger means that although we accept all the other messengers of Allah as true messengers, we believe Nabi Mohammed sallallahu alaihi wa sallam to be the final messenger of Allah. He was chosen as the final messenger and was a practical guide of Islam to us. It is our duty to follow in his footsteps. The person who follows him will become the beloved of Allah.

If a person has these three qualities in him, Allah will become pleased with him and grant him so much reward that the person will also become happy and pleased. May Allah Ta’aala grant us all this type of belief. Aameen.

We are very fortunate to be among the Ummah of Nabi Mohammed sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. This Ummah is the most blessed and our Nabi is the most beloved of Allah. According to the Ahaadeeth, he will be the leader of mankind on the Day of Qiyaamah. He will be the first person to intercede on the Day of Qiyaamah and his intercession will be the first to be accepted. In addition, he will be the Nabi with the most followers. How fortunate we are that we are his followers. We will benefit from his intercession, Inshaa Allah. The door of Jannah will be opened first for him. People from this Ummah will be the first to enter Jannah.

However, remember, all these benefits depend on love and obedience to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Love for the Nabi is love for Allah. If we truly love Allah, then we will not hesitate to love and obey Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

It is our duty to recite Salawaat on Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam regularly and in abundance. We should always say Sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam when hearing or taking his blessed name.

Hold firmly on to the Sunnah and become the beloved of Allah Ta’aala and His Rasool sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. May Allah guide us towards His eternal pleasure. Aameen.    

رَبَّنّا تّوّفَّنّا مُسْلِمـاً وَّ اَلْـحِقْنَا بالصَّالِـحِيْنَ

O Allah! Grant us our death as Muslims, and join us with the pious ones. Aameen.

َ أخْرَجَ أبو نعيْم عَنْ جَابر قَال: قَالَ رَسولُ الله صلَّى الله عَليْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ:

مَن مَاتَ لَيْلة الْجُمُعةِ أوْ يَوم الْجُمُعةِ أجِيْر مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقبْرِ وَ جَآءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامةِ وَ عَلَيْه طَابِع الشُّهَدَاء ،

(شرح الصدور بشرح حال الْمؤتى و الْقبور للسيوطى ص 136

Sayyidina Jaabir radhiallahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: “Whoever dies Thursday night or Friday will be freed from punishment of the grave and will appear on the Day of Qiyaamat with the stamp of the martyrs on him.” (Sharhus Sudoor p 136)

AARIF BILLAAH HADHRAT MOULANA SHAAH HAKEEM MOHAMMED AKHTAR SAHEB RENDERED THE FOLLOWING ADVICE:

A child is in absolute comfort and ease in the lap of its mother. If someone grabs the child from the lap of the mother, what does that child undergo? It becomes restless in the remembrance of the parents. Remember that the love of a mother is also creation (created by Allah). No one has a continual concern about our well-being besides Allah. Mercy of parents (on their children) is not of their own initiative but an endowment from Allah.

If Allah removes this quality from them, they will not express mercy on their children.

When Calcutta was stricken with drought and people were dying because there was no food, parents slaughtered their own children and ate them. When the trains passed through 'Bawra', skeletons of these children were seen strewn around. Thus, there is no reliance in the love of anyone.

We have also seen such offspring who wish the death of their parents. They plan and scheme the murder of their parents. We have also heard of such wives who poisoned their husbands so that they could marry other men.

There is no trust, no reliance on the love of anyone, except the love of Allah who is with us on this earth and also when we are in it (in life and death).

There is no one in this universe more loyal, more worthy of love, more beloved, One who keeps us in comfort, than Allah.

Those who erroneously think that there is enjoyment and pleasure in gazing at women and in their song and dance, should question those who are involved in these types of illicit relationships. Place a Qur'aan Shareef on their heads and ask them how their lives are? They will take an oath and admit that "since we have discarded fasting and Salaah, we have become distanced from Allah, we are burning in Jahannam."

Poem:
Alas! How gloomy is the world of the sinner
Filled with celestial lights is the world of the pious ones

Even the kings (although they possess wealth and glory, but are disobedient to Allah) are deprived of the peace and tranquillity possessed by those close to Allah.

Poem:
The heavy crowns on the heads of the kings mostly causes headaches
In the hearts of the faithful flows a river of Noor

In the hearts of those who are obedient to Allah, flows a river of celestial light and peace.

May Allah Ta'aala make us from among them, Aameen.

Translated by Moulana Yusuf Laher

Ramadaan, the most important month of our calendar is a tremendous gift from Allah to uplift and empower muslims. The most important message of Ramadaan is that we are not just body but body and soul. And that's what makes us human beings and that determines our value as human beings is the soul and not the body. During Ramadaan we deprive the body to uplift the soul. Ramadaan liberates us from all of this. Taking a break from the endless and futile pursuit of happiness in sensory pleasures helps to rediscover our inner self that has been buried deep under it. Devoting our time to the reading of the Qur'an, to extra prayers and supplications to Allah allow us to reflect and review the direction of our lives and establish priorities.

And amongst His innumerable blessings is that our bodies automatically receive a wealth of physical health benefits while we spiritually uplift our soul.

Rest and Rejuvenation
The entire digestive tract from the mouth down the stomach, liver, pancreas and intestines is at rest during the fast. Organs rested this way have time to repair and renew themselves for sustained work with renewed vigour.

Detoxification
The food we consume gives us life-sustaining nutrition as well as toxic by-products which are excreted in urine, stool and sweat. The detoxification process is undertaken by the liver which has ample time to catch up with its pending work during the hours of fasting.

Prevention of cell choking
Each cell in the body is a chemical factory. By the constant supply of digested products, the cell gets ‘choked’, and fasting gives it ample time to clear pending work.

Weight loss
Fasting leads to modest weight loss which results in a host of benefits like improvement in blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep, atherosclerosis, heart diseases, lung diseases, obesity, digestive disorders, fatty liver, infertility and prevention of heart attacks and strokes.

However, these benefits only come to those who adhere to their fasts the way it has been laid out in the Noble Qu’ran and Ahadith (Prophetic traditions) and not to those who fast all day and feast all night, as fasting in Ramadaan has widely become prevalent these days. Islam’s prescription of month-long fasting if done correctly, can act as an insurance against the obesity pandemic overtaking our society.

Tuning and Toning
During fasting, every day the glycogen storage in the liver gets depleted during the day and replenished in the night. Similarly, the dormant fat in the body cells gets renewed. This dormant fat is committed into active participation of energy generation.

Mental acuity and stamina
Fasting also improves mental acuity as well as increasing the physical and mental stamina of the fasting person. The more athletes practice, the more stamina they acquire. Fasting works the same way; making the body get used to working without the instant gratification provided by food and drink.

Doctor’s advice
Kindly break your fast with some dates, fruit and juice for instant energy, drink water and take a small, bland and easily digestible meal like porridge. Take your usual night meal and do not make your Sehri (pre dawn meal) too heavy or too light. Make sure to drink water at regular intervals. (Dr Ashraf Ali)

We wish all our readers, friends, certified plants, staff members, associates and Muslims the world over, a fulfilling Ramadaan of prayer, peace and contentment.
Ramadaan Mubarak