Salaam everyone,

Belief in Angels is one of the 6 pillars upon which faith (Imaan) is built in Islam...the other 5 being:--belief in Allah as One (Our Creator, the Only One worthy of Worship), belief in His Messengers, belief in Allah's Scriptures or Books, the Last of which is the Holy Qur'an, belief in the Last Day/Judgement Day and belief in Qadar (Fate).

Just who are Angels, how were they created and what is the nature of their worship? For answers to these and more, open the booklet hereby attached and find out...

Best Regards.

complete_creation_of_angels.pdf

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Assalam alaykum,

Narrated by Sayyidina Abdullah Ibn Busr, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, saying, "Glad tidings are for him who finds Istighfar in abundance in his record of deeds". [ibn Majah, vol. 4, No. 3818]

In the Light of this Noble Hadith, we should endeavour to recite/say/offer lots of Istighfar (Repent/Repentance) daily, and seek the pardon of our Lord, Allah, Exalted is He.

Salaam everyone,

May I have the pleasure of sharing with you the attached famous Hadith of Jibreel, may Allah be pleased with him, for your perusal. It contains some deep knowledge, and an analysis of this particular Hadith by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen bring out even more pearls contained therein. Enjoy and share it around.

Many Regards.

Hadeeth%20of%20Jibreel.pdf

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Assalam alaikum,

A certain Shaykh once said that "There are four (4) kinds of thought: form God, from an Angel, from Self and from the Devil. The thought which is from God is an admonition; that from an angel an urge to Obedience; that from the Self the quest of lust; from the devil the bedizenment of disobedience". -- Mind those thoughts that come over to you, and gauge them accordingly.

For further reading, see

"The Doctrine Of The Sufis", Translated from Arabic to English

by Arthur John Arberry.

http://abdurrahman.org/seerah/storyofboyandking.html

by Imâm Ibn Kathîr







Imam Ahmad recorded from Suhayb that the Messenger of Allah said:
Among the people who came before you, there was a king who had a sorcerer, and when that sorcerer became old, he said to the king, "I have become old and my time is nearly over, so please send me a boy whom I can teach magic.'' So, he sent him a boy and the sorcerer taught him magic. Whenever the boy went to the sorcerer, he sat with a monk who was on the way and listened to his speech and admired them. So, when he went to the sorcerer, he passed by the monk and sat there with him; and on visiting the sorcerer the latter would thrash him. So, the boy complained about this to the monk. The monk said to him, "Whenever you are afraid of the sorcerer, say to him: `My people kept me busy.' And whenever you are afraid of your people, say to them: `The sorcerer kept me busy.''' So the boy carried on like that (for some time). Then a huge terrible creature appeared on the road and the people were unable to pass by. The boy said, "Today I shall know whether the sorcerer is better or the monk is better.'' So, he took a stone and said, "O Allah! If the deeds and actions of the monk are liked by You better than those of the sorcerer, then kill this creature so that the people can cross (the road).'' Then he struck it with a stone killing it and the people passed by on the road.

The boy came to the monk and informed him about it. The monk said to him, "O my son! Today you are better than I, and you have achieved what I see! You will be put to trial. And in case you are put to trial, do not inform (them) about me.''The boy used to treat the people suffering from congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. There was a courtier of the king who had become blind and he heard about the boy. He came and brought a number of gifts for the boy and said, "All these gifts are for you on the condition that you cure me.'' The boy said, <span>"I do not cure anybody; it is only Allah who cures people. So, if you believe in Allah and supplicate to Him, He will cure you.'' </span>So, he believed in and supplicated to Allah, and Allah cured him.

Later, the courtier came to the king and sat at the place where he used to sit before. The king said, "Who gave you back your sight''The courtier replied, "My Lord.'' The king then said, "I did'' The courtier said, "No, my Lord and your Lord - Allah'' The king said, "Do you have another Lord beside me'' The courtier said, "Yes, your Lord and my Lord is Allah.'' The king tortured him and did not stop until he told him about the boy. So, the boy was brought to the king and he said to him, "O boy! Has your magic reached to the extent that you cure congenital blindness, leprosy and other diseases''He said, " I do not cure anyone. Only Allah can cure.'' The king said, "Me'' The boy replied, "No.'' The king asked, "Do you have another Lord besides me''The boy answered, " My Lord and your Lord is Allah.'' So, he tortured him also until he told about the monk. Then the monk was brought to him and the king said to him, "Abandon your religion.'' The monk refused and so the king ordered a saw to be brought which was placed in the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two. Then it was said to the man who used to be blind, "Abandon your religion.'' He refused to do so, and so a saw was brought and placed in the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two. Then the boy was brought and it was said to him, "Abandon your religion.'' He refused and so the king sent him to the top of such and such mountain with some people. He told the people, "Ascend up the mountain with him till you reach its peak, then see if he abandons his religion; otherwise throw him from the top.'' They took him and when they ascended to the top, he said, " O Allah! Save me from them by any means that You wish.''
So, the mountain shook and they all fell down and the boy came back walking to the king. The king said, " What did your companions (the people I sent with you) do'' The boy said, "Allah saved me from them.'' So, the king ordered some people to take the boy on a boat to the middle of the sea, saying, "If he renounces his religion (well and good), but if he refuses, drown him.'' So, they took him out to sea and he said, "O Allah! Save me from them by any means that you wish.'' So they were all drowned in the sea.

Then the boy returned to the king and the king said, "What did your companions do'' The boy replied, "Allah, saved me from them.'' Then he said to the king, "You will not be able to kill me until you do as I order you. And if you do as I order you, you will be able to kill me.'' The king asked, "And what is that'' The boy said, "Gather the people in one elevated place and tie me to the trunk of a tree; then take an arrow from my quiver and say: `In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy.' If you do this, you will be able to kill me.'' So he did this, and placing an arrow in the bow, he shot it, saying, "In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy.'' The arrow hit the boy in the temple, and the boy placed his hand over the arrow wound and died. The people proclaimed, "We believe in the Lord of the boy!'’ Then it was said to the king, "Do you see what has happened That which you feared has taken place. By Allah, all the people have believed (in the Lord of the boy).''So he ordered that ditches be dug at the entrances to the roads and it was done, and fires were kindled in them. Then the king said, "Whoever abandons his religion, let him go, and whoever does not, throw him into the fire.'' They were struggling and scuffling in the fire, until a woman and her baby whom she was breast feeding came and it was as if she was being somewhat hesitant of falling into the fire, so her baby said to her,"Be patient mother! For verily, you are following the truth!'')

Muslim also recorded this Hadith at the end of the Sahih. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar related this story in his book of Sirah in another way that has some differences from that which has just been related. Then, after Ibn Ishaq explained that the people of Najran began following the religion of the boy after his murder, which was the religion of Christianity, he said, "Then (the king) Dhu Nuwas came to them with his army and called them to Judaism. He gave them a choice to either accept Judaism or be killed, so they chose death. Thus, he had a ditch dug and burned (some of them) in the fire (in the ditch), while others he killed with the sword. He made an example of them (by slaughtering them) until he had killed almost twenty thousand of them. It was about Dhu Nuwas and his army that Allah revealed to His Messenger :







(Cursed were the People of the Ditch. Of fire fed with fuel. When they sat by it. And they witnessed what they were doing against the believers. And they had no fault except that they believed in Allah, the Almighty, Worthy of all praise! To Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allah is Witness over everything.) (85:4-9)


This is what Muhammad bin Ishaq said in his book of Sirah -- that the one who killed the People of the Ditch was Dhu Nuwas, and his name was Zur`ah. In the time of his kingdom he was called Yusuf. He was the son of Tuban As`ad Abi Karib, who was the Tubba` who invaded Al-Madinah and put the covering over the Ka`bah. He kept two rabbis with him from the Jews of Al-Madinah. After this some of the people of Yemen accepted Judaism at the hands of these two rabbis, as Ibn Ishaq mentions at length. So Dhu Nuwas killed twenty thousand people in one morning in the Ditch. Only one man among them escaped. He was known as Daws Dhu Tha`laban. He escaped on a horse and they set out after him, but they were unable to catch him. He went to Caesar, the emperor of Ash-Sham. So, Caesar wrote to An-Najashi, the King of Abyssinia. So, he sent with him an army of Abyssinian Christians, who were lead by Aryat and Abrahah. They rescued Yemen from the hands of the Jews. Dhu Nuwas tried to flee but eventually fell into the sea and drowned. After this, the kingdom of Abyssinia remained under Christian power for seventy years. Then the power was divested from the Christians by Sayf bin Dhi Yazin Al-Himyari when Kisra, the king of Persia sent an army there (to Yemen). He (the king) sent with him (Sayf Al-Himyari) those people who were in the prisons, and they were close to seven hundred in number. So, he (Sayf Al-Himyari) conquered Yemen with them and returned the kingdom back to the people of Himyar (Yemenis).

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http://www.islawmix.org/the-man-too-hand...who-wasnt/

May 3, 2013 1:33 am





Saudi Arabia often makes US (and international) headlines for its laws (legal mishaps?) regarding women, sex and religious minorities. Some of these stories undoubtedly belong there, but a surprising number gain traction thanks to a small amount of research and suspension of critical engagement. It seems that when it comes to Saudi Arabia (and sometimes her theocratic counterpart Iran, albeit less so), the more bizarre the story may seem – in that way only the Saudi Arabia of our perception could normalize – the more believable it is.


News and blog media have a particular penchant for covering ridiculous, often inaccurate and even false fatwas (here's our quick definition and a more nuanced discussion on it). And in August 2012, the internet went into a bit of an uproar over the alleged building of an all-female city to promote women's participation in the workforce. Unfortunately, the dreams of the impending matriarchy were dashed when it was eventually revealed that the city was for both men and women, but created facilities specific for women to encourage their participation.


So, what's the latest Saudi Arabia headline wreaking havoc across the internet?


You have most probably heard by now that three Emirati men were allegedly thrown out of a cultural Janadriyah Festival by the Saudi religious police (pl. mutawaeen) for “being too handsome.” Most reports, however, have claimed the three men were actually deported from the Kingdom, itself, for their ‘seductive' lure that was apparently going to send the attending women into an incontrollable hormonal flux. Fementertainment blog, Jezebel, was amongst the first to reveal the identity of one of the alleged Emirati men, Omar Borkan Al Gala – a photographer, model, actor and poet. The internet went into self-fanning mode as several images of the young man went viral and thousands clamored to follow him on social media websites.


Unfortunately, no one in the English press bothered to actually fact check the story.


As it turns out, three men were not, in fact, deported from Saudi Arabia. Actually, no one was deported from Saudi Arabia and certainly not for being too handsome. And, actually, no one was even kicked out of the heritage and cultural festival except for a member of the religious police for protesting against the presence of a Gulf female singer. According to UK’s Al-Arab:


<div style="margin-left:25px">A member of the Saudi feared religious police, known as Mutawa, stormed the UAE pavilion at National Festival for Heritage and Culture, also known as Al Janadriyah, but was forced out by the Gulf Kingdom’s national guards.


The incident took place when the Mutawa member objected to the presence of the Emirati singer Aryam in her country’s pavilion.


A brief U-Tube film showed several guards surround the member of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice before they escorted him out of the pavilion at the annual festival in the Saudi capital Riyadh.




And that's it.


There was, indeed, an incident involving Al Gala (and apparently him alone): according to the head of the mutawaeen, Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Sheikh (Arabic source), Al Gala had made his way into the family section of the event and was dancing inappropriately. Several complaints were made against him and he was taken aside by members of the national guard, questioned and that was it. He was not asked to leave the event, let alone the country. It turns out his uncomfortable dancing and not his uncomfortably good looks were the reason for some cause for concern and discomfort at the festival.


Al Gala has yet to deny the story and would probably find little reason to do so considering the amount of fame he is now enjoying as The Man Too Handsome for Saudi Arabia, which has helped boost his online personality as well as his career. It should also be noted that some of the sources who were the first to report, in Arabic, that three men were removed from the festival/deported from Saudi Arabia are no longer found online.


While the laughs and light-hearted news from the oil lands of strife are being welcomed by news readers and makers as a nice departure from the usual headlines, this sort of misreporting is not only common but feeds into dangerous and reductionist stereotypes of Muslims and Muslim countries, especially as these stereotypes relate to gender and sexuality's interplay with Islamic law. Somewhere the story of an awkward dancer making families uncomfortable and the story of a member of the religious police being removed from the same festival crossed paths to create a ‘sexy' news story that just made sense enough for the imagined Saudi Arabia.


The common tendency to take stories about incidents in Muslim countries at face value, without much (easy) fact checking (language need not be a barrier with the glory that is Google Translate), offers coverage that only fuels mischaracterizations of the role of religion in the public and legal spheres. Additionally, in these stories and the ensuing commentaries, Muslims cease to exist outside political and social caricatures and are made to fit neat cookie-cutter ideas and images.


In an era of fast-paced news where there is a tendency for any story to go viral within minutes across millions of blue screens, the responsibility for factual, non-gullible news has become dire. This is especially the case when it comes to stories about Muslims, Muslim countries and Muslim and Islamic law.



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Assalamu alaikum,

Please can you share any good islamic apps that you have for the iphone.

Qamardeen is good, you can record all the salah you have read, fasts kept, Surahs from the Quran you have read. It is a good way to keep track of everything and also does motivate you to keep up with praying :)

What men need to know about women

http://youtu.be/VR395_rb8pc