The '3' type of Nafs mentioned in Qur'an:

1.) Nafs-e-Ammara: 'The one who sins without any remorse, without any guilt, without feeling regret, without feeling bad, they feel no shame after sinning etc. another example is when someone goes to sleep at night without even intending to wake up for fajr'

Treatment of Nafs-e-Ammara:

When you are firm onto your Fard & Wajibat.

2.) Nafs-e-Lowamah: 'The one who becomes half a Muslim, The one who sins at times but at times they don't sin. They feel bad after sinning, they have some remorse, some guilt, they feel the sting of the sin, they feel sad after sinning, etc.

3.) Nafs-e-Mutami'yeena:'The one's who don't even feel like sinning, they are so much into the remembrance of Allah (swt) that Allah (swt) is pleased with them as they are pleased with Allah (swt). Such people are 'Maqbool' (beloved) & 'Qabool' (accepted) in the sight of Allah (swt). Those people who attain this Nafs, Allah (swt) bless their heart with contentment because they are people of 'Takwa' (and Allah (swt) has mentioned this in Qur'an Himself)

How to reach Nafs-e-Mutami'yeena from Nafs-e-Lowamah:

When you are not only firm onto your Fard & Wajibat but you are also firm on 'Dhikr' of Allah (swt) and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (saw), This is the ONLY way one can travel from Nafs-e-Lowamah to Nafs-e-Mutami'yeena. Allah (swt) brings such people close to Him, and those whom Allah (swt) guide and want close to Him not even their Nafs can ever put them into sin.

- Shaykh Mufti Kamaluddin Ahmed (db)

Link: www.islamicspirituality.org

Life of Imam Bukhari

Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari popularly known as Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, was a Sunni Islamic scholar of Persia. He is the author of the collection of Hadiths which Sunni Muslims regard as the most authentic of all Hadith compilations, the Sahih Al-Bukhari. Most Sunni scholars consider it second only to the Qur’an in terms of authenticity. The Arabic word sahih translates as authentic or correct. Imam Bukhari was born in 810 A.D. / 196 A.H. in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. His father, Ismail Ibn Ibrahim, was a known hadith scholar who died while he was still an infant and he was hence raised by his mother. Imam Bukhari began studying hadith, memorising works of Abdullah ibn al-Mubaarak while still a child. At age of sixteen, Imam Bukhari made the pilgrimage to Mecca, beginning a series of travels in order to increase his knowledge of hadith. He went through all the important centres of Islamic learning of his time, talked to scholars and exchanged information on hadith. It is said that he heard from over 1,000 men, and learned over 600,000 traditions. After sixteen years’ absence he returned to Bukhara, and drew up his al-Jami’ as-Sahih, a collection of 7,275 tested traditions, arranged in chapters so as to afford bases for a complete system of jurisprudence. Imam Bukhari finished his work around 846 A.D., and spent the last twenty-four years of his life visiting other cities and scholars, teaching the hadith he had collected. In every city that he visited, thousands of people would gatherin the main mosque to listen to him recite traditions. Imam Bukhari died in a village near Samarkand in the year 870/256.

The Sahih Al-Bukhari book covers almost all aspects of life in providing proper guidance of Islam such as the method of performing prayers and other actions of worship directly from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Hadiths are a practical example of the implementation of Quranic guidance and are essential supplements to the teachings of the Quran. Neither the Quran nor the Sunnah can be understood correctly without the other. They have been meticulously compiled by individuals with exceptional memory skills and analytical expertise like Imam Bukhari, who travelled tirelessly to collect thousands of narrations and distinguish the true words of prophetic wisdom. Muslims during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)and generations that followed and generations to come are blessed to have these pearls of wisdom to guide us in a righteous, Islamic way of life leading to Al-Firdaus.

Shukar & Kufar - By Mufti Shaykh Kamaluddin

Allah [swt] in the Qur’an-e-Karim has ordained us to do shukr.  Shukr means to have gratitude for the blessings of Allah [swt]. In a very powerful way, Allah [swt] has equated shukr with kufr:  Fashkuruli – have shukr towards me, wa la takfuru – and do not have kufr; because kufr in Arabic means to deny.

Defining Shukr:

To acknowledge the blessings of Allah [swt] and therefore be thankful & grateful for them

A person, who does not have shukr, is in reality denying the blessings of Allah [swt] which is a kind of denial of Allah [swt] Himself.

To illustrate this, let’s look at the types of Kufr:

• To deny Allah [swt]’s existence, His being.  [i.e. Atheism]
• To deny Allah[swt]’s attributes, His Asma-ul-Husna [ i.e. shirk]
• To deny any of the blessings of Allah[swt] or any of the commandments of Allah[swt]

[That is essentially a sin & Allah [swt] is also referring to it as ‘kufr’ in the above ayah]

So, ‘Be grateful to me and do not be ungrateful” =“Be grateful to me and do not be an unbeliever”

  

Now, what exactly is Shukr? 

1.)  First way to do shukr is – to be grateful and thankful with your tongue i.e. what we normally do in our lives with one another.  You’ll be amazed that we’re so trained in being polite  that if anybody gives us something it is considered impolite if we don’t say thank you i.e. for a fellow human being we are so insistent on doing shukr. Somebody can give you a single coke and you will feel obliged to say thank you. While Allah [swt] can feed us a whole meal and we still forget to say Alhumdulillah after it.

According to the first way, to do shukr of Allah [swt] with our tongue is by means of doing Hamd of Allah [swt], saying ‘Alhumdulillah’

2.) The second way to do shukr is through obedience, ita’at – a grateful servant is an obedient servant i.e. to do shukr of Allah [swt] through performing obligatory and voluntary worship & good deeds etc. 

3.) Another way is to use the blessings that Allah [swt]’s given us in His obedience or at the very least not to use them in His disobedience.

E.g. If a person is truly grateful for having eyesight – he will say that Allah[swt] you have blessed me with this gift of vision and my shukr to you will lie in using these eyes in Your obedience and not Your disobedience.

4.) Remember our humility.

True Story: RasulAllah [saw] said that there were three men of the Bani Isra’il, a leper, a bald man and a blind man. Allah [swt] sent an angel to test them. The angel met the leper and asked him, “What would you like best?” He said that he would like a beautiful complexion and skin and a relief from this sickness which drove people away from him. The angel stroked his body and he had what he wished for. The angel then asked him what he would like for wealth and gave him a pregnant camel when he asked for camels, saying ‘May Allah bless this for you.”

Next the angel met the bald man, and asked him the same questions. He wished to have healthy hair and a cure from the disease which drove people away from him. On a stroke of the angel’s hand, he got beautiful strong hair and when he wished for cows, the angel gave him a pregnant cow, praying for Allah [swt]’s blessings.

The angel then went to the blind man who wished to have his sight restored to him. The angel passed his hand over his eyes and he regained his sight. “What wealth do you wish for?” “Goats” the man said. The angel gave him a pregnant goat and prayed for Allah [swt]’s blessings for that.

All the animals procreated and soon there were camels, cows and goat with them in large numbers. Then Allah [swt] sent the angel in the same form as before and he said to the leper, “I am a poor man who has exhausted all his provision and means and cannot reach home. I ask you in the Name of Allah [swt] who has blessed you with a nice skin and complexion give me a camel that it may take me home.”  He shouted, “Away with you, I have other things to do and do not have anything to give you.” The angel exclaimed, “Oh I think I do recognize you! You were the poor leper whom people despised but Allah blessed you with wealth. He shouted, “Nonsense!” This wealth I inherited from my ancestors.” The angel prayed, “If you lie, you may become as you were.”

The angel went to the bald man after that and he turned out to be no better than the first and the angel said, “If you lie you may become as you were.”

Next, the angel went to the blind man and repeated his plight to him, seeking a goat from him in the name of Allah [swt] Who had given him eyesight. He replied, “That’s right, I was blind and the Merciful gave me eyes to see. Take away whatever you want and leave for me whatever you like. The angel said, “By Allah, I have not come for anything except to try the three of you. Allah is pleased with you but displeased with the other two.”

Just like this, we also get into the same process. We do our MBA’s PhD’s, get good jobs etc and forget that all these are simply the bestowals of Allah [swt]. If you have a Mercedes etc you feel like you are on top of the world that you are something really great. The reality is that we are nothing in front of Allah [swt]. So, we should remember our humility.

A part of the reason why we have so much heedlessness [ghaflah] is laziness. In fact, the biggest illness in Pakistani youth is ‘Laziness’. The second illness is ‘Takkabur’ – not having humility in front of Allah [swt]. Without humility there is no way a person can come on this Deen. Allah [swt] said that anyone who has an atom’s weight of takabbur would not enter Jannah. This is one of His attributes ‘Akbar’ – His Greatness [Kibriyaee] that nobody can have a share in it. Although we are supposed to adorn ourselves with Allah [swt]’s other attributes like His Karam, Rehma etc. But about His Kibriyaee Allah [swt] has revealed in a Hadith-e-Qudsi that ‘‘Pride is My cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.’”

So, we need to make ourselves among the shakireen; if we become shakireen, we will automatically be amongst the zakireen. 

One way to increase our shukr is: To give Charity [Sadaqah] 

• Allah [swt] mentions in the Qur’an, describes people that they give from that which they love. One way, it can be interpreted is that we love our money or earnings i.e. it’s difficult to part with our hard earned money. Another way it has been interpreted is that we give from the good things we have, the things that we are fond of or attached to we give those away in the way of Allah. And when you do that, it becomes an act of sacrifice and you will become less attached to this world. We are talking here about Sadaqah not Zakat. Zakat is obligatory, its part of the necessities of life …like eating/drinking. Do you congratulate yourselves on the ability to eat and drink or breathe? So, we shouldn’t congratulate ourselves on giving Zakat.

• Sadaqa means to give from that which we have to someone who is more deserving of it; everyone should give Sadaqah according to their own means. The amount should be such that we should feel something when giving it away it shouldn’t so petty that we don’t feel anything when giving it away…like one, two or five rupees etc. It should ATLEAST equal the amount we usually spend on ourselves so that we FEEL the pinch of giving it away, because otherwise it goes against the Qur’anic philosophy of giving from that which you love. InshaAllah when you do that then you will feel the benefit of giving Sadaqa.

• Our pious predecessors used to give so much Sadaqa that they would endanger their own lives and even their family! The ultimate example of this is of Hazrat Abu Baqr Siddiq[ra]. When RasulAllah [saw] made a call for Sadaqa, he gave away everything he had, even his clothes; he wrapped himself in a type of rag/match and came to RasulAllah [saw] like that. So, RasulAllah [saw] asked him, ‘O Abu Bakr! What have you left for your family?’ He said, ‘I have left Allah [swt] and His Messenger [saw]’. Then the angel Jibra’el [as] came and he was wearing the same rag/match. When Prophet [saw] asked him what are you wearing? He replied that Allah [swt] is so happy with Hazrat Abu Baqr[ra] that he has asked all the angels to adopt his likeness and so all the angels are wearing this same rag/match. Allah-o-Akbar Kabira

• Prophet [saw] never used to keep any money. He used to spend it as it came; on the ashbab-e-sufa, poor people etc…there was really no concept of saving money at that time…

• A person who is on a tight budget but still gives Sadaqa, he/she will feel the baraqah immediately. They’ll start viewing money as a burden, that’s what the Sahaba[ra] used to feel that they would be accountable for each and every penny so they would give away as much as they could!

• Prophet [saw] said in a hadith that that person who gives someone something when they’re not expecting it, surprises that person, then Allah [swt] sends His special Mercy upon that person. Once someone came to Harun ur Rashid asking for 700 Dinars. He wrote something on a chit of paper and asked that person to give it to his treasurer. That man went to the treasurer and told him that I asked for 700 Dinars and so Harun Rashid has sent this so you’d give me the money. When the treasurer saw the amount it was for 7000 Dinar. He thought it was a mistake and went to Harun Rashid to notify him of the error. Harun Rashid took the chit wrote something else and gave it back. Later the treasurer came to Harun Rashid and asked him the whole story as to why he’d first asked to give 7000 Dinar when the man only wanted 700 Dinars and later issued an order for 14000 Dinars. So, Harun Rasheed related the same Hadith and said that since that person was only expecting 700 Dinars when he came to me, I initially asked you to give 7000 to him to surprise him. But when you revealed it to him, he must be expecting that amount and I had to double it now to give him more than his expectations so that Allah [swt] would send His special Mercy on me.

• Upon the call for Sadaqa, Syeddina Umar[ra] gave half of his wealth. And when RasulAllah [saw] asked him what he’d left for his family he said ‘half’.

• So, even among the four Khulafa-e-Rashideen we see different examples: Hazrat Abu Baqr gave all of his wealth, Hazrat Umar[ra] gave half Hazrat Uthman[ra] gave a lot of money, that was his tarz; he was very well-off and he gave away a lot. Hazrat Ali [ra] didn’t even have much money, his Zakat was obligatory. At times he was even eligible for Zakat, so he gave away a few dates; gave something whenever he had. So, we should also become people of Sadaqah.

• When you give Sadaqah you will feel humbled; thankful to Allah that He has enabled you to give it. And so, it will increase you in your feeling of Shukr towards Allah [swt].

• At the Conquest of Makkah, Prophet [saw] slaughtered many Camels for the Muslim Ummah as Sadaqah; the camels were willingly lining up to be sacrificed by the blessed Prophet [saw]. That is why Muslims now sacrifice an animal for Prophet [saw] because he [saw] did it many times for his Ummah. So, we can even also make the niyyah of sending the rewards to our loved ones, Muslim Ummah, whether living or who have passed away.

Whenever we don’t adorn ourselves with any attribute of the believers that Allah [swt] mentions in the Qur’an; we just don’t lose that attribute or the blessings associated with it…we also lose part of our iman. Our iman becomes weak, and it will affect our entire practice of Deen. Similarly then, if we do adorn our self with any of these attributes, like shukr we not only get the state of shukr but our heart is also adorned with the part of iman and deen associated with that attribute.

May Allah [swt] accept our Sadaqa whether it is monetary, our time, helping our fellow muslim in time of need, kindness, giving council or advice or even a smile…May Allah[swt] make us such people of perpetual shukr that whenever we receive any nai’ma in our life, we are grateful for it and use it in His obedience and not in His disobedience. May He enable us to remember Him every moment of the day and May Allah [swt] accept us among His shakireen and enable us to give more and more Sadaqa. Ameen.

Listen Audio:

http://islamicspirituality.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/shukar%20and%20kufar.mp3

NOTE: [This is a transcript[not word-by-word] of the talk delivered by Shaykh Kamaluddin on 09.24.2008. ]

This material may be used for non-commercial use, provided it is unaltered and this copyright information and a link to Shaykh’s official website ‘www.islamicspirituality.org‘ is included.

Beautiful woman who wanted to get married

There was this beautiful woman, who wanted to get married, but she wanted a very pious husband, so she said that she’ll marry the man who recites the whole Quran every single day, fasts for the whole year and stays awake and worships Allah all throughout the night.

She was a very beautiful woman, and a lot of suitors wanted to marry her, but they knew they couldn’t fulfil the conditions she set. Until this one man stepped forward and said he could fulfil them. So the Imam got both of them married.

After the first night of the marriage, the wife sees that the husband doesn’t recite the whole of the Quran, nor does he fast, nor does he stay awake in the worship of Allah, she decided to let it roll on for a few weeks to see if there were any changes, there weren’t, so she filed a complaint and asked for a divorce.

They are both taken in front of the judge, and the judge asked, ‘What were the conditions of the marriage?’ the man replied ‘They were for me to recite the whole Quran daily, keep fast for the whole year and to worship Allah all throughout the night.’

The Judge asked, ‘ did you fulfil them? The man calmly answered, ‘…yes.’

The judge answers, ‘you lie, your wife has said that you don’t, that’s why she’s asking for a divorce’.

But the man insisted that he had fulfilled the conditions, so the judge asked, ‘did you recite the full Quran everyday?’ The man answered yes. The Judge, baffled asked, ‘how? How can you do that?’ The man coolly answered, ‘I recite Surah Ikhlas three times a day and according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), reciting Surah Ikhlas three times is equivalent to reciting the whole Quran.’ The Judge was intrigued, so he asked, ‘how did you fast the whole year?’ The man answered, ‘ I fasted for the whole month of Ramadan, then kept another six fasts in the month of Shawwal, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), keeping all of the fast of Ramadan then keeping six fasts in the month of Shawwal, is as if you have fasted for the whole year.’

The Judge remained silent, he couldn’t give a reply saying the man was wrong, so finally he asked, ‘ how did you stay awake all night and worship Allah, when your wife saw you sleeping?’ The Judge thought the man wouldn’t be able to answer this one, but the man, cool as a cucumber answered, ‘I prayed Salatul Isha with jamaat, then the next day prayed Salatul Fajr with jamaat, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), the one who prays Salatul Isha and Salatul Fajr with jamaat, it is as if he had stayed up all night worshipping Allah.’

The Judge sat there looking at the man; the final verdict was about to be released…

He said to the man and his wife, ‘…go, just go, there is nothing wrong with this marriage’…

Why Revive A Sunnah?

‎1. The Prophet’s way is the best way.

“Truly, in the Messenger of Allah [SAWS] you have a good example to follow for the one who hopes for the Meeting with Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” [Quran-33:21]

2. The Sunnah of the Prophet [SAWS] is THE way to get Allah’s love.

“Say: If you (really) love Allah then follow me [SAWS], Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Al-e-Imran:31]

3. Following the Sunnah will help us increase in good deeds.

“…Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.” [AlMaidah:2]

4. The AJR! Large amounts of ajr (reward) is up for grabs!

“Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that is forgotten after my death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward.” [Reported by al-Tirmidhi]

5. The Revival of the Ummah can only come by following the Sunnah of the Prophet [SAWS]

The last of this Ummah will not be corrected except by which the first of this Ummah was corrected by and that is the Book and the Sunnah. [Imam Darul Hijra, Malik ibn Anas {r} d. 179]

Islamic Way of Parenting

Islam is religion of peace and humanity. The lesson of peace and kindness that we have been taught through Quran has been taught the nations before us as well. Parent-children relation is the most blessed and pure relation among all the relations. When ALLAH swt blesses a couple with child this gives them the ultimate happiness and also they are given a duty.

Being parents does not only mean to be happy but parenting is one of the most difficult and patient task. It is the duty of parents to up bring their kids in a way commanded by ALLAH swt. Parents have to take this duty seriously. If children are good muslims, they become sadqa jariah for parents, but if parents do not take care of kids in their early life and they lose the right path, they become a continuous azab for their parents.

Therefore it is important to take care of the upbringing of the kids. A kid belonging to good parents will have good personality traits because children see and learn from their parents. Mother’s womb and than her lap are the two places to learn for the kids. So, good behavior must be maintained before the kids.

Abusing kids and before kids are two acts that attack the moral development of kids the fast. If parents use harsh words and tone with kids, they cannot let kids respect them and others. Their kids will be exactly like them, and the parents will have no chance to repent once their time of good parenting is over.

ALLAH swt says in Quran: 66:6

“O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allâh, but do that which they are commanded.”

So, believers are warned against the hell fire and they are told to take care of their families and do those measures which can save them and their families from the torment of hell fire. First family includes parents and their children. If parents do not like hell fire for themselves, they cannot like that horrible place for their children too. Parents have been bestowed the love and care for their kids which no other relation has in this world be it siblings or any other relation.

There are certain rights of children that parents should fulfill (some of them at their ease.)

2:233

“And the mothers should suckle their children for two whole years for him who desires to make complete the time of suckling.”

A child who is breast fed for 2 years, he remains immune for many diseases because the mother milk contains those natural elements that contain cure for many illnesses.

Parents cannot deprive their children from the share of the property they own, they cannot disown them as we see happening in today’s world. If parents do so, it will be a deviation from the order of ALLAH.

Nisa 4:7)

“Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether there is little or much of it; a stated portion.”

Parents cannot kill their children because they fear that they cannot fed them. It is ALLAH that feeds everyone, and every child gets his due share in the rizq that ALLAH provides. So, no parents are allowed to kill their kids. But unfortunately, it is a common practice to kill children and then to commit suicide, both acts are haram and acts of cruelty especially towards innocent kids. No soul touches this earth without the will of ALLAH so nobody should dare to challenge will of ALLAH.

6:151

“And do not slay your children for (fear of) poverty-- We provide for you and for them-- and do not draw nigh to indecencies, those of them which are apparent and those which are concealed, and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except for the requirements of justice; this He has enjoined you with that you may understand.”

ALLAh does not require the muslim children to follow deen of parents if it is not islam, infact it is forbidden to follow them even when you love them the most. Better is to invite them to islam with understanding anf with patience.

9:23

O you who believe! do not take your fathers and your brothers for guardians if they love unbelief more than belief; and whoever of you takes them for a guardian, these it is that are the unjust.

Losing children is indeed a huge grief. No one can understand the mother’s grief and sorrow when she loses a child because ALLAH swt had put a limitless sea of love in her heart for her children. A mother gives birth to her child after bearing pain that no one else can bear from any other disease. The pain of giving birth cannot be imagined and defined only a mother can understand it.

Volume 9, Book 92, Number 413:

Narrated Abu Said: A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Men (only) benefit by your teachings, so please devote to us from (some of) your time, a day on which we may come to you so that you may teach us of what Allah has taught you." Allah's Apostle said, "Gather on such-and-such a day at such-and-such a place." They gathered and Allah's Apostle came to them and taught them of what Allah had taught him. He then said, "No woman among you who has lost her three children (died) but that they will screen her from the Fire." A woman among them said, "O Allah's Apostle! If she lost two children?" She repeated her question twice, whereupon the Prophet said, "Even two, even two, even two!" 

Parents are blessed to have children. The value of children can be asked to those couples who do not have this blessing. Children are innocent. They do not understand this world like their parents. It is the parents who can treat them good and can teach them how to face the world.