'Controlling your gaze'

"A young man came to a shaykh and said, “I am a young man with strong desires. I cannot help looking at people when I am in the market. What do I do?”
 

The shaykh handed him a cup of milk that was full to the brim, and told him to deliver it to an address that would take the young man directly through the market

He then instructed the young man that the milk should not spill, and the man said that it would not.

The shaykh then summoned one of his students and told him to accompany the man through the market to the destination, and to severely beat him if any milk were to spill.

This man successfully took the milk to the destination and returned to give the good news to the shaykh. The shaykh asked, “Tell me, how many sights and faces did you see in the market?”

The man replied incredulously, “Sheik, I didn’t even realize what was going on around me. I was only fearful of the beating and disgrace that I would have to endure in public if a drop of milk were to spill.”

The shaykh smiled and said, “It is the same with a believer. The believer fears that Allah (swt) may disgrace him in front of the entire creation on the Day of Judgment if his faith were to spill over from his heart.”

How Merciful Allah (s.w.t) Is To His Creation

According To Hadith Qudsi Allah (s.w.t) said:
“I was a hidden treasure, and I wished that I be recognized, and this is why I created”. 

Hence the reason for creation was love. Allah (s.w.t) created everything out of love and therefore He loves what He has created. Subsequently He loves the believers even more intensely. We all say we love Allah (s.w.t) and Prophet Muhammad (May Peace & Blessings be upon him) but how many of us live our life according to Qur’an and Sunnah of Our Beloved Prophet (May Peace & Blessings be upon him)? Do we follow Allah’s command? Even if all mankind combine their love it won’t amount to the love that Allah (s.w.t) has for His creations.

Hadith also tells us that ‘Allah divided His mercy into seventy parts, and distributed one of those parts in the creation around us. Let us think of all the love in this world be it between a mother and child, a husband and wife, a brother and sister be it between animals and their young, be it between friends and so on. All the love amongst these people and in this world comprises just one part out of seventy of Allah’s mercy. This brings to mind the question that what tremendous mercy might Allah show on the Day of Judgment?

Allah (s.w.t) is exceedingly merciful. Ar-Rehman & Ar-Raheem are the very first two names (qualities) of Allah (s.w.t).

Ar-Rehman means:
‘The Compassionate’, ‘The Beneficent’, The One who has plenty of mercy for the believers and the blasphemers in this world and especially for the believers in the hereafter. 

Ar-Raheem means:
‘The Merciful’, The One who has plenty of mercy for the believers.

Story of an idol worshiper:

Once an idol worshipper used to worship an idol named ‘Sanam’. He sat up calling the name “Ya Sanam” all night, and towards the dawn he started getting drowsy and so he mistakenly took one of the Glorious names of Allah (s.w.t), “Ya Samad”. Allah (s.w.t) immediately turned His attention and asked “What do you want My servant?”. The angels said in astonishment, “O Allah, this is an idol worshipper and only took Your name in forgetfulness.” Allah (s.w.t) said, “This person calls on these idols all night and they don’t answer him. What difference is there between Me and the idols if I don’t answer him either?” 

Allah (s.w.t) wants us to seek forgiveness and come towards Him. As per Hadith Prophet Muhammed (May Peace & Blessings be upon Him) was travelling and stopped on the way at a village. A woman was cooking at a fire nearby and he noticed that she constantly had to push her child back who would come forward. She said to the Prophet, “I work with this fire all day, my son wants to play with it but I have to push him back all the time because I’m frightened for him. If Allah (s.w.t) loves us more than we love our children, how can he put us in hell?” Hearing this Messenger of Allah (s.w.t) sat with his head bowed and his eyes filled with tears. He cried for some time and then said, “Allah does not want to send His creation into Hell, but it is man himself who buys hell for himself through his disobedience towards Allah (s.w.t). He forgets where he has come from and who his caretaker is. He does not seek forgiveness from his Creator.”

Only a mother can know and understand how much love Allah (s.w.t) has put in her heart for her children. A mother loves her children unconditionally, with no display. A mother loves her child whether the child is obedient or disobedient, honorable or dishonorable. After Allah(s.w.t) and Prophet Muhammad (May Peace & Blessings be upon Him), only a mother can love even the disobedient. This world likes the successful and good, but hates those who are hateful and diresepctful and rejects them. However, a mother is a mother and loves her children no matter if they are obedient or disobedient, kind or unkind. A mother would love her child even if they are rude to her. No matter what happens a mother can never be separated from her child.

A mother tries so hard to get her child to read The Glorious Qur’an and pray ‘Salah’ (prayer) but if the child does not listen to her you can’t blame the mother can you?  Only Allah (s.w.t) knows what difficulty she is going through since He is the Knower of all Things but through the mothers dua’s (prayers) the child is able to do this. She continues going through this struggle and hardship because Allah has put the love for her children in her heart.

Allah (s.w.t) is ‘The Most Merciful’ ‘The Most Beneficent’ Who wants to forgive us and His Mercy tries to find excuses for forgiving us. We must take advantage of the time that we have in this life and seek forgiveness and amend our ways. May Allah (s.w.t) give us the ability to do so.

Story of Prophet Sulayman, Ant and the Tortoise

Prophet Sulayman / Solomon (peace be upon him) in response to his special prayer to Allah (S.w.t) was granted Kingdom and was given power over the forces of nature, over the men, Jinn, devil and other living creatures. He was also endowed with knowledge of their language and could easily communicate with them.

Prophet Sulayman / Solomon (peace be upon him) once was sitting on the bank of a lake deeply engrossed in the beauties of nature around and appreciating the various forms of Allah’s (S.w.t) creation on earth.

Suddenly Prophet Sulayman’s / Solomon (peace be upon him) attention was drawn towards an Ant creeping forward with a grain of wheat in its mouth. As it reached near the water, a Tortoise came out, opened its mouth and the ant crept into it. The Tortoise closing its mouth disappeared under the water. After a while, the Tortoise again sprung out of the water and standing on the bank opened its mouth and the Ant came out. But this time it had no grain of wheat in its mouth.

Prophet Sulayman / Solomon (peace be upon him) became anxious to know what had been happening under water. On inquiring, the Ant explained that at the bottom of the lake, was a stone and underneath it lived a blind Ant. Allah (S.w.t) had created it there and because of blindness, it could not move about. The Ant further said that I have been appointed by Allah (S.w.t) to provide its daily sustenance with the assistance of the Tortoise and hence, I do perform this duty every day.

Let us ponder over one thing. If a tiny creature like an Ant living under a stone at the bottom of a sea is not denied its sustenance, why should man the noblest of all creatures (Ashraf ul Makhluqat) ever suspect loss of his sustenance from Almighty Allah (S.w.t)? Isn’t it foolishness to dirty one’s hand in prohibited transactions for earning one’s livelihood? Such persons do not get more, than what is destined and earn Allah’s (S.w.t) Wrath and Punishment in this world and Hereafter.

Moral:
Allah (S.w.t) is ‘Ar Razzaq’. He is our Provider we should always have faith in Him and trust Him in all our Affairs.

Words of Inspiration - Story about 'Honesty'

'Honesty' - Life of a true Muslim

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one f his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day and said “It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today, one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will them judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!”

One boy named Ling was there that day and he like the others, received a seed as well, He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Ling kept checking his seed but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends; however He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful in all shapes and sized. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try”

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back, “My what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown” said the emperor. “Today one of you will be appointed the next emperor!” All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified, “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”

When Ling got to the front, The Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling” he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling and then announced to the crown, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!”. Ling couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, “One year ago today I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you except Ling have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore he is the one who will be the new emperor!”

What Islam Tells us Regarding Honesty According to Hadith of Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (May Peace & Blessings be upon Him):

(Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Volume 8, Book 73, Number 116
Narrated by 'Abdullah:

The Prophet (May Peace & Blessings be upon him) said, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar."

(Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Volume 8, Book 73, Number 117
Narrated by Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; and whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays (proves to be dishonest)".

(Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Volume 8, Book 73, Number 118
Narrated by Samura bin Jundub:

The Prophet said, "I saw (in a dream), two men came to me." Then the Prophet narrated the story (saying), "They said, 'The person, the one whose cheek you saw being torn away (from the mouth to the ear) was a liar and used to tell lies and the people would report those lies on his authority till they spread all over the world. So he will be punished like that till the Day of Resurrection."'