Greater Islam

Using Allah’s names in our interaction and communication with Him is very important. It was Allah Himself who chose those names and He has instructed us to use them. We use them to understand the nature of Allah, to ponder His majesty, and to call attention to our needs and desires. And we also use them to worship Allah in the way that He has deemed most suitable. And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny His Names. They will be required for what they used to do. (Quran 7:180) Allah, none has the right to be worshiped but Him! To Him belong the Best Names. (Quran 20:8) He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (Quran 59:24) Al-Wadud Some of Allah’s names are very familiar to us. We use them often in our prayers and supplications; names

Mu`adh ibn Jabal said: “The people of Jannah will not feel remorse for anything more than their remorse for the times that they did not remember Allah therein.” Abu Huraira (may Aallah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger said: “Say La ilaha illa Allah much before you are separated from it.” (Al-Targhib) It was the Sunnah of the Prophet to make the following dua, affirming Allah’s Oneness and His right alone to be worshiped, every morning and evening. The Prophet said: “Whoever says, ‘There is no one worthy of worship but God, alone with no partner, dominion and praise is His and He is capable of all things’ one hundred times a day it will equate to him freeing ten slaves, write for him one hundred good deeds, wipe out one hundred bad deeds, and provide a protection from Shaytan for that day until the evening. No one will do better than the one that says this, except the one that does more.” (Al-Bukhari) What is the secret behind this great reward?

Praise be to Allah. There are some things which Allah mentioned in the Quran which were yet to come, and which did in fact happen. These include the following : 1 – The defeat of the Persians by the Romans within a number of years. Allah said: “The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land (Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years. The decision of the matter, before and after (these events) is only with Allah, (before the defeat of the Romans by the Persians, and after the defeat of the Persians by the Romans). And on that day, the believers (i.e. Muslims) will rejoice (at the victory given by Allah to the Romans against the Persians)” [al-Room 30:2-4] Al-Shawkaani said: The scholars of Tafseer said: the Persians defeated the Romans, and the kuffaar of Makkah rejoiced because of that and said, “Those who do not have a Book have defeated those who do have a Book,” and they gloated over the Mu

Allah says in an amazing verse in the Quran, and this is the most motivational, the most inspiring verse: Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. (Quran 2:286) Allah is speaking to us and informing us that He will never burden a soul with anything more than that which it can carry. Whatever you're going through no matter how hard, know that Allah knows you can get through it. Allah knows you can pass. And you have to believe this. Otherwise what you're implying indirectly that ‘Allah is unjust and He is burdening me with something I can't handle.’ Allah says, ‘I will never do this to my slave.’ You Can Pass So, let's create the worst scenario you could ever think of: you came home, you just lost your job, on the way you had a car accident, you smashed your car, by the time you’re home everyone in your family was murdered… Throw the worst scenario you could ever possibly put together… We all get in such situations, and Allah kno

What is the definition of a successful person in your mind? It might be someone who has a lot of money, power, influence, and ability to shape the world according to their desires. It could also be someone with a large amount of knowledge and has studied and read broadly enough to accurately analyze and find solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems. Each of these definitions is correct from a worldly perspective. In God’s eyes, however, each of these successes is a test or opportunity. People, endowed with free will, are held responsible for choosing whether to use their successes properly in the service of God and Islam or not. This applies equally to both material (money) and non-material (knowledge) wealth. I am sure that you have heard this point made before, and it is something that pretty much every religious leader has focused on in their Khutbas or lessons at least once in their career. What I would like to focus on today, however, is the process through

What is Dunya? “The word dunya encompasses many things but generally means the temporal, earthly world in contrast to the eternal spiritual realm of the hereafter. Literally, the word dunya means 'closer,' or 'lower.'” More colloquially speaking, the dunya is any earthly concern or possession. We human beings admittedly love the dunya. And there is no problem in loving the dunya. It is after all the means to sustain our lives and continue our worship. It is after all a blessing for us and a means for us to be thankful to our Creator. When Love of the Dunya Goes too Far The problem comes in when we make the dunya become the goal and not the means to the ultimate goal. The dunya is a place where we are for a time, and all that is in the dunya should be used for or avoided with the ultimate goal of pleasing Allah in mind. Our goal is not to be as rich, or as powerful, or as comfortable as we possibly can in this life. This life is just a means to the hereafter