Tuesday 16 July 2013

Islamic websites + repentance article

Assalamu Alaykum :)

I hope your Ramadan is going well, today I just wanted to share with you an article of mine that was published on productivemuslims.com:
http://productivemuslim.com/sincere-repentance-a-sure-path-to-forgiveness/

Productive Muslims is an AMAZING website, full of beneficial and encouraging tips and articles. I encourage you all to read it and subscribe!

other islamic websites that we can all benefit from include:

http://fridaynasiha.com/

http://www.islamonline.com/

http://maestrouzy.com/ - this is a newly launched website, it would be nice if we all support it :)

those are the main ones I look at, if you know any other websites which will encourage us to stay on the right path then please share in the comments below, May Allah (swt) reward you.

Wassalam

Friday 12 July 2013

Ramadan Must knows!

Assalamu Alaykum!
The blessed month of Ramadan has crept upon us and has finally opened its doors :)

Al-hamdulilah Allah (swt) has allowed us the opportunity to live long enough to witness another Ramadan, we truly are blessed and lucky to have this opportunity so let's not waste it!


There are a few main things about Ramadan that every fasting Muslim should be aware of, so today I thought I'd remind you of these things so that we can be ready and set with all the necessary knowledge to take on this holly month.


1- HUGE OPPORTUNITIES!

Narrated By Abu Huraira : Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said, "When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained." Volume 003, Book 031, Hadith Number 123. Sahih Bukhari.


Narrated By Sahl : The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it." Volume 003, Book 031, Hadith Number 120. Sahih Bukhari.


2- Taraweeh prayers:


Ramadan nights are very special, in that they witness a special type of prayer only performed on these nights. Taraweeh prayers. Taraweeh prayers are a sunnah of the prophet, usually performed in the mosques but can be performed individually at home. They are performed after isha prayer, but before witr prayer.


3- Laylatul Qadr:
There is one special night in Ramadan that is equal to 1000 nights, Allah (swt) mentions in his Holly quran:
Laylatul Qadr khairon min Alf Shahr;
lalylatul Qadr (the grand night) is better than 1000 months (3:97)

In this holly night of Ramadan, which we will discuss further inshaAllah as Ramadan progresses, falls in the last 10 days of Ramadan, on an odd night; many people suspect that it is the 27th night of Ramadan, but Allahu Alim (Allah knows best).


As for the blessings of this night,


Narrated By Abu Huraira : The Prophet said (sallallaho alaihay wa aalaiyhee wa sallam), “Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.” Volume 003, Book 031, Hadith Number 125. Sahih Bukhari


Ramadan Kareem everyone, May Allah (swt) allow this Ramadan to be an opportunity for forgiveness and steadfastness on His path, AMEEN!


wassalam. 



Tuesday 18 June 2013

Ramadan is knocking!

Assalamu alaykum (peace and blessings upon you)

Ramadan is just around the corner! I couldn't be more excited for it :)

We have less than a month before Ramadan begins, it is essential to start preparing for it from now to get the most out of this blessed month.

I find that in the past few years we learn so much about Ramadan during the actual month...unfortunately that means by the time we get into a routine and we are motivated to read Quran and pray, Ramadan is about to end :(

I want this year to be different, so let's start from now! The companions of the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to prepare for Ramadan 6 MONTHS BEFORE IT CAME!

Ramadan is the month of the Quran, many people try to complete the Quran within the 30 days of the month. From my own experience, unfortunately, I've seen many people fail at this. If you do not regularly read the Quran on a daily basis before Ramadan, it will be near to impossible for you to complete the Quran in one month. So start from now, and if you already read on a regular basis then increase the amount you usually read.

Ramadan is also all about controlling your desires and abstaining from food and drink. If you wish to make this easier on yourself during the month so that you do not feel fatigued and exhausted in the first few days, try abstaining from over eating in the coming days. For those who are addicted to coffee and NEED their coffee to survive, try slowly reducing your intake of coffee from now so you can stay strong in Ramadan!

Don't forget that Ramadan is also all about giving and becoming more aware of those who are less fortunate in the world. Start thinking about which charities you wish to donate to throughout Ramadan, and how much you wish to give on a daily basis. Perhaps go out and buy yourself a nice money collection tin and start putting your loose change in it from now.

A MAJOR part of Ramadan is prayer, in Ramadan there is SO much more prayer involved, with tahajud and taraweeh. There is no point in involving yourself with these nafl prayers if your 5 daily fard prayers are not perfected. ensure that your currently dedicating enough time for your 5 daily prayers, pray on time and take your time. Think about what you are reciting in the prayers and sit after each prayer contemplating and doing some dhikr. I found a great app on iPhone called "Did You Pray" it reminds you to pray and rates your prayer, I have been using it lately and I recommend it for everyone seeking to improve their praying habits!

My final advice would be to purify our intentions, we want the most rewards out of the coming Ramadan. So sit with yourself and ensure that all the ibaadah you do is purely for Allah's sake. Don't forget that actions are judged based on your intentions.

May Allah allow us to gain the most reward out of this Ramanda, may he make it easy on us and guide us to the best way to approach it; may He keep us on his right path and forgive all our past and future sins AMEEN!

Wasalam

Monday 27 May 2013

Assalamu alaykum!

So I started this blog quite some time ago, but then got distracted with uni starting and got really wound up in my life that I forgot about this!


That's the reason why I think my first official post should be about distractions of the worldly life.

We do so many different things in our every day life, sometimes we lose track of our priorities.

There can be many aspects of our lives that distract us and take us away from our main goal.

I just recently started uni and I can honestly say I have been so busy with my life and trying to sort things out I'm now afraid that I will start to neglect my ultimate goal of Jannah.
So how do we stay on track with the millions of things we do in our daily lives?!

1- keep your intentions clear

Intentions are super important, Our actions are judged based on our intentions.
As the Hadeeth goes:
'Umar ibn al-Khattab relates that he heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, say, "Verily actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended..."
so before we start any action we should
stop,
think,
purify our intention,
then go ahead!

2- know your priorities!

We have a million things we do every day, knowing what our priorities are is SUPER important to having a productive life and reaching our ultimate goal. For this I would recommend reading Yusuf AlQardhawi's book "Fiqh of Priorities", and if you in Australia then check out this workshop on Priorities!

3- watch your prayers

Prayers connect us with our religion, they strengthen our Imaan and they remind us that Allah swt is ALWAYS watching. your 5 daily prayers are like a break from your life every few hours to reconnect with Allah. SubhanAllah we should think ourselves lucky that Allah has given us this opportunity to connect with him every so often.

4- organize your day

A great and really helpful way to do this is by using Abu Productive's taskinator.  when you know from the morning what it is that you have to do throughout the day you realise that you must stay on track to get it all done. The taskinator also allows you to ensure that you organize your life so that it's balanced. You don't want to be abandoning any certain part of your life!

5- set reminders

I know this seems so simple and trivial and a lot of people may think that will never work!
Trust me it really does.
we all use our phones ALL THE TIME! usse your phone to set reminders throughout the day to ensure that you are not forgetting your ultimate goal.
put up hadeeths around the house, in the kitchen or on top of the tv!
it really helps :)

I hope that helps, may Allah swt help us all to stay on the right track and remember him and worship him in the best manner possible.

remember, Allah guides those he loves, so make him love you :)

Wassalam 

Monday 18 February 2013

Welcome!

Asalamu Alaykum (may peace be upon you)

Welcome aboard the Jannah express, where we find the easiest and fastest way to go through the road to paradise. The road to paradise can be a bumpy one, with many crossroads before reaching the end. We all need constant reminders to keep us on track, otherwise we may find ourselves on a completely different road!


I'm here to help myself before helping you to make the right decisions at the crossroads and to stay on track. So that inshaAllah we may one day reach Jannah together and see the fruits of our efforts.


In this blog you will find small reminders about our daily lives that can make a huge difference to our scale of deeds, you will also find some interesting ahadeeth(words of the prophet may peace be upon him) and ayat (words from the Quran) that may have inspired me and I felt important to share with you.


Before we begin, I feel it is important for the reader to know a little bit about the author, so here's a little general Information about myself:

My name is Aseel Sammak, I am from Australia about to commence my university studies in Bachelor of Law/Arts as well as a Bachelor in Islamic arts alhamdulilah. I have 2 role models, one being Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) as she was an amazing woman, not afraid to voice her opinion and was a HUGE support to the prophet (peace be upon him) if it wasn't for her we wouldn't know a lot of the daily sunan (non compulsory acts that we do to follow the example of our prophet). My other role model is my mother, as I feel she is always sincere in her work and is never afraid to take on new challenges, the state of this ummah is always a heavy burden on her heart and I admire her for that.

So that's all about me for now, I hope you enjoy the blog and gain some knowledge and hasanaaat out of it. 

I ask Allah to make this blog useful for those who are seeking to please Him and stay on the right path, AMEEN!

Wasalam (peace be upon you)