Chill Yo Islam Yo

Salam,

I came across a shirt that said “Your breath would make an onion cry”, and it reminded me of an important hadith.

Alot of brothers from time to time come to the masjid with their breaths kicking like soccer.

All of you know what I’m taking about, onions! Maybe garlic also, hehe.

Just in case your Muslim and you don’t already, Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:

He who eats of this plant (garlic) should not approach our mosque and should not harm us with the odour of garlic.

In another hadith, it was said by Jabir (R):

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) forbade eating of onions and leek. When we were overpowered by a desire (to eat) we ate them. Upon this the (the Holy Prophet) said: He who eats of this offensive plant must not approach our mosque, for the angels are harmed by the same things as men.

Being clean is half the deen, not only purifying our inner selves but besides doing wudu and taking showers, we should all be on top of other aspects such as having a clean breath. Something so fundamental in Islam is often left aside when we are trying to be a practicing Muslims.

Nowadays Alhumduililah we have alot of options. This includes Alcholol free mouthwash, miswaks, oral b sonic toothbrushes with herbal mint ADA (American Dental Association) approved toothpastes and I forgot the 10,000 options we have for different gums when we enter the grocery aisle.

So the resources are here, we just need to utilize them. At the end of the day, we are all representatives of Islam and we should do our best to present this religion in a beautiful manner to Non Muslims. This begins with our character leading to other aspects such as how we dress, talk, pray, remember Allah swt and help those who are in need.

Don’t take this personally, we are all victims of this. I just find it interesting how some of the most impressive Muslims who stay on top of everything else can’t have a clean breath.

Anyways it’s all good when your fasting though. =)

Here are some quick tips on how to avoid having a bad breath:

1. Do wudu
2. Keep remembering your walking Daw’ah, this will encourage you to keep yourself fresh.
3. Brush your teeth or use mouthwash right after you eat
4.  Use the miswak after you pray
5. Carry some halal gum or mints at all times
6. Don’t go to the Masjid right after you eat onions or garlic unless you kill the odor. After all we wouldn’t go to a job interview in that condition.
7. As stated above, our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) said the Angels are harmed by them! See this website for more details.

I’m sure there are other ways to get rid of bad breath, share your ideas or tips!

Here is another article I wrote a while back called - Miswak or Toothpaste…just clean your teeth please.

Oh and this article is meant for brothers and sisters, May Allah swt guide us all on the straight path, Ameen.

Since everyone likes to talk about time management these days, I decided to take it back to some wisdom from one of our beloved Sahabah’s.

A few days ago I came across a quote by Hazrat Umar (R) which was very powerful, he said “Do not put off today’s work for tomorrow.”

If your balancing a life mixed with work, family, college and helping out the community then advice like this is very beneficial.

As you live life, simple tasks/errands which pile up can cause a lot of mental cluttering. Personally for college, I used to save assignments till the very last minute, this past semester I learned to be ahead of the game and handle my business earlier.

That way your not procrastinating and stressing about work which you could have completed earlier, after all it was in your control. Rushing will also cause the quality of your work to be less. All the top companies in the Business world plan ahead, this allows them to take advantage of market opportunities when they come that will pay handsome dividends later.

One thing we will never get back in life is time, your not guaranteed another minute and like the scholar told me “the only thing guaranteed in life is death”. So while your here, why not maximize your potential before it’s too late?.

If we continue to avoid being efficient and don’t increase our productivity although we have the time and resources, then our progress will be delayed as Muslims.  As we transition to professional work environments or even through different stages in our academic career, we will be challenged with our time, however we need to tie our camels and trust in Allah (swt).

There are many Hadiths and ayahs from the Qur’an that remind us of the importance of time, I’ll quickly quote two.

1. Abdullah bin Abbas (R) reports that Rasulullah said (صلى الله عليه وسلم) “There are two bounties of Allah wherein most people are deceived, health and free time”. 
2. Secondly, one of the most important Surah’s in the Qur’an, Surah Al-Asr (the declining day).
   
3.  Allah swt says: By the ‘Asr (passage of time),
   Indeed all of mankind is in a state of loss,
   Except those who have emaan (faith),
   Conduct righteous actions,
   Call each other to the truth,
   And call each other to having patience.”

Here are some quick tips on how to maximize your time, a lot of it is common sense:

1. Don’t save little tasks for later when dealing with people, this will just cause more problems and disrupt communication. If you need to respond to an email, don’t tell yourself “Oh, I’ll do it later”. Next thing you know days have passed and a task which could have been completed in literally 5 minutes is now a problem because you left it.
2. Prioritize all your work and give each of your tasks weight.
3. Don’t call it a night unless you sincerely feel like you had a productive day, however you define productive is up to you.
4. Plan your day around the 5 daily prayers, Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad said “A busy life makes prayer harder, but prayer makes a busy life easier”.
5. Keep your commitments real, if you can’t do someone a favor in an expected time frame, let them know in advance. Don’t set their expectations and not deliver, better to be on the safe side.

There you have it, a quick reminder on the importance of time. Now watch yourself, literally!

May Allah swt shower his blessings in the time he has given us and allow us to be productive Muslims, Ameen.

I came across these pictures on facebook and thought they were pretty funny.

May Allah swt perserve Shaykh Bin Bayyah, Ameen!

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful,

Praise be to God and blessings and peace be upon our master, the Messenger of God

On both religious and humanistic grounds, we are grieved by the decision of the Swiss people to prohibit the construction of minarets for mosques in the independent nation of Switzerland.

We perceive in this decision a new obstruction on the road to coexistence and integration between the various ethnic and religious segments in this country, which is, in the minds and hearts of many Muslims and others, an exemplary model of harmonious coexistence that transcends the stereotypes that some people hold of others.

We also perceive a failed hope—in the most progressive of democracies which is studied in universities and seen as the best practitioner of democracy in the world in the area of constitutional practices—for such a democracy to issue an undemocratic and unconstitutional decision.

We say undemocratic because democracy represents a system of equal opportunity and equality for all, and [this decision represents] the devaluation of ethnicity, color, and religion in its interaction with its citizens. And it is unconstitutional because the constitution supports these concepts—and makes them a standard for cooperation.

Switzerland used to represent all of that. And perhaps, it still does. That is, at least, our hope and desire.

In light of that, we will address messages to four constituencies:

* One is to the Swiss people, the owners of the deep-rooted history in resolving ethnic and linguistic disputes. Our hope is that they will commit to introspection. For a wise man once said, “Turning back to truth is better than continuing one’s march into falsehood.” Similarly, we hope they will make a different decision that ennobles and increases the nation’s human capital in the future and not plunge them into backwardness; a decision that appropriately mirrors their history and serves their true interests, not one that is born of emotion and racism.

* The second message is for the Swiss government. We offer gratitude for its notable stance in expressing its opposition to the extremist points of view and for inviting us to utilize the appropriate constitutional and legal means to appeal this decision.

* Our third message is directed to Europe. Thanks to all of those who continue to cling to the principles of morality and humanity and those who defend human rights in the simplest of its expressions, and especially the European Union, the Vatican, and other commissions. And special thanks go to the Swiss clergy.

We call on those organizations and peoples to challenge the views that have begun to surface in Europe from fanatical right-wing parties that are striving to ignite violent conflict and popularize historical resentment; [to challenge] things that do not support the success of dialogue and the dousing of the fires of tension in the world, a world that has no need for more fires.

And we call on those of goodwill to create a space for tolerance, accord, and coexistence. Construction is not happening only in Europe; it is happening throughout the globe. We are calling on all people of sound minds and wisdom to not content themselves with timid calls [to right action]. They should, instead, be more active and engaged.

* The fourth message is to the Muslims of Switzerland especially, and to those of Europe in general. We offer our blessing in observing your maturity, wakefulness, and prudence. And we invite you to represent the values of your great religion: perseverance, tolerance, and forgiveness. “Yet if anyone is patient and forgives, that is determination that will resolve affairs.” [Qur’an, 42:43]

Therefore, alerting one’s brothers and sisters to [the following] principles appears to be a necessity in both particular and general circumstances:

1. There should be a rational and wise increase in public relations activities which support humanistic principles and the rights of citizenship.

Continue Reading…

So you all remember when the convenience store of Mohammad Sohail was robbed right?

Well the robber who is still unidentified became Muslim after the incident and recently he sent a thank you letter to the store owner (Mohammad) enclosed with a $50 bill.

Here is the letter:

Thanks CNN for sharing the video.

May Allah swt reward brother Mohammad Sohail for his great character and showing mercy, Ameen.

Reminds me of the hadith when our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:Have mercy to those who are on earth and the one in the heavens will have mercy on you.” (Tirmidhi)