Chill Yo Islam Yo

A while ago when I first started this blog, I wrote a post about why growing the Beard for a brother and wearing the Hijab for a sister is beneficial.

I provided some proof and like every post, I was faced with criticism. To me it is what it is, if something is clear in the Qur’an and Sunnah then we should follow it. Haters? uhh well they are always going to come.

However on the other end of the spectrum, we have a problem with many Muslims today, who have a weird way of spreading Islam and encouraging people to follow the Sunnah and the commandments of Allah (swt).

To me it’s so backwards, I often see brothers with this failed method of giving daw’ah. What I’ve come to notice is some brothers and sisters only focus on appearance when it comes to Islam. So if they don’t see a brother with a beard or a sister wearing Hijab, all of a sudden that person is eliminated from their interpretation of “believers”.

Now what begins to happen is people become arrogant because all of a sudden they feel like they are too religious to give attention to a particular person or spend time with them.

Not only do they look at you like your an alien, but all of a sudden your not being invited to Islamic events or offered to pray salat in congregation just because you don’t look “religious”.

The other day we were getting ready to pray Salat, and the brothers were looking around to see who leads. One brother grabbed me and “said you lead you have a beard”. Since when did that become the criteria for leading the salat? Chill yo.

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The Deen Show

Salam,

You might not care but I do, I love how Dwight Howard first gave thanks to God after today’s game and then said you gotta do what you can in any situation and God does the rest. That reminds me of when Mufti Abdul Rehman Ibn Yusuf was speaking to us about tying our camels and putting trust in Allah swt. Meaning if you ever get worried about a test, or risks in life, he said just “Do your best and Allah swt does the rest”, that’s my new motto. I don’t know what Dwight’s Aqeedah is, haha, but he can become Muslim, sure why not?

May Allah (swt) guide the Non Muslims to Islam, Ameen! Including you Dwight Howard/Superman, being as big as Dwight is a blessing, he reminds of a couple of African American brothers or AK’s that come to the Mosque that are giants, Inshallah we can be giants in our ranks on the day of judgment. Chill I need a super-eman rush.

Anyways watch the interview below

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Salaam,

They say a “diamond is a girls best friend”. Some people glorify them; others horrify them. One thing I realized is that if you want to get married my brothers you’re most probably going to have to buy your wifey a blinged out rock, just make sure its not a blood diamond. So start saving up from now..Ha!

I’m not going to lie, we all love holding extravagant captivating glamorous diamonds that are beautiful to gaze upon but does it really make us happy? I don’t think so. True happiness comes in the hereafter and it certainly doesn’t come in material gains. It comes in the remembrance of Allah. Although there is nothing wrong with ballin(for those who don’t what ballin means, in New York when you someone is ballin you are referring to their riches), hey ain’t nothing wrong with ballin, the more money you got, the more money you can give for zakat .

But what I’m basically trying to say is when you marry your wife, i don’t think she will really care about the diamonds at the end of the day; rather she will perish it because you gave it to her as a gift to protect that halal marriage. Don’t forget to do the nikkah. Money doesn’t buy happiness, any rich person will tell you that. At the end of the day its the blessings of Allah (God Almighty) that makes you happy. The fact that you are Muslim, you got a family,you got health, you got the four seasons, you have the sun, and freewill, well it never stops because Allah says in the Holy Quran we could never count his blessings. They go on and on and on and on…….

One thing I noticed is that a lot of people are quick to judge people by their weddings. On one extreme, you have people who say “oh that brother threw a dunya wedding”. Then you have others who criticize others because their wedding wasn’t as extravagant. We have to be fair; we shouldn’t make fun of people who throw simple weddings, because a simple wedding is a wedding recommended by our beloved Prophet Muhammad, in one hadith our beloved Prophet said

“The marriage which is most greatly blessed is the one which is the lightest in burden [expense]. However, if people are well catered for, without extravagance and show, there is no problem with that either.” (Reported by Bayhaqi)

So make it easy on yourselves, here is another hadith which describes one of the weddings of our beloved Prophet. Anas (RA) describes one of the walimahs hosted by the Prophet (SAW):

“The Prophet stayed for three days at a place between Khaibar and Medina, and there he consummated his marriage with Safiyya bint Huyay (RA). I invited the Muslims to a banquet which included neither meat nor bread. The Prophet (SAW) ordered for the leather dining sheets to be spread, and then dates, dried yogurt and butter were provided over it, and that was the Walima (banquet) of the Prophet (SAW).” (Reported by Bukhari)

So simplicity guaranteed, buy your wife a sterling silver ring, haha, na it’s all good. Just do whatever you feel is most comfortable for yourself as a Muslim. You got the recommendations in the Sunnah above–So do you. I didn’t think i would be writing this much, i was just wondering today randomly about weddings diamond rings and how much it really matters to the Muslim wifey.

Alright I’m out…wasalaam. Oh yea i wanted to mention a hadith which says poor people will enter heaven 40 years before the rich people. Wondering why? less accountability. Remember you will be judged on everything you had in this life.

“But waste not by excess: for Allah loves not the wasters.” (Quran, 6:141)

Salam,

I’ve been coming across certain Muslim brothers who feel like they have done so much haram(forbidden acts) in their life that they can never change and its too late. Wake Up!! Thats the worst way to think, shatan (the devil) is just trying to play you. Remember your still alive, as long as the rooh (soul) has not reached the throat then make moves and repent.

People get caught up with their emotions and put themselves down. We have to remember Allah (God Almighty) can save us at anytime from the hellfire, we have to do everything in our power to make a niyyah and be sincere to changing and rectifying our inner selves.

Just press this onto your heart….”You do your best and Allah will do the rest” as Mufti Abdul Rehman Ibn Yusuf told me.

Today a friend of mine asked me if a Muslim brother or sister has fornicated before marriage then do they have to marry a non virgin? Good question, i started doing my research and eventually ended up on sunnipath.com to hear my man Sheikh Faraz Rabbani’s answer.

As i was looking i found that a sister had already asked this question, basically she asked does a virgin have to marry a virgin and fornicator to a fornicator. She also said ” isn’t it true that once you have sincerely repented from the sin from the bottom of your heart, do not go back to committing it that it is as if you had never committed the sin and are as good as a pious person if not above them?

The shiekh responded- Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.

The concerns you mention are true, because as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The one who repents from sin is like the one who never sinned.” Legally–as answers in the SunniPath QA (http://qa.sunnipath.com) explain–someone not known by people as a non-virgin is considered a virgin, and all the rulings apply to them.

And Allah alone gives success.

So don’t get it twisted. We must make an effort to change and turn to repentance anytime we do something haram, this is just one example.

Shiekh Hamza Yusuf Hanson Al- Maliki mentioned that as long as we are alive we have the ability to make our own life but even more deeply edit our movie. What he meant by this was that just like in Hollywood they make movies and they are able to edit and cut out whatever is not needed, similarly we should think about our life movie that will be shown to us on the day of judgment and while we are alive we are writing our movie script and the best way to edit it - is to repent!

We make dua Allah guides us all and forgives us for our shortcomings in this life and accept our repentance. Ameen!

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Salam,

The reason why i chose the title “Man Up” is because i want to talk about being real with yourself and accepting Criticism. Where i’m from when you tell someone to “Man Up”, your basically telling them to wake up, to be sincere and act like a man. Now i don’t know what the woman tell each other, but the point is you should always act upon the truth and speak the truth if you know it.

Nowadays everyone likes to point figures at the other person, but we must realize we don’t know what Allah thinks about that person, he or she might might be more honorable in front of Allah, so always put yourself below people when you see them, you never know that person might make a dua for you that can be granted. Build honest halal relationships.

We all have our “crew”, or i should say “brotherhood” which is more universally accepted. A lot of times i will chill with Muslim brothers and they will tell me my mistakes or one brother might tell another his mistakes and this contributes to the improvement of everyone on an individual level and a group level but you get the point.

One time a man came up to Imam Malik (ra), and he asked him “how did you attain such great character”, the Imam replied “I always took my critics seriously”. You can can learn a lot of wisdom from that response, instead of thinking your too good for people, why don’t you pause for a second and internalize criticism.

Some people can take criticism others can’t, i have to say i would rather have a close friend of mine or perhaps anyone tell me my faults rather than me living life without realizing my mistakes. Every one likes to run their mouth, we all know backbiting is prohibited in Islam, don’t be a vampire. So from now on why don’t we tell people straight up what we feel about them. Gossiping and backbiting like vampires destroys relationships, real people who are sincere to improving the state of their hearts and progressing in life always take criticism.

Basically what i am saying is “Man Up”, this message applies to myself and God Willing you can take it and spread it if you agree with me, but remember Our beloved Prophet Muhammad mentioned that the believers are mirrors for each other. If you can’t reflect off each other, wipe you heart with windex =)

So next time someone tells you a mistake you have made, don’t let your pride overpower your chance to improve as a person, no one walking the earths surface is perfect. We are all children of Adam and Eve.

We are all leaders, and each of us is responsible for our flock, so strive to develop yourself physically and mentally. Change starts with yourself.

Alot of people say they can’t change they world. One of the great sufi scholar’s once said ” in my youth i wanted to change the world and i realized the world will not change. But i reflect in my old age and i think if i could change myself i could have influenced my family and they could have affected the neighborhood and they could have given back to the community and the world could have improved”

Aight I’m out like acne…Inshallah “Man Up” and lets keep each other in check[ratings]

Effect of Repeating the Word ‘Allah’ by Vander Hoben from Sunnipath

Assalamu alaikum,

Psychologist Discovers Effect of Repeating “ALLAH” the Arabic way, with the tongue touching slightly the upper part of the jaw producing a short pause and then repeating the same pause constantly, relaxes the aspiration. Also, pronouncing the last letter which is the letter (H) makes a contact between the lungs and the heart and in turn this contact controls the heartbeat.

What is exciting in the study is that this psychologist is a non-Muslim, but interested in Islamic sciences and searching for the secrets of the Holy Qur’an. Allah, The Great and Glorious, says,

“We will show them Our signs in the universe and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (Qur’an) is the truth.” (Holy Qur’an 42:53)

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You probably thought of a bunch of guys blowing on dice and waiting to see which side it lands on by my topic, but na I’m focused on a whole different idea.

Some people roll dice to get money, they like to gamble and make there pockets fatter.

Chill im not trying to make my pockets fatter or climb up the corporate ladder, unless i get halal consumption and make big things happen. Meaning make the masjid better or support good causes like D.A.R.E. Feel me?

Alot of times we get caught up in the immediate pleasure, filling our inner desires with world treasures but we gotta wake up. Some people think they will be here forever thats all an illusion, im not confucious nor am i trying to make it confusing so hold on to the Quran and Sunnah, give back plus look out for the Ummah.

Werd to surah asr, mankind a.k.a humanity is in a state of loss. Everybody wants to be the boss, but only Allah has power over everything. So throw your pride on the floor, tie your camel and keep it moving. Yea there are some things you can get back but our beloved Prophet Muhammad (we send our peace and blessings upon him) said that when a person gets old two things they will miss most is there youth and health. So be wise and submit to Allah when you have the chance, because even kayne west said nothings ever promised tomorrow or today.

Its interesting to see Non- Muslims say things which can be so beneficial, but you know we all come from Adam and eve. So relax and evaluate your life, getting married is half of your deen, so stay clean and find yourself a pious wife (advice to the brothers). Whats more annoying is shatan dosent stop whispering so i gotta stay conscious and reject those evil thoughts, i guess you are what you constantly surround yourself with so stay in the masjid and play your part.

Inshallah we all stay on the straight path and keep our head up and eyes open from the shayteen, Chill yo lower your gaze.

Aight this was just another random post. Wasalaam my brothers and sisters.

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Salam,

Does taking out your phone, checking who called you, canceling the call and shutting off the phone invalidate your salat in the middle of ruku?. I seen a brother do this yesterday in the Jumuah Prayer, i was asking myself like is that salat valid?, its so distracting, i mean in the middle of praising Allah you get a call from someone, the only wireless connection your suppose to be having in salat is with Allah, and no carrier can give you better connection than yourself, you have to conscious of what your doing in salat!

Technology is advancing at the speed of light or i should say some people’s salat..haha, but its so weird like seeing people talking on the phone when we are lining up for salat, or pulling out their sidekicks and making text messages, we seriously gotta learn to leave the world behind us when we start the salat, I don’t know if any of you ever heard of this but when we say Allahu Akbar to start the salat and raise our hands to our ears it looks as if we are leaving the world behind us then we lock ourselves in to the salat…and its Allah time!

What’s even more annoying is when some brother’s Haram ring tone goes off in the middle of Salat, and then when the Salat is done, everybody starts turning their heads wondering who’s cell phone it was, but having some dirty song play during prayer can get you in alot of trouble, so brother’s and sisters turn off your cellphone when you enter the masjid. Just the other day my phone went off during salat, and thank god it wasn’t no music ringtone but it was a constant bell that kept ringing and ringing, and when the salat was done, everyone was grilling me, my fault! they should make cellphones that don’t ring during salat and have automatic detectors.

At the end of the day, we just have to get our priority’s straight and Allah told us to pray 5 times a day, Thats it! and if we can’t shut off our phones for that little time and be conscious of Praising Allah then we have serious issues, i rather have drop calls then pick up sins….so think it over Inshallah. I hope we all don’t let this fast life and all these technological distractions take over time to pray, and make us forget about why we are praying. Ameen!

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Salam Yo,

Interesting enough to say, we are already on our 14 day of Ramadan, Time is flying, kind of scary, but it’s time we elevate our souls and become more aware of life and reflect upon the state of our iman, what i mean by this is that take full advantage of our time and resources, Alhumduillah Allah gave us a body, and with this body we pray, we work, we inshallah try to carry out good deeds and most importantly submit to the will of Allah in every aspect of our life’s.

Often times the youth say “we will practice islam when we get older”, especially the way this society is designed, a kid graduates from high school where he is exposed to fitnah at every level, then goes on to college, and what do people tell him “oh this is your time, you will never get it back, go do whatever you want to do”, I dont have to explain what that means but its sad to see that we are in a state of heedlessness, we often are unaware that we are getting nearer to death and will be raised and questioned about what whether we achieved our purpose in life? Which is to submit to Allah.

Every second that goes by, every opportunity that comes our way and we waste to submit to Allah, is in reaction a tremendous loss to what we could have seized in that moment. Becoming so full of this life thinking at times we are going to be here forever, the teachings of the Quran that warn them about falling into this state are ignored. Our inner desires take over and we get trapped in our ways surrendering to our lower selves and let the immediate pleasures of this short life filled with illusions grab a hold of us. This is something to seriously think about, Especially in Ramadan, I’ve been thinking about how have i been doing, is my imann shifting in the right direction. This month filled with blessings, Alhumduillah, which if we are in most be a wake up call.

The little things matter, refraining from those things that drive us away from our purpose and Islam, People tell me ” if you can stop doing something for month” then you can stop doing it for a year. No excuses, its just a matter of reflecting and being real with yourself. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad said ” A person will miss two things when they are old, Health and Youth”. When we become weak physically of course we can’t do the things we normally did, the events, the dawah efforts, which is why its so important to understand that Alhumduillah while we have health, youth, inshallah then make moves. The internal clock which Allah has put for you is ticking and Inshallah we must be in a constant state of ibadah, in our mental, physical, and spiritual.

Allah says in the Holy Quran, “So glad tidings to one who takes himself to account (hasaba nafsahu) before he it taken to account. Allah Most High has said, “O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah. And let every soul look to that which it sendeth on before for the morrow. And observe your duty to Allah! Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do. And be not ye as those who forgot Allah, therefore He caused them to forget their souls. Such are the evil-doers.” (Qur’an, 59: 18)

So always bring youself into account, ask yourself, did i act righteous today? did I improve? was i alert and concerned about my state with Allah, or did i just waste time, did i pray?. Inshallah let’s all start become more aware of our life before it is to late and understand that we will be taken into account as those before us, So fullfill your obligations and stay on the deen. Ameen!

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