على طريق الله (روح العبادة) - الحلقة 21 - اداب وأحكام الخطوبة - مصطفى حس...

I love how everytime I decide to listen to Mustafa Hosny , the lecture addresses exctally what I need to hear, Allah truly sends messages to your heart when you seek them. He is always showing us Signs, always!

Journey to Half My Deen, My Habibi

 

The journey towards finding "half your deen" or your "loved one" is a journey that requires two characteristics , patience and trust in Allah 

And now I am learning that once again I will need these two beautiful characteristics to contunie this journey with my beloved one whom Allah has sent.

The aya that keept me patient before meeting my fiancé is the ayah in Surat Yusuf about how Allah does not lose the reward of the good doers . This Surah truly teaches you that with " saburn jamil" or beautiful patience ( as mentioned in the Surah) you will find beautiful results.

Patience and trust or tawkul in Allah are characterstics we need in all parts of our life. These two characterstics are mentioned more then once im the Quran and in the stories of the Prophets lives.We need pateince and trust in Allah when we are single, when we are married, when in search of our rizik ( wealth), when raising children , when dealing with our parents ....the list can go on

The theme of beautiful Pateince in Surat Yusuf is what keept me motivated when I was single and ready to "Marry" since you know we can't just mingle !

And beautiful patience comes beautiful results as long as you trust in Allah.


And always always remember that "
And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things.


Once you conceptualiz this concept within your heart you will see how true His promise is as examples of this aya begin to appear within your own life with whatever you seek, whether you are seeking for a job, a hausband, or anything you need, the answer or concept is there within that aya , just trust in Him.

My hausband represents a story of meaning and our story revolves around Surat Yusuf....because as he was waiting for me I was waiting for him but within those years where we both sought inspiration from the Quran, in those years we both made dua for each other, we didn't know that Allah had us written down as a rizik for one another. We didn't know that we would be each others "duaa answered ". And now I am just thinking how Tarek, my hausband was everything I didn't expect when I thought about where I would meet my husband.

Listen to this..I always used to tell my friends and family how "there is no one ( eligible bachelors) for me at NHIEC. And I remember I would even walk into the office which was on the men's side nor even caring at all about how the men would probably think oh she's to strong and oh not wifey material looool. And I liked it that way, that I thought while I'm volunteering at NHIEC I don't have to be distracted since no one here is looking for a wife. And for years I would go outside of my community thinking I would find my potential somewhere else. Here's another funny thing, I always used to say how I did not want to marry someone from the village my hausband fiancé is from!
There are so many other things I used to say about what i would and would not want but subhanAllah how Allah has such different plans for us. It is in this instance when you reflect that you realize how beautuful the concept of tawkul (trust) in Allah truly is.



So now to the juicy part of how I meet him...

So while I was volunteering at NHIEC ( the place I used to always say had no eligible bachelors ) I was on the Media Commitee ( still am) even tho I have zero media skills. Tarek joined the commitee a little after a year I was in it, but the difference is that he has media skills, he knew how to design flyers and etc. Just thinking about this makes me once again remember how amazing Allahs plans are for us, and how He puts us where we need to be.
So honestly, ( sorry Tarek and I already told him this directly ) I never noticed or thought anything of Tarek during our time toghther on the media team. He was just one of the people I was working with on the commitee who had extra amazing skills to bring to our team...but Tarek....Tarek was trying to find a way to make me his wife.  Finally he approached one of our sisters at the Masjid  who then approached me, and then I asked my family , and then then Ramadan came, and then ... After a long month of duaa , on the day of Eid Al Fitr him and his baba would make it offical as they invited themselves to "coffee" at my house upon the permission of my father...aka the arab way of saying hey we are coming to ask for your daughter...and soooo a couple of days after Eid Tarek is sitting in my living room upon the presence of family. Then we celebrated in the presence of close family memebers in the place where we meet, the Masjid of our Raab Al Razqik, alhumdAllah. A celebration that inshAllah can set an example for other young singles within our community, that you don't know where your rizik will come from.

One of my favorite parts of this journey was when people would come to me to tell me how they were making duaa for me , esp in Ramadan...and all of these are people whom I feel honored to even be remembered in their duaa . Lets just say Sheikh Hassan aka my favorite imam aka i stumble when i say salam to him because of all his noor asaid he was making dua for me all the time, and how my husband is a result of baraka and my work for nhiec !

So back to my story that I have to practice telling so when I have future kids I can inspire them to "find love at the mosque" haha just kidding but seriously  love Allah, love His Mosque, and He will send you those whom will love you for His Sake without you even realizing the source subhanAllah.

Who would've thought my story would be " I meet my hausband at the Mosque and we were on the same media commitee...oh and just because you finally found someone you are going to make a life coomitment with it doesn't mean you leave your commitment to Allah and His Mosque

AlAqsa

Hajj: Largest Miracle on Earth

 

As all the hajjis gets ready to say their farewells to the most beautiful place on earth I sit here admiring the pictures all over yahoo news, the huffignton post, times magazine, and other various non muslim newspapers..reading about how over 2 million people have gathered at this site, reading about how the National Geographic Magzine descirbes it as "One of the largest gatherings on Earth".

All I can think is how this is one of the "Largest miracles on Earth"  

 

Imagine " THE LARGEST" gathering on earth for His Sake...not only is it the most largest gathering on earth, its also the most diverse but at the same time the most united as all are there seeking Him...saying the beautiful words of "Labyak Allahum Labyk"لبّیک اللّٰھم لبیّک،I respond to Your call, O Allah I respond to Your call.

 

 

Hajj : a miracle on earth, another sign of Allah, another sign of how amazing our deen is , another sign to help people reflect upon the truth of the message lailah il Allah wa Muhamad RasoulAllah.

 

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/pictures/141004-hajj-islam-pilgrimage-photos-religion/

 

 

Eid Ul Adha : We Hear and We Obey

This Eid represents that of Prophet Ibrahim's and his sons scarfice for the Sake of Allah. Prophet Ibrahim's story represents how one "hears and obeys" Samana wa Athynaa as is the theme of Surat Al Baqarah (according to Dr Islam El Fahyuomis lectures) ....you get a commandment from Allah you heard it so you place your trust in Allah and obey Him as if you see him if you reach the state of "ihsan ". 

One part of this scarfice is that you have full trust that Allah knows that we don't know and that He will not ask us to do something that is not good for you.

 For an example when someone asks you as a hijabi why do you wear hijab , you can give all the reasons of wisdom as to why you wear hijab but the first answer should be because Allah the All Knowing  is the One who commanded us to wear hijab and we wear it  for this reason before anything for His Sake. You can think of covering your beauty as a scarfice for His Sake because you will never fully understands or know why we have to wear hijab as Allah only knows but you as a Muslim must place your full trust in Him that He will only make you do that which is beneficial for you inshAllah. 

So its not about the action of avoiding what He asks us to avoid or to do that which He asks us to, or the action of "scarfice" but we should focus more on the faith that takes place within the heart which results in obedience to Allah and action of the heart. It's about understanding Allahs attributes , having full  trust in Him, sincerly believing in His Promisses, and believing in His Love for those who love Him. 

We will never fully  know why we were supposed to avoid drinking, we will never fully know why we had to make wudu before prayer, but if we learn to know Allah and understand His Names which explain His Attriubutes such as Al Hakim The Wise One we will do what is told with full trust and feelings of peace and skainah as we know He only wants whats best for us. It's like when a Dr tells a patient to take vitman d because thier levels are low ...although you cannot "see" the low levels or the way vitman d serves to protect your body ...although you cannot fully comprehend why a pill will save your life you trust the Dr and you do as he tells you so that your body may remain healthy. 

Eid Ul Adha also represents a time in which we must scarfice a sheep to feed the poor...once again the theme of scarfice but with this action the person is clearly sacrificing thier money , something that represents dunya for their good deeds scale in the next life inshhAllah.

The scarfice of the sheep in this time is called ul Udihya hence the Eid name "Adha" (arabic and its beautiful root word meanings ). 

This Eid I have a goal of fundraising $600.00 for the Islamic Relief udhiya inshAllah. It starts now with $100.. Please text or message me if you want to help. The first country I want to work on is Syria for $230.

Full list of countries and prices: 

http://qurbani.myirusa.org/

Seeking Knowledge , Its About Time

My blogs has been lacking as my search for islamic ilm has been slacking , but the books never closed, the path to seeking knowledge is always open as long as your brain is ready to operate, as long as your eyes are ready to open ,and more improtantly as long as yout heart is ready  reading a new page with the intention of "Oh Allah increase me in beneficial knowledge". 

Don't let the lack of classes in your area or the lack of lectures stop you from finding other alternative ways of seeking ilm.

After the past couple of months in which one if my favorite lecture series stopped I realized that when you stop pursuing islamic knowledge there is a disconnect not only from the brain but from that which benefits the soul, the ultimate peace of mind which is real remeberance of Allah that can only happen in the heart if one fills the heart with beneficial knowledge. I realized that I allowed my pursue for a Masters degree in ilm fadeee (empty ) that took me away from books that truly benefit your heart.

After realizing that its going to be hard to have a consistent teacher teach me the deen of Allah I decided to finally browse through my mini librarary to see what old books I can re read to bring back that excitement for the pursue of beneficial ilm.

I began reading "The Beginning of Gudiance " Imam Al Ghazli a book I once bought for a Seekers Gudiance online course that I never completed in 2011. The book shook my heart as it touched upon many things I needed my heart to remember.

One of  my favorite segements was titled " Seeking Useful Knowledge" in arabic it is writen as the student of knowledge 

Imam Al Ghazli writes (52) 

" the first way, and the best, is to spend your time seeking beneficial knowledge in religion, not matters of secondary importance to which many people devote themselves and call knowledge. 

Useful knowledge is only that which increases your fear of Allah Most High, increase your insight into your own defects and increase your knowledge of  how to workshop Allah The Most Majestic, it reduces your yearning for this worlds , and increases your yearning for the Hereafter and opens your eyes to the things that spoil your worship so you may guard against them, it lays bare to you the scheming of satan ...

If you are worthy of it, go seek it and act by it then teach it to others and invite others to it..."

I ended the book with the finding of a bookmark from the book company and I was about to cry when I realized the quote on the back from one of my favorite scholars, as I read the quote I realized this is the new  beginning of my pursuit for beneficial knowledge and its about time I opened the door back to this path and I am back to share whatever I learn with those who may read this blog for beneficial knowledge inshaAllah 

"Learning is the glory of mankind. The wise are beacons on the road to truth; Man is worth his knowledge, nothing more. The fool will be his inveterate foe. Knowledge is mans hope of life immortal. Man may die but wisdom lievth forever " Caliph Ali

NHIEC Ramadan Video: Arabic,Spanish,Sign Language, English, Mayor, Sheikh,Community

 

Facebook.com/nhiecmosque

Ramadan Greetings in Arabic, English, Spanish, American Sign Language

Featuring ( based on order of the video )

 

1.Qari Hassan Saleh reading the ayas about Ramadan from Surat Al Baqarah 

2. Sheikh Mohamed Moussa from NHIEC

3. Some of the Masjid Boys ( can you spot  the twins?!)

4. Sister who is half Egyptian and Half Latino greeting us in Spanish

5. Br Yusuf a revert and beloved student of Sheikh Al Hayek, PHd in a Islamic Studies field

6. Sheikh Al Hayek from NHIEC

7. Omar Garcia and kids second generation Puerto Rican Muslims greeting us in Spanish

8. Sr Oraib greeting us in sign language 

9. Br Tarek greeting us in the Palestinian accented Arabic 

10. Br Hamid greeting us in the Moroccan accented Arabic 

11. 7 year old Samar greeting us in English

12. Two Union City official greeting us in Spanish! ( sorry I didn't get their names!)

13. Captain from the Union City Police Dept

14. Captain Mitchell from the Union City Police Dept 

15. Rich the Chief  of Police in Union City

16.And finally the  Mayor of Union City, Brian Stack !

Ramadan is Back, The Hearts Are Coming to Rest

 

Tonight marked the first night of Ramadan...although I was excited I had some fear in my heart...fear that I would not be able to re connect my heart to Allah the way in which a person attains the highest level of peace, this level is called "Al Nafs  Al Mutmana" The Peaceful Soul". I was worried that I would not be able to experience the Ramadan spirit on this first night of taraweeh....but Allah is Al Tawab, Al Rahman, He wants you to come back to Him, He wants to place those peaceful feelings in your heart as you remember Him, and oh did I feel that peace descend upon me as I prayed those first rakahs for taraweeh...and ...alhumdAllah tonight was amazing, and this is only the start! Ramadan is here, the 30 days of peace, serenity, and full focus on Allah is here, the long nights of taraweeh (which comes from the word raha which means rest) are here, the long nights that bring rest to the hearts, "Alyaa badhikr Allah tamatna al Qulb" Verily in the remberance of Allah do the hearts find rest" Surat Al Rad aya 28, the eyes of tears are here, the hearts waited long  they waited all year for these nights, alhumaa taqbal mina Ramadan! You can feel the aya mentioned in the picture above when you stand on your feet with your hands raised and your heart awake, asking Allah for whatever you heart seeks.

 

If you noticed I have not blogged in a while, and it might be because I have been lacking in sharing  spiritual experiences  or good notes that I have learned or lessons.  I only can share what is good  because this is a public platform and the Prophet Muhammad said, "“All of my ummah may be forgiven except those who commit sin openly. It is a kind of committing sin openly if a man does something at night, then morning comes and Allaah has concealed his sin, but he says, ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night,’ when his Lord has concealed him (his action) all night but in the morning he reveals that which Allah had concealed for him.” 

 

 

Its Back, The Vacation Called Taraweeh: Rest

Repost:

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Vacation Called Taraweeh: Rest

An Exclusive Vacation Called Taraweeh:

When: Ramadan
Location: Any Masjid
Destination: Allah
Cost:Priceless
Goal: Rest & Relax
Passport: A heart that remembers Allah

Did you ever wonder why you love coming to salat al tarweeh even though its about two hours long?

The word tarweeh comes from the arabic word "Raaha" which means rest and relax

This explains why although it is two hours of long standing we still love it and we are so sad when Ramadan is over

While people spend thousands of dollars to go on vacation just so they can "rest and relax", Muslims await for the Tarweeh.Muslims dont have to go on vacation to achieve
this relaxation, they just wait for Ramadan...

Through the tarweeh it is not your body that is at rest, but rather your heart is at rest as it remembers Allah

Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.
Surat Al-Rad Aya 28

The one whos salat brings this this feeling of raha will tell you two hours is not enough, and they will get up in the middle of the night for the salaatul Qiyaam.

 

While people find sleeping as a form of rest the believer's find the standing of long  salaat and the making of long sujuds as the greatest form of rest...

The one who has not yet tasted the sweetness of faith in salat will not understand how long salat is a form of rest and relaxation.

 

Those who have achieved the raha part of the tarweeh try to prolong thier sujud and thier eyes are filled with tears  as thier hearts remember Allah....

 

In the next sujud ask Allah to make you cry because the Prophet said

"One teardrop that falls from the eye of a believer out of love and fear for Him is better than this world and everything it contains!"

 

The LightHouse Within, Your Heart

Just like the light house in the midst of the ocean, the sea and darkness, there is a light house located within you shining and guiding you towards the Light of Allah, its in a central location, its the light of your heart !

( See previous notes regarding the light and the heart)