As *Eman Hamadah was growing up, she was blindly unaware of the severe abuse her father inflicting upon her. To her it was just a normal part of her life.

As she grew older and older, the abuse got worse. It use to be something that happened maybe once a week but soon turned into every day. And only when she became older and aware of what was really happening, she soon realized how painful her life had just become.

One day, Eman approached her father about the abuse he was inflicting on her and the family. She sat down in front of him and boldly said,

“Ya Abi, you’ve abandoned your prayer and the pain it has caused me is too much. I love you very much and am scared for you; I’m scared that you might die in this state and meet Allah this way.”

Her father replied, “I get it, I’m a kaafir… you happy? Yes I’m bad, I’m going to hell, now leave me alone. ”

Eman still has sleepless nights sometimes, worrying about her father.

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Not praying to Allah is perhaps the most selfish action a person can do.

Allah ‘az wa jal created a Mankind and Jinn so that we can worship Him. As Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says:

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Quran 51:56]

But subhanallah, it’s even much much deeper than that; our lack of praying to Allah affects everyone around us as well.

We hear the reminders all the time, “We could die tomorrow.” But very few of us stop to think about what that could mean for us. One of the worst pains someone can inflict on another person is to stop the worship of Allah, know you are wrong, but not doing anything about it until it’s too late. Sure, Allah is the one who guides the hearts and similarly, whoever dies a disbeliever in Allah it is by Allah’s will. But there is no one to blame but oneself in the end.

So I’d like you to put yourself in this scenario, May Allah forbid:

Imagine you are with your mother, the woman who would give anything, even her own life if she had to, in order to see you live a healthy life. She is the one who is the most empathetic with you when you are sad, the one who stays by your side when you are sick, the one who no matter how bad you messed up at the end of the day will tell you she loves you, and the one who strokes your head until you fall asleep. Now imagine… her dying upon kufr.

Wallahi, this is the reality of many of us today. And it’s one of the scariest realities some of us will have to face in our lives. But what if it’s not someone we love who is inflicting this pain upon us, but it is us unknowingly inflicting pain on someone else? Subhanallah, how could we be so selfish. How could we completely be so ungrateful to our creator? And at the same time how can we knowingly inflict pain on the most beloved people to us?

It’s not too late to change and in fact NOW is the BEST time for change. The gates of hellfire are closed. When a believer, a sinner calls upon his lord and says “Ya Rabbi!”  Allah replies, “Labbaik ya Abdi! (I am here O my slave)”

This is a month full of forgiveness, mercy and blessings from Allah. If we aren’t practicing now is the best and easiest time to start worshiping Allah the way He deserves to be worshiped. If we are sinning constantly, now is the easiest time to rid of the weight of these sins.

Every soul will stand in front of Allah alone. But we don’t have to be alone in Jannah.

Wallahu ta’ala alem. Food for thought during your fast.

_______

*Real name not used.

I often complain about living in Louisiana, after all there are only a few avenues to seek knowledge. But wallahi brothers and sisters one blessing Allah ‘az wa jal has given the Muslims here In Louisiana is the chance to become the Ansaar of Allah.

One week after coming back from Egypt, I’m welcomed by Hurricane Gustav. (Ahh, the genius behind the name “Egyptian Gumbo.”)

The shelves in the grocery stores are empty, people lining up to fill up their gas tanks, and the interstate starting to crowd with cars coming from New Orleans in hope to get out before the storm comes. Stores are even starting to put away the jewelry in a safe place in case of looting.

Every year I’ve been a student at LSU, we’ve always gotten days off the second week of school due to a hurricane — whether it struck or not.

I received calls yesterday asking me if I could help accommodate the sisters that will be coming to our masajid for due to mandatory evacuation in New Orleans. During Katrina, we had over 100 families stay in our small campus masjid.

A solider of Allah is coming, and we ask Allah ‘az wa jal to protect us from his wrath.

It’s truly a humbling experience to be able to help shelter people and tend to their needs. And I’d very much like to share it with the world. So if happens and the hurricane does come to Louisiana, I will try to document the efforts and the needs of the victims so that inshaAllah people will know exactly what is needed in order to help them. And perhaps i’ll try to get people’s personal stories. I can’t promise anything, because 1. We are unsure what the conditions will be like and 2. My priority will inshaAllah be helping people, not filming them — but if I have the opportunity and feel it will be beneficial, inshaAllah I will. — This is, if Allah protects us and averts any destruction from coming our way.

You don’t need a hurricane to help your fellow Muslims and non-Muslims. Ramadan is here, feed those who need food. Become an Ansaari.

May Allah protect us all, and bless us in Ramadan with His mercy and forgiveness. Ameen. Keep us in your dua, inshaAllah.

Sun, Moon, stars — all ayat of Allah; all prove his existence.  However, very seldom do we look toward the other ayat of Allah for lessons in our deen. And for the Muslim youth out there, inshaAllah I hope this post will be a profound reminder.

The first time I saw this clip I was in awe, because it immediately reminded me of a hadith of the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam which teaches the insaan an important life lesson and advice to staying on the correct path.

First, I want you to watch the clip. Then, I want you to reflect for a moment and try to see what hadith I could possibly be referring to.

Allah ‘az wa jal shows us through nature sometimes lessons to be learned and adopted by humans.

After all, look at the story of the two sons of Adam, Qabil (Cain) and Habil (Abel), in the Quran. When Qabil killed his brother Allah ‘az wa jal sent a crow/raven before him who dug up the earth to show him how to cover the body of his dead brother.

Perhaps there are quite a few lessons one might have derived from the above clip, but the ahadith that clearly came to my mind when I first watched this, were the ahadith about friends.

In one hadith the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said,

“The example of a good companion and a bad companion is like that of the seller of musk, and the one who blows the blacksmith’s bellows. So as for the seller of musk then either he will grant you some, or you buy some from him, or at least you enjoy a pleasant smell from him. As for the one who blows the blacksmith’s bellows then either he will burn your clothes or you will get an offensive smell from him.”

In another hadith, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said,

“A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so look at whom you befriend.”

The ant in the above clip was inflicted with a deadly disease. Any ant nearby that saw the deranged ant would move it far away from the rest of the colony as to not infect and ruin the other ants.

Subhanallah, Allah ‘az wa jal showed us sacrifice, hardship, straying from the correct path and saving those around you all in this short nature scene.

If you want to become closer to Allah, you have to look at those around you to get a better outlook on your own state. If you see that the company you have isn’t the type to remind you of Allah, the type that gossips or constantly gets in trouble or arguments with others, than take that as a sign to start finding a new group of people to keep you company.

There is always a certain point someone can look back and say, “This is when I started to change and started to become more religious.”

I find a common thread between everyone who’s said this statement. These three things are what lead people to change into a better slave of Allah:

1. Changing friends/ environment

3. Going to the Masjid more/ seeking more knowledge

Today, I want all of us to focus on the first one. Deep down we know the type of people we should keep as company.

Just like the ant in the video, we know sometimes it requires a greater sacrifice.

In the video you saw that as cruel as it was for the other aunt to leave it to die far away and alone, sometimes this is what is needed to save the rest of those around you. When sin becomes well known others will begin to follow in it’s footstep (which is why it’s best that we not reveal our sins.) Sure, we will lose people we may care about greatly, but the greater sacrifice is for Allah; seeking His face. When you take away the root of the problem, you will see that everything else inshaAllah will fall into place and your environment will be much safer from diseases of the heart– not only for you but for those around you as well.

One ant sacrificed leaving one deviant ant to tend to itself, so that it could save not only himself but those around him.

It truly is amazing to see the profoundness of the creation of Allah and His Ayat.

wallahu alem.