*New* The Spice Art!

Bismillaah

I present to you my first creation: Shake it Baby!

This artwork has been solely created by using salt, black pepper and a bit of red chilli powder.
The border is a cut out napkin. I had originally decorated the border with red round chillies and bay leaf, but didn’t like it much.
The other half of the picture (First Letter of My Name) is made out of cumin seeds.

Enjoy the spicy-flavoured eye candy!

 

Full View:

Up-Close:

But Only a Few…

Bismillaah

فاذكروني أذكركم واشكروا لي ولا تكفرون

Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me.
[Baqarah: 152]

In times of serious distress when you find yourself raising your hands to your Lord and elongating your sujood, with the hope that Your Lord will hear your call and respond to you.

Your Lord Responds in the matter most befitting to Him, subhanahu wa ta’ala. And He gives much more than what we may deserve.

After receving the bounty, do you acknowledge His Favour and thank Him? Or do you simply return His Favour by disobeying Him?

How many of us actually acknowledge what our Lord bestows us with? We remember Him while asking, but do we remember Him when are being given?

How simple is it to say: “Alhumdulillaah.”

 

إن تكفروا فإن الله غني عنكم ولا يرضى لعباده الكفر وإن تشكروا يرضه لكم

If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you, He likes not disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you.
[Zumar: 7]

 اللهم لك الحمد كله و لك الشكر كله و لك الملك كله

Welcoming Tayyibaat!

Bismillaah

Please join me in welcoming my good friend, Tayyibaat to the blogworld! Check out this extremely beneficial blog for balaghah and tafseer at http://tayyibaat.wordpress.com

Ahlan wa sahlan! :)

May Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala increase us all in knowledge, and protect us from knowledge that does not benefit, ameen.

Saying Ramadan Kareem…

Bismillaah

You don’t say Ramadan Kareem, but rather Ramadan Mubarak or the like of it. Watch the following media for the fatwa of Sh. ibn al Uthaymeen, rahimahullaahu ta’ala

JazahaAllaahu khayr to the sister who pointed out the ruling. I couldn’t find the text, but someone uploaded the video for the ruling. The fatwa is taken from: Shaykh ibn al Uthaymeen’s fatwas, As’ilah wa ajwibah ‘an alfaaz wa mafaaheem fee meezaan al-sharee’ah

Ramadan Mubarak to you and your families :)
Wassalaamu alaykum warehmatullaahi wabarakatuhu

The Leper, the Baldheaded Man & the Blind Man

Bismillaah

Both Bukhari and Muslim relate in their compilations from Abu Hurairah radhiyAllaahu anhu that he heard Allaah’s Messenger, salAllaahu alayhi wasallam say:

There were three from the Children of Israel – the leper, the baldheaded man, and the blind man – and Allaah (the Exalted) decided to test them, so he sent to them an angel, who went first to the leper and said, “What is most beloved to you?” He said, “Good colour and good skin, for the people are disgusted by me.” The angel touched him and his affliction went away: he was now given good colour and good skin. The angel asked, “And what wealth is most beloved to you?” He said, “Camels,” or he said, “Cows.” (He wasn’t sure, either it was the leper or the baldheaded man who said camels, while it was the other who said cows.) He was given a pregnant camel, and the angel said, “May you be blessed with it.”

He then went to the baldheaded man and said, “What is most beloved to you?” He said, “Good hair and to be cured of this disease; indeed people are repelled by me.” Then the angel touched him; his affliction went away, and he was given good hair. The angel then asked, “And what wealth is most beloved to you?” He said, “Cows.” The angel gave him a pregnant cow and said, “May you be blessed with it.”

He then went to the blind man and said, “What is most beloved to you?” He said, “For Allaah to return to me my sight, so that with it I can see people.” Then the angel touched him and Allaah returned to him his sight. The angel asked, “And what wealth is most beloved to you?” He said, “Sheep.” So he gave him one pregnant sheep and the livestock of each one of them reproduced, so that the first had a valley of camels, while the second had a valley of cows, and the third had a valley full of sheep.

Then the angel came to the leper in the shape of a man, and said, “I am a poor man who has run out of means during his travel. Today, I will not find that which I need to continue my travel except through Allaah and then through you. I ask you by the One Who has given you good colour and good skin and wealth, to give me one camel upon which I may complete my journey.” He said, “Indeed the rights (of others upon me) are many (i.e., I have a large family for whom I must provide).” The angel said to him, “It seems that I know you; were you not a leper, who people found to be repulsive? A poor man, and Allaah gave you wealth?” He said, “Indeed, I have inherited from my forebears.” He said, “If you are lying, then may Allaah change you back to your previous state.”

He then went to the baldheaded man, again in the guise of a man, and said the same words that he said to the leper. The baldheaded man responded in the same manner that the leper did. The angel said, “If you are lying, then may Allaah change you back to your previous state.”

He then went to the blind man, yet again in the shape of a man, and said, “I am a poor man who is cut off from his journey. Today, I have no means for reaching my destination except through Allaah and then through you. I ask you by the One Who has returned to you your sight; to give me one sheep with which I may complete my journey.” He said, “Indeed I was blind and Allaah returned to me my sight, poor and he made me rich, so take whatever you desire, for by Allaah I will not hold back anything from you today that you take for Allaah.” The angel said, “Keep your wealth, for indeed you were only tested; indeed Allaah is pleased with you and is angry with your two companions.” (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

If Only…

Bismillaah

Allah azza wa jal says in Suratul Anbiya (21):

لَوْ يَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا حِينَ لَا يَكُفُّونَ عَن وُجُوهِهِمُ النَّارَ وَلَا عَن ظُهُورِهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ

If only those who disbelieved knew when they will not be able to ward off the Fire from their faces, nor from their backs; and they will not be helped. [21:39]

The word for ward off is ‘yakuffoona”, “يَكُفُّونَ“, and this is from the root word “ka-fa-fa” or ‘kaff’, which means palm/hand. So the disbelievers will not be able to put their hands out, avert or prevent themselves from the punishment. Imagine, if something is coming towards your face… what is the first thing you would do? Cover your face with your hands, right? The disbelievers will not be able to do this. They will not be able to avert or obstruct the fire from their faces, may Allaah ta’ala protect us from it, ameen. And Allaah ta’ala continues, “nor from their backs”, وَلَا عَن ظُهُورِهِمْ “, Now is something came to your face and you were not able to cover it from your hands, what would you do then? Turn around and protect yourself with your back, right? The disbelievers will not even be able to do this… “and they will not be helped”… there won’t be anyone, no helper or assistant to come and save them from the punishment.

Allaah ta’ala begins this ayah with ‘law’, if only, and these types of ayaat are throughout the Qur’an. Read the ayah again, Allaah azza wa jall doesn’t answer what would happen if the disbelievers knew this, because the answer is left up to us and it is understood. The ‘if only’ in this ayah carries out two meanings:

Firstly, if only the disbelievers knew… they would not ask for the punishment. They wouldn’t be hasty. They would not say the statements they say.

Secondly, ‘law’ can be understood as ‘hard at-tamannu”, a statement of hope of wish. Like saying “Alas”, “I wish”, so ‘if only they knew’.

Allaah azza wa jal continues:

بَلْ تَأْتِيهِم بَغْتَةً فَتَبْهَتُهُمْ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ رَدَّهَا وَلَا هُمْ يُنظَرُونَ

Nay, it will come upon them all of a sudden and will perplex them, and they will have no power to avert it, nor will they get respite. (40)

-”it” in this ayah can mean the fire or the day of Judgment…It will come to them “baghtah”, unexpectedly, suddenly, without any alert. Then Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, “ فَتَبْهَتُهُمْ “, “then it perplexed them”. This word is from “ba-ha-ta”, and it literally means to bewilder and overwhelm someone. It also means to astonish and shock someone in such a way that they cannot see anything. It will render the disbelievers speechless, because they are not expecting it at all. They will not be able to repel the punishment or the Day of the Judgment and they will not be given respite. What does respite means? It means that they will not be given the chance to repent, to reform or offer an excuse to Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala. The time for that has passed.

May Allaah ta’ala protect us from ever entering the fire and envelop us in His Rahmah and may He make our best deeds our last and guide us until we enter Firdaws, Ameen.

Complementary post by AmatulWadood

Good Attitude?

Bismillaah

وَأَمَّا مَنۡ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِۦ وَنَهَى ٱلنَّفۡسَ عَنِ ٱلۡهَوَىٰ (٤٠) فَإِنَّ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ هِىَ ٱلۡمَأۡوَىٰ

“But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires and lusts. Verily, Paradise will be his abode”
[al-Naazi’aat 79:40-41]

Attitude reflects how a person thinks and the way he is inside. Just as, in general, a person’s outward form cannot be beautiful if only the eyes are beautiful and not the nose, mouth and cheek, and everything must be beautiful in order for the entire outward form to be beautiful, so too there are four requirements of inward beauty which must all be met in order for one’s attitude to be good or beautiful. If all four requirements are met and balanced then a good attitude is acquired, the characteristics of which are: strong knowledge, control of anger, control of desire, and a proper balance between these three aspects.

With regard to strong knowledge, good and sound knowledge means understanding in such a way that one can see the difference between telling the truth and telling lies in speech, between truth and falsehood in beliefs, between beauty and ugliness in actions. If this strength becomes sound, there will result from it wisdom, and wisdom is the head of a good attitude.

With regard to strength of anger, its beauty is that it is used in accordance with what is dictated by wisdom. The same applies to desire; its beauty and strength should be controlled by wisdom, meaning under the control of reason and sharee’ah.

With regard to balance, it means proper control of desires and anger, under the control of wisdom and sharee’ah.

Reason is like a sincere adviser. Justice and balance is power, and it is like one who does what is dictated by reason. Anger is to be subjected to control.

The one who acquires and balances these characteristics is a man of good character in general, and from it stem all good qualities.

No one achieved perfect balance of these four characteristics except the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); people after him vary in how close or distant they are to him in character. Everyone who is close to him in these characteristics is close to Allaah, to the extent that he is close to the Messenger of Allaah.

Source: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/101023

Egyptian Food Secrets…

Bismillaah

As a part of my goal this summer, healthy diet came up as a crucial component. I made the intention in the morning today to eat nothing but healthy… and this is what Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala, Ar-Razzaaq provided me with…

Feta Cheese

+

Khubz

+

Watermelon

And no, the watermelon was not the dessert. It was all part of the lunch :D

I also learned how to tell a good watermelon apart from a not so ripe one. Knock on the watermelon. The more dense the noice is,  the better it is to go in your tummy! :)

Ya Eebadi…

Bismillaah

Read the following and let us ask ourselves… what exactly are we spending our time on? In search of food? In search of fulfilling our desires? Why are we worrying about these things, when our Lord, the Most High, has already taken care of these matters? Why are we worried then? What exactly is it that we need to be worried about?

عن أبي ذر الغفاري رضي الله عنه عن النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم -

فيما يرويه عن ربه عز وجل أنه قال :

يا عبادي إني حرمت الظلم على نفسي وجعلته بينكم محرما فلا تظالموا،

يا عبادي ، كلكم ضال إلا من هديته ، فاستهدوني أهدكم ،

يا عبادي كلكم جائع إلا من أطعمته ، فاستطعموني أطعمكم ،

يا عبادي كلكم عار إلا من كسوته ، فاستكسوني أكسكم ،

يا عبادي ، إنكم تخطئون بالليل والنهار ، وأنا أغفر الذنوب جميعا ،
فاستغفروني أغفر لكم ،

يا عبادي ، إنكم لن تبلغوا ضري فتضروني ، ولن تبلغوا نفعي فتنفعوني ،

يا عبادي ، لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم كانوا على أتقى قلب رجل واحد منكم ما زاد ذلك في ملكي شيئا

، يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم كانوا على أفجر قلب رجل واحد ما نقص ذلك من ملكي شيئا

يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم قاموا في صعيد واحد فسألوني فأعطيت كل إنسان مسألته ما نقص ذلك مما عندي
إلا كما ينقص المخيط إذا أدخل البحر ،

يا عبادي إنما هي أعمالكم أحصيها لكم ثم أوفيكم إياها ،

فمن وجد خيرا فليحمد الله ، ومن وجد غير ذلك فلا يلومن إلا نفسه

أخرجه مسلم ولم يخرجه غيره من أصحاب الكتب الستة

On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord (may He be glorified) is that He said:

O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you,
so do not oppress one another.
O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided,
so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you,
O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed,
so seek food of Me and I shall feed you.
O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed,
so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.
O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins,
so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.
O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me,
and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me.
O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything.
O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.
O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it.
O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allah
and let him who finds other, then blame no one but himself.

It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).

Words of Allaah

Bismillaah

قُل لَّوۡ كَانَ ٱلۡبَحۡرُ مِدَادً۬ا لِّكَلِمَـٰتِ رَبِّى لَنَفِدَ ٱلۡبَحۡرُ قَبۡلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَـٰتُ رَبِّى

وَلَوۡ جِئۡنَا بِمِثۡلِهِۦ مَدَدً۬ا

Say (O Muhammad to mankind). “If the sea were ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, surely, the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if we brought (another sea) like it for its aid.”
[Surah Kahf - 18:109]

In the clip below: Listen to the recitation of the ayah by numerous quraa’