07
Apr
2023
15
Mar
2023
10 things to do when the situation seems hopeless
10 things to do when the situation seems hopeless and you are stuck in a trial beyond your control:
1) Accept your Qadar and accept that Allah knows what is best for you
2) Trust Allah’s Plan. What Allah has planned for you may be different from what you want for yourself, but it is always what is best for you
3) Make dua. Only Allah can change Qadar, move mountains, work miracles, and make a way out from where we do not expect, so pour your heart out to Allah in dua for everything we need and want.
4) Make good use of your time. You cannot control some things but you can control others. Utilize your time to worship Allah, do beneficial work, and find things to appreciate in life.
5) Take whatever steps you can find towards your goal, even if they are small. Never stop making an effort, you do not know from which small effort Allah will help you produce big results.
6) Focus on your Afterlife. You may not aways get what you want in this world, but your Afterlife is more important, so do not let your worldly worries distract you from prioritizing your Afterlife.
7) Increase your charity. You never know which act of kindness or charity could be a means of unlocking Divine assistance.
8) Ask others to make dua for you. You do not know which pious person’s duas will be answered, leading to a miracle that gets you out of your situation.
9) Recite Quran often. The beautiful message of the Quran will give you hope, no matter how difficult and dark the situation feels.
10) Study and reflect on the Seerah. Take lessons from the trials that the Prophet (pbuh) and Sahabah faced and how Allah helped them through these trials in miraculous ways. Let these stories be your inspiration, motivation, and source of optimism.
13
Mar
2023
An Introduction to al-Adab al-Mufrad
12
Mar
2023
Avoid Online Arguments
09
Mar
2023
Islamic Character as our Foundation
These days, many young Muslims fight over the technical details on what are the rights of the husband or wife. These disputes are heated, emotional and often devoid of any understanding of the Quran and Sunnah. Marriages are reduced to contracts in which rights are exchanged in a formal manner without any positive feelings towards the other. However, Islam does not encourage this kind of attitude towards relationships, whether it is a marital relationship or our relationships with our parents, siblings, children, friends, and neighbours. The focus in Islam is not on law, but on manners and character.
Islam lays down some very clear laws regarding relationships, but also leaves other aspects open to interpretation. For example, the hadith states that women must obey their husbands, but the details of what that entails are often decided by cultural and economic norms. Likewise, the Quran teaches that men must provide for their wives, but what exactly they need to provide and how much they should provide is dictated by cultural and economic norms, as well as individual needs. The laws exist to prevent abuse and to establish the parameters of the Shariah. Within these parameters, there is a lot of room for flexibility.
Islam’s laws related to marriage dictate the bare minimum that is required for a marriage to work. This has never been the standard recommended by the Shariah. That standard is a loving mutually beneficial relationship based on good character and kindness. Meeting the bare minimum does not make a person a righteous Muslim or an ideal spouse. If anything, it indicates laziness and a lack of commitment to the relationship. The true measure of success in a relationship is one’s character and manners with one’s spouse.
The Prophet said, “The best of you are the ones who are best to their families, and I am best to my family.” (Tirmidhi 3895) He also encouraged women to marry men of good character (Tirmidhi 1084) and emphasized in multiple narrations the importance of kindness in a marriage (Muslim 1218, 1468). All of these narrations clearly indicate that marriages are not built on meeting minimum Fiqh standards, marriages are built on kindness, good character, and wanting to please each other.
Our marriages should not be built on meeting minimum Fiqh standards or arguing over the details of the law. We need to clarify these laws so people know their rights and responsibilities, but we should build our marriages on kindness and love. This verse of the Qur’an should be the foundation of how we build our marriages, “And among His signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find peace in them, and He has put between you love and mercy.” (Surah al-Rum 30:21)
