Ibrahim Ibn Adham

A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham (May Allah be pleased with him) and said, "Abu Ishaq, I am unable to control my lower self. Please give me something to help me with it."

Ibrahim answered, “If you accepted five traits and were able to do them, you would not commit any bad deed again. The first one is if you want to disobey Allah, do not eat from His bounty.”


The man said, “So where can I eat from and all the earth belongs to Him?”


Ibrahim answered, “Is it right to eat from His bounty and disobey Him?”


The man said, “No. Tell me the second.”


Ibrahim said, “If you want to disobey Him, do not live in any of His lands.”


The man said, “This is harder, so where else can I live?”


Ibrahim said, “Is it right to eat from His bounty, live in His lands, and then disobey Him?”


The man denied and asked for the third.


Ibrahim said, “If you want to disobey Him while you eat from His bounty and live in His lands, then disobey Him in a place where He cannot see you.”


The man said, “How? He even knows what is going on inside my head?”


Ibrahim answered, “So, can you eat from His bounty, live in His lands, disobey Him while He sees you and knows what you want to say and what you have kept secret to yourself?”


The man said “No” and asked for the fourth.


Ibrahim said, “If the angel of death comes to take your soul, tell him ‘Leave me till I repent and do good deeds.’”


The man said that he would not accept and Ibrahim replied, “If you cannot escape death and know that if it comes it will not be delayed, how can you wish to be saved?”


The man asked for the fifth and Ibrahim continued, “If angels of torment come to you on the Day of Judgment to take you to Hell, do not go with them.”


The man said, “They will not let me go.”


Ibrahim replied, “So how do you wish to be rescued, then?”


And the man responded, “Ibrahim, enough, enough! I will repent to Allah.”


His repentance was a true one and he kept worshiping till the end of his life.


Source
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1123996016614&pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE

Dutch Bishop wants Christians to call God 'Allah'

Came across this article from a jewish site -->

Aug. 16, 2007 21:03 Updated Aug. 16, 2007 21:38
Dutch Bishop wants Christians to call God 'Allah'
By HAVIV RETTIG

"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will call God 'Allah'?" asked Bishop Martinus Petrus Maria Muskens in an interview on Dutch TV this week. "God doesn't care what we call him."

Muskens, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the southern Dutch town of Breda, is known for previous controversial remarks suggesting the poor should steal bread and advocating the use of condoms to control the spread of AIDS.

As quoted by Radio Netherlands three decades ago, when serving as a missionary in Indonesia, "someone like me ... prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa [Almighty God] for eight years and other priests [did so] for 20 or 30 years. In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can't we start doing that together?"

The bishop further noted that in Arabic-speaking regions, Christians speak of "Allah" as Westerners might speak of "Lord," and indeed were using the term in Aramaic before the rise of Islam.

But why the need for the switch now?

"If Muslims and Christians address God with the same name, this contributes to harmonious living between both religions," read a statement on the Web site of the Breda Diocese.

The diocese is careful to note that "the idea of calling God 'Allah' in the Catholic liturgy in the Netherlands has not been discussed as a component of diocesan policy, or as a policy of the Dutch [Catholic] Church."

Allah

My View

It seems that they have yet to find the true meaning of 'God'. The English meaning describes the Creator as a male species (God) or a female species (Goddess) and has the implications of many Gods. A supreme Being should be One Being and has no equal.

Such is the beauty of the Arabic language that Allah signifies Oneness, a Unique Being -- The God

There is no god but 'The God' (Allah)

Al-Ikhlas
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

[1] Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;

[2] Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

[3] He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

[4] And there is none like unto Him.

Al-Falaq
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

[1] Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the Dawn,

[2] From the mischief of created things;

[3] From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads;

[4] From the mischief of those who practise secret Arts;

[5] And from the mischief of the envious one as he practises envy.

An-Nas
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

[1] Say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of Mankind,

[2] The King (or Ruler) of Mankind,

[3] The God (or Judge) of Mankind,

[4] From the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper),

[5] (The same) who whispers into the hearts of Mankind,

[6] Among Jinns and among Men.

A Meeting With Allah.

For those who do not know me, I am the owner of a chat channel in the mIRC at GalaxyNet.

My channel is called #madrasah. This channel is mostly occupied by madrasah students and my main interest as a channel owner here is to educate these students on how to use the internet and chatrooms. How to use scripts etc etc etc.

But mostly, they will ask advice about religion. Hey, it's not an easy job but where else can I speak arabic?

I was particularly bored today since I am not having anybody to talk to the whole day. The phonecall I was waiting for never came through. Some people have the cheek to tell me to wait by the phone because that particular person will be calling me but never does so. Empty promises are abundant in this world.

So, relieve of my loneliness came in the form of chatting with my channel chatters. At least, these people are polite to me and you know that I hate rude specimens of any species!

Anyway, somebody had posted this note in my channel topic for all and I think I will forward his/her wishes here as well.

Just watch this --




Now tell me who will not be shaken nor stirred after viewing this?

May Allah bless the kind soul for this reminder.

Ameen. Ya Rabbal 'Aalameen.

Common mistakes we make when we perform Salah.

This is a reminder for forgetful me when I perform my Salah.

Mistake 1: Reciting Surah Al-Fatiha fast without pausing after each verse.
The Prophet (SAW) used to pause after each verse of this surah. (Abu Dawood)

Mistake 2 : Sticking the arms to the sides of the body, in ruku' or sujud, and sticking the belly to the thighs in sujud.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Let not one of you support himself on his forearms (in sujud) like the dog. Let him rest on his palms and keep his elbows away from his body."
(Sahih Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) used to keep his arms away from his body during ruku' and sujud that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen (Sahih Muslim).

Mistake 3 : Gazing upward during prayer.
This may cause loss of concentration. We are commanded to lower our gaze, and look at the point at which the head rests during sujud.

The Prophet (SAW) warned: "Let those who raise their gaze up during prayer stop doing so, or else their sights would not return to them. [i.e. lose their eyesight]." (Muslim)

Mistake 4 : Resting only the tip of the head on the floor during sujud.
The Prophet (SAW) said: "I am commanded to prostrate on seven bones the forehead and the nose, the two hands [palms],the two knees, and the two feet."
(Sahih Muslim)

Applying the above command necessitates resting the forehead and the nose on the ground during sujood.

Mistake 5 : Hasty performance of prayer which does not allow repose and calmness in ruku' or sujud.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) saw a man who did not complete his ruku' [bowing], and made a very short sujud [prostration];
He (SAW) said:
"If this man dies while praying in this manner, he would die upholding a religion other than the religion of Muhammad."

Abu Hurairah (RA) said:
"My beloved friend, Muhammad (SAW) forbade me to perform postures of prayer copying the picking of a rooster; (signifying fast performanceof prayer), moving eyes around like a fox and the sitting like monkeys ( i.e. to sit on thighs). "
(Imam Ahmad & at-Tayalisi)

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: " The worst thief is the one who steals from his own prayer." People asked, 'Messenger of Allah! How could one steal from his own prayer?'
He (SAW) said: "By not completing its ruku' and sujud."
(At Tabarani & al-Hakim).

To complete ruku' is to stay in that posture long enough to recite
"Subhana rabbiyal Adtheem" three times, SLOWLY,
and "Subhana rabbiyal-a'ala" three times, SLOWLY, in sujud.

He (SAW) also announced:
"He who does not complete his ruku' and sujud, his prayer is void ."
(Abu Dawood & others)

Mistake 6 : Counting tasbih with the left hand.
The Prophet (SAW) used to count tasbih on the fingers of his right hand after salah.

Ibn Qudamah (RA) said: " The Messenger of Allah (SAW) used his right hand for tasbih." (Abu Dawood)

The above hadith indicates clearly that the Prophet (SAW) used only one hand for counting tasbih. No Muslim with sound mind would imagine that the Prophet (SAW) used his left hand for counting tasbih.

Aa'ishah (RA) said that the Prophet (SAW) used his left hand only for Istinjaa', or cleaning himself after responding to the call of nature. He never used it
for tasbih.

Yasirah (RA) reported: The Prophet (SAW) commanded women to count tasbih on their fingers.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "They (the fingers) will be made to speak, and will be questioned (on the Day of Resurrection.)" (At-Tirmidhi)

The above Hadith indicates that it is preferable to count tasbih on the fingers of the right hand than to do so on masbahah (rosary).

Mistake 7 : Crossing in front of a praying person.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) warned: "Were the one who crosses in front of a praying person to know the consequences of doing so, he would have waited for forty* better than to cross in front of him."
(Sahih Bukhari and Muslim).
*The forty in the tradition may be day's months or even years. Allah knows best.

Wa Billaahi Taufik Wal Hidayah
Wassalaam.