Another thing

I remember reading ages ago about something along the lines of not doing something because it causes the jinn to laugh at us… can someone kindly tell me why we should be bothered about nasty things laughing at us.. i hear this with a few things ‘oh you shouldnt do that, shaitan laughs at you when you do it’ erm.. and?? please.. i really want to know. Shukran

Im having issues at the moment with my life, I wont go into it here but its on my blogspot blog if you want to know… and my problem is, Im still not able to let go of the control I feel I have on my life. I still cant totally rely on Allah (swt) and as lame as you make think this is.. it really makes me feel like a failure. Especially when my h2b tells me everything is the will of Allah (swt) and I should just let it happen. *sigh* Allahu alim.. I know.

Deliberations

just some things Ive been pondering with lately.

Dont you think when receiting surah al ma’un that you feel the urge to add on a verse at the end?! I dont know why, I think because there are 4 verses with the similar sound at the end, then 3 verses.. just feels uneven but always keeps me awake I do love that verse now alhamdulillah

Salah

So, Ive been researching the salah duaa and found that we should never recite Quran while in prostration, there is lots more that I found out but thats for another day. Im looking for duaa to be said during the salah and thought I would find out what everyone recites in their salah, so Im going to type out what I generally say in my transliteration insha’allah for 2 rakah salah. I will use different colours so you understand where Im at and please comment on any additional things you might say while praying. JazakAllah khair.

Allahu akbar

subhana kala humma wa bi hamdici, wa ta bara kasmuka wa ta alla juduka wallah illa ghiruc. Athu billahi minash shaitan nir rajeem bismillah ir raheem {Surah al-fatiha & other surah}

Allahu akbar {ruku}
subhana rabil al theem [x3]
sami allahu liman hamida {rising from ruku}
rabana wal kal hamed {standing straight}

Allahu akbar {sujood}
subhanna rabil allah [x3]
Allahu akbar {sitting}
Allahu magh firlee wa hamdee
Allahu akbar {sujood}
subhana rabil allah [x3] #$

Allahu akbar {rise from sitting}
recite al fatiha and other verse, repeat everything until #$

A te et too lillah was salawat too wat tal yabetu
assalam wa layke e yawhan na bayou wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu
assalam wa laynah wallah iba dilla isol la heen
ashadu ana ill il allah washadu anna muhammadan abduhu war rasoolallah (this line which raising my right index finger)

Allah humma sal-li ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin,
Kama sal-layta ‘ala Ibraheema wa ‘ala aali ibraheema innaka hameedum majeed,
wa barik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin, Kama barakta ‘ala Ibraheema wa ‘ala aali ibraheema innaka hameedum majeed

Then I say assalamalikum wa rahmatulah to both my angels…

just looking for all this I found this website too. So does anyone else say anything different?? please speak up and let me know..
oh and after I finish I say
astagfrillah x3
allahuma antas salamun wa minkas salamun tabarakta ya jalaali wal ikram

Duaa in salah

Assalamalikum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu,

insha’allah this post finds you all in the best of health and iman. I know its been awhile since either of us wrote on here, Ive been having problems with my computer and we have both been busy studying for various things alhamdulillah. So on my other more frequented blog I posted a poll for my next memorisation, the people who visit my blog have voted for me to learn some salah duaa and I have started this blog as a reference and research blog to look into these details. Im currently reading a book called duaa, the weapon of the believer, which many people are probably familiar with (by Yasir Qadhi) masha’allah its a good book, repetitive so things stay in more masha’allah. I have read a few times about the things we must do before duaa and there are some bits about duaa in salah where I read that it can only be done at a certain time during salah and only specific things. So insha’allah I will put more research into this and let you all know my findings, either by a new blog or by adding to this. Either way… keep checking back insha’allah If anyone has anything to add or inform me of, or any links I might find helpful in this quest it would be much appreciated. JazakAllah khair.

Who Doesnt Love Baba Ali?

Salams Dont U jUst LOve BABA ALI

he cracks me up with his haram police crispy treats
he has a new series on currently screening at 8pm gmt time every friday

check out his new vid below

Ahmed Deedat May Allah Give Him Jannah Brought Me To Islam (besides ALLAH of Course)

Salam alaikum wr

I have been searching my brain trying to remember the moment i just knew ISLAM was the truth for abed in my lil bedsit (same bedsit where me and sis amena shared our first ramadan meal) and made a cuppa sat down with my note pad for uni the classes i never went to altho managed to pass lol.

anyway i was watching this video adn after the first 30 mins i was astounded while now i couldnt remember

but alhamdulilah i can now relate it to u inchaallah

I was searching into islam obviously being put off the the usual things that prob ever women has to overcome hijab then houris in paradise

anyway i had tape upon tape adn lecture upon lecture and book upon book and for weeks was scouring the net reading adn reading and taking everything into account what would need to change immediatly n wat i cud put off

then a friend of mine who shall remain annonymous bought me a video of ahmed deedat and jimmy swaggart is the bible gods word. i looked adn said thanks but thought oh how dated a video!!!!

so i went home thinking ill watch it anyway cos i aint got owt better to do but i bet its some old shaikh patronising us saying in islam women cant drive blah blah blah (astaghfirullah)

so i got into my sofa/bed in my lil bedsit (same bedsit me and sis amena shared our first ramadan meal)with my notepad that i used for the university classes i never attended

AHMED DEEDAT WIPED THE FLOOR WITH HIM

EACH AND EVERY TIME

SUBHANALLAH

and when i looked at my paper at the end i had a list of kickass things that ahmed deedat had said but nothing evern remotly good that jimmy swagart has said!!!!!!!!!!!

it was this moment i realised that watever silly reasons i had stopping me had to be wiped out islam was the truth and it was all so clear in front of my eyes thanks to mr deedat

Since that day i have watched his lectures and enjoyed them enormously until he died and i can stil cry now thinking of it

btw jimmy swaggart got dishonoured in the 80s for fornication with a women and eh hem indecently proposal to her daughter of  14 i think u can google it and find all the gory details or check out this vid

and of course i wouldnt leave without my fav lecturer ahmed deedat may allah bless him and give him jannah how many people have come to islam from his lectures subhanallah

here is the best part for me being an ex catholic where he just belittles the trinity (which i never got anyway :P) everythin he says is common sense but so true           : D

Work

Assalamalikum, so my hours are 3-11pm which means Im at work for the majority of my prayers at the moment which doesnt bug me that much apart from the fact that I dont purely put my whole heart into it as Im nervous someone will come up to my office to talk to me for whatever reason. My faith in my work colleagues was increased last week when 2 girls came up to talk to me and saw me praying, now this is the first time anyone has ever caught me while Ive been praying. They stood there for a little while then I heard the more senior member of the duo say ‘come on, well will come back later on when shes finished’ Alhamdulillah, I was really happy to hear that. Anyways, tonight the same thing happened except it was the shift supervisor who walked in on me, I sort of saw him look in my buildings direction and heard him come up the stairs while I was in sujood for the 2nd rakah of maghrib. I wasnt going to stop and hoped he would do the same as the girls had done the week before, he stood there for awhile with the door open which was quite ofputting as its very loud in the plant, then he walked off. After about 20minutes somebody else came up the stairs to find me (yes, im a popular lady :P) he said that he was told I was up here and that I was ‘praying’ in marks because it was sort of a question increased tone at that point. To which I replied, yes I was but its ok now.. so we talked and then the shift supervisor came back up to talk to me. He chatted about what he wanted me for before and commented that I hadnt known he was there, that I was in a trance. He told me he had contemplated just saying, Ammena…. just quickly….. I told him if he had disturbed me I would have had to start again as I should be solely concentrating on my prayers. Oh he replied ok and asked how long that would take to do it all over again, and we joked about him contemplating this, yeh dont tap me on the shoulder or just chat away to me. We chatted about a few things, he asked about hajj and the limitations. As he was leaving he said something and followed with the ‘dont disrupt me or Ill have to do it all over again’ hahaha…. I was a little bothered about this comment in that I felt he was making fun because it was so ridiculous, I mean I have never really seen a christian praying before in a church do they concentrate completely on that? Who knows.

Anyways, my point of this blog was to get some feedback. There is an area of the plant that houses an office which is to be knocked down in the midst of updating the room attached to it for a different use. There is no prayer room where I work and all the floors are concrete and I was thinking to talk to the owner of the company and see if I can take on a project of turning it into a quiet room. There isnt that many muslims here, so it wouldnt be a prayer room as such but it would be something that we could use as one. The owner is jewish and such a nice guy masha’allah, he always comments on my hijabs and my colour coordination *blush* so im hoping he will be ok about it. I dont really see him much so I would send him an email, but how do I word this to make it sound good, something for everyone you know. Insha’allah Ill find some insipration from somewhere, jazakAllah khair for listening

Bathroom Etiquette

So I thought I would do some research behind the things we should do in the bathroom after coming across many people who have ‘bathroom slippers’ Im sure we all or most say our duaa when entering and leaving the bathroom but is there more? Im sure there is, after a recent short listen to a cd of basic fiqh I was told that it is rude to read in the bathroom and stay longer than needed because, well this is the home of the jinn so we should only go in when we need to. So here is where my research for the night starts EnjoyAfter googling a few terms I came about this information and Im going to organise it in a practical manner in order of how things should be done insha’allah. First of all I wanted to point out a few things we should remember before entering the bathroom.

1. It is not allowed to carry anything that has Allah’s name (or any of His holy names) with him to where he is urinating.  As this is considered to be a Najis (impure) place that is not appropriate to carry or mention Allah’s name(s). That includes giving some salams in the bathroom.
2. One should not talk.  It is not appropriate for a Muslim while urinating to talk or discuss matters.  Many scholars said it is “dislike” or “Makrooh“
3. One should move and hide himself from others, as the prophet SAAWS only relieved himself when he was out of site and we should neither face nor turn his back to the “Qibla” while relieving themselves. “Salman was once asked: Your prophet teaches you everything, even how to relieve yourselves?Salman said: Certainly…. he forbade us from facing the Qiblah while doing so, from cleaning ourselves with our right hand, and from cleaning ourselves with less than three stones.  We also should not use an impure substance or a bone to clean our selves” (Muslim, Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhy)
 

Ok, so now the order of entering the bathroom. Before entering the bathroom there is a useful duaa to be said
اللُّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْخُبْثِ وَالْخَبَائِثِ
Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika min al-khubthi wa’l-khabaa’ith
O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from the male and female devils (Mishkat, Hisnul Hasin)
and then we should enter the bathroom with our left foot (while leaving the bathroom with our right foot)

The main issue inside a bathroom after all the things noted above is the use of istinjaa (to clean oneself after urinating) I heard on my basic fiqh lecture that toilet paper and/or water is acceptable. If you have no water in a basin it is no sin, and toilet paper is sufficient, Allahu alim (God knows best) Instead of posting the different areas that we should consider with regards to istinjaa I will post a summary and if you need clarification feel free to browse this webpage that I found the information on.

The tools to be used for istinjaa should be pure, not najiis (impure)
The prophet SAAWS asked his servant (Abdullah Ibn Masood) to bring him three stones for “Estinja”, Ibn Masood RAA only found two stones so he brought him a piece of animal’s droppings (dung) that was dry.  When the prophet saw it, he threw it away and said that it is Najasah (impure). (Bukhary: 155)
“Do not use bones for “Estinja”; they are the food for your Jinn brothers” (Muslim: 450) and (Tirmidhy: 1

The places to be used for the bathroom should not be were people gather, sit or pass by (Muslim: 269) or in a hole in the ground that could cause harm to any animal living in the hole (Abu Dawood: 29). Nor under trees that may have fruit as this could disturb the earth for when the fruit falls, nor in shallow or non running water (Muslim: 281) 

Insha’allah this post has helped somebody out there.

Peace and Salams,
Ammena

Oh, I just found a link for the audio of many duaa too, including the bathroom duaas. Feel free to save and enjoy

7 most common mistakes in Salah

Mistake 1: Reciting Surat 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 rukoo’ or sujood, and sticking the belly to the thighs in sujood.

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Let not one of you support himself on his forearms (in sujood) 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 rukoo’ and sujood 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 sujood. 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 sujood.

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 rukoo’ or sujood.

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) saw a man who did not complete his rukoo’ [bowing], and made a very short sujood [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 performance of 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 rukoo’ and sujood.” (At Tabarani & al-Hakim).

To complete rukoo’ 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 sujood. He (SAW) also announced: “He who does not complete his rukoo’ and sujood, his prayer is void.” (Abu Dawood & others)

Mistake 6 : Counting tasbeeh with the left hand


The Prophet (SAW) used to count tasbeeh on the fingers of his right hand after salah. Ibn Qudamah (RA) said: ” The Messenger of Allah (SAW) used his right hand for tasbeeh.” (Abu Dawood). The above hadeeth indicates clearly that the Prophet (SAW) used only one hand for counting tasbeeh. No Muslim with sound mind would imagine that the Prophet (SAW) used his left hand for counting tasbeeh. 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 tasbeeh. Yasirah (RA) reported: The Prophet (SAW) commanded women to count tasbeeh 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 Hadeeth indicates that it is preferable to count tasbeeh 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 days months or even years. Allah knows best.
Common Errors in Prayer That MUST Be Avoided - Please inform your near and dear ones to take care of the above.

Remember Muslim Ummah in your supplications 

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-allehe wa-sallam) said
“Pass on knowledge from me even if it is only one verse”

Witr salah

So when I was at a weekend retreat a few years ago I asked a saudi sheikh which of the prayers after isha is more beneficial. At the time I was praying the sunnah after isha and the witr salah but I was at university and felt this was too much for me, as a university student and as a new muslim. He asked what I prayed now, i told him, he praised my efforts and told me that witr was more important, so from then on I prayed sunnah only when I did have the time and the ability to solely concentrate. Now for the past week or so my salah has been somewhat strained towards the end of the day, I finish work at 11, home by half past with the intention to pray isha then witr before bed.. but the dunya always gets hold of me, I cross stitch, chill infront of the tv for some english programs with some chocolate or the internet takes ahold of me with friends on different time zones. Because of this, I thought I would use this blog to research some of the issues in islam that concern and question me, or rather that me questions!

So here is what I found in regards to is witr even that important? isnt it that sunnah means if we dont do it we wont be sinning, but if we do do it we will be rewarded? Allahu alim. As a side note I read during my research that during ramadhan it is better to pray witr with the group you pray taraweeh with rather than go home and pray it, I never knew this and always left before witr in the masjid… insha’allah I will stay for sometimes this Ramadhan coming.

Hazrat A’yesha (radhiallahu anha) is reported to have said (with regards to the tahajjud salah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam): “He (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) never used to perform more than eleven rakats, whether in Ramadhan or out of Ramadhaan. Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) would perform long rakats in two units of four rakats each with such excellence and devotion which cannot be described. Thereafter he would perform three rakats of witr salah“. [Sahih Muslim, chapter on salatul layl, Hadith 738]

According to this website witr is classed as a level between fard salah and sunnah salah, on the same lines as the Eid salah which we all know is important from the fact that Muhammed (saws) said that even menstruating women should attend the salah to gain the blessings of being there, even though they can not pray.

باب: مَا جَاءَ فِي الْوِتْر
539. عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا: أَنّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ صَلاَةِ اللّيْلِ, فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: صَلاَةُ اللّيْلِ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى, فَإِذَا خَشِيَ أَحَدُكُمُ الصّبْحَ صَلّى رَكْعَةً وَاحِدَةً, تُوتِرُ لَهُ ما قَدْ صَلّى

539. Narrated Ibn ‘Umar رضى الله عنهما : Once a man asked Allâh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم about the night prayer. Allâh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم replied, The night prayer is offered as two Rak’ât followed by two Rak’ât and (so on) and if anyone is afraid of the approaching dawn (Fajr prayer) he should pray one Rak’ât and this will be a Witr for all the Rak’ât which he has prayed before.

I still cant find anything that it is obligitory though.. im not looking for something saying it is fard, but just something stating the benefits from doing it. Although in the little research I have done for this blog I have found it is good to also do witr before fajr, so if i wake up that little bit earlier and perform wudu quickly (although thoroughly of course) I can pray witr before waiting for the adhan… something to think about me thinks.

Anyways, I should probably get back to work… look out for more research into my questions
Peace and salams, Ammena