The Vicissitudes of Life

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ
So I swear by the twilight glow [84:16]

وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ
And [by] the night and what it envelops [84:17]

وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ
And [by] the moon when it becomes full [84:18]

لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَنْ طَبَقٍ
[That] you will surely experience state after state. [84:19]

If we consider the four phenomena by which oath is taken, it bears evidence to the subject which is forthcoming in the complement of the oath, that is, the condition of man never remains the same at all times.

Ibn Taymiyyah on How to Acquire Knowledge

The Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Purifying the soul, acting upon knowledge, and fearing Allaah have a tremendous effect on obtaining knowledge.”

Mowqif Ibn Taymiyyah minas-Soofiyyah, vol. 1, p. 357.

Taken from: Gifts of Knowledge

Do you fear Allah?

Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyyad said, "If you are asked whether you fear Allah, do not reply; for of you say 'Yes' you would be lying, and if you say 'No' it would mean that you do not believe in Him."

Ahmad Farid (1996). The Purification of the Soul. p128

The Human Seed

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ ۖ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالًا سُقْنَاهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَيِّتٍ فَأَنْزَلْنَا بِهِ الْمَاءَ فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نُخْرِجُ الْمَوْتَىٰ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

And it is He who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy until, when they have carried heavy rainclouds, We drive them to a dead land and We send down rain therein and bring forth thereby [some] of all the fruits. Thus will We bring forth the dead; perhaps you may be reminded. (7:57)

Allah states in other places in the Quran:

And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near

[Quran 2:186]

[Hi-res dowload]

Supplication of the Muslim

Allah says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. (2:186)

This is one of the most beautiful places out of all the places Allah asks the Muslims to make dua to Him.

Which deeds are the best?

These are just some hadith outlining what the best deeds are.

Conditions of the Shahada (La ilaaha illa Allah)

The Shahada is the testimony of faith one says to enter into Islam. The shortest form is as follows:

لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
lā ʾilāha ʾillà Allah, Muḥammadun rasūlu Allah
"There is no god but Allah [The God], Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."

There is a lengthy description on the meaning of this phrase, and what in entails, but that is not the point of discussion here. InshaAllah, that topic will be covered at a later time.

Just uttering this statement isn't enough, because the hypocrites used to say this all the time, and yet Allah described them as liars, and they will abide in the lowest depths of hell.

The shahada is the key to paradise, but every key has ridges. Only the key with the right ridges will open the door for you. This means that the shahada has conditions to it. These conditions are the differentiators between those who will benefit from the statement, and those who will not.

There are 9 conditions of the shahada. We must do our best to learn these conditions and implement them before it is too late.

“Knowledge is, "Allaah said…His Messenger said…The Companions said…"

Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani said:

So we hope that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, makes us students of knowledge who truly adopt the same course as the scholars and who truthfully follow their path. This is what we hope for from Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, that He makes us from those students who follow that way about which the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “Whoever treads a path seeking knowledge thereby, Allaah will make easy for him the path to Paradise.” Reported by Muslim [no. 7028].

And this opens the door for me to speak about this knowledge which is mentioned many times, very many times, in the Quraan, as in His Saying, the Most High,