The secret talk

Narrated by Safwan bin Muhriz (Radi-Allahu 'anhu):

A man asked Ibn 'Umar, "What did you hear Allah's Apostle saying regarding
An-Najwa (secret talk between Allah and His believing worshipper on the Day
of Judgment)?"

He said, "(The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) said), "One of you
will come close to his Lord till He will shelter him in His screen and say:
'Did you commit such-and-such sin?' He will say, 'Yes.' Then Allah will
say: 'Did you commit such and such sin?' He will say, 'Yes.' So Allah will
make him confess (all his sins) and He will say, 'I screened them (your
sins) for you in the world, and today I forgive them for you."'

Bukhari


May Allah [swt] make us of those whom He keeps His cover on in this world and the next, and may He [swt] enable us to make a sincere and lasting repentance before the certainty [death] draws upon us, aameen

Lifelong bitterness vs. Lifelong sweetness

"The pleasure of sinning is short. Then, the consequences are very dreadful. The Muslim Scholars say, “A sin will breed another sin”. When you perpetrate a sin, what happens? The pleasure and delight precedes the sin and the bitterness comes after. Whereas the doing of the good deed, the bitterness/ hardship precedes and the pleasure comes after. When you want to commit a something shameful, something haram, a misdeed, you are thinking only of the pleasure, the fun you will have. The moment you finish such a horrible act, you feel bad about yourself, you hate yourself, you might cry. You feel your chest tighten like someone is squeezing your chest. That is the bitterness you will have until you enter the grave. The sweetness which you think of is limited and short, while the bitterness will remain the rest of your life. The opposite is true of good deeds. It is difficult at first, you feel bitterness only. Something against the nafs. But, for example, if you get up for fajr, despite the cold, difficulty in leaving the bed and making wudu, if you do so, what do you feel after the Salah? Sweetness, goodness, lightness. In Tarawih, with the long rakah, you feel tired, you feel hardship. But afterwords, you feel sweetness. The sweetness comes after doing the good deed. The opposite is true with sin, whereby the bitterness follows, and lasts forever."

As explained by Dr Salem Al Amry -"The Satanic Trap Talk"

The Envier

"By His Wisdom, Allah has made a man's face a mirror which reflects the thoughts that are hidden in his mind and heart. The effects of sickness are seen in the sick man's face, the sorrow of one who is grieving and depressed shows on his face, and the good health of one who is sound is reflected on his face. If a person is happy and content, his hidden thoughts show on his face and through slips of the tongue. If a believer is true and sincere in his faith and humble before the Most Merciful and reads the Quran frequently, that joy and light will show on his face; his nature will be humble and kind and his speech will be polite and noble. The opposite is also true; the effects of an evildoers immortal actions and sin will be reflected in his face and in slips of the tongue, even if he outwordly resembles those who are righteous.

By the same token, the envier who resents the good things that people have and wished that the blessings of Allah be taken away is sick at heart and lacking in faith. No matter how much he tries to conceal what he feels inwardly, he will soon let out the envy that he feels.

The issue of the evil eye includes all people, even those who are righteous if they do not pay attntion to it, whereas envy is only limited to certain people. Hence the envious person has certain characteristics by which he may be distinguished, such as the way he looks and smiles, the expression on his face and the way he speaks. All of that points to what is in his heart. Whatever a person conceals in his heart will inevitably show on his face and through slips of the tongue and in his movements and expressions.

What are the characteristics of the envier?

1. The envier is always angry at the decrees of Allah.
2. The envier always complains and rarely thanks Allah, even if he owns the whole world.
3. He follows up the mistake of the one whom he envies and tries to seek out his faults, and exposes them and exaggerates about them before others.
4. He conceals or ignores or belittles the good qualities and distinguishing characterisitics of the person whom he envies.
5. The envier cannot speak in front of the one whom he envies without addressing him in a laughing jocular anner, but deep down he is filled with hatred and resentment which is clear by the way he looks at him
6. He clearly criticises the one he envies, with or without evidence
7. He looks for opportunities and makes the most of any chance to harm the one whom he envies.
8. Finally, the envier is a troubled man, due to the resentment that is always festering in his heart, so depression and dullness show on his face.

Since envy is a serious disease of the heart, diseases of the heart can only be treated with beneficial knowledge. Such knowledge concerning the disease of envy means understanding that envy will harm you in this world as well as being a sin which incurs the wrath of Allah and avoiding envy is one of the means of entering paradise."

-Extract taken from 'The Jinn and Human Sickness' by Dr Abu'l-Mundhir Khaleel ibn Ibraheem Ameen, Maktaba Darusalam.

Subhannallah, I thought it an ample reminder in these noble days, that I be reminded (and remind) of having good character and the importance of looking at oneself and asking Allah for protection of being of such people such as the enviers. Envy is a serious disease which in this day and age doesnt seem to be taken seriously enough. May Allah protect us of being enviers and protect us from being in the company of or the target of such enviers. May Allah allow us to help the Ummah in the best of ways but make discreet our achievments and allow us to humble ourselves for His Sake. Ameen

The Water of Repentance is the Purest Water

"Repentance cleanses the heart with the water of tears and the fire of regret which burns in the heart, and with a feeling of humility and tears in the eyes. This is the first step for those who seek a path to Allah, it is the capital of those who are successful and the key to correcting those who have gone astray.

The one who repents prays to Allah and beseeched Him, weeping. When others relax he does not, when others are still, his fear does not rest and the longing of his heart never ceases. He stands before his Lord with a grieving heart and distressed mind, bowing his head and trembling when he remembers how many sins he committed. His grief overwhelms him and tears flow.

He prepares himself to be a winner tomorrow and to shed his worldly load so that he may pass quickly over the bridge of Hell"

-Exerpt from 'You Can Be the Happiest Woman in the World' by Dr A'id Al Qarni, International Islamic Publishing House

Subhannallah, May Allah enable us to be among those who realise our wrongdoing and turn to Him with sincere hearts, Ameen. May Allah continue to guide us to Him and allow us to be with those who pass over the Final bridge with ease, Ameen. May this not merely be another reminder we are affected by for the short while we read and ponder over it, rather, May Allah enable us to actively LIVE this reminder. Ameen

The Accepted Repentence

A man once went to Rabi'ah bint Ismail Al Adawiyyah, who was also known by the titles 'Mother of Goodness' and 'The Famous Worshipper'. He said, "Indeed, I have perpetrated a great number of sins. If i repent, do you think that Allah will accept my repentence?" She said, "Woe unto you" Do you not see that He invites those who turn away from Him;then why wouldn't He accept the repentence of those who turn towards Him?"
What she said is indeed true, for Allah is happy when we submit to Him and hasten back to Him, repentent for our sins. To worship Him is the purpose for which we were created. Glad tidings, to he who knows his purpose and puts what he knows into practice

Taken from the book 'Stories of Repentence', compiled by Muhammad Abduh Mughawiri