SaqibSaab

Satish Babu accepts Islam

My 15-year-old cousin Umair who moved to Chennai (Madras), India last year called me up a week ago ecstatic. “Dude, I saw Yasir Qadhi! It was awesome. He gave the opening speech at the Peace Convention. It was amazing, everyone loved it. Dude!”

Whoa, slow down turbo! I got the rest of the info from him and it turns out there was a 10-day convention in Chennai called “Peace: Vision of Islam” featuring many western speakers like Yasir Qadhi, Tawfique Chawdry, Dr. Waleed Basyouni, Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Yusuf Estes, and of course, Dr. Zakir Naik. There were also speakers for Tamil, Urdu, and Malyalam sessions. Pretty sweet.

This video is a clip of Satish Babu, one of the audience members of the convention, accepting Islam during Read more »

Question Yourself

When I began high school, I attended a local Friday night youth group halaqh. One night, the brother preparing the talk for the night handed out copies of an article with a series of powerful questions on it. The questions were very powerful, but as for what they were and what they asked, it seems just like a lost memory of my high school days.

Years later, an old friend from the youth group found his copy of the article while cleaning out his room. He showed it to me and I was blown away. Being older and more aware of Islam and myself, the questions on it hit home much harder.

I wondered where this list came from, so I gave it a Google search, inputing the questions from the list in quotations. It turns out the list is archived on Islaam.com; that list is actually an article entitled “Question Yourself” by Shaykh Husayn al-Awaaish translated for Hudaa Magazine back in 1995.

Read over the questions yourself and ask yourself how well you live Islam everyday in your own life, and ask Allah ‘azza wa jal to help you answer them better on a daily basis.

- – - – - – - – - -

Dear Self,

Do you pray fajr (morning prayer) in the mosque in Jamaa`ah (gathering) every day?

Do you keep all prayers in the masjid in Jamaa`ah?

Did you read any portion of Allaah’s Book today?

Are you consistent in saying your thikr (words of remembrance) and praise of Allaah (T) and wird (regular daily dhikr) after every prayer?

Do you pray all the regular sunnah prayers (supererogatory prayers) before and after the fard prayers? Read more »

The Correct Way To Pray According To The Salaf

Nice attention getting title, huh? This isn’t about Fiqh of Salah, per se, but then again it is. Sometimes we may focus so much on the physical movements and actions of Salah that we may overlook another equally important aspect of prayer, niyyah, or intention. Check out this quote I read from Sayings of the Salaf:

‘Abdullâh b. Mubârak said:

I asked Sufyân Al-Thawrî, “When a man stands to pray, what should he intend by his recitation and prayer?” He replied, “He should intend that he is personally entreating his Lord.”

Muhammad b. Nasr Al-Marwazî, Ta’dhîm Qadr Al-Salâh Vol. 1 p199.

“Entreating” his Lord? I know it’s a translation from an Arabic word, but what does that mean??? Read more »

Tests from Allah

Both of the AlMaghrib seminars I took in Windsor, ON in 2007 mentioned tests from Allah. The first was Seerah: The Shepherd’s Path by Muhammad Alshareef. The second was A Heart Serene: Studies In Tazkiyah by Riad Ourazazzi. Here’s some gems from both.

1. Recognizing the Tests

Think of that one girl you know who’s got the perfect life. She’s beautiful. She has so many friends and everyone loves her. She has lots of money, the cutest outfits, and a huge house with the perfect kitchen. She always looks and feels great, never getting sick.

Or think of that one guy in your community who’s life you wish you had. He’s in guaranteed medicine program and does great in school. He became a Hafidh and a prolific speaker at conferences and community dinners. Heck, he’s even engaged to the girl you imagined one day marrying.

Nothing is a test for them, right? Read more »

Muhammad Alshareef’s and Haniyyah’s EmanRush Moments from Hajj

My brother-in-law Osman and his wife Haniyyah were blessed to perform Hajj this year. They traveled with AlManasik, a Portland, OR based Hajj tour service, and signed up to be in the group led by Shaykh Muhammad Alshareef. The two had a blast and said AlManasik was tip-top organized from the moment they left the States.

Haniyyah shared a story of one of the last days of their trip, where their entire group was in a big circle. Shakyh Muhammad was telling them that when they go back, not to complain but instead tell the people about all the good that happened, pinpointing those “EmanRush” moments from their journey. Shaykh began with an example and shared his story first for the group.

Muhammad Alshareef’s EmanRush Moment

Some kid was raving over how he was able to kiss the black stone during Tawaf. This got to Shaykh Muhammad; in his 14 some years of performing Hajj, he had never gotten to kiss it and now here’s some kid who did it on his first try. So he decided this time he’s going for it. Read more »