— Lataa’if Al-Ma’aarif | P. 373

Fasting all day and then feeling full after the first bite of food is the perfect example of how temporary this dunya is.

“Do not ask me about my life, for it is the secrets of life. It is both a gift and a hardship, a world of wishes I have entrusted to Allah, then I moved forward in the company of the righteous.

As for my path, it is the Quran, the sword, and trials.

Allah has blessed it, and before me, the Prophets walked it, as did the caravans of martyrs. It was nourished by rivers of blood, and thus it became a fragrant garden, framed in light.

As for my fate, it is what pleases Allah and what He wills, whether it is victory with clear triumph or martyrdom and eternal life. And if I find myself on this earth with limited time, then let me be the symbol of heroism and guidance, or woe to my existence.”

The heart grows rusty due two things: through heedlessness and sins.

It is cleansed by way of two things: Seeking forgiveness and the remembrance of Alläh.

Remembrance of the most merciful Imãm ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 751H) | P.no. 111

Shaykh Sulaymân al-‘Alwân فك الله أسره was asked: What is the ruling on abandoning Suhûr?

He answered: Abandoning Suhûr is an imitation of Ahlul-Kitâb, and some of the people are lenient regarding the matter of Suhûr, claiming that they do not desire it. It is a priority for the Muslim that he does not miss Suhûr, even by drinking a sip of milk to differ from Ahlul-Kitâb, and to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ‎ﷺ.

It has come in the report from ‘Amr ibn al-‘Âs that the Prophet ‎ﷺ said: “The difference between our fasting and the fasting of Ahlul-Kitâb is eating shortly before Fajr.” Narrated by Imâm Muslim.

This is indicates that [having] Suhûr is a differentiation from Ahlul-Kitâb, and differing from them is a very [important] aim in the Sharî’ah.

You wish to be patient, so you're tested with hardships.

You wish to be disciplined, so you're tested with temptations

You wish to be kind, so you're tested with unkind people.

You wish to be enlightened, so you're tested with mistakes

You wish to be grateful, so you're tested with loss and adversity

You wish to be forgiving, so you're tested with being wronged

You wish to be steadfast in faith. so you're tested with doubts and trials.

You wish to be consistent, so you're tested with interruptions

You wish to love, so you're tested with being alone

Do the people think that they will be left to say, We believe' and they will not be tested?

29:2

The Qur’an is to be acted upon!

When you read the Quran and come across “O you who have believed”, do you think that those who have believed are living on Mars? No, Allah is addressing you! You are among those who believe. And when you come across “O mankind”, do you think mankind is living on Saturn? Pay attention—you are part of mankind.

When commands and prohibitions appear in the Quran, they are not just directed at Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهم. They are directed at you. These commands and prohibitions are meant specifically for you. The Quran does not only address the Muslim community as a whole—it addresses each and every individual Muslim personally. Every single person is being addressed directly by the Quran.

So when you read these verses, understand that they are messages from Allah to you. Read them as if a servant is reading the commands of his master with purpose and intent. Imagine a slave whose master sends him written instructions—commands and prohibitions in a letter. The worker receives this letter, kisses it, places it on his head, perfumes it and puts it on a shelf. But that’s all he does. He doesn’t follow the instructions.

Now, if the master later asks him, “What did you do with my message?”, and the worker replies, “I received it, kissed it, perfumed  it, placed it on the shelf, and every day I take it down, kiss it again, read it, and put it back.”—what will the master do? He will hit him! He will say, “Did I send this letter just for you to honor it, open and close it, and place it on a shelf? Or did I send it for you to act upon it?”

Likewise, the Quran is not just meant to be recited and admired—it is meant to be followed. That is why the Prophet ﷺ said, “The Quran is either a proof for you or against you.”

So if you read “O you who have believed”, but then act like those who disbelieve, how will you answer Allah when you meet Him? Allah will surely question you about what you recited.

-Shaykh Muhammad Bin Abd-Al Hameed  Bin Abdullah Al Zubaydi

Do not be surprised if, in our times, the voice of delusion is loud while the voice of truth seems quiet.

Remember, Abu Jahl loudly proclaimed his falsehoods near the Ka’aba, while Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم quietly recited the Words of Allah in the house of al-Arqam.

And what was their fate?

The first was slain and discarded into the well at Badr!

The second ascended to the Highest Heavens, where he conversed with his Lord at Sidrat al Muntaha

A believer never enjoys his sin, never finds his delight completed. Rather, even while committing the sin his heart is faced with grief, though the intoxication of desire covers up his feeling of it.

If the heart ever becomes void of this remorseful ache and the joy of sinning overpowers any feeling of remorse, then one should doubt one's faith, and cry over the death of his heart.

Were the heart alive, the committing of sin would make it sad, upbraid and constrict it, and it would sense it.

A wound, after all, does not cause pain to a corpse.

[ Madarij al-Salikin ] Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzi

Q: How can one be patient upon trial?

A: “In the same way we fast, we’re absolutely and completely sure that the adhān of Maghrib will eventually come…”

دوامُ الحالِ من المُحال

“The permanence of one condition is impossible”

قال الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم:

لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ،

لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ وَلَا مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ، إِلَى قِيَامِ السَّاعَة

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

A group of my Ummah will always remain on the truth and dominant, unharmed by those who fail to support them and those who defy them, until the Last Hour begins.

[Sahih Muslim]