Assalaamu-Alaykum – Peace be Upon you

I know, I know, it’s been at least a week since I put a new post up and yes, I know, it’s not good!

So apart from the usual work, home and mosque lifestyle that I lead, what else have I been up to recently?

Well this Ramadhan has been so busy hasn’t it?  You get up for Sehri (pre-dawn meal) and after munching a bowl of porridge in a semi-sleepy stupor, make your way to the Mosque to read Fajr with congregation.  And after that the hard part – trying to fall asleep again on a full stomach and an active mind knowing full well that you’ve got to get up in a couple of hours to get to work – aaarrrggghhh!!!

And after spending a long hard day at work, all you feel like doing is going home, praying a bit of Qur’an, breaking your fast and relaxing a bit.  But no! It seems that as soon as you break your fast and have offered your Maghrib prayers, it’s time for Isha and Taraaweeh (where did the day go?) and that brings us nicely up to 11 pm (or thereabouts!) when all you’ve got left is the will to trudge back to bed knowing that you’ll be awake again in a few hours to repeat the cycle – phew!

But alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah) it’s all good!! Only through Allah’s Mercy do we find not only the time, but the energy to get through this and furthermore, it’s not as if we’re not getting anything out of it – oh no!  Not only is Allah rewarding us for every single miniscule hardship that we are enduring, but also for every time our stomach rumbles, every time we feel our throats are dry, for every letter of Qur’an we pray and not to mention every single Dua (supplication) we make.

Even when we’re tired, for every single ounce of tiredness there is great reward from Him who has no limit to the Bounties He can bestow or the Mercy with which He showers us with.

Last night we had a bit of a ’sleepover’ for the youngsters in Dewsbury at Zakaria Masjid.  Alhumdulillah things went really well and it seems like the boys had a good laugh as well as learning about the Qur’an which was the topic for the night.

Mufti Abu Bakr Karolia enlightened us with his extremely informative PowerPoint presentation about the Qur’an and we were also graced with the presence of Moulana Abrar who recited a beautiful Naat about out Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and also the venerable Qari Saeed Makda who infused the night with his beautiful recitation of the Qur’an

Pizzas and snacks were provided (!) and the lads from Ansaar lightened up the night with a highly entertaining Islamic Quiz of which there is still controversey as to who were the real winners!!

So alhumdulillah it was an extremely eventful ’sleepover’ with absolutely no sleeping bags and definitely no sleeping!  My thanks go out to Mufti Abu Bakr Karolia, Qari Saeed Makda, Moulana Abrar and our Imam saheb for their esteemed presence together with Abdul Wajid, Ebrahim Jogee and Abu Bakr Fadia and the rest of the Ansaar crew for being instrumental in the execution of this event.

And last but definitely not least, my thanks to all the local lads inlcuding Hafez Shoyab, Hafez Imran, Siraj, Max, Ma-aaz, Ismail, Hafez Yasser, Haroon, Elyas bhai and Ayub bhai for their much needed help and to the youth of Dewsbury who came and made it the night it was – may Allah accept us all.

Ma’as-salaam – With Peace

Assalaamu-Alaykum – Peace be Upon you

Well I have something really special for you today people.

Alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah) we all get a spiritual boost when we hear somebody narrate the story of how they entered the fold of Islam.  The hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you continually wonder how amazing Allah is when we hear these individuals tell us of their journey through life and how they found Allah.

So I present to you the story of this Australian brother who tells us how he found Islam.  It’s told with a refreshing sense of humour and I guarantee you will be chuckling all the way through!!  However, watch it through to the end and I also guarantee you that every single hair on your body will stand up in true recognition of Allah’s Greatness and His amazing power – may Allah give us all the Taufiq (ability) to recognise Him.

Ma’as-salaam – With Peace

Assalaamu-Alaykum – Peace be Upon you

So it looks like we’ve all started the blessed month of Ramadhan together alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah) and what a nice change that is!

And insha-Allah (with the Will of Allah) it will once again be the month when Allah’s special mercy descends upon the Earth and we find the men filling up the Mosques and the women spending more time in worship in the home.

Yes it is the month of Qur’an.  It is the month when the most authentic Book known to man was revealed to the best person that will ever walk the earth, Muhammad (PBUH).  And through the Qur’an, the Rope of Allah, we can get so close to Him…

Alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah), we all find in Ramadhan when we open the Qur’an that special peace and solace that is without equal in this world.  And we find ourselves thinking, ‘why have I not been reading more regularly throughout the year?’ together with, ‘insha-Allah I’m going to continue this after Ramadhan…’

And the answer to the question is something we desperately need to find because it is true, throughout Ramadhan the Mosques are buzzing with the beautiful hum of recitation of the Qur’an but as soon as Ramadhan ends, the buzzing stops and the Mosques become empty again.

Yes it is true, with the combination of Allah’s mercy, the chaining up of the Shayateen (Devils) and the spirituality gained by fasting, it is easier to read the Qur’an and carry out more good deeds than throughout the rest of the year.  So how about this – let’s make this month of Ramadhan the platform, the springboard for the year ahead and use it as a means of relaunching our lives and bring Islam into our lives throughout the year – throughout our lives.

Let’s read the Qur’an everyday, let’s pray our 5 daily prayers everyday, let’s bring the qualities of piety, humility, sincerity and good character into our lives everyday.

And insha-Allah, with this intention and with the right prayers, Allah WILL take us there because remember, He always listens to what we have to say and ask – if only we asked Him….!

Anyway, Ramadhan mubarak to all my readers – may Allah give us all the Taufiq (ability) to make the most of this truly blessed month and may Allah make the rest of our year, and indeed, the rest of our lives just as good, if not better.

Ma’as-salaam – With Peace

Assalaamu-Alaykum

Tales from the Highlands!

And so it was that the newly formed ‘Dewsbury Mountaineering Club’ (DMC!) left on Saturday morning in an eager mood to try to climb the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis and live to tell the tale!  Alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah) our journey there and back passed without incident.  The weather was beautiful, the roads were winding and the scenery, well the scenery was just stunning!

We got there just after 6pm (after a couple of stops!) and after settling down and doing our prayers, had a lovely barbecue at the foot of Ben Nevis courtesy of some dangerous disposable barbecues (!) and the perfectly marinated chicken from Hafez Zubair’s mum – jazakallah!

And once we were fed and watered, we started to take in the stunning beauty of the majestic mountains, running streams and the endless valleys created by Almighty Allah.  We appreciated the freshness of the mountain air and the crystal clear water of the mountain streams – subhanallah! (Allah is pure).

We decided to start the climb early on Sunday morning so that we could get home at a decent hour ready to face the next day at work (unfortunately!) so we sleepily set off at around 6:15am.  By 6:45am, after a gruelling first half-hour we were definitely awake and yours truly started to wonder if his knees would hold out till the end!

The climb up and down afforded breathtaking views of the neighbouring glens not to mention one or two incidents which could only be attributed to the DMC!  First of all there was the hopeless shortcut attempt by Hafez Imran and Hafez Suheal – I say hopeless because they thought it would cut an hour off their time to the top when actually, they had to turn off and re-join us on the correct route!  And then secondly, and even more hilariously, was my attempt to demonstrate my golf swing which went completely wrong and left Hafez Zubair without half of his hiking stick!!

Once again I found myself marvelling at the beauty of the creation of Allah with various Ayaats (verses) of the Qur’an and questions going through my head.  Just imagine, I thought to myself, how big, heavy, immovable and powerful these enormous mountains were, yet Allah says in the Qur’an that even they could not vouchsafe the power of the Qur’an, but the heart of the weak human being, who is made of flesh that will disintegrate and bones that will break, can store the Qur’an and thereby surpass all others in gaining that closeness to Him.  Allahu Akber (Allah is the Greatest).

Unfortunately we were enveloped in cloud when we got to the top so visibility was minimal.  We had a quick snack of our wise Zakir mama’s chicken sandwiches and then we set off on our way down.  By around 3pm we were all back at base camp and by 11pm we were all back home!

It took us 7 hours to drive to Fort William and around the same time coming back.  We took a lazy 3 hours and 45 minutes to get to the top but only 1 hour and 40 minutes for the two mountain foxes Hafez Zubair and myself to get down.

So alhumdulillah, it was a fantastic trip and one which I thoroughly enjoyed.  All that remains now is for me to thank everyone who came along and made it enjoyable, not to mention the ladies back at home who prepared every mouth-watering thing that was consumed on and off the mountain – jazakallah khair.

Check out the updated slideshow at the bottom right area of this page and you’ll be able to see the beauty of the mountains, the lovely barbecued chicken and kebabs and not forgetting the brave members of the DMC!!

The DMC! were:

Zakir Mama
Hafez Imran
Hafez Suheal
Hafez Zubair
Suheal
Fahim
Ismail
Siddique

Ma’as-salaam

In Islam, one of the steps to understanding God and building your relationship with Him is the concept of fearing Him.

Why fear?

Because as we all know, when any human being fears another, they either try to stay away from that person or do what they can to please them so that there is no retribution or punishment.

So, apply that to the fear of Allah – say that one of the reasons is the fear of Allah’s punishment on Qiyyamah (The Day of Resurrection) or being thrown into Jahannam (Hell), then automatically it will lead a person to stay away from doing all those things which are the cause of Allah’s displeasure and try to do as much as possible to please Him and thereby be saved.

Now it doesn’t end there, and this is another reason why I personally think that Islam is truly designed by the Creator for the creation: Human nature being as it is, Allah knew that if He only told us to fear Him then it would go against our nature probably lead to something like all the Muslims being depressed forever!

But no!

We as Muslims believe that Allah is One but that He has many qualities, and although we believe Him to be the One who punishes, we also have the balancing belief that He is the Most Merciful…..

So now you see the beauty of the way of life given to us by Allah through His Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH), who laid down the Islamic principle that true faith lies between fear of Allah’s punishment and hope in Allah’s Mercy.

That if He wants, there is no one quicker than God in the Reckoning but also nobody to stop Him if He wants forgive His slaves.  We just have to live our lives in between the two, by fearing Him and staying away from the wrong, and having faith in His Mercy and the acceptance of our good deeds by continuing to do them day in day out. And surpisingly, it is through this fear that we as slaves of the Almighty, can actually get so close to Him, that He becomes the eyes with which we see, the ears by which we listen, and the hands by which we do (good deeds).  This means that everything in our life will be according to the command of God, according to the practice of the Prophet (PBUH).

And another benefit of fearing Allah was stated by the Prophet (PBUH) himself when he said that whoever fear Allah, Allah will make everything fear him, but he who does not fear Allah, Allah will make everything a source of fear for him….

Just think about that profound statement for a minute – think about our lives today, think about how quickly and easily we get stressed out about each and every little thing in our lives. Think about how easily our hearts are affected by the actions of others, and how restless our hearts have become…..

This is what happens when the creation loses all sense of humility and forgets to fear the Creator, this is what the Prophet (PBUH) was talking about.

As you will hopefully now see, there is peace and tranqullity to be found for the heart which fears God, and so once again, I invite all my readers to sit, reflect upon, and embrace fully the natural way of Islam – a way which corresponds to the nature of man, not against it.

And Allah knows best.

Ma’as-salaam – With Peace

Assalaamu-Alaykum – Peace be Upon you

They say that all good things must come to an end…

Well on Saturday 28th September 2008 at Zakaria Masjid in Dewsbury, something great did indeed come to an end.

Yes, on Saturday night, we were blessed by Allah to experience the last instalment of the Tafsir (explanation, exegesis) of the Holy Qur’an done by Sheikh Yakub Qasmi.

It was a momentous occasion which was the culmination of 14 years of hard effort by the venerable Sheikh. And as usual it was a Tafsir which was fit for the occasion, delivered with the honesty, integrity, deep knowledge and wisdom which has become the trademark of Moulana saheb’s Tafsirs.

For the people, for us who have been listening to this – some for 2 years, some for 10 years, even some who have been here from the start – for us it was the end of something, you could even say, the end of an era.

In my very limited lifespan and knowledge, never before have I heard anyone give such a down-to-earth explanation of the high ideals set by Allah in His Book in such an easy to understand, practical manner. It bears testimony to Moulana’s knowledge and understanding of not only the Qur’an, but of life on this earth in general, that he was able to take so many points and put it in such a perspective, that all of us could relate to and take away with us each time we left one of his Tafsir sessions.

We will miss the way he recited Ta’awwuz at the beginning in his unique recitation style. We will miss the way he would recall a certain point from a certain book by a certain author consisting of x number of pages! Indeed, we will miss the way in which he recalled sayings, absolutely word to word, from the late Sheikh Yusuf Khandlavi (RA), and we will surely miss the way he ended each session in humility by re-affirming that it is only Allah alone who has All-Knowledge and is All-Wise.

So it is with a truly poignant feeling in my heart that I give my own personal thanks to the Moulana – without saying too much, only Allah knows how much of an impact the Tafsir of the Qur’an has had on my life.

But it is with a feeling of elation that I attempt to thank my Lord, Allah. For it is He who has given us His Book which will remain upon this earth until the Last Day.

It is this Book, which has not only changed my life, but transformed the whole of humanity. This is the Book, which when recited, can fill up the deepest, darkest voids and can illumine the darkest of hearts and make them shine with brilliance.

This is the Book, when recited in the dark nights of Arabia, commanded the presence of Angels who ventured down to listen. And again, when it was recited by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (PBUH), even drew the idolators of Mecca to come and secretly listen to it at night. Even during the day, when they professed their opposition to the peaceful religion of Islam, when the verses of my Lord entered their ears they were brought to prostration as a knee-jerk reaction.

This is because the Qur’an is the Book of the hearts – affecting the hearts and memorised and stored in the hearts. It always has, always will and will always continue to capture the hearts and minds of mankind – whether Muslim or non-Muslim – its Truth will always serve as a beacon of light for the true Believer and Seeker of Truth.

So may Allah keep our hearts alive with the radiance of the Qur’an, and as has been explained with such dexterity and clarity by Sheikh Yakub Qasmi, may Allah give us the Taufiq (Divine aid) to bring it practically into our lives so that we may prosper in both this world and the Akhirah (Hereafter).

Ma’as-salaam – With Peace

PS: INSHA-ALLAH WE WILL BE POSTING THE MOST RECENT RECORDINGS OF THE SHEIKH’S TAFSIR RIGHT HERE ON HIDAYAH BLOG IN THE NEAR FUTURE SO PLEASE CHECK IT OUT AND INFORM OTHERS – JAZAKALLAH.

Alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah) we have a chance to do our bit in spreading the Word of Allah – the Qur’an.

Caravan of Mercy needs your help in reaching its target of distributing 10 million Qur’ans to the needy people of the world.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for all uf us to help out for a very very noble cause and for those interested there will be collections at the following points:

Venue: Madina Masjid (car park), Mount Pleasant, Batley

Venue: Masjid-e-Heera (car park), Thornhill Road, Dewsbury

Dates & Times: Sunday 4 May 2008 between 2pm -5:30 pm for both

May Allah give us all the Taufiq (Divine aid).

Ma’as-salaam – With Peace

Well here it is as promised, the recording for the program that was held at Zakaria Masjid on Sunday 24 February 2008.

Once again, jazakallah khair (may Allah give the best recompense) to all those who took part and helped out in any way, and a special thank you to IMWS for the equipment, whilst not for a moment forgetting the Committee members of Zakaria Masjid for their permission and guidance – jazakallah!

What’s more, you can also download the slides containing the meaning we showed when the Qur’an was being recited, so you can read the meaning as you listen to the wonderful recitation by the Qurras (plural of Qari – someone who is well versed in the reading of the Qur’an).

Please-click-here-for-the-slides.ppt

Click here to listen to the whole or parts of the event.

Once again, jazakallah to everyone involved, and pray that Allah gives us the understanding of the Qur’an and the ability to spread the beauty of Islam through the Qur’an.

Ma’as-salaam

Alhumdulillah (all Praise belongs to Allah), as you may have gathered from the comments in the preceeding post, the event on Sunday took place and went really well alhumdulillah.

There were around 200 men and about 60 women (come on people we can do better!!) and according to one report, lots of children with their fathers, which was really encouraging.

Obviously, one who does not thank the people does not thank Allah, so jazakallah khair (may Allah give the best recompense) to all those who took part and helped out.

This means key people like the Imam of Masjid-e-Hidayah, Moulana Rashid, Qari Saeed Makda, Moulana Shahid, Qari Abbas and Moulana Hasib – may Allah give you all the best of reward, not forgetting all the other helpers who wish to remain nameless, but without whom the event could not have gone ahead.

And also to Moulana Zubair for his last minute taxi service – jazakallah!!

So now I must ask my diligent readers to keep on making dua that Allah accepts this, and that He gives us the Taufiq (Divine aid) to do more for the Ummah (community of Mankind).

P.S – Insha-Allah, the recording for the whole programme is in the pipeline, so keep checking here to download the whole thing when it is posted.

Ma’as-salaam

Insha-Allah (with the Will of Allah), Hidayah Blog will be holding its first event, which will be a Qur’an conference, this Sunday 24th February 2008 in Zakaria Masjid, Dewsbury.

The speakers include homegrown talent such as Moulana Shahid Feroz and Moulana Hasib Mayat from Batley who will both be delivering short 20 minute lectures on the Qur’an.

This will be mixed in with beautiful recitations from Qari Irshad of Hope Street and the renowned Qari Saeed Makda.

Please come down if you can, there will be separate seating for sisters insha-Allah.

Here’s a recap:

Venue: Zakaria Masjid, South Street, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire

Time: Between Zuhr and Asr prayers (Zuhr:1pm – Asr: 4:45pm)

Speakers: Moulana Shahid Feroz & Moulana Hasib Mayat

Qurra: Qari Irshad & Qari Saeed Makda

See you there insha-Allah.

Mas-salaam