GLORIFY ALLAH'S NAME! Thank The Merciful And You'll Be Blessed!

 

Glorify Allah's Name!

Thank The Merciful

And You'll Be Blessed!

(M. Javed Naseem)

 

The blessed month of Ramadan is almost over but there is no pause or end to Allah's mercy and blessings upon us. If we remember Him and glorify His name; if we pay thanks to Him and ask Him for His mercy; and if we still ask Him for his forgiveness, He is the Most Gracious and Most Merciful to bestow upon us His blessings and bounties. He is the Almighty Creator of all things but He appreciates when we humans glorify His name and pay thanks to Him.

“They remember Allah, standing, sitting,

and reclining, and consider the creation

of the heavens and the earth, (and say):

Our Lord! You created not this in vain.

Glory be to You! Preserve us

from the doom of Fire.”

(al-Quran 3:191)

Allah the Almighty created us and before that He created the universe with all things in it. To Him belong the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. Being His creation, it is only natural that we pay thanks to Him because He keeps bestowing upon us His blessings and bounties. He is the Best Provider. Praising the Almighty and thanking Him for all the blessings is due upon us without any argument. In the Quran, Allah promises us that if we thank Him, He will give us more. Therefore, it is only logical and reasonable that we glorify His name day in and day out. We need Him in our lives all the time, seven days a week. Without His mercy, we would be ruined and without His guidance, we would be lost.

“Then you turned away from your

covenant, and had it not been for Allah’s

grace and mercy upon you,

you would have long been utter losers.”

(al-Quran 2:64)

Once, the army of the Prophet of Allah, Sulaiman – or Solomon – (a.s.), was passing through a valley. There were Jinns and Humans in his flanks, and the birds in the air were casting their shadows to protect them from the heat of the sun. A pious man was passing by and saw that magnificent view of Solomon's grandeur and majesty. He stopped and said to Prophet Sulaiman (a.s.):

“Vow! Allah has blessed you with such a big kingdom and you even rule over Jinns, humans, beasts and cattle, animals and birds.”

Prophet Sulaiman (a.s.) smiled and replied: “One word of “Subhan-Allah” in the Record of Deeds of a Muslim, is better than this whole kingdom of Sulaiman. Because this kingdom is going to perish one day, but the reward of “Subhan-Allah” is going to stay for ever.”

Allah-o-Akber! What an assessment! All glory be to Allah! There is nothing better and bigger and more important in the entire universe than the glory and praise of the Almighty Allah.

Scholars have quoted many references from the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and concluded that the best words to utter (Kalima) as “Zikr” (or Dhikr) are “Subhan- Allah”, “Alhamdo-lillah” and “Allaho-Akber”. The scholars of all four schools of thoughts also unanimously agree on the following:

That the best Kalima (word or phrase) for Zikr (Dhikr) during the day or night, which is very easy and light on the tongue, but would be heavier in the scale of good deeds on the Day of Judgment, is:

“Subhan-Allah wa-behamdeh,

Subhan-Allah il-Azeem.”

 

 

The more you recite, the more rewards you get for your Hereafter. It is recommended that you recite it at least 100 times everyday, if not more. Some people recite it 100 times after each prayer (Salaat). If you cannot do that, then at least recite it after Fajr and Isha prayers. This phrase is considered very dear and favorite to Allah the Almighty. Allah will shower His mercy upon you, Insha-Allah.

“Establish worship at the going down of the sun

until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the

Quran at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Quran

at dawn is ever witnessed.”

(al-Quran 17:78)

Allah tells us in the Quran that we should always be 'mindful' of Him; fear His wrath and anger; and be grateful to Him in all situations, under all circumstances. Sometimes, it is very hard to do that but we have no choice. You can take or bear something with a smile or with a frown. Only smile looks not only better on our face but it also earns rewards for you in the Hereafter. It is a 'Hasanah' or 'Sadaqah'. The other thing is that we cannot change our situation but Allah can, as He is able to do everything. Our job is to do good, and He will reward us with a great prize or compensation.

“Is the reward of good anything but good?”

(al-Quran 55:60)

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BATTLE OF BADR: 17th Ramadan. The Turning Point in Islamic History!

 

Battle of Badr: 17^th Ramadan

The Turning Point In

Islamic History!

 

When fighting for Allah,

numbers don't matter.

Truth and righteousness

always prevail.

(M. Javed Naseem)

“And let not those who disbelieve think

they will escape. Indeed, they will not

cause failure (to Allah).”

(al-Quran 8:59)

The biggest lesson we learn from the Battle of Badr – the war between Good and Evil – is that the Truth and its followers, the true believers of God – the just and the righteous – always prevail. The true believers of God have Faith and Trust in God that gives them tremendous confidence and strength that can shatter the mountains of lies and evil.

The Battle of Badr has been referred to in the Holy Quran and Allah called it a “Day of Furqaan”. The Arabic word ‘furqaan’ means to 'separate' or to 'distinguish'. It was the 17^th day of Ramadan, in the 2^nd year of Hijrah (7^th of March, 624 CE) when the Almighty Allah separated/distinguished the Truth from Falsehood; the Light from Darkness; and the Guidance from Ignorance! He gave the believers a great victory and vanquished the hopes and aspirations of the disbelievers who wanted to wipe out Islam which had started gaining popularity. Muslims were a tiny minority and were constantly persecuted by the politically powerful and financially strong Quraish of Makkah.

Reynold A. Nicholson wrote:

“But the importance of Mohammed’s success

(in the battle of Badr) cannot be measured by the

material damage which he inflicted (upon the pagans of

Mecca). Considering the momentous issues involved,

we must allow that Badr, like Marathon, is one of the

greatest and most memorable battles in all history.”

(From 'A Literary History of The Arabs', by R.A. Nicholson, 1969).

Badr was the first major encounter between the newly-born nation of Muslims and the evil-living unbelievers or pagans (Kaafireen), the Quraish of Makkah. This was the one historic event that changed the course of history of not only the Arabia but of the entire universe.

At the dawn of Islam in Makkah, Muslims were killed, injured, tortured, robbed and persecuted. Eventually, they were expelled while some fled their homes and took refuge somewhere else. It is happening again today in every place where Islam has its foothold. Muslims are being persecuted, even massacred, their homes and homelands being destroyed and the survivors driven out as refugees.

The history of mankind tells us that it is the oppressed that conquer the oppressors in the end! That’s how Allah balances out the injustice, persecution, aggression, corruption, oppression and inequality. He helps the oppressed to break the shackles. The history of David and Goliath is being repeated – and we know the outcome very well! It’s a matter of time only. Allah tells us in the Quran:

“And We wished to be Gracious to those who

were being oppressed in the land, to make them

leaders (in Faith) and make them inheritors.”

(al-Quran 28:5)

At the battle-field of Badr, there were only 313 Muslims who came out to defend themselves against more than a thousand pagans/unbelievers of Makkah. The odds were heavily against Muslims as they were also ill-equipped. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) invoked Allah for help and the help did come!

“Remember you implored the assistance

of your Lord and He answered you:

'I will assist you with a thousand of

the angels, ranks on ranks'."

(al-Quran 8:9)

Like many other ‘Firsts’ of the history of mankind, Badr also set the first example of the treatment of prisoners of war. Their lives were spared; they were treated humanely; they were provided with shelter and fed properly, even when some Muslims did not have food to eat and survived on dates and water.

Sir William Muir, the famous British orientalist, known for his hostility towards Islam and Muslims, wrote:

“In pursuance of Mahomet’s commands, the citizens

of Medina and such of the emigrants who possessed

houses, received the prisoners and treated them

with much consideration. ‘Blessings be on the men

of Medina’, said one of these prisoners in the later

days, ‘they made us ride while they themselves

walked. They gave us wheaten bread to eat

when there was little of it, contenting

themselves with dates’.”

The Battle of Badr is a constant reminder to the Muslims that if they fear Allah, the way Allah should be feared; and if they obey Allah and His Prophet (s.a.w.), the way they should be obeyed, Allah’s help is guaranteed!

“And remember when you were few and

oppressed in the land, fearing that people

might abduct you, but He sheltered you,

supported you with His victory, and

provided you with good things so that

you might be grateful.”

(al-Quran 8:26)

It's your Iman (Faith in Allah) that gives you immense strength. With it, you can overcome any adversary, no matter how big, how strong or how well-equipped! Here's the promise of Allah:

“O Prophet, urge the believers to fight! If there

are among you twenty [who are] steadfast, they

will overcome two hundred. And if there are

among you one hundred [who are] steadfast,

they will overcome a thousand of those who

have disbelieved because they are a people

who do not understand.”

(al-Quran 8:65)

But this promise is conditional. The verse of the Quran says: “IF there are twenty STEADFAST”. The emphasis is on 'steadfastness'. That means that simply claiming to be a Believer or a Muslim is not enough. You need to show and prove it that you are a steadfast (true, honest, sincere and consistent) Believer/Muslim.

(Names of the 14 martyrs of Badr are engraved on this "Badr Memorial" in Saudi Arabia)

The message that Battle of Badr sends to the Muslims of today, is that You must be somebody living by the Book of Allah – somebody who has surrendered to the Will of God – a true practicing Muslim, if you expect help and mercy from Allah!

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