A Young Revert from Holland

So I want to tell my story in a nutshell. I don’t find it interesting, and there are many convert stories that are so much more powerful and more beautiful than mine, but converting is one of the most reflecting, beautiful and great things there are, in any sort of way.

First I want to tell you how grateful I am that Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala has shown me the way. He is the Guider. Not only I feel blessed that He had chosen me, for His path, but I also feel more blessed than muslims that are born with religion. Why? Well especially in Europe countries muslim youth are dealing with a lot of struggling in this dunya. They are trying to stay on the right path in every way.. they fall down and they get up again. Some make it, some don’t. Allahu a’lem. I myself, haven’t struggled like they have. I just lived in this dunya as if it was mine, enjoying the time here without thinking about any consequence. When I converted to Islam all my sins were forgiven. I just realised how great this blessing is, and how little people get this blessing! Sheikh Yusuf Estes called the convert process a butterfly rebirth. I love that metaphore.

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Love for the Sake of Allah

To have love for someone for the sake of Allah's pleasure is also a grand act for which much merit and many rewards have been promised. "To love for the sake of Allah" means loving someone, not for worldly gain, but because he is more religious and pious or he is very learned in din or is busy in serving the cause of din or because loving him or her is commanded by Allah, e.g. one's parents.

Such a love has been called "love for Allah" in ahadith.

One hadith says, " Allah shall ask on the Day of Judgement, ' Where are those who loved for the sake of my Greatness? Today when there is no shade save Mine, I shall have them in My Shade.'" (Sahih Muslim: Kitab al Birr wa al Silah)

Another tells us that "On the Day of Judgement, those who had mutual love for the sake of Allah's Greatness shall be on pulpits of light and all shall envy them." (Jami' Tirmidhi, Kitab al Zuhd)

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The Man From Mecca

"It’s always good to come home," Muhammad mused as the caravan plodded closer to Mecca. He was barely 20, but already he had traveled to such distant centers as Jerusalem, Damascus, and Aleppo. Ever since he was big enough to ride a camel, his uncle had taken him on the great yearly trade caravans that journeyed 1000 miles or more northward to Syria and nearly as far southward to Yemen. But Arabia was Muhammad’s home, and paganism the religion of his people.

Nothing made that more obvious than did the Ka ‘bah, Mecca’s massive stone shrine. Fifty feet high and nearly 40 feet square, it housed one idol for each day of the year. Some said it had been built by Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the Garden. Others claimed that Abraham and Ishmael had built it.

As the sanctuary of Allah, the supreme god of the Arabs, it attracted pilgrims from all over Arabia. Theyc ame to kiss or touch the smooth black stone that glistened in the southeastern corner – a stone said to have been given to Ishmael by the angel Gabriel, and set into the building by Abraham’s own hands.

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The True Treasure

A burglar scaled the wall of Maalik bin Dinar's house one night and easily managed to get inside. Once inside the house, the thief was disappointed to see that there was nothing inside actually worth stealing. The owner of the home was inside at the time, he was busy performing prayer. Realizing that he was not alone, Maalik quickly ended his prayer and turned around to face the thief. Without showing any sign of being shocked or afraid, Maalik calmly extended greetings of peace and then said, "My brother, may Allah forgive you. You entered my home and found nothing that is worth taking, yet I do not want you to leave my home without taking away some benefit."

He stood up, went to another part of the room, and came back with a jug full of water. He looked into the eyes of the burglar and said, "Make ablution and perform two units of prayer, for if you do so, you will leave my home with a greater treasure than you had initially sought when you entered it."

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Story of 4 wives

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another. He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant, and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her! One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I ! now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone."Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

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As Committed As Suhaila

Abdur-Rahman Hijazi


Part 1

In one day of the days of Bani Ummayah, rahimahumullah, after the Khulafaa' ar-Raashideen, when Islaam used to be the dominant power in the whole Earth, when the Muslim country was the biggest country amongst all the others, and specifically in the city of the Prophet Sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, there was a gathering, a Muslim gathering, of some sahaba and some tabi`een, attending a wedding of two young but yet righteous Muslims. These two were Sohaila and Farrookh. Sohaila was the wife and Farrookh was the husband. In spite of the fact that they were both young, they were so righteous in such a way that they became very well known among the leaders of the muttaqeen later on. During these days, brothers and sisters, jihaad was one of the good deeds that every Muslim was targeting...every Muslim was dreaming of doing jihaad. And the Muslim army was everywhere in the earth, going towards north, towards south, towards east, towards west...everywhere they were going and doing the battles to spread the message of Allaah subhana wa ta`ala and that dream was also with that young, new husband, which was Farrookh. And he was watching the companions, the sahaba, and the tabi`een, as they were coming back and forth from the battlefield and listening to their news and how they are sacrificing their lives for the sake of Allaah subhana wa ta`ala. and how Allaah subhana wa ta`ala is granting them victories and Allaah subhana wa ta`ala is blessing them with everything.

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The Story of Hira

If I was to say that since the world has been created, the world has not seen a more sinister tyrant, a more vicious predatory animal, yet at the same time an extremely fortunate individual, then this will be an accurate description of myself. I was born 42 to 43 years ago into a Hindu household. My family were known for their criminal behaviour. My father and uncle were amongst the leaders of a criminal group. Theft, violence etc was in the family blood. In 1987, during the Mayrath riots, I was with my father to assist our tribe in the riots. Together we killed 25 Muslims with our own hands.

After this I joined Bazrandil, an extremist group after becoming influenced by the hatred and enmity towards the Muslims. Infact, I killed many Muslims during the riots that broke out in 1990 at the time of the demolition of Babri Masjid. Furthermore, I killed many more Muslims in Udhyanwe in 1992. A true famous Muslim used to reside in Urara. In my eyes however, he was a criminal as he was a Muslim. All Non-Muslims in the area were petrified of him. With the help of my friend I shot him dead as well.

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How One Teen Remembered Allah and Turned her Life Around

By: Maryam

As most people do, I turned to Allah and Islam during the hard times of my life. It's a sad fact of life. When times are happy and life is good, no one feels obliged to turn towards his or her Deen (religion). It's all about living the moment.

After I had turned towards Allah, I approached a friend in a very casual manner, trying to encourage her to also turn towards Islam. Her reply chilled my blood. "Right now, my life is good, I'm happy and I don't need any change."

I thought to myself, better bite your tongue. I wanted to shake her and say, "Would you really want some tragic event to happen before waking up to Islam?" Obviously no one in his or her right mind would want to do so, but subconsciously, I feel everyone does.

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The Bitter Harvest

By Muhammad Al-Shareef

I was a teacher in the Qur’anic study circle at our neighborhood Masjid at the time. I would see this young boy after Maghrib prayers, you might say he was about fifteen years old. He held a pocket Qur’an and sat alone reading from it - no, he wasn’t actually reading from it, he was just trying to make it seem as if he was.
Now and again, he would shyly steal a few glances at us, curious to know what we were doing. Once in awhile, you might see him straining to make out what we were talking about.

Every time I caught his eye, he would avert his head and continue with his recitation, as if he had not intended to look this way.

Day after day, he sat in the same reserved manner, revealing the same timid glance. Finally after Isha Salah one day, I resolved to confront him.

“As Salamu ‘Alaykum, my name is Salman, I teach the Qur’anic study circle in this Masjid.”

‘And my name is Khalid.’

Strange, he replied so fast, as if he had been waiting to share this piece of information for such a long time and expected to be asked.

“Where do you study Khalid?”

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Shaykh from al-Azhar and the Prostitute

Shaykh Ali Tantawi said:

“The Shaykh (Ahmad Al-Zayaat) was a teacher, who did not know anything of this world except: The Azhar where he used to teach, the house he used to live in, and the road between them.

As years passed by, and he got older, his health started to deteriorate, and he needed to rest. So the doctor forced him to take some time of, and suggested that he goes somewhere away from his place of work and residence, and advised him to enjoy the quietness and calmness of the parks next to the Nile.

So one day, the Shaykh went out and stopped a carriage (as cars were not that available at the time). He told the driver: My son, take me to a nice place were I can enjoy the view and relax.

The driver of the carriage, however, was a wicked person, and took the Shaykh to a place in Egypt, which at the time had several prostitution houses.

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A Brother

Shuaib received an automobile from his brother as an Eid present. On Eid day when Shuaib came out of his house, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Uncle?" he asked. Shuaib nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Eid." The boy was astounded.

"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Shuaib knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Shuaib all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Shuaib looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Oh yes, I'd love that."

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Mother's 8 Lies

This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we hadn't enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say "Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry."
This was Mother's First Lie.

As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish, she would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten; My heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said, "Eat this fish, son! I don't really like fish."
This was Mother's Second Lie.

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A Sheikh in a Dancing Club

It was said to me: In our town, there was a small mosque, which was lead by an old sheikh. His life was spent in prayer, and in teaching. He noticed that the number of people praying was decreasing…as he was involved with them. They were like his children.

That day, he turned to his congregation and said, “What is going on with most of the people, especially the youth? They don’t come near the masjid, and they aren’t even familiar with it.” The congregation replied, “They are in the local dance clubs.” The Sheikh said, “Dance club!! What is a dance club??” One of the people said, “It is a big room that has a stage, with women dancing on it, and all the people look at them.” The Sheikh said, “I seek refuge with Allah…And the men that look at them are Muslims?” They said, “Yes.” He said with complete disavowal, “There is no movement or power except with Allah. It is upon us to advise the people.” They said, “Oh Sheikh, you will advise them in the club??” He said yes, and then he left the masjid saying, “Come on let’s go to the club.”

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What have you learned?

One time a scholar asked one of his students, "You have spent a long time with me, what have you learned?

He said I learned eight things:

First, I looked to the creation. Everyone has a loved one. When he goes to the grave, he leaves his loved one. Therefore,
I made my loved one my good deeds; that way, they will be with me in the grave.

Second, I looked to the verse, 'But as for him who feared to stand before his Lord and restrained his soul from lust,' and, therefore, I struggled against my desires so I could stay obeying Allah.

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Ten Lessons Ibn al-Mubarak Taught Us

‘Abdullah bin al-Mubarak was a scholar known for simultaneously combining numerous traits of virtue. In fact, his friends would sit and count all of the good things that were part of his character and personality. adh-Dhahabi related that they said: “Let’s sit and count the good traits that Ibn al-Mubarak has.” So, they ended up listing: “Knowledge, Fiqh, Literature, Grammar, Language, Zuhd, Eloquence, Poetry, Praying at night, Worship, Hajj, Jihad, Bravery, Instinct, Strength, speaking little in what doesn’t concern him, fairness, and lack of conflict with his companions.”

Reading through his life story, one sees exactly this and cannot help but to derive brief yet heavy lessons from how this man lived:

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Ibrahim ibn Adham

Ibrahim ibn Adham, he is known to be Ibrahim ibn Adham ibn Mansour ibn Yazeed ibn Jabir Al-Ajly Al-Tamimi. His origin is from Balkh, a country located in central Asia, and his nickname is Abu Ishaq. His grandfather was the ruler of Khurasan and his father was one of its kings. Naturally, Ibrahim was going to inherit the kingdom.

He is also a well-known Follower (Tabi`i, the second generation after the Companions). He met some of the Prophet’s Companions and narrated hadiths after them. He was fluent in speaking classical Arabic. He inherited a fortune and lived as a negligent king until one day an old man told him:

“Ibrahim, you were not created for leisure, *{Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us [for judgment]?}*(Qur’an; Al-Mu’minun 23:115) Fear Allah, and prepare yourself for death.”

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10 days of Dhul-Hijjah

Zabrina Abu Bakar

One day I called a friend of mine to ask if she wanted to have coffee with me that evening. She said she could meet up with me tomorrow, in sha' Allah, and that she had to finish off a project due in 15 hours!

She said that just 15 hours earlier, her professor had eimailed her to inform her of the probable grade she would get for his subject. She was just about 20 points short of getting an A. And she had a good chance of an A considering that she had yet to submit a project worth 30 percent. Since the deadline for the project was not over yet, the professor reminded her that if she decided to just pass the course, which she had definitely dne, she could just forget about the project. However, if she wanted a better grade, she should make sure that the project was submitted on time.

Suddenly excited with the offer, she strived to finish off the project with only 30 hours till the deadline. She was now left with 15 hours and was almost 80 percent there. The thing was that, before she received that e-mail, she was all burned out and hadtold herself she would be able to live with a B for that course.

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I Am Not Sad

Translated by Umm Rawhiyah

This a translation (from Urdu) of a letter written by the son of a Shaheed, to Allaah, subhaanahu wa ta'aala, after his father was martyred in Kashmir.

My dear, Allah. How wonderful You are. You have blessed us immensely, yet we fail to thank You for these blessings.

Despite this fact, You continue to bless us every day, in so many ways.

O Allah, You are so Great. You guided us to the straight path and informed us of the deeds we should perform in order to enter Jannah. However, we are so imprudent that we neglect those deeds which will take us to Jannah.

O Allah, How is my Daddy? He is well isn’t he? You have admitted my Daddy into Your Paradise, haven’t you?

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The Patience of Urwah ibn al-Zubayr

Urwah ibn al-Zubayr came to visit the Khalîfah al-Walid ibn `Abdu'l-Malik. With him was his son Muhammad, who was one of the most handsome of men. The young man had dressed up for the occasion in fine clothes, and had his hair in two plaits or braids. When al-Walid saw him, he said, "This is how the young people of Quraysh look!" and by so saying, put the evil eye on him. Before he left, the young man fell ill. When he was in the stable (preparing for the journey) he fell down, and the horses trampled him to death.

Then `Urwah got gangrene in his leg, and al-Walid sent doctors to him, who suggested that the leg should be amputated, otherwise the gangrene would spread to the rest of the body and kill him. `Urwah agreed, and the doctors began to remove his leg, using a saw. When the saw reached the bone, `Urwah fainted, and when he came around, sweat was pouring down his face, and he was repeating, "La ilah ill-Allah, Allahu akbar." When the operation was over, he picked up his leg and kissed it, then said, "I swear by the One Who mounted me on you, I never used to walk to any place of wrong action or to any place where Allah would not like me to be." Then he gave instructions that the leg should be washed, perfumed, wrapped in a cloth and buried in the Muslim graveyard.

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All for a Palm Tree in Jannah

Abu Darda (may Allah have mercy on him) was one of those people who found an opportunity to win what is greater than the heavens and the earth.

There was a companion of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) who cultivated his garden next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific palm tree was on his property and therefore belonged to him.

The companion rejected the claim,
 so the orphan boy went to the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) to complain.

The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) measured the two gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the companion.

The orphan erupted crying.

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