A monthly newsletter from Masjid Bani HashimJumeirah Islands, Dubai Issue#32 June 2016

بسم اهلل الرحمن الرحيمالسالم عليكم و رحمة اهلل و بركاته

Introduction

A new beginning, a new opportunitySurah Al Baqarah, Ayah 183

يام كما كتب على الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون يا أيها الذين آمنوا كتب عليكم الصO you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those be-fore you, that you may become Al-Muttaqûn (the pious - see V.2:2).

In shaa Allah, in a couple of weeks, we will be welcoming the most noble of the guests, the month of Rama-dan. We beg Allah SWT to make us reach Ramadan and to make us benefit from all the barakat of that pre-cious month.

In shaa Allah, when you read this newsletter, Ramadan will have just started or about to start. Ramadan is a new beginning, just like every day when you wake up, just like every prayer, just like every return to Allah SWT. Alhamdulil Allah.

However, there is something very special about Ramadan, it is the month when the Qur’an was revealed as a means for our guidance, criterion, wisdom and mercy from Ar Rahman. Qur’an the Word of Allah SWT, Al Hadi, shows us the way, the way to distinguish right from wrong, teaches us how to live a successful life and return in peace to our Khalik SWT. Alhamdulil Allah.

In the above ayah, Allah SWT mentions that fasting was prescribed to us so that we become muttaqeen and this is the key objective of the fasting. How are we going to attain the taqwa and maintain this taqwa? This is by following the teachings prescribed by Allah SWT in the Qur’an. Hence fasting will only lead us to taqwa if it has been powered by the Word of Allah SWT, i.e. we spend as much time as we can in this blessed month reciting and understanding the Qur’an and putting its teachings into practice, and only so we will be able to fulfill the rights of the fast. We will not know what is fasting and why fasting is so important until we internalize the purpose and the meaning of the Qur’an that we sometimes recite like parrots. And if we add the recitation of the Qur’an to our fast, then taqwa will be the outcome. We will work towards pleas-ing Allah SWT and we will avoid sinning as much as possible and above all we will do all this with love for Allah SWT as Qur’an will teach us Who is Allah SWT. And the one who discovers Who is Allah SWT, can-not but love Him SWT and there is no more rewarding and fulfilling love than the love for Allah SWT.May Allah accept from all and forgive us.

Alhamdulil Allah Rabb al alameen. Wa salato wa Salamo ala Rasulil Allah.

A Monthly Newsletter by Masjid Bani Hashim, Jumeirah Islands, Dubai Issue #32 June 2016

This Issue

Introduction: Page 1

The Real Superstars: Pages 3 - 6

Sincerity is the Way to Salvation #5: Pages 7 - 10

Soorah Ash Shams: Pages 11 - 12

Arabic Pronouns: Pages 13 - 14

Cheer up: Pages 15 - 18

Surah Yusuf #42-44: Pages 19 - 21

Ramadan: The Month of Deeds Pages 22 - 25

What is not Taught in Schools: Page 26

Allah Created the Universe: Pages 27 - 30

Masjid Bani Hashim: Pages 31 - 33

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A Monthly Newsletter by Masjid Bani Hashim, Jumeirah Islands, Dubai Issue #32 June 2016

NEW!!!

In the last issue, we read about one of the Moth-ers of the Believers, Hafsa (RA),who was instru-mental in the preservation of the original writings of the Qur’an. She was renowned for her perfect memorization and protection of the Qur’an and was given the title of “The Guardian of the Qur’an”. After the death of the Prophet (SAWS),  Hafsa (RA) was chosen to keep the first copy of the Qur’an.

Hafsa (RA) was the daughter of the great sahaba Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA). She (RA) was wid-owed at an young age, and was later married to the Prophet (SAWS) which further strengthened the ties with Omar (RA). Hafsa and Aisha, may Allah (SWT) be pleased with them, were close friends. In Bukhari we read of a very interesting incident that once happened  in the household of the Prophet (SAWS) which Allah (SWT) revealed some ayat.

`Ubayd bin `Umayr reported that he heard `A'ishah (RA) saying that Allah's Messenger (SAWS) used to stay for a longer period in the house of Zaynab bint Jahsh (another wife of the Prophet (SAWS)) and drink honey in her house. Aisha (RA) said "Hafsah and I decided that when the Prophet entered upon either of us, we would say, `I smell Maghafir (a type of sap; a herb that resembled gum with a slightly unpleasant smell), on you. Have you eaten Maghafir?'

So when the Prophet (SAWS) visited them, they both remarked at his bad breath to him. The Prophet (SAWS) replied, “I drank honey in the house of Zaynab bint Jahsh, and I will never drink it again.'' He thought that the honey had made his breath smell bad, and since he was very particular about his personal hygiene and natural dislike for unpleasant odor, he (SAWS) swore and promised not to take honey any more. However, he did not want the feelings of Zainab (RA) to be hurt, and therefore he told Hafsah (RA) that the incident should be kept secret and should not be recounted to anyone else. But Haf-sah (RA) told about it to another wife.

The statement made by the Prophet (SAWS) was not liked by Allah (SWT). Therefore, the following ayaat were revealed from Surah Tahrim 1-4:

يـأيہا ٱلنبى لم تحرم مآ أحل ٱهلل لك‌ تبتغى مرضات أزوٲجك‌ وٱهلل غفور رحيم (١) قد فرض ٱهلل لكم تحلة أيمـنكم‌ وٱهلل مولٮكم‌ وهو

ا إذ أسر ٱلنبى إلى بعض أزوٲجهۦ حديثا فلم ٱلعليم ٱلحكيم (٢) وا نبأت بهۦ وأظهره ٱهلل عليه عرف بعضه ۥ وأعرض عن بعض‌ فلمنبأها بهۦ قالت من أنبأك هـذا‌ قال نبأنى ٱلعليم ٱلخبير (٣) إن

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إن تظـهرا عليه فإن ٱهلل هو تتوبآ إلى ٱهلل فقد صغت قلوبكما‌ وولٮه وجبريل وصـلح ٱملؤمنني‌ وٱمللـٮڪة بعد ذٲلك ظهير (٤)

O Prophet! Why bannest thou that which Allah hath made lawful for thee, seeking to please thy wives? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (1) Allah hath made lawful for you (Muslims) absolution from your oaths (of such a kind), and Allah is your Protector. He is the Knower, the Wise. (2) When the Prophet confided a fact unto one of his wives and when she afterward divulged it and Allah apprised him thereof, he made known (to her) part thereof and passed over part. And when he told it her she said: Who hath told thee? He said: The Knower, the Aware hath told me. (3) If ye twain turn unto Allah repentant, (ye have cause to do so) for your hearts desired (the ban); and if ye aid one another against him (Muhammad) then lo! Allah, even He, is his Protecting Friend, and Gabriel and the righteous among the believers; and further�more the angels are his helpers. (4) It may happen that his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your stead wives better than you, submissive (to Allah), be�lieving, pious, penitent, devout, inclined to fasting, widows and maids.

Muslim also collected this Hadith from `A'ishah (RA) in the Book of Divorce in his Sahih, and his wording is the same as Al-Bukhari in the Book of Vows. Al-Bukhari also recorded that `A'ishah (RA) said, "Allah's Messenger liked sweets and honey. After performing the `Asr prayer, he used to visit his wives, going close to them. So he went to Haf-sah , daughter of `Umar, and stayed with her

more than his usual stay. I (`A'ishah) became jeal-ous and asked about that. It was said to me, `A woman of her family sent her a small vessel of honey as a gift, and she gave a drink to Allah's Messenger made from it.' I said, `By Allah, we will contrive a plot against him.' I said to Sawdah bint Zam`ah (RA), `When the Messenger visits you and draws close to you, say to him, `Have you eaten Maghafir' And when he says to you, `No', then ask him, `What is this odor' He will say to you, `Hafsah has given me a drink of honey.' Then you should say to him, `The honeybees might have eaten from Urfut, and I will also say the same to him. Safiyyah, you should also say this.' Sawdah (RA) later said, `It was under compulsion that I had decided to state that which you told me; soon, by Allah, he was standing at my door.' So when Allah's Messenger (SAWS) came near her, she said, `O Messenger of Allah! Did you eat Maghafir' He (SAWS) said, `No.' She again said, `Then what is this odor' He (SAWS) said, “Hafsah gave me honey to drink”. She (RA) said, `The hon-eybees might have eaten from `Urfut.''' `A'ishah (RA) continued, "When he (SAWS) came to me I said the same to him. He (SAWS) then visited Safi-yyah (RA) and she also said similar to him. When he again visited Hafsah (RA), she said, `O Messen-ger of Allah, should I not give you that (drink)' He (SAWS) said, “I do not need it.” Sawdah said, `By Allah! We have prevented him from drinking honey.' I said to her, `Keep quiet!'''

Muslim also recorded this Hadith, but this word-ing is from Al-Bukhari. In the narration of Muslim, `A'ishah (RA) said, "The Messenger of Allah used to hate to have a bad odor coming from him'' This is why they suggested to him (SAWS) that he

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ate Maghafir, because it causes a bad odor. When he (SAWS) said, “No, I had some honey” they (RA) said that the bees ate from a tree that is called Al-`Urfut, which has Maghafir gum, suggesting that this is the rea-son behind the bad odor they claimed was coming from him.

The latter narration, collected through `Urwah from `A'ishah (RA), mentions that it was Haf-sah (RA) who gave the Prophet (SAWS) the honey. In another narration collected from `U-bayd bin `Umayr, from `A'ishah (RA), it was Zaynab bint Jahsh (RA) who gave the honey to the Prophet (SAWS), while `A'ishah (RA) and Hafsah (RA) were the plotters. Allah (SWT) knows best. Some might say that they were two separate incidents. However, it is not likely that the Ayat were revealed about both incidents, if indeed they were two sepa-rate incidents. Allah (SWT) knows best.

A Hadith that Imam Ahmad collected in the Musnad mentions that `A'ishah (RA) and Haf-sah (RA) were the plotters. Imam Ahmad re-corded that Ibn `Abbas (RA) said, "I was eager to ask `Umar (RA) about the two ladies among the wives of the Prophet (SAWS), about whom Allah (SWT) said, (If you two turn in re-pentance to Allah your hearts are indeed so inclined). Then I performed Hajj along with `U-mar (RA), and on our way back from Hajj he went aside (to relieve himself). I also went aside along with him carrying a tumbler of wa-ter. When he finished and returned, I poured water on his hands from the tumbler and he performed ablution. I said, `O Commander of the faithful! Who were the two ladies among the wives of the Prophet (SAWS), to whom Al-lah said, (If you two turn in repentance to Al-lah your hearts are indeed so inclined)'. `Umar (RA) said, `I am astonished at your question, O Ibn `Abbas.''' - Az-Zuhri (a subnarrator) said that `Umar (RA) did not like the question, but he still answered it, saying that they were `A'ishah (RA) and Hafsah (RA). "Then `Umar (RA) went on relating the story and said, `We, the people of Quraysh, used to have authority over our women. But when we came to live with the Ansar, we noticed that the Ansari women had the upper hand over their men, so our women started acquiring the habits of the Ansari women. At that time, I was residing at the house of Umayyah bin Zayd, in Al-`Awali. Once I got angry with my wife, and she talked back to me; I disliked her answering me back. She said, `Why do you dislike me talking back to you By Allah, the wives of the

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Prophet (SAWS) talk back to him, and some of them may not speak with him for the whole day, until nightfall.' Then I went to Hafsah (RA) and asked her, `Do you talk back to Allah's Messenger (SAWS)?' She (RA) said, `Yes.' I asked, `Does any of you keep Allah's Messen-ger (SAWS) angry all day long, until night' She (RA) replied, `Yes.' I said, `Whoever among you does this is a ruined, losing person! Doesn't she fear that Allah (SWT) may get an-gry for the anger of His Messenger (SAWS) and, thus, she will be ruined Don't ask Allah's Messenger (SAWS) too many things, and don't retort him in any case. Demand from me whatever you like, and don't be tempted to imitate your neighbor, for she is more beauti-ful than you, and more beloved to Allah's Mes-senger (SAWS) than you.' He meant `A'ishah (RA).

to be continued...

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Abu Hurairah RA reported: Messenger

of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "On

the Resurrection Day, the rights will

be paid to those to whom they are due

so much so that a hornless sheep will

be retaliated for by punishing the

horned sheep which broke its horns".

(Muslim)

Narrated Busr bin Said (Radi-Allahu

'anhu): that Zaid bin Khalid sent him to

Abi Juhaim to ask him what he had

heard from Allah's Apostle (Sallallahu

'Alaihi Wa Sallam) about a person pass-

ing in front of another person who was

praying. Abu Juhaim replied, "Allah's

Apostle said, 'If the person who passes

in front of another person in prayer

knew the magnitude of his sin he would

prefer to wait for 40 (days, months or

years) rather than to pass in front of

him.' Abu An-Nadr said, 'I do not re-

member exactly whether he said 40

days, months or years.' "

Bukhari Vol. 1 : No. 489Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased

with him) reported: Messenger of Allah

(PBUH) delivered a Khutbah to us the

like of which I had never heard from

him before. In the course of the Khut-

bah, he said: "If you knew what I

know, you would laugh little and weep

much". Thereupon those present cov-

ered their faces and began to sob.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

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Abu Shuraih Khuwailid bin 'Amr Al-Khuza'i RA reported: I heard Messen-

ger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying, "He who believes in Allah and

the Last Day, should accommodate his guest according to his right." He

was asked: "What is his right, O Messenger of Allah?" He (peace be upon

him) replied: "It is (to accommodate him) for a day and a night, and hospi-

tality extends for three days, and what is beyond that is charity."

(Bukhari and Muslim)

بسم اهلل الرحمن الرحيم

Soorah Ash Shams (Chapter 91)

This soorah has been designated after the word Ash-shams which it opens with.The sub-ject matter and the style show that this soorah was revealed in the earliest period at Mak-kah when opposition to the holy prophet, peace and be blessings be on him, had grown to the maximum.

The subject matter of this soorah has two parts. The first part consists of ten verses and second part 5 verses. The first ten verses deal with:

-Just as the sun and the moon, the day and the night the earth and the sky, are different from each other and contradictory in their effects and results, so are the good and evil dif-ferent from each other.

-After Allah, subahanahu wa ta'ala has given the human self powers of the body,sense and mind, but has instilled into his subconscious by means of a natural inspirations the distinction between good and evil,right and wrong,and the sense of good to be good and bad to be bad.

With this power of discrimination,if a human develops the good and suppresses the evil tendencies, he will attain to eternal success, and if on the contrary, he suppresses the good and promotes the evil, he will meet with the failure.

Ayat 1 to 10:

مآء وما مس وضحٮها (١) وٱلقمر إذا تلٮها (٢) وٱلنہار إذا جلٮها (٣) وٱليل إذا يغشٮها (٤) وٱلس وٱلش

ٮها بنٮها (٥) وٱألرض وما طحٮها (٦) ونفس وما سوٮها (٧) فألهمها فجورها وتقوٮها (٨) قد أفلح من زك

SOORAH 91 ASH SHAMS (THE SUN)

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ٮها (١٠) (٩) وقد خاب من دس

By the sun and his brightness,

And by the moon as it follows it (the sun)

And by the day when it makes conspicuous,

And by the night when it covers up,

And by the heaven and Him who established it,

And by the earth and Him who spread it,

And by the human self and Him, who balanced it,

Then inspired it with its wickedness and its piety,

Truly successful is he who purified his self,

And a failure who suppressed it.

Ayat 11 to 15:

كذبت ثمود بطغوٮهآ (١١) إذ ٱنبعث أشقٮها (١٢) فقال لهم رسول ٱهلل ناقة ٱهلل وسقيـها (١٣) فكذبوه

فعقروها فدمدم عليهم ربهم بذنبهم فسوٮها (١٤) وال يخاف عقبـها (١٥)

Thamud belied the the truth because of transgression,

When the most wretched of them rose up in his rage,

The messenger of Allah (SAWS) warned them, saying, the she camel of Allah (SWT) and not to hinder her from drinking water.

But, they belied and killed the she camel.

Consequently, their Lord let loose on them a scourge in consequence of their sin and lev-eled them down all together,

He dreads not the sequel (of events).

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ARABIC - PRONOUNS

Abu Sa'id and Abu Hurairah RA re-

ported that the Prophet (peace be

upon him) said: "Never a believer is

stricken with a discomfort, an illness,

an anxiety, a grief or mental worry or

even the pricking of a thorn but Allah

will expiate his sins on account of his

patience".

(Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Hurairah RA reported: Messenger

of Allah (peace be upon him) said, 'A

rider should greet a pedestrian; a pe-

destrian should greet one who is sit-

ting; and a small group should greet a

large group (of people)."

(Bukhari and Muslim)

Cheer Up- Interview with an Ustadah

Bismil Allah

Our journey to find happiness through the jewels of advice from the learned teachers contin-ues. May Allah put His barakat and may we benefit. Jazakil Allaho khayran for your time dear Ustadha

Talk to me about your journey to Islam/ within Islam as you were a born Muslim

When finished the university degree, I got married, had children. I wanted to know more about tajweed. I Wanted to read Qur’an, I did not want to study world-related subjects. I started to make duaa to find the right classes for deen; found a tafseer class of Surah Al Baqarah taught by an aunt. She used to attend these classes twice weekly. Allah makes easy for you, Allah SWT makes the means easy. I was always very shy, even before marriage I used to feel safe in the home. The journey to Allah puts you through tharbia. All from Rabb al alamaeen.

What is happiness?

It is not money, it is not traveling, it is not having a nice house with furniture. These are mate-rial, means of temporary happiness. Eg. Daughter to get married with a good husband. Arguing makes life miserable. You are fighting your husband and you are missing the great opportunity of happiness by remembering Allah SWT. Do not argue; life is not a matter of arguing. Happi-ness is like a close shell and you need to break the shell. The matter is min amana bil Allah wa bil Akhirah. Happiness is not coming because of three things:

1.Searching for happiness in wrong place. Ibn Qayum took from hadith: to be happy is to be always thankful of Allah SWT. If you are in good you do shukr. In sadness you do sabr and then he added If you do sin, you do istighfar/taubah. You are not happy that means you are not finding qurratul ayn in salah. Most happiness is in salah. A lot of poor are happy because they know that only happiness they can get is from Rabb al alameen.

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2.If you are not pleasing Allah, how are you going to get happy? Salah and Zakat are two important ibadat, these bring happiness. A sound hadith teaches us that if you wake up in the morning, you are safe in your house, health in your body and you have food for today, the you have the full happiness in dunya. Dunya is not happiness. Dunya is greediness. Ahmad Ibn Hambal RA told his son that he is only going to have rest shen he puts his first foot in Jannah.

3.When you make duaa, you make shukr. Allah is taking care of everything. You are happy with whatever situation, what you have is enough. “Sahadah”/ happiness is in obedience of Allah SWT. Salah was revealed on the heaven, it is very high. The more ibdah you do with love and shukr, the more happiness you will get. There is a veil in our self, to get the heart happy, you need to clean it first from the sicknesses of the hearts.

How do you clean the sicknesses of the heart?

It takes time, the nurturing of Allah SWT is in a beautiful way. Example of Hajar, the wife of Ebra-him AS, when he AS left her in the bare desert. The moment she realised that it was the com-mand of Allah SWT, she surrendered and she knew that Allah SWT would take care of them. We always get sacred, when we are going through a trial, put your trust in Allah, He will not get you lost. If your heart is pleased with Allah SWT and have trust in Allah, Allah will reward you in ways that He will astonish you, If I trust in Him, He is going to put barakah, He is Wakil. Allah honored the lady Hajar, Safa and Marwah are compulsory important rituals for the performance of the umrah and ZAMZAM continues to flow, masha Allah.

Ramadan is approaching, please give us some advice to make the most and the best use of this month,

Ramadan is very short time. Food is not important in Ramadan. Fasting is means of happiness, Allah is taking material things out of our way and we discover happiness is in Salah and Si-yam. Allah SWT is inviting us to Paradise. Siyam is a shield, you will not argue. Ramadan is ac-cepted when you continue in zyadutul eman after Ramadan, i.e. after Ramadan, you increase in eman and acts of obedience to Allah SWT. Before Ramadan ask Allah to put barakah in siyam.

What is Barakah?

You cannot buy this, you ask Allah (SWT) for barakah. If you are begging for it, Allah (SWT) will give it to you.

Zakat, its importance in Ramadan?

Zakat is to be given all year around, as its becomes due. Hence do not wait for Ramadan to give zakat, but yes give Sadaqah in Ramadan.

How do we move from an individual Muslim Personality to a Muslim Community?16

To accept others, they will trust you. We do not give our brothers and sisters a feeling of security. Encouragement, heart to heart. I am rejecting people because am isolating. We are scared of being hurt. First you need to study to learn about your religion and then apply it, then teach it to others and make sbar in the obedience of Allah, in avoiding sins, including sabr when people are harming you.

Greediness in society’s which are doing well. How to cope with it and to not get involved in this greediness?

Prophet SAWS was worried about the Ummah because of the impact of the dunya, the maal be-ing open to them. The rich sahabah of the Prophet SAWS had maal is in their hand and not in their heart. He is pleased with Allah SWT. People are asking for happiness in the wrong place. The charge of happiness is in eman, it will make you happy in every situation. When you are go-ing through different situations, you deal with eman. You eman will show you way. People lose hope because they do not have eman. When you are in pain, you think it is going to be forever. When you have trust in Allah, you will refuse that the pain is going to last forever. Shukr is the main ibadah, to be pleased with Allah SWT. The eman leads you to the safe land. We ask Allah to show us the straight path in Surah Al Fateha. The way of happiness is to love Allah SWT.

Who is Allah Al Mannan?

The One WH0 gives and He does not want anything in return. He gives without asking. What about if I ask, will He not give me?He wants a heart that breaks in front of Him SWT and you trust. Even when bad things happen is good for you.

“Innalil Allahi wa inna ilahi rajeoon”, how should it impact me?

It is from Allah, wait for solution. Allah SWT opens the heart to Islam, Surah Anam, ayah 125. First thing that expands the heart is Islam.

How to make dunya a means of ibadah?

You make Allah number one priority, He SWT will give you reward in everything. If he makes his priority the dunya, Allah will scatter his life and he will bring poverty in front of His own eyes and what comes to Him is only what is written for him. If he makes his intention akhirah, Allah SWT will gather his life and will make him satisfied, and will put sufficiency in His heart and Al-lah will make dunya to come to him by force. Realted in At Tirmidi, authenticated by Albani RA.

What is your favorite ayah in the Qur’an?

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Ayatul Qursi because it has all the greatest Names of Allah SWT. I get powered by it; it gives me security. Hadith Ibn Abas RA: All the world can get together and they will not harm you….summarizes all the religion

How can you become productive muslim?

Ask Allah to help you, isteana. You need to isteana (relying in Allah SWT only by asking His SWT help only) before ibadha and after ibadah. Your need for Allah’s help is as much as your need for the air to breath. When you forget you go back to Allah SWT. Allah SWT does not want to punish you, He SWT wants you to come back again.

Explain to us the ayah 35 in Surah al Noor related to the concept of “Noorun ala Noor”?

Allah SWT is showing your how your heart should be, like a star shining, glowing, you can see its inside, it is very clear, without any black spot. Sins are the black spots, which require istigh-far and noorun ala noor with knowledge; because it is a glass, it takes dust and dust needs is-tighfar and more light requires more knowledge.

Fitrah alone is not enough?

No, material life will ruin the fitrah. We need to acquire knowledge.

What is your dream?

Allah SWT is pleased and accepts me. No dreams regarding children, they are in good care with Allah SWT.

Give us Nasiha?

Be yourself. Speak from the heart. Need honesty with Allah SWT. Allah will lead you the way.

Alhamdulil Allah Rabb al alameen. Wa salato wa salamo ala Rasulil Allah.

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'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as RA reported: Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

said, "It is one of the gravest sins to abuse one's parents." It was asked (by the

people): "O Messenger of Allah, can a man abuse his own parents?" Messenger of

Allah (peace be upon him) said, "He abuses the father of somebody who, in return,

abuses the former's father; he then abuses the mother of somebody who, in re-

turn, abuses his mother"

(Bukhari and Muslim)

سورة يوسفSurahYusuf#42-44

يطان ذكر وقال للذي ظن أنه ناج منهما اذكرني عند ربك فأنساه الشجن بضع سنني ربه فلبث في الس

And he said to the one whom he thought would go free, “Mention me before your master.” But shaitan made him forget his Lord, so Yusuf remained in prison several years. 12:42

وقال للذي ظن أنه ناج منهما اذكرني عند ربكAnd he said to the one whom he thought would go free mention me before your master.

Yusufالسالمعليهdidn'tknowwithcertaintythattheyouthwouldbesaved,becausethedecreeisfromAllahسبحانه,=methisAllking.thewasyouththeofmasterThe.وتعالىYusufالسالمعليهwasquiet.Nowherequestedtheyouthtomen=onhimtotheking.Thisyoungmanwouldbewiththekingallthe=me,becauseheservedtheking.Thisshowsthatifyouneedhelp,youcanaskothers,iftheyarecapable.ThisdoesnotnegaterelianceonAllahسبحانهpresentedmeansthetaketouswantsHebecause,تعالىtous.

ItalsoshowsthatYusufالسالمعليهspokeabouthisstorywhileinjail.Healsowantedthemantoconveythemes-sageaboutAllahوتعالىسبحانه,andnewsofthegiEsoftheunseenthatYusufالسالمعليهhaddemonstratedtohiscellmates.HealsowantedthekingtoknowhehadthegiEofinterpre=ngdreams.Hewantedthekingtobeamazedbyhimself,andtakehimoutofprison.

Whenforeigndelega=onscametovisittheProphetMo-hammadسلموعليهاهللصلى,theCompanionsworetheirbestclothes.Thiswastoimpressthemwiththeirsplendorandpower,forthesakeofAllahوتعالىسبحانه,nottoshowoff.

TheAziz,whowasaministeroftheking,wastheonewhoimprisonedYusufالسالمعليه.Hewasdirectlyunderthekinginrank.Therefore,onlythekingcouldsaveYusufعليه.السالم

يطان ذكر ربه فأنساه الش

But shaitan made him forget his Lord

Themancameoutofprison,andforgotallaboutYusufwithoccupiedbecomehimmadeshaitanThe.عليهالسالمtheworldlylife.Theshaitanmakesusforgettodothings,speciallygooddeeds.

ThememoryofAllahوتعالىسبحانهwasconnectedwithYusufالسالمعليهinthemindofthisyoungman.TheshaitanmadehimforgetallaboutAllahوتعالىسبحانهaswell.

Thereareseveralmeaningsfor[ربهذكر]:- ذكراهلل- :remembranceofAllahوتعالىسبحانه- كرمايقربإلىاهلل- :rememberingwhatevermakesyouclosetoAllahسبحانهوتعالى

- ذكريوسفالذييستحقأحسنالجزاء- :rememberingYusufالسالمعليهwhodeservedtogetthebestreward.

Allahوتعالىسبحانهtellsusthisstorywithallthedetails,sothatwecanreflectuponitandbenefitfromit.Allah-beforgets,whosomeoneaccountnotwillسبحانهوتعالىcausethisisfromtheshaitan.Hewillalsonotaccountforuninten=onalmistakes.Youcannotblameanyoneiftheyforget.Thewordإنسان(insaan)comesfromنسي,tofor-get.

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جن بضع سنني فلبث في السand Yusuf remained in prison several years

a period of time, meaning 3-9 : بضع

AllahوتعالىسبحانهwantedYusufالسالمعليهtoremaininprison,preserved,un=lthe=mewasright.Ifhehadbeenreleasedearlier,hewouldhavebeendifficulttofindwhenhewasneededtointerprettheking'sdream,whichcomeslaterinthestory.Hewouldthencomeoutofprisonwithhonour.

ThisshowsthatwhenAllahوتعالىسبحانهwithholdssome-thing,itisforourownbenefit.Thebestissome=mesde-layedun=lyougothroughthenurturingtoacceptit.Wemayormaynotseethewisdomforthedelay,butitisal-waysforthebest.

Evenprophetsandmessengersneedednurturing,butitwasveryintense.

وقال امللك إني أرى سبع بقرات سمان يأكلهن سبع عجاف وسبع سنبالت خضر وأخر يابسات يا أيها املأل أفتوني في رؤياي إن كنتم

ؤيا تعبرون لرAnd [subsequently] the king said, “Indeed, I have seen [in a dream] seven fat cows being eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry. O eminent ones, explain to me my vi�sion, if you should interpret visions.” 12:43

InSurahYusuf,youcanseethestoryunfoldingstagebystage.IneverystageinthelifeofYusufالسالمعليه,thereishardshipandease;suchislife.Allahوتعالىسبحانهwatchesusineachsitua=on,givinghelp,supportandguidancethroughdifferentmeans.

Yusufالسالمعليهdidnotcomplainabouthissitua=on,nordidhetelleveryonehowhewasunjustlyimprisoned.Heonlytoldtheprisonerwhohethoughtwasgoingtobefreedhisstory,andaskedhimtointervenetothekingonhisbehalf.Buttheshaitanmadetheprisonerforgettomen=onYusufالسالمعليهtotheking.

Anotherexplana=ongivenbythescholarsisthatYusufknowledgegivenbeenhadmessenger,abeing,عليهالسالم

andwisdombyAllahوتعالىسبحانه.HewouldhavesurelyaskedAllahوتعالىسبحانهforhelp;theshaitanmadehimforgettoaskAllahوتعالىسبحانه;instead,heaskedhisfel-lowprisoner.

TheMessengerofAllahسلموعليهاهللصلىsaid: سلوا اهلل من فضله فإن اهلل عز وجل يحب أن يسأل وأفضل العبادة

نتظار الفرججامع الترمذي # ٣٥٧١

Ask Allah of His bounty, for verily Allah the Mighty and Sublime loves to be asked, and the best of worship is awaiting relief.

Yusufالسالمعليهwaitedfortheease.Hewaskeptinprisonforareason.WhenyouponderuponthestoriesoftheQur'an,youcanseethewisdomintheac=onsofAllahtheofdreamThefaith.yourincreasesThis.سبحانهوتعالىkingwasatruevision,oraرؤياء.Thesedreamscanbeseenbybelieversanddisbelievers.Thekingnarratedhisdream.

وقال امللكAnd the king said

Inancient=mes,thekingsofdifferentcountrieshad=-tles,suchasCaesar,Najashi,Khusro.YusufالسالمعليهwasinEgypt,wheretheindigenouskingscarriedthe=tleofPharaohorفرعون.ButthekingofEgyptreferredtohereiscalledامللك,notPharaoh.Thisisbecausehewasfromana-=oncalledtheHyksos,whohadconqueredEgyptatthat=me.ThisisahistoricalmiracleoftheQuran.TheministeroftheHyksoskingcarriedthe=tleofAl-Aziz.AllahسبحانهسبحانهوتعالىAllah.عليهالسالمYusufbuyhimmadeوتعالىgaveYusufالسالمعليهthegiEofinterpre=ngdreams.ThenAllahوتعالىسبحانهcausedthekingtodreamastrangevi-sion,whichneededinterpreta=on,whichcouldonlybegivenbyYusufالسالمعليه.

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إني أرى

Indeed I saw

Thekingstressesthefactthatheactuallydiddreamthevision.Therearethreekindsofdreams:ؤياء:aclearvision,needinginterpreta=onحلnightmaresfromtheshaitan:حديثالنفس:dreamsaboutthingsyouwerethinkingof

سبع بقرات سمان يأكلهن سبع عجافseven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones

Inotherwords:يأكل سبع بقرات عجاف سبع بقرات سمان

Sevenleancowswereea=ngthesevenfatcows.

وسبع سنبالت خضر وأخر يابساتand seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry

SheikhAs-Sa'adisaid:رأى أن السبع اليابسات أدركت الخضر و التفت عليها حتى

غلبتها

He saw seven dried ears of grain overtaking the green ones, surrounding them, until they overcome them.

Thisisnotmen=onedinthewords,butweknowitbe-causeofagrammarrulecalledعطفحرفandمعطوف.

يا أيها املألOh you chiefs

Thekingaddressedthepeoplesurroundinghim,theinflu-en=alchiefstowhomhereferredforadvice.IntheQuran,thewordمالءisusedforevilinfluen=alpeople,plo[ngtospoiltheruleoftheleader.Thekingisunderthemiscon-cep=onthattheysupporthim.

ؤيا تعبرون أفتوني في رؤياي إن كنتم للر

explain to me my vision if you should interpret visions.

قالوا أضغاث أحالم وما نحن بتأويل األحالم بعاملنيThey said, “[It is but] a mixture of false dreams, and we are not learned in the interpretation of dreams.”

Noneoftheseinfluen=alpeoplehadthegiEofinterpret-ingdreams.Atthesame=me,theydidnotwantthekingtobepreoccupiedwiththedream.Theywereconfusedaboutwhattosay,andtriedtocoveritupbydismissingtheking'sdream.

قالوا أضغاث أحالمThey said, “[It is but] a mixture of false dreams

Theycalledtheking'svisionamixtureofdreams.Theywantedtocoveruptheirinabilitytointerpretthedream,andtakeitoutofhismind.

وما نحن بتأويل األحالم بعاملنيand we are not learned in the interpretation of dreamsThisstatementoftheirsshowstheirprideandarrogance.Theyimpliedthattheyonlyinterpretvisions,andthekinghadadreamwhichwasnotimportantenoughforthemtointerpret.Theywereliars.Thekingwasdisturbedbyhisvision,andhedesperatelyneededaninterpreta=on.Hisadvisorscouldnothelphim.Theserverofdrinkswaslisteningtothewholeconversa=on,becausehehadtobepresentnearthekingallthe=metoservehim.Hesud-denlyrememberedthatheknewtheonepersonwhocouldhelptheking,andhewaseasytofind,safelyincar-ceratedinprison;Yusufالسالمعليه.

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All praise belongs to Allah the Most High, who created both life and death as a test to see who is the foremost in deed. Through His SWT infinite mercy, He SWT blessed mankind with selected times and seasons in which the best deeds are made obligatory and the re-ward for good deeds is multiplied. Allah, the Most Wise, prescribed the third pillar of Islam, fasting, in the second year after the hijrah of the final Messenger (peace be upon him). Fasting is obligatory upon every sane Muslim adult, Allah the Most High says:

يام كما كتب على ٱلذين يـأيها ٱلذين ءامنوا كتب عليڪم ٱلص

ن قبلڪم لعلكم تتقون (١٨٣)

“O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those be-fore you, that you may attain taqwa.” [2:183]

Taqwa is defined as “the consciousness of the soul to fulfill what Allah the Most High has commanded and abstain from what He has prohibited”. Fasting is therefore a means towards achieving a level of self-restraint. The scholars of tafsir mention various behaviors that are restrained by fast-ing including eating, drinking, fulfilling one’s desires, being angry and disobeying Allah the

Most High in general. Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The

objective behind fasting is to restrain the soul from de-sires (for food, drink, and sexual relations), divert it from its normal circumstances, tame the strong de-sires, prepare it to attain the happiness and benefits (from fasting), and purify it from its untamed state. By experiencing the intensity of hunger and thirst, one is reminded of the condition of the hungry stomachs of needy people.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“On the first night of Ramadan, the devils and rebel-lious jinn are bound in chains; the gates of Paradise are opened until not a single gate remains closed. The gates of Hell are bound shut until not a single gate re-mains open. Then a caller calls out, ‘O desirer of good, go forth! O desirer of evil, restrain yourself! Allah is emancipating people from the Fire every night’.” [Su-nan al-Tirmidhî 618 and Ibn Maajah 1632; authenticated by Sheikh Albaani].

On the last day of Sha’ban, the Prophet (sallal-lahu alayhi wa sallam) gave a sermon and said:

“O people! A great and blessed month has approached you, a month containing a night better than a thousand

RAMADAN: THE MONTH OF DEEDS

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months. Allah has made fasting in its days an obligation and prayer in its nights a (recommended) voluntary act. Anyone who seeks nearness to Allah in this month through any virtuous act will be like one who carried out an obligatory act at another time (outside of Rama-dan), and whoever performs an obligatory act in this month will be like one who performed seventy such acts at another time. It is the month of patience, and the re-ward for patience is Paradise. It is the month of equal-ity, the month in which the wealth of the believer is in-creased...” (Bayhaqi)

With the reward for obligatory acts multiplied, one must exert to perform them in the best of manners, and with the reward for voluntary acts multiplied one must hasten to perform good deeds. Ramadan is without doubt a golden opportunity for the one who seeks to be absolved from the Hell fire and the one who yearns to dwell in Paradise, wherein they will have all that they desire.

Many Muslims assume that when Ramadan comes they will endeavor to become obedient Muslims and do the maximum possible good deeds for the whole month. If you imagine the reality as a graph, what happens is that you start off with a peak and then the influx of deeds becomes difficult for so many reasons, so you trough or lull for much of this precious month. You then try a bit harder at the end to try to catch laylat-ul-Qadr (the night of de-cree), but even then you may sleep some

nights and even miss some obligatory prayers! This approach to Ramadan is not cor-rect and will repeatedly fail. The Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and his compan-ions would pray, fast, and be obedient to Al-lah all year round. In Ramadan, like other spe-cial times in the year, they would maximize their efforts to excel in good deeds.

Ramadan should be used as a platform to change lives, every day should get increas-ingly better, the case being even more so each and every year. Allah the Most High loves those deeds that are done with consis-tency, because they represent a Muslim’s per-sonality, and they are the deeds that will pave the path to Jannah (paradise). Prior to Rama-dan, Muslims must perform the obligatory acts; otherwise they will be punished for their negligence after this life. The obligatory acts should be supplemented with voluntary acts that are part of one’s daily routine. Once Ra-madan arrives then that is the time to exceed beyond your normal deeds with more volun-tary acts and increase them in a gradual man-ner. Then whoever can perform i’tikaaf (con-finement of oneself to the mosque) they should spend all of their time in good deeds until the end of Ramadan, while those who cannot should exert themselves to spend their days performing good deeds and their nights in prayer. After celebrating Eid al Fitr, the six fasts of Shawwal should be performed and good deeds should remain part of our rou-tines until the following Ramadan.

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The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would perform various good deeds in Ramadan. Some of the deeds that have been mentioned in association with fasting and Ramadan will now be mentioned, all of which are highly recommended acts of worship to be performed.

Allah the Most High combined fasting with eight other deeds when He described the suc-cessful believers:

ـجدون ٲڪعون ٱلس ـٮحون ٱلر ٮبون ٱلعـبدون ٱلحـمدون ٱلس ٱلتـ

ٱألمرون بٱملعروف وٱلناهون عن ٱملنڪر وٱلحـفظون لحدود ٱهلل‌

ر ٱملؤمنني (١١٢) بش

“(The believers whose lives Allah has purchased are) those who repent to Allah, who worship Him, who praise Him, who fast (or go out in Allah's Cause), who bow down (in prayer), who prostrate themselves (in prayer), who enjoin (people) what is good and forbid (people) from what is bad, and who observe the limits set by Allah. And give glad tidings to the believers." [9:112]

Ramadan is also the month of Quran as Allah the Most High said:

شہر رمضان ٱلذى أنزل فيه ٱلقرءان هدى للناس وبينـت من

ہر فليصمه‌ ومن ڪان ٱلهدى وٱلفرقان‌ فمن شہد منكم ٱلش

من أيام أخر‌ يريد ٱهلل بڪم ٱليسر مريضا أو على سفر فعدة

وال يريد بڪم ٱلعسر ولتڪملوا ٱلعدة ولتڪبروا ٱهلل على ما هدٮكم

لعلڪم تشكرون (١٨٥)

“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qu-ran, guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guid-ance and the criterion (between right and wrong)” [2:185].

Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radhiallahu anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Fasting and the Quran will intercede for a slave on the Day of Judgment, the fast will say, ‘my Lord I pre-vented him (or her) from food and desires so let me in-tercede’, and the Quran will say, ‘I prevented him (or her) from sleeping at night so let me intercede’, then they will intercede” [Ahmed 6337].

 It was said that the salaf would spend the days of Ramadan reading the Quran, and the importance of studying the Quran cannot be emphasized enough. A single ayah recited

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RAMADAN: THE MONTH OF DEEDS

with contemplation (tadabbur) may be better than reciting many ayaat (verses) of the Quran without contemplation. Scholars differed re-garding whether it is better to recite more or recite less with contemplation. Although as isolated deeds they both may be equal, the latter will benefit you for the rest of your life and thus the effects of understanding the Qu-ran will elevate you further in the Hereafter.

Abu Jumrah once said to Abdullah ibn Masud ‘I am fast in my recitation and perhaps I would recite the Qu-ran once or even twice in a single night’, Abdullah (radhiallahu anhu) replied ‘For me to recite one surah is more pleasing to me than if I did that which you do, if you do so then make sure that you recite so that your ears hear what you recite and your heart pays atten-tion.’ [Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, Zaad al-Ma’aad, Maktabah Al-Risaalah, Volume 1, pp327-329]

Ibn ‘Abbas (radhiallahu anhu) narrated: “Allah’s Mes-senger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was the most gener-ous of people and he was the most generous in the month of Ramadan, when Jibreel would meet him. Ji-breel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Quran.” [Saheeh al-Bukhari 1716; 3290, Muslim 4268]. This hadith emphasizes the need to be generous in giving all kinds of charity in Ramadan, in addition to studying the Quran. It is also important to feed others,

especially those with less. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“whoever gives a fasting person (food or drink to break their fast), they will have similar to the reward of the one who fasted, without any decrease for the one who fasted.” [Ahmed 16419; Tirmidhi 735; Ibn Maa-jah 1736]

It is upon us all to fear Allah SWT, and direct our best efforts in and out of the month of Ra-madan towards obeying Him SWT. Allah the Most High commanded us:

فٱتقوا ٱهلل ما ٱستطعتم وٱسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا

نفسڪم‌ ومن يوق شح نفسهۦ فأولـٮك هم ٱملفلحون (١٦)

“So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can; listen and obey; and spend in charity that is better for yourselves. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, then they are the successful ones.” [64:16].

No one is burdened with more than they can take, however it is through the performance of good deeds and the attainment of taqwa that we will earn the reward prepared for the mut-taqeen.

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What is Taught: The first sound approach to the treatment of disease was made by a German, Johann Weger, in the 1500's.

What Should be Taught: Harvard's George Sarton says that modern medicine is entirely an Islamic development and that Setting the Record Straight the Mus-lim physicians of the 9th through 12th centuries were precise, scientific, rational and sound in their approach. Johann Weger was among thousands of Europe-ans physicians during the 15th through 17th centuries who were taught the medicine of ar-Razi and Ibn Sina. He contributed nothing original.

 

What is Taught: Medical treatment for the insane was modernized by Philippe Pinel when in 1793 he operated France's first insane asylum .

What Should be Taught: As early as the 1lth century, Islamic hospitals main-tained special wards for the insane. They treated them kindly and presumed their disease was real at a time when the insane were routinely burned alive in Europe as witches and sorcerers. A curative approach was taken for mental ill-ness and, for the first time in history, the mentally ill were treated with supportive care, drugs and psychotherapy. Every major Islamic city maintained an insane asylum where patients were treated at no charge. In fact, the Islamic system for the treatment of the insane excels in comparison to the current model, as it was more humane and was highly effective as well.

What is Taught: Kerosine was first produced by the an Englishman, Abraham Gesner, in 1853. He distilled it from asphalt.

What Should be Taught: Muslim chemists produced kerosene as a distillate from petroleum products over 1,000 years prior to Gesner.

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WHATISNOTTAUGHTINSCHOOLS

27

ALLAH CREATED THE UNIVERSE THE PROBABLE CAUSES OF EARTH'S DEATH

The countless factors that enable our world to continue its existence must be present at the same time and in the same way as they are. Many scientists are studying how to preserve these natural bal-ances. A small example: Scientists and environmentalists predict that it will not be possible to reduce the economic and environmental damage caused by the consumption of such fossil fuels as oil and coal.8 Experts in the field say that the following disaster scenarios will be caused by the escalating consumption of fossil fuels in the very near future:

1. The deltas of the world's greatest rivers, like the Ganges or the Nile, will be flooded and lost, and one-quarter of Bangladesh's territory, together with all of China's deltas, will be underwater. 

2. The Maldives and other islands and island states will be submerged. 

3. Great areas of fertile countries (e.g., the US Midwest, Europe, and Kazakhstan ) will become de-serts, and Turkey will resemble the Sahara . 

4. The frozen landmasses of Siberia and Canada will partially defrost, causing the destruction of pipe-lines, rail tracks, and buildings. 

5. One-third of all forests will be destroyed. Due to this reduced amount of vegetation, the lungs of our world, the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase. This will fuel the global warming process and lead to various epidemic health problems. 

6. In tropical areas, typhoons, cyclones, and other natural disasters will occur more often. Such cur-rents as the Gulf Stream and El Niño in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans will alter their courses and turn the climatic conditions on land as well as the sea upside down. 

7. In Texas and along Europe 's Mediterranean coastline, such infectious diseases as malaria will be-come epidemic. 

8. One-quarter of all glaciers and permanent ice in the Alps and the Himalayas will melt. The resulting waters will flood many coastline towns, and many island states will be submerged. The estimated 100 million people living in the affected areas will either die or become homeless migrants.

All of the above dangers have been predicted by scientific research. Once Earth begins this process, only Allah SWT will be able to stop it. The 25 percent increase in carbon dioxide in 1997 alone in-creased the greenhouse effect, which caused the following events: parts of polar glaciers melted, ice-bergs melted and raised the oceans' water levels, colder winters than usual, extreme rainfall, and dev-astating hurricanes and floods. The hole in the ozone layer exposed Earth to harmful radiation from space, increased cancer rates, caused new illnesses to be identified and diagnosed, and revealed degen-erative developments in plant life. American scientists and Greenpeace activists discovered during their research in Alaska that the Bering Glacier has shrunk by 12 kms (7.5 miles) in length and 130 m2 (155 square yards) in size.1, the ocean's water temperature increased by 0.8 degrees; corals, which

plays a vital role in the ecosystem's balance, began to die; and 80 percent of the plankton was destroyed.

Over the last few centuries, many new probable causes for the world's end have emerged, and their number con-tinues to increase every day. Our planet's current situa-tion contains a strong message: Earth's end is a cer-tainty, and its time is approaching. Physicists, in particu-lar, frequently express their concerns about this, as fol-lows:

If the universe has a finite stock of order, and is chang-ing irreversibly towards disorder—ultimately to thermo-dynamic equilibrium—two very deep inferences follow immediately. The first is that the universe will even-tually die, wallowing, as it were, in its own entropy. This is known among physicists as the "heat death" of the universe. The second is that the universe cannot have existed for ever, otherwise it would have reached its equilibrium end state an infinite time ago. Conclusion: the universe did not always exist.

It is surprising that so many people continue to live without considering their own end and being in awe of Allah SWT, and remain totally absorbed by their worldly lives despite the proximity of death. And, it is even more surprising that most people, when reminded of death and the ensuing hardships, consider it a distant possibility. As they reject the Qur'an outright, its descriptions of the Day of Judgment have no meaning for them. They behave as if they will live forever, and so endanger the eternal life for the sake of a temporary life. Death, which people try to avoid at all costs, will find all of them, for neither human-ity nor the universe can avoid or prevent death. The Qur'an reveals this reality, as follows:

هـدة فينبئكم بما كنتم تعملون (٨) قل إن ٱملوت ٱلذى تفرون منه فإنه ۥ ملـقيڪم‌ ثم تردون إلى عـلم ٱلغيب وٱلشSay: "Death, from which you are fleeing, will certainly catch up with you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, and He will inform you about what you did." ( Surat al-Jumu‘a, 8)

Given that Earth's destruction is a physical fact rather than a belief, the factors that will contribute to its end reveal themselves in the light of scientific discoveries. Even people who do not believe in Allah or any other religion must acknowledge that the universe is approaching its inevitable end. Hence, a new real-ity besides belief in the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter emerges. This is a frightening reality, be-cause it means endless nothingness. The signs of the approaching Last Day leave people with a number of options: Some unbelievers see it is an endless nothingness, whereas believers see it is either eternal pleas-ure or eternal suffering…

THE END OF THE UNIVERSE:THE CLOSED UNIVERSE AND OPEN UNIVERSE MODELS

Scientists agree that the Big Bang theory is irrefutable and wholly based on scientific data. Accordingly, the universe was born out of the sudden explosion of an infinitely dense point and its subsequent rapid ex-pansion and growth in space. Over time, it began to cool and assumed its current shape..

So, for how long will this expansion continue? The greater an object's mass, the greater its gravitational force—to the extent that the gravitational force will overwhelm the rate of expansion. However, if the gravitational force is smaller, expansion cannot be prevented. According to scientists, if the universe's mass exceeds a certain limit, the expansion will cease one day and the universe will collapse back in on

itself. This is the closed universe model. But if its mass is below this limit, the gravitational forces will be unable to overcome expansion and so it will continue to expand infinitely. This is the open universe model. The universe will either close and end, or expand until it is exhausted and then end, unless Allah causes it to end in another way. In order to predict by which model the universe will die, we need to know its total mass.

As determining this is very difficult, scientists have tried to measure its density rather than its mass, because if the density reaches a critical point, its gravity may overcome the expansion of galaxies. Thus, the universe would begin to collapse by sucking in all of the galaxies. But if its density does not reach this critical value, the expansion will continue forever, because gravity cannot overcome the the galaxies' expansion. Scientists setting out from this premise undertook to discover the end of the universe. They conducted many experiments and spent endless hours analyzing light from distant galaxies through tele-scopes. The speed of galactic systems was measured; their size, intensity, and distance were calculated; and the universe's real density was researched. The emerging data confirms that the universe's present density is close to critical density. In other words, it is more probable that the universe is closed. Once the data obtained by the American scientists Edwin Loh and Earl Spillar—research that is based on the study of thousands of galaxies—was added to the existing data in 1986, the probability of the universe being closed reached 90 percent. Furthermore, several factors were disregarded while calculating the universe's density, which led to the 90 percent figure. For instance, black holes were not taken into ac-count. If they had been, the density value would have increased by a certain amount. Once the dark mat-ters' density—present in all galaxies—is added to the equation, the emerging picture shows that the uni-verse will cease to expand and collapse within itself. Dr. John Gribbin, a well-known physicist and science writer, also stated that the evidence for the closed universe model has never been so strong.

Phrasing it differently, the universe has reached a critical point and is ready to implode at any time. Al-lah SWT reveals that one day He SWT will return the universe to its original state, as follows:

ل خلق نعيده ۥ‌ وعدا علينآ‌ إنا كنا فـعلني (١٠٤) جل للڪتب‌ كما بدأنآ أو مآء ڪطى ٱلس يوم نطوى ٱلسThat Day We will fold up Heaven like folding up the pages of a book. As We originated the first creation so shall We bring it back again. It is a promise binding on Us. That is what We will do. ( Surat al-Anbiya', 104)

It is highly probable that this verse indicates the closed universe model. What we have related here shows that scientific data implies that the universe is likely to implode. Moreover, the guardians of mate-rialist ideologies can posit no serious counterclaim in the face of such research results. Dr. Scherman, dean of the University of Chicago 's astronomy department, says that whereas the closed universe idea used to be represented chiefly by religion and philosophy, there is now much experimental as well as theo-retical evidence that proves its correctness. Our universe has been expanding for 15 billion years, but ac-cording to the obtained results and at the time when Allah SWT wills, gravity probably will overcome ex-pansion and bring it to a close. Once gravity becomes the dominant force in a closed and extremely dense universe, everything will begin to implode and be reversed, for all that had until then been cooling and ex-panding will contract and heat up. As a result, all of the galaxies will be rapidly brought closer to one an-other. According this model, gravity will end the universe's expansion and cause the galaxies to move to-ward one another at escalating speeds. Devastating collisions will take place; huge stars will collide and fuse. The Moon, the Sun, and Earth, as well as all other stars and planets, will fuse, and at the end of this process the imploding universe will be concentrated in one point and destroyed. The whole universe will be turned upside down.

Given that a small deviation in Earth's orbit would lead to either the burning up or freezing to death of all living beings, that a small hole in the atmosphere can have devastating effects, and that a change to the 23o 27' angle of Earth's axis would prevent the seasons, it is not difficult to estimate the negative effect of the universe's contraction on the precarious balances upon which its order rests. 

Allah SWT reveals that the Sun and the Moon will be fused together on the Day of Judgment. Perhaps these verses indicate the closed universe model. If contraction occurs, the world, our solar system's other planets and stars, as well as the Sun and the Moon, will merge. The Qur'an also reveals that the stars will fall from their places in the heavens in rapid succession (Surat at-Takwir, 2):

إذا ٱلنجوم ٱنكدرت (٢) وAnd when the stars fall, (2) This verse could indicate a closed universe model, because in this scenario the stars will leave their orbit and collide. In a contracting universe, time will move backwards, and so there could be similarities be-tween the events taking place at that time on Earth and the events that occur when entering a black hole. As with everything else, gravitational forces will be reversed, Earth will disgorge its charges and be shaken, the mountains will be pulverized, and the oceans will overflow. We do not know how long this proc-ess will last, but these events will take place as Allah SWT describes them in the Qur'an.

We can summarize this as follows: If the closed universe model is true, the universe will merge in one point and be extinguished by Allah SWT.

However, this does not mean that the expanding universe model will save the universe from destruction. If this scenario is true, it simply means that the universe will be destroyed in another way. Ever since it was created, the universe's density has continued to increase, and its temperature nearly reached abso-lute zero. The presently prevailing temperature in space is -270oC—only 3 degrees warmer than absolute zero. As long as the expansion continues, the universe's temperature will continue to decrease. A tem-perature of -270oC is the most suitable for life to exist. Even minor fluctuations will doom all life to death. This temperature cannot remain constant in an expanding universe. So, when it falls, humanity and all other living parts of creation will die.

Confirmed findings of recent research suggest that the closed universe model is applicable. Although un-certain of exactly which model it might be, scientists agree that the fate of the universe will be the same: In both models the universe dies, albeit in different ways. As we have explained above, both mod-els lead to the Last Day. However, there are other factors that can bring about the universe's end, such as the Sun's completion of its life cycle. Allah SWT knows best.

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Masjid Bani HashimAt Jumeirah Islands, Dubai

Masjid Bani Hashim by the Grace of Allah (SWT) عز وجل, opened its doors on 2nd Ramadan 1434; July 10th, 2013 and is a Non-Profit

Organization. It envisions to offer intensive courses, lectures, workshops, Tafseer el Quran with Taddabur, Tajweed, Seerah of

the Prophet صلى اهلل عليه وسلم & other important subjects in Islamic Studies.

Our MissionMasjid Bani Hashim’s mission is to provide authentic

understanding of Islam based on Qur'an & Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Mohammed (صلى اهلل عليه وسلم). Masjid Bani

Hashim welcomes all and provides a golden opportunity to access Islamic Courses to all seekers of Ilm. Without rushing back home, you can make a stop at Masjid Bani Hashim to nurture your soul,

pray and recite The Quran.

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