701.    Why does the Qur’an mention Jihad in Maal before Jihad with the Nafs? Because in giving up the money, we are conditioning ourselves to let go of the Dunya, little by little. If we cannot even do this, then letting go of the Dunya all at once with our selves will be very difficult – even if we give up our lives, it may not be with the correct intention, and this would be the greatest loss of all.

702.    (As was mentioned): The Hadith of Ukhuwaa and Iman is placing emphasis on Adamic brotherhood, not only on Islamic brotherhood, as mentioned by Imam an-Nawawi (RA) and others. So this is an indication to universal compassion not only Islamic compassion (that is, in the course of accepting that no one truly believes until he wishes for his brother as he wishes for himself). Continue reading →

676.    (As was mentioned): In surah az-Zumar (Chapter 39, Verses 71-75) there is a differentiation in the state of the dwellers of Paradise and those of the Hellfire. In the first case, it is an honor granted to them, in the latter it is debasement. This is also pointed out by the construction of the Verses themselves, where the gates of Hellfire are opened quickly for the disbelievers as a torment and humiliation, but the gates of Paradise are opened with glory as an honor for the believers.

677.    One of the answers about eternal reward for temporal actions is that the intention of the believer or disbeliever is taken into account. Thus, it would be the intention upon which they died and hoped to believe in and carry out “eternally”, thus the punishment is meted out accordingly. Continue reading →

651.    The problem with some people who do not “feel” the prescribed prayer (Salat) is that they may be rationalizing it too much, treating it like a checklist of formalities they must accomplish and nothing else, after which some big spiritual opening must necessarily follow. This is obviously not how the prayer should be approached.

652.    When Allah unties the knot (on one’s heart) so that one often asks of Him for his needs, this is an indication that Allah wishes to give him this thing. Continue reading →

626.    There is mention of the story of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas’ and Salman al-Farsi’s (RAA) armies during their campaign crossing the river with their horses (i.e. akin to walking on water) – this is one of the miracles (Karamaat) of the Companions (RAA).

627.    One of the potential positive matters related to Husn ad-Dhann [thinking good of a fellow Muslim] is that even if the person doing some outward good deed is doing it for ulteriorly bad motives, our good thoughts about him might transform his bad motives into good ones. Thus, we should avoid Suu’ adh-Dhann [thinking bad of a fellow Muslim] so as to not receive a bad verdict from Allah. Continue reading →

601.    (A reply to an objection by Twelver Shias) There is the oft-quoted Hadeeth about the Sahabi (the Ummati, to be precise) being taken by the angels as the Prophet (ﷺ) is standing by the Hawdh (Pool) and calling people to come to it. But note that this is something occurring only once in a while- and not as often as Twelver Shias would want one to believe, if the Ummah or a majority of it has apostatized. And another issue is that this group of people will not be eternally in the Hellfire anyway, again going against the Twelver Shia portrayal of the matter. Continue reading →

576.    As was said by certain people, if one has nothing (a principle) to die for, one has nothing to live for. It is not sufficient that one simply dies for one’s country -patriotism pure and simple- without a deeply-held basis. (Because at the end, it is tautological to die solely for the piece of land under your feet, it does not have any abstract ideals associated with it.)

577.    For a number of believers, death is difficult, since Allah wishes to fully cleanse them and raise their status. And the opposite is the case with the disbeliever at times, Allah may wish to give him all the comforts and ease in this world, to make him suffer fully in the Hereafter. Continue reading →

551.    Courage is to expose one’s self to danger but at the proper time, when one must do something in order to avert harm to Islam, to his family, to his Muslim brethren, etc. It is not simply a wild entering into the fray for the purpose of saying one is brave.

552.    One courageous deed is to say that we have to work on our Nafs (inner, lower self), that we have to carry out the internal Jihad. Many will say there is need for the external, physical Jihad against the enemy, but will never say they need to work on their inner selves. Continue reading →

526.    The details are different from what we find in other religions, yet it should be noted that in Islam it is indeed Allah, through His Mercy, who liberates and redeems us. Note this is also not in the Christian sense, where logical impossibilities are called upon in order to say this redemption has occurred or can occur for the individual, and where strange notions of personal liberty have been formulated, giving rise then to many conceptual problems in the assessment of religion in the modern world. Continue reading →

Random Thoughts and Notes: Serial Arrangement # 1-500

Thoughts/Notes # 1-25                      Thoughts/Notes # 26-50 Continue reading →