Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah,
In this week's halaqah we spoke about the confirmed sunnahs of prayer:
-2 before fajr
-4 before dhuhr, and 2 after dhuhr
-2 after maghrib
-2 after isha
We also spoke about the unconfirmed sunnahs of Prayer, such as:
-2 or 4 before Asr
-2 before Maghrib
-2 before Isha
We also spoke about the importance of praying
1) salat Adduha: This prayer is prayed after sunrise, it's prayed in pairs of 2 rakaas and one may pray a minimum of 2 rakaas and a maximum of 12.
2)Salat al-Istikhara: This is a prayer that is performed when one is about to make a decision in one's life, be it big or small. One would pray 2 rakaas and then recite the following dua:
“Oh Allah, I ask of You the good through Your knowledge and I ask You to grant me ability through Your power and beg Your favor of infinite bounty, for surely, You have power and I have none, You know all and I know nothing, and You are the knower of all that is hidden. O Allah if, in Your knowledge, this matter (mention the matter here) be good for my faith, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs in the world and the Hereafter, then ordain it for me and facilitate it for me and grant me blessing in it. But, if in Your knowledge this matter (mention it here) is bad for my faith, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs in the world and the Hereafter, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and ordain for me the good wherever it be, and cause me to be pleased with it”
3)Salat al-Hajah (The prayer of need): When one is in need of something one must first ask Allah. One is recommended to pray the prayer of need by praying 2 rakaas and then reciting the following dua:
“There is no god but Allah, the Most Forbearing and Generous. Exalted is Allah the Lord of the Great Thron. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I ask of You those things which will procure Your mercy, and Your immense forgiveness, a full share of virtuous deeds, and complete safety from iniquity. Do not let any sin of mine to be left unforgiven, nor any worry and pain unrelieved, nor any need which is a source of pleasure for You unfulfilled, O Most Merciful of the merciful.”
Finally we ended our halaqah by speaking about some sunnahs regarding sleep, such as:
-Making wudu before sleeping
-Sleeping on one's right side
-Reciting ayat al-Kursi as well as the dua of sleep, which is: “O Allah, I have surrendered my life to You and turned my face toward You and entrusted all my affairs to You and wholly placed my reliace in You. All this I do to gain Your mercy and due to fear of Your punishment. There is no protection from Your wrath except through Your mercy. I believe in the Book You have revealed and in the Prophet You have sent.”
-Staying awake after fajr
-waking up in the middle of the night to pray Qiyam ul-layl
wassalamu alaikum,
Dana
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
May 17th: Prayer (Part 2)
Presence of heart in prayer (khushoo'):
How do we attain presence of heart in our prayer?
1) Realize that presence of heart is not just during prayer but it’s in everything we do, doing lots of thikr helps us achieve this realization.
2) remove the love of the world from your heart
3) Avoiding the haram outwardly and inwardly.
4) Don’t “jump” into prayer: focus your heart on Allah before saying Allahu akbar.
How do we attain presence of heart in our prayer?
1) Realize that presence of heart is not just during prayer but it’s in everything we do, doing lots of thikr helps us achieve this realization.
2) remove the love of the world from your heart
3) Avoiding the haram outwardly and inwardly.
4) Don’t “jump” into prayer: focus your heart on Allah before saying Allahu akbar.
May 10th: Prayer (Part1)
Assalamu alaikum,
In this week's halaqah we spoke about the importance of prayer. Here are some hadiths that we mentioned:
Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'What do you think would happen if there was a river by someone's door in which he washed five times every day? Do you think that any dirt would remain on him?' They said, 'Not a scrap of dirt would remain on him.' He said, 'That is a metaphor of the five prayers by which Allah wipes out wrong actions.'" [Agreed upon]
Ibn Mas'ud reported that a man received a kiss from a woman and went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and told him about it. Allah sent down, "Establish the prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first part of the night. Good actions eradicate bad actions." (11:114) The man said, "Messenger of Allah, is this for me?" He said, "It is for every single one of my community." [Agreed upon]
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The five prayers, and Jumu'a to Jumu'a is expiation for what is between them as long as a man has committed no major sins." [Muslim]
'Uthman ibn 'Affan said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "There is no Muslim man who attends a prescribed prayer and does wudu' for it well and is humble in it and in its bowing, without that being expiation for the sins before it as long as he did not commit any major sin. This will always apply." [Muslim]
wassalamu alaikum,
Dana
In this week's halaqah we spoke about the importance of prayer. Here are some hadiths that we mentioned:
Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'What do you think would happen if there was a river by someone's door in which he washed five times every day? Do you think that any dirt would remain on him?' They said, 'Not a scrap of dirt would remain on him.' He said, 'That is a metaphor of the five prayers by which Allah wipes out wrong actions.'" [Agreed upon]
Ibn Mas'ud reported that a man received a kiss from a woman and went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and told him about it. Allah sent down, "Establish the prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first part of the night. Good actions eradicate bad actions." (11:114) The man said, "Messenger of Allah, is this for me?" He said, "It is for every single one of my community." [Agreed upon]
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The five prayers, and Jumu'a to Jumu'a is expiation for what is between them as long as a man has committed no major sins." [Muslim]
'Uthman ibn 'Affan said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "There is no Muslim man who attends a prescribed prayer and does wudu' for it well and is humble in it and in its bowing, without that being expiation for the sins before it as long as he did not commit any major sin. This will always apply." [Muslim]
wassalamu alaikum,
Dana
Friday, May 4, 2007
May 3rd: Patience
Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah,
for those of you who couldn't make it last night, here's a quick summary of what we spoke about:
-The optimal patience is the one descirbed in the Quran in surah Yusuf as a "beautiful patience". That is patience that is not coupled with complaints, annoyance, worry, or frustration.
-There are three kinds of patience:
1- Patience with afflications: this is the patience we have with illness, death, disaster, loss of money, etc. This kind of patience has no reward, yet it will erase your sins. (So while your good deeds aren't increasing, your bad deeds are being erased)
2-Patience with abstaining from sin: This is the patience needed to stay away from the haram and not fall into it. It's the patience you have when your friends are trying to convince you to go to that party, yet you stay firm and resist.
3-Patience with obedience: This is the best of all three kinds as it is the hardest and most rewarded. This is the patience you have while staying up at late hours of the night to pray to Allah, it's the patience you have when you fast on a long, hot summer day, etc.
Why is this the best kind of patience?
Because patience with affliction is nothing we have control over. The disaster/event happens without our control and all we have to do is be patience. When it comes to falling into sin, you'll find it easier to stay away from sin than to pray for example. Alot of Muslims never pray, but they don't drink for example.
Also, it's the best kind of patience because you are rewarded for your obedience. One sin is equal to one bad deed, yet one act of obedience is equal to 10 good deeds.
And lastly we talked about the conditions of patience, these are the conditions that make your patience rewarded:
1- To be patient at the first shock. So you're patient as soon as you hear the bad news...not after you react and show your anger/frustration, that's when the patience counts.
2-You have a "beautiful patience" that is not accompanied by any complaint.
I hope to see you all next week inshaAllah. Please let me know if you have any questions on Patience! :)
wassalamu alaikum,
Dana
for those of you who couldn't make it last night, here's a quick summary of what we spoke about:
-The optimal patience is the one descirbed in the Quran in surah Yusuf as a "beautiful patience". That is patience that is not coupled with complaints, annoyance, worry, or frustration.
-There are three kinds of patience:
1- Patience with afflications: this is the patience we have with illness, death, disaster, loss of money, etc. This kind of patience has no reward, yet it will erase your sins. (So while your good deeds aren't increasing, your bad deeds are being erased)
2-Patience with abstaining from sin: This is the patience needed to stay away from the haram and not fall into it. It's the patience you have when your friends are trying to convince you to go to that party, yet you stay firm and resist.
3-Patience with obedience: This is the best of all three kinds as it is the hardest and most rewarded. This is the patience you have while staying up at late hours of the night to pray to Allah, it's the patience you have when you fast on a long, hot summer day, etc.
Why is this the best kind of patience?
Because patience with affliction is nothing we have control over. The disaster/event happens without our control and all we have to do is be patience. When it comes to falling into sin, you'll find it easier to stay away from sin than to pray for example. Alot of Muslims never pray, but they don't drink for example.
Also, it's the best kind of patience because you are rewarded for your obedience. One sin is equal to one bad deed, yet one act of obedience is equal to 10 good deeds.
And lastly we talked about the conditions of patience, these are the conditions that make your patience rewarded:
1- To be patient at the first shock. So you're patient as soon as you hear the bad news...not after you react and show your anger/frustration, that's when the patience counts.
2-You have a "beautiful patience" that is not accompanied by any complaint.
I hope to see you all next week inshaAllah. Please let me know if you have any questions on Patience! :)
wassalamu alaikum,
Dana
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