Ten Statements from the Salaf On Love and Hate for Allah’s Sake

Imaam Abu Hamid al-Tusi al-Ghazali1 -
'Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) said:"If one of youis blessed with
affection from his brother, he should hold onto that as tightly as
possible, as it is quite rare for one to be blessed with this."
2 - 'Umar (رضي الله عنه) alsosaid:"Nobody is given anything, besides
his Islaam, better than a righteous friend."
3 - 'Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:"Tend to yourbrothers, as
they are your sustenance in this world and the next. Do you not hear
the saying of the people of Hell: {"Now, we have neither intercessors
nor close friends to help us!"} [ash-Shu'ara'; 100-1]?"
4 - 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (رضي الله عنه) said:"By Allaah, if I fasted
all day without eating, prayed all night without sleeping, spent all
of my wealth in the Path of Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), died the day I
died,but, had no love in my heart for those who obey Allaah, and no
hatred in my heart for those who disobey Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), none
of this would benefit me in the least."
5 - 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) said:"If a manwere to stand
for seventy years, worshipping Allaah between the Yemeni Corner and
the Maqam of Ibrahim (at the Ka'bah), hewould still be resurrected on
the Day of Judgement with those whom he loved."
6 - Ibn as-Sammak (رحمه الله) said, on his deathbed:"O Allaah! You
Know that, even if I had disobeyed You, I loved those who obeyed You!
So, make this for me a means of nearness to You!"
7 - Mujahid (رحمه الله) said:"Those who love eachother for Allaah's
Sake, when they smile at each other, their sins fall from each other,
just as the leaves fall from a tree before the winter."
8 - al-Ghazali (رحمه الله) said, commenting on the hadith "The
strongest bond of faith is to love for Allaah and to hate for
Allaah":"Because of this, it is a must that a person have enemies that
he hates for Allaah's Sake, justas he has friends and brothers that he
loves for Allaah's Sake."
9 - Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) said:"The slave will be brought
between the Hands of Allaah - the Exalted - on the Day of
Resurrection, and Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) will Say to him: 'Did you
love one of my awliya', so that I can join you with him?'"
10 - al-Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله) said:"Being harsh against a fasiq
brings you closer to Allaah - the Exalted."From 'Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din'
(2/195 onwards) Iqtida' by Imaam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله)‏‎/

Wonderful - - How To Get a Fresh Start On a Bad Day

Every now and then, we allhave one of those days. You wake up feeling
icky – not sick, just sort of a lingering malaise that you can't quite
shake. Something caused by nightmares or a kink in your neck or a
headache. And then when you start totackle your to-do list for the
day, it feels like you're swimming through molasses. In January. With
cement shoes. In short: no bueno .
Next time you have a day like this, step back for a moment, and
pause. Breathe . And then, reboot your day. Start over with a clean
slate, consciously andintentionally, and see where this new day takes
you. Here's some tips:
Stop what you're doing.
Especially if it's making youmore frustrated. Just stop. Turn it off,
walk away fromit for a while, physically remove it from your sight if
it will make you calm down more. If you were working on a computer,
turn off the monitor or shut your laptop.
Eat something.
Without any distractions, preferably in silence or listening to some
of your "happy" music. Low blood sugar can make you crankyand sluggish
(ask me how Iknow!), not to mention give you a wicked case of brain
fog. And all too often,we rush ourselves through meals, thinking about
whatwe should be doing or where we should be or watching television
insteadof focusing on the food. I wouldn't suggest eating anything too
sugary, because that'll just cause another blood sugar crash before
too long – try something like oatmeal or peanut butter on toast. Eat
it slowly, in peace, and just focus on the food in front of you and
how it tastes, without worrying about anything else.
Take a walk or do yoga.
Both of these activities are relaxing and will help get your blood
flowing + fresh oxygen to your brain. Sometimes, getting out of the
physical space you're inis a necessary step to changing your current
mood.
Do something simple & easy that already needed to be done.
This gives you a feeling of accomplishment, however tiny, and helps
get you out of that "this day is worthless" rut. A few of thethings I
do are unloading and reloading the dishwasher, or declutteringmy desk.
You might clean something or organize something – as long as it
genuinely needs to be done, it's good!
5-10 minutes of meditation/quiet.
Or however long you feel comfortable doing so, evenif it's just for a
moment . You might just sit and listen to a calming song in silence,
or write a quick list of all the things you're grateful for. It does
us all good to say "thank you" every once in a while.
Resume working with a clear head, a peaceful heart, and the feeling
that this day won't be a waste after all!
Take a nap?
If this works for you, go ahead and do it. I have mixed results with
napping, sometimes waking up totally refreshed and sometimes waking up
with a thumping headache. But there's been studies out the wazoo that
say naps are freakin' fabulous, so don't feel guilty about itif you
choose to do so.
And there you have it – one fresh new day for you to do whatever you
wish with! Doesn't that feel delicious? The only thing left is to make
sure you put it to good use!

Authenticity of a report that Abu Bakr never prostrated to an idol

Question
Assalamu Alaikum, there is a report that Abu Bakr said he never
prostrated to an idol even when his father took him to an idol and
told him that is your god, so Abu Bakr questioned theidol for help and
then threw a rock at it. Is this report saheed and where isit located?
JazakumAllahu kheirun.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
is His slave and Messenger.
Al-Munaawi said in his book Faydhul-Qadeer whilelisting the virtues of
Abu Bakr "Abu Bakr, his father, his son, and his grandchildren
embraced Islam. He never prostrated to an idol nor drank wine."
As for the second part of the question, we have not found in any of
our references that Abu Bakr threw a stone at the idol. For further
information about the virtues of Abu Bakr see Fatwas 86517 and 90882 .
Allaah Knows best.

Why Ali, may Allaah be pleased with him, was called Al-Murtadha

Question
Could you please clarify to me why honorable Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra)
was called bythe title "Al Murtaza"?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
, is His slaveand Messenger.
Al-Khaadimi clarified in his book Bareeqah Mahmoodiyyah the reason why
'Ali was called Al-Murtadha. He said, "This is because the Prophet had
chosen him to replace him among his family in Al-Madeenah in the
battle of Tabook, and he told him: "You are to me like Haaroon (Aaron)
to Moosa (Moses) except that there isno Prophet after me."
[Al-Bukhaari] Or this is because the Prophet was pleased with his
actions, or due to his brotherhood and companionship of the Prophet ,
and his virtues ."
Allaah Knows best.