When you’re weary and alone, let faith carry you

There are times when we're alone, discouraged, and just plain weary.
Times when it seems like there's no one left who matters.
That's when faith counts more than ever. That's when faith is tested.
Don't give up. Keep hope in your heart. Remember that in the darkest
cave, the deepest canyon, the most barren desert, Allah is still
there.
Let faith carry you at thosetimes, and let Allah guide you, and you
will come through to a better place. It's a promise from Allah:
"And whoever is conscious of Allah, He will make for him a way out
(from every difficulty). And He will provide for him from (sources) he
never could imagine. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will
suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed Allah
has sent a measure for all things." (Quran: 65/2-3)

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2b] Repentance in Ramadhan

2b]
I advise you, my friend, to catch up with good peoplewho will benefit
you even after you die by Allah's Leave by making du'aa for you. Catch
up with them and keep company with them wherever they come and go; be
patient with them until you meet your Lord, then it may be said to you
and to them:
"Salaamun 'Alaykum (peace be upon you) for you persevered in patience!
Excellent indeed is the final home!" [al-Ra'ad 13:24 interpretation of
themeaning]
A story and an attitude
There was a man who waswith the righteous, then he left them and
started tofall short in his religious commitments. One day he was
going on a trip, and his car overturned on the road. He was
resuscitated, then he died.
The sad news came. We prayed over him, and he was taken and placed in
his grave. His grave was filled with bricks and earth, and he would
never come back. Tears flowed and hearts were filled withgrief. One of
the righteous people, I think he was righteous, but Allah knowsbest
and I do not praise anyone before Allah, who was one of his former
friends, sat by his grave with his head bowed, making du'aa for him.
Thus I knew what kind of friends could benefit a man after his death.
My brother, beware lest you become one of those of whom Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) the Day when the Dhaalim (wrongdoer, oppressor,
polytheist) will bite at his hands, he will say:
"Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhammad).
"Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so and so as a Khaleel
(an intimate friend)!
He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (this Qur'aan) after it had
come to me."
And Shaytaan (Satan) is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need"
[al-Furqaan 25:27-29]
Before the door is closed
My dear brother, before the door is closed, decide from now, and do
not delay, the path that you want to follow, which will be your path
in this world and in the Hereafter.
What great joy and happiness is to be found when a person comes backto
his Lord, regretting (his sin) and joining the caravan of the
righteous. By Allah it is joy which no one tastes except those who
experience this.
My brother in Allah, if you have resolved to repent and turn back to
your Lord, then know that thereare conditions which must be met when
repenting:
1- Regret for what is past.
2- Giving up the sin.
3- Resolving not to go back to it. But if you do it again, then repent
to Allahagain but your resolve must be genuine.
4- The repentance must come before the death-rattle reaches the throat
and before the sun rises in the west.

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2a] Repentance in Ramadhan

2a]
And,
"And those who invoke not any other ilaah (god) along with Allah, nor
kill such person as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor
commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive
the punishment.
The torment will be doubled to him on the Dayof Resurrection, and he
will abide therein in disgrace;
Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do
righteous deeds; for those,Allah will change their sinsinto good
deeds, and Allahis Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" [al-Furqaan 25:68-70]
This is a great blessing anda great deal, for Allah will change your
sins into gooddeeds! Allah is Most Great. No one misses out on sucha
great deal except one who is ignorant or who does not care about this
blessing.
So repent! my dear brothers and sisters, if you want this great deal,
Allah will change your sins into good deeds.
And listen to what your beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said to encourage people to repent:
"Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than one of
you whosuddenly finds his camel laden with supplies after losing it in
a barren land." (Agreed upon)
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah says: "O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and put your
hope in Me, I will forgive you no matter what you have done, and Ido
not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach up to the clouds
of the sky, then you were to ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive
you and I do not mind."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah says,
"O My slaves, you commit sinsby night and by day, but I forgive all
sins. So ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah
stretches forth His hand by night to accept the repentance of those
who sinned during the day, and He stretches forth His hand by day to
accept the repentance of those who sinned during the night. (This will
continue) until the sun rises from the west."
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw
a woman looking for her young son among the prisoners of war. When she
found him, she embraced him and gave him her breast. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Do you think that
she could throw her child into the fire?" They said, "No." He said,
"Allah ismore merciful towards His slaves than this woman is towards
her child."
Allah is Most Great! After knowing of this generosity, can we ignore
the matter of repentance? Can we delay repenting? O Allah, glory be to
You, howmerciful You are. Glory be to You, how kind You are. Glory be
to You, how generous You are.
"When my heart grew hard and I did not know where to turn,
I made the hope of Your forgiveness my way out.
I thought that my sin was so great, but when I compared it
To Your forgiveness, my Lord, Your forgiveness was greater.
You never cease to forgive sin, and You never cease
To be generous, out of Your bounty and kindness." [Arabic poetry]
Be frank with yourself
What is keeping you from repenting and following the path of
righteousness?I can imagine you saying,"My family, community and
friends. I am afraid of repenting then going back to my sin. My sins
are so many, how can I be forgiven? I am worried about my family and
my wealth." I say to you: Do you think that you will saythat to your
Lord on the Day when you meet Him? No, by Allah! These are imaginary
obstacles which can only be overcome by one who fears his Lord.
"If the soul had great ambitions,
The body would be exhausted by trying to fulfil the desires of the
soul." [Arabic poetry]
Be proud of your religion, and sincerely resolve to dogood and to
continue doing so, putting your trust in Allah. And remember the mercy
of your Lord and the vast extent of His forgiveness.
My brother, if the Angel of Death were to come to you at this moment,
would you be content to meet your Lord in this state? My brother,
please do not run away from yourself or try to avoid checking on
yourself. If you do not check on yourself today, then in your grave
you will regret it, at the time when regret will be of no avail.
A new beginning
Know that repentance is not limited only to this month it may take
place during this or any other month. But why should your new
beginning not take place in the month of goodness and blessing? A man
may be born twice, on the day when he emerges from the darkness of his
mother's womb into the light of thisworld, and on the day when he
emerges from the darkness of sin into the light of obedience. So be
like this.

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2] Repentance in Ramadhan

2]
I praise Allah, Who has brought near to us the means of goodness and
has opened the gate of repentance to His slaves, and I send blessings
and peace upon the Messenger of Allah.
I have put together these few words for everyone who wants to change
his situation and his actions soas to earn the pleasure of his Creator
and achieve happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. I ask Allah
to make it of benefit to those who read it and tell others about it,
and I ask Allah to forgive sins both open and secret.
My dear brothers and sisters,
I congratulate you on the occasion of this blessed month, the month of
repentance, forgiveness and ransom from the Fire, the month of
goodness and blessing, the month ofgenerosity and kindness. I say to
myself, to you and to everyone who is falling short in his duties
towardshis Lord (this Arabic poem):
O you who did not have enough of sin in Rajab,
So he continued to disobey his Lord during the month of Sha'baan,
Now these two months have been followed by the month of patience,
So do not let this be a month of sin too.
Recite the Qur'aan and glorify your Lord during this month, striving
your utmost,
For it is the month of glorificationand Qur'aan.
The month of Ramadaan has come
So come to Allah, O seeker of good.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When the
first night of Ramadaan comes, the devils and demons are chained up,
and the gates of Hell are closed and not one gate of it is opened. The
gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a
caller calls out: "O seeker of good, come to Allah; O seeker of evil,
desist." Allahwill have ransomed some people from the Fire, and that
happens every night." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah with a
hasan isnaad).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
theProphet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Ameen,
ameen, ameen." It was said,"Messenger of Allah, you climbed up on the
minbar and said, "Ameen, ameen, ameen." He said, "Jibreel (peace be
upon him), cameto me and said, "Whoever witnesses the month of
Ramadaan and is not forgiven so he enters Hell, may Allah cast him
away. Say Ameen." So I said Ameen."" (This hadeeth was narrated by
Ahmad and is saheeh).
Yes! Ramadaan has come, so turn to your Lord Whom you have disobeyed,
beseeching Himand fearing Him, regretting and weeping,and say,
"O God of the Universe, I am returning (to You)."
"O Giver of all good things, give me guidance,
For there is no good without guidance.
Overlook my mistakes with forgiveness, kindness and mercy,
For no one else can bestow forgiveness." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters, if you are not forgiven, if your eyes do not
shed tears and your heart does not break before your Lordin this
month, then when?
My brothers and sisters, why do you not shed tearsfor fear of your
Lord even once? Do you not feel that your heart is close to your Lord
during this month? Do you not think that this is an opportunity for
you to draw closer to your Lord and increase in humility, repentance
and submission, so that it may be the true beginning of your returning
to your Lord so that you may be more closely connected with Allah?
"While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and
bestows on them their piety" [Muhammad 47:17]
O man!
Allah rebukes us and tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
"O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most
Generous?" [al-Infitaar 82:6]
Indeed, O man, what has made you careless about your Lord, so that you
have become so audaciousin disobeying Him and transgressing His
limits? Is it because you are ignoring His blessings? Or because you
forget that Heis always watching over you, and that He is almighty?
"I am the one who closes the doors, striving in sin (in secret),
Although the eye of Allah is watching me.
How patient Allah is with me, when He lets me off
Although I persist in my sin, and He covers me." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters! Donot look at how small yoursin is, but look
at how great is the One Whom you are disobeying. My brothers and
sisters! Do not let Allah be the one whom you care the least about of
all those who are watching you.
Good news for you
Here I bring you good news from your Lord and His Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him). Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Say: "O 'Ibaadi (My slaves)who have transgressed against themselves
(by committing evil deeds andsins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah,
verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful" [al-Zumar 39:53]

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