Bride-Price / Dowry for a poor man

One day, a woman came to see the Prophet of Allah [PBUH= Allah's
blessings and Peace be upon him] and said: "Oh! Messenger of Allah! I
do not have a husband and I want to be a good wife; i give myself to
you."
The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] kept silent for a long while.
Suddenly, a man who waspresent stood up and asked if the woman would
accept him for a husband.
The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] said: "Do you haveanything to give her
as a dowry."
The man thought and said: "I have half of my cloth," and indeed he was
wearing a single cloth around him.
"If you give her part of this cloth, you will have nothing to wear
anymore;it will become her possession. Find something else." Since at
this time the followers of Islam and the Prophet himself [PBUH] were
poor,the man thought again a long time and declared:"No, I do not
possess a thing to give her."
The Messenger of Allah then told him: "Go to yourhouse and look for
something, even if it is an iron ring."
The man departed and came back a while later, and declared: "I looked
everywhere, but I did not find anything to give her as her dowry."
After reflection, the Prophet of Allah [PBUH]said: "Did you learnsome
of the Qur'an?"
"Yes, I have learned by heart so-and-so Surahs [chapters of the Qur'an]"
The Messenger of Alah [PBUH] therefore declared:"Teach her what you
know of the Qur'an, and this will constitute her dowry."
The couple felt contented with what was proposed, and they got married.

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The miracle at the spring of Tabuk

During the year of Tabuk, they went out with the Messenger of Allah
[PBUH=May Allah bless him and grant him Peace],and the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH) prayed Dhur and 'Asr together.
Then he said, "Tomorrow we will meet, Insha Allah, at the spring of
Tabuk. Do not go there until well into the morning. You should not
touch the water until i arrive." We all agreed and, the day after, we
all gathered at the spring of Tabuk. But, when we got there, two men
had already reached it before us and the springwas dripping with very
little water.
The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] approached and asked them: "Did you
touche this water?" They said: "Yes, we did." "Take water with your
hands from the spring little by little until you have collected a
small amount in something." When this was done, the Messenger of Allah
[PBUH] washed his face and hands on it. Then he put it back into the
spring and the spring began to flow with abundant water, and the
people began to draw water from it. Then he said [PBUH): "If you live
long enough, you will see this place full with gardens."

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He did not fast Ramadan and he thought negatively of Allah, may He be exalted

Will god ever forgive me? i lost my self and i lost my faith i didn't
fast on the last Ramadan and i hated god during that timei thought
that he was the cause of all my miseries do i still have a chance to
enter Islam again? and will god forgive me or am i doomed?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to accept your repentance, forgive
you your sins, open your heart to faith and guidance, and to keep away
from your mind all negative thoughts of your Lord and Creator, for
there is nothing stranger than a person thinking negatively of his
Lord when He has blessed him and bestowed upon him thousands of
blessings, the greatest of which are the blessing of Islam and
theblessing of reason. For He has chosen him from among His creation
and has not made him a disbeliever; He has blessed him by making him a
human who thinks rationally and ponders things, unlike animals and
those who are insane. And He has created in his body and soul
blessings of which no one knows the number except Allah.
One of Allah's blessings is that He tests His slave with some
calamities in order to expiate some of his bad deeds, or to increase
him in status, or to remind him that he will return toHim and stand
before Him. How often has a person turned awayfrom Allah, then
calamity was the means that caused him to turn back to Allah and
repent, and ultimately turned out to be a means that led to happiness
and joy.
When a person is certain that Allah, may He be exalted, is
moremerciful to him than anyone else, he will be content with His
decree, will bear with patience that with which He tests him, and will
hope for relief granted by Him.
Think about the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you; this will
increase your gratitude towards Him and will make you recognise His
bounty. Remember that no calamity befalls you but there is something
good for you in it.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "No
exhaustion, sickness, worry, grief, harm or distress befalls a
believer, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allah will expiate
some of his bad deeds thereby."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5642; Muslim, 2573
At-Tirmidhi (2399) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him)said: "Calamities will continue to befall the believing
man or woman affecting himself or his child or his wealth, until he
will meet Allah with no sin on him."
At-Tirmidhi (2398) and Ibn Maajah (4023) narrated that Sa'dibn Abi
Waqqaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: O Messenger of
Allaah, which people are most severely tested? He said: "The Prophets,
then the next best and the next best. A person is tested according to
his religious commitment. If he is steadfast inhis religious
commitment, he willbe tested more severely, and if he is shaky in his
religious commitment, his test will be according to his commitment.
Trials will continue to afflict a person until they leave him walking
on the earth with no sinon him."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.
Secondly:
If a person feels resentment towards Allah, may He be exalted, in his
heart, or is angry with His decree or thinks negatively of Him – Allah
forbid – then let him renew his Islam and utter the Shahaadatayn (twin
declaration of faith), and let him strive hard and do righteous deeds.
He does not have to make up the fasts that he deliberately omitted,
because that is an act of worship that is connected to a specific
time; if a person deliberately omitted it at the time it was due, it
would not be accepted from him after that. Moreover, Islam erases what
came before it of sins.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: What is
the ruling on the Muslim who for many years did not fast Ramadan, even
though he did some of the other obligatory duties, and he had
noimpediment that was keeping him from fasting? Does he have to make
up the fasts if he repents?
He replied:
The correct view is that he does not have to make up the fasts if he
repents, because in the case of every act of worship that is connected
to a specific time, if a person deliberately delays it without an
excuse, then Allah will not accept it from him.
Based on that, there is no benefit in making it up. But he has to
repent to Allah, may He beglorified and exalted, and do a lot of
righteous deeds. And whoever repents, Allah will turn to him in mercy.
End quote from Majmoo' Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 19/87
We ask Allah to increase you in faith and guidance.
And Allah knows best.
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The meaning of enslavement in Islam

Can you please clarify the subject of Slaves in Islam. In TheKoran,
there are many mentions of this term in particular the instance where
man is the slave to his Master Allah, which I fully understand and
agree. But in many instances the Koran cites where one man/woman is
the slave of another man/woman. In what context has Allah made this
permissible, if it is permissible. Your clarification onthis subject
would be most grateful.
Praise be to Allaah.
The enslavement of the Muslim to Allaah, may He be glorified, is what
He had commanded in His Book and is the Message with which He sent the
Messengers, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a
Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allaah (Alone), and avoid (or keep
away from) Taaghoot (all false deities, i.e. do not worship Taaghoot
besides Allaah)" [al-Nahl 16:36].
The word 'Uboodiyyah (enslavement) in Arabic comes from the word
Ta'beed (enthrallment, subjugation). The phrase 'abbadtu'l-tareeq
means "I made the way smooth and easy to walk on." The enslavement of
the slave to Allaah has two meanings, one general and one specific. If
by "slave" I mean al-mu'abbad, i.e., one who is subjugated, this is
the general meaning which includes every created thing in the both the
higher and the lower realms, sentient and otherwise, animate and
inanimate, moving and stationary, kaafir and mu'min, righteous and
immoral, for every creature is subjugated by Allaah and is subject to
His control, and for each of them there is a limit at which it stops.
If by "slave" I mean al-'aabid, one who worships Allaah and obeys His
commands, this meaning applies specifically to the believers to the
exclusion of the kaafireen, because the believers are the true slaves
of Allaah who attribute Lordship and Divinity to Him Alone and
recognize Him by His Names andAttributes, and do not associate
anything with Him. As Allaah says in the story of Iblees
(interpretation of the meaning):
"[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'O my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall
indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on theearth, and I
shall mislead them all. Except Your chosen, (guided)slaves among
them.' (Allaah) said: 'This is the Way which will lead straight to Me.
Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those
who follow you of the Ghaawoon (Mushrikoon and those who go astray,
criminals, polytheists, and evildoers).'" [al-Hijr 15:39-42]
With regard to the 'ibaadah (worship) which Allaah enjoins upon us,
this is a word which includes everything that Allaah loves and is
pleased with of words and deeds, both open and hidden, and excludes
anything that may cancel that out. This definition includes the
Shahaadatayn, Salaah, Hajj, fasting, jihaad for the sake of Allaah,
enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and believing in
Allaah, the angels, the Messengers and the Last Day. The basis for
this worship is purity of intention, so that theaim of the worshipper
is to seekthe Face of Allaah, may He be glorified, and the Home of the
Hereafter. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And Al-Muttaqûn (the pious) will be far removed from it (Hell). He
who spends his wealth for increase in self-purification, And who has
(in mind) no favour from anyone to be paid back, Except to seek the
Countenance of his Lord, the Most High. He surely, will be pleased
(when he will enter Paradise)." [al-Layl 92:17-21]
So purity of intention is essential, as is sincerity, so that the
believer strives to follow what Allaah has commanded and to avoid what
He has forbidden, prepares himself for the Meeting with Allaah (may He
be exalted), gives up feeling helpless and lazy, and refrains from
following his own desires, as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah, and be with those who are
true (in words and deeds)." [al-Tawbah 9:119]
It is also essential to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), so the worshipper should worship Allaah in
accordance with what He has prescribed and not in accordance with what
created beings desire or innovate. This is the aim of following the
Prophet who was sent from Allaah, Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). Purity of intention, sincerity and following the
Messenger are all essential. Oncethese matters are understood, then it
will be clear to us that everything that goes against these essentials
is in fact enslavement to people. So showing off is a form of
enslavement to people; Shirk is aform of enslavement to people;
neglecting Allaah's commands and angering the Lord in order to earn
people's approval is a form of enslavement to people. ...

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