Flavour of Faith

It is related by Abbas bin Adbul Muttalib that he heard the Apostle of
God say: "He tasted the flavour of Faith and experienced itssweetness
who agreed with a truthful heart to accept God as His Cherisher, Islam
as his religion, and Muhammad as his Prophet." [Bukhari]
Commentary:
Just as all delicious foods posses a flavour but can beperceived only
when one's faculty of taste has not been lost or become perverted due
to illness or any other cause, there is also a special sweetness in
faith which can be enjoyed by those alone who have, willingly and
earnestly, made Allah their Lord and Master, Muhammad (PBUH) their
prophet and guide, and Islam their religion and way of life, and whose
hearts have bowed in submission to God and yielded in obedience to
theprophet and assented to bethe adherents of the path of Islam. In
other words, their bond with God, the prophet and Islam is not merely
formal, hereditary or intellectual but real, sincere and genuine.
Anas related to us that "Only he will taste the sweetness of faith who
hasthese three qualities: the love of God and the prophet that comes
to him before everything else, he loves whom he loves solelyfor the
sake of God, and theidea of going back to apostasy after he has
embraced Islam is as repugnant to him as being thrown into fire."
[Bukhari and Muslim]
Commentary:
The subject matter of this tradition is almost identicalto that of
proceeding one. It says that the sweetness of faith can only be
perceived by him whose love for God and the Apostle is stronger that
for anyone or anything else in the world, so much so that when he
loves somebody, it is wholly for the sake of God, and who is so deeply
devoted to the Islamic faiththat the very idea of leaving it and
reverting back to the apostasy is as painful to him as being castinto
fire.

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Asma ul husna - 99 Names of Allah

Arabic English Translation
1 Allah (الله) The Greatest Name
2 Ar-Rahman (الرحمن) The All-Compassionate
3 Ar-Rahim (الرحيم) The All-Merciful
4 Al-Malik (الملك) The Absolute Ruler
5 Al-Quddus (القدوس) The Pure One
6 As-Salam (السلام) The Source of Peace
7 Al-Mu'min (المؤمن) The Inspirer of Faith
8 Al-Muhaymin (المهيمن) The Guardian
9 Al-Aziz (العزيز) The Victorious
10 Al-Jabbar (الجبار) The Compeller
11 Al-Mutakabbir (المتكبر) The Greatest
12 Al-Khaliq (الخالق) The Creator
13 Al-Bari' (البارئ) The Maker of Order
14 Al-Musawwir (المصور) The Shaper of Beauty
15 Al-Ghaffar (الغفار) The Forgiving
16 Al-Qahhar (القهار) The Subduer
17 Al-Wahhab (الوهاب) The Giver of All
18 Ar-Razzaq (الرزاق) The Sustainer
19 Al-Fattah (الفتاح) The Opener
20 Al-`Alim (العليم) The Knower of All
21 Al-Qabid (القابض) The Constrictor
22 Al-Basit (الباسط) The Reliever
23 Al-Khafid (الخافض) The Abaser
24 Ar-Rafi (الرافع) The Exalter
25 Al-Mu'izz (المعز) The Bestower of Honors
26 Al-Mudhill (المذل) The Humiliator
27 As-Sami (السميع) The Hearer of All
28 Al-Basir (البصير) The Seer of All
29 Al-Hakam (الحكم) The Judge
30 Al-`Adl (العدل) The Just
31 Al-Latif (اللطيف) The Subtle One
32 Al-Khabir (الخبير) The All-Aware
33 Al-Halim (الحليم) The Forbearing
34 Al-Azim (العظيم) The Magnificent
35 Al-Ghafur (الغفور) The Forgiver and Hiderof Faults
36 Ash-Shakur (الشكور) The Rewarder of Thankfulness
37 Al-Ali (العلى) The Highest
38 Al-Kabir (الكبير) The Greatest
39 Al-Hafiz (الحفيظ) The Preserver
40 Al-Muqit (المقيت) The Nourisher
41 Al-Hasib (الحسيب) The Accounter
42 Al-Jalil (الجليل) The Mighty
43 Al-Karim (الكريم) The Generous
44 Ar-Raqib (الرقيب) The Watchful One
45 Al-Mujib (المجيب) The Responder to Prayer
46 Al-Wasi (الواسع) The All-Comprehending
47 Al-Hakim (الحكيم) The Perfectly Wise
48 Al-Wadud (الودود) The Loving One
49 Al-Majid (المجيد) The Majestic One
50 Al-Ba'ith (الباعث) The Resurrector
51 Ash-Shahid (الشهيد) The Witness
52 Al-Haqq (الحق) The Truth
53 Al-Wakil (الوكيل) The Trustee
54 Al-Qawiyy (القوى) The Possessor of All Strength
55 Al-Matin (المتين) The Forceful One
56 Al-Waliyy (الولى) The Governor
57 Al-Hamid (الحميد) The Praised One
58 Al-Muhsi (المحصى) The Appraiser
59 Al-Mubdi' (المبدئ) The Originator
60 Al-Mu'id (المعيد) The Restorer
61 Al-Muhyi (المحيى) The Giver of Life
62 Al-Mumit (المميت) The Taker of Life
63 Al-Hayy (الحي) The Ever Living One
64 Al-Qayyum (القيوم) The Self-Existing One
65 Al-Wajid (الواجد) The Finder
66 Al-Majid (الماجد) The Glorious
67 Al-Wahid (الواحد) The One, the All Inclusive, The Indivisible
68 As-Samad (الصمد) The Satisfier of All Needs
69 Al-Qadir (القادر) The All Powerful
70 Al-Muqtadir (المقتدر) The Creator of All Power
71 Al-Muqaddim (المقدم) The Expediter
72 Al-Mu'akhkhir (المؤخر) The Delayer
73 Al-Awwal (الأول) The First
74 Al-Akhir (الأخر) The Last
75 Az-Zahir (الظاهر) The Manifest One
76 Al-Batin (الباطن) The Hidden One
77 Al-Wali (الوالي) The Protecting Friend
78 Al-Muta'ali (المتعالي) The Supreme One
79 Al-Barr (البر) The Doer of Good
80 At-Tawwab (التواب) The Guide to Repentance
81 Al-Muntaqim (المنتقم) The Avenger
82 Al-'Afuww (العفو) The Forgiver
83 Ar-Ra'uf (الرؤوف) The Clement
84 Malik-al-Mulk (مالك الملك) The Owner of All
85 Dhu-al-Jalal wa-al-Ikram (ذو الجلال و الإكرام) The Lord of Majesty and Bounty
86 Al-Muqsit (المقسط) The Equitable One
87 Al-Jami' (الجامع) The Gatherer
88 Al-Ghani (الغنى) The Rich One
89 Al-Mughni (المغنى) The Enricher
90 Al-Mani'(المانع) The Preventer of Harm
91 Ad-Darr (الضار) The Creator of The Harmful
92 An-Nafi' (النافع) The Creator of Good
93 An-Nur (النور) The Light
94 Al-Hadi (الهادي) The Guide
95 Al-Badi (البديع) The Originator
96 Al-Baqi (الباقي) The Everlasting One
97 Al-Warith (الوارث) The Inheritor of All
98 Ar-Rashid (الرشيد) The Righteous Teacher
99 As-Sabur (الصبور) The Patient One/

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Get Up and Do Your Thing

Life has been challenging lately. In July I've faced some financial
setbacks, and also some personal setbacks that have hit me hard, and
drained me emotionally to the point where sometimes I just sit in my
padded computer chair and don't feel like getting up. I feel like I
hardly have the energy to get up and prepare some food to eat, let
alone pray, work, go to class, care for my daughter…
And yet I do get up. I go out and teach a 2.5 hour martial arts class
and I do itwith vigor, because my students are looking to me for
guidance and inspiration. I get up and domy volunteer job at the
Muslim community center. I get up and take my daughter to the lake or
themasjid, and have a tea party with her, and read her the latest
chapter of "Fish Face". I laugh with her and love her with everything
I've got, because she needs me. I don't have time for self-pity.
I get up and do my thing, because that's what it is to be a man (or
woman), to be a father (or mother), to be a Muslim, to be a friend, to
be alive! You get up anddo what you have to do. You pick your foot up
and take a step, then lift the other one and take anotherstep, and
before you know it you are moving ahead, and time has passed and your
problems have diminished and don't hurt quite so much, or maybe you
have overcome them entirely, because you are experiencing the joy of
life.Your love for Allah, and your gratitude, and your attentiveness
to the beautyand blessings around you, all wash the pain away likea
river.
That's what it is to be alive.SubhanAllah.
So, to all those reading thisnow, I send you light and love, and I
know that no matter what physical or emotional aches you are
experiencing, you will rise each morning with gratitude, you will take
a step and move ahead, you will love and laugh, you will push
self-pity to the side and live your lives with commitment, in the
short time that we all haveon this beautiful ball of brown and blue.
One last note: Eat healthy foods, drink water and – very important –
get enough sleep. These are all critical to maintaining an emotional
balance and moving forward in life witha positive attitude.

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Allah guides those who struggle

Allah guides those who struggle. "And those who strive in Our cause,
We will surely guide them to Our paths." – Al-Ankaboot, 29:69.
Struggle may seem like something to be avoided, but the alternative is
to walk in dim light, seeing nothing clearly. If our lives consist of
sitting on the sofa watching TV, doing jobs without passion,
shruggingour shoulders at the suffering of others, and accepting the
unreality that is pushed at us by advertising and the media, then we
are living in shadow, even when the sun shines.
Yes, we all have bills to pay, and sometimes we work jobs that we are
not passionate about, in order to support our families. I have a
website about money transfer services, and another about paying bills
online. They are boring, but I spend time onthem because they earn
money. In my free time I struggle to do work that is important to me –
this website being a notable example. Even a short article might take
me two or three days to write, because of the limited timeI have to
work on it. Longer articles can take weeks. And yet people sometimes
tell me that my writing has changed their lives.
We can all find a little time every day to pursue what we love, and to
make a difference in people's lives, even in a small way. Beyond that,
we must strive to represent truth in everything we do: in our family
lives, our work, our entertainment – everything.
Imam Jamil Al-Amin wrote in 2006:
"In the heart there is an emptiness and a need which nothing can
satisfy except for the remembrance of Allah (swt). The only proof of
faith is in struggle, struggling in word and deed, in body and soul.
Thelack of faith will crush you far more than defeat ever could. 'And
what will explain to you the path that is steep?' (90:12). Conscious
struggle is the path that is steep. Struggle where bitter hardship and
misfortune and difficulty becomes sweet tasting to the soul."
There is no road to success except through the struggle for truth and
righteousness. This is actually good news, because if you're a seeker,
if you've got a nose for truth, if you care about justice, then you're
already struggling, walking a hard road. It's inevitable. Those who
pursue truth and speak it out loud are seen as strangers and
subversives. You might wonder sometimes if it's worth it, or if you're
moving in the right direction.
Don't worry. The fact that you're struggling means that Allah is
guiding you, and you're on the right road.

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