Two things that he feared -Islamic Stories

It is said about Shaddad ibne Aws (RA) that he once began to cry.
People asked about his crying, and he replied: It is something I heard
from Rasulullah (SAW) which makes me weep when I remember it.
Rasulullah (SAW) had said: I fear for my peoplefrom Shirk (ascribing
partners to Allah) and Hidden Desires. Shaddad(RA) says: I had asked:
O Rasulullah! Would your people be guilty of idolatry after your
death? Rasulullah (SAW) had replied: Yes (but) they will not worship
the sun, the moon, a stone or an idol; but they will act for display
(without sincerity). Hidden Desire is that oneof them will start the
dayfasting, but when one ofhis desires will present itself to him; he
will abandon his fast (and satisfy his desire). Source: Musnad Ahmed.
Let us not worship nicelyso that others can see and praise us. Today,
wewear beautiful clothes and jewelleries when attending an invitation
or meeting a renowned person. Whereas, when the pious people of the
past would get up for tahajjud prayer at night,they would wear their
best clothes, put on the surma and decorate themselves nicely to stand
in front of Allah.

Duas

1. At the begining of making wudu
-
Prophet (SAW)'s Prayers
At the begining of making wudu
Recite:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
"I begin in the name of Allah, who is the Most Merciful, Most Gracious".
It is stated in the hadith that one should begin wudhu with Allah's
name. No words have been specified and our elders read the above. It
is recorded in some ahadith that wudhu is valid although no"Bismillah"
is recited.
(Mishkat)
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2. During wudu
-
Prophet (SAW)'s Prayers
During wudu
Recite:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي ذَنْبِي وَوَسِّعْ لِي فِي دَارِي وَبَارِكْ لِي
فِي رِزْقِي
"O Allah, forgive my sins and widen my grave and grant barakat in my
Rizq (sustenance)".
(Hisnul Hasin)
**********************
3. On completion of wudu
-
Prophet (SAW)'s Prayers
On completion of wudu
Look towards the sky andrecite:
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ
وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدَهُ وَرَسُولَهُ
"I testify that there is no one worthy of worship besides Allah. He is
all by Himself and has no partner and I testify that Muhammad is
Allah's Rasul (Messenger)".
Eight doors of Jannah will be open for the reciter of this dua. He
willbe able to enter from whichever door he pleases. (Mishkat)
It is recorded in the samenarration that the dua should be recited three times.
(Hisnul Hasin)
Thereafter this dua should be recited
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
"O Allah, count me (make me) among those who seek forgiveness and
amongst those who stay clean".
(Hisnul Hasin)
Also recite this dua
سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا
أَنْتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبَ إِلَيْكَ
"O Allah, You are pure, I praise You and testify that only You are
worthy of worship and I seek forgiveness from You (I turn to You for
forgiveness).
(Hisnul Hasin, from Mustadrak)
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Death is not the end

Every self will taste death. We test you with both good and evil as a
trial. And you will be returned to Us. (Surat al-Anbiya': 35)
Death, which is certain to happen to all of us, is a very important
fact in one's life. We can never know exactly what we will experience
in an hour or even in the next moment. This being the case, it is
obvious how wrong it would be to plan our lives based on events that
may never happen. Death, on the other hand, is the only thing that is
certain to happen. Only the recognition of this basic truth makes us
understand that we must found our lives according to it. Death is also
a part of the trial of man. Allah informs us in the Qur'an that He
created death and life totry man:
He Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action.
He is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving. (Surat al-Mulk: 2)
Death is the end of merely the life of this world-thus the end of the
trial-and the beginning of the next life. For this reason, believers
have no fear ofdeath. The thought of death does not distress them,
because, every moment of their lives is spent in the pursuit of good
deeds as preparation for the Hereafter.
For unbelievers, however, fear causes them great distress, because
they consider it a complete annihilation. Thus, they avoid the thought
of death and they don't even let that thought pass their mindsand they
escape from death. But it is futile. No soul can escape death when the
predetermined time for it has come. This, in a verse, is stressed as
follows:
Wherever you are, deathwill catch up with you, even if you are in
impregnable fortresses...(Surat an-Nisa': 78)
To avoid the thought of death is to avoid the truth. As death will
eventually catch up with man sooner or later, it is wise to conduct
oneself with a mind busy with the thought of death. This is the
rational disposition by which believers abide. Until death comes upon
them,they engage in good deeds, as Allah commands us in the Qur'an:
And worship your Lord until what is Certain comes to you. (Surat al-Hijr: 99)
Thinking about death strengthens one's spirit and will. It prevents
one's lower soul from leading him astray, by being lured through the
false temptations of this world. It instils him with the resolve and
determination to avoid all forms of behaviour unpleasing to Allah. It
is for this reason that a believer must often think about death,
neverforgetting that all people, including himself, will someday die.
From the Qur'an, we learn what really happens to someone who dies, and
what he or she actually experiences and feels. When we see someone
dying, we only observe his "biological death." The truth is, however,
the dying person, though in a totally different dimension, confronts
the angels of death. If he is a unbeliever, his death causes him great
pain. The angels of death, after extracting his soul, beat and torment
him. A unbeliever's trauma is described as follows:
...If you could only see the wrongdoers in the throes of death when
the angels are stretchingout their hands, saying,"Disgorge your own
selves! Today you will berepaid with the punishment of humiliation for
saying something other than the truth about Allah, and being arrogant
about His Signs." (Surat al-An'am: 93)
How will it be when the angels take them in death, beating their faces
and their backs? That is because they followed what angers Allah and
hated what is pleasing to Him. So He made their actions cometo
nothing. (Surah Muhammad: 27-28)
Death promises great joyand bliss for the believers. Contrary to
unbelievers, whose soulsare torn from them violently, the souls of
believers are drawn from them gently. (Surat an-Nazi'at: 2) This
experience is similar to the case of the soul in sleep, which leaves
the body and moves into a different dimension (Surat az-Zumar: 42). In
the verses, the followingis stated regarding believers:
Gardens of Eden which they enter, with rivers flowing under them,
where they have whatever they desire. That is how Allah repays those
who have fear for Him: those the angels take in a virtuous state. They
say, "Peace be uponyou! Enter Paradise for what you did." (Surat
an-Nahl: 31-32)

Sin and repentance

One of the reasons for people's detachment from the morality of the
religion is that they consider themselves unforgivable out of the deep
distress they feel because of the sins they have committed. Satan
attempts repeatedly to instil such groundless thoughts in human
beings. To one who has committed a sin, he stealthily whispers the
message, "You are wicked and rebellious against Allah." If he has
committed only a few sins, satan tempts him tosin still more. Towards
his purpose, satan employs the feeling of embarrassment man feels
towards Allah, but manipulates this feeling in order to draw man
further distant from Allah.
However, like all others, this trick of satan's is a feeble one. The
fact that someone committed a sin does not mean that he has been
cursed by Allah, and that he will never be able to follow the straight
path again. Not just one simple sin, but even if he were to commit the
greatest sins,over and over again, he will always have the opportunity
to repent and turn towards Allah. Allah informs us in the Qur'an that
He will forgive each person whosincerely repents of his sins, that is,
asks for forgiveness and remains firm in not committing the same sin
again:
But if anyone repents after his wrongdoing and puts things right,
Allah will turn towards him. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
(Surat al-Ma'ida: 39)
Allah is infinite in mercy. In a verse of the Qur'an, He provides the
good news to His servants, "...I am the Ever-Returning, the Most
Merciful" (Suratal-Baqara: 160). Every individual has the opportunity
to repent. Allah even accepted the repentance of some Jews, who went
astray and worshipped an idol they made out of gold, after having
believed in Him, and forgave them:
And when Moses said to his people, "My people, You wronged yourselves
by adopting the Calf so turn towards your Makerand kill your own
(guilty) selves. That is thebest thing for you in your Maker's sight."
And He (Allah) turned towards you. He is the Ever-Returning, the Most
Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara: 54)
After repentance and asking for Allah's forgiveness, a person may well
again become heedless, committing thesame sin again. In fact, this may
happen many times over. However, provided that that person repents
once andfor all, and is committed to not sin again, he may hope for
Allah's mercy.
Nevertheless, as it is in every issue, the important factor is
sincerity. An insincere action is unacceptable inAllah's sight. If one
is notresolved to ending his sinning, and says, "I will repent
eventually," he is clearly insincere, which is likely to bring sorrow
to man. Allah warns those who hold such rationale as follows:
Allah only accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignoranceand
then quickly make repentance after doing it. Allah turns towards such
people. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. There is no repentance for
people who persist in doing evil until death comes to them and who
then say, "Now I make repentance," nor for people who die unbeliever.
We have prepared for them a painful punishment. (Surat an-Nisa':
17-18)

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