Fruits of Reliance upon Allaah The Almighty

1. Triumph:
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): "If Allaah should aid you, no
one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that
can aid you after Him? And upon Allaah let the believers rely." [Quran
3:160]
The command of Allaah The Almighty in the verse to rely uponHim came
after the mention of victory so as to show that one of the means of
attaining victory is to rely upon Him.
2. Protection from the accursed devil:
Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): "Indeed, there is for him no
authority over those who havebelieved and rely upon their Lord."
[Quran 16:99]
3. Courage:
He, who relies upon Allaah The Exalted, will never fear anyone or
anything. It was reported that Anas ibn Maalik said, "The Prophet was
the best and most courageous of people. Oncethe people of Madeenah
were frightened (having heard a loud sound); so, the Prophet,
sallallaah'alayhi wa sallam,met the people while he was riding an
unsaddledhorse belonging to Abu Talhah and carrying his sword (slung
over his shoulder). The Prophet said (to them): "Do not be afraid, do
not be afraid."' Then Anas added, "We found it, (i.e. the horse), very
quick." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Furthermore, Hannaad ibn As-Sariyy reported in his book Az-Zuhd that
Shaqeeq ibn Salamah Abu Waa'il said,"We went out on a scary night and
passed by a thicket where we saw a sleeping man and his horse was tied
beside him. We woke him up and exclaimed, 'How could you sleep in the
open thicket like that?' The man woke up, raised his head, looked at
us and said, 'I feel bashful and ashamed to fear other than Allaah The
Almighty, the Owner of the Honorable Throne.' He uttered these words
and went back to sleep."
4. Sustenance:
'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab reported that the Prophet said: "If only you
rely upon Allaah with due reliance, He would provide you with
sustenance as He provides birds; they leave (their nest early) in the
morning hungry and then return in the evening with their bellies
full." [Ibn Maajah and At-Tirmithi]
5. An indication of true faith:
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {The believers are only those
who, when Allaah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when
His Verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon
their Lord they rely –} [Quran 8:2]
Allaah The Almighty also Says in seven verses (what means): {… Upon
Allaah the believers should rely.} [Quran 3:122]
Sa'eed ibn Jubayr said,"Reliance upon Allaah is the essence of faith."
[Az-Zuhd by Hannaad] Moreover, Ibn Al-Qayyim related, "Reliance upon
Allaah constitutes half of one's religion and the other half is
turning to Allaah in repentance; for religion has two parts; seeking
support (from Allaah) and worshipping (Him); for reliance upon Allaah
is seeking His Support and turning to Allaah in repentance is
worshipping Him." [Madaarij As-Saalikeen]
6. Preservation and protection:
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {… and rely upon Allaah. And sufficient is Allaah as Disposer of
affairs.} [Quran 4:81]
• {… And whoever relies upon Allaah – then He is Sufficient for him.}
[Quran 65:3]
• {But whoever relies upon Allaah– then indeed, Allaah is Exalted in
might and Wise." [Quran 8:49]
Ibn Abi Ad-Dunya in his book At-Tawakkul, related, "'Awn ibn
'Abdullaah reported,
'A grief stricken man was sitting in a garden in Egypt during the
Fitnah of Ibn Az-Zubayr scraping the ground with something. A man with
a shovel passed by this man and asked him, 'Why are you sad and
depressed?' The sad man looked as if he despised the questioner and
said, 'Nothing.' The man inquired, 'Are you sad over a worldly affair;
indeed, this life is ephemeral. The fleeting pleasuresof this life are
for both pious and impious people, yet the Hereafteris a promised day
when Allaah, the Just and Powerful, will judge between falsehood and
truth.'
'The sad man liked his words andresponded on the condition of the
Muslims nowadays. The man answered him, 'Indeed, Allaah The Exalted
will save you due to your compassion and love for your fellow Muslims;
implore Allaah The Exalted; for who has beseeched Him and his
supplication was rejected? Who has asked Him and his request was
denied? Who relied upon Him and faced failure? Who trusted Him and was
disappointed?'
'The sad man supplicated: 'O Allaah, save me and save others from me.'
Allaah The Exalted protected him and his people from that Fitnah and
they were not afflicted by any harm."
7. Winning the love of Allaah The Almighty:
Allaah The Almighty also Says (what means): { Indeed, Allaah loves
those who rely [upon Him].} [Quran 3:159]
8. The best fruit is entering Paradise:
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And those who have believed
and done righteous deeds – We will surely assign to them of Paradise
[elevated] chambers beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide
eternally. Excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers * Who
have been patient and upon theirLord rely.} [Quran 29:58-59]
Moreover, Ibn 'Abbaas narrated that the Prophet said:
"Nations were displayed before me; one or two prophets would pass by
along with a few followers. A prophet would pass by accompanied by
nobody. Then a large crowd of people passed infront of me and I asked,
'Who arethey? Are they my followers?' It was said, 'No. It is Moosa
(Moses) and his followers. It was said to me, 'Look at the horizon.'
Behold!There was a multitude of people filling the horizon. Then it
was said to me, 'Look there and there about the stretching sky!
Behold! There was a multitude filling the horizon,' It was said to me,
'This is your Ummah out of whom seventy thousand shall enter Paradise
without reckoning.'"
Then the Prophet entered his house without telling his Companions, may
Allah be pleased with them, who they (the seventy thousand who will
enter Paradise without account) were. So the people started talking
about the issue and said,"It is we who have believed in Allaah and
followed His Messenger; therefore those people are either ourselves or
ourchildren who are born in the Islamic era, for we were born in the
pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance.''
When the Prophet heard of this, he came out and said: "Those people
are those who do not seek Ruqyah, nor do they believe in or see an
evil omen in things nor do they get themselves branded (cauterized),
but they depend (only) upon theirLord." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Reliance should be only upon Allaah:
One may say, "If it were not for Allaah The Exalted then so and so…",
if that person was a means to achieve your goal. Yet, it is
impermissible to say, "I relied upon Allaah The Exalted then on so and
so..." Moreover, it is even worse to say, "I rely upon Allaah The
Exalted and so and so"; Allaah The Exalted Says (what means):
• {Say, "I am not over you a manager.} [Quran 6:66]
• {… That you not take other thanMe as Disposer of affairs…} [Quran17:2]
• {… Upon Allaah the believers should rely.} [Quran 3:122]
Hence, seeking other than Allaah The Almighty for help is permissible,
but reliance upon any other than Him, the Exalted, is impermissible.
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Means of Acquiring Refined Morals

Undeniably, changing one's morals for the better is the toughest
change for the human being, but it is not impossible. There are many
ways and methods to help one acquire refined morals, which include
thefollowing:
Pure creed:
Having a pure creed is a serious matter, as one's conduct and behavior
are, very often, the fruits of one's creed and ideology. A person's
conduct is the practical translation of what he believes in.
Accordingly, any sense of deviation in behavior is the result of a
defective creed. The Prophet said: ~ "The believers who are the most
perfect in respect of their faith are those who have the best
morals."~~
Supplication:
Indeed, supplications are a great means to attain refined morals; once
Allaah The Exalted Accepted a person's supplications, he will be
showered with bounties and graces.
Hence, he who aspires to be well-mannered, giving up his badmorals,
should resort to supplication. In fact, the Prophet used to implore
Allaah The Exalted to Grant him good morals. He used to supplicate:
"Allaahumma Ihdini li Ahsan Al-Akhlaaq, la yahdi li ahsaniha illa
anta, wa Isrif 'anni sayi'aha, layasrifu 'Anni sayi'aha illa anta (O
Allaah, Guide me to the best morals, as none can guide to the best
morals except You, and Save me from bad morals, as none cansave me
from bad morals except You)."
Striving:
Acquiring refined morals is a form of guidance that one acquires
through exerting great effort. Allaah The Exalted Says (what means):#
{And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways.
And indeed, Allaah Is with the doers of good.}## [Quran 29: 96]
Self-reckoning:
This can be done through self-criticism; whenever one commits a
reprehensible deed, he can adopt the carrot-and-stickprinciple.
Reflecting on the implications and fruits of refined morals and
pondering over its good consequences is one of the greatest reasons
that drive one to strive to acquire that quality. Moreover, bear in
mind that the harder the deed is, the greater itsreward becomes.
Pondering on the consequences of bad morals:
This reflection brings to mind theevil consequences of bad morals:
they give rise to pain, grief, worry, misery, regret and hatred in the
hearts of people.
Patience:
Indeed, patience is one of the major moral bases of the Muslim
character and is one of the fundamental refined morals. Patience helps
people to endure and accept calamities, restrain their anger, adopt
forbearance, kindness, sympathy, and shun recklessness and haste.
Justice:
Justice urges one to maintain a balance in terms of morals, i.e. tobe
moderate in one's morals and not to be excessive or lax; not to be
cowardly or reckless, or lenient, in a negative sense, and angry. -
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Close the Open Doors

On our journey towards handling the ‎problem of sexual desires that
embitter the life of many Muslim ‎young men, let us discuss an
important issue that will help you ‎release yourself from the
captivity of sexual desires, namely, ‎"closing the open doors".‎
Here, the words "open doors" stand for everything that is related to
sexual‎ desire and sins, and for the things that can lure you to
return to them once more. Hence, your sincere repentance and honest
determination to abandon such sins requires making haste to close
these doors, which include the satellite dish, internet, magazines,
and other remnants of that past.
Taking this important decision requires a moment of truthfulness with
yourself, because you must get rid of all that can take you back to
your past, just as you have got rid of your past itself.
You must take the decision to leave the swamps of sin for the gardens
of obedience and closeness to Allaah The Exalted, like the one who
killed a hundredpeople and then Allaah The Exalted admitted him to
Paradise due to his sincere repentance.
Take the decision to get rid of everything that reminds you of the
dismal past, and that supports and gives power to yourdevil over you.
These decisions require taking the following steps:
1- Tear up all the immoral magazines that you keep. Then remove the
pictures that are hung on the walls of your room and replace them with
posters ofHadeeths (narrations) and things that remind you of Allaah
The Almighty. You could also put up pictures of natural scenery.
2- Destroy video tapes, CDs or films that you keep on your PC by
deleting them, and replace them with religious or scientific lectures
and materials.
3- Purify your PC from any pornographic sites and then force yourself
not to return to these sites by installing anti-pornsoftware on your
PC to block any pornographic sites.
4- You must immediately sever your relationship/s, if you have any,
with girls, and you must erase their phone numbers that you keep.
These steps will not be hard to take as long as you have a good
intention and strong determination, as Ibn Al-Qayyim said in
Al-Fawaa'id,
"Whoever abandons habits for the sake of ‎other than Allaah The
Almighty, will surely face difficulty. However, ‎whoever abandons
habits for the sake of Allaah The Almighty sincerely from his ‎heart;
he will not find any difficulty in abandoning it except at first.
(This initial difficulty) is to test if ‎one is sincere and truthful.
If he endures this difficulty for a short time, it will turn ‎into
pleasure. Ibn Seereen said, 'I heard Shurayhswear by Allaah; no slave
of Allaah abandons something for the sake of Allaah and feels a sense
of loss.' It is said, 'Whoeverabandons anything for ‎the ‎sake of
Allaah, He will compensate him with what is better.' ‎Of course,
‎compensation is of different kinds and the best is to ‎be
‎compensated by Allaah with His love, and the heart's tranquility,
satisfaction, strength, activity, happiness, and contentment."
Thus, be patient, because the sweetness of good health enables one to
endure the bitterness of medicine. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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Friday Prayers, - Speaking during the interval when the imaam falls silent between the two khutbahs.

Is it permissible to speak during the interval when the imaam falls
silent between the two khutbahs at Jumu'ah (Friday) prayer? Is it
permissible to make a gesture by pointing to one's lips with one's
forefinger in order to remind a person that he should not speak during
the khutbah?
Praise be to Allaah. It is permissible to speak during the interval
when the imaam falls silent between the two khutbahs, if there is a
need to do so. It is OK to gesture to one who speaks whilst the imaam
is preaching, to tell him to be quiet, just as it is also permissible
to gesture during the prayer if there is a need to do so. May Allaah
helpus all.
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi'ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh
al-'Allaamah 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn 'Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have
mercy on him), part12, p. 337 - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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