* Sayyid-il-Istighfaar:

Sayyid-il-Istighfaar:
It is related that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) once
remarked that the following prayer was Sayyid-il-Istighfaar (the
leader of all the prayer ofIstighfaar).
O Allah! Thou art my Lord.There is no God save thee. Thou art my
Creatorand I am Thy slave. I abide by Thy covenant and promise as best
as I can. I seek refuge in Theefrom the mischief of what I have
wrought. I acknowledge unto Thee Thy favour which Thou hast bestowed
upon me, I also confess my sins; so forgive me, for none forgiveth
sins save Thee.
Says the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam):
"He who will offer repentance and beg the forgiveness of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) reciting this prayer with faith and sincerity
during day-timethen if he died on that day before nightfall, he shall
go to Heaven, and he who will recite it at night, with faith and
sincerity, and then if he died on that night, before day-break, he
shall go to Heaven."
The three Kalimahs of Taubah we have mentioned above are quite easy to remember.
"Blessed, indeed, is the man in whose record the profusion of Taubah
is written."
What has been stated in these lessons of this smallvolume will,
InshaaAllah, suffice for anyone for theattainment of Divine pleasure
and paradise. It seems appropriate here to give a brief resume of the
whole discussion before bringing the bookto a close.
The first principle of Islam and the most essential prerequisite of
deliverance and the attainments of paradise is that a man affirms his
faith in the Kalimah of After that, he should try to acquire knowledge
of the tenets of Islam at least as far as it is necessary to know them
in order to be a good Muslim. His constant endeavour should be to
observe the Islamic teachings faithfully and to carry outsincerely the
Divine commandments regarding the Rights of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) as well as the Rights of man and good social and moral
behaviour. When there may occur a lapse on his part in respect of
these matters he should feel genuinely sorry over it and repent to
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and seek His forgiveness. He should
resolve honestly not to be guilty of the transgression again. If hehas
transgressed against a fellow being by violating his rights or doing
him any other harm he should seek his pardon and make amends for his
fault or misconduct or pay suitable compensation asthe case my be.
In the same way, the effort of a Muslim should always be that the love
of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and of His Apostle (Sallallahu Alaihe
Wasallam) and his Faith should be stronger in his heart than that of
anyone or anything else in the world. He should remain steadfast in
faith and waver not in the least form the path of duty to Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and the Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam)
whatever the circumstances are. He should also, as a matter of duty,
take some part or another in the preaching and propagation of Islam.
It isan act of outstanding virtue and merit and a most special legacy
of theProphets. In the present age, particularly, its valueis
much greater than that of all other forms of prayers and worships
(other than obligatory) and when a person devotes himself to it, his
devotion to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), the Prophet (Sallalla!iu
Alaihe Wasallam) and the Faith also develops and becomes stronger.
Among the other prayers,if possible, one should develop the habit of
Tahajjud. Its auspiciousness is of the very highest.
One must always be on one's guard against sin, specially against the
major sins, like adultery, stealing, falsehood, drinkand dishonest in
monetary affairs.
It is advisable to do someZikr every day. In case it may not be
possible to spare more time for it, one should recite at least
Kalimah-i Tamjid.
Or only and Istighfaar and Durood Shareef, a hundred timeseach,
morning and evening.
Time should also be set aside for the daily reading of the Holy
Quraan. It should be done with due religious respect and reverence.
After every obligatory Salaah and at bedtime the
Tasbeehaat-i-Fatimahmay also be recited.
For those who aspire for more, the advice is to seek guidance from a
spiritual mentor who may be worthy of it. The last thing to be said in
this connection is that the company of true, pious and exalted
devotees of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and attachment and
devotionto them is the very elixir of religious and spiritual
existence. If this can fall to the lot of anyone all the rest will
follow automatically.

TAUBAH

Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) sent down His Apostles into the world
and revealed His Books through them so that men may learn to
distinguish good from evil, virtue from vice, andearn for themselves
Divine approbation and deliverence in the life to come by abstaining
from the wicked and the unlawful and adopting what was good and
virtuous. Thus those who reject the faith and refuse to believe in the
Prophets (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) and theDivine guidence with
which they had been raised up their whole existence. So to speak, is
one of defiance and transgresion. They are totally indifferent to the
message sent down by Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa). They will have
nothing to do with it. Unless they believe in the Messengers and
Apostles raised up by Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and in the Holy
Scriptures revealed by Him, and particularly in the Last of the
prophets. Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) and theDivine
Book he brought, i.e., the Holy Quraan and accept his guidance they
can never hope to attain the good pleasure of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) and success and salvation in the Hereafter. The denial of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), His Apostles and His Books is not
pardonable. It cannot be condoned. This fact has been made abundantly
clear by every prophet ofAllah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) during his
time. In any case it is essential for the salvationof the Apostates
and Polytheists that they first of all renounce Apostasy and
Polytheism and take to the path of Faith and Monotheism. Without it
salvation is not possible.
Those who believe in the prophets and affirm theirintention to live
according to their teachings also sometimesfall into error. They are
misled by the Devil or by their own baser instincts and impulses into
committing a sin. For such defaulters Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa)
has kept the door of Taubah (Repentance) open.
Taubah means that if a person slips into folly andbe guilty of a sin
or an act of transgression against the law of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) he should feel genuinely sorry and ashamed over it, and
resolve sincerely not to do so again, and seek theforgiveness of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) with all his heart. It is stated in the Holy
Quraan and the Traditions that by doing only this much a man's sin is
forgiven and he succeeds in winning the pleasure of the Almighty.
It is essential to know that Taubah is not vocal penitence. It is not
at all a matter of uttering so many words of repentance. The sorrow
must be sincere, the shame must be felt in theheart and the resolution
not to repeat the folly and be guilty of the sin again must be totally
genuine.
It is like this, suppose in afit of temper or in a moment of acute
depression a person swallows poison with theintention of killing
himself. But when the poison begins to work and a thousand knives
begin to tear his intestines into pieces andhe knows that death is
near, he repents his folly and cries out in desperation for medical
relief. Now, at that time, his first thought will be that if he
survived he would never touch the poison again or think of committing
suicide. This exactly should be the state of the man who repents after
sin. His heart should be seized bythe fear of Divine Chastisement, the
resolution not to repeat the act again should be an honest resolution
and so also his entreaties to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) for
forgiveness.
If such a state of feelings is realised by a person in any degree he
should be sure that the stain of sin has been washed way and the gates
of mercy have opened for him. After such a Taubah the sinner is
completely absolved of his sin, he is thoroughly sanctified and
becomes even dearer in the sight of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) than
he was before, so much so that sometimes a person succeeds in
attaining, through Taubah, a place which would be hard to reach even
after a hundred years of prayer and fasting.
All this that we have said on the subject of Taubah was derived
entirely from the twin sources of the Holy Quraan and the Traditions.
We are going now to consider some of the relevant verses of theHoly
Quraan:
O ye who believe! Turn toAllah with sincere repentance: in the hope
that your Lord will remove from you your illsand admit you to Gardens
beneath which rivers flow. [LXVI:8]
Why turn they not to Allah, and seek His forgiveness? For Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [V:74]
When those come to theewho believe in Our Signs,say: "Peace be on you!
your Lord hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy: Verily, if
any of you did evil in ignorance,and thereafter repented, and amended
(his conduct). Lo, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [VI:54]
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) says, 'O My Creatures! you commit
follies day and night and I can forgive them all. So,seek My
forgiveness. I will forgive."
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) extends the arms of Mercy and
Forgiveness every night so that the sinners of the day may repent and
seek His pardon and every dayso that the sinners of the night may
repent and seek His pardon and it shall be like this with Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) till the sun rises from the West near the
Doomsday."
"A man committed a sin and then he prayed to Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa), 'O Lord! I have sinned. Forgive me'.Upon this, the Lord
observed, 'My servant knows that there is a Lord, Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa), who can punish him for his sin as well as forgive. I have
forgiven the sin of My servant.' The person abstained from sin as long
as the Lord wished after which he again went astray and fell into
transgression. He once again prayed to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa),
'O Lord! I have sinned. Forgive me.'The Lord observed, 'My sinning
servant knows that there is a Lord, Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), who
can chastise him for sinning as well as forgive. I have forgiven the
sin of My servant'. He remained free from sin as long as the Lord
wished and then was again guilty of it. Once again he prayed to Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), 'O Lord! I have sinned. Forgive me'.The Lord
observed, 'My servant knows for certainthat there is a Lord, Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), who can punish as well as forgive him for his
sin. I have forgiven the sin of My servant'."
"One who seeks Divine forgiveness after sin, becomes like one who has
never been guilty of a sin."
These Traditions show how Merciful and Oft-Forgiving is the Lord. To
get emboldened by them and to start indulging freely in sinful
activities on the strength of Taubah is not worthy of a Muslim. Such
verses and Traditions should, onthe contrary, lend greater strength to
the love of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa). They should make one feel
that it really was the height of meanness to act against the wishes of
such a Compassionate and Benevolent Lord. If a master be of a most
kind and affectionate nature, would it become his servants to pay back
his kindness and affection by violating his wishes and disobeying his
commands?
What these verses and Traditions seek to conveyis that should a person
succumb to the temptations of the Devil or to his own ignoble desires
and inclinations and commit a sin he mustnot despair of the mercy of
the Lord and lose all hope of salvation. He should, on the other hand,
turn his back immediately on the lapseand try earnestly to remove its
stain through Taubah, by begging Allah(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), in all
sincerity, His forgiveness. The Almighty, in His Infinite Mercy, will
forgive and instead of being angry with him, Hewill become even more
pleased for regretting sincerely what he had done and turning to Him
hopefully for remission. ATradition states:
"When a man turns to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) after sin and
repents sincerely for his folly it makes Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa)
even happier than a rider whose mount may have thrown him down in a
vast desert and fled awaywith all the journey's provisions laden on
its back, and, when the rider may have resigned himself to his fate
and satdown under a tree to wait for his death, the animal may return,
all of a sudden, with the provisions intact and the rider may catch
hold of itand blurt out (stupidly) in sheer joy, 'O Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa), Thou, indeed, art my slave and me thy Master'." The
Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) says, "The pleasure, this person
feels after getting his mount back, Allah (Subhaanabu Wata'aalaa)
Almighty is pleased more than that ifhis sinner servant repents."
If, after knowing these verses and Traditions, someone still fails to
seekDivine forgiveness and approbation by offering repentance for his
sins through Taubah and resolving not to fall into error again he,
emphatically, is most unfortunate.
Many people are inclinedto take a most complacent attitude, towards
Taubah. They say, "We are healthy and strong, so what's the hurry? We
will do Taubahbefore dying." Brothers! This is an extremely dangerous
deception which the Devil practices on us. Deprived as he hashimself
of Divine Mercy and Beneficence and earned a permanent abode in the
Hell, he wants us also to go his way. No one knows when death may
strike. Thus, we should considerevery day to be the last day of our
lives and lose no time in begging the forgiveness of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) if and when we have been guilty of an evil. This, alone,
is the path of wisdom. It is stated candidly in the Holy Quraan that:
Allah accepts the repentance of those whodo evil in ignorance, and
repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy, for Allah is
full of knowledge and wisdom. Of no effect is the repentance of those
whocontinue to do evil, until death faces one of them, and he says,
"Now have I repented indeed!" Nor ofthose who die rejecting faith: for
them have We prepared a punishment most grievous. [V:17-18]
We should catch time by the forelock and realise the value of life
that is left to us. We should not put off Taubah by a moment; we must
not procrastinate. We ought to set about, at once, reforming our ways.
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) alone knowswhen death is going to make
its call on us, and then, it may be too late. Who can tell whether, at
that time, we will get theopportunity to offer Taubah or not?
Brothers! We all have seen people dying. The general experience is
that a person dies in the same state in which he has led his life. It
does not happen that a personmay have spent all his days in folly and
negligence and, then, suddenly repented and turned into a saint a day
or two before his death. Hence, a man who wants to die in a state of
Taqwaa, for him it is necessary to become pious in his lifetime. Then
alone can he hope to die as a good Muslim, by the grace of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), and to be raised up with the faithful and the
righteous in the Hereafter.
If after offering repentance for a sin a person may be guilty of the
same sin again there is no need for him to feelso frustrated over it
as to lose faith in Divine Mercifulness. He should offer Taubah
quickly again, and if again he may break it, he should not hesitate in
offering itonce more even if it be a thousand times. Whenever he will
repent with a sincere heart it is the promise of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) that He will accept his repentance and forgive him. The
benevolence of the Lord, and His Paradise, is infinite.
Words of Taubah
From the foregoing it would have been clear that in words or language
a person may offer Taubah Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will listen
and accept his penitence.But the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe
Wasallam) has laid down certain specific phrases or prayers in this
regard which he used to recite himself. These prayers, surely, are
most auspicious, most worthy of His acceptance and most pleasing to
Him. Weare reproducing some of these here for you to learn by heart
and recite for seeking divine forgiveness.
I beg the forgiveness of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) save Whom there
is no God, the living, the Eternal. Unto Him do I turn penitent.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has said, "Whoever will offer
penitence to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and implore His forgiveness
through this Kalimah, Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will forgive him
even if he has fled ofJihad which is a most mortal sin in the sight of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa)."
And again: "Whoever willrecite this Kalimah thrice before going to
sleep Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will forgive his sins even though
theymay be as profuse as the foam of the sea."
Sometimes the sacred Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) used to
recite only (I implore the forgiveness of the Lord). It is a very
brief phrase and we should try to cultivate the habit of repeating it
every now and then.

--

- - - - -

And Allah Knows the Best!

- - - - -

Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

True stories » Am I jealous or is he a philanderer?

I am trying to answer thisquestion, but trust me, it's very difficult!
I love my husband very much; we have been married for 8 years now, the
first three of which we were separated, because we used to live in
different countries. But now we are already together.
It was all perfect at the beginning and I was even scared to share it,
because we all know the saying that "Too much good is not good".
I started noticing that whenever we are in a company with lots of
handsome men around, my husband stays close and is very kind to me. I
find this normal and it actually really pleases me.I think this is the
normal way to treat your wife. I love showing people how much I love
my husband and it makes mehappy when they see it, and when I do it.
The problem is that when we are in a company with lots of pretty
women, he changes completely: he doesn't touch me at all, even more,
he keeps away from me or if I manage to somehow demonstrate that he is
my husband and I love him, he acts unpleasantly surprised and stands
still, but with the other women he is smiling and more than friendly.
Sometimes he would talk to a woman over my seat for 10-15 minutes and
never even look at me, not to mention to includeme in the
conversation. I sometimes think of leaving the place in orderto see
how much time it would take him to realizethat I'm gone.
I think it would take him at least an hour, if in the meantime he
doesn't see a handsome man close by.
Every time he is introduced to a woman, he would hug her, which I find
normal, but then hewould look her over fromhead to toe while talkingto
her. Another thing, whenever a woman calls him on the phone he is so
enthusiastic, and if you hear him you would think it's the happiest
day of his life, but then when I call him, he is awfully indifferent,
it is so terrible. He acts the same way when I tell himhis favorite
team won over their biggest competitor for the title.
Having described that (I have plenty more cases to share, it's so sad
that the unpleasant memoriesare now more than the pleasant ones)
please help me understand if I am being too jealous.
I need your advice badly, because I am on the edgeof a divorce!
Thank you in advance!

True stories » Cheating was the best thing I ever did.

At the tender age of twenty years, I have beenlucky enough to fall in
love 3 times. Sometimes I think I fall in love too easy. Or maybe I
have justbeen lucky. Or have I merely followed the way I think
relationships should go, conducive of media pressures?
The reason I bring this upis a recent actualisation of my long
oppressed feelings towards a guy, who is relatively new in my life.
Warren, a colleague from work, had given me the most emotionally
confusing, yet amazing 6 months of my life. Trying to work out what I
want, and my feelings for him amongst this, has been indescribably
scary. But ithas also brought me to some sort of awakening.
Intrigued?! I hope so.
I'll start with the past. My first boyfriend, Peter, was a great guy.
I was 15 and he was two years older than me in school. He played the
drums and was a little bit rebellious, without being too mad for my
church going parents. We really were madly in love, but in the end we
grew more into best friends than anything else. I don't regret my time
with any of my past boyfriends, but as Peter and I figuredout how this
whole 'relationship' idea worked, we realise we were growing apart and
we had become too different. We had a few months of being on and off,
and then one night I met Matt.
I was just turned 18 and Iwas enjoying going out with my friends to
bars and clubs I never could have before. As Peter wasolder, he had
been there,done that. I met Matt on NYE after Peter and I had a huge
fight. Matt was popular, just a year older than me and clearly worked
out a lot. I thought he has definitelytoo good looking for a slightly
quirky, rocky girl like me. But we had fun together and he took my
number. We texted back and forth for a bit, nothing too flirty even,
until I broke up with Peter a few weeks later, Ihad had enough of
beingignored. Then things changed. We fell in love and had a great
year together. We ended up atthe same university and I loved that we
spent so much time together and could enjoy going out together and
with groups of friends, something Peter would never allow me to do.
After we were together ayear, Matt got a job as a Trainee Paramedic,
and dropped out of university. It was great, a fantastic opportunity
to have a brilliant career. I was so supportive, even though his
training meant I only saw him once a week. For the firstfew months I
made the effort to go visit him some nights after he had finished his
training in Belfast, but when I realised the effort wasn't being
reciprocated, I quickly became bored and felt like there had to be
something more.
Then we have the present. Warren is six years older than me, funny as
hell, a Civil Engineering graduate, currently working in Tesco.
Imagine Clark Kent, that's what he lookslike. I started in Tesco in
May. Matt and I were okay, but nowhere near as good as we were. For
the first while, Warren and I didn't really speak. We were being
nasty; wejust didn't know each other.
One night I was out with my two best friends, Rebecca and Rachel. We
met a guy James, who it turns out was good friends with Warren.
Drunkenly, (but thank god) Rachel and I decided it would be a good
idea to text Warrenon James phone, and do a bit of flirting. I had
always though he was good looking, but as I was in a relationship
andhe was older, it never crossed my mind. That night I got his
number. We started flirting via text. Then we started sexting. It
started as a bit of fun, I don't think either of us ever though it
would come to anything. We started getting closer; I liked his sharp
sense of humour and his emotional and well as academic intelligence.
Then, there was the first night we kissed. I met him in Tesco car
park. (Classy, I know.) He got into my car and we talked for hours
about absolutely everything. And we could have talkedfor longer, but
the sun was coming up. For the first time in my life, I felt like
someone really understood me, and someone was actually interested. He
seemed to want to know everythingabout me. The sexual tension was
still there, we just realised; 'Shit, this might be more than sex.'
We kissed. I freaked out.
I felt so guilty; I never wanted to be the girl who cheated on her
boyfriend. It wasn't who I was. I was meant to be loyal, trustworthy,
and honest. But we kept coming back to each other. At the time I read
astory about passion and saw the word 'inevitability'. To me, this
described us.
But I hated not being in control of my own emotions. I tried to do
what I thought other people wanted, what I thought was right, and what
other people expected. So I told Warren we had to stop. The look on
his face when I told him this was the exact moment I knewI was in love
with him.
Things were weird for a few days, but it gave me the chance to get my
head around the fact thatthings with Matt were over. I secretly
resented Matt, how did he not know I was in love with someone else?
How couldhe not see? I wanted to be with Warren. In every way.
So I broke it off with Matt. It was hard, he was oblivious to it all,
so it was a complete shock. I have never looked back. Iregret hurting
him, but I don't regret what I did.
Warren and I got together. The sex was amazing (and still is), after
all the months of built up sexual tension. He makes me laugh like no
one else. He makes mefeel appreciated. He protects me, but not in a
patronising way. We have both intelligent conversation, and the most
stupid, random and childish conversation. I am head over heels.
For the first time in my life, I am scared. Scared of this
disappearing, scared of what the futurebrings, and scared of how good
things could be.
It's inevitable. It's out of my control, and I fucking love it.

--

- - - - -

And Allah Knows the Best!

- - - - -

Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤