Anonymous
Stop Nitpicking Every Flower
Anonymous
Have you ever felt a feeling of emptiness in your heart? As if there is a pit, a hole, that just gets heavier and heavier the more you try filling it? The pleasures of this world are not strong enough to lift the burden off your heart. They may be a bandage fix. But Who gave those worldly pleasures in the first place? Allah! Perhaps we have been depending too long on the creation rather than the Creator. Perhaps we have been submitting to societal trends rather than the beautiful trends set by Allah for us! It’s time that we turn back to Allah and nourish our hearts with the peaceful home it deserves.
Our hearts are yearning for Allah. Our hearts feel homesick because they haven’t visited Allah in a long time. Our hearts want to beat with purpose.
In Allah we find purpose, and in Him, we find our hearts a home.
Zainab Masoud
The 4 Stories
Nafia Naveed
Surah Taha
Naziyah Rahman
The words of Prophet Ayyub’s prayer are note-worthy as he mentions his distress to his Lord by saying: “You are the most Merciful.” This is a great proof of his fortitude, noble and contented nature.The Quran presents him as a veritable picture of patience and fortitude and an excellent model for the worshippers of Allah.
In Prophet Ayyub’s whisper to Allah SWT, he implied that the pain had only lightly touched him; it was something that did not affect him immensely. In this sense, “touched” is linked to gentleness, love, and affection. This teaches us to be mindful of our word usage in our supplications to Allah SWT.
Prophet Ayyub AS was a prophet who was praised by Allah SWT for his patience. He stood strong throughout the incredibly challenging trial that Allah SWT had put upon him. It was because of the extent of this difficulty that Prophet Ayyub was praised by Allah SWT as the model of true patience for us all.
Despite the immense hope and faith in Allah SWT that Prophet Ayyub held, he had a lot of adab with Allah SWT. This is the adab of speaking to Allah SWT. Regardless of what trials may come upon us, as believers, we trust that all trials were given to us by Allah SWT. Regardless of how difficult they may be, we know that Allah SWT has given it to us because He knows what we can bear.
Prophet Ayyub AS has taught us that a believer never gives up. A believer firmly believes that Allah SWT is the Most Merciful amongst anyone who has mercy. A believer stays firm in his belief that in spite of the pain and difficulty, Allah SWT’s Mercy and aid will always prevail for as long as they remain faithful to Him.
In Surah Nur, verses 11-21, Allah talks about the incident regarding Aisha (RA), the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Aisha once accompanied the Prophet on a campaign and accidentally got separated from the caravan. Safwan bin Mu`attal, who was traveling separately, saw her stranded and helped her return home in a dignified manner. However, many suspicions and rumors flared up after this incident. People laid false accusations on Aisha (RA) and stirred doubts and anxieties in the hearts of those around her.
Allah then revealed these ten verses, in which He reprimands people for coming up with the “outrageous slander” (Qur’an 24:11) against Aisha. He then questions why they believed this false accusation, why they didn’t produce four witnesses, and why they insisted on spreading the rumor despite not knowing the truth. Allah says, “When you passed it from one tongue to the other, and said with your mouths what you had no knowledge of, taking it lightly while it is ˹extremely˺ serious in the sight of Allah” (Qur’an 24:15), reinforcing the idea that Allah did not take the slander of a chaste woman lightly. He then warns the people that if they are true believers, they’re forbidden from doing anything like this again, unless they’re willing to face a severe punishment.
I always find this story incredibly fascinating and heart-touching. At a time where almost everyone was either against Aisha or distant from her, her faith and tawakkul didn’t waver. She knew that even if the entire world was against her, Allah would have her back.
I remember crying when I heard this story for the first time. I was deeply touched by the fact that Allah so severely hated the slander of an innocent woman that He—Lord of the worlds—publicly defended her (and subsequently all falsely accused women) in the Qur’an for eternity.
It’s both upsetting and terrifying, then, that we so easily gossip and backbite about our brothers and sisters, not knowing that what may take us five seconds to say is something the Lord of the worlds does not at all take lightly.
In the remaining days of Ramadan and eventually for the rest of our lives, Insha Allah, let us make it a point to hold our tongues and refrain from gossiping or backbiting in any way, shape, or form. Let us think twice before making a seemingly casual comment or blurting something in passing, especially knowing that none of it is casual or forgettable in the eyes of Allah (SWT).
You are who your friends are
Anonymous
On the Day of Judgement, the disbelievers who used to mock the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) together will turn on one another when they realize they are destined for Hell. Turning one another, they will blame their friends – whose names they can’t even remember – for turning them away from the truth.
But it’s not only the disbelievers who will regret the choices they made in this world. In these verses, the wrongdoer does not say, “If only I believed in the Messenger,” but rather, he says, “If only I had taken the path alongside the Messenger,” denoting that the wrongdoer is also Muslim.
Full of regret, he wishes he could have taken a lifestyle consistent with the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the Quran. And as he watches the Messenger and his followers make their way to Paradise, this person blames their friend who pulled them away from Islam in this life by involving him in haram, making him neglect his prayers and believe that Islam was unimportant.
Though he may have been exposed to goodness through different times in his life, this one bad friend was the one who truly influenced his decisions and fate in the Hereafter. And on this Day like no other, the Messenger will testify against those who had knowledge of the Quran but did not take it seriously.
Being around bad influences will cause us to commit sins; even if we think it won’t affect us, we will eventually adopt the bad habits we are surrounded by.
On the other hand, good company is the thing that will solidify and strengthen our Taqwa, God-consciousness, because it is always easier to do things when those around you influence you.
How often do we stop and take a minute to reflect on the friends we have? Are they friends who celebrate our wrong-doings, or are they people who will pull us with them towards good?
In a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira (RA), the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “On the Day of Judgment, Allah (SWT) will announce, ‘Where are those who love each other for the sake of My pleasure? This day I am going to shelter them in the shade provided by Me. Today there is no shade except My shade.’” [Sahih Muslim]
The only way we can achieve the love of Allah (SWT) is if we find people who are also in love with Allah (SWT), and we love them for His sake, and we move with them in everything that He (SWT) loves and is pleased with.
May Allah (SWT) keep us in the company of good people and make us people who take the Quran seriously. Ameen.
JUZ 20
Simra Asif Arshad
Zarah Khondaker
To Allah, We Will Return
Ayah Moshet
Reflection
Mudassir Lodi
Unwavering Faith
Hafsah Amjad
Reality
Lilla Malik
We can only find true comfort when we worship Allah and keep him in our remembrance. Chasing our desires and living for the sake of fulfilling our materialistic goals can make us think we are gaining happiness and comfort, when in reality we are only deceiving ourselves. The “comfort” someone would find in worldy things, in reality, is cheap, and people who find comfort in Allah and are in a state of constant remembrance of him are not blind to how cold and fake chasing the dunya is. This painting is made to depict how those who worship things they fancy are only deceiving themselves, representing how the comfort someone finds in Allah can not be replicated through anything this dunya has to offer.
Companionship with Allah
Yousef Nasr
Sometimes the only thing that keeps a Muslim moving through life, let alone throughout the day, is his companionship with Allah swt. The companionship with Allah provides solace, reassuring believers of His omnipresence—not ahead, behind, or beside them, but as near as their jugular vein, which carries blood from the brain to the heart. This profound closeness marvels non-Muslims, who observe the unwavering trust (tawakkul) with which Muslims navigate life. Conversely, Muslims also marvel at how those without faith (Iman) find the courage to face daily life.
Who Guides You?
Saniya Tasnim
“by the star when it goes down to set”
a product of the Earth’s rotation
specifically, Pleiades
an open star cluster
hundreds upon hundreds of stars
a twinkling blue phenomenon
against pitch black
a mesmerizing sight
for the naked eye
but more importantly
in the vast desert
sandy waves
a blanket of darkness, an eerie silence
a beckoning call
confusion dancing in their eyes
worry lining their features
fear gripping their heart
of the unknown, of the darkness
perhaps of both
until
necks craned upwards, eyes squinting
a finger raised towards the heavens
a sigh of relief
finally
a sense of direction
of navigation
of guidance
had they looked any further
just a little bit
still at the stars
or in the depths of the ocean
or simply
in their own hearts
they would have known
that the guidance of their Lord is far greater
for if the stars can guide them home
(a temporary residence)
then what of the Lord who created them?
would He not guide them
eternally
to Him?
for it is not what,
but who guides you
