How to get out of shaking a ladies hands politely

Next time you find yourself in an awkward situation (e.g. work interview) where a lady wants to shake your hand,  and you dont want to offend her or hurt her feelings but at the same time you dont want to touch her in case it displeases your lord

Just sneeze into your hand loudly and visibly.   Voila!  Most times no one will want to shake your hand after that!

life is but a breath

The word "nafs" in Arabic translates to "self" or "soul / life-force"

However the word "tanafas" in Arabic means "to breathe" and derives from the same root (n-f-s)

This should be a clue to us that all our lives, our selves (our nafs) is so short... it is the length of a mere "breath" in the grand scheme of things

Knowledge (3ilm) and Understanding (Fiqh)

Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky?

It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded.

And the example of a bad word is like a bad tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, not having any stability. [14:24-26]

The following are from Jesus (a.s.) taken from the Gospel of Matthew - and it is extracts of his teachings to the disciples on the nature of Knowledge in humans. 

The double-edged sword (dangers and virtues) of humanities innate ability to "grow" new knowledge (via logical links and manipulation, insight, creativity, etc)

Some people claim that the safest way is to simply accept knowledge as it comes and pass it on, without adding anything of our own understanding to it.  This is something angels would do but it is not in our human nature.  To do this would be safer, but it would also deny our innate human nature which God has created us with and from it made us superior to the angels.  Just because something carries negatives, does not mean we should completely abandon that "gift".  To do so may leave us without a "gift" and still a lot of negatives!!!

The Parable of the Sower  (Knowledge/3ilm vs Understanding/Fiqh)

³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.)

⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root (yaqeen - surety - firm belief of the message, principles, experience, etc), they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. )

⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. (²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.)

⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  (²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”)

The Parable of the Weeds (dangers of interpreting knowledge)

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field (Truthful message from God's books and messengers). ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy (the enemy who sows them is the devil) came and sowed weeds (The weeds are the people of the evil one) among the wheat (good people), and went away ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ (kill the evil ones?)
²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. (as you kill the evil ones you may kill good people by mistake)

³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest (The harvest is the end of the age - let God sort them on the day of Judgement - just focus on being the wheat). At that time I will tell the harvesters (the harvesters are angels): First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned (As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.); then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. (Paradise) ’"

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers - so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward. [48:29]

Love of the world

If you were rich and had a mansion and flash cars and a lot of stuff..naturally alot of People would "love" you.

But which of them would you love back? The ones who only hang around you because they love your stuff and not you? Or the one who doent care about your stuff and only love you for you?

So know that Allah is the King and He owns the world and hereafter.  So if someone loves the world (then they are loving allah's stuff).  But if they dont love the world ...then wont allah love them more?

Yes! Allah will love you if you dont love His stuff (ie the world) and you just love Allah.  This is what Allahs messenger saas said.

“A man came to the Prophet (SAW) and asked him “O Allah’s Messenger, tell me of something I do to win Allah’s love and people’s love”. The Prophet answered “Do not love this world, Allah would love you and do not have a longing for whatever people have, people would love you”.
(Ibn-Majah)

The superiority of the one who serves others

People do not like to serve others because it lowers their status in the eyes of others.  However, did you know it raises our status in the eyes of God Most High?  
The superior one with God is the one who serves others because they are GIVING (food, money, etc) and the one being served is only RECEIVING.

Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, was upon the pulpit mentioning charity and abstaining from begging. The Prophet said,  “The upper hand is better than the lower hand.  The upper hand is one that gives and the lower hand is one that takes.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1362, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1033
Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi (authenticity agreed upon) according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ وَهُوَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ وَهُوَ يَذْكُرُ الصَّدَقَةَ وَالتَّعَفُّفَ عَنْ الْمَسْأَلَةِ الْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ الْيَدِ السُّفْلَى وَالْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا الْمُنْفِقَةُ وَالسُّفْلَى السَّائِلَةُ
1362 صحيح البخاري كتاب الزكاة باب لا صدقة إلا عن ظهر غنى
1033 صحيح مسلم كتاب الزكاة باب بيان أن اليد العليا خير من اليد السفلى وأن اليد العليا هي المنفقة وأن السفلى هي الآخذة

Atheist common questions

2 common questions people ask God and use as an excuse not to believe in Him. Both are answered by God directly in His Qur'aan.
1) WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CREATION?
"And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to serve* Me
I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me
Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength." [51:55-58]
[* the arabic word is "3abadoun" literally meaning "serve".  From the root "3-b-d". The same as used in "3bd-allaah"  = "servant of God"]
2) WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
"[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving " [67:2]

Why does the Muslim world lag behind in science?

This question runs deep into the heart of Islamic philosophy, creed and interpretation and may shed some light on why certain groups of muslims (i.e. Salafis) are at odds with other groups of muslims.

For simplicity - let us say there are only 2 main (and opposing) philosophies in Islam. Traditionalism (Athari) and Rationalism (Ashari, Maturidi, Alfarabi, Averroes,etc). One of the two mindsets underlie all Islamic schools of thought (some more extremely than others). I shall attempt to illustrate the difference between the two worldviews through the following joke:  A traditionalist and a rationalist walk into a mosque.  The traditionalist looks at a verse in the Qur’an which states that Angels are made from light.  He then reads the results of a scientific paper which states that light has a maximum speed.  He believes in both of them and tells the rationalist what he has read.  The rationalist agrees with the traditionalist.  The rationalist then realises that if angels are made from light, and light has a maximum speed, then angels must have a maximum speed that they cannot go faster than - and so it takes them a certain amount of time to travel vast distances! The traditionalist looks suspiciously at the rationalist and says “you claim that angels have a maximum speed?” and “you claim that they take time to travel?”!!  This is an innovation (bid’ah) in the religion and there is no clear proof for what you have said! Get out of this mosque you innovator!  (of course, the rationalist may well be wrong - since his assumption is based on the fact that the angelic light is the same as the photonic light - so is it wrong that he tried to conclude additional knowledge about the religion?)

Historically, Shias have always embraced a more rationalist approach to the religion than Sunnis. However, this was not always the case. Earlier Sunni schools (e.g. Hanafi) embraced rationalism more than later ones. Furthermore, during the golden age of Islamic knowledge (iraq, baghdad, etc), sunni islam was evenly split between Rationalistm (ashari ,averroes, etc) and Traditionalistm (athari). Traditionalists eventually dominated the scene in the Islamic world until this day whereas Rationalism lost popularity (but had a direct and lasting influence on medieval Europe during its “enlightenment” period and hence directly shaped the Western worlds underlying rationalist mindset as we know it).

The reason it did not have an equally lasting impact on the Islamic world shall become clear below. None-the-less, there remain small elements of the rationalist movement within sunni schools of thought (some more than others - e.g. Hanafi). The emergent Salafi group consider themselves an extreme form of traditionalism (athari) and intend to cleanse any remaining rationalistic elements from the Islamic world - (reasons for which may become clear below). One observation that has proven true through history is that being more traditional generally makes the interpretation far stricter and stuck in a certain historical era (non-progressive) whereas being more rational makes the interpretation more lenient and progressive (since scientific advancements are the result of rationalism - you could say science is another name for rationalism) and hence more attractive to the masses.

To understand why so many muslims have, and still do, prefer tradionalist world views over a more rationalist one, we must understand the main arguments between the two mindsets.

TRADITIONALISM (ATHARI)

• The main problem Traditionalists have with Rationalists is to do with Innovation (bid’ah). Whereas Rationalism PROMOTES innovation, Traditionalism SHUNS innovation. They argue that although innovation has helped discover knowledge in scientific fields, when applied to something that is perfected (i.e. the religion of islam), innovation can only damage it.
• [written by a rationalist muslim] "A section of the people made capital out of their own ignorance; discussions and rational thinking about matters of faith became a heavy burden for them, and, therefore, they became inclined to blind faith and blind following (taqlid). They condemned those who tried to rationalize the principles of religion as `innovators.' They considered discussion about motion, rest, body, accident, colour, space, atom, the leaping of atoms, and Attributes of God, to be an innovation and a sin. They said that had such discussions been the right thing, the Prophet and his Companions would have definitely done so; they further pointed out that the Prophet, before his death, discussed and fully explained all those matters which were necessary from the religious point of view, leaving none of them to be discussed by his followers; and since he did not discuss the problems mentioned above, it was evident that to discuss them must be regarded as an innovation."
• Salafis (extreme traditionalists/athari) are not against blind following (taqlid). More accurately, they are against the muslim attitude of blind following (taqlid) scholars' opinions/rulings (fatawa) instead of putting due emphasis on the blind following (taqlid) of the Prophet s.a.a.s or Companions (sahaba) or students of the companions (tabi3een) - collectively known as the “salaf” (hence the name).

RATIONALISM (ASHARI, ALFARABI, AVERROES, ETC):

• Due to the points mentioned above, most Islamic Rationalists (Ash'arites) believed that blind faith (taqlid) should apply only to Islam and not to any ancient Hellenistic authorities
• the Rationalists (Ash'arites) not only accepted scientific methods but even promoted them - the greatest Muslim scientists, such as Ibn al-Haytham and Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, who were pioneers of the scientific method, were themselves followers of the Ash'ari school of Islamic theology
• Ibn al-Haytham's view that taqlid should apply only to prophets of Islam and not to any other authorities formed the basis for much of his scientific skepticism and criticism against Ptolemy and other ancient authorities in his Doubts Concerning Ptolemy and Book of Optics

SUMMARY:

• Rationalists SHUN blind following (taqlid) which is promoted by Traditionalism (albeit allegedly only the blind following of the prophet’s generation and not scholars).
• Traditionalists SHUN innovation (bid’ah) which is promoted by Rationalism (albeit mostly in worldly topics rather than religious rulings)
• If Rationalism were still embraced in the Muslim world, perhaps they could have become a nation of Galileos, Keplers and Newtons, and perhaps the religion would have been changed so much from its original form, that it would have conformed to the world we live in the same as so many others have

Buddhist view on God

The Reverend Zen Master Soyen Shaku was the first Zen Buddhist Abbot to tour the United States in 1905-6. He wrote a series of essays collected into the book Zen For Americans. In the essay titled "The God Conception of Buddhism" he attempts to explain how a Buddhist looks at the ultimate without an anthropomorphic God figure while still being able to relate to the term God in a Buddhist sense:

At the outset, let me state that Buddhism is not atheistic as the term is ordinarily understood. It has certainly a God, the highest reality and truth, through which and in which this universe exists. However, the followers of Buddhism usually avoid the term God, for it savors so much of Christianity, whose spirit is not always exactly in accord with the Buddhist interpretation of religious experience. Again, Buddhism is not pantheistic in the sense that it identifies the universe with God. On the other hand, the Buddhist God is absolute and transcendent; this world, being merely its manifestation, is necessarily fragmental and imperfect. To define more exactly the Buddhist notion of the highest being, it may be convenient to borrow the term very happily coined by a modern German scholar, "panentheism," according to which God is πᾶν καὶ ἕν (all and one) and more than the totality of existence

Embodying TawHeed

TawHeed = " laa ilaaha illa-llaah " = literally: "no god except God"...and if we expand that: "[there is] no 'object of worship' except God"...or more commonly translated: "there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah".

The prophet saas said you worship what you think of most

So to truly embody TawHeed we need to always and only think about God swt.  That essentially means not obsessively thinking about others. But more importantly not obsessively thinking about yourself!  Your 'self' is also known as your 'ego'.

So what exactly is the ego?

Psychology defines it as having 3 main components:
1) The view you have of yourself (Self image)
2)How much value you place on yourself (Self esteem or self-worth)
3) What you wish you were really like (Ideal self)

So let us look at ways to remove each of these 3 veils from God swt:

1)unveiling the veil of self image:
this needs to be as realistic as possible (are you a cat looking in the mirror and seeing your reflection as a lion?). Alternatively, it needs to be unimportant to you. So much so that you have no image of yourself in your minds eye.  However, this is difficult and takes practise.  most people naturally tend to 'label' or see themselves as a certain type of person (e.g. a geek,a Latino, a scholar, etc).  It is also why titles are such dangerous things as they remind us of this image we must see ourselves as.  However these false images are all illusions that others create for us or that we create for ourself. These illusions may serve to empower you... but ultimately they also limit you. E.g. You may believe you can't kiss your own children because that is not "manly" as the way you see yourself.  Or that you can't wash the dishes because that is not the "mans" role. Etc.  Do not have ano fixed self image.  Be like water. Colourless and shapeless and yet able to take on any colour and shape.

2) unveiling the veil of self worth:
 do not value yourself above anything else. Even if you do many good deeds. Do not value yourself. This leads to pride and self righteousness.  All good you do is from God. So value Him and know that the value of this world in His eyes is less than the weight of a fly's wing or less than the value of a rotting, dead donkey on the side of the road.

3) unveiling the veil of the ideal self:
 do you wish to be a rock star? Or a footballer? Or a prophet? Or a saint? Etc.  Or do you simply wish to be like whatever God likes and is pleased with?   This was the aim of His prophets and messengers and righteous slaves.
Yes these human beings are the best examples for us and it may seem harmless to wish to BE one of them. But Ask yourself. Did any of the prophets a.s. wish to be prophets or the messiah, etc?   Or did they acknowledge and embraced the fact that they are but slaves of God...grateful slaves...bestowed with favours by the wisdom and mercy of God.
So if you want to be like the prophet saas for the intention of drawing nearer to God swt, focus on trying to do as the prophets a.s. did and said and taught...just as a student would learn from their teacher.  A good student is not the one who aims to be like the teacher because they admire his status and position....a good student is the one who implements their teacher's teachings and lessons in their own selves...and thus the student truly becomes like the teacher.

Also let us not forget to do as the prophets a.s. did and continually Ask Him to guide us to be what He is pleased with.

O God I ask for Your love

And the love of those You love

And love of the poor

And love of the actions that bring me closer to Your love

2 things we should do continually,all the time

Taqwa = always doing every action with the sole intention of earning God's pleasure and striving for His love and fearing that you may displease Him, lose His love or earn His wrath

Taubah = continually repenting to God, weeping over the wrongs you have done to yourself and others, both knowingly and unknowingly, in the past and in the future, begging Him to cleanse you like dirt is cleansed from a shirt leaving it beautifully bright and sparkling white.

The Prophet's Prayer in Detail

BEFORE THE PRAYER
- wear simple, clean, shin-length thobe
- brush teeth
- ablution or ghusl (on Friday)
- perfume (for men only)
- adhaan & iqaama

IN PRAYER: ALWAYS
- make your intention to pray to earn the pleasure of God alone
- slowly, gently, calm (not rushed), relax every bone in body
- straight back (during standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting)

IN PRAYER: STANDING
- stand approx. shoulder-width apart (not close together), toes forward so feet are parallel (not toes facing out), thighs and feet close against the person praying next to you (not gaps),
- raise hands ear-height, say God is greater (allaahu Akbar)
- place hands gently onto chest (just above belly), right hand ontop of left
- duaa
- recite surat al-fatihah and say ameen
- recite any other part of qur'aan

IN PRAYER: BOWING
- raise hands and say "allaahu Akbar"
- bow forward, keep feet in place, legs straight, knees unbent, place hands on knees, extend back straight (so a glass of water could be balanced on your back)
- duaa (e.g. subhanallahi wabiHamdi...)
- when going back up to standing; raise hands and say "sami3 allaahu liman Hamidah... rabbanaa wa lak al-Hamd, Hamdan katheeran, toyyiban, mubarakan feeh" (God hears the one who praises...our Lord to You is the praise, an abundant, good, blessed praise)
- place hands back onto chest

IN PRAYER: PROSTRATING
- go down into prostration, hands first, then knees, then forehead. keep feet in same place (do not put them together as some scholars say - keep them exactly in place)  (points pressing on ground should be the forehead, nose, hands, knees, toes).
- duaa

IN PRAYER: SITTING
- sit up, back straight, sitting on left foot (left foot flattened to side), keep right foot in place (toes still pressed to ground with toes pointing toward qiblah). 
- make a fist with right hand so that thumb is placed on third finger.  point forefinger straight.  wave it up and down (as if it is an iron rod beating satan) all the time you are sitting *do this whenever sitting - including between 2 prostrations!
- duaa (e.g. allaahumma innee dhalamtu nafsee dhulman katheeran, wa laa yughfir al-dhunuub illa ant, faghfirlee maghfiratan min 3indee warHamnee, innaka anta l-ghafour ul-raHeem)
- if this is the final sitting, read the tashahud (at-taHiyyatu lillaahi wa at-toyyibaat ...etc)
- send salutations to the prophet (include "allahumma teraHam 3ala muHammaad wa 3ala ahli muHmammad...kama teraHamta 3ala ibraheema wa 3ala ahli ibraheema, innaka anta Hameed ul-majeed)
- say "as-salaamu 3alaykum wa raHmatullaahi wa barakaatuh" to the angels and people over your right and then left shoulders


AFTER PRAYER
- stay sitting
- subHanallah (x33), alHamdulilah (x33), allahu Akbar (x33),
- la ilaha illallaah waHdahu laa sharika lah, lahu l-mulk, lahu l-Hamd, yuHiyu wa yumeet, huwa Hayyu laa yamuut, biyadihi l-khayr, wa huwa 3ala kulli shay'in qadeer
- ayat al-kursi
- ayat al-ikhlas
- ayat al-falaq & ayat al-naas (x3 each at fajr and maghrib)
- Allah's most beautiful names
- duaa