Which one would you rather be? Slave to the Most Merciful? Or slave to anything else?

By now, you’re probably asking: What does being a slave of Allah have to do with finding our purpose and being productive?

Here’s my answer and the crux of this section:

If we accept that we’re slaves of Allah, then this entails that whatever we do, whatever we say, should be in line with what our Master wants.

Simply by accepting that you’re a slave of Allah opens a new level of purpose and meaning in your life. No longer will you be obsessed with the rat race and its spoils. Your main concern will always be: how can I please my Master?

What can I do to be the best slave of Allah?

This might sound all theoretical, but it can be applied to our day to day life.

Here’s how: firstly, by submitting yourself as a slave of Allah you’ll change your outlook on life and always be intrinsically motivated to live life according to the values set in the Quran and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and not according to the swaying values of humanity.

?Secondly, you’ll have a higher purpose that helps you balance between the different life roles (parent, spouse, child, neighbour, employee etc) instead of being solely obsessed with a single role.?

Thirdly, you’ll feel constantly connected to your Master and seek His pleasure in every small or major decision (e.g. where to settle, what business to get in to, whom to marry, what projects to undertake etc). This brings self-accountability, higher moral values, and a pursuit of excellence in your daily life.

Accepting our original role as slaves of Allah is fundamentally important to being a healthy, productive citizen of the world. Without this acceptance, you risk selling yourself, your values, and your soul to a small or big business that simply wants to extract the most out of you regardless of the impact on your health, your family, and/or your society. The more you think about this concept of being a slave to Allah and its relationship to productivity, the more you realise how crucial it is to living a truly productive life.

Productive Muslim: Muhammad Faris

#KnowYourRabb
#KnowYourPurpose

We are already in Dhul Qaidah, one of the sacred months of Allah, and another Sacred Month: Dhul Hijjah is overshadowing us bi-idhnillah.

Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." The people asked, "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?" He said, "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing."
(Reported by al-Bukhari, 2/457).

Allah swore by these days. The scholars deem these to be better than any other days of the year, including Ramadan! (Although, they do say the last ten nights of Ramadan are better than the first ten nights of Dhul Hijjah, Allah knows best).

So what are you waiting for? This is the time to compete with the lions of the Ummah, our pride, our Mujahideen! This is the time to strive your utmost to please Him, even if (and especially if) you are unable to perform the fifth pillar of Islam!

O the one yearning to be freed from the shackles of sins and mistakes. You, the one who wants to be purified from the darkness and dirt accumulated through succumbing to your desires: Bare your soul to your Lord in these blessed days (from now on and especially on virtuous days, especially on the best days set by Allah!), imploring to Him in the depth of the night (and whenever, wherever you can) to Forgive you, to have Mercy on you, to overlook your past, and save you from the evil consequences of your ugly deeds, to pardon you and grant you a clean slate..so that you gain His Love as:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves.

(Al-Baqarah 222)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ لَا يَقْبَلُ إِلَّا طَيِّبًا
Allah is pure and He only accepts what is pure.
(Sahih Muslim 1015)

?There is a Sahih Hadith agreed upon by both Muslim and Bukhari (thus earning the highest levels of authenticity):

“Allaah rejoices more over the repentance of His slave than any one of you who finds his camel after having lost it in a desolate land.”

▪️Yahya Ibn Muādh رحمه الله said:

**"The repenter has something to boast which cannot be rivaled by anything else;

Allah’s happiness at his
repentance"**

[Sifatus Safwah]

The repenter has something to BOAST ABOUT, which cannot be rivaled by anyone, anything else!

What are you waiting for?

As our beloved Shaykh AMJ (may Allah preserve him) said:

"MAKE ALLAH HAPPY."

فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ!
(Flee to Allah!)

وَسَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

(Hasten to Forgiveness and a Paradise as vast as the Heavens and the Earth, prepared for the righteous.)

#KnowYourRabb
#KnowYourPurpose

More taken from the clip above (we do not know who it is) :

**..One of the scholars said the race horse pushes hard on the last 100 meters, but you see guys, the racehorse doesn't collapse once it crosses the finish line.

It takes its victory lap and it's ready for more races.

....what is your excuse? Are you not tired? This Ummah needs you! It needs a new you!

Make this Ramadan, the last ten days as the begining...to bring benefit to this ummah, to change the condition of the muslims.

⚠️You have it in you. Remember Allah has destined you to be His representative on this earth, means He has destined you for greatness. Are you gonna take it? Are you gonna man up, to the promise, the amanah that you have taken upon yourself?

Islam is not just about prayer and fasting. It's not just about you. It is about a greater thing. It is about representing Allah. It is about the Ummah, it is about bringing justice and light to this world..

BUT WHERE IS YOUR PART IN THIS?**

Subhanallah listen to this!

Bits taken from the clip above:

**..And then the Ummah doesn't change

Allah says in the Qur'an:
Ar-Ra'd 13:11 (interpreted meaning)

"...Verily! Allah will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves (by committing sins and by being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah)..."

*Are you not tired?

Had you not had enough of everyone pushing us down, of people stomping on us?!

Are you not ready to make a change?

To move from theory to practice?*

But we have a fundamental problem.
We approach Ramadan and the last ten nights as an ending of something, and this is where we fail.

We are waiting for it to finish and on Eid, we collapse, we crash and we make it up for what we lost; the food, the sleep. Because we look at the last ten nights and the Ramadan itself, as just it begins and it will end....

.....Because we lack discipline, we have no desire and hunger for action. For changing our condition!**

✨LAYLATUL QADR✨

PART 5: DOES LAYLATUL QADR MOVE? (IT DOES NOT COME ON A SPECIFIC NIGHT)

?The fact that it is usually the night of the twenty-seventh – and Allaah knows best – does not mean that this is always the case?

It could be the night of the twenty-first, as mentioned in the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed quoted above, or it could be the twenty-third, as mentioned in the report of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Unays (may Allaah be pleased with him) quoted above. According to a hadeeth narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Seek it in the last ten days of Ramadaan, when there are nine days left, and seven days left, and five days left.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4/260).

Some of the scholars thought that it is more likely that Laylat al-Qadr moves and does not come on a specific night each year.

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “This is the apparent meaning because of the conflict between the saheeh ahaadeeth on this matter, and there is no way to reconcile the ahaadeeth apart from saying that Laylat al-Qadr moves.”

(al-Majmoo’, 6/450).

Allaah has concealed this night so that His slaves will strive to seek it, and will strive hard in worship, just as He has concealed the hour of jumu’ah, and so on.

So the believer should strive hard during the days and nights of these ten days, seeking Laylat al-Qadr and following the example of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he should strive in making du’aa’ and seeking to draw close to Allaah.

https://islamqa.info/en/articles/70/the-virtue-of-the-last-ten-days-of-ramadaan-and-laylat-al-qadr

✨LAYLATUL QADR✨

PART 4: IT IS THE NIGHT OF 27- THE OPINION OF MOST SAHABAH

The view that it is the night of the twenty-seventh is the opinion of most of the Sahaabah and the majority of scholars, and Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to assert, without saying “in shaa Allaah”, that it was the night of the twenty-seventh. Zurr ibn Hubaysh said: I said: What makes you say that, O Abu’l-Mundhir? He said: by the signs of which the Messengers of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us: that the sun rises that morning with no visible rays. (Narrated by Muslim,2/268).

Many marfoo’ ahaadeeth were narrated which said that it was on this particular night.

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) also stated that it is the night of the twenty-seventh. He reached this conclusion by means of an amazing process. It was reported that ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) gathered the Sahaabah together and included Ibn ‘Abbaas even though he was very young. They said, “Ibn ‘Abbaas is like one of our children. Why have you brought him here with us?” ‘Umar said: “He is a youth who has a good mind and who asks lots of questions.” Then he asked the Sahaabah about Laylat al-Qadr, and they agreed that it was one of the last ten nights of Ramadaan. He asked Ibn ‘Abbaas about it, and he said: “I think I know when it is: it is the night of the twenty-seventh.” ‘Umar said, “What makes you think that?” He said, “Allaah made the heavens seven, and the earths seven, and the days seven, and He created man from seven, and He made Tawaaf seven (circuits), and al-Saa’ee seven, and the stoning of the Jamaar seven.” So Ibn’ Abbaas thought that it was the night of the twenty-seventh because of this analysis. This has been soundly reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas.

Via islamqa.info

✨LAYLATUL QADR✨

Part 3: LAYLATUL QADR IS MOST LIKELY TO BE IN THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that a man among the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was shown Laytal al-Qadr in a dream, and that it was one of the last seven nights. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It seems that your dreams agreed that it is one of the last seven nights, so whoever wants to seek it, let him seek it in the last seven nights.”

(narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1911; Muslim, 1165). Muslim reported: “Seek it in the last ten nights, and if any of you are weak or unable to do that, then let him not miss the last seven"

Via islamqa.info