1

At-Taqwa Produced by At-Taqwa Academy, London

Volume: 1 Issue: 1 October 2010/Dhul Qa’dah 1431

FEEDBACK We welcome and appreciate any queries and comments regarding this publication. Please send any

queries or comments to the following address:

At Taqwã Magazine

P.O Box 53012

London, E12 6ZR

The Race For Taqwã By Mawlana Yahya Musa

A traveller approached a shepherd in the desert. “I am hungry and have run out of food. Could I milk one of your sheep?” The shepherd replied, “I am not the owner of the sheep and cannot let anyone milk them without the owner‟s permission.” The traveller had a suggestion, “Why don‟t you sell one of them to me and when the owner asks, you can tell him that a wolf killed it. Wolves attack goats all the time. This way we‟ll both profit. My hunger will be satisfied and you will get the money.” The shepherd strongly refused saying “But what about Allah S!” Surprisingly the traveller was pleased to hear that. “As long as there are people like you in the Ummah, wolves won‟t kill the sheep,” he said. The shepherd of course was not aware that he was talking to the Ameer-ul-Mumineen, Umar t who kept his eye on the people. This was a natural reaction from a believer who possessed an extremely desirable quality. A quality that brings pain at the very idea of committing sin. The comment came from the person who knew the value of that quality. Today corruption and insecurity has become commonplace in society. Why? Because most of us have moved away from the state of heart that was the protection against sin and corruption – the quality of „taqwã!‟ Taqwã (God consciousness, fear of Allah S, righteousness) is the cornerstone of an Islamic society where every individual is mindful of his duty towards the Creator and creation. If there is taqwã there is no

crime, no cheating and no violation of rights. Security, peace and contentment prevail. The Qur‟ãn repeatedly emphasises taqwã. For the „muttaqeen‟ (possessors of taqwã) it promises ease, abundance of wealth and protection.

“Whoever fears Allah S, He brings forth a way out for him, and provides him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine” (65:2/3)

While the importance and virtues are acknowledged in principle, in practice many of us seem to have accepted the idea that „muttaqeen‟ are an elite class of people, different from us, the ordinary Muslims. This is a devastating import from Shaytaan. It allows us to choose from the Shariah what we might think as appropriate for the ordinary Muslim leaving the rest for the „muttaqees‟. Such reasoning provides a ready-made justification for our sins, shortcomings and weaknesses. The Qur‟ãn reminds us:

“O you who believe, the fasts have been enjoined upon you as they were enjoined upon those before you, so that you may be God-fearing.” (2:183)

This verse makes two statements. First, fasting for everyone. Second, the purpose is to develop taqwã. It is obvious then that taqwã is for everyone! Every believer has to become a muttaqi. Islãm eliminates any polarization. (continued on page 2)

2

A supplication for the attainment of taqwã taught to us by the Prophet s:

ن زكاها ها فأنت خير م ( أبى داؤد)اللهم آتى نفسي تقىاها و زك

“O Allah! Grant my heart its piety and purify it. Indeed You are the best of purifiers.” (Abu Dãwud)

(continued from page 1)

We are all in the race together. The leader and the follower, the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor, the male and the female, the old and the young all must develop taqwã. So, if taqwã is for everyone and the Qur‟ãn assures us that Allah S does not burden a soul with something that it is incapable of, then to assume „developing taqwã is hard‟ (another devastating import of shaytaan) is surely incorrect. The prominent Mufti Shafi rahmatullahi alaihi said, “With the two opposing forces of shaytaan and nafs constantly at work, adopting taqwã may seem difficult. Therefore, when the Quran instructs taqwã, it simultaneously directs us towards those actions which make the acquisition of taqwã easy.” The Qur‟ãn says; Just talk leads to taqwã.

“O you who believe, fear Allah S, and speak in straightforward words.” (33:70)

Pious company leads to taqwã.

“O you who believe, fear Allah S, and be in the company of the truthful.” (9:119)

The great contemporary, Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullah, beautifully explains this verse, the crux of which is; pious company equals taqwã equals death with imãn. Remembering your presence before Allah S leads to taqwã.

“Fear Allah S and be sure that you are going to be gathered before Him.” (2:203)

Such instructions are practical for every believer. So let those of us who are lagging behind speed up in the race for taqwã and strive for the eternal bliss that awaits the muttaqeen.

“Race with one another towards forgiveness from your Lord and towards paradise the width of which spans the heavens and the earth. It has been prepared for the God-fearing.” (3:133)

In Shaykh’s Company

Don’t just Google it! “Deen is not that you type a few words into

Google and then read and accept

whatever comes up to be correct and

authentic. You need to know the source, the

scholar and the chain of his teachers. This

chain should lead to the Prophet s. One

cannot learn authentic knowledge from

unknown sources and scholars. Allamah Ibn

Seereen rahimahullah has said:

“Indeed this knowledge is your

religion. Therefore be aware of whom you

take your religion from.”

For more inspiring words of our respected

Shaykh visit:

www.shaykh.org

Shaykh.org is a blog maintained by the

students of Shaykh Mohammad Saleem Dhorat

(may Allah S preserve him). It aspires to

meticulously record the eminent Shaykh’s

teachings, discourses, and advices in the light

of the Shariah.

One may also benefit from the lectures and

teaching of Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat

hafizahullah from the following websites:

www.idauk.org

www.at-tazkiyah.com

www.liwajhillah.co.uk

3

Pious Women From the era of Prophethood:

Haleema Sa’adiyyah t

(The foster mother of the Prophet s)

She was Haleema, daughter of Abdullah, son of Harith Sa’diyyah.

Her husband was Harith, son of Rifa’ah Sa’adi.

Allah S chose her to suckle the Prophet s.

She was fortunate to witness many miracles of the Prophet s in his infancy.

Allah S blessed Haleema in her health and wealth after adopting the

Prophet s.

All of her family were blessed with iman.

The Prophet s would refer to her as his mother.

She passed away in Madinah and was buried in Jannatul Baqi.

How many times has a person been in the situation where

he thinks to himself, “What can I do to kill my time?” Or

he says to himself, “I’m so bored. I’ve got absolutely

nothing to do.” Sometimes, a person spends two or three

hours doing something and when finished he thinks back

and says to himself, “That was a complete waste of time.”

Many of us can relate to any of the above situations,

especially those who do not value the gift of time. In

reality time is a priceless asset that Allah S has given to

us. Why? Because time is life. Our lives are made up of

years, months and days and these days are made up of

hours, minutes and seconds which is what is called time.

In order to highlight the importance of time to us Allah

S in the holy Qur’ãn takes an oath on time. He says,

“(I swear) by the time. Man is in a state of loss indeed.

Except those who believed, and did righteous deeds, and

exhorted each other to follow truth and exhorted each other

to observe patience.” (103:1-3)

In this surah Allah S uses time as a witness that man in

general is at loss. The reason for this is that when a

person leaves this world then whatever he spent his time

earning for this world will remain behind and because he

did not use his time in preparing a sufficient provision of

good deeds for the hereafter then man will be at a loss.

So if a person was to use the time Allah S has given him

and live his life properly then he will be successful and on

the other hand one who does not utilise his time properly

then he will be in a loss.

How can a person use his asset of time properly to

become successful? The answer lies in the last verse of

this surah. “Except those who believed, and did righteous deeds,

and exhorted each other to follow truth and exhorted each other to

observe patience.” A person who has these four attributes

will have no fear of loss in the hereafter. These people

have the fundamental two qualities of faith and good

deeds and along with that they encourage others to carry

out good deeds and refrain from sins and to exercise

patience in doing good deeds, refraining from sins and

when being afflicted by a difficulty.

From this verse one can deduce that only worrying about

oneself is not sufficient. He also has to ensure the

religious wellbeing of others as well.

It is for this reason that Imam Shafi rahmatullahi alaihi

used to say regarding this surah,

“It would be enough for a person to contemplate on the meaning of

only this surah.”

So next time we feel like we have got nothing to do then

think about this surah and think are we spending our

asset of time properly to become successful or are we

wasting it away to become from those who are at a loss?

By Mawlana Faisal Meman

Time-A

Priceless Asset

Pearls from the

Pious Shaykh Ibraheem ibn Adham

rahimahullah once passed by a

stone on which it was written, “Turn

me over and you will find words of

wisdom.” So I turned it over and on

it was written,

“You do not practice on what you

know. So why amass knowledge if

you are not going to practice.”

He also used to say,

“Seek knowledge for practicing.

Many people are in error, their

knowledge is like mountains but

their actions are like ants.”

4

There was once a peaceful

village where many people

lived. In that village there

also lived a man who was

crippled. Although it was

very difficult for him to

move about, he never

troubled anyone to help

him and would do

everything by himself. A

blind man also lived in the

same village. Things were

even more difficult for him

because he could not see

at all. One day, a careless

person threw a burning

stick in the grass. The

grass quickly caught on

fire and soon the entire

village was burning.

While everyone thought

only about themselves and

ran as fast as they could.

The crippled man was very

worried. How would he run

away from the fire? He

therefore turned to Allah

S and made du’ã. Allah S

then made him find his way

to the blind man who was

bumping into things as he

tried to run away. The

crippled man said to him, “I

cannot run and you cannot

see. Why do you not carry

me on your back so that

you may run with me and I

may see for you.” The blind

man agreed and the

crippled man got on his

back. With the directions

that the crippled man gave

him, the blind man quickly

ran out of the burning

village and out of danger.

A Blind Man and a Crippled Man

COMPETITION!!! COMPETITION!!! COMPETITION!!! Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper and with your name, age and

address post your answers to the address opposite:

COMPETITION!!! COMPETITION!!! COMPETITION!!!

At Taqwã Competition

P.O Box 53012

London

E12 6ZR

PLEASE NOTE: Five

winners will be drawn

at random. Closing

Date: 20th

November. Entrants

must be under 12.

1) How many surahs are there in the Qur’ãn?

2) In which city was the Prophet s born?

3) What is the first surah of the Qur’ãn called?

4) What was the name of the Sahabi t who called the first

adhaan?

5) What is the ninth Islamic month?

6) How many Shayaateen do we have to pelt in Hajj?

7) How many times do we have to go around the Ka’bah for one

tawãf?