Lives of the Prophets: Intro October 31, 2008
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Bismillah. So, no baby yet…inshaAllah I will start transcribing Lives of the Prophets (also by Imam Anwar AlAwlaki). I’ve actually heard this one in its entirety, when I first got married, but now that it’s three years later, I’m sure I’ve forgotten everything. Plus, I enjoyed it so much the first time, I have no problem listening to it again 
Lives of the Prophets
By Imam Anwar AlAwlaki
(You can buy the set at many Islamic stores and it’s also available loads of places online – including Dar us Salaam.)
I’ll probably organize this one a little differently. Instead of doing it by CD, inshaAllah I’ll post up by the story of the Prophet (and I know some Prophets – definitely Musa/Moses – will need multiple posts because of the length of the stories).
This first post is just an intro – the story of Adam will come afterwards inshaAllah.
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Lives of the Prophets
By Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki
So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect. (7:176)
“We relate unto you (Muhammad SAW) the best of stories through Our Revelations unto you, of this Quran. And before this (i.e. before the coming of Divine Inspiration to you), you were among those who knew nothing about it (the Quran.” (12:3) Allah is the One Who is revealing this to Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and this Ummah. These are the best of stories because they are dealing with the best of creation.
Benefits of Talking about the Ambiya
1. Because RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was commanded to do so. Allah says “relate unto them the stories.” This is a command from Allah to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It becomes a duty upon us to convey the message of the ambiya of Allah and their stories. So this is first an ‘ibaadah.
2. “Relate and convey to them so that they may reflect.” (7:176) These stories are not for entertainment; they are to derive lessons, deeply reflect and contemplate.
3. Allah says: “They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow their guidance.” (6:90) Allah is instructing RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It is very important to have role models. You find that every human being has role models. If they aren’t good, they are going to be bad. It is our make up as human beings – we have to have people that we look up to. If we don’t provide our children and youth with the role models of the sahabah and Prophets, they will find role models somewhere else. If Allah subhaana wa ta’aala is telling the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to follow the example of the ambiya, then what about us? We need to study the lives of the ambiya so that they become our role models.
4. To love them – if you do not know someone, you cannot love them. We all claim that we love the ambiya of Allah. If we do not know them, what they went through, how could we have respect for them?
Vocab – Nabiy vs. Rasool
Abu Dharr came to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and asked him, “What is the total number of ambiya?” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The number of ambiya is 120,000 and the Messengers among them are 315.” We are translating Nabiy as Prophet and Rasool as Messenger.
They are two different things: nabiy and rasool. The plural of nabiy is ambiya. The plural of rasool is rusul.
So what is the difference between the Prophet (nabiy) and Messenger (rasool)? There are a few opinions about this: the rasool is the nabiy that is given a law. But the nabiy, who is not a rasool, is following the law of another rasool. So every rasool is a nabiy, but not every nabiy is a rasool.
If a Prophet is given a new law, he is a rasool and a nabiy. If he is not given a new law, he is just a nabiy.
An example of this: Musa (Moses) is a Rasool – a Prophet – because he was given the tawrah. Harun is just a nabiy, because he is following the law of his brother.
The Story of Creation
Before we start talking about Adam, let’s look at the story of creation. Narrated in Bukhaari, ‘Imran ibn Hussain said, people from Yemen came to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and said, “We have come to you to learn our religion and ask how all of this started.” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “There was Allah, and nothing before Him and His Throne was on water. And He wrote everything in the tablet, and He created the heavens and the earth.” [Also see Bukhaari, 9/93/514]
RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “The first thing Allah created was the pen, then Allah ordered it to write. So it wrote everything that will happen until the day of judgment.”
We worry about our rizq – our sustenance. We have a problem of paranoia of rizq. We are always in a state of despair, when it comes to wealth. Listen to this – RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, in a hadith narrated by Muslim, “Allah wrote down the sustenance of the creation 50,000 years before He created the heavens and the earth.” Everything that you will get is already written down – not 50,000 year before this day – but 50,000 years before the creation of the heavens and the earth. It’s a done deal. What you will get is already written down.
39 weeks… October 28, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in Pregnancy and Children.Tags: baby blues
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I really do think it’s just as hard on the husbands in the last few weeks. He becomes the main target of frustration. And the poor guy can’t say anything, because if he does….hehe, well, the consequences would be worse 
so if my husband ever reads this, I really am sorry.
V.2, CD12: The Finale! October 26, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in 'Umar Al-Ashqar: Paradise and Hell, The Hereafter Series.2 comments
This is the final CD of the hereafter series (both volumes). Alhamdulillah it’s done…the total of both volumes being around 200 pages and majorly information packed.
I ask Allah subhaana wa ta’aala to accept this from me. May Allah always keep the hereafter fresh in our minds and make the best day of our lives the day that we meet Him. And for anyone reading this, please remember to keep my family in your du’aa`.
Here it is, the finishing up of our tour of Jannah:
Who is More in Jannah – Men or Women?
Now we get to the million dollar question: Who populates the majority of Jannah – men or women? Abu Hurayrah heard a conversation between the sahabah. Some of the men who were present were boasting that men are more than women in Jannah. Muhammad reported that some man stated with a sense of pride and some disgust whether they would be more men in Paradise or more women. Upon that, Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The members of the first group to get into Jannah would have their faces as bright as the full moon at night. And the next group would have their faces as bright as a shining star. And every person among them will have two wives, and the marrow of their shanks would glimmer beneath their flesh. And there would be none amongst them that would be without a wife.” Abu Hurayrah was using this hadith to refute what they were saying: that men are more than women in Jannah. Abu Hurayrah was saying no because every man will be married to two wives, and every man WILL be married – therefore, women are double the number of men in Jannah. This was the response of Abu Hurayrah. This is good news for the sisters.
However, for the sisters there is a slight bad news – we don’t know if these two wives are from hoor al ‘ayn or if they are from the women of the dunya. Since the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said in a hadith in sound hadith of Bukhaari and Muslim that the majority of the people in hell are women. “I’ve seen that the minority of the population of Jannah are women.”
Children – Jannah or Naar?
Now what will happen to children? Will they be in Jannah or Naar? (more…)
V.2, CD11: Socialization in Jannah October 23, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in 'Umar Al-Ashqar: Paradise and Hell, The Hereafter Series.1 comment so far
Bismillah. This CD finishes up the section on your tour of Jannah. It goes on to talk about the Socialization in Jannah and the discusses the late comers to Jannah (who went to Hell for some time) and also mentions that the majority of people in Jannah are the weak. There are some pretty amazing things that I did not know about – like the fact that you can meet with any of the PROPHETS that you want in Jannah! (I figured since they were at higher levels, that wouldn’t be possible)
Just one more CD and inshaAllah the Hereafter Series will be totally complete!
A TOUR OF JANNAH CONTINUED….
Of Gold and Silver
So far, we’ve visited quite a few areas in Jannah. All of these places you’ve seen so far are all YOUR property – you’ve seen the palaces, rivers and springs. Now you notice the fine details. In the beginning, you were not noticing the fine details. Now you are even paying attention to the furniture, the utensils, the leaves of the trees, etc. Everything is new for you, just like when a baby is born – they just keep staring at everything because everything is a new experience. Similarly, everything in Jannah is a pleasure for you and an experience for you.
You’re sitting with your wife on these cushions and you’re presented with drinks. You see that your plates and utensils are made of pure gold. It is gold that is made of nothing like which was in dunya. It is a pleasure just to look at them. The next day, you are served with different utensils. You expected the same, but now you are served in cups of silver. This is special silver because it is transparent silver. How does this happen? Allahu ‘Alam.
Allah says: “And amongst them will be passed round vessels of silver and cups of crystal, Crystal-clear, made of silver. They will determine the measure thereof according to their wishes.” (76:15) It is transparent, but not glass, it’s silver. You discuss this with your wife; look at how amazing it is. One of your servants will say, let me take you and show you something that is more impressive.
They will take you to two special gardens that belong to you. In one garden, everything is made of gold. In the other, everything is made of silver. So you go to this garden of silver and you see that the trees, the palaces, the cups, the plates, the tables, the floor, the tiling, ALL are made of pure silver.
Then you move onto the next garden and EVERYTHING is gold. Maybe your wife would tell you, I’ll take this garden (the gold one) because gold is haraam on you The guide will say, (more…)
38 weeks… October 21, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in Pregnancy and Children.Tags: baby blues
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I can’t help but count down…two more weeks till my due date….The constant updates with the transcribing show that I’m really trying to pass the time.
The wait really is this bad…and the fact that little Ibrahem was 10 days LATE (which means I was almost 42 weeks before I had him) is making me think there’s no reason this one would come any earlier…right???
I really think doctors should give 41 weeks – or maybe even 42 weeks – as the due date. It would spare a lot of mommies the insanity. And I haven’t even hit my due date yet… Allah make me patient.
V.2, CD10: A Tour of Jannah Cont. October 21, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in 'Umar Al-Ashqar: Paradise and Hell, The Hereafter Series.Tags: rivers of Jannah, trees of Jannah, your place in Jannah
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Bismillah. This is a continuation of our tour of Paradise. I was just thinking that we’ve heard so many lectures on hell, etc, it was a nice change to hear about Jannah and imagine yourself there. And while we do need to remind ourselves to fear hell and its punishment, it’s also important to imagine Jannah and have hope in Allah’s Mercy and imagine Him to forgive us. Because Allah is as we think of Him.
So here we continue our tour of Jannah….
Walking to Your Palace in Jannah
RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says in the hadith that we talked about earlier that you will know your place in Jannah more than you knew your house in dunya. Instinctively, you will know where your residence is in Jannah.
So you get to this huge mansion that is yours. One brick is gold and one brick is silver; wonderful colors. Architecture is something that we don’t know of in this world. In Jannah, there is no limitation of gravity, the material of Jannah is not restricted as it is in dunya; there’s no concrete or tile in Jannah. The palaces are of gold and silver.
You’re getting closer and closer to your palace, and you see something that makes you freeze in your tracks. You become immobile and you cannot move any further, because of the stunning beauty of what you see – (more…)
V.2, CD9 (Part 2): A Tour of Jannah October 19, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in The Hereafter Series.Tags: food of Jannah
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Bismillah….three more CDs to go inshaAllah and then I can begin Lives of the Prophets….This tour of Jannah stuff is pretty cool. It paints a picture for you.
A Tour of Jannah
Imagine that you are taking a tour of Jannah – the true wonderland. No matter how great you imagine jannah, that won’t be a fraction of the real thing. Imagine yourself in the position of experiencing everything we will talk about. The more you are attached to paradise, the more you fear hell, and the closer you will be to Allah.
Allah talks about the righteous in the Qur’aan and says: “…they call on their Lord, in Fear and Hope…” (32:16)They fear the punishment of Allah, and they are also expecting the ajr of Allah. Always remember Ibn AlQayyim’s two wings of hope/love and fear.
A Bridge of Purification
On the day of judgment, this person will be to a bridge that leads to Jannah – the only road that goes there. He will be stopped. All of the believers that he used to know in dunya and he owes them something – whether it is financial or whether he’s hurt, abused or spoken ill about any of them – they will be bought together on this bridge. Everything that happened between them will be evened out. They will go through a process of purification on this bridge. If you slapped someone in dunya, you’ll get that back. If you spoke ill about someone, you will have to be paid back for on that bridge.
Allah is pure and He accepts nothing that is not pure. Because Jannah is pure, no one can enter until they are 100% pure. The purification process that a person goes through begins in dunya. Any pain or suffering you go through in this world is a purification, and the pain of death, the pain in the grave and the waiting of the day of judgment – all are purification.
In a hadith in Bukhaari, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “When the believers pass safely over (the bridge across) Hell, they will be stopped at a bridge in between Hell and Paradise where they will retaliate upon each other for the injustices done among them in the world, and when they get purified of all their sins, they will be admitted into Paradise. By Him in Whose Hands the life of Muhammad is everybody will recognize his dwelling in Paradise better than he recognizes his dwelling in this world.” [Bukhaari, 3/43/620] Instinctively, you will know where you belong. You will know where your house is better than you knew your house in dunya. This is because you are a son of Adam and Adam’s (‘alayhis salaam) original house was Jannah. He did not belong to certain country in this world; he did not have a nationality. He didn’t have a pride of belonging to a country; his homeland was Jannah. And his children, who are righteous, their homeland is Jannah.
RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, be in this world as a wayfarer – a traveler.
Your First Meal
You’ve spent a lot of time waiting on the day of judgment, standing in the heat, with no food or water. You’re hungry and thirsty. As soon as you get to the gates of Jannah, you will be treated. So what will be the first meal of Jannah and what will you drink? (more…)
V.2, CD9 (Part 1): How Many of this Ummah will be in Jannah? October 19, 2008
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How Many of this Ummah will Enter Jannah?
Filling the Horizons
The Prophet said, “The people were displayed in front of me and I saw one prophet passing by with a large group of his followers, and another prophet passing by with only a small group of people, and another prophet passing by with only ten (persons), and another prophet passing by with only five (persons), and another prophet passed by alone.
[Imam Anwar’s commentary: Imagine that – a prophet with no followers. Someone who kept giving da’wah and working for Allah and nobody answered their call. Imagine Nuh – he gave da’wah for 950 years and no one responded! That is what keeps us going – seeing the fruits of our effort. Imagine how much discipline that takes, with people rejecting you and insulting you, etc. The drive that the ambiya have is a miracle in itself.]
“And then I looked and saw a large multitude of people, so I asked Gabriel, ‘Are these people my followers?’ He said, ‘No, but look towards the horizon.’ I looked and saw a very large multitude of people. Gabriel said. ‘Those are your followers, and those are seventy thousand (persons) in front of them who will neither have any reckoning of their accounts nor will receive any punishment.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘For they used not to treat themselves with branding (cauterization) nor with Ruqya (get oneself treated by the recitation of some Verses of the Qur’an) and not to see evil omen in things, and they used to put their trust (only) in their Lord.”
On hearing that, ‘Ukasha bin Mihsan got up and said (to the Prophet), “Invoke Allah to make me one of them.” The Prophet said, “O Allah, make him one of them.” Then another man got up and said (to the Prophet), “Invoke Allah to make me one of them.” The Prophet said, “‘Ukasha has preceded you.” [Bukhaari, 8/76/549]
This hadith is also in Bukhaari: RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, I was with the angel and he told me to look at the horizon. So I looked at the horizon and saw I saw the horizon blocked with the faces of men. They told me to look at the other side, so I looked at the other side and saw the horizon blocked with the faces of men. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala asked me, O Muhammad, are you pleased? RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, O Allah, I am pleased, I am pleased. Then Allah said, I will give you in addition to them 70,000 who will enter without any reckoning.
In another hadith, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, I have seen my Ummah, so I was very impressed with their numbers and their looks. They filled the plains and the mountains. Wherever I would look, I would see my Ummah. You can imagine how happy RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam will be on the day of judgment when he sees his Ummah.
RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, Get married and have a lot children because I want to be proud of you on the day of judgment. He is asking us to have a lot of children so that we will increase his ummah.
The ambiya have a competition in good amongst each other. When Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed by Musa, he was crying. Why was he crying? Because he said that a man after him will have a larger following than him. Until that time, Musa had the largest following. The largest Ummah after the Ummah of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is that of Bani Israel. Allah says: “O Children of Israel! Remember My Favour which I bestowed upon you and that I preferred you to the ‘Alamin (mankind and jinns) (of your time period, in the past).” (2:47) This was talking about when Bani Israel were the chosen – they were the carriers of the followers of truth and they were the first to fight jihad. No other prophet has fought jihad in the past. With Musa (Moses), Allah revealed jihad.
Half the People of Paradise
The Prophet said, “Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection), ‘O Adam.’ Adam will reply, ‘Labbaik wa Sa’daik (and all the good is in Your Hand).’ Allah will say: ‘Bring out the people of the fire. Adam will say: ‘O Allah! How many are the people of the Fire?’ Allah will reply: ‘From every one thousand, take out nine-hundred-and ninety-nine.’ At that time children will become hoary headed [gray-haired], every pregnant female will have a miscarriage, and one will see mankind as drunken, yet they will not be drunken, but dreadful will be the Wrath of Allah.” The companions of the Prophet asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! Who is that (excepted) one?” He said, “Rejoice with glad tidings; one person will be from you and one-thousand will be from Gog and Magog.”
Prophet further said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, hope that you will be one-fourth of the people of Paradise.” We shouted, ‘Allahu Akbar!” He added, “I hope that you will be one-third of the people of Paradise.” We shouted, “Allahu Akbar!” He said, “I hope that you will be half of the people of Paradise.” We shouted, “Allahu Akbar!” He further said, “You (Muslims) (compared with non Muslims) are like a black hair in the skin of a white ox or like a white hair in the skin of a black ox (i.e. your number is very small as compared with theirs).” [Bukhaari, 4/55/567]
80 Rows
In a hadith in at-Tirmidhi, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, The people of Jannah are dividing into 120 rows. 80 rows will be from this Ummah and 40 from all of the other Umam combined.
RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says in a hadith in Muslim, I would be the first intercessor in the paradise, and no apostle amongst the apostles has been testified by such a large number of people as I have been testified. (I have the largest Ummah). And verily, there would be an apostle from amongst the apostles that would be testified by only one man from his people.
In Bukhaari, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Every Prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given, is Divine Inspiration which Allah has revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of the other Prophets on the Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhaari, 6/61/504] Why? Because the miracle of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is different – it is the Qur’aan. The miracles of the other prophets were limited to their era.
37 weeks – Officially Full Term October 18, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in Pregnancy and Children.Tags: baby blues
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Posting up comics, one of the things I do to pass the time….
V.2, CD8 (Part 2): Jannah and Its People October 15, 2008
Posted by ummibraheem in Companions, The Hereafter Series, du'aa`.4 comments
Bismillah. As you can tell by my lack of citations, the MSA hadith database was mostly down as I was transcribing this. Therefore, we will have to settle for my less-than-adequate transcriptions
This is the intro to Paradise, which pretty much runs through the last CD (#12). It talks about the first to enter Jannah and the ones who have already been, or are, there.
The Description of Jannah and Its People
I prefer [Imam Anwar prefers] to use the word Paradise instead of Heaven because Heaven can be confused with samawaat. Sometimes the person may be referring to the skies, but someone else understands it to mean paradise. This is one of the limitations of the language. That is why I prefer to say paradise. It is better to use the authentic terminology of Jannah.
The First to Enter Jannah
Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam
In sahih Muslim, Anas ibn Maalik narrates that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “I will have the greatest/largest following on the day of judgment among the ambiya of Allah. And I will be the first person to knock on the gates of Paradise.” He will get there while the proceedings of the day of judgment are still going on and people are still going through hisaab.
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “I will come to the gate of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection and would seek its opening. And the keeper would say: ‘Who are you?’ I would say: ‘Muhammad.’ He would then say: ‘It is for you that I have been ordered, and not to open it for anyone before.’” [Muslim, 1/384] The gatekeeper has been at this post for years and years with instructions not to open the gate for anyone but Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and he will be the first to enter.
The Prophets, and then Abu Bakr
Following the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the ambiya of Allah will enter – 124,000. After all of the ambiya have gone in, who will be the first to enter the gates of Jannah? Let us look at this hadith from Sunan Abu Dawood. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that Jibreel held my hand and he took me to paradise, and he pointed to me the gate through which my ummah would enter through and he told me, “This is the gate through which your Ummah will enter from.” Abu Bakr said, “O RasulAllah, I wish I were with you to see that.” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “O Abu Bakr, you are going to be the first among my Ummah to enter into paradise.”
RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that he will be the first from this Ummah, then how do we know that he will be the first from all of the Umam? It is because RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has mentioned in another hadith that the best amongst humanity, after the ambiya of Allah, is Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq.
70,000 of this Ummah
Following Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq will be the first batch of Muslims. In the Musnad of Ahmad, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, Allah has given me 70,000 of my ummah who will enter into paradise without going through the Reckoning. So these are a hand-picked few, 70,000 throughout the history of the Ummah, that will chosen by Allah to bypass the Reckoning. While everyone else is going through Reckoning, these 70,000 will go through the back door and enter Jannah. [See Bukhaari, 8/76/549] What are their characteristics? They trust in Allah with everything. (more…)
