Reflections: Surah Baqarah Ayahs 261 – 266

Upon learning these verses, I have deeply reflected upon them, making me question myself as to which category of people I fall in. In the following verses, Allah (s.w.t.) says:

The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.

Those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah and then do not follow up what they have spent with reminders [of it] or [other] injury will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.

Kind speech and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury. And Allah is Free of need and Forbearing.

O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury as does one who spends his wealth [only] to be seen by the people and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. His example is like that of a [large] smooth stone upon which is dust and is hit by a downpour that leaves it bare. They are unable [to keep] anything of what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.

And the example of those who spend their wealth seeking means to the approval of Allah and assuring [reward for] themselves is like a garden on high ground which is hit by a downpour – so it yields its fruits in double. And [even] if it is not hit by a downpour, then a drizzle [is sufficient]. And Allah , of what you do, is Seeing.

Would one of you like to have a garden of palm trees and grapevines underneath which rivers flow in which he has from every fruit? But he is afflicted with old age and has weak offspring, and it is hit by a whirlwind containing fire and is burned. Thus does Allah make clear to you [His] verses that you might give thought.

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The main idea of these verses is spending for Allah’s sake. In the verses above, Allah tells us how we should spend, what we should spend to/ on and how to act upon doing the action of spending. To what is apparent, spending in the way of Allah is a very good action with a very big reward, but our intention and the actions we follow by it can turn the table around. But we can sometimes belittle this matter, and this goes for all actions of Ihsaan (good).

Lessons Learnt:

1) Due to the mercy of Allah, He multiplies the reward of the good we do. He gives us an example of that by comparing a person who does such an action to a seed that produces seven grains in which each of them produce a hundred grains. Meaning, when we spend in the way of Allah, we might see it as something small, but Allah returns the reward in a multiplied form (which would be the reward in the hereafter).

2) No matter how much we give for sadaqah, even if it is all we possess, if we do it to show off or follow the action by Mann and Adhaa, our action goes to waste. What does Allah mean by Riyaa? To show off, to do the action for the purpose of recognition and praise by people. Secondly, Allah tells us not to follow our actions with Mann, which is reminding of the good we did. In many cases, we might see a person reminding the favor he/ she has done to someone only for the purpose of defaming the person or showing superiority. In other cases, the person who did the favor might even end up hurting the one he/ she has done the favor upon by making the person feel helpless or low, which is Adhaa. All of these three actions nullify the sadaqah, all the effort goes to waste, and this is for any action we do.

3) No one is in the position to say “I can’t give sadaqah”. Why? Because sadaqah isn’t only giving money, but even using kind words can be sadaqah, teaching the knowledge we have is a form of sadaqah, and raising a child with tarbiyyah can also be sadaqah.

4) Lastly, we shouldn’t make all the sadaqah we did in our life to go to waste, just as how Allah gives the example in Ayah 266. At times, when a person grows at an old age, Shaytaan might overcome the person, resulting as a huge loss of reward for the person. If a person were to spend all his/ her life giving in the way of Allah, but he/ she ends up depriving someone from their right, then the person’s Sadaqah goes to waste.

An overall lesson we can all take in this is that to keep in mind that we should only do our actions for Allah’s sake, making sure we have purity of intention and do not follow the good deed by Mann and Adhaa. We can all fall into this, which makes us a hypocrite. So it is our job to guard our actions by being mindful before doing our actions, while doing our actions, and after doing our actions.

Anonymous

“We see how serious a deed is or a Hukum (commandment) when Allah repeats it continuously, and regards to Sadaqah, we see Allah has done this in these verses. Upon hearing these verses, we should take heed by watching our intentions before our deeds go to waste. As Allah says: ‘Say, [O Muhammad], “Shall we [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work.” [Surah Kahf: 103 – 104]

Journey Through The Veil

بسم اللّه ارحمن ارحيم

اسلام عليكم و رحمة اللّه و بركاته

As a motivation for my Muslim sisters around, I’ve decided to write a short experience of wearing Hijab. Wearing Hijab is not only putting a veil on our head, but it changes one’s life around. As a Muslim, once we submit to Allah, it has a huge impact on our life. Meaning, we would stop doing certain actions and start to implement others. Depending on our lifestyle, it might be extremely hard for us to adopt the Hijab. But remember, once the Imaan is in our heart, it shows on our body and through our actions. I would also make to like to clarify that Hijab is a requirement for us women, as modesty is part of our religion. But to not make this post complicated, I’ll keep it short.

Journey Through The Veil

As a young girl, I grew up being influenced to cover properly. I grew up seeing women fully covered in hijab, abaya and some with Niqab all in black. Of course a child follows the footsteps he/ she sees around them, so I wanted to be like that. Despite of the complications with Islam being so alien, there were still some who wanted to please their Lord instead of people.

It all started on my first day of first grade, I wanted to wear hijab nonstop since then. I didn’t care about what others would say, nor did I care whether I would look different. I then asked my sister if she could help me as I was wearing my hijab. She was surprised, she did not expect for me to say that I wanted to wear hijab- not because someone told me to, but out of my own accord. My sister was trying to explain to me that it isn’t Fard upon me (at that time), but I insisted. And as I wore my hijab, I felt as if my rank has increased. It felt as if I wore a crown made of gold and diamonds. The tranquility and satisfaction in my heart reflected on my face as a big smile.

Since that day, I continued to wear hijab without letting it go (Alhamdulillah). Nobody discouraged me through their words nor actions. And I am truly grateful to Allah that I have been able to taste the sweetness of modesty. Now I look around me, I see well- grown women who don’t wear hijab. Then I always realize that this is truly an honor from the mercy of Allah. I now think to myself, “what if Allah has made me like those women? What state would I be in?”

From this experience, I have realized the way parents raise their children has a major impact on them. If a child grows up in a home where Allah is constantly remembered, the child would always remember Allah. Likewise, if a child grows up in a home where Allah is constantly being disobeyed, the child would grow up disobeying Allah (unless Allah guides the child).

 This is a lesson for all of us, whether we are parents or not. We should raise the younger generation with the love of Islam in their heart, raise them with the understanding of the deen and raise them around good influence. Insha’Allah, Allah would guide them through that.

So for all muslim women out there, don’t be afraid to reveal your identity. This identity has been given by Allah as an honor. It’s not about how we look, it’s about obeying the command of Allah. No matter what people say or do, it should never discourage us from wearing Hijab. Look into the mirror and wear your Hijab with confidence.

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Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the Tawfeeq to adopt hijab without any hardship, and He has also given me the Tawfeeq to continue to wear it. I am extremely grateful for such an opportunity, but I have to continuously ask Allah to make me consistent and steadfast- I am just like any other human and I can fall into being discouraged. So it is our job to ask Allah to give us the Tawfeeq, no action can be done without Allah giving us the Tawfeeq. Again, this is a simple reminder for all of us, if you are new to this, take your time and ask Allah.

Remind with a Pic

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu,

Alhamdulillah, I was able to create another blog! Reminders are now graphic! Instead of articles, I have decided to make another blog by incorporating reminders in wallpapers made by me! Visit Remind with a Pic to see more and visit the about page to learn more about the blog and more! Follow Remind with a Pic’s Google Page  or on wordpress to receive updates of ever post published. Please don’t forget to Share!

Ash-Shajaratul Ilm’s 1 Year Anniversary

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahatullahi Wa Baraktu,

Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the Tawfeeq to make this blog so that others and I myself can benefit. For each and every small reminder i post, benefits not only you, but me as well. Every post i work on is like i am teaching myself at the same time. My understanding becomes firmer as i continuously write, all due by the permission of Allah. If Allah had not given me the Tawfeeq to reach to this point, who would? I would’ve never been able to do this. I am extremely grateful to Allah that he has made me able to make others benfit from this blog. In the beginning, it was quite challenging to keep up with posts and catch my readers attention, it was hard to organize everything all together within a short amount of time. But in the end, Allah has made it possible for me to do so. Now, posting is a piece of cake, Alhamdulillah! I am so grateful to Allah that i am able to be useful in His cause. For each and everything i learn, I always want to share it around. Who knows, maybe there would be some who would be guided through these small reminders. This has been a motivation for me to learn even more. So for those of you who wish to be useful in Allah’s cause, try little by little; i started by taking baby steps and so on. Try to post little reminders, verses, ahaadeeth or quotes. we are all talented in different ways, so use that talent for Allah’s cause. If you’re looking forward to do anything for Allah’s sake, remember to be sincere, ask Allah for protection, and never worry about not having enough views. If  we do it for Allah’s sake, Allah would bring people who would read our reminders and share it all around so that others could benefit. And lastly, we should never think we have reached far due to your ability, everything happens if only Allah wills for it to happen. And remember, this is a reminder for all of us including me.

Eid Mubarak!

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahu Wa Barakatu,

Eid Mubarak! Taqabbalallahu Minnaa Wa Minkum. I know we’re all happy to see the day that we unite with our family, friends and love ones. And farewell Ramadan until another year Insha’Allah. We are all happy about Eid (which is a good thing), but are we happy Ramadan has come to an end? Remember, Ramadan is the month that holds so much forgiveness, the month that makes get closer to Allah, and the month that increases our remembrance in Allah. Yes, we should be sad that an opportunity like this is gone until another year. But that’s not the end. We may not live to see the next Ramadan, but we can still live our daily lives as if it is Ramadan. We can still read Qur’an daily (which every Muslim should do daily), pray Tahajjud, fast on mondays and thursdays and the white days, make continuous dhikr and good deeds. This should be a daily lifestyle of a Musllim. Eid coming doesn’t mean worship is over, Eid itself is a day that we make lots of dhikr. Imagine increasing in Imaan in Ramadan but then let go of  it when Ramadan is over? Isn’t that such a waste? Now since Shaytaan is out, it’s going to be hard but we have to try to hold firm onto our deen. And we have to make sure we ask Allah for the tawfeeq (opportunity and ability) to do so.

Now, this shouldn’t discourage us from having quality time with our love ones and being happy Eid is here. As the doors of forgiveness and mercy are always open. For the young ones, let’s try to make them as happy as possible and make them see Eid better than non-islamic holidays. send kind messages all around and try to make others happy. Eid is a day of joy so we should enjoy, of course while obeying to the rules of Allah.