Allah says: “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! Allah is aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest…” Surah Al Nur, ayah 30-31
You can alter your attraction to the opposite sex simply by looking straight at them and smiling, research suggests.
A study of hundreds of volunteers at Stirling and Aberdeen Universities found averting the eyes even a fraction can make you appear less attractive.
In the Royal Society’s Proceedings B journal, they say the direction of gaze plays a role alongside a symmetrical face or healthy skin.
An expert said it may stop people wasting energy on pointless courtships.
The study used pictures of male and female faces which had been subtly digitally manipulated.
In one picture, a woman might be looking straight at the camera, while in the next, a tiny adjustment meant she would be looking marginally to the left or right.
The difference was so small that it was not immediately obvious to the viewer.
However, after these pictures were shown to 460 men and women, who were asked to rate them for “attractiveness”, it became clear that it was having a pronounced subliminal effect.
In some pictures, there was an eight-fold difference in ratings between the “straight to camera” and averted gazes. source
“Verily Allah and his angels sent salutations to the Prophet. O you who believe, send salutations and greetings to the Prophet.”
It has been reported by Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ood (ra) that our beloved Prophet Muhammad said:
Allah has created Angels that tour the land and bring to me the greetings of my followers. (Nasai)
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad says in another Hadith reported by Hazrat Ammar bin Yaasir (ra) that Allah has appointed an angel to my grave, whosoever sends salutations upon me, until the day of judgment his salutation is presented to me along with his name and his father’s name.
All the Ulama are unanimous on the fact that all the Prophets (as) are alive in their graves, the salutations that are recited next to the blessed grave of our beloved Prophet Muhammad , is heard directly by the Prophet (saw).
There is a Hadith narrated by Hazrat Anas (ra) that all the Prophets are alive in their graves and they are worshipping. (Baihaqi)
There are many more Hadith stating the life of Prophets in their grave.
Hazrat Abu Darda (ra) reports that our beloved Prophet Muhammad said:
‘Whosoever sends salutations upon me, it is presented before me as soon as he finishes.’ Hazrat Abu Darda (ra) further reports that I asked: ‘Is this also the case after death?’ Our beloved Prophet Muhammad replied:
‘The Earth has been prohibited by Allah to eat the bodies of the Prophets,’ (Ibne Majah)
In another narration, there is an extension, ‘so the Prophets of Allah are alive and are given rizq (food).
From the above Hadith, we find that the salawat is also presented before the blessed body of the best of creation, Prophet Muhammad , along with his blessed soul.
A Hadith in Sahih Muslim supports this belief. In this Hadith, the Prophet (saw) says: ‘I saw the Prophet Musa (as) worshipping in his grave standing.’
Hazrat Maulana Qasim Natotvi (ra) stated that Prophets (as) are alive in the grave, and the likeness of this life in the grave is like that of our sleep. This is because when we sleep, both our eyes and our hearts sleep. But when a Prophet sleeps, his heart remains awake.
This belief is supported by a Hadith in Sahih al Bukhari in which our beloved Prophet Muhammad says: ‘My eyes sleep but my heart does not.’
May Allah grant us the true understanding of Qur’an and Hadith, and may He give us the ability to send salutations upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad and visit his blessed grave time and time again, ameen
I came across these fantastic images of the ullemah of the Ba Alawi Tariqa, i thought i would share them with you.
as Sayed Mohamed Al Alawi Al Maliki and Habib Ali
In this photo Habib Ali Al Jifri, Mohd Alawi Al Maliki, Shaykh Al Bouti, Habib Omar Bin Hafeez
Habib Umar
Habib Umar in India
This graveyard is where some of the Messenger of Allah ’s (saw) Companions (ra) and the great scholars and saints of Tarim are buried especially the Shuyukh of the Ba Alawi
The classical Sufi doctrine of certainty involved three degrees: the knowledge of certainty (’ilm al-yaqin), the eye of certainty (’ayn al-yaqin), and the reality of certainty (haqq al-yaqin). Hujwiri (d. ca. 465/1072) discussed them in the following manner:
“By ‘ilm al-yaqin the Sufis mean knowledge of (religious) practice (mu’amalat) in this world according to the Divine commandments; by ‘ayn al-yaqin they mean knowledge of the state of dying (naz’) and the time of departure from this world; and by haqq al-yaqin they mean the unveiling (kashf) of the vision (of God) that will be revealed in Paradise, and of its nature. Therefore, ‘ilm al-yaqin is the rank of religious scholars (’ulama’) on account of their correct observance of the divine commands, and ‘ayn al-yaqin is the station of gnostics (maqam-i ‘arifan) on account of their readiness for death, and haqq al-yaqin is the annihilation-point of lovers (fana’gah-i dustan), on account of their rejection of all ‘existent beings and things’ (mawjudat)”
In these three degrees of certainty, one clearly sees a hierarchy of states of consciousness, one which corresponds to a three-fold hierarchy of human identity: the scholars, the gnostics, and at the highest degree, the lovers.
According to a later Sufi, Najm al-Din Razi (d. 654/1256), “certainty” arises when one strives to become aware of the spiritual world, while living in accordance with shari’a. If one simply tries to use one’s rational mind, one will fall into mere philosophy and unbelief. The key to certainty is the practice of shari’a, which leads to the awareness that everything is a manifestation of an attribute of Allah . In the following passage, Razi discusses the nature of certainty:
But [in contrast to the mere philosopher and the heretic] …the possessor of true felicity nourish[es] the seed of the spirit in accordance with the law of Shari’at until all his senses attain perfection. He will then perceive, through his outer and inner senses, all the three hundred and sixty thousand realms that constitute the material and spiritual worlds (mulk va malakut)…He sees every atom in each of these worlds to be a manifestation of one of the divine attributes containing within it one of Allah Almighty’s signs; he removes the veil from the face of the manifestations, and the beauty of God’s signs is displayed to him. [As the poet Abu al-’Atahiya stated,]
In every thing is a sign (aya) of His pointing to the fact that He is One (ahad).
This is the threshold of the world of certainty (iqan)…Then the pure essence of Allah may be known in its unity, and the attributes (sifat) of divinity may be contemplated with the eye of certainty (’ayn al-yaqin).”
Razi makes it very clear: in order to follow the path that leads to certainty and the awareness of the very “essence of God,”one must discipline and perfect one’s senses by means of shari’a, and one must be aware that there is nothing in existence that does not derive from an attribute of Allah Almighty.
Source
Our teacher reminds us in his talk silence is salvation that we utter such words without us being aware of the severity of the consequences. It because of this that the rest of the body seeks protection from the tongue every morning.
Uqbah ibn Aamir narrates: I said, “O Rasulallah! What is salvation?” He (saw) said, “Hold your tongue! Your house should suffice you! And cry over your (own) faults!” (Tirmidhi)
This is a story about one lady’s Taqwa
Hadrat Abdullah ibn Mubarak (ra) was returning from Hajj when he noticed an elderly lady approaching from the other direction. She replied to his greeting with a verse from the Holy Qur’an.
Peace! A word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful [36:58]
He asked where she was coming from and she again quoted:
And complete the Hajj or Umrah in the service of Allah [2:196]
Hadrat surmised that she had just completed Hajj and asked her why she was coming towards him from the opposite direction. She replied with a quote as before:
To such as Allah rejects from His guidance there can be no guide [7:196]
Hadrat again understood that she was lost and asked where she was going. Her next quote told him that she was returning to the city and so he offered to guide her because he was going the same way. Having travelled some Hadrat Abdullah (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) started reciting some poetry in Arabic and so the lady recited a verse from the Holy Qur’an:
Read of the Qur’an as much as is easy for you [73:20]
Hadrat Abdullah ibn Mubarak now kept silent but asked himself who this lady might be. Along the way he tried to find out more about her but she put an abrupt end to his questions with yet another verse.
Ask not questions about things which if made plain to you may cause you trouble [5:101]
Reaching the outskirts of town Hadrat asked her who she had to meet up with and from her reply ascertained that Allah had blessed her with sons and wealth.
Wealth and sons are the allurements of the life of this world [18:46]
Entering town Hadrat noticed a caravan of hujjaj that had obviously stopped for rest along the way and asked the lady the names of her sons. She replied with a verse as she had done throughout and said:
Ibrahim, Isma’il and Isaac [2:133]
As soon as Hadrat Abdullah called out these names three handsome youths came running toward him. Extremely worried regarding their mother’s whereabouts they had been searching all the caravans and now were overjoyed to see her. Her benefactor was about to leave when she again quoted a verse and gestured to her sons to host him with food and drink.
And they feed for the love of Allah [76:8]
Her sons immediately ran and brought some fruit for Hadrat but he politely excused himself. The mother he had just reunited with her sons hence quoted again from the Holy Qur’an.
We feed you for the sake of Allah alone [76:9]
Hadrat Abdullah ibn Mubarak was amazed and at a loss to understand what had been transpiring and so asked her sons why their mother replied to everything with a verse. One of the sons told him that their mother was a hafiza of the Holy Qur’an and an alima of hadith. Her heart was so filled with the fear of Allah that she feared having to account for her speech on the Day of Judgment, and hence had spoken nothing but the Holy Qur’an for the last twenty years.
Sayyidi wa Imami, Imam ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad, (ra), (1044-1132 A.H) in expounding on tawakkul (trust and reliance on Allah ) in his spiritual masterpiece Risalat u’l Mu’awanah (The Book of Assistance) explains the signs of tawakkul and supports his position with the example of Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani, (ra) whom he calls “sayyidi” (“my master”).
“The one whose reliance is sincere has three marks. The first is that he neither has hopes in nor fears other than God. The sign of this is that he upholds the truth in the presence of those in whose regard people usually have hope or fear, such as princes and rulers. The second is that worrying about his sustenance never enters his heart, because of his confidence in God’s guarantee, so that his heart is as tranquil when in need as when his need is fulfilled, or even more. The third is that his heart does not become disturbed in fearful situations, knowing that that which has missed him could never have struck him, and that which has struck him could never have missed him. An example of this was related of my teacher‘Abdal-Qadir al-Jilani, may God spread his benefit. He was once discoursing on Destiny when a great viper fell on him, so that his audience panicked. The viper coiled itself around the shaykh’s neck, then entered one of his sleeves and came out from the other while he remained firm and unperturbed, and did not interrupt his discourse”.
(Risalat u’l Mu’awanah, The Book of Assistance, translated by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, p. 121-122).
This incident demonstrates that Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani was matchless in a very special way. It also reminds us about the following verses of the Holy Qur’an on the awliya Allah (friends of Allah ):
“Surely, on the friends of Allah , there is no fear, nor do they grieve. Those who believed and guarded (against evil). For them are glad tidings in this world’s life and in the Hereafter; there is no changing the words of Allah ; that is the Supreme Triumph.” (10:62-64)
Someone asked Hadhrat Abul Qaasim Junaid (ra): “From whence did you acquire all this knowledge?”
Hadhrat Junaid (ra) said:
“We did not gain Tasawwuf by fabricating speeches. But we acquired it by means of hunger, renunciation of the world, abandoning the pleasures and comforts of the world, abundance of Thikrullah, fulfillment of the Faraa-idh and Waajibaat, following the Sunnah, discharging all commands and abstaining from all prohibitions.”
If you haven’t (heard about or) read this bookletby Shaikhul Islam Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahab (damat barkatuhum) yet, you should definitely read the following introduction:
“Making the Adhkar given below one’s regular practice will, Inshallah, prove to be the most effective prescription of well-being both in material and spiritual spheres of life. A little effort will help one get into the habit of doing it on a daily basis which is very desirable indeed.”
Not only does Mufti Taqi Sahab (may Allah preserve him) prescribe in this booklet Adhkar after waking up and before sleeping, but as well Adhkars to be recited after the obligatory five prayers. All Adhkars are of course taken from the Holy Qur’an and Ahadtih Nabwi (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam).
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