ADVICE/TIPS: Beautiful Du'as To Say As Muslim Guests

One of the signs of a true friend is that they not only like you and care for you but they also honor and like the ones you cherish/love, such as your family. Likewise, If you really love Allah, then you would try your best to show your love at all times to His beloved Messenger Muhammad (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) by regularly following his Sunnah/tradition, for the sake of Allah.

Allah knows best. It is a Sunnah to always pray for the host, as their Muslim guest, or for the one who feeds you for Allah's sake. So when someone offers you something to eat or drink and gives you food or some drinks, even a glass of water, it is good manners to pray for them, saying:

In Arabic:

"Allahumma At'em man at'amany wasqi man saqaani. Ameen."

Its English meaning:

"O' Allah, give food to the one who gave me food, and give drink to the one who gave me drink. Amen."

There are a few occasions when a host serves you food in a way that you may think is 'extravagant' or 'too much', that sometimes you feel so obliged to return their extreme generosity and favors. To do that you can insha-Allah say a sincere du'a for them:

In Arabic:

"Allahumma baarik lahum feema razaqtahum, waghfur lahum warhamhum. Ameen."

Its English meaning:

"O' Allah, bless them in what You (Allah) have provided for them, and forgive them and have mercy on them. Amen."

Saying the above du'a/supplications is very much similar to praying,

"O' Allah (God), whoever gives me food, give them food;

whoever gives me drink, give them drink;

whoever shows kindness and mercy to me, be Kind to them too and be Always Merciful;

whoever makes me smile, bless their days with smiles;

whoever does good to me, O' Allah do good to them too."

Allah knows best.

Similar Topic: SHARING FOOD for Allah's sake

TIP: When supplicating or making du'a (whether your du'a is for yourself, for a brother/sister-in-Islam, or for all Muslims) you don't have to say your du'as loudly so that others can hear what you're saying. Allah is the All-Knowing and All-Hearing who knows your innermost thoughts and feelings. So you don't have to be all "I want to make du'a for my hosts but I'm shy that they might hear me or if they hear me supplicating for them they might think I'm showing off."

Also, keep in mind that whenever you sincerely pray for a fellow Muslim, an angel near you always says something like 'for you likewise' meaning, the good du'a you prayed for your Muslim brother/sister will also be returned to you. Allah knows best.

wasalaam

ADVICE: 3 Levels Of Enjoining Good And Forbidding Wrong

Allah knows best.

On the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) say, “Whoever of you sees an evil must then change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then [he must change it ] with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then [he must change it] with his heart. And that is the slightest faith.” (Muslim)

 Hating an evil deed, for Allah's sake, shows that you have faith/Imaan,

Hating an evil deed, for Allah's sake, and saying something against that evil deed shows that you have stronger faith/Iman,

Hating an evil deed, for Allah's sake, and (physically) doing something about it (so that evil deed will stop) shows that you have even stronger stronger faith/Iman.

Another example of forbidding what is wrong is when a Muslim sees another Muslim smoking, there are three options that a Muslim can do to carry out his obligations as a Muslim servant of Allah:

1) He can (by hand) take the cigar from the Muslim's hand, throw the cigar away and explain to that Muslim why smoking is forbidden in Islam.

2) He can (by speaking out) tell the Muslim to quit smoking and explain why smoking is bad.

3) If he doesn't have the guts or confidence to speak out, he can hate the evil act of the Muslim smoking and perhaps pray for his brother/sister-in-Islam.

If the Muslim seeing his Muslim bro/sis-in-Islam smoking and actually thinks that it (smoking) is 'cool' or he even wishes that he himself could smoke, then this Muslim could be lacking in faith and should try to improve his Imaan through more good deeds and seeking more Islamic knowledge.

Allah knows best.

 ARTICLE: Enjoining Good Deeds For The Sake Of Allah

 ARTICLE: You Muslims Are The Best Of All People BECAUSE You Enjoin Good And Forbid Evil

 wasalaam

ADVICE/TIPS: Sharing Food To Please Allah Only

Sharing what you love, such as food, with fellow Muslims for the sake of Allah is not only a sign of your generosity but is also a sign of:

1) thankfulness and gratitude to Allah

2) trust in Allah

3) mercy and caring about fellow Muslims

4) interest in improving family ties and friendly relations

5) contentment of being a Muslim servant of Allah

Allah knows best.

 

SOME EXAMPLES OF SHARING

TIP: So that you can insha-Allah attain the fullest reward from Allah, never expect anything in return (even a 'thank you') whenever you share something with another Muslim, and always remember to do all your good deeds for the sole purpose of earning reward from Allah in this world and/or on Judgment Day. Do all your good deeds in this world in such a way that your good actions will cause you to meet Allah on Judgment Day while He (Allah) is smiling at you and congratulating you for your good deeds and sincere efforts. Allah knows best.

ADVICE: No Such Thing As Extremism In Islam

It was narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "The deen (your religion Islam) is easy. Anyone who deliberately makes the deen (Islam) too hard on himself will find it becomes too much for him. So aim for what is right, follow a middle path, accept the good news of the reward for right action, and seek help [to reach your goal by being constant in worshiping] in the morning, evening and some of the night." [Bukhari]

ALLAH KNOWS BEST.

Below are some examples of deeds that can explain what deficiency, moderation and extremism in Islam is:

 The similitude of the above is that of different levels of body size e.g. emaciated/malnourished (deficiency), slim (moderation), extremely obese (extremism):

It was narrated that Anas (May Allah be pleased with him( said, "Three people came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) to ask about how the Prophet (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) worshiped. When they were told, it was as if they thought it was little and said, 'Where are we in relation to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who has been forgiven his past and future wrong actions?'" He said, "One of them said, 'I will pray all of every night.' Another said, 'I will fast all the time and not break the fast.' The other said, "I will withdraw from women and never marry.' The Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) came to them and said, 'Are you the ones who said such-and-such? By Allah, I am the one among you with the most fear and awareness of Allah, but I fast and break the fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever disdains my sunnah is not with me.'" [Agreed upon]

Allah knows best.

Whoever goes against the Sunnah/tradition (example) of the Messenger

Muhammad (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) may not be among those who

will be welcomed in the Messenger's river of Kauthar on Judgment Day.

ADVICE: Bad Lifestyle V.S. Good Lifestyle

How do you spend your days, especially on Friday?

 On the Day of Judgment,
every person will be asked about 4 things:

1) your life -how you spent your days and nights, every minute

2) your knowledge -your thinking ability, what you did with it

3) your wealth -from where you acquired it and what you did with it

4) your body -how you utilized it, what your ears heard, what your eyes saw, what your hands did, where your legs went, what feelings your heart hid, what your mind kept thinking about, what your tongue said etc.

all of the above things which Allah gave you will be asked about on Judgment Day. What answers will you give Allah when you stand before your King and Creator Allah?

It was narrated that Allah's Messenger Muhammad (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: “The two feet of the servant will not cease (from standing before Allah) on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about four things: on his life and how he spent it; on his knowledge and what he did with it; on his wealth and where he earned it and how he spent it; and on his body and in what way he utilized it.” [Tirmidhi]

Allah knows best.

ADVICE: Sunnah Salahs/Prayers Can Benefit

It was narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: “The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded; and if they are deficient, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, Allah will say: ’see if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers.’ Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.”

 [At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, an-Nasaa‘i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad]

ALLAH KNOWS BEST.

A Muslim who prays the five obligatory salahs is much better than a person who does not pray at all.

A Muslim who prays the Sunnah/voluntary salahs before and after the obligatory salahs is much better than a Muslim who prays only the five obligatory salahs.

A Muslim who prays the Sunnah/voluntary salahs before and after the obligatory salahs AND regularly prays Dhuha in the forenoon and Tahajjud at night is much better than the Muslim who does not regularly pray Tahajjud nor Dhuha.

The similitude of the above is that of students who received different grades in an exam:

a student who got a C for his mark is better than a student who got an F

a student who got a B is better than the one who got a C

an A student is better than a B student

and an A+ student is much better than an A- student. 

As humans we cannot be sure that every one of our salahs/prayers, since the time we are held accountable, are accepted 100% so in order to compensate for the 'unaccepted' salahs, it is encouraged or even necessary to pray as many Sunnah prayers as you can every day and night.

Allah knows best.

PERSONAL: Travel Survey

 10) In no particular order, mention TEN cities or countries you have visited.

1. U.A.E.

2. Egypt

3. Singapore

4. Malaysia

5. Thailand

6. Indonesia

7. England

8. France

9. U.S.A.

10. Denmark

9) Mention NINE places of attraction (abroad) you have been to.

1. Tivoli Land (Denmark)

2. Euro Disneyland (Paris)

3. Madame Tussaud Wax Museum (London)

4. Natural History Museum (London)

5. Walt Disney World (Florida)

6. Disneyland (California)

7. The Egyptian Pyramids (Egypt)

8. Underwater World Langkawi (Malaysia)

9. Singapore Zoo And Night Safari (Singapore)

8) Mention EIGHT interesting memories you can remember from your travels.

1. while my brothers and I were in one hotel room and my parents were in another 'non-connecting' room, we (the family) were watching the same channel and when an 'inappropriate' scene showed up my Dad quickly telephoned our room number and reminded us not to watch anything 'bad'.

2. sitting in a bus, I think in Denmark, and wondering if the person beside me was a man or woman.(AstaghfurAllah)

3. in Denmark, at a huge shopping complex, I remember walking past by a family who looked Muslim because one of their companions was wearing hijaab, I remember one of the kids tugging his dad's (?) shirt and pointing at us probably telling his dad 'look, Muslims like us!'

4. playing soccer with my brothers in the garden of the house of my father's friend, in Denmark, where we vacationed for quite a long time, maybe about one month. Allah knows best.

5. seeing the body of fir'awn (the pharaoh who was cursed by Allah) in an Egyptian museum (Egypt).

6. buying some chocolates at a sweets shop in Denmark.

7. sleeping at Heathrow Airport (London), waiting for our flight the next day. I remember that time when two or three white kids were blocking the play area, preventing my brothers from entering. when my brothers told me about that I went to the children's play area, met the 'bullies' face-to-face. upon seeing me wearing hijaab and glaring at them the boys just ran away.

8. befriending this British girl who was about our age at that time and exploring the aircraft together. I remember communicating with her in English though not really understanding her accent, maybe she was speaking 'Cockney'.

7) Mention SEVEN foods you remember eating in your travels.

1. A mickey-mouse-shaped ice-cream in Disneyland or Disney World

2. Veggie 'Murtaba' in Singapore

3. Fried 'Fish n Chips' at a hotel restaurant in Malaysia

4. Chinese food at a Chinese restaurant in Dubai or Abu Dhabi (can't remember which)

5. Indian food at an Indian restaurant in London, England

6. Some fast food at some restaurant in a theme park in Indonesia

7. 'Dodol' sweets in a box, in Langkawi, Malaysia

6) Mention SIX strangers you remember befriending in your travels or who were friendly with you.

1. that British brunette on British Airways who was about my age at that time.

2. a dark-skinned girl who was also about my age in an airport (not sure which country), I remember hanging out with her and my brother, exploring the airport together while waiting for our flight. we communicated in English.

3. a Southeast Asian Muslimah (maybe Indonesian or Malay) who sat next to me on a flight to a country in Southeast Asia (can't remember which country we were traveling to). I remember though talking to her in Arabic since she didn't really speak English.

4. a Muslim man on a wheelchair who gave us part of his Iftaar meal, during Ramadan (I think). That was in a hotel lobby in Makkah or Madinah. May Allah reward that Muslim with entry to Jannah/Heaven for his kindness. Ameen.

5. a Saudi guy (from the way he looked you'd think he's a rich snob) who defended us when a cafeteria staff person told us that we weren't allowed to sit at a table unless we ordered something from their restaurant. the Saudi was like 'let them be. it's all good. this is Ramadan.' May Allah bless that Saudi man and his family with much good in this world and on Judgment Day. Ameen.

6. an elderly American on a wheelchair, when we were touring Mississippi, who held our camera for us so that my mom would be included in the film.

5) What FIVE things do you always bring with you when traveling?

1. Salah/prayer mat/carpet

2. Toothpaste

3. Toothbrush

4. Compass

5. Bags/luggage

4) Mention FOUR things that you always do when you travel.

1. Shorten and combine the obligatory prayers, following the Sunnah of the Messenger Muhammad (SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

2. Read from the Qur'an.

3. Observe and at the same time lower the gaze as much as possible.

4. Ask or say something to traveling partners.

3) What THREE things do you usually buy for souvenirs?

1. Edibles/snacks

2. Key chains

3. Shirts, shawls etc.

2) Name TWO countries which you are not interested in traveling to.

1. Australia

2. Switzerland (I can't imagine myself visiting those countries)

1) What country/city have you visited but would not like to visit again?

Dubai -too modern... and a place where I might bump into somebody (from school) whom I may not be interested in meeting.

wasalaam