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THE MUSLIM
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Once having said Shahadah and thus having accepted Allah
as our creator and Muhammad (SAW) as His Messenger, the next
and ultimate step is to please our Lord and thus Obtain his
Mercy and love.
The question arises as to how to please our Lord, so that
he will Love us?
Is it by doing what our heart says
Or IS it by using our intellect?
Or is it by mysticism and meditation
Or is it to ask a wise man
Or is it to consult a manual.
The answer is very clear to an intelligent person.
Everything has a manual even a simple VCR comes with a
manual to show the purchaser how to best make use of it and
how to look after it?
So why should the human being with such a complex
physiological and psychological make up not come with a
manual?
In fact we do come with a manual. Our manual is the Quran
and Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the teacher of this manual and
the Sahaba (companions) are the best followers of the Quran
and the Prophet(SAW).
And Allah says:
Indeed Allah conferred a great favour on the believers
when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) from
among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the
Quran), and purifying them (from sins by their following
him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Quran) and
AlHikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW
(i.e. his legal ways, statements, acts of worship,
etc.)], while before that they had been in manifest
error.(3:164)
So since our aim in life is to please Allah and go to
Jannah (heaven). How will our Lord be pleased with us?
Well Allah says to His Messenger(SAW)
Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): "If you (really) love
Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism,
follow the Quran and the Sunnah), Allah will love you
and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (3:31)
So for every Muslim who has said the Shahadah this verse
describes in a nut shell what he or she has to do to obtain
Allah's love.
Not only has Allah blessed us by sending us the book of
Guidance but he has also sent us the best of His creation to
explain the Book of Guidance clearly to us and Allah Himself
says
Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW) you have
a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the
Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah
much.(33:21)
And Allah also says in Surah Al-Hashr
....And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) gives
you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain
(from it) , and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in
punishment. (59:7)
Again Allah says:
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger
(Muhammad SAW), and those of you (Muslims) who are in
authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst
yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger (SAW),
if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is
better and more suitable for final determination.(4:59)
A Muslim has to show total obedience to the Prophet
otherwise he or she will have no faith
And Allah says:
But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they
make you (O Muhammad SAW) judge in all disputes between
them, and find in themselves no resistance against your
decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.
In the next verse Allah again tells his Messenger
Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Obey Allah and the Messenger
(Muhammad SAW)." But if they turn away, then Allah does
not like the disbeliever's(3:32)
These verses clearly indicate that disobedient to either
Allah or His Messenger or both takes one out of Islam.
Therefore one has to make sure that they are obedient to
Allah and His Messenger.
Obedience to Prophet is associated with obedience to
Allah in forty different instances in the Quran.
Disobedience to the Prophet (SAW) will result in a person
being barred from paradise and he or she will be dragged
into the hell fire.
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said
" All my followers will enter paradise except those who
refuse . "They said , " O Allah's Messenger ! Who will
refuse ? " He said " Whoever obeys me will enter
paradise and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses
(to enter it) . "
All the paths are blocked for Man except for those
Muslims who follow in the footsteps of the Prophet (saw) For
such believers all roads to goodness are open .
As was mentioned earlier the best followers of the Quran
and the prophet were the companions of the Prophet (SAW).
They undoubtedly the best in terms of understanding the
religious obligations, the Sunnah of the Prophet and the way
of establishing the Islamic teachings. Their belief is an
example for us, as Allah says in the Quran:
"So if they believe in the like of that which you
believe, they are rightly guided, but if they turn away,
then they are only in opposition. So Allah will suffice
you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the
All-Knower." [2:137]
And they are the best people, and the Prophet (s.a.w.)
said
"The best of the people are my generation, then those
after them, then those after them..."
This is also reported by Muslim, Aboo Dawood, at-Tirmidhee,
An-Nasa'ee and others.
And he also said,
"Do not abuse my Companions, for if any of you were to
spend gold equal to (mountain of) Uhud in charity, it
would not equal a handful of one of them or even half of
that"
[al-Bukharee, Muslim]. And he said,
"Whoever abuses my Companions, upon them is the curse of
Allah, the angels and all the people"
[Saheeh, At-Tabaranee].
The Sahaba (Companions) are praised in many Quranic
verses:
"You are the best of peoples ever raised for mankind,
you enjoin good and forbid evil, and you believe in
Allah." [3:110]
"And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajiroon (the
Emigrants from Makkah) and the Ansar (the citizens of
Al-Madeenah who helped the Muhajiroon) and also those
who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allah is
well-pleased with them as they are well pleased with
Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers
flow, to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme
success." [9:100]
"Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they
gave their pledge to you (O Muhammad) under the tree. He
knew what was in their hearts and He sent down calmness
and tranquility upon them..." [48:18]
And Allah also described them: "Among the believers are
men who have been true to their covenant with Allah and
showed not their backs to the disbeliever's, of them
some have fulfilled their obligations and some of them
are still waiting, but they never changed (i.e. they
never proved treacherous to their covenant which they
concluded with Allah) in the least." [33:23]
So let us look at how they followed the prophet so that
we know how to follow Allah and His Messenger correctly.
Let us turn our minds back to the early days of Islam and
listen to those people who truly knew how to follow and love
the Messenger of Allah.
On the day of the battle of Badr the Muslims said "Go
forth , O Messenger of Allah, to your desired
destination , for we are with you. We swear by Him who
has sent you with the truth that (even) if you decided
to cross this sea, will would all follow you, not even a
single man from us will fall behind. Go forth with the
blessing of Allah ."
When the verse for the prohibition of alcohol came down
they didn't ask why is it prohibited they just poured it
away and he who had alcohol in his mouth spat it out.
And when the verses for hijab came the Muslim Women
didn't say why or but our female rights or girl power or why
us and not the men, they immediately cut their waist sheets
at the edges and covered their heads and faces with the cut
pieces of cloth.
On another occasion because the men mixed with the women
in the street, and so the Messenger of Allah (SAW), said
"Draw back, for you (women) must not walk in the middle
of the road; keep to the sides of the road."
Then the women walked so close to the walls that their
garments rubbed against them.
Umar once came to the messenger and said "O Messenger of
Allah I love you more the whole world and what it
contains except myself and the Messenger said " No Umar
you will never taste the sweetness of Iman until I
become dearer to you than the whole world and all it
contains including yourself "
These were hearts that truly loved Allah and His
Messenger and that is why they are known as the best
generation and ten of them were given the news of a place
in paradise by the Prophet (SAW) himself even though they
were still alive. These were the ideal Muslims and we
should try to be like them as much as possible. As for
those people who want to devise a better way than the
Sahabah to follow the Quran and the Prophet we can only
say that they are on a lost cause as the Prophet (SAW)
said
"The best of the people are my generation, then those
after them, then those after them..."
This is also reported by Muslim, Aboo Dawood,
at-Tirmidhee, An-Nasa'ee and others. and he (SAW) said
"Do not abuse my Companions, for if any of you were to
spend gold equal to (mountain of) Uhud in charity, it
would not equal a handful of one of them or even half
of that"
[al-Bukharee, Muslim].
And he said,
"Whoever abuses my Companions, upon them is the curse
of Allah, the angels and all the people"
[Saheeh, At-Tabaranee].
Thus we can not have Iman until we love and obey
Allah's Messenger (SAW) the way the Sahaba obeyed and
loved him. In another hadith The prophet said
" Everyone will be with the one he loves."
Who would not want to be with the Prophet in the Jannat
Al-Firdous? Unfortunately many Muslims do not follow the
Quran and the Prophet's Sunnah as the companions did some
of them want to devise their own ways (such as the Sufi's)
other want to have an Islam which suits their desire (such
as the modernists) and their are many others who want to
understand Islam in a different way and this has led them
to stray away from the path of Islam.
In this time of ours were we have so many deviant sects
we have to remember the golden rules and that is Follow what
Allah has said in His Book Al Quran and what the prophet
(SAW) has said. The prophet (saw) has foretold us about our
situation in the following hadith
However we know this would happen because the Prophet
has told us that this will happen. The Prophet (s.a.w.)
said, "The tribes of Israel broke into seventy- two
sects. My Ummah shall break up into seventy-three sects.
All of them will be in the Fire, except one: what I am
upon and my Companions." [At-Tirmidhee]
So it is clear from the above saying of the Prophet (saw)
that all paths other than what the Prophet (saw) Himself was
on and what His companions were on will lead to the hellfire
were we do not want to be so we should follow Islam as shown
to us by the Prophet and His companions.
The prophet (SAW) did not leave anything out He even told
us the manners of how to go to the toilet. Without the
prophet (SAW) telling us about this we would not have known.
So how can we know about far more complicated matters such
as how to love the Prophet or follow him or get close to
Allah without being told?
To end this is what the Prophet (saw) told us to do in
our time
Unfortunately the deviant Muslim sects such as the Sufis
and the Modernists when asked about toilet manners they will
refer to hadith [sayings of the Prophet (SAW)] but when it
comes to loving and following the they will not refer to
what Allah says and what the Prophet says nor what the
rightly guided khalifs did but they will come with their own
system of loving the Prophet (SAW) and thus adding to the
religion something that was not there. No Muslim no matter
how pious he/she is will achieve the piety of the Sahaba so
how can we invent a better way to love the Prophet (SAW)
than the way of the Sahabah? The answer is very simple. We
cannot invent a better way to get closer to Allah nor a
better way to love the Prophet (saw). And the Prophet (SAW)
has warned us of the severe consequences of inventing new
matters in religion. We are fortunate that Allah Himself
will protect the Quran, otherwise we would have added or
even deleted parts of it like the Christians and thus no
longer have a book that is totally error free.
It is quite clear from the above and the following hadith
that we must follow the path that the prophet and His
companions were on. They did not celebrate his birthday and
other invented things so why should we? In fact this is an
insult to them because we are indirectly saying that we know
better than them.
On the authority of Abu Najih Al-Erbadh bin Sariah, who
said: The messenger of Allah gave us a sermon by which
our hearts were filled with fear and tears came to our
eyes. We said: "O Messenger of Allah, it is as though
this is a farewell sermon, so council us." He said: "I
council you to fear Allah and to give absolute obedience
even if a slave becomes your leader. Verily he among you
who lives [long] will see great controversy, so you must
keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the
rightly-guided Khalifahs - cling to them stubbornly.
Beware of newly invented matters, for every invented
matter is an innovation and every innovation is a going
astray, and every going astray is in Hell-fire."
(The rightly-guided Khalifahs were Abu Bakr, then 'Umar,
then 'Uthman, then 'Ali.)
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MANNERS
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Complete adherence to Islam produces the most upright
human being.
Thus the manners and behavior of a civilized person
should be derived from the best speech (the Quran) and
from the best example (Muhammad SAW).
It is well known that the Prophet (saw) was extremely
trustworthy and had the best behavior towards all people.
he insisted upon the importance of honesty, sincerity,
good behavior and positive attitudes. the Prophet (saw)
also said:
"I am a guarantor of a house in the highest part of
paradise for the one who makes his behavior good" (Abu
Dawud- hassan)
As a mercy to all mankind Allah sent his greatest
creation to the whole of mankind.
He (SAW) was the ideal Leader, ideal man , the ideal,
Husband, the ideal, friend, the ideal father. Every aspect
of His (SAW) life was a perfect role model for human being
to imitate.
Allah describes him thus:
And verily you ,(O Muhammad), are an exalted standard
of character." (Surah al-Qalam 68:4)
and in another verse Allah says:
"We have not sent you except as a mercy for (all) the
worlds" (Surah al-Anbiya; 21:107)
About character the Prophet (saw) also said:
I have been sent for the purpose of perfecting good
morals
And he also said:
"Indeed Allah is gentle and loves gentleness, and
gives due to gentleness that which HE does not give
due to in harshness". (ibn Maajah)
We can see from the lives of some Sahabah that Islam
dramatically changed their behavior and character. Some of
them when they were kaffirs (non-Muslims) they would beat
their slaves, bury their daughters alive, drink alcohol
and so on. But when they became Muslims they changed
totally and became amongst the best people to live on the
face of this earth.
In this section we will look at the what are considered
bad manners in Islam and how to build get rid of them and
develop civilized (Islamic) manners .InshaAllah.
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RIGHTS |
Islamic Laws have regulated the mutual rights and
duties of the members of society in order to ensure social
stability. Such rights and duties are either special or
general.
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THE
MUSLIM FAMILY
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If the family is the basis of the society, and the basis
of the family is the division of labour between husband and
wife, and the upbringing of children is the most important
function of the family, then such a society is indeed
civilized. In the Islamic system of life, this kind of a
family provides the environment under which human values and
morals develop and grow in the new generation; these values
and morals cannot exist apart from the family unit. If, on
the other hand, free sexual relationship and illegitimate
children become the basis of a society, and if the
relationship between man and woman is based on lust, passion
and impulse, and the division of work is not based on family
responsibility and natural gifts; if the role of women is
merely to be attractive, sexy and flirtatious, and if women
are freed from their basic responsibility of bringing up
children; and if, on her own or under social demand, she
prefers to become a hostess or a stewardess in a hotel or
ship or air company, thus using her ability for material
productivity rather than the training of human beings,
because material production is considered to be more
important, more valuable and more honourable than the
development of human character, then such a civilization is
'backward' from the human point of view, or 'jahili' in
Islamic terminology.
The family system and the relationship
between the sexes determine the whole character of a society
and whether it is backward or civilized, jahili or Islamic.
Those societies which give ascendance to physical desires
and animalistic morals cannot be considered civilized, no
matter how much progress they may make in industry or
science. This is the only measure which does not err in
guarding true human progress.
In all modern jahili societies, the
meaning of 'morality' is limited to such an extent that all
those aspects which distinguish man from animal are
considered beyond its sphere. In these societies,
illegitimate sexual relationships even homosexuality, are
not considered immoral. The meaning of ethics is limited to
economic affairs or sometimes to political affairs which
fall into the category of 'government interests'.
Among jahili societies, writers and
journalists advise both married and unmarried people that
free sexual relationships are not immoral. However, it is
immoral if a boy uses his partner, or a girl uses her
partner, for sex, while feeling no love in his or her heart.
It is bad if a wife continues to guard her chastity while
her love for her husband has vanished; it is admirable if
she finds another lover...
From the point of view of 'human'
progress, all such societies are not civilized but are
backward.
The line of human progress goes upward
from animal desires toward higher values. To control the
animal desires, a progressive society lays down the
foundation of a family system in which human desires find
satisfaction, as well as providing for the future generation
to be brought up in such a manner that it will continue the
human civilization, in which human characteristics flower to
their full bloom. Obviously a society which intends to
control the animal characteristics, while providing full
opportunities for the development and perfection of human
characteristics, requires strong safeguards for the peace
and stability of the family, so that it may perform its
basic task free from the influences of impulsive passions.
On the other hand, if in a society immoral teachings and
poisonous suggestions are rampant, and sexual activity is
considered outside the sphere of morality, then in that
society the humanity of man can hardly find a place to
develop.
Thus, only Islamic values and morals,
Islamic teachings and safeguards, are worthy of mankind, and
form this unchanging and true measure of human progress,
Islam is the real civilization and Islamic society is truly
civilized.
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Marriage in Islam
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The affection which Allah has
created in the hearts of the two spouses is one of
His great signs for the people of understanding. |
Such
people can look at this aspect of Allah's creation and be
reminded of the greatness of Allah's work and power and
the magnificent mercy Allah has placed in His creation.
Please refer to Sura Ar-Rum: 21.
And among His signs are that He created for you from
your selves mates that you may attain calm unto them
and He placed between you affection and compassion.
Surely in that are signs for a people who reflect.
He is the one who created you from a single soul and
made from it its mate that he may attain calm unto
her.
( Al-A'raaf: 189 )
According to this, the relationship between husband and
wife should be one of affection, compassion and mutual
understanding. If husband and wife do not find this
in their marriage, then they need to look to their Islam
and the completeness of their uboodiya (slavery
and complete worship) to Allah Most High. By each of
them focusing on the completeness of their Islam and
carefully maintaining their obligations toward the other -
instead of focusing on the faults of the other - the
affection, compassion and great calm or peace of home life
will insha Allah be found.
Muslims and Non-Muslims should reflect on the affection
which Allah has created in the hearts of the two spouses
It is amazing that two people may only have seen each
other for just a few minutes prior to being married yet
deep love and affection is instilled in their hearts for
each other. And it remains in most cases for their entire
life on this earth.
However if we look at the uncivilized relationships in
which people try so hard to get the right partner even
doing what can be best described as test drives and not
just with one women but many dozens of women. Still the
relationship or marriage fails in most cases.
Allah is the one who controls the hearts and it is from
He whom we should ask for a good spouse.
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Social Etiquettes
Between Male and Females
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ENTERTAINMENT
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Islam is not like man made religions which either deal
with just a few aspects of life or require a monkish
secluded life style.
Islam is a mercy from Allah to guide us in every aspect
of our lives so we can lead our short days on this earth in
a civilized (Islamic) way. Only a civilized (Islamic) way
can help the heart to be content.
Most of the entertainment we see around us is both
immoral and degrading to human beings especially to the
females and only befitting for animals. Thus it is not
surprising that Islam , which builds the most upright human
beings, would forbid such entertainment. Such kinds of
entertainment can only lead to destruction of mankind, as we
can see around us.
InshaAllah we will look in this section at which types of
entertainment are permitted and which types of entertainment
are forbidden.
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DRESS And Appearance
Of Muslim Men And Women
Human being have been given a high honor by Allah. Even
the angels were asked to bow done to our father Adam. Only
satan the cursed who was among the jinn and not among the
angels refused Allah's order. Thus reserving his place in
hell and those that follow him in this world will follow him
to hell in the next world.
It was satans evil whispering which lead to our father
Adam and our mother Hawa (Eve) being striped of their
clothing and sent to earth. It is the same evil whisperer
who whispers in the hearts of men and women to become
disobedient to Allah's orders resulting again in exposure of
peoples nakedness. Not only is it the whispering of satan we
have to cope with but it is also the whispering of his
helpers among the humans beings who attack us from every
angle possible to try to persuade us to leave our civilized
way of life (i.e. Islamic way of life ) for their barbaric
uncivilized way of life (i.e. kaffir way of life).
They will either come with smiles, pretending to be our
well wishers, or they will try to humiliate us in order to
make us ashamed of being civilized or they come out with
clever arguments to confuse the simpletons. And if all else
fails they will even use force. Which we can see with the
Muslim prisoners. Who have their heads and beards shaved by
the kaffirs.
As Muslims we should realize that we are civilized and
different from animals. The animals are not required by
Allah to be clothed as they have been created without a mind
to think about what is right and wrong If other human beings
(kaffirs) want to think that are animals then that is their
business and they can think what they like about themselves.
However a Muslim is a civilized person and has to both
behave and look in a civilized fashion. Thus it is required
by both Muslim men and Muslim women to dress and behave in a
way that Allah approves of.
InshaA
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HYGIENE
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The Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him said :
" Cleanliness is equal to half the faith and saying:
Praise be to Allah (i.e. Alhamdu Lillah) makes the scale
of good works outweigh. The utterance of 'Subhan Allah'
(Glorified is Allah!) and 'Alhamdu Lillah' (Praise be to
Allah!) fill the space between the heavens and the earth
(with blessings). Salat (prayer) is light, alms giving
is a proof (of one's faith), and to be steadfast is as
good as light, and the Holy Qur'an is a plea in your
favour or against you (as the case may be). Everyone
begins his morning ready to bargain with his soul as a
stake and frees it or loses it"” (Muslim).
* Maintaining purification is an act that leads to
acceptance of supplication. The Noble Prophet peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him said:
"If a Muslim sleeps while he is pure (having performed
ablution) then when he wakes up during night he mentions
the name of Allah and asks Allah anything of the good
things in this life and the Hereafter, Allah will surely
give him what he asked" (Ahmad & Tabrani).
* It is one of the qualities of true nature. The Prophet
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said:
"Ten acts are demands of true nature, namely: clipping
the moustache, letting the beard grow, brushing the
teeth with Miswak, snuffing up water in the nose,
clipping the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking
the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes, and
cleaning the private parts with water (after call of
nature) The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth,
but it may have been rinsing the mouth" (Muslim).
Ibn 'Abbaas said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) passed by one of the gardens of
Madeenah, and heard the sound of two men being punished in
their graves. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "They are being punished, but they are not
being punished for any major sin. One of them used not to
clean himself properly after urinating, and the other used
to spread malicious gossip." (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see
Fath al-Baari, 1/317). Indeed, the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that "most of the
punishment of the grave will be because of urine." (Reported
by Imaam Ahmad, 2/326; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 1213).
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Sleeping and Dreams
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Mention the name of Allah "Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem" and
lie on your right side in accordance with the Prophet's
peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, words to Al-Baraa
bin Azeb which meaning of is translated as: "
If you want to go to bed, perform ablution as that for
prayer, then lie down on your right side, and say: O Allah!
I submit myself to You, and turn my face towards You, and
confide my cause unto You, and take refuge in You, out of
love and fear of You. There is no refuge or escape from You
except in You. I believe in Your Book, which You have
revealed and Your Prophet, whom You have sent as Messenger."
(Bukhari & Muslim).
"Do not sit late at night and do your best to sleep
early unless there is some need or necessity. It is narrated
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, disliked sleeping
before Isha' (evening) Prayer and (sitting and) talking
after it." (Bukhari & Muslim).
Do not sleep on your belly, as this was prohibited by the
Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said which
meaning is translated as: "Such manner of lying down
is disliked by Allah.""(Abu Dawood).
Make sure there is nothing that hurts you at your bed, as
recommended by the gracious Prophet peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, which meaning of is translated as:
"When one of you goes to bed, he should clear his bed with
part of his loincloth as he does not know what is lying
inside after he has left it, and let him say. Allahumma bika
wada'tu janbi, wabika arfauh. Allahumma in amsakta nafsi
faghfir laha, wa in arsaltaha fahfazha bima tahfazu bihi
ibadakas-Salihan. O Allah! With Your name I have laid on my
side, and with Your name I raise it. O Allah! If You hold my
soul (i.e. take my life), then have mercy on it, and if You
return it, then protect it with what You protect Your pious
servants)." (Bukhari & Muslim).
Take care and ward off the sources of danger. The Holy
Prophet peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, said which
meaning of is translated as: "This fire is an enemy to
you, so when you want to sleep put it off."
(Bukhari).
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