Bait-ul-Arqam

Hajj - The Journey of a Lifetime Bismillahi Rahman Roheem. Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Labaika Allahumo Labaik.......this is what the Hujjaj were chanting. The one fifth of humankind shares a single aspiration: to complete, at least once in a lifetime, the spiritual journey called the Hajj. The procession from Arafah until the last of the Rites, and a Hajj accepted by the Almighty marks this year Hajj and today’s Eid. Just after sunset, the mass of pilgrims proceeds to Muzdalifah, an open plain about halfway between Arafat and Mina. There they first pray and then collect a fixed number of chickpea-sized pebbles to use on the following days. Before daybreak on the third...

Bismillahi Rahman Roheem Falsehood, the opposite of truthfulness; and the warning against insincerity, lying, deceit and hypocrisy. “And say, "Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart." Q17:81 Just as truthfulness is the very cornerstone of the upright person’s character and the springboard for his virtuousness, falsehood, its opposite, is the foundation of a person’s depravity and the launch pad for his wickedness. Just as the truthfulness of a person starts from within - that is, it is a reflection of a state of true faith - a person’s dishonesty, lying and deceit is also a reflection of the inner state. This is why God mentions truthfulness as being the opposite of hypocrisy: “That God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness, and punish the hypocrites if He wills, or turn mercifully towards them...” (Quran 33:24) …and why He mentions sincerity as a mark of truthfulness. “So that God might recompense the tru...

Bismillahi Rahman Roheem Truthfulness in Islam, plus the injunction towards it, and the status of those who practice it, is what we intend to remind ourselves here and we shall discuss it in two parts. “O you! Who believe, Have fear of God, and be among the truthful.” (Quran 9:119) Ask the average person to define truthfulness and the answer will most likely be restricted to something about truthful speech. Islam, however, teaches that truthfulness is far more than having an honest tongue. In Islam, truthfulness is the conformity of the outer with the inner, the action with the intention, the speech with belief, and the practice with the preaching. As such, truthfulness is the very cornerstone of the upright Muslim’s character and the springboard for his virtuousness deeds. The great sage and scholar of Islam, Ibn al-Qayyim, said: “Truthfulness is the greatest of stations, from it sprout all the various stations of those traversing the path to God; and from it sprouts the upright pa...

Bismillahi Rahman Roheem Meaning ‘Ushr is the obligatory charge (Zakah) on farm produce which is one-tenth for one kind of land and one-twentieth for others. Shari’ah Injunction The Qur’an says: “O Believers! Expend in Allah’s way the best portion of the wealth you have earned and of what We have produced for you from the earth.” (2: 267) And elsewhere: “…and give away Allah’s due at the harvest time.” (6:141) The Commentators are agreed that this refers to ‘Ushr on farm produce. Thus giving away of ‘Ushr on produce of the land is obligatory and [the] Hadith also has confirmed the same. The Holy Prophet has said: “It is obligatory to give away one-tenth of the farm produce if the land is irrigated by spring or rain or river water naturally and one half of one-tenth if it is irrigated by drawing out water from the well, etc.” Rate [Amounts required] of ‘Ushr If the farm or garden is watered naturally by rain or spring water, or river or stream water, [a] tenth part of the pro...

Bismillahi Rahman Roheem Introduction to Salat al-Istikharah: A spiritually immense prayer, endowing the Muslim with tranquility and restfulness. A prayer in which a servant if concerned with an affair or is faced with a worldly problem or intends to do something recommended or obligatory in which he has a choice, or when two recommended or obligatory actions conflict each other – which one should he do? Which one should he put forward? He should pray two Rakaa'hs of al-Istikharah prayer, then make a Du'aa specified by our noble Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), seeking guidance form his Lord and seeking the counsel of his Creator and by it actualizes his servitude to Him, built upon the truthfulness of his certainty and his assurance in his Lord. Know that this great Du'aa (Du'aa of Istikharah) contains important issues, Tawheed in Allah's Lordship, and humility in worship to Him, and Iman in His Names and Attributes, and the servant fulfilling servitude to Hi...

Bismillahi Rahman Roheem In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the especially Merciful To Allah belongs all gratitude and May His Blessing continue to shower upon Muhammad (SAW), his household, his companions and those who are steadfast on his footsteps. Amin. The Devil, Shaytan, was not a non-believer, or an atheist. He was an extremely religious entity. In some traditions he was spoken of as 'the fallen angel', or 'the angel of Light'", Lucifer. In Islamic belief, the Devil is not an angel at all, but the chief of the jinn, an entirely separate order of beings. We all know the Devil is the enemy of humanity, and tries hard to bring about our downfall - but what was the terrible sin he committed that started off this enmity? In Islamic teaching, when Allah was initially creating human beings, He gave the already-existing Shaytan an order, and Shaytan objected to it. All angels automatically do Allah's will - there is no question of choice for the...

Happiness: Peace Internal for Peace External Real happiness and peace can be found in submitting to the commands of the Creator and the Sustainer of this world. God has said in the Quran: “Truly, in remembering God do hearts find rest.” (Quran 13:28) On the other hand, the one who turns away from the Quran will have a life of hardship in this world. God has said: “But whoever turns away from the Quran, he will have a hard life, and We will raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.” (Quran 20:124) This may explain why some people commit suicide while they enjoy the material comfort money can buy. For example, look at Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam), formerly a famous pop singer who used to earn sometimes more than $150,000 a night. After he converted to Islam, he found true happiness and peace, which he had not found in material success. Concepts of Happiness: The concepts of Happiness lies in the hadith of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW),he was asked by one of his companion that w...