It's been a while... RAMADHAN KAREEM!

Bismillahhir Rahmaannir Raheem.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahhi wabarakatuh.

Aloha world out there! It has really been a while, has it not? For that, truly sorry for the absence from us the 6-Thornbankers. Or should I say, ex-6-Thornbankers now? Hehe.

To start with, Ramadhan Kareem to you all! Yes, it is that time of the year again, where MASSIVE sales are everywhere, in every little step that we took, in every small deed that we commit. But of course, profitable only if the intention is Lillahi Taa’la!

I have a confession to make. Okay, before everyone expects something REALLY big about to be told, let me be frank and say… it’s probably nothing to you. Hewhew. Well, it’s just that, I have not been writing much since… ages! Oh my. So pardon me for the simplicity of this post and any following posts that may come. The last piece of decent writing probably would be my last academic assignment. Whoa! Haha. And that is saying a lot, by the way.

So anyhow, I thought I might take up a bit of writing now that I actually had the time to write :S. God knows I’ve been busy! :) But no matter. Here we go:

..................................

As it turns out, I am out of idea of what to write! Or should I say, there’s too much to write that I could not bring myself to settle on one else I shall have to write a jumbled, incoherent piece that no one but me could understand! That would be troublesome then, seeing as I have to explain it again, wouldn’t it? Hmm… let me see!

Ah yes. It’s Ramadhan now, as we all know. I remembered (vaguely) a friend saying something about nafs and our imaan and its connection with the holy month. Well, let me rephrase it to my own. So it goes like this. Our imaan and our nafs are always, ALWAYS conflicting between themselves in our daily life.

For example… like, when a friend/family member invited you to recite the Quran together after Isya’ prayer but at the same time a special show is aired on TV that you just HAVE to watch it at that time because everybody’s talking about it and if you don’t watch it then you’re like… uncool. Boo!

So when our imaan is up, we tend to not follow that inner voice that says “C’mon, just this one time… you know you can always do to that next time.” (Sounds familiar? :O) But when it is otherwise, well should I say more? The inner voice, the oh-so-innocent-but-venomous-voice won. And this is… well this is the lure of the Shaitan that feeds on our nafs, which is to watch the tv. So basically, we’re in constant battle. And let me tell you my friend, if we are not too careful, if we do not spend a little bit of our time to ponder upon these things, we lose. BIG TIME. Sad, I know. Which is why we need to be CONSTANT VIGILANT (hehe, as Professor Moody would say it lol).

Anyway, so again, we’re in constant battle. Sometimes we won, sometimes we lose. I admit the latter has a higher probability of happening than the former, for me. But again, trying is the keyword here. Try not to lose. Oh sorry, let me rephrase that. Try to win! :D

Okay so, this friend of mine… she brought to light this interesting fact that I – and probably most of us – have overlooked! Jazakillahhu khair friend : ) She said, we have 12 months in a year. And in all those months, both our imaan and nafs fight with each other. All the time! But, mashaAllah… As we all know, Allah is the Great Planner, Allah Knows All. He made Ramadhan to be the blessed month, for we know in Ramadhan all Shaaitan are locked up so that we are free to commit ourselves to various deeds that are available. This means, our nafs can be tamed as it does not has its best friend. It’s not easy, I can tell you but it’s a start.

MashaAllah. Interesting, don’t you think? Our nafs has 11 months but we have an extra one month to train our self for the better, to increase our imaan and faith, to tame our nafs so that simple, good deeds that seemed hard to do before will be able to flow easily; just like if before you were a barren piece of land, then after the extra month, you’ll be a fertile piece of land with healthy grass growing on it due to the pouring, descendant flow of the incessant water.

(In case no one gets it, the water equals the good deeds that you attached yourself to, or trained yourself to commit, etc, while the grass is the state of your imaan in your heart.)

SO! One month to do it all, one month for a change, for a better future. Are you up to the challenge?

I’ll tell you about my ‘adventure’ with one of the things that I decided to do in next post, insyaAllah. Pray that I have the time to write it!

Therefore, remember our battle. Remember the formula is constant vigilant. Remember the keyword is to TRY. And remember, fighting our nafs does not equal to a considerable loss but a definite win. InsyaAllah :D

Oh, don’t forget the sale!

Ashabul Kahfi

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Assalamualaikum wrb.

Aku berjalan bersendirian. Mencari ketenangan yang ku dambakan. Meraih kedamaian hati yang kian menghilang. Di sekelilingku, kesibukkan dunia semakin kelihatan. Sang pejalan kaki meningkat ramai, kenderaan semakin menyesakkan jalan raya. Namun kakiku melangkah rancak, mengikut alunan hati yang mencari. Sehingga akhirnya aku berhenti, terkesima melihat ciptaan Sang Khaliq yang teramat indah.

Sesekali, aku terfikir sejarah hidupku. Bagaimana indahnya membesar dengan kasih juga belai ibu dan ayah. Aku masih terbayang, bagaimana sekiranya aku meninginkan sesuatu, akan dengan mudah sahaja aku boleh mendapatkannya. Dari zaman kecilku menuju ke umur remaja. Memang aku akui, hidup yang aku lalui ku kecapi dengan nikmat kesenangan.

Di sini ku berdiri, berlalunya umur remaja. Aku meningkat dewasa, berada di bumi yang asing, sering merindui kampung halaman. Di sini ku renungi, pengalaman yang ku kumpul, segala rintangan dan cobaan yang datang menimpa. Semuanya dapat ku harungi. Pada ketika itu, aku tidak merenung jauh akan makna disebalik, kerana yang dipikiran hanyalah syukurku atas kebolehan merentasi halangan. Di bumi asing ini juga lah ku sedari betapa bertuahnya aku dilahirkan di dalam lingkungan keluarga yang pengasih, kerana aku mengalami betapa susahnya berdiri sendiri tanpa ayah juga ibu disampingku. Namun tidak ku kesali, kerana semuanya membina aku untuk menjadi seorang yang tabah, seorang yang kuat.



Ku bentangkan pemandanganku ke padang nan luas, yang menghijau indah di mata. Aku lihat langit sebiru laut, awan bermain gembira dibawa arus angin yang mendayu lembut. Sinar matahari yang cukup menerangi alam semesta. Seketika mataku berkaca. Seakan tidak percaya akan bisanya ada ciptaan seindah ini. Tetapi aku tahu akan kebenarannya, lalu ku hadapkan wajahku ke langit, mata terpejam lalu ku bisikkan: Allahhu Akbar! Indahnya ciptaan Mu.

Mindaku berputar. Kembali memikirkan nasib kehidupanku. Mengapakah aku merasakan seolah ada sesuatu yang kosong di dada ku… hatiku merasa tidak menentu…

Aku menghirup udara yang segar, menarik panjang lalu ke lepaskan lega. Tiba-tiba aku teringat akan suatu kisah; kisah yang pernah ku tonton dipaparan tv sewaktu kecilku. Ketika itu aku akui, ianya tidak begitu menimbulkan apa-apa perasan. Mungkin cuma rasa kagum. Tetapi aku terkenang juga, ketika aku mencari-cari erti hidupku. Aku bermuhasabah dengan kisah yang menjadi teman pembesaranku.

Aku terkenang kembali akan kisah Ashabul Kahfi. Tentang pemuda-pemuda yang diberi perlindungan Ilahi, dari cengkaman Raja Dikyanus yang zalim. Ketika cobaan datang menimpa, ketika hadir halangan terhadap agama yang satu, ketika imaan mereka diduga… Allah menghulurkan bantuan kepada mereka! Menidurkan mereka didalam gua, demi menjaga imaan mereka yang dilanda kemungkaran. Kerananya, mereka dijanjikan syurga!

Alangkah beruntungnya mereka, desis hatiku.

Namun aku teringat juga akan satu hadith, dimana Rasulullah menyebut akan bahawasanya umatnya lah yang terlebih dahulu dihisab berbanding dengan umat-umat yang lain. Sewaktu aku mendengar akan hadith itu, terus terang aku tidak memikirkan selanjutnya. Terus terang, aku merasa hiba dikatakan begitu. Aku merasa… tersangat beruntung diperlakukan begitu. Aku juga merasa kasih juga teramat sayang terhadap Rasulullah, kerana beliau terlalu cintakan umatnya. Aku bersyukur, ya! Kerana berada dinaungan umat yang terakhir.

Lalu aku memikir. Alangkah beruntungnya aku. Walhal baru tadi aku memikirkan tentang Ashabul Kahfi. Lalu siapakah yang lebih beruntung?

Di keluasan ciptaan Allah Yang Maha Esa, hatiku terdetik, suaraku sedikit teresak. Aku melihat gambaran secara luasnya. Bukankah kami lebih beruntung, kerana itulah janji Rasulullah? Tetapi ku lihat perjuanganku demi agamaku… Jika ku bandingkan dengan para Ashabul Kahfi yang mulia... Aku malu, Ya Rabb! Sungguh… Ampunkanlah aku!

Selaras aku bersujud, mengucup lantai ciptaan Allah, mengabdikan diri kepada Yang Esa. Aku bersyukur, ya! Walau halangan tiba, aku pasti melaluinya. Aku bersyukur, ya! Kerana aku tahu Sang Pencipta menolongku. Kerana aku tahu, tiada yang mustahil jika mempunyai iman juga taqwa.

Sebuah karya: A. Mohammad

Wahai diri itu & ini

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Wahai hati

Susahkah dikau

untuk ikhlas kerana Allah?

Baja apa yang engkau mahu aku letakkan ya..?

Wahai mata

Susahkan dikau untuk menundukkan pandanganmu?

Kau tak takut nikmat mata itu ditarik balik?

Atau perlu kau jalan sambil kau ditutup?

Tak bersyukurkah dikau oleh nikmatNya?

Wahai mulut

Susahkah dikau untuk berkata perkara yang baik?

Susahkah dikau untuk memberi sokongan kepada yang lain?

Susahkah dikau untuk berzikir membesarkan Ilahi?

Susahkah dikau untuk membaca ayat-ayatNya?

Perlukah aku menggunakan controller untuk mengawalmu?

Atau adakah perlu aku letak cili untuk menenangkanmu?

Wahai kumbang

Lemah sangatkah dikau dek tewas kepada bunga?

kepada bunga yang bertopengkan syaitan?

Susahkah dikau untuk menutup pusat sehingga patella kau?

Kau bilang kau kuat

Kau bilang kau hebat

Kau bilang kau macho

Namun adakah kau kuat untuk mengawal nafsu kau?

Adakah kau hebat untuk beribadah kepada Dia?

Adakah kau macho disisiNya??

Adakah kau sempoi disisiNya??

Oh kumbang,

sedarlah bahawa diri kita hanyalah seekor kumbang kecil..

Tak layak untuk mengambil sebiji epal di atas pohon itu..

Wahai bunga

Susahkah dikau untuk mengenakan pakaian yang bisa menutup maruahmu?

Susahkah dikau untuk istiqamah dalam pakaianmu?

oh wahai bunga

susahkah dikau untuk mengawal suaramu,perilakumu,tingkah lakumu

kau sedar yang kau diibaratkan seperti buah epal yang berada di atas pohon yang tinggi..

sungguh mahal hargamu..

tak terbeli maruahmu oleh sesiapa pun termasuklah jika si pembeli menggunakan mata wang Pound Sterling!

wahai bunga

apakah kau lupa

apakah kau sombong

apakah kau bangga dengan kecantikanmu?

kau bangga dengan mekarmu?

kau bangga dengan bentuk tubuhmu yang menawan?

semua itu milik Dia, milik Dia, milik ALLAH yang Maha Esa

Dia bagi kamu pinjam seketika didunia ini

Jangan menyesal pabila pinjaman itu ditarik semula!

Wahai kumbang dan Wahai bunga

Siapa kamu untuk berpegangan selagi tiada ikatan yang halal??

Siapa kamu untuk bergurau senda cuit sana cuit sini selagi tiada ikatan yang halal??

Siapa kamu untuk suap menyuap makan diantara satu sama lain selagi tiada ikatan yang halal??

Siapakau bunga? Siapa kau untuk panggil kumbang itu sebagai...? siapa kau?

Siapa kau..?

Jika betul si bunga sayang kepada si kumbang, usah bergelumang dengan dosa bertahun-tahun!

Binalah mahligai yang dikau impikan itu kerana itu lebih baik bagimu.

Marilah ketani berlumba-lumba untuk melakukan kebaikan. Fastabiqul khairats!

Peace & Du'a

Aku.

Exam tips?

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahhi wabarakatuh.

First of all, apologies to everyone for not updating this blog in such a long time. It's been commented on, and so I suppose a little note to share at these trying times wouldn't hurt :) Okay, so some of you might have recognize this from somewhere else, but have a go at it again. It wouldn't hurt, right? hehe. Well, it's up to you really :D

Anyway, as we’re all aware, examinations are looming, that is for those who has not had it yet. So good luck guys! Semoga di permudahkan oleh Sang Rabb, insyaAllah.

This serves as a reminder, as well as to summarise what we talked about in our last solat hajat event. First and foremost, Allah is still our priority no matter how busy we are with our revisions. Remember him in everything you do for it is with His will that we get to do what we wanted to do. Therefore, set our niat that we’re studying because of Allah, because Allah has decreed it upon us. And if our intention is right, everything will be made easy, insyaAllah.

Begin your day, upon waking up with a niat. Say it out loud. Say, “O Allah, today I am going to do my revision. I am going to do it for You, because you decreed upon me to study. Therefore I am studying because of You, so make ease for me.”

Also, if we remember Allah in what ever it is that we do, that is also considered as dzikir… And Allah says in the Quran:

“For without doubt, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction (peace).” (13:28)

So if our heart is at peace, it will be much easier for us to absorb and comprehend our lecture materials, insyaAllah. Before starting your revision or your exam, recite the Fatihah to calm your hearts, read Ayatul-Kursi and Surah Al-Kafiruun, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Naas, to guard yourself from the trickery of syaaitan. Take your time reading the questions, comprehend them and make those structure/plans of your answers, contemplate upon them. For it was said in a hadith:

“Deliberation is from Allah and haste is from syaitaan.”

And put your trust in Allah i.e. tawakkal, thus recite: “Laa haulawalaa quwwata illa billahil’aliyyil ‘adzim.” Anything that you may discover afterwards upon completion of the examinations, don’t ponder upon it. Do not deliberate over what-ifs and should-have-beens. If you truly do understand the concept of tawakkal, these thoughts would not cross you mind for you know Allah has a better plan for you. Instead, look forward and learn from it. Make better for next time.

But does this mean, we should just make our intention right and let’s rely solely in Allah? No! You have to work to get what you want. Nothing will come easy in this life. Get into grip with good discipline for a better work environment. You are blessed with ‘tools’ (intelligence, senses, etc) from Allah, so make use of them to achieve what you wanted. Stay vigilant on your revision and study plans. Keep on answering those past year questions, for they are good practices.

So does that mean we should just work hard and have good discipline and stick to our study timetable or schedule? No! Don’t ever think that you can get through this with only hardwork… because that is a foolish thought. Sayyidina Ali (r.a.) said:

“Those who think they can achieve their aims without working are dreaming, and those who think they will attain their goals through exertion alone are over-confident and consider themselves self-sufficient.”

So, no matter how hard and trying these times may be, bear in mind that, you can go through this. How do I know? Because Allah said so :D

“On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear…” (2:286)

So work and strive for it! And may I also add, that these are not only to be applied or emphasized during the exam times. Keep it as a habit in your life, a daily routine if you want, anything. It definitely would not cost you a thing :D Be vigilant for it is the best of deeds.

Bittaufiq wannajah dan semoga dipermudahkan.



Jaga Diri Jaga Imaan

Syair... sebagai peringatan.

An ukhti *winks* was kind enough to share this with me, so here I am sharing it with the rest of you.

Jika dunia dianggap berharga,

Maka negeri balasan Allah lebih tinggi dan mulia,

Jika harta dicari utk ditinggal,

Mengapa dia kikir terhadapnya,

Jika rezeki telah dibagi sesuai takdir,

Semakin kecil semangat utk memperolehnya semakin baik,

Jika tubuh diciptakan untuk mati,

Maka mati di jalan Allah kerana tikaman pedang lebih utama.

MasyaAllah.

A cold splash... 'tis what it is.

Assalamualaikum :)

Taking Off the Hijab

-by Shazia Ahmad

Question

I understand that hijab is required, and I’ve been wearing it for some time now but I feel like putting it on might have been a mistake. I don’t feel like it’s made me become a better Muslim, and I feel almost like I’m deceiving people because they look at me as an example even though I’m still struggling with a lot of things. Also, if I take it off, is it really something Allah will punish me for? It seems like such a petty thing. Isn’t the most important thing having a clean heart?

Answer

Assalaamu `alaykum dear questioner,

Thank you for asking this question which opens up a number of important issues, and for entrusting us enough to share with us some of what you’re struggling with. I ask Allah (subhanahu wa ta`ala – exalted is He) that He makes the words that I write beneficial to you and others who are reading, and that He leads you to the best decisions.

I’d like to start by addressing what I believe is the least important factor in this equation, and that is ‘what other people might think.’ It should never be the case that we alter our practice of Islam or our worship for the sake of other people, or what they might think or assume. People may be quick to judge or jump to conclusions, but whatever thoughts or opinions they have are strictly their responsibility, and not something we should be overly concerned with.

You said that you’re worried that wearing hijab may be deceiving, because people see you as better than you really are. But in truth all of us are sinners, and it is only from Allah’s mercy upon us that He is as-Siteer - the One who veils our faults and our flaws, and makes us seem better than we really are in others’ eyes. One famous scholar said, “If sins had a smell no one would come near me because of the stench!” Every single one of us has deficiencies and weaknesses, has made mistakes, has taken missteps or is presently taking them. We only do the best that we can, and any good deed that Allah grants us the opportunity to perform should be considered a blessing that we take advantage of. Instead of worrying about not being good enough, we can instead consider this as an opportunity to be thankful to Allah for concealing our negatives, and pray, “O Allah, forgive me for what they do not know about me, and make me even better than what they think.”

You will be hard-pressed to find anyone on this earth who can be considered ‘worthy’ of being a representative of Islam, because everyone has one dimension or another in their faith or practice in which they are lacking. However that doesn’t mean we should stop encouraging each other by whatever means are available to us. There is a very beautiful hadith related to this issue:

Anas relates that, “We asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, shouldn’t we refrain from calling others to goodness if we don’t practice all good things ourselves, and shouldn’t we refrain from forbidding wrong things until we ourselves have abstained from all the bad?’ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘You should call others to goodness even if you don’t do all good, and you should forbid bad things even if you don’t abstain from all of them yourselves.’” (Al-Tabarani)

Remember that by wearing hijab you are not saying to others ‘I am Islam’, but simply that ‘I am a Muslim’, meaning – I am someone who is trying to follow this religion, who accepts it as truth, sees beauty in it and hopes to beautify myself with it. I remember a quote attributed to Yusuf Islam: “Islam is not a state of being but it is a process of becoming,” – becoming more, become better, striving to reach that state of perfect submission and connection with Allah Most High, and May He help all of us achieve that, ameen.

You also said that you feel hijab has not really made you a better Muslim. A lot of times when a person first starts performing a good deed they feel an iman ‘rush’, a feeling of happiness at doing something good for the sake of Allah and energy to do more, improve themselves, etc. However, after some time, when that action starts to become just another part of a daily routine, it loses that power, and that increase in iman and excitement dissipates.

What a person needs, instead of focusing on those ‘rushes’, is a steady and constant diet of good deeds and spiritual nourishment. We cannot rely on one particular deed to ‘make’ us better Muslims. Instead, we have to take the reigns and make sure we are doing things regularly that increase us in iman, like recitation of the Qur’an, performing salah with consciousness and focus, dhikr, and so on. Wearing hijab can definitely be one of those things, but it is only one part of a whole that needs to be constructed. Just like exercise is important for good health, yet it has to be combined with eating right and many other things in order for the person to see the desired results in the end.

Also know that there is a direct relationship between a person’s actions and their inner state. We know that when someone is in a high state of iman it’s natural for him or her to start performing more good deeds. However, we may overlook the fact that the opposite is true as well – that just performing good deeds, even if one may not be ‘feeling it’, can affect us and change us. The limbs are inroads, and performing good deeds with them can soften a hardened heart, bring enlightenment to a closed mind, and give a person a feeling of rejuvenation and desire to come closer to Allah and do more positive things. I heard a scholar say that if one is feeling troubled, confused or in a low state of iman, “go quickly to action”; because good deeds can bring about that inner reawakening one may need. If we don’t see a change happening in us when we do a good deed, that doesn’t mean we should stop it but that perhaps we need to supplement it with others in order to gather the momentum needed to see results.

Thirdly, you are absolutely correct when you say that the most important thing is for us to have purified hearts. Allah (swt) emphasizes this in the Qur’an when He states that on the Day of Judgment nothing will be of benefit to the servant except “one who brings to Allah a clean, sound heart” (26:89). The question is, how does one achieve that? What purifies us and cleanses our hearts?

In our times we find that some people feel that we’ve reached a more ‘enlightened era’ in which spirituality can be derived solely from philosophy and ideas, and need not be bound by rituals and details of religion. However those who propound this notion forget that Allah did not create us as minds and souls alone – but coupled them with our physical bodies. We cannot deny the fact that we are body and soul, content and form, together, and each has its own needs and specifications for refinement. This is a sunnah of Allah in the way that we were created, and why prayer, fasting, and all our spiritual endeavors have very specific physical components. These forms house within them dimensions of meaning, but it is only from enacting them precisely that a profound spirituality can be achieved.

Purifying our hearts is the goal, but the means to reaching that goal is through the very real and specific physical prescriptions and commandments that Allah (swt) has given us. It is through His obedience and through following the teachings of our deen that we clean and polish our hearts. It is for this reason that I have to say that hijab is not something trivial. Anything that leads us to spiritual awareness, elevation, and purification – that helps us come closer to Allah – cannot be considered trivial or petty. Perhaps it is more likely that there are hidden depths within it that we do not perceive, or that we are not putting it in the proper context of its deeper purpose and meaning.

About punishment from Allah: a better way of looking at this issue is not considering the smallness or pettiness of the sin, but the greatness of the One whom we are sinning against. From His infinite wisdom, all-encompassing knowledge and vast mercy, in accordance to His Law – which is at its core about attaining benefit and warding off harm – He has instructed us to perform this action. In the Qur’an Allah says, ‘It may be that you dislike something and in it is goodness for you’ (2:216); ‘It may be that you dislike a thing but Allah brings about from it a great deal of good.’ (4:19) If someone chooses to step away from a prescribed action knowingly, we cannot deny that this is a sin, and that Allah holds us to account for our sins. However we always have hope in and pray for Allah’s mercy and kindness, as we know He can forgive all sins if He chooses.

In closing, I want to leave you with a beautiful quote from a Hadith Qudsi. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said:

“My servant draws not near to Me with anything more beloved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him.” (Bukhari)

Know, dear questioner, that if you feel far from Allah, the solution is not to stop what you are doing and find a different way, but to persevere and continue on the path you are on, even though it is hard. This will make you beloved to Allah, and one who feels the happiness of being close to Him and being shaded by His Loving Mercy and care.

May Allah enliven and enlighten our hearts and grant us closeness to Him. May He make us people who love to worship Him, and through our worship become close to Him and gain His love. May He make our hearts firm and steadfast on our deen, and grant us strength and bravery in our spiritual struggles. May He guide us to the best decisions and make easy for us the path of khayr [goodness]. Ameen ya Rabb.

WAllahu a`lam – and He alone knows best.

Wasalaamu alaykum

The Rewards of Good Deeds

'AbdAllah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) related this Saying from his Lord:

"Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) has written down the good deeds and the bad ones. Then He explained it (by saying that) he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed; but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed." (Bukhari and Muslim)

On the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said:

"Whosoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgement. Whosoever alleviates (the lot of) a needy person, Allah will alleviate (his lot) in this world and the next. Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the next. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, without tranquility descending upon them, mercy enveloping them, the angles surrounding them, and Allah making mention of them amongst those who are with Him. Whosoever is slowed down by his actions will not be hastened forward by his lineage." (Muslim)

Buraida (may Allah be pleased with him) said that one morning Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) called Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, "What did you do to get to Paradise before me? I have never entered Paradise without hearing the rustling of your garments in front of me." He replied, "Messenger of Allah, I have never called the adhan without praying two rak'a (salah) and no impurity has ever happened to me without my performing ablution on the spot and thinking that I owed Allah (The Glorified and The Exalted) two rak'a." Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said. "It is because of them." (Tirmidhi)