A Handy Plan To Behave In The Same Way As The Prophet (PBUH)‏

 

 

 

If you are a person who really loves the Prophet (PBUH) then you should have his qualities :

1-Avoid lewdness which is every bad speech or action.

2-Don't speak loudly and lower your voice mainly in public places such as streets, mosques, parties… etc., except if being a lecturer or advisor or being an Imam in a mosque.

3-Repel evil someone cause to you with that which is best. Forgive him and do not punish him or desert him.

4-Don't reproach or insult your servant or your colleague or your son or your student or your wife because of a mistake or an uncompleted job.
5-Do your duties very well and do not diminish others' rights in order to prevent them from reprimanding you.

6-Don't be laughing all the time and let your laugh be a nice smile.

7-Be always ready to help the weak, the indigent and the women without arrogance.

8-Helping your family in doing some of the house work even if it's something easy.

9-Wear the best of your clothes mainly for praying, on the celebration days (Aïd) .
10-Don't be prideful to eat on the ground, eat what is given to you, be satisfied with few of food and don't criticize badly what you eat.

11-Joining workers and helping them in their work ( as helping in carrying dust or digging…etc.) as a sign of humility and making the workers feel others’ sympathy and respect towards them.

12-Don't accept exaggerated praise from someone, but some words of thank that are equal to the work done.

13-Avoid saying bad or aggressive statements even if you are joking.
14-Don't say something evil and don't commit it.

15-Don't attack your brothers evilly.

16-Speak in a correct way and let your words be nice and not hurting.

17-Decrease your jocks and don't say anything but the truth.
18-Be merciful to human beings and to animals so that Allah the Almighty keeps his mercy upon you.

19-Avoid avarice because it's repelled from Allah the Almighty and people.

20-Sleep early and wake up early starting your day with worshiping Allah, hard work and diligence.

21-Don't miss the prayers in group in the mosque.
22-Be aware of angriness and its bad results. If you become angry you should say: « Audhu Billahi Mina Shaytan ar-Rajim

’, which means, ‘I seek refuge from Satan, the devil »

23-Be aware that every single word you say is recorded ; try to be as quiet as possible.

24-When you recite the Quran you have to understand what you are reading and you should feel the verses. It's also recommended that you listen to the Holy Quran recited by others. The most important thing you have to do, is to make the Quran your way of life which means to apply every single word practically.

25-Don't reject ''permissible'' perfumes offered to you and use them especially when you pray.
26-Use the siwak (miswak : stick of arak for cleaning teeth) mainly before prayers because it's very beneficial.

27-Be courageous and say the truth even if it's against you.

28-Accept advice from anyone and never refuse it.

29-Treat your family with just, and be just in every single work you do.
30-Forgive the one who hurts you, and be patient so that Allah the Almighty forgives you.

31-You should love for the others what you love for yourself.

32-Don't forget to greet when entering and leaving your house and when you enter shops.

33-Use always the Islamic greeting form : « Assalamu Alaykom wa Rahmato Allah wa Barakatoh » which means :” Peace, blessing and mercy of Allah be upon you”

34-Pay attention to your clothes, appearance and personal cleanness.

35-Colour your grey hair in yellow or red and avoid the black colour as the Prophet ordered (PBUH).

36-May Allah guide us to practise his book and the tradition of His Prophet (PBUH) and may Allah guide us to love His Prophet (PBUH) and to merit his intercession in the Day of Judgement. Aameen

Enjoy your life at every moment

Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. Suddenly a rich businessman passing by approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working. To this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day.

Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time?
Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could become a rich businessman like me.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could then enjoy your life peacefully.
Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing right now?

MORAL – You don’t need to wait for tomorrow to be happy and enjoy your life. You don’t even need to be more rich, more powerful to enjoy life. LIFE is at this moment, enjoy it fully.

As some great men have said “My riches consist not in extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants”.

To Let Go..

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization that I can’t control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can do.

To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

Believe in Yourself

There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren’t the way you had hoped they would be.

That’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down.

But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them.

Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are.

So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be.

Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Keep Believing in Yourself!

The mouse trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house – like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many! people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.

The house with the golden windows

The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill – and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers.

And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn’t wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself…and was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.

So sad she didn’t go any further and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike … As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her…there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden …as the sun shone on her little home.

She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the ‘golden house’. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!

The important things in life

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Latest Post on ILoveAllaah.com Website - including - Arabic Nasheed: "Verily, you are an angel" A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet ﷺ said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari)‏

Mistakes that prevent du’aa’ from being accepted

Question:-  There are many mistakes that happen with regard to du’aa’ and prevent the du’aa’ from being accepted. What are these mistakes?.

Answer:-

Praise be to Allaah.

The mistakes that may be made in du’aa’ are very many; most of them come under the heading of transgression in du’aa’, such as:

1 – When the du’aa’ includes shirk or association of others with Allaah, such as calling upon someone or something other than Allaah along with Him, whether it is a person, a tree or a grave, because du’aa’ is an act of worship and directing it towards anyone other than Allaah is shirk, and shirk is the worst of sins by which Allaah is disobeyed. In the hadeeth it says: Which sin is worst before Allaah? He said: “To appoint a rival to Allaah, when He has created you.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.

2 – When the du’aa’ includes some innovated means of tawassul (seeking to draw closer to Allaah), such as tawassul by means of the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or by his status. Islam is based on following, not on innovating.

3 – Wishing for death because of a calamity that has befallen one. In the hadeeth it is narrated that Khabbaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Were it not that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to pray for death, I would have prayed for it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6350) and Muslim (2681).

In the hadeeth it says: “No one of you should wish for death because of some harm that has befallen him. If he must wish for it, then let him say: ‘O Allaah, keep me alive so long as living is good for me, and cause me to die when death is good for me.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6531) and Muslim (2680).

4 – Praying for the punishment to be hastened. It is better to ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound in this world and in the Hereafter. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw a Muslim man who was sick and had grown feeble like a chicken. The Messenger of Allaah (S) said to him: “Did you pray for anything or ask for it?” He said: Yes, I used to say: O Allaah, whatever punishment You would give me in the Hereafter, bring it forward in this world. The Messenger of Allaah (S) said: “Subhaan Allaah! You cannot bear it. Why didn’t you say, O Allaah, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire?” Then he prayed to Allaah for him, and He healed him. Narrated by Muslim (2688).

5 – Du’aa’ against one’s family and wealth. In the hadeeth it says: “Do not pray against yourselves, do not pray against your children, and do not pray against your wealth, lest that coincide with an hour when Allaah is asked and He answers your prayers.” Narrated by Muslim (3009).

6 – Praying for the severing of family ties, such as praying against someone and asking that there be a rift between him and his wife or some of his relatives.

7 – Praying for a limitation of mercy, such as saying: O Allaah, send rain upon our land only, and so on.

8 – Failing to observe proper etiquette in making du’aa’ to Allaah, such as saying du’aa’ in a manner that is not appropriate. Al-Khattaabi said: It is not proper to say, O Lord of the dogs, or O Lord of the pigs and monkeys, even though all creatures are created by Him and He has complete power over all of them. Sha’n al-Du’aa’ (153).

 What is appropriate when calling upon one’s Lord is to observe proper etiquette as much as possible and to avoid anything that is not befitting. The attitude should be one of humility and submission.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to praise his Lord a great deal in his du’aa’, to such an extent that it seemed that he could not praise Him enough. He said: “I seek refuge in You from You; I cannot praise You enough.”

9 – Relying on someone else in du’aa’. You see some people who do not call upon Allaah themselves on the basis that they are sinners, so they always ask others to make du’aa’ for them. Although this is permissible in general, there are some reservations concerning it. Hence one should make a great deal of du’aa’ and think positively, and think of the greatness of Allaah’s bounty and generosity, no matter how great one’s sin, for the mercy of Allaah will encompass him. If Allaah answers the prayers of the mushrikeen when they are in dire straits, then He is more likely to answer the prayers of the believers, despite their shortcomings.

A man came to Maalik ibn Dinar and said: I ask you by Allaah to pray for me, for I am in dire straits. He said: “Then ask of Him (yourself), for He answers the one who is in dire straits.” al-Jaami’ li Ahkaam il-Qur’aan (13/223).

10 – Despair and lack of certain faith of an answer to the du’aa’. Some people, when they are afflicted with a chronic disease, think that they cannot be cured and they give up du’aa’ and fail to turn to Allaah, and perhaps the shaytaan makes them think that there is no need for du’aa’.

This is one of the most serious mistakes, and it is ignorance of Allaah and His power and kindness, for Allaah is Able to do all things, and when He wills a thing He says to it “Be!” and it is.

When Zakariya (peace be upon him) was an old man and his wife was barren, he prayed for offspring: “O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:38]. And Allaah answered his prayer: “Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in Al-Mihraab (a praying place or a private room), (saying): “Allaah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John)…” –Aal ‘Imraan 3:39]. So do not despair of the help of Allaah or think that the Mercy of Allaah is limited.

11 – Going to extremes in raising the voice, especially in the presence of loudspeakers. The voices of those who are making du’aa’ may be heard from afar, and this is a mistake and transgression, and it is a form of showing-off. It is better to raise the voice only so much as is needed for the worshippers to hear if they are saying Ameen behind you.

12 – Saying, “O Allaah, I am not asking You to change the decree, rather I am asking You to help me in dealing with it.” This is wrong because Allaah has prescribed for us to ask Him to change the decree, because every calamity that befalls a person is divinely decreed.

In a well known du’aa’ it says: “Protect me from the evil of that which You have decreed, for You decree and no decree is passed over You.” al-Bukhaari said: “Chapter on one who seeks refuge with Allaah from calamity and a bad fate, and the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: I seek refuge with (Allaah), the Lord of the daybreak” [al-Falaq 113:1]. Then he mentioned the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Seek refuge with Allaah from hardship, calamity and a bad fate.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7/215).

13 – Making du’aa’ al-Qunoot lengthy. Praying in a manner that does not befit what is sought, especially at times of calamity, because Qunoot at times of calamity is only prescribed to pray for some people or against others.

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The one who is praying Qunoot should say at such times the du’aa’ that is suited to that calamity. Al-Fataawa 22/217.

And he said: The Sunnah is to pray Qunoot at the time of calamity and to ask for what is appropriate for those people who are at war against the Muslims. Al-Fataawa, 21/155.

These are some of the mistakes that are made in du’aa’.  We ask Allaah to guide us aright and to help us to do and say the right thing... Ameen

Hadith Qudsi

 

 

Hadith Qudsi - means the Hadiths that have been revealed to the Prophet SAW by Allah Himself and nothing has been added or deducted, they are Allahs words, and the Prophet is saying what Allah has said
Hadith Qudsi 1
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
"When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged himself by writing in His Book which is laid down with Him " My Mercy prevails My wrath"
[ Muslim and Ibn Majah]
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Hadith Qudsi 2
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
"Allah Almighty has said
"The Son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: "He will not remake me as He made me at first" (1) and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me then remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying " Allah has taken to Himself a son; while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was i begotten, and there is none comparable to Me."
(1) - i.e. bring me back to life after death
_______________________
Hadith Qudsi 3
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) finished, he faced the people and said to them " Do you know what your Lord has said?" they said "Allah and his Messenger know best". He said " this morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever, As for him who said " We have been given the rain y virtue of Allah and His Mercy; that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars (2) ; and as for him who said " we have been given rain by such and such a star; that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars"
[ Bukhari and an-Nasa'i]
(2) - the pre Islamic Arabs used to believe that rain was brought about by the movement of the stars. This hadith draws attention to the fact that whtever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is Allah the Almighty who is the Disposer of all things!
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Hadith Qudsi 4
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
" Allah said 'Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] time, and I am time in my hand is the night and day" (1)
[ Bukhari and Muslim]
(1) - As the Almighty is the Ordainer of all things, to inveigh against misfortunes that are part of time is tantamount to inveighing against Him
vicissitudes means - A change of circumstances or fortune
tantamount means - equivalent in value / significant
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Hadith Qudsi 5
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
" Allah ( Glorified and Exhalted be he) said:
" I am so self - sufficient that i am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone elses sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him who he associated with Me"
[Muslim and Ibn Majah]

Motherhood and Miracles

Motherhood and Miracles

By Dalia Mogahed

According to the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him)...God created mercy, and spread one part of it among all the mothers on the Earth, the human, the jinn and the animals, that they should love and nurture their young, from the beginning of time until the end. And He saved ninety-nine parts of mercy for Himself to use when judging the children of Adam on the Day of Resurrection.

My 2-month-old baby Tariq had been crying for the past six hours. His rhythmic plea, whah, whah, whah, whah; was a desperate cry for help, an appeal to humanity. I was pacing with my arms wrapped around his soft but strong 12-pound body as he howled; his back arched, face red, eyes pinched and mouth gaping in audible torment.

The dim night light in the open kitchen enveloped the adjoining living room in a brown film, as a fan on the counter hummed at full blast,unable to cut through the heavy humid air. It was 2:37A.M. and a blistering summer night.
I was one of those moms who wanted to do everything right; no short cuts. I took Tariq on long walks in a front carrier and pointed out every flower, every bird, every ladybug I noticed, and told him these were all gifts from God. We spent hours in the rocking chair while I read to him from colorful board books, knowing how precious this time was, and knowing that before too long I will be the one trying to squeeze into his busy schedule. I cuddled my baby, nursed him before he had to cry out of hunger, played with him, and describing every activity I did in that motherly running-commentary fashion the baby books encouraged. My sense of well-being was innately tied to his, and as long as the sun was shining, I was a capable, in control mother, with a happy, well cared for child.

This sense of competence would unravel with the fading of the daylight. It was always the same: my otherwise contented, healthy child would begin to fuss at around 6:00 p.m. and then his irritation would turn into all out war by around 8:00 p.m. and continue into the night. I dreaded the darkness, the backdrop to my weakest moments. After the third hour of trying unsuccessfully to comfort him, I would move beyond rational thought, when all that would seem real was the screaming, when it was the only sound I could imagine. No matter what anyone tried to tell me about how "normal" it was, Tariq's inconsolable crying tormented me with worry and shook my mothering confidence at the root.Doctors told me all this was "just'"colic. But with my husband working nights, to me it was no less than a test of faith.

That night, as the summer heat wrapped around my body like a heavy wool coat, I bounced Tariq, walked across the living room, and sang every song I knew. Water! The faucet had worked last night, I desperately remembered. I turned on the water in the kitchen sink full blast. The crying ceased. Tariq looked at the sparkling stream in silent surprise.Thank God, I sighed and leaned against the counter. At that moment, he started screaming again; the novelty of the water had worn off.

I turned my mind from problem solving to desperate prayer. Please God,I am so in need. Oh please God, I need strength, give my baby peace,give me patience. I have no power except by You, I have no strength except what you give me. I am your humble servant, and I need your help.I felt so vulnerable, so weak, so exposed and so painfully in need of God. Tariq continued to scream, as if begging me for help. "Something hurts me, Mommy. Rescue me," I heard him cry to his powerless mother. As a last desperate attempt and more to calm myself than Tariq, I began to say the call to prayer(Azaan) as loud as I could, Allahuakbar...Allaaaaaaaahu akbar ; "God is greater, God is greater." The profound meaning of these familiar words came alive for me in this moment of need. God is greater than this situation, I thought. God is greater than this moment of difficulty. God is greater than this weakness I feel.

Apparently startled, Tariq stopped crying and looked at me with his round black eyes glistening in the glow of the kitchen night-light.Ash-hadu aLa Ihlaha illah Allah, I went on: "I bear witness there is no god but God." He is sufficient as a helper, I told myself, He is sufficient as a friend. I was not alone.I felt the weight of Tariq's head as he rested it against my shoulder while I continued, Ash-hadu annah Muhammadan rasul allaaaaaaaah: "I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God." I let the heavy meaning of this statement sink into my consciousness, now rendered pliant by my new found humility, ready to hear, ready to understand. He is the prophet of God, I silently repeated. What he said was Truth, absolute truth, and I must believe it whole-heartedly.

When Muhammad(peace be upon him) told a man to stay home from jihad to take care of his mother because "paradise is at her feet," that was truth, and when he advised another to honor his mother three times above his father, that was truth.

Such status cannot be easy to achieve, I realized. Such reverence is earned. There is honor in this endeavor, there is privilege in it. I was joining the ranks of some of the greatest and most important people in human history. I was a mother!

Hayaa alasalaah, hayaa ala alfalaa: "Come to prayer, come to success." The words continued to resonate within me; prayer was the model for success in life. Success was submission to God's will. Success was perseverance, was patience, was finding in myself the strength that could only be born in a trial. Success was discovering the love that my heart was capable of by giving birth to a human being that I would take a bullet for without a second thought. This experience itself was success; it was not a struggle in vain.

An immense wave of tranquility had drowned my tension. The drone of the fan seemed imposing now in the new stillness of the room. The small couch and chair in the living room, my silent witnesses, were covered with a golden blanket of soft light, thrown upon them by the tiny lamp in the kitchen. Tariq's soft cheeks were pressed against my shoulder and he was sound asleep.
I looked down at my son, the test, responsibility, and gift God had entrusted me with, and was awestruck. There in the dim light with his eyelids closed and laced with long black eyelashes, his pink cheeks bulging into his button nose, and his heart-shaped lips resting peacefully, he was a miracle, a sign of the Divine.I understood at that moment that to draw closer to the Merciful, I had to strive to eternalize His attributes as much as is possible with my limited human capacity.

This bittersweet journey called motherhood had brought me one step closer to understanding Ar-Rahman, A-Raheem; the All Merciful, the Most Benevolent. For I knew that the immense love, tenderness and compassion that I felt for my son, all my unconditional love, all my limitless giving, was infinitely dwarfed by God's love and mercy. I was just one mother, one insignificant speck in the family of creation, sharing in the mercy bestowed on mothers by God.

Recognizing my smallness erupted in me an epiphany of God's greatness,and the magnitude of His benevolence. While bestowing one part of mercy on the Earth for all mothers to share, He had saved ninety-nine parts for Himself.

I felt hot tears well up in my eyes as I whispered, Allahu akbar,Allahu akbar, La illah illa Allah;"God is greater, God is
greater,there is no god but God," completing the ancient call to prayer(Azaan) as it had been recited by billions before me for the past 1400 years. Yet on that night, I felt these words were spoken especially for me, like a personal letter from a friend.