Real Happiness and Inner Peace

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.

HEART FIND PEACE IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH

According to research by David B. Larson, of the American National Health Research Center, and his team, comparisons of devout and non-religious Americans have given very surprising results. For instance, religious people suffer 60% less heart disease than those with little or no religious belief, the suicide rate among them is 100% lower, they suffer far lower levels of high blood pressure, and this ratio is 7:1 among smokers. 1

It was reported in one study published in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, an important scientific source in the world of medicine, that people who describe themselves as having no religious beliefs become ill more frequently and have shorter life spans. According to the results of the research, those with no beliefs are twice as likely to suffer stomach-intestine diseases than believers, and their mortality rate from respiratory diseases is 66% times higher than that of believers.

Secular psychologists tend to refer to similar figures as “psychological effects.” This means that belief raises peoples’ spirits, and this contributes to health. This explanation may indeed be reasonable, but a more striking conclusion emerges when the subject is examined.

Belief in Allah is much stronger than any other psychological influence. The wide-ranging research into the connection between religious belief and physical health carried out by Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical Faculty has produced surprising conclusions in this area.

Despite not being a believer himself, Dr. Benson has concluded that worship and belief in Allah have a more positive effect on human health than that observed in anything else. Benson states that he has concluded that no belief provides as much mental peace as belief in Allah. 2

What is the reason for this connection between belief and the human soul and body? The conclusion reached by the secular researcher Benson is, in his own words, that the human body and mind are regulated to believe in Allah. 3


The reason why those who believe in Allah, who pray to and trust in Him, are psychologically and physically healthier is that they behave in accordance with the purpose of their creation. Philosophies and systems which contradict human creation always lead to pain and unhappiness.

Modern medicine is now tending towards the realization of this truth. As Patrick Glynn put it: “[S]cientific research in psychology over the past twenty-five years has demonstrated that,… religious belief is one of the most consistent correlates of overall mental health and happiness.” 4

1- Patrick Glynn, God: The Evidence, The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (California: Prima Publishing: 1997), 80-81.
2- Herbert Benson, and Mark Stark, Timeless Healing (New York: Simon & Schuster: 1996), 203.
3- Ibid., 193.
4- Glynn, God: The Evidence, The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World, 60-61.

Sunnah Acts of Juma

1. To take a bath. (Bukhari , Tirmidhi , Ibne Majah)

2. To wear nice and clean clothes. (Abu Dawood, Chapter of Ghusal on the day of Jumu’ah)

3. To proceed early to the Masjid.(Tirmidhi ,Ibne Majah)

4. To go to the Masjid on foot. (Ibne Majah)

5. To try to sit as close as possible to the Imaam. (Ibne Majah , Tirmidhi)

6. If the Saffs (rows) are already filled, one should not jump over the shoulders of the musallies in order to get to the front.(Abu Dawood)

7. One should not do any futile action eg. one should not fiddle with one’s clothes or fingers. (Ibne Majah)

8. To listen to the Khutba attentively. (Tirmidhi ,Ibne Majah)

9. The person who recites Surah Kahaf on Friday will be bestowed with a Noor( Spiritual light) from under the Arsh (The Throne of Allah Ta’ala) which will extend from the earth till the sky and will benefit him in the darkness of the Day of Qiyaamah. All his (minor) sins which he had committed from the previous Jumu’ah up to this Jumu’ah will be forgiven. (Behishti Zewar)

10. Rasulullah () is reported to have said, “Recite Durood upon me in abundance on the day of Jumua’h since they are presented to me.” (Ibne Majah)

11. On the day of Jumua’h it is Sunnat to apply oil to the hair and to use itr or any other sweet smelling fragrance. (Bukhari)

What should u do if you find yourself thinking about zina

Praise be to Allaah.
Thinking about zinaa may mean one of two things.
(1) It may be merely thoughts that cross the mind, without becoming a firm resolve. A person cannot be blamed for this, but it is better to rid oneself of these thoughts so that they do not lead to anything e...lse.

(2) It may be an established thought accompanied by resolve and intention. In this case, the person must hasten to deal with it in a number of ways, including the following:

1- Seriously thinking of getting married, because this is the shar’i and natural protection for the Muslim man and woman.

2- Fasting if one cannot get married.

3- Muslim men and women should strive to strengthen their eemaan (faith) by reading Qur’aan, praying naafil prayers and doing other kinds of acts of worship.

4- Taking care to choose righteous friends.

5- Keeping away from everything that might provoke desire; one of the most obvious of these is looking at things which are haraam.

6- Remembering the punishment for zinaa in this world and in the Hereafter, and that its evil affects far outweigh the immediate pleasure that a person may experience.

A Lesson

Ibrahim Ibn Adham (may Allah SWT have mercy on him) was a third century scholar, a teacher and a companion of Sufyaan ath-Thawree. He once passed through the market of Basrah in Iraq which at the time was a great centre for Islamic knowledge and learning. The city was famous for scholarship, for great saints and people of Allah SWT. It was a place of immense abundance from Allah SWT.

He passed through the market of Basrah. People gathered around him and asked: O Abû Ishâq, (father of ishaq) we have a question for you. Allah SWT says in the Quran, “Call on me, I will answer your prayers”. But we have been calling on Him for a long time and He does not answer our prayers.

This was a sign of the peoples ignorance, as you’re not allowed to say such things. The Prophet SAW prohibited this. Allah SWT does things in His Own way. There is duas He will defer because He loves people to ask of Him.

Ibrahim Ibn Adham replied to the people, “Its because your hearts are dead.” In order to call on Allah SWT you have to be alive. The dead don’t call. He went on and said your hearts are dead because of ten things:

1.) “You know Allah SWT, yet you do not obey Him”

2.) “You recite the Quran, yet do not act according to it”

3.) “You know Shaitaan (Devil), yet you have agreed with him”

4.) “You proclaim that you love the Messenger of Allah SAW, yet you abandon his Sunnah”

5.) “You proclaim your love for Paradise, yet you do not act to gain it”

6.) “You proclaim your fear for the Fire, yet you do not prevent yourselves from sins”

7.) “You say “Indeed death is true”, yet you have not prepared for it”

8.)”You engage yourselves with finding faults with others, yet you do not look at your faults”

9.) “You eat of that which Allah SWT has provided for you, yet you do not thank Him”

10.) “You bury your dead, yet you do not take a lesson from it.”

Allah Subhanaho Wa tala Says:-

“Try to Walk on My Way,
I’ll Make all the Ways Easy for you.
Try to Spend your Wealth in My
Way,
I ‘ll Open Oceans of Treasure for
you.
Try to Leave your Wills for Me,
I ‘ll Make your Desired Destiny for
you.
Try to Bear Pain on My Way,
I ‘ll Open the Doors of My Care for
you.
Try to Believe in Me,
I ‘ll Make Sincere Friends for you.
Try to Be Mine,
I ‘ll Make Everyone for you !

How To Concentrate In Your Prayers

1. Repeat what the mu'adhin (person who calls prayers) says.

2. Make dua between adhan and Iqamah.

3. Make fresh wudu for Salah.

4. Use miswak before Salah.

5. Dress in fine clothes for Salah.

6. Move through Salah with tranquility.

7. Pray as if you will die after this Salah.

8. Think about the verses and dhikr you are reciting in Salah.

9. Repeat verses for added contemplation.

10. Memorize and use new passages of Quran.

11. Pause at the end of each ayah.

12. Recite in a beautiful voice.

13. Maintain eyesight on your prostration location.

14. Recite dhikr after prayer, patiently.

15. Don't look around in prayer.

16. Suppress your yawning during prayer.

17. Don't stick to the same prayer place in the Masjid.

18. Arrive early for Salah.

19. Pray as soon as the time enters

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One Who Misses The Prayer & Benefits Of The Prayer

The Prayer - Its Effect in Increasing Eemaan and Purifying the Soul
© al-Hidaayah

From Nawfal ibn Mu`aawiyah, radhiallahu `anhu, that the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: "Whoever missed the Prayer, then it is as if he had lost his family and his wealth." [Reported by Ibn Hibban in his Saheeh and it occurs in Saheehut-Targheeb (no. 576).]

How would you feel, O Muslim Brother/Sister, if you were to lose your precious son? How would you feel if you lost your wife? What pain would you feel if you lost your family? What would your grief be like if you lost both your family and your wealth? Indeed it would be an agonising blow and terrible grief that a person should lose his family and wealth. Losing his family with whom he lived with and experienced such joy. The spacious earth would seem constricted for one who lost his family. He would experience distress, grief and agony. Then how about one who in addition lost his wealth? Fresh and sweet wealth which Allaah made a support for us, how would you feel if that occurred also? Then know that one who misses the Prayer has indeed suffered a huge loss.

Summarized notes from the chapter on "The excellence of the prayer and its wiping away of sins and evil deeds":

1. Allah wipes away sins through the five daily Prayers.
2. Prayer is an expiation of what is committed between them, as long as major sins are avoided.
3. Sins destroy a person and ignite a fire for him which he must extinguish with Prayers.
4. The Muslim may reach the station of the sincere, the truthful and the martyrs through Prayer, Zakat and Fasting.
5. Prayer's excellence over other actions.
6. Allah the Most High blessed the Companion by entering him into Paradise before his brother, the martyr, and that was because he performed more prayers than him.
7. Prayer is a light which will make the way clear for the servant in this life and the Hereafter.
8. The way to achieve companionship of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, in Paradise is to increase in performance of prostration and Prayer.
9. Performance of two rak`ahs would be more beloved to a deceased person than the world and all that it contains.
10. Turning with one's heart to Allah in the Prayer fully and sincerely causes the Muslim to be as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him [i.e. free from sin].

Medical Benefits of Salah

There are several medical benefits of Salat (Namaz):- of offering Salah and as every Muslim knows that the best part of Salah is the sujood, that is the prostration.

No wonder the Quran has mentioned the word sujood, prostration no less then 90 times in the glorious Quran. Where [do] you do sujood in the Salah? Normally when you [stand] erect, blood does flow into the brain but it is not sufficient for a healthy brain. During Salah when you [go into] sujood extra blood flows into the brain, which is very important for [a] healthy brain. When you do sujood, this extra blood supply to the skin on the face [helps] prevent diseases such as chilblain etc.

When you do sujood there is drainage of sinuses and there are fewer chances that a person will have sinusitis, that is inflammation of the sinus, this drainage of module sinus, of the frontal sinus, and a person has less chances of having inflammation of the sinus, that is sinusitis.

There are various benefits. [For example], when a person does sujood even the bronchitis's, the secretion of the bronchitis, they get drained, there are less chances of having bronchitis.

When a person breathes normally only two thirds of the capacity of the lung is exhaled out, the remaining one third remain in the lung as a residual air, now when you do sujood the abdominal visra, they press against the diaphragm and the diaphragm presses against the lower part of the lungs, the lower lobes, and when you breath during sujood even this one third residual air is aired out and that's very important for a healthy lung. There are less chances of having diseases of the lungs.

When you do sujood, there is increased venes return there is less chance of having hernia, etc. Due to posture in sujood there is less chances of having hemorrhoid, that is piles.

In a salah we stand up and we sit down, do qayam, rukuh, sujood and when we stand up from same position the weight is localized on the bottom of the feet and the calve muscle and the thigh muscle are activated and they increase the blood supply to the lower part of the body, which is very important. Further we do various postures like standing erect, bowing down, prostrating, the vertebra column takes various postures and there are less chances of having disease of the vertebrae, of the spine.

There are medical benefits [and] you can give a talk only on this topic. But we Muslims, we offer Salah to thank Allah (SWT), to praise Him. These are just side dishes. They are like dessert. You know it may attract a person who is a non-Muslim, towards Salah but our main meal, our main biryani, our main course is to thank Allah (SWT) and to obey the commandments of Allah and the Prophet. That is the reason we offer Salah.

Why 5 times daily salat:-

As I mentioned in the earlier episode that Salah is a sort of programming towards righteousness, that we are programmed towards righteousness. And the requirement [is] that it should be repeated [a] minimum [of] 5 times a day. For example for a very healthy body, a doctor will tell you, you require [a] minimum [of] 3 meals a day. Similarly for a spiritual soul, a person is required to offer Salah 5 times a day. And the requirement is, [that] there are chances that because of the evil in the society around us, we may get de-programmed. So if we are kept on being re-programmed, there are more chances that you will remain [steadfast on the] Sirat al mustaqeem, on the straight path. Therefore it is compulsory that every Muslim should offer Salah [a] minimum [of] 5 times a day.

Doesn't Salat disturb my job productivity. If you know the rules of management, [you will know] that a person cannot work continuously for hours together. If a person comes to office at 9 o'clock in the morning and sits till 6 o'clock in the evening, continuously for 9 hours, in fact he will be less productive. That is the reason that there are some short breaks given in between. So a person can get re-created, you know we have recreation. Similarly Salah is a sort of recreation. It rejuvenates you. If someone tells me that I am losing time, I am less productive, because I waste 15 minutes having lunch break, I would say that he is not a logical person because only if he has meals regularly, can he do more work. Similarly if a person offers Salah at intervals, I do agree he may have to work for a few minutes but when he stops and he comes back to work he works with a much better frame of mind and productivity overall will be much better. So for a logical person and a modern person he has to agree that there should be breaks so that a person can get recreated and Salah is the best form of rejuvenating your mind.

By Dr Zakir Naik

Step-by-Step Video Guide to Prayer

Don't forget to Share this article after Reading!
This is a documentary style educational film that teaches you the basics of prayer. It contains the following: The Night Journey (Isra' wal-Mi'raj) The story of the Miraculous Night Journey in which the prayer was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from Allah (swt). General Hygiene (Taharah) Muhammad (pbuh) said that cleanliness is one half of faith. The Ablution (Wudu) A prerequisite of prayer is washing the parts of the body as ordered by Allah (swt) and taught by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Dry Ablution (Tayammum) If water is not available then one may perform a dry ablution. Bathing (Ghusl) Bathing is required in the manner taught by Muhammad (pbuh) in certain circumstances. The Prayer (As-Salah) All one needs to know about the prayer including: The importance of prayer, leaving the prayer, prerequisites of prayer, a detailed two units (Rak'at) of prayer, a step by step guide to performing three & four units of prayer and general points about Prayer. Medical Benefits of Prayer & Ablution The medical world is continuously finding amazing benefits from performing prayer and ablution - Praise be to Allah (swt) the Creator of all that exists.



Download [279 MB]

Visit www.iloveAllaah.com/salat to know more!
Part 1 - Intro & Wudu


Part 2 - Reminders


Part 3 - Fajr


Part 4 - Dhur/Zuhr


Part 5 - Asr


Part 6 - Magrib


Part 7 - Isha

Descriptions of Paradise from the Qur'aan and Hadeeth

Descriptions of Paradise from the Qur'aan and Hadeeth

Certainly the ultimate goal of every Muslim is Paradise. As with all aspects of the Unseen, it can be only imagined through analogy, yet its realities are far beyond description in any human language. Allah (subhaanahu wa ta`aala) has prepared for His servants, "what no eye has seen and no ear has heard and has never occurred to a human heart." [al-Bukhaari, Muslim and others]. This eternal home is not limited to what is described here of material and spiritual enjoyments, for it includes "all the soul has longed for" and finally, the greatest and most complete pleasure beyond all imagination - the presence and nearness of the Creator Himself.

Who are the inheritors of such blessing? Who are the souls worthy of such reward?

It is common belief among Muslims today that anyone who professes "La Ilaha ill-Allah" and "Muhammadun Rasoolullah" will enter Paradise. Yet this testimony is more than a statement of the tongue. It is an oath, a commitment that must be fulfilled. It has conditions and requirements which affect all aspects of life. It concerns authority - what actually governs our behavior and deeds. The Arabs of Quraish who refused to pronounce this kalimah did so because they fully understood its implications. Yet Muslims repeat it today without a second thought, their actions and lifestyles bearing witness to something totally different. And they expect Paradise!

In the Qur'aan, Allah (swt) has warned against complacency in religion like that of the Jews and Christians who mistakenly claim that God has favored them over others and that Paradise is theirs alone: "It is not by your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Scriptures. Whoever does a wrong shall be punished for it, and he will not find other than Allah as a protector or helper."

Yet many of today's Muslims consider themselves a chosen people, while neglecting the commands of their Lord, turning their backs on the sunnah of their Prophet (peace be upon him) and insisting on a secular life far from the blessings of divine law... perhaps even going so far as to deny certain aspects of that law. Customs and traditions, materialism, man-made social systems, national leaders and even their own inclinations are now sharing the authority which rightfully belongs exclusively to our Creator, Owner of the Day of Judgment.

The reward of Paradise is too great not to have a price. That price is true faith which is proven by obedience to Allah and His Messenger. The Qur'aan states, "And whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effor due to it while being a believer - those are the ones whose effort is appreciated [by Allah]." [17:19]

We must return to the Qur'aan, not simply in an emotional or academic manner, but with a sense of instruction for obedience and action. We must find out what kind of people Allah has asked us to be and then become as such. This is the road to Paradise.

Distance Between Words and Deeds

Or you could say, the distance between claims and deeds. For speaking true words is a facet of action, referred to as the action of the tongue. It is the first tangible deed that someone performs when he announces his entry into Islam: “I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and Muhammad is His messenger”.

The title of this article is taken from the famous poem of At-Taghraee, “Lamiyatul-'Ajm”, wherein he says:

“Faithfulness has diminished while treachery is thriving,
And the gap has widened between word and deed.”

But what I mean here more specifically is the importance of action as a fundamental value in Islam, in terms of maintaining one's religion and in terms of developing the world around us. The indispensability of action, by itself, is a major principle that is supported by hundreds of texts from the Koran and Sunnah.

The success or failure of the individual; the strength or weakness of a society; and the happiness of this world with salvation in the next all depend on action. Or in the cant of the jurist, good deeds are the recognized value upon which hinge propitious results in the short and long term.

These actions that are deeds of righteousness must fulfill two important conditions:

A proper intention or you could say sincerity.
It must be in accordance with the Sunnah and the Sharia, also referred to as correctness.
Both of these conditions are dealt with in the verse:

(That He may test you: which of you is best in deed) Koran 67:2

So goodness of action revolves around two issues: more sincerity for Allah and more closely in line with the Sharia. For this reason no verse in the Qur'an came with the expression, which of you is best in deed.

The commentary of Fudail ibn `Iyyad on this verse in the chapter Al-Mulk is well known. He said concerning, “best in deed”, the most sincere and the most correct. If a deed is done sincerely but is not correct, it is not accepted. And if it is correct but not done sincerely, it is also not accepted. It is only accepted when it is done sincerely and correctly. (Refer to Al-Ubudiyah by Ibn Taymiyyah.)

I tried to enumerate the number of times that “righteous deeds” was mentioned in the Koran. These two words were mentioned together about ninety times.

The word action or deed when juxtaposed with another adjective other than righteous appears much more often. According to a quick count, approximately three hundred times. It is a clear indication of the importance of actions in life. Even in dying, the deed of making an intention is required. This is why Allah ta`ala says:

(Then die not except in the faith of Islam) Koran 2:132

In western schools of thought generally, and in America more specifically, a new way of thinking (“pragmatism”) has sprung into existence that focuses mainly on work and production. This philosophy holds that real and palpable benefits are the yardstick of knowledge. Meaning that real knowledge is that which can be practically applied and not merely theoretical knowledge that is cut off from everyday life.

The divine praise for action implies disdain for two ways that are off the path of truth.

The first is the worker who is not upon true guidance and who has no knowledge of the divine laws. They are those, whose deeds are described as being bad or evil. If the deed is a worldly one, it will not bear the desired fruit because it was not based on the proper vision or on true experience.

This is why Allah ta`ala says:

(Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated (in the Hell-Fire, i.e. the faces of all disbelievers, Jews and Christians, etc). Laboring (hard in the worldly life by worshipping others besides Allah), weary (in the hereafter with humility and disgrace). They will enter in the hot blazing Fire. They will be given to drink from a boiling spring). Koran 88:2-5

(Say (O Muhammad, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam): “Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds?) (Koran 18:103)



Every group that is off Allah's path falls under this category. Their worship of Allah ta`ala is mixed with ignorance and falsehood. Like the worshipers and workers from the people of innovation, regardless whether they are the Khawarij (ed. an early sect that erroneously considered Muslims who commit great sins as disbelievers rather than sinners), the Sufiyah (ed. those mystics who believe that the knowledge of their shaykhs is a source of knowledge that is either at an equal footing with the Revelation, or even above it.) or others.

Similarly, revolutionary schools of thought that do not form their ideas from divine guidance also fall under this category. They base their efforts and actions on false premises. Their situation is as Allah ta`ala described it:

(Those before them indeed plotted, but Allah struck at the foundation of their building, and then the roof fell down upon them, from above them, and the torment overtook them from directions they did not perceive). Koran 16:26

The most illustrative example in our times of this category is communism; its philosophical, political and societal roots. Most of its proponents never expected such disastrous results. All of their efforts resulted in harm and they became preoccupied in finding ways to support such a backward system.



The second group is those who prefer inactivity and comfort. It is the philosophy that is blind to Allah's ways. In it, one desires all wishes to come true without effort or toil.

The nature of man in terms of being active and doing things makes the existence of such a group to seem dubious at best. But the fundamental qualities of this group become manifest in different ways. For example, those who persist in following their lusts and desires, or the ones who think that it is sufficient for them to fall under a particular slogan or name.

The Jews would say, “The fire will only touch us for a brief number of days.” Then came the Christians with similar words and they claimed that they were the children of Allah and His beloved ones.

After them came Muslims, from whom, were those who followed the earlier nations by saying, “We will be forgiven.”

Yes, the verse containing the earlier mentioned quote of the Jews is primarily for the Jews and Christians. Yet, it is also for the Muslims too…

This second category also includes those who have no goal or aim that they work for. They are merely prisoners of their circumstances and their daily routines. Their behavior is not steered by an ideology and their work is not linked to an important mission. They are drowned in work that has no meaning. One of them goes to work to pay off the mortgage on his house. And he comes home to sleep, eat and drink only to be able to find the energy to perform his tasks at work! A machine without a spirit is what he has become. The one who is in these circumstances does not even realize the precarious situation that he is in.

Further down in the pit, is the Philosophical School that gives no value to the intellect. To them, what is considered by man to be existing is in fact nonexistent. They disbelieve in values. Their aim is to destroy, without offering an alternative way. The Russian party propagated this ideology in 1870. Their goal was to destroy the social structure without having any intention of replacing it with another system.

Many are those who complain about the reality that they live in. They strive to destroy the structure of their society without caring for the fact that the supplanting system will be chaos. The words of one of them were “Destruction for me and for my enemy.” An Arab poet said, “Many days did I cry in, and when another day came I cried over the previous one”.