by Maryam Amir-Ebrahimi
Before I got married, I was given unsolicited advice on how to change in order to make myself more appealing to brothers. Sisters would voluntarily tell me I should be more outgoing when with men, dress more attractively to get their attention and stop being as involved with Islamic activism so I would not scare them away.
Since when is our purpose in life marriage? Where in the Quran does Allah ask us to change our personalities, dress style and tone down our activism in hopes of getting hitched? Nevertheless, with marriage being such a huge concern in our community, many face the temptation to change their values to find a spouse.
Heres an idea: Instead of working to please a potential suitor, perhaps we should first seek to please Allah, the One who sows the seed of love in our hearts and can bless us with our dream husband or dream wife.
Instead of looking for marriage at every event, lets look for marriage in our relationship with al-Wahhab, the Giver of All. Lets be honest. We are talking about al-Mujeeb, the Responder to Prayer. Those are amongst the Names of Allah! Allah gives and He answers!
If you are an individual who struggles to lower your gaze and protect your eyes, heart, tongue and body from falling into the haram, dont you know that Allah will indeed reward you?
Every time you glance up and see someone you wish you could be with, turn away and in that moment ask Allah to bless you with a spouse who will be the sweetness of your eyes. Would not Allah listen to and accept your supplication to Him? How could Allah possibly not accept the supplication of His adamant worshipper who is painfully struggling to maintain his or her modesty and guard his or her chastity? The Prophet ﷺ has encouraged us to Ask and you will be given (at-Tirmithi) Allah will give you! How could He not when you are striving only for His Sake?
In those moments in the last third of the night, in those two rakahs which you make out of pure frustration of your situation, weeping, asking Allah (subhanahu wa taala exalted is He) to answer you do you not think Allah the Rabb al-`alameen (Lord of the Worlds) will not respond to you? Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest), this is Allah! Without doubt Allah (subhanahu wa taala) is going to answer you!
The Prophet ﷺ relates from Allah in a hadith Qudsi:
Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earths sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him? (Bukhari)
What is hooking up with a brother or sister on gchat or facebook worth in comparison to hooking up with the One who can hook you up?
As Shaykh Muhammad Faqih once said, Hook up with Allah, Allah will hook you up!
Lets hook up with salah! Hook up with the Quran! Hook up with community work for Allahs Sake! And have certainty that when we struggle to please Allah (subhanahu wa taala), Ash-Shakoor is the Most Appreciative of our work and will undoubtedly reward us.
Will that reward be in the form of an amazing spouse and an amazing marriage? Allah knows best. But the best part is that Allah knows what is BEST for us and that His bounties are limitless.
The Prophet ﷺ has told us, Any Muslim who supplicates to Allah in a du`a which contains no sin [of] breaking of kinship, Allah will give him one of three things: either his du`a will be immediately answered, it will be saved for him in the hereafter, or it will turn away an equivalent amount of evil (from him) (Ahmad).
Thus, we must know that if we connect with Allah, we can trust that Allah will grant us whatever is best, whether it be an answer to exactly what we are asking for or something better. Allah has got our backs! Who better to trust our future with than the One who already knows it?
Easier said than done? Maybe. But what have you got to lose? If at the end of the day you are only increasing in closeness to Allah, increasing in reading the Quran, tasting the sweetness of your salah, and making more sincere du`a then inshaAllah (if Allah wills) you will have gained more than simply a spouse if you get married and you would have gained much more than facebook cruising for a spouse time while youre attempting to find your better halfInshaAllah you will gain more in this life and the next, and an unwavering relationship with Allah!
Here are some short, quick and amazing ways we can increase our relationship with Allah through good deeds massively rewarded inshaAllah:
> Get what you really want: Allah will grant whoever recites this seven times in the morning or evening whatever he desires from this world or the next (Ibn As Sunni, Abu Dawood both reports are directly linked to the Prophet ﷺ):
HasbiaAllahu la ilaha ila huwa `alayhi tawakaltu wa huwa Rabbul`arshil`atheem.
Allah is Sufficient for me, none has the right to be worshipped except Him, upon Him I rely and He is Lord of the exalted throne.
To be recited seven times in the morning (after Fajr) and seven times in the evening (between `Asr and Maghrib).
> Say SubhanAllah (glory be to Allah) 100 times. For a person who does this, a thousand good deeds are recorded for him and a thousand bad deeds are wiped away. [Muslim]
> Ask Allah to forgive your brothers and sisters: Whoever seeks forgiveness for believing men and believing woman, Allah will write for him a good deed for each believing man and believing woman. [at-Tabarani, classed as hasan by al-Albani]
> Work to protect yourself from the Hellfire: Allah will spare whoever says this four times in the morning or evening from the fire of Hell (Abu Dawood, was also reported in Bukhari).
Allahumma inni asbahtu ush-hiduka, wa ushidu hamalata `arshika, wa malaikataka, wa jamee`a khalqik, annaka Ant Allah, la ilaha illa Ant, wahdaka la shareeka lak, wa anna Muhammadan `abduka wa rasuluka (when saying this in the evening, say Allahuma inni amsaytu instead of asbahtu.
O Allah, verily I have reached the morning and call on You, the bearers of Your throne, Your angels, and all of Your creation to witness that You are Allah, none has the right to be worshipped except You, alone, without partner and that Muhammad is Your Servant and Messenger.
To be recited four times in the morning (after Fajr) and evening (between `Asr and Maghrib).
The Lord of the Worlds speaks to us and tells us, And when My slaves ask you concerning Me, then I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright (Quran, 2:186).
You are coming to Allah with rajaa (hope), with a powerful combination of seeking Allahs pleasure, striving to leave anything which may gain His displeasure and making a consistent effort to ask Him to open the best of ways for you and then putting your trust in Him that He will give you whatever is best. Of course Allah is going to answer you.
As was once stated, A person has never held certainty in Allah only for Allah to disappoint him/her. Never will Allah disappoint those with yaqeen (certainty), tawakkul (reliance) and husn al-dhann (good opinion) of Him. Hook up with Allah and know that without a doubt, Allah azza wa Jall will hook you up in the best of ways.
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/personaldvlpt/hook-up-with-allah-allah-will-hook-you-up/
Before I got married, I was given unsolicited advice on how to change in order to make myself more appealing to brothers. Sisters would voluntarily tell me I should be more outgoing when with men, dress more attractively to get their attention and stop being as involved with Islamic activism so I would not scare them away.
Since when is our purpose in life marriage? Where in the Quran does Allah ask us to change our personalities, dress style and tone down our activism in hopes of getting hitched? Nevertheless, with marriage being such a huge concern in our community, many face the temptation to change their values to find a spouse.
Heres an idea: Instead of working to please a potential suitor, perhaps we should first seek to please Allah, the One who sows the seed of love in our hearts and can bless us with our dream husband or dream wife.
Instead of looking for marriage at every event, lets look for marriage in our relationship with al-Wahhab, the Giver of All. Lets be honest. We are talking about al-Mujeeb, the Responder to Prayer. Those are amongst the Names of Allah! Allah gives and He answers!
If you are an individual who struggles to lower your gaze and protect your eyes, heart, tongue and body from falling into the haram, dont you know that Allah will indeed reward you?
Every time you glance up and see someone you wish you could be with, turn away and in that moment ask Allah to bless you with a spouse who will be the sweetness of your eyes. Would not Allah listen to and accept your supplication to Him? How could Allah possibly not accept the supplication of His adamant worshipper who is painfully struggling to maintain his or her modesty and guard his or her chastity? The Prophet ﷺ has encouraged us to Ask and you will be given (at-Tirmithi) Allah will give you! How could He not when you are striving only for His Sake?
In those moments in the last third of the night, in those two rakahs which you make out of pure frustration of your situation, weeping, asking Allah (subhanahu wa taala exalted is He) to answer you do you not think Allah the Rabb al-`alameen (Lord of the Worlds) will not respond to you? Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest), this is Allah! Without doubt Allah (subhanahu wa taala) is going to answer you!
The Prophet ﷺ relates from Allah in a hadith Qudsi:
Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earths sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him? (Bukhari)
What is hooking up with a brother or sister on gchat or facebook worth in comparison to hooking up with the One who can hook you up?
As Shaykh Muhammad Faqih once said, Hook up with Allah, Allah will hook you up!
Lets hook up with salah! Hook up with the Quran! Hook up with community work for Allahs Sake! And have certainty that when we struggle to please Allah (subhanahu wa taala), Ash-Shakoor is the Most Appreciative of our work and will undoubtedly reward us.
Will that reward be in the form of an amazing spouse and an amazing marriage? Allah knows best. But the best part is that Allah knows what is BEST for us and that His bounties are limitless.
The Prophet ﷺ has told us, Any Muslim who supplicates to Allah in a du`a which contains no sin [of] breaking of kinship, Allah will give him one of three things: either his du`a will be immediately answered, it will be saved for him in the hereafter, or it will turn away an equivalent amount of evil (from him) (Ahmad).
Thus, we must know that if we connect with Allah, we can trust that Allah will grant us whatever is best, whether it be an answer to exactly what we are asking for or something better. Allah has got our backs! Who better to trust our future with than the One who already knows it?
Easier said than done? Maybe. But what have you got to lose? If at the end of the day you are only increasing in closeness to Allah, increasing in reading the Quran, tasting the sweetness of your salah, and making more sincere du`a then inshaAllah (if Allah wills) you will have gained more than simply a spouse if you get married and you would have gained much more than facebook cruising for a spouse time while youre attempting to find your better halfInshaAllah you will gain more in this life and the next, and an unwavering relationship with Allah!
Here are some short, quick and amazing ways we can increase our relationship with Allah through good deeds massively rewarded inshaAllah:
> Get what you really want: Allah will grant whoever recites this seven times in the morning or evening whatever he desires from this world or the next (Ibn As Sunni, Abu Dawood both reports are directly linked to the Prophet ﷺ):
HasbiaAllahu la ilaha ila huwa `alayhi tawakaltu wa huwa Rabbul`arshil`atheem.
Allah is Sufficient for me, none has the right to be worshipped except Him, upon Him I rely and He is Lord of the exalted throne.
To be recited seven times in the morning (after Fajr) and seven times in the evening (between `Asr and Maghrib).
> Say SubhanAllah (glory be to Allah) 100 times. For a person who does this, a thousand good deeds are recorded for him and a thousand bad deeds are wiped away. [Muslim]
> Ask Allah to forgive your brothers and sisters: Whoever seeks forgiveness for believing men and believing woman, Allah will write for him a good deed for each believing man and believing woman. [at-Tabarani, classed as hasan by al-Albani]
> Work to protect yourself from the Hellfire: Allah will spare whoever says this four times in the morning or evening from the fire of Hell (Abu Dawood, was also reported in Bukhari).
Allahumma inni asbahtu ush-hiduka, wa ushidu hamalata `arshika, wa malaikataka, wa jamee`a khalqik, annaka Ant Allah, la ilaha illa Ant, wahdaka la shareeka lak, wa anna Muhammadan `abduka wa rasuluka (when saying this in the evening, say Allahuma inni amsaytu instead of asbahtu.
O Allah, verily I have reached the morning and call on You, the bearers of Your throne, Your angels, and all of Your creation to witness that You are Allah, none has the right to be worshipped except You, alone, without partner and that Muhammad is Your Servant and Messenger.
To be recited four times in the morning (after Fajr) and evening (between `Asr and Maghrib).
The Lord of the Worlds speaks to us and tells us, And when My slaves ask you concerning Me, then I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright (Quran, 2:186).
You are coming to Allah with rajaa (hope), with a powerful combination of seeking Allahs pleasure, striving to leave anything which may gain His displeasure and making a consistent effort to ask Him to open the best of ways for you and then putting your trust in Him that He will give you whatever is best. Of course Allah is going to answer you.
As was once stated, A person has never held certainty in Allah only for Allah to disappoint him/her. Never will Allah disappoint those with yaqeen (certainty), tawakkul (reliance) and husn al-dhann (good opinion) of Him. Hook up with Allah and know that without a doubt, Allah azza wa Jall will hook you up in the best of ways.
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/personaldvlpt/hook-up-with-allah-allah-will-hook-you-up/
