How can I serve Islam?

1 – You can serve Islam by having a correct resolve and sincere intention, for Allaah blesses an action that is done sincerely for His sake alone, even if it is little. Sincere devotion, if it becomes a constant feature of acts of worship and obedience, even if they are small or simple in the sight of the one who does them, makes them great in the sight of Allaah.

2 – You can serve Islam by knowing the right way and following it. The Straight Path means following the way of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with regard to the principles, ways and means of da’wah and being patient in adhering to that, whilst treating people with kindness and compassion, because they are suffering from the disease of sin.

3 – You can serve Islam by making the most of all available means (through gatherings, books, articles, audio, video, telephone, computer technology, etc.) and circumstances (at home, at workplace, while traveling, etc.), as long as they are permissible. This is a great blessing indeed.

4 – To serve Islam, one must give precedence to the pleasure of Allah over your own whims and desires. Have you seen those who love their favorite sport, for example: soccer, how they devote their efforts, time and money to their beloved sport? Similarly, sincerely serving Allah means to give what is most precious of your money, effort, time, thought, etc. in the way of your Lord.

5 – You can serve Islam by following in the footsteps of the scholars, daa’iyahs and reformers, having patience as your companion and putting up with tiredness and exhaustion. For you are doing a great act of worship which is the mission of the Prophets and Messengers and those who follow in their footsteps.

6 – To serve Islam, one must give up laziness because this religion is the religion of ambition and courage, and its call is only harmed by laziness, ignorance and lack of knowledge.

7 – You can serve Islam by connecting your heart to Allaah and reciting a lot of du’aa’ and prayers for forgiveness, and persisting in reading Qur’aan. There is nothing that is more effective in cleansing the heart and refreshing the soul, and making it active and energetic so that it will not get tired or bored, than remembering Allaah much and drawing nearer to Him by means of obeying Him and doing naafil (supererogatory) acts of worship.

8 – You can serve Islam by forming bonds with scholars who practise what they preach, those who are known to be sincere and who are well established in supporting this religion. Marching under their banner and following their lead is very good and beneficial.

9 – You can serve Islam by organizing your time on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. There are actions which should be done every day, others which should be done every week, and others which should be done every month or every year.

For example, you should make da’wah to those whom you see every day and to those whom you see once a week. You may have a family gathering once a month, and there may be annual conferences, or journeys for Hajj or ‘Umrah once a year, and so on.

10 – You can serve Islam by paying it some attention and giving it some of your time, thoughts and money, and making it your main concern. So when you stand up, it is for Islam; when you walk, it is for Islam; when you think, it is for Islam; when you give, it is for Islam; when you sit, it is for Islam.

11 – you can serve Islam by hastening to contribute every time you find an opportunity to do good. Do not hesitate or delay or put it off.

The disbeliever rejects and insults the One True God

Messenger of Allah (S) said: Allah Almighty has said:

"The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he insulted 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 (i.e., bring me back to life after death)" - and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him. As for his insulting 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.

[Hadith Qudsi related by al-Bukhari (also by an-Nasa'i)]

A Muslim's Debate With a Man Who Didn't Believe in God

How to convince an atheist about existence of God?

Long ago in the city of Baghdad, there was a Muslim empire. On one side of the River Tigris were the royal palaces and on the other side was the city. The Muslims were gathered in the Royal Palace when an atheist approached them. He said to them, ‘I don’t believe in God, there cannot be a God, you cannot hear Him or see Him, you’re wasting your time! Bring me your best debator and I will debate this issue with him.’

The best debator at the time was Imam Abu Hanifah Rahimullah. A messenger from amongst the Muslims was sent over the River Tigris to the city, where Abu Hanifah Rahimullah was, in order to tell him about the atheist who was awaiting him. On crossing the River Tigris, the messenger conveyed the message to Abu Hanifah Rahimullah saying, ‘Oh Abu Hanifah, an atheist is waiting for you, to debate you, please come!’ Abu Hanifah Rahimullah told the messenger that he would be on his way.

The messenger went over the River Tigris once again and to the Royal Palaces, where everyone including the atheist awaited the arrival of Abu Hanifah Rahimullah. It was sunset at the time and one hour had passed, but Abu Hanifah Rahimullah still hadn’t arrived. Another hour had passed, but still there was no sign of him. The Muslims started to become tense and worried about his late arrival. They did not want the atheist to think that they were too scared to debate him, yet they did not want to take up the challenge themselves as Abu Hanifah Rahimullah was the best of Debators from amongst the Muslims. Another hour passed, and suddenly the atheist started laughing and said, ‘ Your best debator is too scared! He knows he’s wrong, he is too frightened to come and debate with me. I guarantee he will not turn up today.’

The Muslims increased in apprehension and eventually it had passed midnight, and the atheist had a smile on his face. The clock ticked on, and finally Abu Hanifah Rahimullah had arrived. The Muslims inquired about his lateness and remarked, ‘Oh Abu Hanifah, a messenger sent for you hours ago, and you arrive now, explain your lateness to us.’

Abu Hanifah Rahimullah apologizes for his lateness and begins to explain, while the atheist listens to his story.

‘Once the messenger delivered the message to me, I began to make my way to the River Tigris, and on reaching the river bank I realized there was no boat, in order to cross the river. It was getting dark, and I looked around, there was no boat anywhere nor was there a navigator or a sailor in order for me to cross the river to get to the Royal Palaces. I continued to look around for a boat, as I did not want the atheist to think I was running away and did not want to debate with him.

I was standing on the river bank looking for a navigator or a boat when something caught my attention in the middle of the river. I looked forward, and to my amazement I saw planks of wood rising to the surface from the sea bed. I was shocked, amazed, I couldn’t believe what I saw seeing. Ready made planks of wood were rising up to the surface and joining together. They were all the same width and length, I was astounded at what I saw.

I continued to look into the middle of the river, and then I saw nails coming up from the sea floor. They positioned themselves onto the boat and held the planks together, without them being banged. I stood in amazement and thought to myself, ‘Oh Allah, how can this happen, planks of wood rising to the surface by itself, and then nails positioning themselves onto the boat without being banged?’ I could not understand what was happening before my eyes.’

The atheist meanwhile was listening with a smile on his face. Abu Hanifah Rahimullah continued, ‘I was still standing on the river bank watching these planks of wood join together with nails. I could see water seeping through the gaps in the wood, and suddenly I saw a sealant appear from the river and it began sealing the gaps without someone having poured it, again I thought, ‘Ya Allah, how is this possible, how can sealant appear and seal the gaps without someone having poured it, and nails appear without someone having banged them.’ I looked closer and I could see a boat forming before my eyes, I stood in amazement and was filled with shock. All of a sudden a sail appeared and I thought to myself, ‘How is this happening, a boat has appeared before my eyes by itself, planks of wood, nails, sealant and now a sail, but how can I use this boat in order to cross the river to the Royal Palaces?’ I stood staring in wonderment and suddenly the boat began to move. It came towards me against the current. It stood floating beside me while I was on the river bank, as if telling me to embark onto it. I went on the boat and yet again it began to move. There was no navigator or sailor on the boat, and the boat began to travel towards the direction of the royal palaces, without anyone having programmed it as to where to go. I could not understand what was happening, and how this boat had formed and was taking me to my destination against the flow of water. The boat eventually reached the other side of the River Tigris and I disembarked. I turned around and the boat had disappeared, and that is why I am late.’

At this moment, the atheist burst out laughing and remarked, ‘Oh Abu Hanifah, I heard that you were the best debator from amongst the Muslims, I heard that you were the wisest, the most knowledgeable from amongst your people. From seeing you today, I can say that you show none of these qualities. You speak of a boat appearing from nowhere, without someone having built it. Nails positioning themselves without someone having banged them, sealant being poured without someone having poured it, and the boat taking you to your destination without a navigator against the tide, your taking childish, your talking rediculous, I swear I do not belive a word of it!’

Abu Hanifah Rahimullah turned to the atheist and replied, ‘You don’t believe a word of it? You don’t believe that nails can appear by themselves? You don’t believe sealant can be poured by itself? You don’t believe that a boat can move without a navigator, hence you don’t believe that a boat can appear without a boat maker?’

The atheist remarked defiantly, ‘Yes I don’t believe a word of it!’

Abu Hanifah Rahimullah replied, ‘If you cannot believe that a boat came into being without a boat maker, than this is only a boat, how can you believe that the whole world, the universe, the stars, the oceans, and the planets came into being without a creator?

The atheist astonished at his reply got up and fled.

Are you muslim only because your parents are muslims?

It often happens that those who have been brought up as Muslim have never really had explained to them why they do the things they do. They were taught to pray and fast during Ramadan, but most of them do not really know why they do this.

All they know of Islam is a set of rules and regulations.

When they get to a certain age, they may even stop doing those things they have been brought up to do, because they have no impact on their lives and they see no point in continuing. And thus, reaching the END OF THEIR LIVES NOT AS FAITHFUL BELIEVERS, BUT AS IGNORANT DISBELIEVERS.

Before time slips from your hands... Stop... Take a break from your busy life... Open the Qur'an that has been sitting in your bookshelf untouched from several years... Read it along with its meaning...

And then ask yourself: "WHY AM I MUSLIM?" and you'll find a different answer.

After you've undersood Islam in its real sense, you'll receive a confident answer from your heart: "I'm a muslim because I firmly believe there is no god except Allah who is my Creator and Sustainer. I believe Muhammad s.a.w.s. was His final messenger and the role model for mankind. I believe in this Qur'an which I have read, understood and testify it as the word of Almighty Allah. I believe Islam is the truth, the only path to salvation, the way to reach Paradise."

And that will be the day, when you will have accepted Islam, which means "submission" to Allah, in its true sense.

The Virtues of Reciting Surah Al Kahf on Friday

There are saheeh ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning the virtues of reciting Soorat al-Kahf during the day or night of Jumu’ah (Friday). These include:

(a) From Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, who said: “Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on the night of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will stretch between him and the Ancient House (the Ka’bah).”

(Narrated by al-Daarimi, 3407. This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 6471)

(b) “Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will shine from him from one Friday to the next.”

(Narrated by al-Haakim, 2/399; al-Bayhaqi, 3/249. Ibn Hajar said in Takhreej al-Adhkaar that this is a hasan hadeeth, and he said, this is the strongest report that has been narrated concerning reading Soorat al-Kahf. See: Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/198. It was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6470)

(c) It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, a light will shine for him from beneath his feet to the clouds of the sky, which will shine for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be forgiven (his sins) between the two Fridays.’”

Al-Mundhiri said, this was narrated by Abu Bakr ibn Mardawayh in his Tafseer, with an isnaad with which there was nothing wrong.

(al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 1/298)

Follow this basic rule if you want to achieve Paradise

Many muslims lead a life full of sins and still hope that their Lord will save them from the Hell-Fire and admit them into Paradise. The following verse lays down the basic rule which is necessary to be followed to attain Paradise.

Quran 2:112>> "...whoever submits his face (himself) to Allah and he is a Muhsin (good-doer i.e. performs good deeds totally for Allah's sake only) then his reward is with his Lord, on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

A person must be a 'Muhsin' - a good-doer who leads a righteous life according to what Allah has revealed in the Qur'an and Sunnah. And he must do this sincerely for Allah and not for showing-off to people.

It is sincerity on which depends the weight and worth of an act. Allah will not accept anything that is not purely for Him.

Allah says: I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.
(Hadith Qudsi reported by Muslim)

Islam is Your Birthright

Is it necessary to adopt a religion? What is the criteria to judge a religion? How to differentiate between a false and a true religion? How to check the pure teachings of a religion? These are the vital questions that arise in the mind of a person when he looks upon the religions for a critical study. So, which religion is the right one and how can the seeker of truth know it? This is the subject of this booklet.

Download here: http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/Islam_is_your_birthright.pdf