Purify Your Intentions

Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him), reported: 
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, his emigration will be for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration would be for what he emigrated for".
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

The point which becomes evident from this Hadith is that Ikhlas (sincerity) is a must for every action. So we should seek only the Pleasure of Allah in every righteous deed; otherwise our deeds may be pointless.

Those whom Allaah will shade with His Shade

May Allah make us amongst those who will be shaded with His Shade on the Day when there will be no Shade except His! Ameen

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“There are seven whom Allaah will shade with His shade on the day when there will be no shade except His: the just ruler; a young man who grows up worshipping his Lord; a man whose heart is attached to the mosque; two men who love one another for the sake of Allaah and meet and part on that basis; a man who is called by a woman of rank and beauty and says ‘I fear Allaah’; a man who gives in charity and conceals it to such an extent that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives; and a man who remembers Allaah when he is alone, and his eyes fill up.”
(Agreed upon, narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 620; Muslim, no. 1712; and others).

This is one of the blessings that Allaah bestows upon His believing slaves. On the great Day when mankind will be suffering distress and hardship,the sun will be brought near to mankind, until the distance between them is equal to the length of the stick used for applying kohl to the eyes [meel= may also mean a “mile”], and all the people will sweat according to their deeds, except for some of the believers, whom Allaah will single out to shade them with His shade, and He will protect them from the sun and from sweating.
(Islam QA) 

Reading Soorat al-Kahf on Fridays

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khduri that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on Friday, he will be illuminated with light between the two Fridays.” 


Narrated by al-Haakim; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 836 

Siwaak

 Using the siwaak is highly encouraged, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 
“Were it not for the fact that I did not want to make things too hard for my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the siwaak at every time of prayer.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).

There are numerous benefits in following this sunnah - don't delay!

Spend your time productively

"Be aware of every hour and how it passes and only spend it in the best possible way; do not neglect yourself, but keep accustomed to the noblest and best of actions, and send to your grave that which will please you when you arrive to it"
-Imaam ibn Al-Jawzee 

Wealth and Prestige

Two hungry wolves sent against a sheep will not do more damage to it than a man's eagerness for wealth and prestige does to his or her religion. [Ahmad, Tirmidhi]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was explaining that the damage done to a person's religion (deen) by his eagerness for accumulating wealth and attaining prestige is no less than the damage done by two hungry wolves to a flock of sheep. This is quite obvious, for if a human's faith is sound, he will not have an eagerness or anxiety over these secondary things. Once the heart has tasted the sweetness of true servitude to Allah and love for Him, nothing else will be dearer to him than that and nothing else will take priority over Allah in one's life.

How many times do we find ourselves having to choose between obedience to Allah and doing that which we know to be right or following our desires in pleasing others or self-gratification by means that are prohibited? Surely the two choices are not equal and a person of character is content with the former in all circumstances.

Let us remember this hadith the next time we 'sacrifice' some duty of Islam for some worldly gain, the next time we are 'prevented' from praying due to our 'busy schedule' or embarrassment amongst people, the next time we are so 'blinded' by our devotion to our career, academic or leisure pursuits that we forget our responsibilities towards our families, communities, and most fundamentally, our own preparations for the akhirah (hereafter).

What good is all that if one was to lose his or her connection with Allah and closeness to Him and hence any hope of inner peace or spiritual contentment?

Compiled From:
"Al Ubudiyyah" - Ibn Taymiyyah


Source: Friday Nasiha

Strive hard and put your trust in Allah

"And in Allah (Alone) let the believers put their trust." (Quran 14:11)


The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If you put your trust in Allah in the true sense, He will grant your provision as He grants to the birds, who go out in the morning hungry and come back full.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and al-Tirmidhi).

Great Women of Islam

The book 'Great Women of Islam' can be downloaded from the link below.

This book is about the life stories of the Mothers of the Believers and 16 other Sahabyat who had been given the good news of the paradise in this world by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). There are good examples in the lifestyle of the Mothers of the believers and women Companions especially for the Muslim women. It is necessary for all of us to study the Seerah of these noble and fortunate women.

http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/Great%20Women%20of%20Islam.pdf