Change Dust Into Gold This Ramadan.

Assalam Alikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatouh

Today I want to talk to you about a beautiful and easy way to get lots and lots of reward …. Let’s try and implement it in the last ten days of Ramadan and then continue after Ramadan In shaa Allah. With this, your reward meter will never stop for the whole day including the night while you are sleeping!!

So are you interested? If yes keep reading

This act will change the dust into Gold

It is the trade or the business of the Olma’a (scholars)

I know by now you just want to know what it is…..be patient, I will tell you 

You can change all the permissible acts in your life into reward and hasanaat. So you simply do the same acts you do every day but your turn them from being (Mubaahh) permissible to being (Mustahab) favorable and whoever does that for sure will be at the highest level. Allah SWT says: (Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?") 39:9

The Question: How can I change the Mubahaat (permissible acts) to Mustahabaat (favorable acts)?

The answer: You can do that through what is called the smart neyyah….. How?

When you want to do a permissible act make sure to have a neyya to do it to get closer to Allah, e.g. If you want to eat, have a neyya that you are eating to become strong and to focus on your prayers because if you don’t eat you will not be able to have concentration in your prayer.

You are going to sleep any way, why waste 7 or 8 hours of sleep without any reward!!? Have a neyya that you are going to sleep so that you rest and wake up for the prayer of fajr and focus in your athkaar because if you don’t sleep you will simply not be able to focus. 

Even if you are getting into your car to drive, have an intention that you will drive properly and you will have high manners towards others as a means of dawah if they are none Muslim and as a means of Ihsaan if they are Muslim and you are doing this for the sake of Allah. 

That is why the neyya is called the “Trade of the Abrar” the trade of the smart people because they turn what does not have hasanaat (reward) to hasanaat (reward), they change the dust into gold…through neyyah, how amazing is that!!?

The best part of all this is that to have a neyyah is so simple, it does not need any physical effort. Have you ever seen someone telling you: I am so tired today I did too much neyyah (intention)!!? Of course not so even if we increase our neyyah we will not end up with a muscle strain or a back pain…. It is so simple

But after all this do you know what is so odd? Even though the neyya is so simple but most people forget it….. So what is the solution? 

The solution is tawfeeq (success) from Allah SWT. Pray to him ask him to give you tawfeeq and believe me if he sees you serious in wanting to get closer to him, he will take you by the hand to him, he will make it so easy for you to do all sorts of ibadaat and he will help you with the neyya in all your acts in shaa Allah. Allah SWT says in Qura’an: (And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.) 29:69

I know some may say: why all this?, why complicate things?….. I will respond: If you don’t want it, don’t do it but also don’t stop others from doing what can increase their rewards. The believers are in levels and everyone gets as much as they work for. Allah SWT says: (They are [varying] degrees in the sight of Allah , and Allah is Seeing of whatever they do) 3:163

Now that we have learnt how to change the Mubahaat (permissible) to Mustahabaat (Favorable), I know some of you will say: I don’t know what kind of neyyah I should do for my daily acts to change the permissible into favorable!!

Ok I will help you and give you some useful examples which you can learn from. 

If you want to go to work, don’t just have the neyyah you are going to work so your salary doesn’t get deducted…. Instead have the neyya that you are going to work to protect your family from haram and to serve your country and serve the Muslims and the people and make their lives easier… this way your work will have lots of rewards instead of it just being permissible…..so can you picture 8 hours of reward every day plus your salary!!? Subhana Allah Al Kareem

This means you need to contemplate before you do any action. If you want to go to the kitchen to cook, take a second and think about it and why you are doing it. I am going to cook for my family as a means of Ihsaan to help them be strong and do their worship. 
You want to do the laundry for your husband and children, take a second and think about it and why you are doing it. That is why the scholars said to think and contemplate about the mercies and blessings of Allah for one hour is better than doing Qeyaam (praying) the whole night. You are doing so many acts during the day which you can gain reward from. Even if it’s an act which you enjoy, what is the harm of making it for the sake of Allah.

In your studies, have the neyya that you are studying to please your parents and to benefit the Muslims with your knowledge and that way all the days and years of your study will be filled with rewards in shaa Allah.

If you want to play football, don’t just have the neyya to have fun but also add to your neyya to play with manners and to make your friends happy and to strengthen your body to have a better concentration in your ibadaat (forms of worship).

I hope these examples would help you get the point

Some people may say: even if I try I don’t feel like I am doing it for the sake of Allah because I am going to do the act any way so I feel that my neyya is not sincere…. What can I do?

The answer: For you to know that your neyya is sincere is very simple….. Your neyya must be in line with your act…. How?.... I will give you a simple example, let’s say someone wants to turn their act of eating into reward with the neyyah that it is to make them strong and help them concentrate in their prayers, but that same person ends up eating so much until they can’t breathe so instead of the food being a reason to concentrate it becomes the reason to not concentrate…. Here we will tell this person that your neyya was not sincere.

Another example, If the person has the neyya to go to work to help the people and then when they are at work, they slack and don’t take their job seriously and lie and ask the customers to come back another time…. Then we tell this person, your neyya is not sincere.

And the person who has a neyya to sleep to be able wake up for fajr end up sleeping at 2AM…. We will tell them that your neyya was not sincere because by sleeping at 2AM you won’t be able to wake up for fajr all along and if you do you won’t be able to concentrate.

So the issue is not only to have the neyya but also to be sincere in it.

Now lets try and live this Golden day tomorrow in shaa Allah and turn all our acts into reward so our 24 hours a day will all be filled with reward and our meter will never stop. I want you to come back here and report to us how you did and how it felt the end of the day tomorrow in shaa Allah. And we continue from there until it becomes a habit in shaa Allah. 

Let’s get that reward meter to never stop and lets start our golden days

Qiyamul Lail

Assalam Alikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatouh

Do you want to be from Eibadul Rahmaan (the servants of the most merciful) and win the highest level of Jannah (Paradise)?

I am sure you are thinking “of course, is that even a question”!!?

Allah Ta’alah says:
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْناً وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَاما))
وَالَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا

What can be translated as: ( And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,
And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer] ) 25:63-64

Those who spend part of the night prostrating to their lord means those who pray Qeyamulail.

What is Qeyamulail (or the prayer of the night)?

Qeyamulail is an honor given by Allah to those who serve his deen, do good in this dunia and worship him with sincerity. Not just anyone gets to do Qeyamulail!!

I will give you a simple example in our daily life to help you realize: if you have a son or a daughter, they will not get to meet the president of the country unless they do exceptionally well in their studies or sports compared to the rest of the students within the area, city or country. Wa LeLLAHUL mathal Al A’lah.

So Qeyamulail is like an honorary grade. This person who served Allah and their deen during the day, Allah wakes them up at night to meet and connect with him as an honor and a reward for their hard work. Subhana Allah, can you feel the tranquility of that!!?

If you were looking to apply for a job in one of the companies or ministries and you heard that the CEO or the Minister walks on the beach every morning at 6 AM. I am sure you will go and buy yourself some sports shoes and outfit, even though you have never played sports before and may be your belly is one meter away from you!!! But you will do that and you will go walking on the beach at 6 AM…..why!!? Because you have a need and you will do anything to achieve it. We do this with humans, what about the lord of the humans!!? Aren’t we supposed to do more with him?

I am not saying we have to be like the companions of the Prophet PBUH who used to pray the whole night or half of it. We do not have to be like Ata’a ibn Rabah who used to wake up third of the night and sometimes half of it. We do not have to be like Imam Abi hanifa who used to pray fajr with the wudu of isha for forty years. We do not have to be like all those because our iman is still weak. Let us work in conjunction with our iman. 

Qeyamul Lail starts from only two Rak3ahs any time of the night, the beginning of the night (after Isha), the middle or the end just before athaan of fajr. You can do more than the two raka’as if you wish, of course if you increase the reward will also increase. But if you pray just two raka3as and one Rak3a witr, that is considered as Qeyam and when Allah SWT calls on the day of Judgment for those who used to pray Qeyamul Lail you will be one of them insha Allah. 

The best time for Qeyamulail is the last part of the night just before fajr, because Allah SWT descends to the lowest heaven every night. As the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night remains, and He says, ‘Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”

Sadly most of us are either sleeping at that time or in a wedding listening to Music and dancing or committing other sins waleyathu biLLAH . We are missing alot of Khair.

After learning all this, let’s not waste these chances any more.

Let’s have a plan for Qeyamulail:

For my brothers, let us start praying isha in Jama’ah (congregation) and fajr in Jama’ah. The Prophet peace and blessings be upon him said: "One who performs `Isha' prayer in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat for half of the night. And one who performs the Fajr prayer in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat the whole night.''
[Muslim] 

He (peace and blessing be upon him) also said, “If people knew the reward in praying Fajr and Isha in congregation, they would go to the mosque even if they had to crawl.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

For my brothers and sisters, let’s set up our alarms half an hour before the athaan of fajr, just half an hour….what shall we do in this half an hour?

Use the first 15 minutes to read Qura’an so your heart will open up, and the next 15 minutes pray two rakas and witr or four raka’s. 
Continue with this plan for three months or even six months then increase it to 45 minutes instead of half an hour. Use 15 min. for Quran, 15 min. for Istighfaar and 15 min. for salah. Continue like that for another year and then make it one hour. Use 15 min. for Quran, 15 min. Istighfaar, 15 min salah ala rasoul, and 15 min. for salah.

Once you get used to this, you will find yourself waking up without an alarm and you will see so much khair in your life. You will have noor in your face, you will have a better concentration and will function more efficiently. Subhana Allah.


Qeyamulail is the only form of worship which is completely away from Reya’a because you do it late at night when everyone is asleep just you and your lord. The companions of the Prophet PBUH used to walk on their toes not to make anyone feel them praying Qeyamulail. Make it as your secret between you and Allah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night.” Narrated by Muslim, 1163

So let’s strive to not miss Qeyamul Lail even if it’s only 2 raka3a. May Allah grant us tawfeeq and help us achieve this honor Ameen.

Tarawih Prayers

It is prescribed to offer the night prayers in Ramadaan in

congregation or individually, but it is better to do it in congregation than to

do it individually for men. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him) led his companions in offering these prayers in congregation on several

nights. As for women it is best to pray at home but if the woman says I feel I

cannot concentrate when I pray at home or I feel lazy then she can pray in the

masjid. The Prophet peace be upon him said: the prayer of the woman in her

house is better than the Masjid

It is proven in al-Saheehayn that the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) led his companions in prayer (Taraweeh) for

several nights, then on the third or fourth night he did not come out to them.

When morning came he said: “Nothing prevented me from coming out to you except

the fact that I feared that it would be made obligatory for you.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1129. According to the version

narrated by Muslim (761): “But I feared that night prayers would be made

obligatory for you and you would not be able to do them.”

The number of Rakas:

The best is what the Prophet peace be upon him used to pray

which is 11 rakas or 13 rakas. It was reported in the Sahih that Aisha may

Allah be pleased with her was asked how was the prayer of the Prophet at night

in Ramadan and she said: He never did more than 11 in Ramadan or any other

time) so this shows that 11 rakas is the best and you can do 13 also as per the

hadith of Ibn Abbas that the Prophet peace be upon him prayed 13 rakas.

But if it’s prayed as 23 rakas that is fine also because the

Prophet peace be upon him did not specify a certain number for the night

prayer. The Prophet peace be upon him was asked about the prayer of the night

in Sahih Al Bukhari: and he said: The pray of the night Mathna Mathna (in twos)

and if you fear the time of fajr then pray one and that should be your witr for

the day.

What to read?

It is better when reciting in Taraweeh to complete the

Qur’aan once. This may be understood from the reports in al-Saheehayn which

state that Jibreel used to study the Qur'aan with the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Ramadaan, and review it with him.

Shaykh Ibn Baaz said (15/325):

It may be understood from this that if the imam recites the

entire Qur’aan to the congregation during Ramadaan, this is a kind of this

studying together, because this lets them benefit from hearing the entire

Qur’aan. Hence Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) used to like to

complete the Qur’aan with those whom he led in prayer, and this is akin to what

the salaf did, namely liking to hear the entire Qur’aan. But this does not mean

that he should rush and not be deliberate in his recitation, and not seek to be

focused and calm, rather seeking these things is better than seeking to

complete it.

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 11/331-333

If you do not memories the Quran you are allowed to hold the

Mus-haf and pray but you need to limit your movement as much as possible.

Gheyba And Namimah

Assalam Alikum wa rahmatu Alla wa barakatouh

Today I want to talk about a topic that scares me so much and many if not all of us are falling into this trap.
I will tell you about the two main reasons which cause almost two thirds of the punishment of the grave and if you get rid of those two reasons, then in shaa Allah you have escaped most of the punishment of the grave.

1. Al Gheyba (Talking ill about others behind their back or backbiting)

The problem is not just that we are committing gheyba, but some of us don’t even know what gheyba means? And they do it without realizing. 
Example: (someone would criticize their friend or neighbor and when you tell them to stop they would say but I am not lying, they are actually like that). This person does not understand the meaning of gheyba.

Al Geyba is not to lie about someone but it is to speak about and criticize something which is true and real in that person behind their back. 
If you make up a lie about someone and speak behind their back that is not gheyba…..that is called Buhtan…. And it is worse than Gheyba…….but here we are not talking about Buhtan…..we are talking about Gheyba.

The Prophet Muhammad PBUH said: “Do you know what backbiting is?" They said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He then said, "It is to say something about your brother that he would dislike." Someone asked him, "But what if what I say is true?" The Messenger of Allah said, "If what you say about him is true, you are backbiting him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him." (Muslim)

Someone would sit and backbite a friend or a player or a politician for 15 or 30 minutes until their tummy is full then they would move to the next person until the end of the day, they go back home to sleep thinking they are fine and their grave will be fine…… I say No…!! not that easy

The Prophet PBUH passed by a grave of a person who was being punished and he said: this man used to eat the flesh of people.

Some people if you tell them please stop and don’t backbite they will answer but I tell them to their face…… well if you tell them to their face, that doesn’t change it and make it halal to say it behind their back.
If you have told them in their face then you have advised them but what is the point of you saying it behind their back?!!!.

I read a hadith which really scared me and made me so conscious and I think twice before I talk about anyone 
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘When I was taken up to heaven (i.e. during the Mi`raj) I passed by people who had nails of copper with which they were scratching their faces and their breasts. I said, ‘Who are these [people], O Gabriel?’ He replied: ‘They are those who consumed the flesh of people [i.e. backbite them] and aspersed their honor.’

So what about you…..what if someone spoke about you behind your back?... what will you benefit?

Well I will tell you……….you will benefit from the person who talked about you a lot…. You will take from their hasanaat or good deeds as much as their gheyba ….. so as much as they backbite you, you will be gaining from their hasanaat….. this person has no idea how much they are losing …… and if their good deeds end and they have no more to give……they will be taking from your sins equivalent to the amount of Gheyba they did to you.

Abdul Rahman Al Mahdi said: I don’t want Allah to be disobeyed on his earth, otherwise I would have wanted everyone on earth to backbite me for me to earn all those hasanat….there is nothing better than finding hasanaat on your book of deed on the day of judgment which you did not expect.

It’s amazing how someone would sit all night backbiting and distributing their hasanat and ebadaat to the people….they are so generous in giving their hasanaat away!!

Al Hassan Al Basri was once told that someone was backbiting him…. So he got a gift and went to the house of the man who back bit him….when the man opened the door and saw Al Hassan standing with a smile and a gift of dates …..the guy was surprised as he had no relation with Al Hassan…… Al Hassan told said as he was handing him the gift: I was told today that you gave me some of your hasanaat so I came to thank you.

Abdullah Ibn Mubarak said: If I was to backbite anyone, I would rather back bite my parents because they have the most right to my hasanaat.

Now after all this……you will ask yourself…..what about the people who I did gheyba against them?!….. Shall I go to them and ask them for forgiveness?

The answer is: No…..there is another solution…….. I will mention it after I cover the second reason ……!!!

2. The second reason is Al Namimah and it is different from Al Gheybah…. Al Namimah is (telling someone that so and so said this and that about you or a certain person doesn’t like you or this group is talking about you)

The Prophet once passed by two graves and those two persons (in the graves) were being tortured. He said, "They are being tortured not for a great thing (to avoid). One of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine, while the other was going about with calumnies (to make enmity between friends).

In Gheybah you are one of three….. you are either the person who is doing the Gheyba and I hope that’s not you…… or you are the person who Gheybah is done to them….. if this is you, I will tell you congratulations for getting many hasanaat which you did not work hard for….and the third person is the one who is listening to the Gheyba….. If you are the listener then you are in front of a mission, if you accomplish it, you will get a prize…!! And the prize is a barrier to protect you from Hell fire on the Day of Judgment….

But what is the mission? 

The mission is to defend the person…. how?..... By saying good things about them or by asking those who are talking to stop as the concerned person is not around therefore, we should not be talking about them.
The Prophet (SAAS) said: "Whoever defends his brother's honor in his absence, will be entitled to Allah's protection from the Fire."

In Namimah you are also one of three….. You are either the person who is doing the namimah which I really hope you are not…… or you are the person who Namimah was done to them and here we have two situations…. Either you did not say those words and they are lying against you…. If this is the case you are lucky, you will be getting many hasanaat….Or you could be the person who did the gheybah which they transferred …. And here you are in trouble and you must repent …. Despite the fact that you said what you said, this does not give them the right to Namimah and they also have to repent……. The third person in Namimah is the one that is Namimah brought to him or the one that is being told that so and so is talking about you.
.

If you are this third person…. then you have been attacked and you need to make sure you protect three things:

a. Protect your heart from changing against the person who you were told they spoke about you…. Don’t believe this Nammam because their testimony is rejected and invalid even in law because Namimah is considered Kabirah minal Kaba’aer or a huge sin and it defeats the persons honesty.

b. Protect your ears and don’t listen to the Nammam…. Stop them as soon as they start…… if they did not find someone to listen to them, they wouldn’t have spoken in the first place.

c. Protect your tongue from transferring what was said to you to others by saying so and so spoke ill about me … so you don’t become part of the Namimah.

Don’t trust a Nammam. The scholars say…whoever transferred words to you, will also transfer words from you or against you…. And the one who told you that your brother spoke ill about you is actually the one who spoke ill about you….how?!! 

The person who spoke ill about you threw an arrow towards you but it fell on the floor because you did not hear what he said…… then this Nammam came and took the arrow and stuck it into your heart. …

Now after all this….. you will be wondering, how can I repent from Gheyba and Namimah? Shall I go to the people and tell them what I said about them?

No don’t do that because that will only create animosity and hatred and that is actually the reason why Gheyba and Namimah is haram ….. You will say what about my hasanaat…. How can I get them back???.... Shall I let them go?!!

I will tell you don’t worry….. There is a solution which was mentioned by the scholars…. The solution is to pray secretly for the people you did gheyba or namimah to as much as the gheyba and namimah you did, until they get as many hasanaat as the ones they were going to get from you on the day of judgment and you end up keeping your own hasanaat…..And there will be an angle who will be saying Ameen , may you have likewise as the Prophet PBUH said: 'The Dua of a person for his Muslim brother in his absence will be answered. At his head there is an angel, and every time he prays for him for something good, the angel who has been appointed to be with him, says, 'Ameen, may you have likewise.' (*62)

Can you see how serious this matter is….. Please my dear sisters and brothers let’s not take gheyba and namimah lightly…. Let’s strive to stop this bad habit.

Lastly try to speak good about the person you did gheyba or Namimah to in front of the same people you spoke to before so you can correct some of the damage you made.

I pray to Allah to guide us and protect our tongues from Gheyba and Namimah and make our graves a piece of heaven Ameen.