Why Faraj (ease) is delayed?

A repeated question you always hear from people, when will faraj (ease) come?
I am tired! It’s been five years since I was diagnosed with this illness…..
I have been waiting for a child for 10 years ….
I have been wishing to get married but it is not happening, I am tired!!....
I can’t find a job and I am tired of asking people for help….
When will faraj (ease) come?!!

A question which we all have to ask ourselves, why is ease sometimes delayed?
We have to ask ourselves this question so we can understand that the believer is in khair (good) despite the situation he is in.

Before I answer the question, I want to clarify one matter for you. This matter is mentioned in an ayah in the Quran but unfortunately most of us pass this ayah without contemplating or understanding. If we understood this, we would not wonder about this question and we would know the answer. 
Allah says what can be translated as: Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us 9:51
Why did Allah say “has decreed for us” not decreed on us or against us!?  Most of the time when we experience a trial we immediately think about it as something which is against us.

Allah is telling us in this ayah that everything which happens to us is for us and not against us…This is a fixed rule with the believer.

The Prophet peace be upon him emphasis what came in this aya and says: Allah does not decree anything for the believer except what is good for him.
Source: Musnad Ahmad 12495, Grade: Hasan

The Prophet peace be upon him also says: If Allah loves a people, then he afflicts them with trials. 
Source: Musnad Aḥmad 23122, Grade: Sahih

Ponder upon these ahadeeth and you will realize why Allah says He decrees for us and not against us. If Allah loves someone He afflicts them with trials and tests, why?  In order for them to receive good….Take this as a rule from now on and I will explain to you how.

From now on when you are afflicted with a trial or difficulty, search for the blessing that is behind it.
On the other hand if you receive khair or something good then be careful from the fitnah (test) that is behind it.
Every difficulty comes with a blessing so look for it in order to enjoy it.  Let me give you an example: You become sick with a serious illness and you find yourself getting closer to Allah and doing more good deeds in your life or you find yourself learning more about your religion.

And for every good you receive search for the fitnah behind it and be careful not to fall into it. Whether it is money, or position or religion or anything else. Any blessing which made you happy, look for its fitnah and make sure to block it. And the worse fitnah in any blessing is pride, arrogance and reya’a (show off) which makes the person forget Allah.

So why is faraj delayed? A question I pose to you and to myself….

Faraj is delayed different reasons. Let’s learn about them from the Prophet himself peace be upon him

The first reason:

Zayed ibn Al Arqam had an illness in his eyes and the Prophet peace be upon him visited him. He then saw him in the market two weeks later and he asked him: What happened to you, Zayed answered: Allah healed me. The Prophet peace be upon him asked him: what if you lost your sight, what would you have done? Zayed said: I would have been patient and would have expected the reward from Allah. The Prophet peace be upon him said: then you would meet Allah without a single sin. Musnad Ahmed.

Imagine Allah says I will test you so that I can wipe all your sins and purify you and bring you to me without a single sin and you say No I don’t want, just cure me now or  just get me a husband now, I am tired! 

From now on my dear sister and brother if Faraj is delayed then rest assured that Allah wants to meet you while you have no sins in your account. It is simply the greatest blessing you could ever have.

What are you rushing for? Allah is telling you I will cleanse you and make you come to me clean from all sins because He knows you are weak and you always rush to commit those sins, a sin after a sin until they multiply.

Second reason:

The Prophet peace be upon him said: (Allah decrees a high status for His slave, he could not reach with his deeds, so Allah tests him in his body or in his money or his children. He then bestows patience on him until he reaches to the  status which He decreed for him) Narrated by Abu Dawood (3090 ) Al Albani authenticated it in "Sunan Abi Dawood."

Allah has decreed for you Jannat Al Firdous which you will not reach with your deeds because you are lazy to work for it or because of any other reason.
The Prophet peace be upon him says: Allah tests him in his body or in his money or his sons…and elevates you to that rank.

A man came to Dr. Khaled Al Jubair and said: A month ago I took my wife to the hospital and the doctor told us he is suspecting she has cancer. He took blood samples from her for further testing but he said it may take up to one month to get back the results. The man said: we left the clinic devastated and we planned to make lots of dua, give sadaqa, wake up at night for prayer and go for umrah. We continued doing all those good deeds until the month has passed. We went to see the doctor for the results and to our surprise all her tests were clear Alhamdulilah. We were very happy and relieved but unfortunately we later stopped all that we used to do (dua, sadaqa and qeyaamulail)

Subhana Allah, Allah knows that when you have it easy, you forget and you stop everything as if you will be living for good. Some people do not remember Allah until death comes.

Dr. Khaled Al Jubair said: I had a patient for surgery and before the surgery the nurse came and handed me a paper from the patient. I looked at the paper and it was a will he wrote to his wife. The will stated: “On top of the bedroom cabinet there is a red bag, you will find 100,000, give it out as sadaqa and inside the cabinet there is another black bag, it has 50,000 also give it for sadaqa and under the bed there is a blue bag…. etc. Basically, he left nothing for his children. Now he started panicking and he remembered Allah.
Many people do not remember Allah unless they fall sick or they are inflicted with a trial. Isn’t this always the case!?

The third reason

When Allah delays faraj for you, he delays it to grant you something even bigger and better. What is it?
Sabr (patients) Allah says: O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.2:153
Being patient puts you in the company of Allah and what better company than that!? If Allah is with you, you don’t care who is against you.  Would you say no to that!? Would you say to Allah!? No I don’t want your company, I am tired, I just want you to grant me a child or a husband or a job!!?

Allah is telling you, be patient I am with you, don’t worry … and you say no, I just want what I want right now.
Allah says what can be translated as: And be patient, for indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of (Muhsineen) those who do good. 11:115

Allah here lifted you a rank from being a Muslim to being a Muhsin (the one who does good). He has given you a special badge and elevated you and you say no, no I don’t want!! I want to be in a lower rank!!

Here is an even better status. Allah says what can be translated as: And Allah loves the patient 3:146
Allah says to you, while you are in this trial and this test and you are patient, you gain my love and If I love you, I will give you this world and the hereafter and everything in it just be patient.

An old poor woman was visited in her small hut by a TV show. The reporter asked her, are you happy? She said yes I am. He said: how can you be happy in this small hut,  you simply have nothing to achieve the happiness you are claiming. She said: I am happy because I am satisfied with what Allah has given me, because I know what He has given me is what is good for me now.
Can we think like this old woman or at least strive to remind ourselves to think like that.

Believe me my dear sister and brother if you are not satisfied and happy with what Allah has given you, you will never be happy even if you became a King or a Queen. Be content and remember Allah only gives good and Allah only gives khair.

Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam in a Hadith Qudsi said: Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says: When I inflict illness upon My believing slave and he does not complain about Me to people who visit him, I set him free (forgive his sins). Then I change his flesh with flesh better than his and blood better than his blood and he resumes his deeds afresh (as all his sins been wiped out). (Mustadrak Hakim)

Do you now understand why faraj is sometimes delayed!?

Have You Prepared Your Witnesses?

Have you prepared your witnesses?

Allah says what can be translated as: (And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, and the record [of deeds] will be placed, and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought, and it will be judged between them in truth, and they will not be wronged.)39:69

On that day when we are all gathered Allah will call our Prophets and all the witnesses to testify for or against us.

Prophet Mohmmad peace be upon him will stand before us and testify that he taught us everything and left us with a complete guide and a straight path, he will testify that you and I have no excuse to not pray on time, no excuse to not read the Quran and understand it, no excuse to not wear the Hijaab, no excuse to not lowering our gaze, no excuse to eating Reba (Interest) and simply no excuse to not following the Quran and sunnah fully.  What will be our situation then!!?

And the witnesses!!!
Make sure you have lots of witnesses on that day if you really want to make it through.

But who are the witnesses?
The witnesses are not necessarily the people around you because if you work hard to have them be your witnesses you might end up in Reya’a (Show off) wal eyathu biLLAH. 

Your witness is the sa-ja’dah (prayer matt) which you have placed in a corner in your room and you wake up to it every night for qeyamulail just to ask Allah for His forgiveness and  blessings.
Your witness is a poor person you did not know but you helped with a few dollars or shillings you had.
Your witness is a dead person you knew or did not know whom you prayed for Rahma and forgivness.
Your witness is that Mus-haf (Quran) which you have up on a shelf. Is it going to say I was collecting dust or will it testify that you were reading it every single day and trying your best to understand the message?
Your witness is (Al Zahrawain) surat Al Baqarah and Aal Imran.
The Prophet peace be upon him said: Recite the Quran as it helps the reader to come on the Day of Judgement. Read Zahrawain, namely Surah al-Baqarah and Aali-Imran, because they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds will overshadow its readers or as two groups of birds in flight in the goal to defend its readers. (Sahih Muslim)

Your witness is your tongue which you made say a lot of good, kind and encouraging words or maybe tortured it by forcing it to gossip and eat the flesh of dead people.

Your witness is your eyes which you safe guarded not to look at what is haram just because you know no one is there but He is indeed watching.

Your witnesses are those fingers which you use to do dhikr every single day.

Your witness is a brother or a sister who found the right path through a reminder from you, a talk or message or a video.

Your witness is your child who grows learning to pray, read Quran and love their deen.

Your witnesses are the pigeons or the cat which you fed just because they are the creatures of Allah and because you want every chance for reward.

Your witness is an orphan whom you put a smile on their face on any day not just on Eid day.

Your witness is a sick person who needed help financially and you didn’t have much but you helped them because you remembered the hadith of the Prophet peace be upon him: He who relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his hardship on the Day of Judgment. Sahih Muslim

Your witness is a friend you helped in a difficult situation without expecting anything from them.

Your witness is a poor worker whom you gave a cold drink on a hot day.

Your witness is the adhaan which you hear and repeat every day five times.

Your witness is your spouse whom you treated with kindness and took chances to put a smile on their face just for the sake of Allah.

Your witnesses is your computer or your phone and what you do with it, your profile and what you post on it. You don’t know how many people will be affected by it in a good or a negative way. Remember it’s a chain and it continues and it will last until the Day of Judgment.

Your witness is a masjid which you donated to build or repaired for people to pray comfortably and worship Allah.

And the list goes on but above all is our main witness, our Shafee (Intervener), our beloved and our role model the Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him. Imagine this moment every time you aim to do something which is not right. What will you say to him? Why you disappointed him? He went through a lot to bring you this beautiful deen ready and complete without any effort from your side. He was abused and beaten up, he was cursed and mocked, he stayed hungry for days but he never gave up for us. Why we are giving up on yourself?

When Abdullah ibn Masoud was reading surat Al Nisa’a to the Prophet peace be upon him, he reached this ayah:
So how [will it be] when We bring from every nation a witness and we bring you, [O Muhammad] against these [people] as a witness? 4:41

The Prophet peace be upon him was crying and he asked him to stop! he could not bear the thought of him standing as a witness against us!!
Allahum Sal’I wa sal’im wa barik alah ashfraf Al Mursalieen sayyedina Mohammad

ZAKAATUL MAAL.

Today  something drew my attention to this topic….which many people either don’t know about it, or know but not taking it seriously or find it confusing and can’t be bothered.

The subject is: Zakaatul Maal
You could be doing everything right, praying, fasting Ramadan, doing so many sunnahs and you could end up in hell…why? Because you are simply not paying your zakah.

Remember it is one of the pillars of Islam so without it, your islam is incomplete.
The one who does not pay zakaah either believes that it is obligatory or he does not. If he does not believe that it is obligatory, then he is a kaafir according to the consensus of the Muslims, because he is denying something that no Muslim has any excuse for not knowing. If he believes that it is obligatory but he does not pay it because he is stingy, then he is not a kaafir according to the majority of scholars, but some of the scholars are of the view that he is a kaafir.

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (2/228): Whoever denies it out of ignorance, and he is ignorant of it because he is new in Islam or because he grew up in a remote area far from the cities, should be informed that it is obligatory and should not be regarded as a kaafir, because he is excused. But if he is a Muslim who grew up in a Muslim land where there are a lot of scholars, then he is an apostate to whom the rulings on apostates apply: he should be asked to repent three times; if he repents, all well and good, otherwise he is to be executed, because the evidence that zakaah is obligatory is clearly stated in the Qur’aan and Sunnah and the consensus of the ummah, and it can hardly be unknown by someone in his situation. If he denies it, that can only be because he is denying the Qur’aan and Sunnah and does not believe in them.

If he withholds it although he believes it is obligatory, and the ruler is able to take it from him, then he should take it and punish him (ta’zeer), but he should not take any more than the zakaah that is due, according to the view of the majority of scholars, including Abu Haneefah, Maalik, al-Shaafa’i and their companions.
Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh and Abu Bakr ‘Abd al-‘Azeez said: He should take it and half of his wealth. …

But if the one who is withholding zakaah is beyond the ruler’s reach, he should fight him, because the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) fought those who withheld it. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: If they withhold from me a rope that they used to give to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (in zakaah), I will fight them for it. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said concerning zakaah: It is obligatory according to the consensus of the Muslims. Whoever denies that it is obligatory is a kaafir, unless he is new in Islam or grew up in a remote area far from knowledge and scholars, in which case he is excused, but he should be told. If after he is told about it he still denies it, then he is a kaafir and an apostate. As for the one who withholds it out of stinginess and carelessness, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars. Some of them said that he is a kaafir, and this was one of the two views narrated from Imam Ahmad.

Others said that he is not a kaafir, and this is the correct opinion, but he has committed a major sin. The evidence that he is not a kaafir is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned the punishment of the one who withholds zakaah on gold and silver, then he said: “… until judgement has been passed among all people, then he will be shown his path, either to Paradise or to Hell.” If it is possible that he may be shown his path to Paradise, then he is not a kaafir, because the kaafir cannot be shown his path to Paradise. But the one who withholds it out of stinginess or carelessness is committing a great sin which Allaah mentions in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“And let not those who covetously withhold of that which Allaah has bestowed on them of His Bounty (wealth) think that it is good for them (and so they do not pay the obligatory Zakaah). Nay, it will be worse for them; the things which they covetously withheld, shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allaah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allaah is Well‑Acquainted with all that you do”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:180]

and

“And those who hoard up gold and silver (Al‑Kanz: the money, the Zakaah of which has not been paid) and spend them not in the way of Allaah, announce unto them a painful torment.

So my dear fellow Muslims , after reading all this please make sure you take this matter so seriously. We have Gold in our cabinets and we have money in our banks and safes, all this we will be accountable for. Teach your children from now how to calculate zakah and put it on the calendar, set a certain month, this is the month that my money completed a year and I need to pay zakah and it becomes a habit just like salah. Weigh your gold once and for all and know the weight and pay zakah for it every year and repent for the years you missed. Talk to your husbands,wives, your sisters, brother and parents and make sure to explain to them the importance and the way to calculate.

Allahuma Ajirna mina Naar

35. On the Day when that (Al‑Kanz: money, gold and silver, the Zakaah of which has not been paid) will be heated in the fire of Hell and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, (and it will be said unto them:) ‘This is the treasure which you hoarded for yourselves. Now taste of what you used to hoard’”
[al-Tawbah 9:34, 35]
End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (918/14).

Those who are careless about paying zakaah should be advised and reminded of how important it is, and should be told of the texts which warn against being stingy in paying it.