Resolution 2 - Dua Update & Other Resolutions

Alhumdulillah, so far so good. I have been trying hard to make dua regularly and it's been going pretty well. Most days, I am making dua in sajdah after almost all prayers. I'm also trying to make dua regularly at other times like just before salaah at prayer time.

There's also a book that comes highly recommended about Dua. It's called "Dua - The weapon of the Believer" by Sh. Yasir Qasir. I haven't read much of it so far but for those who want to learn about the art of making dua, the importance of making dua and many other things, it's a really good place to start.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

12. Leaving Du'a is a Sign of Laziness
The Porphet (saw) said:
The most incapable (or lazy) person is he who does not make du'a, and the most miserly is he who does not give salam.
How true are these Prophetic words of wisdom! For what energy does it take a person to make du'a to Allah? And what greater sign of laziness and incapability is there than the one who leaves this act that does not take up any of his time or effort?

Among my resolutions was to also read Surah Kahf on Fridays and alhumdulillah I've already been doing so. For those interested in reading about the hadith on the importance of reciting Surah Kahf. Do check my previous blog post on the matter here. Since that's been going well, I'll update on it next month inshallah.

My next plan is to start praying tahajjud regularly so inshallah, from the month of March, I'll start working on it. I'll post more details and hadith on the importance of it then and why I chose this to be my next resolution to work on.

New Year Resolutions - Part 1

Hope everyone had a wonderful start to this new year, inshaAllah. I felt like the previous year just flew by me and I didn't achieve much. So I've decided a make a few new year resolutions to help myself be a better Muslim and whether I achieve much in this dunya or not, I should prepare for my akhirah.

It is believe that in order to make anything a habit, one needs to repeat it over prolonged periods of time. Once you've done it 20 times or more, it will eventually come naturally. Hence, I've decided to spread my new years resolution over the period of next 12 months. This way, it is not overwhelming and it gives me time to practice.

The other benefit is that I have time to concentrate on perfecting this ONE thing and even if my imaan dwindles at any point, I can push myself to just do that single thing instead of trying to do a bunch of things and then feeling like I can't go on.

So here are my resolutions so far:

1. Praying salah at proper times. I wanted to start with salah because it's the difference between a true Muslim and a non Muslim. It's what makes us different. It's also the way we connect with Allah. Unfortunately, I used to miss prayers at times because I used to get preoccupied with other things or find it difficult to wake up for fajr.

2. Reciting Surah Kahf every Thursday after maghrib or on Friday before maghrib.

3. Reciting Surah Mulk daily. It's the Surah that will protect us again the punishment of the grave.

4. Learning a new Surah.

5. Waking up for tahajjud. Several scholars recommend this as the best time to pray and make heartfelt dua to Allah (swt).

6. Spending at least 2 mins reciting dua after every salah. Most people might find it confusing how this can be difficult. But, unfortunately, I never had the habit of making regular dua after salah but there are also other reasons which I won't go into.

7. Reciting duas upon waking up and going to bed. I would love to include how beneficial some of these duas are. InshaAllah, I'll cover them in individual posts when I get to them.

Right now this is no set order. I figure that I should probably test it out and see how it goes before fixating on what I'm going to be doing next. One thing's for sure, salah is this month's priority.

Now these are only 7 because at the moment as they are something I want to achieve. I may make changes as and when I see fit. If anyone would like to join me, they are most welcome. And of course, it doesn't have to be the same set of things that you'd like to do. It can be anything you'd like to fix. Do let me know if you decide to join. It might be more motivating for us. :)

Recite Surah Kahf Every Friday

Rasulullah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:
"The person who recites Surah Kahf on Fridays, a nur will appear for him from below the arsh as high as the skies. This light will help him in the darkness of the day of resurrection . And all the sins which he may have committed from the last Friday till this Friday will be forgiven . "
(Sharh Sifrus-Sa'aadah) The ulama have written that this Hadith refers to minor sins because major sins are not forgiven without making taubah.

It is recommended to recite Surat al-Kahf completely the night before Friday, and it is also recommended to do so Friday itself, before Maghrib time. Ibn Abidin said, And it is best to do so early on Friday, in order to rush to the good and to avoid forgetting. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Bab al-Jumu`ah]

Hadith related by Hakim and Bayhaqi, from Abu Sa`id (Allah be pleased with him), Whoever recites Surat al-Kahf on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays. [Ibn Hajar, Talkhis al-Habir]

Computers, Birds and Working Towards the Straight Path

Here's what's been happening. I've had major computer problems so I have been trying really hard to get that fixed. Plus, I've had so many things on my mind lately, I've had no time whatsoever to even think about blogging. I apologize for that.

Regarding my wisdom tooth, alhumdulillah, it seems to be healing well. Initially a lot of food was getting stuck in there but the hole seems to have become more shallow now although I haven't looked at it all that carefully but I don't feel like things are piling up. So, that's good. But there's definitely still a hole.

I still am getting birds. I had started getting a different pair of bulbuls. These ones have white cheeks and a yellow bottom. And guess what? They had twins! MashaAllah. The babies are totally cute! They are greyish brown and slightly smaller than their parents. Slightly bigger than a sparrow. They've become quite friendly and don't run away when they see me. Last week they were begging their parents to feed them and this week, they come to my balcony and start tweeting. I open the door and throw crushed biscuits and they gobble it up. They come really close. About a foot away from me. MashaAllah.

Other than that, I've been trying to make some positive changes in my life such as:
1. Try to pray tahajjud regularly. I can't wake up to pray it so it's a good thing, it's okay to stay and pray it and sleep. Although, that's pretty exhausting as well.
2. Reciting Surah Kahaf every Friday.

InshaAllah, I'll post details on that