Every soul shall taste death.. perhaps tomorrow?

Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your full compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So whoever is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, it is indeed he who has succeeded. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.

(3:1)

World's coming to an end

Bismillah.

The Hour is coming, I almost keep it from the knowledge of others so that every self can be repaid for its efforts. (Surah Ta-Ha, 20: 15)

Yusuf Ali (I quite like this version as it's more direct and simpler to comprehend for a majority of readers.)

"Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour.

So a couple of days back, Sunday at the break of dawn, if I'm not mistaken, I heard some intensely horrible news on CBC channel, really struck me and my thoughts traveled at lightning speed (hm, maybe a tad much of a drama queen here) right to the moment where I was seated at RIS Knowledge Retreat during one of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's slot; the time he played slides of images of things and events which are signs of End of the Day. One of it being plane crashes that will occur without even the slightest idea of how it could have happened or what caused it, etc.

"A commercial airliner crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood in Nigeria's largest city on Sunday, killing all 153 people on board and others on the ground in the worst air disaster in nearly two decades for the troubled nation.

The cause of the Dana Air crash in Lagos remained unknown Sunday night,..."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/06/03/nigeria-plane-crash.html

Inna lillahi wa ina ilaihi raji un. So many people lost their lives. These are loved ones of some people out there. ='( 

What Shaykh HY pointed out is right. We should realise that Signs have been sent unto us since a long time ago with disasters taking place literally everywhere and sometimes at locations that doesn't even make sense.  (As in, geographically speaking, certain phenomena just ain't suppose to occur at some places YET it does happen) SubhanAllah, such is His Power!! Heed it, men.

What are they awaiting but for the Hour to come upon them suddenly? Its Signs have already come. What good will their Reminder be to them when it does arrive?  (Surah Muhammad: 18)

WAllahua'lam

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's Poetry for the Prophet

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. and Greetings to all,

Here's something I came across on a friend's FB profile that I'd like to share with all as it is very beautifully written and structured. Oh-so-touching and mashaAllah, it's definitely worth your precious time, iAllah.

Part 2/2: Ever wondered what's in store after death?

Bismillah.

The following is continuation to the previous post. Sorry for the delay, been going through some hectic and troubled times and haven't been online much lately. Hope you guys benefit from this post. Oh, and please  constantly take care of your health, never take it for granted. Thank Him always for the good health He's given unto you.

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Q: If during the barzakh dah mula (begins) punishments and kesenangan (ease/comfort) for the non-righteous and righteous respectively, does this indicate that they've sort of been "pre-judged" even before judgment day comes? If that's the case, during barzakh, this ppl has been determined as a believer/non-believer? Hm, and they still need to go through judgment day later?


A: Before I answer your question… (NOTE THAT PRINCIPLE III & IV IS MOST IMPORTANT TO OUR DISCUSSION, but I would like to walk through all four principles)

A few basic principles about judgement:  

PRINCIPLE I: God is just and you will be judged according to your own deeds

In Islam, the concept of judgement is very simple, clear, and logical. Just like in your exam, you start with a blank answer sheet, you’ve answered (you lived), you’ve submitted your paper (i.e. technically you die, but you will see later how death is not your ‘final answer’), you will be marked only for your own paper (your own deeds). This is what you will expect from a just examiner right? You aren’t going to be asked about Adam’s paper that starts with -100 mark suddenly (original sin in Christianity), or Muhammad, Jesus, your classmate needs to sacrifice himself to give you extra bonus mark or anything like that.

Firstly, the most basic principle is:

God is not unjust to His slaves. 22:10

So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. 99:7

And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. 99:8

That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another, and that man can have nothing but what he does (good or bad)  53:39

God burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned 2:286

So the very basic principle is God will judge us justly (If He isn’t just, He isn’t God)  according to our deed, the only thing we worry about is our own deed, not if God screws up, because He won’t.

PRINCIPLE II: No one enters Paradise by his deeds alone

Principle I sounds great, everything is just and straightforward. But.. But.. this world is not objective, human life is complex, it’s not like this one deed = one pahala (reward) for everyone, different circumstances may make one deed harder for a person but easier for another person etc etc. So while God is just, and will never be unjust to His slave, this concept of just is not a mathematical objective scale of marking, but rather a holistic marking that considers all aspects of human life’s complexity and our relationship with Him:

The Prophet (salAllahu `alaihi wa sallam) said: "No one of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone."

They asked, "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?"

He said, "Not even me, unless Allah covers me with His Grace and Mercy"

We will judged by all our deeds very justly, but He knows our life is more complex than just good deeds and bad deeds, and He will take that into account. For example in the hadith:

In the narration of Al-Bukhari, the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said

"Once a dog was going round the well and was about to die out of thirst. A prostitute of Banu Israel happened to see it. So she took off her leather sock and lowered it into the well. She drew out some water and gave the dog to drink. She was forgiven on account of her action".

It is understood that the prostitute is forgiven and admitted to jannah (not sure if another narration explicitly stated enter jannah). So life is complex, God is merciful, we strive to be the best.

Part 1/2: Ever wondered what's in store after death?

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Assalamualaikum & Greetings to all,


I wish everyone's in the best of health and as for us Muslims, may we always be blessed and in our highest state of Imaan constantly, inshaAllah.


Oh on a side note, just so you know, I do always wish to be able to write more here but yeah, I guess time flies and swoosh by too fast especially this past couple of months. MashaAllah, I am amazed at how one third of 2012 has already gone by!! Wallahi, I'm just in awe.


Anyway, back to the runaway before any crashing takes place **haha, in aviation mood atm. Yup, random much.** Here's sort of a Q & A regarding the topic of what comes after death. *coughs* hmm, sounds pretty intense of a subject chosen to discuss about eh. Haha, oh well.. (Anyhow, the replies are very well written and organised as well as pretty straightforward and simple to comprehend, this is why I would like to share it with others so it can benefit others as well. I'd say it is definitely worth a read albeit it being a tad bit long of a post.)


Part 2

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Q: What happens after we die? So judgment day is the same for all, or so I've been told. Then what happens to those who die first? I guess they're waiting? And I heard that this waiting period is something called barzakh? And where are they waiting?


A: The soul is not something in the material world right, it has no spatial location. i.e. the grave, cemetery, crematorium, etc. Js like where r u when u r asleep? Your body is in the bed, but your soul, Allahua’lam, nobody knows.

Firstly I think, consider the fact that we know very little about the soul. Scientifically speaking we have no idea what the soul is, as it is not in the material world. Like we know neurons fire in certain are of the brain and cause you to desire something etc, but we can’t describe fully why we feel everything in its glory, or what is consciousness, or how to bring the dead to life. The soul is beyond us:

“And they ask you concerning the Rûh (the Spirit); Say: "The Rûh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little." (Qur'an 17:85).

So what we understand a little bit about the soul from revelation is that, after we die, the soul will depart from our physical body. It will be in another realm called barzakh, and hadiths on the description of this waiting time realm (barzakh) can be read here.

When judgement day come, every soul will be ‘raised up’ again or put into a ‘materialistic’ body (again we don’t know the nature of this  body or this new material world existence, it is not the same as our world/universe). Then we will be judged and will find our final abode:

“And because the hour is coming, there is no doubt about it; and because Allah shall raise up those who are in the graves.”Qur'an 22:7

Note that ‘graves’ here is not to be understood literally your grave that you were buried upon, it is a metaphorical expression for putting the soul back into a ‘physical existence’. As another verse below that mentions raising up, but not from the literal grave:

“Till when there comes to one of them the death he says: "My Rabb (Lord), send me back. That I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." Never, it is but a word he says. And beyond them is a Barzakh  until the day when they (all) are raised up." Qur'an 23: 99-100.

“Even so is the quickening (raising the dead)” Qur'an 35:9

And we know scientifically that this universe will collapse and cease to exists someday. As there is big bang, the universe expands, then there will be big crunch where the universe will collapse back into singularity (non-existence, time and space cease to exists). So we know the end of time is inevitable, the universe is not infinite, nor will it exists forever, so whatever we understand in Islam about the end of time is in line with what we observe scientifically. Then judgement day starts, this new universe, reality, the afterlife.

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Q: "My Rabb (Lord), send me back. That I may work righteousness in the things I neglected."

Send me back? He's asking to be sent back into the world so he can rectify his mistakes and perform more goodness that he had used to neglect in life? huh? what?! this isnt referring to reborn right.. Islam doesnt have this concept, no?

Heart --> Self --> Life

Bismillah.

The world wears a hijab! SubhanAllah~! =]

Bismillah.

Dear sisters, do you know that so much of the world actually "wears hijab"?

YES!

The Earth is surrounded by the atmosphere and ozone later
Fresh fruits have peels on them
The sword is preserved in a sheath
An inked pen would dry without its cap
We put paperback and hardback covers on our books

A pen would be thrown away because it became useless without its cap
An apple without a peel becomes rotten
A banana without a peel would change in colour
And a woman is a 'beautiful flower' which every one wishes to pick so she should cover herself with the beautiful hijab
Subhan Allah, the world is wearing a hijab!

What about you? (but yes of course there are those who have circumstances and their reasons^^) Peace~