Some People…

Some people are genuine, some people are fakes,

They slither and slide like poisonous snakes. 🐍

Someone is bitter and can give you a shake,

Someone is sweet, as sweet as a cupcake.

Some people are sensitive and can easily break,

Some people melt just like a snowflake ❄️

Some people are harsh and can give you heartache,

Some have hard hearts, they can even make the ground shake.

Some people are sincere, they do it for His sake,

Throughout the night they will stay awake,

They pass every trial and great patience they will undertake,

They attain a great status and palaces in Jannah they will make.

So dear brother, don’t you ever make this mistake,

Don’t ever hurt a soul nor let it ache.

That person may be a sinner or maybe a Shaykh,

But even Allah may not want that heart to break. 💔

Ismail ibn Nazir Satia (one who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure).

15 Shaban 1440

I don’t wear a Hijab, but my heart is clean!”

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

“All of my Ummah will be forgiven except those who sin openly…” [1]

Sinning privately is between Allah and His servant and a struggle that only He knows about and which In sha Allah He will give His servant the Tawfiq to repent for. Openly sinning with no remorse is tantamount to a public challenge to Allah and it doesn’t just remain between a servant and his Lord, but with the people too. One is to unashamedly disobey Allah and then to further justify the sin, but “Allah will not help a people until they help themselves.” [2]

Lately, I seem to have come across many sisters who give reasons for their Hijab – or lack thereof!

“I’m not ready for the Hijab yet!”
“So what if my hair is uncovered? My heart is clean!”
“Don’t tell me to wear Hijab, only Allah can judge me.”

Naturally, it led to many debates where not everyone agreed. Hence, this is merely an opinion.

At random, I started looking at other commandments of Allah. His order to fulfil the obligation of Salah comes with the condition that one has reached the age of puberty, is sane, and is a Muslim. Similarly, the donning of Hijab becomes compulsory once a woman reaches the age of puberty. But why are sisters so quick to make excuses like, “I’m not ready yet” and, “But my heart is clean,” when we don’t make the same excuses for our Zakah and fasting the month of Ramadhan?

My mind is at awe with the women around my Nabi ﷺ who dropped all they had in order to comply to another commandment of Allah with the hope of coming closer to Him. Fatimah Al-Zahrah (R), the queen of the women of Jannah, was the epitome of modesty at the time of Nabi ﷺ and continues to serve as an example until the end of time. Similarly, Umm Khallad (R) who upon hearing of the martyrdom of her beloved son on the battlefield, rushed to it whilst veiled. When asked how she managed to cover in such a state, she responded, “I have lost my son, but I have not lost my modesty.” [3]

Such women had the purest of hearts and yet they did not make the excuses we make because it is not befitting for a Muslim woman to ask for a concession in a matter that Allah and His Nabi (S) have ordained for us!

It may be true that a sister without the Hijab may have a heart purer and Taqwa stronger than that of a sister fully covered. However, when a Muslim woman CHOOSES not to wear the Hijab out of her own free-will (without a valid Shar’i reason), she becomes another fallen brick in the wall that divides us as an Ummah because she has chosen to hide her identity. Those who wear the Hijab (despite their struggles) are then labelled fanatics and extremists because another side has presented a “liberal” image which shows the world that it clearly isn’t mandatory to wear the Hijab and it can’t really be part of the faith! And so in this manner, she makes it harder for her “Hijabi” sister to practice her faith.

Those who refuse the Hijab claiming only Allah can judge them, remember that indeed Allah WILL judge them. Let’s help one another to become stronger in our faith and show the world that we are proud of our identity. May Allah help each of us in our struggles and only He knows what they are.

Do you agree? Disagree? All comments welcome, but please be courteous.

[1] Bukhari and Muslim
[2] Surah Ra’ad (13:11)
[3] Abu Dawud

Zainab Bint Husain (Allah protect her)

10 Muharram 1440

In Your Remembrance

In your remembrance, I find peace and tranquility,

With Your worship, I find honour and dignity.

You only bless your remembrance to those whom you love,

Then You remember them simultaneously, from high above.

Despite my heart being full of sin and vice,

Your mercy is so vast, your compassion is deep and has no price.

Purify my heart, with your love and forgiveness,

My heart is weak, without you love it is restless.

Grant me your friendship, nearness and closeness,

Keep me away from your displeasure and disobedience.

O Allah! My sins have made me distant and weak,

My sins are heavy, burdensome and I know I’ve reached my peak.

So, I beg you earnestly, humbly, wrap me under your cloak,

Of mercy & love, wipe away my sins just like chalk.

If You reject me, where will I turn?

Who will accept me? When it is for You I yearn.

DUA: Save me (and the Ummah) from the ghastly Hell-fire, where the disobedient will burn,

Those who rejected you, will stay there forever and they will never return. Ameen.

Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s Forgiveness, Mercy and Pleasure).

29 Ramadhan 1436 (I’tikaf – Islamic Da’wah Academy)