Captured Thoughts
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رمضان ٢ - 25/4

The heart is quite heavy. I don't blame it. It had processed all the junk it was fed in its life time of existence. I am so sorry O heart for what I've consumed and how I have harmed you. You crave the emulation of a Prophet (s) and yet I chose otherwise.

This Ramadhan will burn the sins of the previous year. Have hope O Muslim.
"Allaah is displeased when you stop asking Him and mankind is displeased when asked."

- Ibn Qayyim [Madaarij as-Salikeen 2/98]

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I used to be amazed how the Salaf could be immersed in the Qur’an for SO long without getting tired or bored.

Then I saw how immersed people were in their phones and I finally understood: when the hearts love something, they become immersed and addicted to it.

- Sh al-Ma’sarawi
In order to help ourselves and our followers ensure they pray their salah we have created a printable monthly sheet you can use to tick off your prayers.

It's important to hold yourself to account!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dTdQobHW6tr-EwZBVcq5z-CRSs2faRfi/view?usp=drivesdk
To contemplate devotion is to admire it, and admiration is an affliction; and that which is pure is whatever is free of all afflictions. This means that one's deeds should be purified from self-admiration concerning the actions they entail. Yaqub: "A devout person is someone who conceals things that are good, in the same way that he conceals things that are bad."

Sincerity is the freeing of one's inentions from all impurities in order to come nearer to Allah. It is to ensure that the intentions behind all acts of worship and obedience to Allah are exclusively for His pleasure. It is perpetual contemplation of the Creator, to the extend that one forgets the creation. It is a condition for Allah's acceptance of good deeds performed in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Abu Umama related that a man once came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and said, "What of a man who joined us in the fighting, his intention being for fame and booty?" The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "He receives nothing." The man repeated the question three times and each time the Prophet said, "He receives nothing". Then he said, "Allah only accepts actions that are intended purely for His pleasure." [Hasan: Related by An-Nasa'i (6/25)]

There's countless times where we perform good deeds however we are more worried that other people can see us performing such deeds and hope in our hearts that this increases the respect they have for us, for us to be known as a pious person. As an account that posts reminders, we must evaluate our intentions, renew them and ensure they are only for His sake of Allah so we do not fall into those whose deeds are not sincere.

Action point: Take 5 minutes to try to think of one deeds that is a secret from others and you feel you do it sincerely for His sake. If you feel that you don't have one: start one.

"Say: Shall we tell you who will lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts were astray in the life of this world, while they thought that they were doing good works." (Surah 18: 103-1-4)

"It is much harder for the people of action to purify their intentions than it is to execute any of their actions." - Ayyub

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Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said:

❝When the people of Jannah will reunite, they will remember all the times they spoke about Jannah in this world. They’ll look back and laugh, at how short life was, and then smile, because beautiful is their final abode.

The people of paradise will have all that they desire. One step into Jannah and they will remember no pain. They will say they never suffered, they will say they never cried.

A dip in Jannah.

Oh how much we long for that moment. The moment where we reunite, we hug our loved ones once again. We forget about all the pain, and thank Allāh for all the tests!

How strange does it seem, that these tests which weigh a ton on our chest today will one day elevate us. Elevate us so high, that we will thank Allāh. We will thank Him for testing us, for loving us and for giving us more than anyone could imagine.

A place of eternity, vast, beautiful, peaceful.

Everything one can desire.

Be patient, oh beautiful slaves of Allāh, for our Lord is more Merciful than a mother is to her child.❞

— “Al-Fawa’īd” (pg. 119).
Will you awaken from your #Sleep ?

Imaam Ibn Jawzee, Rahimahullaah:

How excellent are the people who have abandoned sweet dreams, withdrawing from that for which they erected their feet for. Standing up to fatigue themselves in the dark, seeking a portion of the blessing. When the night comes they stand up, and when the day arrives they derive lessons from it. When they look at their faults they seek forgiveness, and when they think about their sins they cry and feel dejected. O’ dwelling of the beloved, where are your inhabitants? O’ places of sincerity, where are your residents? O’ spot of the pious, where are your people? O’ places of nightly prayer, where are your vistors? I have, by Allaah, traveled around and found these people extinct. Those who used to stay awake at night have gone away and the lovers of sleep are left. These times have sought eating the lust to replace fasting.

~Imaam Ibn Jawzee Rahimahullah
[al-Yawaqit al jawziyya p.g 28-29]
Unlocking Lockdown Ramadhan

“What really matters are good endings, not flawed beginnings.” – Ibn Taymiyyah Rahimahullah (Minhaj as Sunnah | V.9.| P.416)

Unlock your Ramadhan by having a schedule that can change. A schedule that has time, to take time.

If you’re working from home, have healthy breaks and walk around. If you’re not working but have other responsibilities such as children and caring for the home, set a time for it. Try to make a checklist for each day of the “must do” things that you tick off whenever you want. So this would be:
1. Salah

2. Qur’an recitation – not all parents have all the time for ibadah but trying to get in a bit every day with the meaning may be more beneficial to you than reading pages.

3. Thinking of one thing you are grateful for every day.

These are the main things that apply to most people for Ramadhan. Ramadhan is all about increasing in taqwa and in between all the productive tips and videos on social media we may have lost the true meaning of this. It’s about refraining to do that which leads us to sin. Someimtes we overthink all the things we want to achieve but forget all the things we need to leave. Think of habits you want to get rid of: bad language, unnecessary talking, over use of the phone, backbiting, music and negative thoughts and work on leaving those things.

This Ramadhan, as we are in isolation; Allah, the Most High has given us a chance to look at our deeds behind closed doors. Something we forget in the usual buzz of life. We can examine our intentions and actions when no one else is looking as that is our true self.

Think about it. What have you done when isolating? Did you do good deeds without onlooked? Did you recite? Did you beautify your salah and du’a? Did you refrain from listening to the devils whispers?

Unlock lockdown Ramadhan by working on your true self. By adopting a positive mindset and allow that positivity to fill the air around you and brighten up the day of everyone around you. Everyone is struggling in one way or another.

Read more: https://capturedthoughts.blog/2020/05/09/unlocking-lockdown-ramadhan/

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*Half way through Ramadhan*

Ibn al-Jawzi said:

"When the race horse knows that it is nearing the end of the track it exerts all of its effort to win the race. Do not allow the race horse to be more clever than you. For verily, deeds are judged by their conclusions. So if you didn't do well with welcoming Ramadan then perhaps you will do better bidding it farewell."

Ibn Taymiyyah said:

"The lesson lies in perfection of the conclusion of a thing, not in the shortcomings of the beginning of it."

Hasan al-Basri said:

"Improve your performance in what is left (of time) and you will be forgiven for that which has already passed. So take special care of the time you have left because you do not know when your soul will be turned over to Allah’s Mercy.”
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رمضان ٢١ - 14/5

Imagine in my CV if I wrote I was a Management Consultant at a top firm... How proud and confident I'd be to mention it. It would be like a badge of honour. Yet in the next life the greatest 'role' one could ever be proud of is to be a Worshipper.

When you see fellow worshippers, drop the act and don't put them beneath you or anyone on your social status. This is because if they worship Him and follow His commandments this man could possibly be the proudest of us all in the next life. The richest and most celebrated.

In these remaining days, beautify your worship ya ikhwa!
Forwarded from Back to Basics
Crucial Questions in the Life of a Muslim

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Lailatul Qadr in Lockdown -Tazkiyah Publications .pdf
5.3 MB
*Lailatul Qadr in Lockdown* booklet 2020

This booklet is a group effort - contributed to by scholars and graduates from different parts of the world including Europe, North America, Middle East and Australia. Coordinated by Sh Abu Abdillah (Madinah graduate).


This is a comprehensive and practical booklet on Lailatul Qadr, its merits and how to *maximise* your rewards on this special night. Have a quick read to see how you can add a lifetime of good deeds to your scales insha’Allah!


Do share it with friends and family and all those who might find benefit in it.
This notorious hadith often begins books to remind us of what is crucial for every act we do; our intention. We do not perform any act without an intention behind it.

Whatever our intention is, that is what we will get from it. If we read and listen with the intention of increasing knowledge and trying to act upon it, innshaAllah that is what we will gain. If we read and listen with the intention of criticizing and finding faults then we will find mistakes and faults only. It’s easier to destroy as opposed to build hence this mindset is crucial to nurture.

An inspirational teacher of mine elaborated this point by citing the following example: two types of animals are set free in a garden; one is a bird and the other is a swine. The bird will look for clean and pure sustenance, whereas the swine will look for filth and dirt. Whatever intention they have, it is manifested in the result of their actions. The domino effect beginning with the intention leads to the result. Similarly to our deeds, the result may be in this world of the next but it will unveil our true intention.

One of the best pieces of advice I have picked up from a teacher is making every act about pleasing Allah the Most High. For example, sleeping: we sleep to fulfil the rights to our body and to ensure we are in the best state to perform the most acts of worship efficiently. This is fortified in the narrations:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “You will never spend anything that you spend for the sake of Allah, but you will be rewarded for it, even the morsel of food that you put in your wife’s mouth.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (56). Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I sleep and I get up (to pray at night), and I seek reward for my sleep as I seek reward for my getting up. Narrated by al-Bukhari (4088). We can then see that we can actually make every act we do with a noble intention that is aligned with our desire to attain the highest level of Jannah.

May Allah azza wa jal recitfy our intentions, keep them pure and for His sake alone Ameen

Full post:
https://capturedthoughts.blog/2019/11/02/intentions/
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رمضان ٢٦ - 19/5

Let's be honest, we love to be secluded with Allah, and this is an opportunity to do so. You are not required to set foot of your house for work (well for most of us that is).

Yet we crave human interaction more than ever. We crave that coffee from the local cafe. To see your colleagues [that you thought you despised! (Jk)].

... To be in the Masjid praying side by side with your Islamic family. You miss each other. You now realise that you were living too worldly before this lockdown (check your bank balance then you'll know what I mean).

So you say to yourself, when this lockdown is over I am not going to forget these months as they were certainly a trial/punishment for mankind. But you might forget. You might just slip back into normality again. That's just our human nature. So you tell yourself, 'but I know I might, so how can forget how difficult this period was?' trust me this is exactly how the disbelievers are described in the hell fire. They would scream, return me! They hope at that moment to be back in this world to live a live of worship, but in reality they would not change a thing. Like I said, we are forgetful in nature.

There is hope however. There is always hope. The hope is the concept of Istiqaamah itself by the heart, statements and actions we do.

For example, right now you are not sitting with your teacher you desperately miss. After lockdown purify your heart and fill it with love for Knowledge and to be a khaadim to him and to revise more from his classes than before. To cherish him that little bit more. Allah will certainly understand that you are trying to be grateful. This can be applied in all aspects of good deeds post lockdown.

Think carefully about what you will do differently post lockdown, write it down and make sure your heart is there too.

Allah knows best.
Enjoy The Few Nights And Days That Are Left

Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī رحمه الله said:

“Slaves of Allāh! The month of Ramaḍān is determined to leave and there are but a few days left of it. Those of you who have done good should complete it (in goodness) and whoever has neglected it then let him end it in goodness since actions are according to their ending. So enjoy the few nights and days that are left and bid it farewell by performing good deeds which can be witness for you with Al-Malik Al-‘Alam, and see it off by parting with the most pure greeting and Salam.”

● [لطائف المعارف لابن رجب ص ٣٨٦]
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A friend of mine saw a dream 20 years ago and relayed the dream onto one of the dream interpreters who said to him “you are going to make tawaf around the ka’bah alone.”

He said “I laughed to myself and replied who am I for the place of tawaaf to be emptied for me?"

... and in one of the nights of Ramadan this year due to Corona he made tawaaf alone around the Ka’bah after seeking permission from government officials.

Allah’s destiny is above your comprehension, so have good thoughts, and seek plenty from Him.

— Ahmad bin Sh AbdulKareem al-Khudayr
Eid Mubarak! Taqabbal Allaahu minna wa minkum
May Allah accept ours and yours righteous actions

May he allow us all to spend this blessed festival in joy and happiness, within the boundaries he’s permitted

May he increase us all in beneficial knowledge, good actions, love, unity and victory over the disbelievers

May he forgive and accept all those that passed away in Ramadan

May he release our brothers and sisters that were imprisoned unjustly all around the world

May he grant steadfastness to all our scholars, grant them ability to say the truth at all times, fearing none but Allah
"Know my son, that days consists of hours and hours are made of the breaths you take. Every breath is a treasure chest, so beware of letting a breath pass by with no benefit. You do not want to find an empty treasure chest on the Day of Judgement and regret."

-Ibn al Jawzi (Rahimahullah)

[Sincere Counsel to the students of Sacred Knowledge, P. 49]📚
Something to think about today! Make it a productive day

Al-Hasan al-Basri:

"Oh son of Adam, you are but few days, whenever a day is gone, part of you is gone too."

Siyar A'laam an-Nubalaa, 4/585

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