Shaykh ‘Abd’l-‘Aziz B. Baz رحمه الله said, “If you want to listen to the Qur’an like it was revealed then listen carefully to al-Minshawi. It is a voice that one will never get bored from, like a flowing spring of pure water that continuously quenches the thirsty one.”

Best way to spend 45 minutes in a day

“A person has not been true to Allāh, the mighty and sublime, if he loves recognition (fame).”

— Ibrāhīm b. Adham RA

‏اللهم اجعل لنا في كل خطوة توفيقاً ويسراً

Oh Allāh ﷻ make for us in every step success and ease

Life will shock you when you realise how quickly things can change. If Allah wants you at a certain place, at a certain time, then you're going there without delay. And if He wants you to have something at a certain time, then you'll get it without delay.

If you're feeling stuck, it's only because Allah has not yet paved the way, but rest assured, the relief will come in it's appointed time.

It's difficult to feel stuck when you can see the direction in which you wish to go. This is the time for beautiful patience.

‏أفضل العبادة الصمت
The best worship is silence

وانتظار الفرج
And waiting for relief

‏علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه (البيان والتبيين 1/ 245)

You will never miss from the dunya what was written for you. Don't waste your efforts and concerns on dunya while the best of homes and highest stations of paradise pass you by. Work for that which is long lasting.

"And the hereafter is better for you than the first" 93:4

Āishah رضي الله عنها narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:

"The best of the people in reciting (the Qurān) is the one who when he recites (the Qurān) you see that he fears Allāh (based upon knowledge)."

[As-Sahīhah #1583]

A wise elderly man once said,

ألا ليت الشباب يعود يوما
فأخبره بما فعل المشيب

“If only youth could return to me for one day, and I could complain and tell it what old age has done to me.”

Seize every great opportunity for our time in this world is short.

‏﴿اللّٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ بِي مِنْ نَفْسِي، وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِنَفْسِي مِنْهُمْ، اللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي خَيْرًا مِمَّا يَظُنُّونَ، وَاغْفِرْ لِي مَا لا يَعْلَمُونَ، وَلا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا يَقُولُونَ﴾

When praised, Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه used to say: “O Allāh. You know me better than I do. And I know myself better than they do. O Allāh, make me better than what they think, forgive me for what they don’t know and don’t take me to task for what they say.

[Usd al-Ghābah]

You are going to grow.

Just as the seedling stirs in its shell, yearning and reaching for its outer most limits - always imagining as to lays beyond. You will recognize there are cracks to a beautiful experiences beyond that shell you have stayed in for too long.

You are going to break.

It is necessary to rid yourself of what bars you from the heights of your aspiration. The breaking allows you to cross a new, unending threshold. It teaches you that limits that you had within the shell’s boundaries, you falsely mistook for your own self.

You are going to increase.

At first that increase will not come from a position of strength, but one of vulnerability. You will have to expose yourself to the full light of the truth, and slowly begin to bloom under its brilliance. You will over time truly see who you are.

You are going to decline.

Because that is the nature of life. It is fleeting, it is temporary, it is only a moment that quickly fades away. You must pray that whatever you did in the states you experienced before, that Allāh accepted the good of it and forgave the bad of it.

You are going to live.

You will choose to live, for whatever it is that you love. So choose to live for your faith, for Islam, and choose make that the most beloved thing to you there is. Choose to make every stage you encounter one where you choose to experience it with faith.

May Allāh bring us through all stages of life in a state of sincere worship. May He grant us the wisdom to do what is most pleasing to Him at every juncture. May He allows us to accept His Decree with contentment and grant us success in putting forward lasting good deeds.

What are the signs Happiness?

Al-Imām Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhāb رحمه الله said:

- When you are given, be thankful
- When you are tested, be patient
- When you sin, repent

These 3 are the signs of happiness.

[Source: القواعد الأربع]