VIRTUES OF MADINAH

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit(radhiyallahu anhu): When the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) went out for (the battle of) Uhud, some of his companions (hypocrites) returned (home). A party of the believers remarked that they would kill those (hypocrites) who had returned, but another party said that they would not kill them. So, this Divine Inspiration was revealed: “Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties concerning the hypocrites.” (4.88) The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, “Madinah expels the bad persons from it, as fire expels the impurities of iron.” (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas(radhiyallahu anhu): The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, “O Allah! Bestow on Madinah twice the blessings You bestowed on Makkah.” (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas(radhiyallahu anhu): Whenever the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) returned from a journey and observed the walls of Madinah, he would make his mount go fast, and if he was on an animal (i.e. a horse), he would make it gallop because of his love for Madinah. (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas(radhiyallahu anhu): (The people of) Bani Salama intended to shift near the mosque (of the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)) but Allah’s Apostle disliked to see Madinah vacated and said, “O the people of Bani Salama! Don’t you think that you will be rewarded for your footsteps which you take towards the mosque?” So, they stayed at their old places. (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira(radhiyallahu anhu): The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, “There is a garden from the gardens of Paradise between my house and my pulpit, and my pulpit is on my Pool of water (Al-Kauthar).” (Bukhari)

Narrated ‘Aisha(radhiyallahu anha): When Allah’s Apostle reached Madinah, Abu Bakr and Bilal became ill. When Abu Bakr’s fever got worse, he would recite (this poetic verse): “Everybody is staying alive with his People, yet Death is nearer to him than His shoe laces.” And Bilal, when his fever deserted him, would recite: “Would that I could stay overnight in A valley wherein I would be Surrounded by Idhkhir and Jalil (kinds of good-smelling grass). Would that one day I could Drink the water of the Majanna, and Would that (The two mountains) Shama and Tafil would appear to me!”

The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, “O Allah! Curse Shaiba bin Rabi’a and ‘Utba bin Rabi’a and Umaiya bin Khalaf as they turned us out of our land to the land of epidemics.” Allah’s Apostle then said, “O Allah! Make us love Madinah as we love Makkah or even more than that. O Allah! Give blessings in our Sa and our Mudd (measures symbolizing food) and make the climate of Madinah suitable for us, and divert its fever towards Aljuhfa.” Aisha added: When we reached Madinah, it was the most unhealthy of Allah’s lands, and the valley of Bathan (the valley of Madinah) used to flow with impure colored water. (Bukhari)

Narrated Zaid bin Aslam from his father: Umar(radhiyallahu anhu) said, O Allah! Grant me martyrdom in Your cause, and let my death be in the city of Your Apostle.” (Bukhari)

Ibn Umar(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said: “Whoever has the means to die in Madinah, let him die there for I shall intercede on behalf of everyone who dies there.” (Bukhari)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) has said: ” O Allah ! Grant fertility to the fruits of Madinah and to our measures. Ibrahim was Your servant and friend. I am also Your servant and Prophet. He(Ibrahim(alaiyis salaam) had prayed to You for fertility for Makkah, but I pray to You for the fertility of Madinah and twice more than him.” (Muslim)

The Prophet’s Masjid in Madinah

Anas(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said: “Whoever performs forty salaah in my Masjid, not missing one salaah in the Masjid, for him is granted exemption from the fire of Jahannam, and exemption and he shall remain free of hypocrisy.” (Ahmad, Tabraani)

Hazrat Anas(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) has said that the reward of salaah in his masjid and in that of Masjid-e-Aqsa, is of fifty thousand salaahs, but the reward of salaah in the Ka’ba, is equal to hundred thousand salaahs. (Ibn Majah)

Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) has said that his masjid is unique, the foundation of which has been laid on piety. (Muslim)

Masjid-e-Quba
Hazrat Usaid bin Huzair(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said that the merit of salaah in the Masjid of Quba is equal to performing one Umrah. (Tirmizi)

Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that every Saturday Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) would go to Masjid-e-Quba, sometimes walking and sometimes by conveyance, and he would perform two raka’at of salaah there.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Mount Uhud
Hazrat Anas bin Malik(radhiyallahu anhu) reports that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) has said that the mountain of Uhud loved him and he loved it. (Muslim).
Courtesy: www.everymuslim.com

WHAT ARE OUR CHILDREN LEARNING AT SCHOOL?

Ibn ‘Umar reported the saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace);

“All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the people of his house and he is responsible. A woman is the shepherd of the house of her husband and she is responsible. Each of you is a shepherd and each is responsible for his flock.” (narrated by Imam Bukhari)

Our children are thus our responsibility, and we will be questioned about the means by which we raised them when we come before our Lord (Exalted is He).

Imam Ghazali says,

‘A child is a trust in the care of his parents, for his pure heart is a precious uncut jewel devoid of any form or carving, which will accept being cut into any shape, and will be disposed according to the guidance it receives from others. If it is habituated to and instructed in goodness then this will be its practice when it grows up, and it will attain to felicity in this world and the next; its parents too, and all its teachers and preceptors, will share in its reward. Similarly, should it be habituated to evil and neglected as though it were an animal, then misery and perdition will be its lot, and the responsibility for this will be borne by its guardian and supervisor. For God (Exalted is He!) has said, “Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire.” [Quran, 66:6]

(From Book XXI of Ihya’ `Ulum al-Din, translated by Abdul Hakim Murad)

We can see how precious our children are, and that it is wajib (obligatory) upon us to take responsibility for their tarbiyah (upbringing). In this day and age, many parents need to work in order to pay the bills, and unfortunately presume that their children will be adequately raised by their teachers, both in secular schools and in madrassa also. There is no problem in providing for your family, as it is a part of taking responsibility – but that is only the economic side. What about your child’s spiritual upbringing?

Since we live in the UK, often our children are exposed to non-Islamic teachings, to children of other faiths and to so many outside influences that it is easy for a child to be affected by these things. If their parents haven’t taken care to teach them about their faith, and given them a good example of what it is to be a Muslim, they can easily be led astray, and perhaps even leave Islam (May Allah protect us!).

We cannot blame the teachers, the schools, or even the religious scholars in the madrassas if our children are moving away from deen – rather it is our responsibility and Allah (Exalted is He) will ask us about it…

So what can we do? The first thing is to take an active interest in what our child is learning in school. We need to divide our time between our work and our chores for what should be our most important concern, which is the development of our children. It would not be difficult to spend forty minutes every day going over what our children have learnt in school and to advise if there is anything contrary to Islamic teachings.

Secondly, parents can become acquainted with the school’s Board of Governors, in order to make changes to the school’s curriculum if needed – because if Muslims do not make it known that they are opposed to certain elements in the curriculum they will stay there and countless Muslim children will be exposed to them.

Also, if we send our children to madrassa, we should sit with them and help them learn how to read Qur’an and the important daily du’as which they learn there. We can thereby create an Islamic environment at home. Our children will be able to face any outside problems with ease, because they have been nurtured Islamically.

Remember, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan narrated that our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“The best of you is whoever learns Qur’an and then teaches it.” (narrated by Bukhari)

So what better thing can we do than to make sure our children gain a true respect and understanding of Islam? This will not only benefit them in this life when they face opposition to their faith, but will also benefit them and us in the Akhira insha Allah.

May Allah grant us the ability to raise our children upon the truth.

Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyatina qurrata a’yun, wa j’alna lil muttaqina imama

O Allah grant us from our spouses and children such who are a source of the coolness of our eyes, and make us Imams for the righteous. Ameen.