No No on Sleeping

It is disliked to sleep on the stomach

Ibn Tikhfa al-Ghifari reported that his father told him that he had been one of the People of the Bench. He told him, “I was sleeping in the mosque during the last part of the night, lying on my stomach. Someone came to me and moved me with his foot, saying, ‘Get up. This is a manner of lying down which Allah hates.’ I raised my head and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was standing by my head.”

This hadith describes that Allah does not like us sleeping with our stomach down. So we must try our best to avoid sleeping in the position.

As the reason why it is disliked, AbuDharr said it in a different narration

“The Prophet saw passed by me while I was lying down on my stomach. He saw then struck me with his foot and said,
“O Junaidab, this is nothing other than they lying-down position of the dwellers of Hell fire”

Lesson

1. Allah dislikes the position of lying down on the stomach

2. For this is the position of the dwellers of the Hell fire

It is disliked to sleep on a roof which has no fence or wall to prevent one from falling

‘Ali reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If anyone spends the night on the top of his house without protection, Allah has no responsibility for (protecting) him.”

This hadith is related by Bukhari in Al Adab Al Mufrad and Al Albaanee ruled that it is authentic

From this hadith, it is clear to us that we must not miss taking the commonsense to guard our own safety. And thus taking the necessary steps to prevent whatever that is  potential to be harmful.

Some people sleep walk or some people get drowsy when waking up. Either way sleeping unprotected at a high place can be a potential danger.

One should mention Allah’s name, protect oneself and place tawakkal to Allah. Either Allah will protect him from danger or reward him for any harm that befalls him or expiate his sins.

However if one misses in taking reasonable steps to avoid harm and harm befallen on him, he is not rewarded. If he dies, he is not a martyr.

We must be aware of this hadith even when we are sleeping in high rise apartment with an unguarded open window.

May Allah protect us from any harm.

Lesson.

1. Be aware when sleeping at raised areas. Make sure our sleeping area is safe and prevent us from falling, Insya Allah.

Review

Let us review what we learned so far about sleeping

1. recite the quran before sleeping

Tell me

i. what should you recite.

ii. what have you been reciting so far

2. Manners of sleeping

Can you list them?

3. Invocation before sleeping

Allah loves those who purify themselves

More dalils to encourage the children cleanliness. Perhaps no more messy room and tables after this. :D.

1. Purification is half of the faith

The Book of Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)
Muslim :: Book 2 : Hadith 432

Abu Malik at-Ash’ari reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill upwhat is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one’s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur’an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.

Cleaning for the sakeof Allah is also a form of ibadah. Take care that you are always clean.

2. To please Allah and earn His love – keep yourself purify and clean

Al Baqarah 2:222

Truly, Allâh loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers). (222)

Remember we talked about surah At Tawbah 9:107 when we discussed about Masjid Quba’. Now in surah at Tawbah 9:108

Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allâh loves those who make themselves clean and pure (i.e. who clean their private parts with dust [which has the cleansing properties of soap) and water from urine and stools, after answering the call of nature]. (108)

Allah further explains why the people who built the masjid quba is more worthy. They have taqwa and also they like to clean themeselves properly.

(In the story about your Masjid, Allah the Exalted has praised you concerning the purification that you perform. What is the purification that you perform) They said, “By Allah, O Allah’s Messenger! We do not know except that we had neighbors from the Jews who used to use water to wash with after answering the call of nature, and we washed as they washed.” Ibn Khuzaymah collected this Hadith in his Sahih. (taken from Tafsir ibn Kathir)

3. Purification is one of the qualities of the true nature of humans

The Book of Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)
Muslim :: Book 2 : Hadith 502

‘A’isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Ten are the acts according to fitra: clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes and cleaning one’s private parts with water. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.

Extract the ones that you can do now
1. Brushing your teeth
2. snuffing water into nose
3. cut the nails
4. washing finger joints
5. Washing private parts with water.

It is good that I narrated to them about this hadith, because the elder two has tendency to be lazy about trimming their nails. Insya Allah this may help.

4. Purification elevates one’s rank and status

Prayer at Night (Tahajjud)
Bukhari :: Book 2 :: Volume 21 :: Hadith 250

Narrated Abu Huraira:

At the time of the Fajr prayer the Prophet asked Bilal, “Tell me of the best deed you did after embracing Islam, for I heard your footsteps in front of me in Paradise.” Bilal replied, “I did not do anything worth mentioning except that whenever I performed ablution during the day or night, I prayed after that ablution as much as was written for me.”

Subhanallah. Do not want to be rewarded just like Bilal r.a.?

5. Purification is not only about the daily cleaning. Wudoo is also purification.

The Book of Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)
Muslim :: Book 2 : Hadith 435

Hammam b. Munabbih who is the brother of Wahb b. Munabbih. said: This is what has been transmitted to us by Abu Huraira from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and then narrated a hadith out of them and observed that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: The prayer of none amongst you would be accepted in a state of impurity till he performs ablution.

Other form of purification is giving zakat and charity. purifying our wealth.

Purifying our heart with good deeds.

When Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. destroyed all the idols, he was purifying the House of Allah from shirk.

Bear in mind that Allah want us to live in the most complete manner. Worshipping Allah is important and so are other things. Islam is not just a religion but also a complete way of life.

If we follow this simple sunnah on keeping ourselve clean not only will we be rewarded but imagine the goodness we do to ourselves in this world. Clean keep us away from sickness, bi iznillah. Cleanliness help us portray good Muslim manners which is important for daawah.

I take it, that you will not leave your room messy from now on? 😀

Du’a Al Istiftah (The Opening Supplication)

This is the du’a we make after takbir ul Ihram.

This is another sunnah in prayer.

What does it mean by knowing this is sunnah act in prayer?
It means that we can skip doing it if we want and our solah will still be valid. It also mean that if we see others not doing it, their solah is valed.

HOWEVER, it is best that we strive to perform sunnah act as much as we can, Insya Allah.

What other sunnah acts during prayer that we have discussed?
1. raising hand during the first takbir ulihram
2. Putting tight hand over the left hand on the chest.

Today we will be discussing about the opening supplication yaani what is read in between takbiratul ihram and surah al fatihah.

H and S have memorised the dua Al istiftah as what is normally thought to all children in Malaysia (myself too). Apparently the one we have been reciting are two separate dua Al istiftah combined together but not fully complete. *confused*

Anyway the one that we have memorised are in the hadith

Allahuakbar kabeera, walhamdu lillahi katheera, wa subhanallahhi bukratan wa aseela.

The Book of Prayers (Kitab Al-Salat)
Muslim :: Book 4 : Hadith 1248

Ibn ‘Umar reported: While we said prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), one among the people said: Allah is truly Great, praise be to Allah in abundance. Glory be to Allah in the morning and the evening. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon, him) said: Who uttered such and such a word? A person among the people said: It is I, Messenger of Allah (who have recited these words). He (the Holy Prophet) said: It (its utterance) surprised me, for the doors of heaven were opened for It. Ibn ‘Umar said: I have not abandoned them (these words) since I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying this.

And then we recite another dua alistiftah as in the following hadith but stpped at wa ana minal muslimin.

The Book of Prayers (Kitab Al-Salat)
Muslim :: Book 4 : Hadith 1695

‘Ali b. Abu Talib reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up at night for prayer he would say: I turn my face in complete devotion to One Who is the Originator of the heaven and the earth and I am not of the polytheists. Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; There is no partner with Him and this is what I have been commanded (to profess and believe) and I am of the believers. O Allah, Thou art the King, there is no god but Thee, Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy bondman. I wronged myself and make a confession of my Sin. Forgive all my sins, for no one forgives the sins but Thee, and guide me in the best of conduct for none but Thee guideth anyone (in) good conduct. Remove sins from me, for none else but Thou can remove sins from me. Here I am at Thy service, and Grace is to Thee and the whole of good is in Thine hand, and one cannot get nearneststo Thee through evil. My (power as well as existence) is due to Thee (Thine grace) and I turn to Thee (for supplication). Thou art blessed and Thou art exalted. I seek forgiveness from Thee and turn to Thee in repentance: and when he would bow, he would say: O Allah, it is for Thee that I bowed. I affirm my faith in Thee and I submit to Thee, and submit humbly before Thee my hearing, my eyesight, my marrow, my bone, my sinew; and when he would raise his head, he would say: O Allah, our Lord, praise is due to Thee, (the praise) with which is filled the heavens and the earth, and with which is filled that (space) which exists between them, and filled with anything that Thou desireth afterward. And when he prostrated himself, he (the Holy Prophet) would say: O Allah, it is to Thee that I prostrate myself and it is in Thee that I affirm my faith, and I submit to Thee. My face is submitted before One Who created it, and shaped it, and opened his faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of Creators; and he would then say between Tashahhud and the pronouncing of salutation: Forgive me of the earlier and later open and secret (sins) and that where I made transgression and that Thou knowest better than I. Thou art the First and the Last. There is no god, but Thee.

This is what the whole supplication say

But now all of us have memorised this other dua al istiftah also

Umar r.a. narrated that the Messenger saw used to say

“Sobhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika watabaraka Ismoka wata’la jaddoka walailaha ghayroka”

Glory is to you Allah and praised. Blessed be Your Name, exalted be Your Majesty and Glory. There is none worthy to worship but You.”
At Tirmidhi

Insya Allah another supplication

Characteristics of Prayer
Bukhari :: Book 1 :: Volume 12 :: Hadith 711

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah’s Apostle used to keep silent between the Takbir and the recitation of Qur’an and that interval of silence used to be a short one. I said to the Prophet “May my parents be sacrificed for you! What do you say in the pause between Takbir and recitation?” The Prophet said, “I say, ‘Allahumma, ba’id baini wa baina khatayaya kama ba’adta baina-l-mashriqi wa-l-maghrib. Allahumma, naqqim min khatayaya kama yunaqqa-ththawbu-l-abyadu mina-ddanas. Allahumma, ighsil khatayaya bil-ma’i wa-th-thalji wal-barad (O Allah! Set me apart from my sins (faults) as the East and West are set apart from each other and clean me from sins as a white garment is cleaned of dirt (after thorough washing). O Allah! Wash off my sins with water, snow and hail.)”

Al Muhyi Al Mumit

Allah is the Giver of Life

Have you ever been asked this question?

Which one comes first the chicken or the egg?
The chicken comes from egg. the egg comes from chicken.

And where do chicken comes from?
Allah created it out of nothing!
And He creates it, and Give life to it.
He is the Giver of Life.

Remember when you were looking at my pictures when I was young and you asked me why you are not in the picture? I answered because you were not born yet. And you went on asking where you were..

And now you are born and living in this world. Allah created you and gave you life and with His will you love in this world.

He is Al Muhyi – The Giver of Life.

Giving life to Barren earth
Al Fussilat 41:39

And among His Signs (in this), that you see the earth barren, but when We send down water (rain) to it, it is stirred to life and growth (of vegetations). Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is Able to give life to the dead (on the Day of Resurrection). Indeed! He is Able to do all things. (39)

Ar Rum 30:50

Look then at the effects (results) of Allâh’s Mercy, how He revives the earth after its death. Verily, that (Allâh) (Who revived the earth after its death) shall indeed raise the dead (on the Day of Resurrection), and He is Able to do all things. (50)

Life After death
Al Baqarah 2:28

How can you disbelieve in Allâh? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return. (See V.40:1) (28)

Allah Gives Life
Al Aaraf 7:158

Say (O Muhammad SAW): “O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allâh — to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He); It is He Who gives life and causes death.

Al Hijr 15:23

And certainly We! We it is Who give life, and cause death, and We are the Inheritors. (23)

Al Hadid 57:2

His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, It is He Who gives life and causes death; and He is Able to do all things. (2)

Al Mu’minoon 23:80

And it is He Who gives life and causes death, and His is the alternation of night and day. Will you not then understand? (80)

And as you can read in the verses. Allah is not only the the Giver of life, He is also the Life taker. he can give you life and then give you death and then give you life again.

Al Mumit – The life taker.

These are a pair of Allah’s names that are opposites.

Al Muhyi AL Mumit

Al Mumit – Taker of Life

Now that you know Allah is the one who gives life and also the one who takes life, would you believe that any other power claim that they can do so?
When one is sick and has tried their means to heal and died, who are the one who takes the life away?
When you look around you and you notice that there are so much life, growing plants, frog eggs in the pond, insects eggs arranged neatly at the back of the leaves, newborn babies, reflect on who is the one who gives this life.

Some stories on Al Muhyi AL Mumit HERE.