On Striving (Mujahada) - 1

Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty said, 'I have declared war on anyone who shows enmity to a friend of Mine. My slave does not draw near to Me with anything I love more than what I have made obligatory on him. And my slave continues to draw near to Me with superogatory actions until I love him. When I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. If he were to ask Me for something, I would give it to him. If he were to ask Me for refuge, I would give him refuge.'" [al-Bukhari]

Anas reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in what he reported from his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic. He said, "When the slave comes towards Me a hand-span, I go an arm-length towards him. When he comes towards Me an arm-length, I go a fathom towards him. When he comes towards Me walking, I go towards him running." [al-Bukhari]

Ibn 'Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There are two blessings which deceive many people: health and free time." [al-Bukhari]

'A'isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray at night until his feet became cracked. "I said to him, 'Why do you do this. Messenger of Allah, when Allah has forgiven you all your past and future wrong actions?' He said, 'Do I not want to be a grateful slave?'" [Agreed upon. This is the variant of al-Bukhari]

Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer although there is good in each. Desire that which will bring you benefit, and seek help from Allah and do not give way to incapacity. If something happens to you, do not say, 'If only I had done such-and-such.' Rather say, 'The decree of Allah. He does what He will.' Otherwise you will open yourself up to the action of Shaytan." [Muslim]

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Fire is veiled by indulgence of appetites and the Garden is veiled by things people dislike." [Agreed upon]

The variant of Muslim has "surrounded" instead of "veiled" meaning there is this veil between him and it. When he does it, he enters it.

I am a Jewish woman

Question:

Salam Aleikum,I have very difficult question and I this is my only hope that you can help me to find the answer.I am Russian Jewish girl and I know this Muslim guy for over a year. The longer we know each other, the more problems and difficulties we face. Not in the religious or cultural ways. We love each other and there is an issue of whether he can marry me or not. He is very good Muslim and he comes from traditional family. I am very found of his believes and believes of his family. I was born in very agnostic country and couldn't be properly introduced into any religion. It was forbidden. When I came to US I started my research on different religions and found out, that my believes do not really match all jewish sayings. I did a lot of research on Islam and by looking at him and couple other Muslim boys and girls, and by reading Quaran, I have very strong feeling that I could become a good Muslim. I want to go to school to learn the culture and religion more precise, to learn the language. I contacted the mosque and was ready to go... but I faced the issue: would I be accepted as Muslim sister like other people who came from different religions accept Jewish? Jewish and Muslims are in big contradictions and I know that friendship is almost impossible. I am praying to God (in my home language - Russian), to lead me the right way to achieve my believes. Please, help me to find my answers!Thank you very much.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
“I have very strong feeling that I could become a good Muslim.” The way you express yourself so clearly in your message indicates that you are indeed open to the truth and have been sincerely seeking for it.
“I am praying to God (in my home language –Russian), to lead me to the right way…” What you say here, at the end of your message, makes the Muslim reader feel deeply moved by the story of a woman who has turned towards Allaah after realizing that He answers the prayers of those who call on Him and ask for guidance to the right way. Allaah says in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them, by My knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.” [al-Baqarah 2:186]. It is a good sign that your heart appears to be open to Islam. Allaah also tells us in the Qur’aan: “And whomsoever Allaah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky…” [al-An’aam 6:125]
Please note that Muslims who understand their religion properly will not feel any kind of reservation or resentment towards any brother or sister who embraces Islam, no matter what their origins. The fact that a new Muslim comes from a Jewish or Christian background should not be a reason for any kind of discrimination or prejudice. We will give you two examples from Islamic history of two Jews – one man and one woman – who entered Islam.
The first one is Abu Yoosuf ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam (may Allaah be pleased with him). Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “When ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam heard that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had come to Madeenah, he came to him and said, ‘I am going to ask you about three things which no one knows except a Prophet. What is the first Sign of the Hour? What is the first food that the people of Paradise will eat? And how is it that a child may resemble either his father or his maternal uncles?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Jibreel has just now informed me about these.’ ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam said, ‘He is the enemy of the Jews among the angels.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The first sign of the Hour is a fire that will gather the people together from the East to the West. The first food that the people of Paradise will eat will be the caudate (extra) lobe of fish-liver. As for the child resembling one parent or another, when a man has intercourse with his wife, if the man’s discharge precedes the woman’s discharge, the child will resemble the man, and if the woman’s discharge precedes the man’s, the child will resemble the woman.” [‘Abd-Allaah] said: ‘I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allaah…’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3082).
Al-Bukhaari also reported: “ ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam came and said: ‘I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allaah and that you have brought the truth. The Jews know that I am the best of them and the son of the best of them, and I am the most knowledgeable of them and the son of the most knowledgeable of them, so call them and ask them about me before they know that I have become Muslim, for if they know that I have become Muslim, they will say things about me that are not true.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent for them and they came to him. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to them, ‘O Jews, woe to you! Fear Allaah, for by Allaah besides Whom there is no other god, you know that I am truly the Messenger of Allaah and that I come to you with the truth, so become Muslim.’ They said, ‘We know nothing about that.’ He said it three times… He said, ‘What kind of man is ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam among you?’ They said, ‘He is the best of us and the son of the best of us; he is the most knowledgeable of us and the son of the most knowledgeable among us.’ He said, ‘What would you think if he became Muslim?’ They said, ‘May Allaah protect him from that! He would never become Muslim.’ He said, ‘What would you think if he became Muslim?’ They said, ‘May Allaah protect him from that! He would never become Muslim.’ He said, ‘What would you think if he became Muslim?’ They said, ‘May Allaah protect him from that! He would never become Muslim.’ He said, ‘O son of Salaam, come out to them.’ He [‘Abd-Allaah] came out and said, ‘O Jews, fear Allaah! By Allaah besides Whom there is no other god, you know that he is the Messenger of Allaah and that he has come with the truth.’ They said, ‘You are lying!’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told them to leave.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3621)
This man’s Jewish origins did not prevent him from being one of those who were given the glad tidings of Paradise before they died. Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “I never heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying to any man who walked on the face of the earth that he would be one of the people of Paradise except for ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam. Concerning him, the aayah (interpretation of the meaning) ‘… and a witness from among the Children of Israel testifies that this Qur’aan is from Allaah…’ [al-Ahqaaf 46:10] was revealed.”
The Jewish woman who became Muslim was Safiyyah bint Huyay ibn Akhtab, from the Jews of Khaybar, who believed in Allaah as her Lord, Islam as her religion, and Muhammad as her Prophet.
This Jewish woman Safiyyah, who embraced Islam, became a mother for all of us Muslims, as Allaah said in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers…” [al-Ahzaab 33:6].
Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stayed between Khaybar and Madeenah for three days when he got married to Safiyyah bint Huyay, and invited the Muslims to his waleemah (wedding feast)… The Muslims said, ‘Is she one of the Mothers of the Believers or is she one of those whom his right hand possesses?’ They said, ‘If he covers her, then she is one of the Mothers of the Believers and if he does not cover her, then she is one of those whom his right hand possesses.’ When he got on his camel, he made her ride behind him, and he put a screen between her and the people.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 4762).
Safiyyah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was the one for whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out of seclusion (I’tikaaf) especially to accompany her to her house. (The one who is in seclusion for worship is not allowed to come out except for a valid reason). ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that Safiyyah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him that she came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to visit him whilst he was in I’tikaaf in the mosque, during the last ten days of Ramadaan. She spoke with him for a while, then she wanted to go back to her house, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got up and took her back… (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1894)
According to another report: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was in the mosque, and his wives were with him, then they left. He said to Safiyyah bint Huyay, “Don’t rush, I will go with you.” Her home was in the house of Usaamah, and the Prophet (peace and blessin).

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

On hastening to perform good actions

Allah Almighty says, "So race each other to the good," (W2:147; H2:148) and the Almighty says, "Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord and for a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the godfearing." (3:133)

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Hasten to actions during the times of sedition which will be like patches of black night. A man will be a believer in the morning and an unbeliever in the evening, or a believer in the evening and an unbeliever in the morning. He will sell his deen for the goods of this world." [Muslim]

Abu Sirwa'a 'Uqba ibn al-Harith said, "I prayed the 'Asr prayer behind the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in Madina. He said the salam and then got up hurriedly and stepped over people's shoulders making for the room of one of his wives. The people were alarmed at his speed. He came out to them and saw that they were surprised at his speed and said, 'I remembered a piece of gold that we had and I did not want it to distract me so I ordered that it be distributed.'" [al-Bukhari]

In one variant, "I had left a piece of gold from the sadaqa in the house and I did not want it to remain with me overnight."

Abu Hurayra said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, which sadaqa has the greatest reward?' He said, 'The sadaqa that you give when you are healthy but tight-fisted, in fear of poverty and desiring wealth. Do not put it off until death is near and you say, "So-and-so should have this much and so-and-so this much,"' when it already belongs to someone else." [Agreed upon]

Az-Zubayr ibn 'Adi said, "We went to Anas ibn Malik and complained to him about what we had met with on the part of al-Hajjaj. He said, 'Be patient. There is no time without the one following it being worse than it until you meet your Lord.' I heard that from your Prophet.'" [al-Bukhari]

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Race to good actions as fast as you can. What are you waiting for except delayed poverty, oppressive wealth, debilitating illness, dottering senility, a swift death or the Dajjal? Or are you waiting for an unseen evil, or the Last Hour? The Last Hour will be most bitter and terrible." [at-Tirmidhi]