A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   This poem made Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) cry, so much so that one of his students said that he almost perished due to him crying so much.   إذا ما قال لي ربي .. أما استحييت تعصيني وتخفي الذنب عن خلقي .. وبالعصيان تأتيني فكيف أجيب يا ويحي .. ومن ذا سوف يحميني أسلي النفس بالآمال .. من حين إلى حين وأنسى ما وراء الموت .. ماذا بعد تكفيني كاني قد ضمنت العيش .. ليس الموت يأتيني وجاءت سكرة الموت الشديدة من سيحميني نظرت إلى الوجوه أليس منهم من سيفديني سأسأل ما الذي قدمت في دنياي ينجيني فكيف إجابتي من بعد ما فرطت في ديني ويا ويحي ألم أسمع كلام الله يدعوني ألم أسمع لما قد جاء في ق و يس ألم أسمع بيوم الحشر يوم الجمع والدين ألم أسمع منادي الموت يدعوني يناديني فيا رباه عبد تائب من ذا سيؤويه سوى رب غفور واسع للحق يهديني أتيت إليك فارحمني وثقل في موازيني وخفف في جزائي أنت أرجى من يجازيني  ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   It is said that when Sayyidatina Fathimah az-Zahrah ( r.a. ) saw her father constantly saying, “My ummah ,” out of his concern for them, she also wanted to do something herself for the benefit of the ummah .   When Allah ( s.w.t. ) Ordered the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) to find a husband for his daughter, Rasulullah ( s.a.w. ) called his swahabah ( r.a. ).   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said that the one amongst them who was able to complete the recitation of the Qur’an the quickest, had his permission to ask for the hand of his daughter, Sayyidatina Fathimah ( r.a. ), with her consent.   So, that night, the swahabah stayed at the mosque to khatm the Qur’an.   All of them were there the entire night except Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ), who went home and slept after a short while.   Everyone, including the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), assembled in the mosque when Sayyidina Bilal ibn Rabah ( r.a. ) called the adzan for faj...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As recorded in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ), it was reported from Sayyidina Abu ‘Abdur Rahman ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud ( r.a. ) that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “No person suffers any anxiety or grief, and says: Allahumma innii ‘abduka wa ibnu ‘abdika wa ibnu amatika, naaswiyatii biyadika, maadhin fiyya hukmuka ‘adlun fiyya qadhaa’uka.   As’aluka bikulli ismi huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsaka aw anlamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw anzaltahu fii kitaabika aw asta’tsarta bihi fiyya ‘ilmi al-ghaybi ‘indaka an taj’ala al-Qur’an rabbii’a qalbii wa nuura swadrii wa jilaa’a huznii wa duhaaba hammii.   O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your female slave, my forelock is in Your Hand, Your Command over me is Forever Executed and Your Decree over me is Just.  I ask You by every Name Belonging to You which You Named Yourself with, or Revealed in Your Book, or You Taught to any of Your Creation, or You h...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Befrienders Scheme was once one of the most phenomenally successful programmes at Darul Arqam Singapore.   At one time, it was the only consistently active volunteer programme running.   The legacy of the programme can be attested in the fact that a significant number of currently active volunteers, teachers, Council members and Executive Committee members are from this programme or were in some way involved in it.   The programme is actually a modified version of similar programmes found in churches and other volunteer organisations.   It was originally envisioned as part of a wider convert’s follow-up programme by a good friend in that particular incarnation.   The pilot batch was a resounding success.   And the first few batches of volunteers were of good quality.   The programme referred to here was actually the 3 rd incarnation of the programme by that name.   It existed in some form or other in ...