Proclaiming this special bounty of my Lord | Graduated for the third time

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum dear loyal visitors,

Twenty twenty-one is coming to an end very soon, so I must leave these beautiful memories here and certainly it's something to carry with me year after year. Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah I shall continue to acknowledge the generous bounties of my Lord and that people too could see His wonderful af'al.

Needless to say, it was great to travel to Scotland with my mom for the third time. It was great that she was able to attend my graduation. Allah Kareem! 

The graduation ceremony was held at the beautiful Barony Hall on the Strathclyde University campus in Glasgow. It was the first time in two years that the Uni had organized an in-person graduation ceremony, so I am very grateful to be in the Class of 2021. Conducting research during the Covid 19 pandemic was very challenging indeed. It would not have been easy if Allah had not facilitated my journey. 

I will also admit that it felt special to be seated in the front-row reserved seats for Distinction students 

: )

 

May Allah grant maqbul to all your good wishes too!

May Allah grant you success in your endeavours too!

Aamiin.

Best,

E. Ismail

Just arrived!
19 Jan 2022
(My beloved brother in law passed away
on this date, last year. I had deferred working on my MBA project to offer some moral support to his family. It's worth it.
Alhamdulillah ala kulli hal)

The much loved mu'alleem Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam Al-Banjari An-Nadwi Al-Maliki returns to Him

Bismillah.

Innalillah wa inna ilai hira'jiun.

Allahu Allah....I don't know how to begin.

His words of wisdom had first graced this space in June 2009. Most of them were from the majlis taa'lim organized by Ba'alawi KL in Kemensah, hosted by Sister Ina & spouse.

Without a doubt, we'll have to revisit the lessons. I made a niyyat (pledge) to translate his most recent lessons that were shared on his Pesantren Yasin's FB page InSha Allah, as many as possible, bi-iznillah.

https://www.facebook.com/ahmadfahmizamzam

I must thank Sis Ina for the opportunity to participate in a group Quran Recital for Almarhum Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam this morning. A very sad morning indeed.

I'll be honest. The passing of any mu'aleem/Habaib/Shuyukh saddens us, for sure but I'd never cried so hard as I did today. I pray the tears will serve as proof of my respect and love for one extremely learned and loving man as Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam. Coincidently, his last lesson as shared on his FB is about respect for learned men, one's guru. He said, in Malay: 'Tidak sampai orang yang sampai kecuali dengan menghormati gurunya.' 

'Sampai' (arrive) is an old Malay term that is commonly used among salik, meaning to obtain the knowledge that one seeks, its usefulness and its blessings. It means one has attained success in esoteric terms due to the respect one offers to the guru.

I felt funny as I was reciting the holy verses. I thought, what am I doing? The shaykh does not need it. He is way up there. He is a beloved soul. Even in his passing, he taught me something. The recitation is for me, the hasanah is for me even though it's dedicated to him. I am the faqir. He has most definitely read the Quran a whole lot more than I can ever match. He is meeting the Lord with plenty of credits. Subhanallah.

So I said in my doa so that Allah pardon any mistakes in my recital. My deeds are full of flaws. How can I offer something worthy for an honourable person like Shaykh Fahmi?! It's simply a humble gesture of respect and love that I have for him, no more than that. You know love is subjective. The matter of the heart is latif (subtle), you feel what you feel. You feel a bit more strongly to some souls than to others. Only God knows why.

I can only thank God for the beautiful and memorable experiences of being in his majalis. The fatherly tone of his voice, interspersed at times with laughter, the clarity of his message...and of course it was lovely to see him at his peak, so to speak, about nine years ago 2009 to 2013, he was in his early 50s. If you listen to his recent talks, you'll know what I mean, it's obvious that he had been giving way too many lessons than he should. But Allah knows best. And certainly, as we all know, the shuyukh are all tireless and selfless. MaShaAllah.

Now, what about us? We fall every now and then, we need a frequent refresher of the advice and wisdom he has left us with. We need to keep our hearts connected with the ruhul qudus, the muqarabeen those who still grace this land and those who have passed on.

Wama taufiqi illa billah.

*** 

Bismillah.

Links to Shaykh Fahmi's lessons from 2009 - 2013 that I managed to capture by the grace of Allah. Those years, there were not many YouTube channels or FB pages that published such lessons. So we must be grateful and take advantage of the abundant resources and access that we now have.

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2012/01/shaykh-fahmi-zamzam-on-kitab-al-hikam.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2011/04/be-gentle-and-avoid-being-proud-shaykh.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2013/09/sebesar-hati.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2010/05/good-intention-multiple-intentions.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2011/08/23rd-ramadhan-1432h.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2010/07/honor-both-learned-and-learners.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2010/04/al-targhib-wat-tarhib-encouragement.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2009/06/discovering-salawat-imam-ibn-mashish.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2013/05/glory-be-to-only-one-who-exists.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2009/12/fajr-prayers-practised-by-prophet.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2010/01/ijazah-certificate-sanad-of-shaykh.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2011/07/shaykh-fahmi-zamzam-on-preparations-for.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2013/04/shaykh-fahmi-zamzam-al-maliki-on-al.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2012/12/shaykh-fahmi-zamzam-on-levels-of.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2013/05/shaykh-fahmi-zamzam-al-maliki-on-praise.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2013/04/certainly-certainty.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflecting-on-muharram-and-ashura.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2009/05/sheikh-fahmi-zamzam-on-virtues-of-al.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2009/05/proclaim-grace-of-your-lord-talqin.html

https://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2013/05/shaykh-fahmi-zamzam-al-maliki-on-praise.html

 

   

Selawat for Rabiul Awal 1443 Hijri as taught by Habib Umar bin Hafiz

Bismillah.

This faqir is a little late this year. May Allah pardon any mistakes that might have caused my slack. May Allah forgive, grant aid and relief -- waghfir, wa aghis wa farrij. 

Aaamin.

This has to be here. It's 3000 times ya folks.

Allahumma solli wa sallim 'ala Sayidina Muhammad

The key to the door of Your mercy

the master of those whom You love

and upon his family, companions, Your Prophets,

those that follow them

Your angels

and all of the righteous among Your creation,

prayers and peace to the extent of Your knowledge,

and forgive, 

and grant aid, 

and relief

by Your grace and favour!

Allahumma solli wa sallim ala Sayidina Muhammad

miftaahi baabirahmatik

wa sayyidi ahli mahabbatik

wa 'ala alihi wa sohbihi

wa ahli nubuwwatik

wa taabi'ihim wamala ikatik

wa jami'is solihina min bariyyatik

'adada 'ilmika

waghfir wa aghis wa farrij

bifadlika wa minnatik

Credit: Muwasala IG

WaSalamualaikum warahmatullah.

Wish you all a fruitful and pleasant week.

- E

(Completed 3000 on 30th Oct. Alhamdulillah. Oh what joy!)

Advice to 18 year olds

Bismillah.

Hello peeps.

It's oh October already. Me in the mood for rambling after having cruised the coastal road at Batu Feringghi, Penang for the umpteenth time, joyfully.

One impressive 18 year old of this decade has got to be Emma Raducanu (pic left). I had been wondering what I have in common with this remarkable 2021 US Open Champion, and more importantly what attitude I wish I had when I was 18 - to believe in oneself, to not get ahead of oneself that is to focus on the present ONLY, that's really Zen in action seen in such an amazing young girl.

At 18, one should be more willing to engage with as many people as possible, to listen to them and exchange a decent conversation. You will never know she/he might/might not be crossing your path again. 

At 18, it's about exploring your talents at the fullest, maximizing your rocket-fueled energy.

At 18, it's about being comfortable in your own skin, and not worry about fitting in.

At 18, be your sweetest self so that when you are 50 you can look back and relive the sweetness once again so you know your soul is ageless.

At 18, be your most competitive so you would build a reservoir of drive, vigor, hunger and thirst in forging ahead towards the best version of you. This dam will be crucial as you age because you will need to come back to it to draw the elixir of life over and over again.

Emma & Ezza at 18

Most importantly, enjoy!

- E -

The ever generous Lord | Distinction | 3 Millions

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah.

Yet again, the ever-generous Lord has showered His mercy on this faqir. I have been awarded an MBA with Distinction! The official results were released two days before my birthday. MaShaAllah!

The sweetest jaw-dropping part was when I saw the high score I got for my final project. Super grateful that I managed to pull through at the last minute and completed it in 3 solid months. I swear it was all due to the wonderful souls who made du'a for my success especially those select few from whom I had pleaded for their special du'a. God bless them all.

Ok...I don't know what else to write LOL. It's a beautiful night, I am listening to Boyce Avenue singing Whitney's "I will always love you". LOL. Sorry, that's so random. 

But it's just a normal night really, doing some homework assigned by a professional speech coach that I've just hired and thinking what story to craft for the 'Study UK Alumni Award' upon invitation from my other UK alma mater - Stirling. 

I think Scotland loves me, woo-hooo! LOL.

OK when too many LOLs appear, it's time to sign off. [What la wei!]

On a serious note, I hope my small success will inspire the young ones to work hard and always give a bit more than their best in anything they do. And that life-long learning is the way to go.

Luv,

E. Ismail

The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow - Class of 2021.
Times Higher Education (THE) named Strathclyde 'UK University of the Year' twice, in 2012 and 2019.
Its business school won the 'UK Business School of the Year' award in 2016.
So I shall remain humble to have been awarded the 'Strathclyde MBA Scholarship Award for Female Leader of the Future - Malaysia' and graduated with a good Distinction.
Alhamdulillah indeed!

c o n t e n t e d

a s  e v e r

****************

By the way, in case you wanted:

1 million goodies from your Lord.

1 million ugly traits deleted. 

1 million ranks elevated.

Total = 3 millions!

When you are at the mall or at a party, be sure to recite:

Laa ilaha illallah wahdahu la shari kalah

lahul mulku walahul hamdu

yuhyi wayumit

wahuwa hayyun la yamut

biyadihil khair

wahuwa 'ala kulli syai in qadir

That's what the poster says. I got it from Bro. P. Amir's IG. We all know the tasbih pretty well, but I doubt we are fully aware of its marvellous virtues.

Milestone | Lordly Bounties

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah, 

Hello...hello...I am thrilled to be here again after a long hiatus. Nice to see visitor numbers increasing despite my long absence. I pray seekers of guidance will find something useful here. Hopefully, people will eventually recognize that this faqir tries her best to usher people towards good habits and soul-building lessons.

I am delighted to announce one Lordly bounty the generous Al-Kareem and Al-Wahab has bestowed on me. That I had successfully completed my MBA final project! Alhamdulillah for this important milestone. Alhamdulillah that my dissertation had won praises from my supervisor who is also co-editor at an international journal. YaHuuuu!

But the blogger in me has been somewhat impatient to write about the religious aspect of my dissertation topic because not surprisingly there are many similarities, rather principles from the deen that are reflected in the so-called professional field known as Futures Literacy, and its many subsets e.g. foresight and scenario planning. You might have noticed it - future with an S, the future is plural, we are talking about futures not just the one general idea of a distant future. Futures Literacy is an essential competency of the 21st century, says UNESCO. If you think about it, Muslim children are taught about tauhid, specifically the Six Articles of Faith (Rukun Iman) very early in life, and that is an element of Futures Literacy i.e. belief in the Hereafter. The akhirah offers a myriad of possibilities. 

There are at least two types of future, Heaven or Hell and if you wish to dive deeper, there are seven levels of Heaven and several levels of Hell too. One undesirable future and God-forbid is the lowest pit of Hell reserved for the munafiqun, so that is one future scenario that we should avoid at all cost. 

We learn from the Quran and hadith either directly or indirectly through the scholars, that there are many futures. In the language of the Futurists, you could do a backcasting, that is identify the things you got to do to increase your chances of going to heaven or things to avoid if you want to reduce your chances of ending up in hell. Yes, as simple as that, but not so easy because as we all know, the path to Heaven requires lots of hard work - externally and more so internal work. Notwithstanding the fact that Allah has the ultimate say, regardless of the efforts that we put in because as you all know, His redha (mercy) is the sole key to eternal felicity vis-à-vis Jannah.

Professional Futurists propagate horizon scanning and scenario planning towards achieving one's desirable future. There are four types of futures within the vast future net called 'potential future'. There are possible, plausible, probable and preferable futures. So think about it, think beyond the potential, not just for worldly professional matters but also spiritually. Of course, if you wish to know more about it professionally, you could hire me for consultancy, LOL. But here on this space, matters related to the deen, it is free counsel, take it or leave it.

  

Ahh...yes I can imagine what's going on in the minds of the haters and stalkers. But I wish to thank them for their generosities, seriously. For believers, we are fortunate because we gain from both the well-wishers and those who harbor bad 'ain towards us.

I must register my gratitude towards the beautiful souls who have been praying and rooting for me because I would not have done it so successfully if God had not answered their prayers for my success. May Allah reward them with His special bounties.

I also wish to remind the loyal genuine visitors of this blog to keep moving forward, keep developing your mental and spiritual capabilities. Fastabiqul khairat applies not just outwardly but also to one's mental model. After all, without proper knowledge, worship has little value. Some of the seasoned visitors to this blog may recall a tausiyah by the venerable Shaykh Al Yaqoubi who elucidated the real meaning of 'to worship Allah' as 'to know Allah', so then ponder why the first Quran word revealed was iqra' (read).

 

Let us continue to read as much as possible, the Quran and all other useful reading materials and also read His wondrous signs on the horizons and within ourselves.

Rabbi zidni ilma war zuqni fahma

Rabbana atmim lana nuurana waq firlana 

innaka 'ala kulli syai in qodir

 

Until next time, stay safe wherever you are.

- E. Ismail

I hope I am relieved of the blame for not sharing my knowledge. Aamin.

The pic and video clip were captured by yours truly on one beautiful Friday morning in Penang.

A new prayer taught by Habib Umar bin Hafiz for Syawal 1442 Hijri

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah for the blessings of Ramadhan. Here is one fitting new selawat and du'a taught by Habib Umar bin Hafiz on the 3rd of Syawal 1442H, so that by the syafaat of Rasulullah, Allah would increase and preserve the blessings that He has bestowed upon us and that He would make us have gratitude for it.

I wrote it on my flashcard and I wanted to have it here as well as it would make it easier for me to memorize Insha Allah. 

O Allah, O bestower of blessings,

bestow abundant prayers and peace upon Your slave and beloved, our Master Muhammad, the Prophet,

the greatest blessing 

and upon his family and companions.

Expand Your blessings upon me,

bless me with gratitude for them,

and prevent them from disappearing.

Bestow Your blessings upon me

as only You are worthy of doing

in every time and state

inwardly and outwardly

Allahumma ya Allah ya Mun'im

solli 'ala 'abdika wa habibika 

Sayidina Muhammad 

an nabiyin

nikmatil 'uzma

wa 'ala aalihi wa sohbihi wa sallim tasliman

Wa wassi' 'alaiya

ni 'amaka war zuqni syukraha

waq faz ha minaz zawali 

wa an 'im 'alaiya 

bima anta ahluhu

fi kulli hiinin wa haalin

zahiran wa batinan 

Ref: Muwasala IG and FB

https://www.facebook.com/Muwasala

Eid Mubarrak!

Kullu 'am wa antum bi khair.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, 

Maaf zahir batin.

From:

E. Ismail

Ahlan wa sahlan Ya Ramadhan 1442 Hijri

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah.

How many of us had been praying 'Allahumma balighna Ramadhan'...and it's here, we have embraced it yet again?

It's 3rd Ramadhan 1442 Hijri already. I have read 2 juz of the Quran so far. I was out shopping for Mabkhara, bukhoor and some Arabia perfumes, so I missed the Book.

Anyway, let's try to practise as many sunnah as possible. I have been meaning to document two new selawat I learned on Nabawi TV recently. Do come and check this posting again later.

Meantime, I pray Allah would be kind to grant us Laylatul Qadar this year and help us stay loyal to the Quran beyond Ramadhan. 

Aamiin Allahumma Aamiin.

Wasalamualaikum warahmatullah.

*****************

Habib Quraisy Baharun
5 April 2021
Jalsah Itsnain Majelis Rasulullah
West Java
[Pic credit: Nabawi TV]

As promised here are the two selawat as taught by Habib Quraisy Baharun, a prominent Indonesian dai'e on Nabawi TV on 5th April 2021 at a weekly majlis known as 'Jalsah Itsnain Majelis Rasulullah' in West Java.

The first selawat was originally taught by Habib Ali bin Abdul Rahman Al Mahsyur. It is known to be highly effective for those who have passed away so that by the grace of Rasulullah salallah alaihi wasalam, the mayyit (the deceased) would be pardoned even if he/she was already destined for Jahannam, or if the mayyit was in a better position than that, Allah would improve his/her conditions and elevate his/her rank. 

I do not have it in Arabic script, so please refer to the original recording of the majlis at the link provided below. Go to minute 1:27:27 and please ask someone to help with the translation.

Bismillah

Allahumma solli wa sallim 

wa baarik wa sharrif wa karrim

ala Sayidina Muhammad

an Nabiyil kaamil

wa 'ala aalihi solatan

laa niha ya talaha

kama la niha yata

lika maa lika

wa 'adada kamaa lih

The second selawat, according to Habib Quraisy Harun, is attributed to [unnamed] solehin who first obtained it through a dream. Reciting this selawat for just ten times is equivalent to reciting more than 100,000 times selawat.

For your reference, check the audio recording at minute 1:30:39.

Bismillah

Allahumma solli wa sallim wa baarik

ala Sayidina Muhammad

wa 'ala alihi

ada da kama lika

wa kama yalii ku

bi kamaa lih

***

Nabawi TV FB link for the aforementioned majlis:

https://www.facebook.com/Nabawitv/videos/510035407053280

Wama tawfiqi illa billah,

- E. Ismail

Du'a during i'tidal and post-solah as practised by Rasulullah salallah alaihi wasalam

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah,

I am delighted to be here and share this lesson I picked up last Feb. By the way, I hope those who intended to recite 7000 selawat, the specific selawat as recommended by Habib Umar bin Hafiz for Shaaban, have managed to complete the task.

I am grateful for the simple pleasures of life like being able to complete the said task in time for Nisfu Shaaban and being a top fan of Masjid An-Nur's FB page, Alhamdulillah. You should be happy that I am a top fan there LOL, else I would not have come across this precious du'a and record it here for our benefit bi-iznillah. Well, this is for those who have not heard of it before or those who are yet to memorize it. 

Ustaz Hafiz (pic below) related some heartwarming stories of the special relationship between Prophet Muhammad salallah alaihi wasalam and Abdullah ibn Abbas. As he did so, he recalled a du'a which the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam would customarily recite during i'tidal and after solah. It is a very good du'a to strengthen one's aqidah, as it makes one reaffirms the supreme might of Allah against any makhluk who may appear powerful or threatening in the eyes of man.  

So I checked, this could be traced to a hadith recorded by Al Bukhari and Muslim.

Allahumma laa maani'a

lima a'thoita

wala mu'tia

lima mana'ta

wala yan fa'uu

zal jaddi

minkal jadd

Screenshot credit:
https://bimbinganislam.com/dzikir-setelah-shalat/

The English translation, as shared on sunnah.com is as follows:

"O Allah there is none

who can withhold

what You give

and none may give what You have withheld

and the might of the mighty person

cannot benefit him

against You."

  

***

Let's put it to practice.

La quwwata illah billah.

Allahumma bal lighna Ramadhan.

Ustaz Hafiz on Masjid An Nur Temasya Glenmarie online session dated 26th Feb.
I'd like to encourage the Malay speaking visitors to this blog to peruse the mosque's FB and check out his tausiyah.

Reference:

https://www.facebook.com/masjidannurglenmarie

https://sunnah.com/search

Ahlan wa sahlan O Shaaban!

Bismillah.

God bless the team at Muwasala for keeping us connected with the much adored Habib Umar bin Hafiz.

You might have noticed the posting on Muwasala FB that the much-awaited azkar for Shaaban 1442H was announced two days ago. YaHuu!

We are to recite the recommended selawat 7000 times or more.

I have done a thousand so far, Alhamdulillah.

Take note that even if one seems riya' (showing-off) about his/her selawat, it still counts, so I learned somewhere. But do not take my word for it cos no one should believe anything found on the internet lol unless the source is a credible scholar like Habib Umar. 

There's a lot of truth about the riya' bit. One cannot help but feel excited about sending salutations to the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam because it is simply pure joy. It has nothing to do with a third party because it is a direct channel between you and the Prophet sallallah alaihi wasalam. Amazing eh? But of course, as they say, Man lam yadzuq lam yadri.

You might also notice in several of the selawat which Habib Umar had recommended in the past, including the one for the recent Rajab, there is a recurring theme on asking Allah to remove sadness from the heart - wa az hib huzna qalbi.

May Allah continue to guide us and make it easy for us to act upon any recommended azkar or deeds that could bring us closer to Him and His beloved Rasul salallah alaihi wasalam. 

Let's (spiritually) fly to Madina and let our hearts be forever free of sadness.

Aaamin.

   

Allahumma salli wa sallim 'ala Sayidina Muhammad 

wa 'ala aali Sayidina Muhammad wa sohbihi 

wa 'ala nabiyika Hud

wa lakal hamdu fil uula wal aakhirah

[all praise belongs to You in this life and the next]

waghfirlana fil aakhirati wal uula

[forgive us in the next life and in this life]

wa az hib huzna qulubina

[and remove all sadness from our hearts]

fid dunya wal aakhirah

[in this world and the hereafter]

***

Source:

https://www.facebook.com/Muwasala/photos/a.760176044011815/4370725362956847/

Math-wise | 67,525 + n

Bismillah.

The conversationalist side of me resurfaces for some reason, for the moment.

As I was casually, (how dare you O self) but that's what it was; as I casually recited 200 after 200 of Istighfar on my way to the "magic number" prescribed by Habib Umar bin Hafiz, I came to a realization.

For this month of Rajab the habib recommended three types of Istighfar to be recited 5000x each. So that's 3 x 5000 = 15,000 before moving on to recite selawat 5000x at the minimum.

At first I thought that's a LOT! Then my left brain independently decided to do some maths.

50 (one's age) - 13 (average age when solat becomes obligatory for you) = 37 × 365 (days in a year) = 

13,505 days x 5 solat per day = 67,525 solat.

Imagine seeking forgiveness for each solat obligation all your life, even if you did not miss any, think of the quality of your solah, how your mind wandered far on the 1st minute upon performing takbiratul ihram.

Compare that with 15,000.

What's the ratio? 

OK you may be young so the ratio is smaller. But let's just say you should have recited at least 100 selawat a day. So how does the equation look like? What is 15,000 compared to the quantity, let alone quality of prayers and selawat that should give you bare minimum qualification as a Muslim, not even a Mukmin, hello!

It goes without saying that we are on a "calorie deficit" if we were to count the number of transgressions committed on a daily basis eg. being rude to your mother, and not having a good opinion towards the Lord, so on and so forth. So what is 15,000 as a redemption voucher, if you like? 

In my case, at the very basic, 1 out of the 15,000 istighfar is to redeem 4.5 solah. I don't have the heart to discount my lady-off-days because the Lord did not go on leave, mind you. Yes, the istighfar is short but hey 4.5 solah carries a lot of credit towards one's "degree".

So think about it. Let's give a little more feel to each istighfar, a lot more consciousness for the weight it warrants. 

Let's not rush it.

- A novice's rambling

Rajab Reflections| Rajab 1442 Hijri/Feb 2021

Bismillah.

In the long run, it would prove useful to have this documented here bi-iznillah. The blogosphere, though a passe as far as the current socmed lingo is concerned, its searchability is incomparable. 

Rajab Shahrullah is here, Alhamdulillah. It is the month of Allah, thus it's best to strengthen our resolve that all else fall second-place i.e. the unrelenting noises, save He.   

Let each action we take serves as a spoke of the wheel directing us towards the redha of Allah. Ilahi anta maqsudi wa redhaka matlubi. Speaking of redha, I learned from a majlis taalim live-streamed from Masjid An-Nur Glenmarie in Malaysia, about four levels of provisions (rizq). Yes, only four. Ustaz Mohd Hazizul Ghouth quoted Shaykh Mutawalli As-Sya'rawi on those four levels of rizq. Guess what, the lowest is one's properties, the highest, as you might guess is Allah's redha. So if you are blessed with the highest level of provision, you need not worry about the other three i.e. if you had enough properties, if you did not have good health or pious children who'd pray for you. Allah's redha is the numero uno mission as it is the ultimate vision one should have.

That said, I remind myself to be cognizant of other worthy goals to have as a Muslim, better still, a Mukmin. The Quran, as pointed out by Ustaz Hazizul is for the Mukmin, not Muslim, mind you, as stated in the Quran: zaalikal kitaa bula rai bafi huda lil muttaqin. 

As you may be aware there are plenty of good goals that we should be aiming for as propagated in the Quran but this faqir will only mention a few that she is aware of and strive for, like having mahmudah qualities, having qalbun salim, exhibiting sobrun jamil, being blessed with saadah and being amongst the saabiqun khairat, tholabul ilm and ulul albab.

I think the ultimate...truly ultimate goal is to be deserving of Allah "taking over" if I may say so, of our hearing, sight, hands and limbs...subhanallah so then we can be sure we will not hear, see, do or move based on our lowly personal motivations under the delusions of our ego, desires, greed, hubbul jah and what not. That divine "take over" is as mentioned in a hadith qudsi. It is a lofty reward for those who toil through the nawafil acts.  

Alright, let's get on with these Rajab "prescriptions" from the venerable Habib Umar bin Hafiz, may Allah make us benefit from his counsel.

 

For ease of reference, the first istighfar is from Ali-Imran:147; the second is from Al-Mukminum:118 and the third is from Al-Araf: 23. Habib Umar recommends that we recite each for 5000x, including the selawat.

Allahumma solli wa sallim 

'ala Sayidina Muhammad 

wa 'ala aali Sayidina Muhammad

waq firli fil aakhirati wal uulaa 

wa az hib huzna qalbi 

fiddunya wal aakhirah.

Sources: 

Habib Umar's notes from Muwasala IG/FB and Lentera Tarem FB

Quran screenshots from https://www.corequran.com/

Masjid An-Nur Glenmarie FB https://www.facebook.com/masjidannurglenmarie

O Allah, I dare not complain about any of the seemingly unpleasant circumstances, for Your blessings have outweighed them. To name but one blessing that I am humbled and deeply grateful for is that You have made it easy for my tongue to memorize a handful of selawat taught by Habib Umar all these years. Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. I am thankful so please grant more.

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Let the haters hate.

lol.