In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

 

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"

 

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

                       As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh

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1) Why being disorganized is detrimental to the Iman and 6 Steps to get organized

Have you ever noticed piles of shirts, jackets and other assorted items accumulating slowly on your chairs, bed, floors, and closet? Have you seen stacks of untouched mail, bills, and letters sitting on your table for weeks? What about your desk drawers that are filled with anything and everything? What about your car? Your refrigerator? Your bathroom? Have you stepped back to take a look at the disorganization we are capable of creating?

I want to share with you how living in disorganized spaces has a bad affect on our Iman and happiness.

I call these little messes silent destroyers- they go unnoticed until the affects have already taken place. I began noticing the piles of clothing stacked on chairs, the toys hidden under the couch, the unopened mail stuffed away in a drawer out of sight. I realized at that moment how I had been feeling down, how the focus in my Salaah decreased, and how my inspiration and energy to do everyday tasks diminished.

 Sakeena is supposed to be in every Muslim's life, in everything that they do, because peace of mind and peace of heart help us get through our days and focus on our obligatory worship. Living in a world of clutter takes a person's sakeena away, without them feeling it until it is gone. It can lower the Iman to the point of taking away the khushoo in your salaah, your mind aimed at the mess surrounding your place of prayer. How can one be fully happy, satisfied, and productive if they come home to a place chaotic with disorganization? I have always lived off of the saying cluttered desk is a cluttered mind? because there is so much truth in it.

Cleanliness in Islam is not only about keeping our hygiene good: it is also about being clean in every aspect in our lives. Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Alah be upon him) said, Cleanliness is half of Faith,? so if half of your faith is disorganized and messy, why would your Iman decrease with it?

Narrated Abu Malik Al-Harith bin Asim Al-Ashaari may Allah be pleased with him): Truly, Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean? [Qurâan: 2:222]. Iman increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience. Have you realized that by living messily, you are living in state that is also a disobedience to Allah (glorified and exalted be He)? No wonder why our Iman gets so low in such circumstances! Take a second and imagine yourself sitting to read Qurâan, or starting Salaah, and you are surrounded by a messy house. Every Muslim should make an effort to keep a clean home to please Allah (glorified and exalted be He) and have a peaceful home environment.

6 Steps to Help You Get Organized

·        It starts within. You must have the desire to obey Allah (glorified and exalted be He) when he ordered us to be clean. By doing so, you are getting reward (inshaâAllah), so start with your intention to create a solid foundation that lasts a lifetime, not a week.

·        Create a plan of organization with your family to maintain a clean home. Help them understand that it is an act of worship. Teach children to keep their own rooms clean and make them feel it is an accomplishment. This will also instill good character for how they take care of their own homes in the future.

·        Create simple solutions. Something such as a coat stand for the living room can go very far. Family members are encouraged to hang their items in one place rather than on chairs and couches.

·        Create a nice-smelling environment. Scent has been proven to give people energy and optimism, so I suggest buying a plug-in air freshener or candles to keep the house smelling nice.

·        Keep the bathroom wiped down everyday. Having nicely stacked towels or a comfortable bathroom mat gives us a peaceful place to do wudu and it clears the mind in preparation for worship.

·        Create a special area in the living space designated for worship. Have a prayer mat or two lying neatly or folded. Have all of your tools in that area “ Qurâan, Islamic study books, etc. It will give you more khushoo having an area designated for prayer and worship, and as we know, having strong Iman and heart makes us more productive in everything else.

I hope you gained benefit from this article and if you did it is purely from the blessing and guidance of Allah (glorified and exalted be He). May Allah facilitate this Ummah, keeping us forever productive, InshaAllah.

2) Allah’s Plan for You and Me

Everything happens by the will of God. Whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen.God had a plan for you before you were born, and He still has a plan for you.God's plan for you is necessary and glorious. His plan is vital to your success and important to the world.
God's plan is not set in stone, as if we were robots pre-programmed in the factory. That would strip us of free will and deny our natures.
Rather, I believe that God has a flexible plan for each human being: a plan that allows that person to benefit the world with his/her unique talents.

Predestination

This is in fact the Islamic view of predestination. There is no doubt that God has decreed everything that happens in the universe from the beginning of time to the end, and that God has written it all in the

Book of Decree:

{Know you not that Allah knows all that is in the heaven and on the earth? Verily, it is (all) in the Book (Al?Lawh Al?Mahfuz). Verily, that is easy for Allah} (Al-Hajj 22: 70)

It is narrated that Abdullah ibn Amr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying:Allah wrote down the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. (Muslim)
Everything happens by the will of God. Whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen. However, as Sheikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid explains:
Belief in al-qadar (predestination) does not contradict the idea that a person has free will with regard to actions in which he has free choice. Shariah and real life both indicate that people have this will. God says concerning man's will:{That is (without doubt) the True Day. So, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with (or a way to) His Lord (by obeying Him in this worldly life)!} (Al-Naba' 78: 39)These verses confirm that man has a will and the ability to do what he wants and not to do what he does not want.
With regard to real life, everyone knows that he has a will and the ability to do what he wants and not to do what he does not want. And he can distinguish between the things that happen when he wants them to, such as walking, and those that happen without him wanting them to, such as shivering. But the will and ability of man are subject to the will and decree of God.

Sheikh Al-Munajjid's last paragraph is the key to understanding Al-Qadar: walking (voluntary) versus shivering (involuntary). Other scholars have explained it as two types of Qadar, fixed and flexible. The fixed Qadar is that which happens to us from beyond our control. For example the time and place of our birth, any illnesses and natural disasters that befall us, etc. The flexible Qadar is that which is within the realm of our free will. Whether we do good or evil, and what we choose to believe and how we choose to live.

The Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah wrote:

There are two types of provision and lifespan: the first type has already been decreed and is written in Umm al-Kitab, and cannot be changed or altered. The next type of qadar, God has informed His angels of His decrees. This is the type where provisions and lifespan may increase or decrease. Hence God the Almighty says: {Allah blots out what he wills and confirms [what He wills]. And with Him is the Mother of the book.} (Ar-Ra'd 13: 39)

The mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitab) is the Book of Decree, in which God has decreed all things as they will always be without change. However, the decrees contained in the books of the angels, such as lifespan and provisions, may increase or decrease according to various circumstances; thereafter, the angels will rewrite a person's provision and lifespan. If a person upholds the ties of kinship, his provisions and lifespan will be extended, otherwise they will decrease.If we trust God, do what He asks, and follow our hearts, His plan will unfold in our lives like a brightly lit path.So God has a plan for you, but fulfillment of that plan is up to you: the choices you make, as well as your degree of faith, persistence and determination.God's plan for you is important to the world because God created nothing in vain. Look at His creation. Everything has a purpose, from the sun that heats our world, to the bacteria that consume waste.You are the same. You have a purpose. You are necessary to the world. If your presence were not vital in some way, then you would not have been made.

Discovering God's Plan

How do we discover God's plan for us? Where do we find it? How do we realize it in our lives?It's not as difficult as we might think. It wouldn't make sense for God to have a plan for us and then leave us stumbling in the dark. God's plan doesn't have to be a mystery. If we trust God, do what He asks, and follow our hearts, His plan will unfold in our lives like a brightly lit path.

If you are trying to follow God's guidance, but you find yourself confronted by obstacles and hardship, don't despair. The hardship is probably a sign that you are on the right path. Consider our Prophets (peace be upon them all) who faced tremendous obstacles:The Prophet Ibrahim was disowned by his family and thrown by his people into a blazing fire; God rescued him from that, and made him the father of two nations.

God inspired the mother of the baby Moses and told her to place her infant into a chest and send it floating down the Nile. If the soldiers of Pharaoh ever learned about his birth:{We revealed to Moses' mother, 'Suckle him and then when you fear for him cast him into the sea. Do not fear or grieve; We will return him to you and make him one of the Messengers.'} (Al-Qasas 28: 7)

That was a hard plan to follow, but she trusted her Lord, and carried out her mission.

The young Joseph was thrown by his brothers into a well; later he was sold into slavery, then imprisoned for years; but in the end he became an important minister, and was reunited with his father.
Mary, the mother of Jesus (peace be upon him) delivered her child alone under a palm tree, far from her people as she feared their reaction; but God helped her through miracles, until she became the honored mother of a great Prophet.In fact, God's plan may be so challenging that we may perceive it but decline to follow it.
The Prophet Jonah gave up on his mission to the people of Nineveh, ventured onto a ship and was then cast into the sea, where he was swallowed by a fish. At the point of despair, he called upon God with all his heart and was rescued. He returned to his mission and achieved success.

Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was slandered by an ugly lie, but God brought the truth to light, and Aisha became a leader and scholar in her own right.

Umm Salamah lost her beloved husband Abu Salamah in the battle of Uhud; she thought that no husband could ever be better than him, and yet she ended up marrying the Prophet Muhammad himself.

Things are not always what they seem. Be patient. God has a plan for you.

Following God's Plan

This is the hard part. God's plan for us is true to who we are at our core, in our very essence. It will not correlate to an artificial persona we have adopted, or our desire to be seen and recognized. God's plan may not bring us fame, fortune, or physical pleasure. It might mean giving up material comfort. So God's plan for us may not be what we would wish it to be.

Abu Hurayrah, the companion of Prophet Muhammad was asked about Taqwa (God consciousness). He said: “It is a road full of thorns. One who walks it needs to have extreme patience.”

In fact, God's plan may be so challenging that we may perceive it but decline to follow it. I have known all my life that I was a writer. I've been talking for years about writing certain books. And yet it took me until the age of 44 to begin writing about the things that really mattered to me, and I still have not published a book (look for it this year, Inshallah!). Why did it take me so long to do what I was meant to do?
I have a friend who says that Africa has been calling her all her life. She believes that her destiny is to go there and help the African people in some way. But she has not done it. Why?

I have another friend who believes that da'wah is his mission in life. He spent ten years studying Japanese at the university level, and he dreams of living in Japan and doing da'wah there. But he has no concrete plan to do so. Why?

I asked several brothers and sisters if they know what their mission in life might be. Some said yes. I asked them if they were carrying out their mission. Most said no, and gave these reasons:
I feel that others are more qualified than me.

It seems like a fantasy.It feels like a dream.I tried once and it didn't go my way.Right now I need to focus on financial security.

I'm not ready yet.

Brothers and sisters, no one is more qualified than you to fulfill the plan that God has for you! God's plan is not a fantasy, nor a dream. It may not go your way the first time, or the second, or the third. It may not make you rich, but there is no true financial security in this life – that's an illusion.  No one expects you to let your family go hungry. Work hard and provide for them, but don't get caught in the trap of thinking that the accumulation of wealth will save you, because the only true security is with God. And last of all, no one is ever ready to walk in the path of God. It is a road full of thorns. But it is also the road to fulfillment, happiness and success.

Fulfilling God's plan for us requires that we silence the voice of our own desire, open ourselves to God, and look within with total sincerity...

It takes courage, patience and determination...

It is the path to Paradise.

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'The Religion of the Muslims is built upon...'

Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) said:

"The Religion of the Muslims is built upon following the Book of Allaah, the Sunnah of His Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and that which the Ummah has agreed upon. So these are the three infallible usool (fundamentals). So whatever the Ummah differs in, then it is referred back ...to Allaah and His Messenger. Thus, it is not for anyone to set up a person for the Ummah, and to call to his way and form walaa’ (love, loyalty and allegiance) and ‘adaa (enmity and hatred) based upon that, except for the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Nor is any speech set up for them based upon which they form walaa’ and ‘adaa except for the Speech of Allaah, and that of His Messenger, and that which the Ummah has agreed upon. Rather, this is that practice of the people of innovation, who set up a person or a saying, with which they cause splits in the Ummah; ..."
 
Majmoo‘ul Fataawaa (20/164)

“… If they [i.e., your wives] should be poor, Allaah will enrich them from His bounty …”

O Muslims! The family is the foundation of the community, and from it nations are produced which then spread and increase. The core of the family is the husband and wife; Allaah says that which translates as:
 
“O Mankind! Indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another…” (Al-Hujuraat: 13).
 
Allaah has made the family a place where people resort to for peace, tranquillity and stability. Marriage is the means to increasing the population of the earth, to attain tranquillity of the heart and to enjoy the pleasures of life. The marital home organises one’s life and establishes chastity and protection; Allaah has made marriage a way of joining different and distant families; Allaah assured us that this is a sure way of increasing ones provisions, as He says that which translates as: 
 
“… If they [i.e., your wives] should be poor, Allaah will enrich them from His bounty …” (An-Noor: 32).
Ref.: Taken from the khutbah title "The Essentials for a Happy Marriage" by Abdul-Muhsin

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