#Signs From Allah About Marriage

[questionsonislam]

Will you mention the basic principles of Ahl as-Sunnah? What are the criteria for a Muslim to be Ahl as-Sunnah? How do we know that a person has left the Ahl as-Sunnah?

Ahl as-Sunnah is a term that means “those who adopt the path followed by the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions related to the fundamental issues of the religion”.

Ahl al-Bid’ah is a phrase meaning “groups that emerged after the Age of Bliss and that adopted certain faiths and deeds that are not based on any religious evidence”.

It is possible to summarize the basic features of Ahl al-Bid’ah in four points.

1. Not being familiar with the spirit of the nass (verses of the Quran and sound hadiths) and the basic orientations of Islam, or being under the influence of foreign cultures and interpreting nass based on distant interpretations.

In addition, it is also considered within this feature to be stuck with the outward meaning of some verses and hence hadiths, without considering the Quran’s unique style and logic, and the features of the Arabic language, and to make the preconceived and subjective views dominant in the interpretation of the nass.

Ghazzali, who aimed to draw these two extreme views, which can be summarized as “blind allegiance to nass or mind” to the moderate line, wrote the book named “al-Iqtisad fil-Itiqad “.

2. Not having good intentions about the Companions, who constituted the first generation of Islam in terms of both belief and practice, and who passed the last divine religion on to the next generations in terms of thought and action, and not valuing their narrations, understanding and practices, especially concerning religion.

3. Assuming a negative attitude against the verbal and actual sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). Those who reject some hadiths that they cannot reconcile with their own views though they are compatible with the general character of the Quran and the basic orientations of Islam on the grounds that they are not mutawatir, and those who fabricate hadiths to support their madhhab views or those who narrate such hadiths are also included in this group.

4. Breaking away from the religious understanding of the majority (jama’ah, jumhur al-muslimin) that formed beginning from the Companions, accusing the opposing groups of unbelief with minority psychology, and regarding the basic decrees of the religion as debatable.

If the basic principles of Ahl as-Sunnah are known, it will be easier to understand on what issues those who do not comply with it differ from the Ahl as-Sunnah.

The basic views of Ahl as-Sunnah and the indications showing that a person is not from Ahl al-Bid’ah can be briefly summarized as follows:

1. Allah exists and is one.

2. There are angels.

3. The (divine) books are true.

4. The Quran is the word of Allah; the Quran is a miracle.

5. Prophets are messengers of Allah; prophethood is true.

6. Muhammad (pbuh) is the messenger of Allah. Muhammad is the last prophet.

7. Resurrection is true. There is resurrection after death.

8. Paradise and Hell have been created and are eternal.

9. Qadar (destiny) exists.

10. It is Allah who creates good and evil.

11. Allah knows the future.

12. Hadith-sunnah is a source of the religion. Hadith-sunnah is Allah’s approval.

13. Companions are the most virtuous people after the prophets.

14. There madhhabs and they are true.

15. A person who commits a major sin does not become an unbeliever.

16. He who dies as a believer will not remain in Hell forever.

17. There are miracles and they are true.

18. There are karamahs and they are true.

19. Ru’yah (Seeing Allah) is true and it will happen.

20. There is intercession and it is true.

21. Paradise is grace and Hell is justice.

22. There is life in the grave and it is true.

23. The miracle of Miraj (ascension) is true.

24. There are signs of Doomsday.

25. The prayer of the living for the dead is true.

26. Wiping over khuffs is true.

27. A person who says I am a Muslim cannot be called an unbeliever.

28. Muta marriage is haram.

29. Allah is free from space and time.

30. Only Allah knows ghayb (the unseen/unknown), and if He wishes, He can inform His prophets and saints about it.

31. The spirit does not die. The spirits of the dead unbelievers and Muslims hear.

32. Visiting graves is permissible.

33. Tawassul is permissible.

[quranwithsehar]

Story of Ibrahim AS - Chapter 6

Ibrahim AS left Hajra in a desert. She is alone. The child is alone. There is nothing to eat or drink. The child kept crying. And the mother ran barefoot between Safa and Marwah. Until the spring burst forth from the child's footsteps. And that spring is still flowing today. And the patience of this mother became a sign.

Millions of Muslims have been running to follow her example for centuries. They walk thousands of steps on air-conditioned roads and marble floors. And they get very tired. They complete the Sa’i and shave their heads. Then they head straight to the nearest restaurant or mall. They eat food. And go to sleep in their hotels.

But when Hajra was alone, there was no hotel or mall near Hajra. The water flowing did not mean that her life became easy.

What do women usually do? They need their husbands for everything. If he's there, they can manage everything, but if he's not, they struggle a lot. Obviously, husbands should be there because they are both responsible for the child. But sometimes, according to Allah's will, what you "need" doesn't happen. Humans don't always stay together. Death, illness, tragedy, anything can separate you from your biggest support. In such situations, many women walk into self-doubt.

We say, “what should we do? We are helpless. We are left alone.”

But Hajra didn't do that. Hajra trusted in Allah. Just like Allah allowed Ibrahim to enter the fire, similarly, Allah also allowed Hajra to walk between Safa and Marwah.

Allah will test your limits and tire your body on His path. Its reward comes after the difficulty. The hardships have to be borne first.

It's not like Allah abandoned Hajra. If Allah told Ibrahim to stay with Sarah, it doesn't mean Allah didn't care about Hajra. Rather, Hajra's life was more important than that marriage.

Every person has a purpose they need to fulfill. Hajra had work to do in her own share. And it couldn't happen while staying in Palestine with this marriage. Allah had a separate plan for Sarah and a separate one for Hajra.

So whenever you feel like Allah has given someone else the blessing you wanted in your test, like if Sarah wanted children, it doesn't mean Hajra didn't want companionship with her husband. She did too.

So whenever something like this happens, or you feel deprived of a blessing, then know: that blessing is not included in the plan that Allah has set for you. He has a separate plan for you.

[xpl3001]

jinhyeok at his dad’s funeral banquet like the big back he is

LMAO hi everyone and happy opening! i’m anwar (not hadid) and this is my first chara — kim jinhyeok, part of the glitched out subplots as well (harvey). super excited to plot and write with you all, so by all means kindly leave a heart and i’ll get back to you asap! i’m also the mun behind @everymandeadman so anticipate another intro later today as well, thank u!

navigate — general info, pinterest

tw / boy mom behavior.. girl i know (closes eyes)

kim jinhyeok, 23, some guy working in tech and on allah he doesn’t know what he’s doing for the most part but anyways: the youngest kid born to a mother who filled for divorce from her first husband (sorry big sis @iscariotish). her current husband helped her out and was like “yo i’ll marry u bc ngl i need a wife and some kids” so she took that as an opportunity and also? i expect that south korean societal beliefs have transferred (kinda) to terra so the notion that divorce is highly stigmatized against women is a thing so. she married her second man and filed for a child asap under the assumption that she’ll be secured for life. the first boy is born and we all cheered

this is a woman who doesn’t really want to be a mother but whatever, right? so she’s like “what do u mean you want another kid just one is enough” (also she’s carrying a whole second marriage too) when her husband’s filing for another child (ie jinhyeok). bro is born a preemie and ngl chances at survival was kinda slim. his mom was lowkey gonna call the baby off with terrascape co but said “mm nah, guess i’ll keep the child” and so kim jinhyeok is born unwanted from the start but who cares

kim dongmin (dad) is a radiologist tech who signed his life away to terrascape co as a medical professional in the outer world. they never see their father who’s dedicating his life out there to support terrascape’s advances. his wife is hella lukewarm bc the money is gonna look crazy good when he ends up dying, but anyways i think being in a second marriage applied pressure to jinhyeok’s mom in order to make shit work out in the marriage. so it made her tune out to her kids initially bc she was so busy doing fuck all to please her man OK MOVING ON

jinhyeok’s relationship with his dad’s “okay” except he doesn’t see him like at all bc bro works in the outer world/earth and agreed to spend his whole life for terrascape. his mom is trying to heal from her bullshit first marriage and basically expects emotional support from her two sons in place of how her first marriage went wrong + in absence of her current husband so basically she’s a boy mom who is entitled to her son’s affections and the rls becomes very emotionally dependent on her kids.. this is not good! (cue jinhyeok’s expectations of skewed masculinity in relation to being a victim of a boy mom)

but like shit goes crazy with jinhyeok bc every birthday he gets tossed into a new avatar in the north american server (allara) so he has to live in a body of an asian american girl and navigate thru that for a whole 24 hours while instead every year someone inhabits his body back in terra’s sk. jinhyeok hasn’t been able to celebrate his birthday since then, and once he gained consciousness he tried to open up about it to his family which didn’t go well. it’s a big ass faulty glitch and he feels deeply violated bc he doesn’t know what’s happening in his body/avatar back home while in a separate avatar in north america every year on february 1st. so essentially this glitch peeks his interest in coding/it/compsci, but under the guise that he’s pro terra bc it’s all a programmed facade and all that

but like u know he gains an unique experience being that asian american girl which broadens his knowledge about gender and the asian diaspora. largely he grows up insanely misunderstood by his family and peers because of this unique experience that jinhyeok’s been having as a child, in spite of never being able to properly celebrate his birthday and hasn’t been able to, which.. yeah. very sad and because of the glitch jinhyeok hates it when his birthday approaches for plenty of reasons. also since his mom saved his life kinda she thinks jinhyeok’s hella ungrateful and shit for questioning terra’s ethics and morals like we should not be doing this or be existing for a reason maybe?? she enjoys gaslighting him by using the “i saved you!” rhetoric with the typical “you got clothes and a nice home what else do you want” type shit

fast forward: his dad ends up passing away in the last year. he’s been having health problems as a result of working in outer earth and it’s basically evidence(?) of how terrascape has labor issues. they lowkey view their professionals as expendable to their needs which heightens bro’s suspicion of the corporation while acting like he don’t know a goddamn thing. and well, he doesn’t have enough merit to prove terrascape’s shadiness, but in recent events with his dad’s passing and with bae gyuok, jinhyeok’s like.. um? wtf. this is weird

personality

very extroverted! it doesn’t take long for him to strike up a conversation with anyone and everyone, so jinhyeok doesn’t mind having to constantly break the ice. he knows what to say and when to say it, so i think he tends to mirror the personalities of others very well (libra rising + mars for all my astrology hoes), but this is initially before he can truly be himself (he likes testing the waters with people before finding out ohh okay i can REALLY be myself). but with this, he tends to lean into his people pleasing tendencies (lmao AGAIN libras.. am i right) which was conditioned since childhood having been raised by the mother he has, but he has a limit and a temperament before you get the chance to walk all over him. naturally intuitive, enjoys thinking out of the box, has an acute sense of justice even if his priorities are scattered. impulsive-heavy, says things he doesn’t mean when angered/irritated and always falls back into his regret. not the easiest to be made frustrated, but once he is, there’s really no turning back and he’ll gladly ball your face up because well. he’s a man and men do love fighting or getting worked up so lmfao

plots

i prefer brainstorming, but bare bones for connections remains: friends, lotsa exgirlfriends, maybe a group of gen z-ers (ok i know there’s probably gonna be a name for the 2997-3012 generation but bear with me) in tech who’s doing their best out here lmfao BUT YEAH BYE

HAPPY PLOTTING I’M DONE

[islamicrays]

Dear Muslim Couples,

I read earlier that our community has a 33% divorce rate.

33%!!!!!!!

That means 1/3 of our marriages do not last! That is beyond shocking, disheartening, and demoralizing!

As someone who has lived experience and has worked with several couples over the years, I'd like to share some of my observations as to how or why we've gotten to this dark place and how we can maybe find our way out of it--in sha Allah.

First, let me say as a disclaimer that OBVIOUSLY, some marriages are not meant to last and should end as soon as possible because they are proven harmful to one or both parties involved. So, this is not a critique or debate about divorce, it's just a general commentary about the problems plaguing our marriages and families, and ways we can perhaps do better moving forward in sha Allah.

1. WEAK INTENTIONS: Our marriages are not primarily for the sake of ﷲ. We marry for companionship, as a protection from temptation, for kids, to please our parents, for tax breaks, etc., but we aren't PRIMARILY marrying to please Allah ﷻ and fulfill the sunnah of our Beloved ﷺ. And as we know, any enterprise, endeavor, or major life decision that begins without invoking God's blessing will be fruitless! So, we need to define what marriage for the sake of Allah ﷻ really means and help our youth make better choices. Marriage classes should start much earlier than in the college or post college years. Our teens are learning about all types of twisted relationship models and watching the breakdown of family and society unfold every day, so we can't delay these conversations anymore. They need to know what a healthy relationship means in Islam, and more importantly, they need to see it modeled as well! More on that another time...

2. WEAK BELIEFS: We have adopted dangerous ideologies about manhood, womanhood, and marriage itself, and have completely abandoned what marriage in Islam really means and looks like. When we approach marriage with distrust, suspicion, and cynicism, and see our spouse as either a conquest or a possession instead of a loving partner, then why do we expect the relationship to grow in a healthy direction? We can't invite Iblis to join the union and give him ample opportunity to cause division and tear us apart, and then complain about it. Marriage in Islam is about mutual benefit, respect, and observing appropriate boundaries where BOTH partners are beholden to God's standards and expectations not anyone else's, including each other or one another's parents, inlaws, families, cultures, etc.

3. WEAK APPETITES: Pornography and sexual perversity is the rot that will eat away at the spiritual connection between a couple. If you allow this filth into your life at any point and then bring it with you into your marriage, you might as well sign the divorce papers because your marriage will inevitably fail. Whatever your personal struggles are, do everything in your power to AVOID the degeneracy of this pornographic culture. That means obviously DON'T watch any form of pornography but also STOP watching filth that may not have a XXX rating but is still pornographic. Watching television, shows, music videos, TikToks, Reels, Youtube videos, reading “erotica” etc., where people are revealing their bodies, and engaging in outright explicit and HARAM behavior is a direct violation of God's command to LOWER ONE'S GAZE. We have long been conditioned to adopt these western standards based on their approved rating system for what is considered appropriate or inappropriate, but the fact is, we have our own rating system in Islam, and if we betray it and normalize watching certain things--especially as an activity with our spouse--then there are serious consequences! No one should be surprised to learn that their partner has suddenly developed a strange habit, or wants to "experiment" sexually with things that just don't feel right when they handed them the keys to access the demonic portals that call to such evil! Deviancy is contagious and corrosive! So please stop bringing the garbage into your living rooms or bedrooms and just turn it off. Look for wholesome entertainment and have a ZERO policy for HARAM. And advocate for intimacy that is modest, pure, and rooted in true love and romance--not perversity, deviance, and pornography that just reduces a sensual and spiritual experience to an animalistic one!

4. WEAK & ENTITLED EGOS: Appreciate what you have and stop the nafsy nonsense that entitles you to a perfect utopian life in this world. If you have a partner who is dutiful first and foremost to their Lord and upholds their responsibilities to you (and your children, parents, family, etc) and is doing their best to SHOW UP and pull their weight in the marriage, then STOP nitpicking over superficial things or comparing them to others. No one has the perfect marriage. No matter what you think about any individual or couple out there, know for certain, that everyone has struggles they have to push past. Just be grateful that you have a partner. Be grateful that God has given you someone to grow with, experience life with, share responsibilities with, etc. And if you have children with them, then for the love of God, stop being an ingrate. If you have ANY love for your children, then put aside your petty squabbles or nagging wishlists, and stop throwing around the word divorce. Unless you are in a situation where there are serious violations happening, you need to learn the language of compromise and focus on the positives in your marriage--which for sure there are many, even if you refuse to state them. The bottom line is, we WILL be tested in our relationships, and what we dismiss as incompatibility is often much more than that. Our partners are sometimes mirrors for us to see some harsh truths about ourselves, and if we are uncomfortable facing those truths then obviously it will seem easier to discard the mirror. But the better route is to look intently, to listen, and to redefine our partners as the means through which we arrive at the door of God--beseeching Him for salvation. Our partners are sometimes the reason we even make it to the door, because whether they carry us when we need to be carried, or they force us to flee to God for refuge from them, they help us and for that reason alone should be appreciated.

In the end, that's all that matters, isn't it? This life will end. We're all on the way out, but it's where end up when we leave here that determines our success. Divorce may be necessary for some, but for a lot of couples, it's a false trap door that looks like an easy escape route. It actually leads to much darker days when opened prematurely and rushed into. We need to start shaking some common sense back into one another and avoid the illusory lies of the modern world that have made us all so self-absorbed we run at the first sign of problems. Let us learn to appreciate what we have. Let us take our marriages more seriously and start making the necessary changes to protect them from the traps of shaitan. Whatever challenges we have aside from abuse and any other serious violations, we should push through and overcome our nafs (ego) in the process. We should admit fatigue and seek professional help when we're too tired and spent fighting on our own. And we should continuously ask God for help and strength.

Iblis will stop at nothing to destroy us. Divide and conquer is one of his preferred tactics. He will destroy everything we build until we're left to rubble. Marriage is about building, and divorce is demolition. Please continue to build, even if you have to renovate, and do everything you can to avoid the wrecking ball.

May Allah ﷻ continue to give us strength...

P.S. Please note that this list is nowhere near exhaustive or complete. There are MANY other issues that can lead to the dissolution of a marriage, but for the sake of time and convenience, I mentioned the general issues above as I believe they are the overarching reasons why many marriages struggle. When the foundation of a building is built faulty or weak, we don’t blame its cracking walls, chipped paint, or creaking floorboards—we look to fixing the source of the issue, not the symptoms.

-Hosai Mojaddidi

[dawnsfragrance]

I’ve tried reaching out to an ex-potential spouse for marriage again. He doesn’t use his social media handles anymore so my uncle mailed him and it’s been over a month and he hasn’t responded. I’ve sent another email to him myself as well but there hasn’t been any response.

He’s only active on LinkedIn so my uncle tried sending him a request there too (because you can’t message them directly) but he hasn’t received it. I also checked his profile so he should have received a notification where it informed him that I viewed his profile. I’m not sure if he’s ignoring me on purpose or if he’s not see any of these. The reason I believe he’s missed out on the LinkedIn thing is because I tried sending a request to myself from my uncle’s account and I never received it myself.

I’m wondering if I should try reaching out to him from Instagram but it’s my dawah account and I really don’t want to and I wanted to keep it in through my uncle but I feel like it may be worth a shot. He was a good guy but there was some betrayal from his end which is why I couldn’t forgive him back then when he asked for a chance. I prayed istikhara back then too and made my decision but I prayed istikhara to marry him and rejected him instead so I don’t think that was right.

I kinda beat myself up for it too. Should I accept it as the Qadr of Allah or keep trying to reach out to him? He was always away from social media and kept his distance and he has changed his number and everything so I really don’t have another way of contacting him. Should I ask my family to contact him on Instagram? But he hasn’t been active in over two years so I’m not sure if he’s ever going to see it. I don’t know about his family because they weren’t close. Please advise

I resonate a lot with this. Sometimes the what-ifs get to your head and it’s so hard to let go.

All I can say is - if his betrayal cut so deep at the time that you couldn’t forgive him then and give him a second chance, you should probably trust that judgment. Just because time has passed, your heart has softened and the hurt you felt at the time isn’t as fresh and raw doesn’t change what he’d done. I also think him being so hard to reach is also a sign from Allāh and the lasting impact of your istikhara. You’ve asked Allāh that if this fate isn’t meant for you then for Him to keep it far from you. It sounds to me like Allāh is doing just that.

It’s your decision at the end of the day. I can’t tell you what to do - only advice. It’s hard not to dwell on the past and harder to forget someone you’ve once imagined a future with. It’s so easy for me to tell you to get over it and move on but I know if I was in your shoes I’d be so tempted to. I also know that if I was in your shoes I’d really want someone to tell me not to. Allahu alam

[vivianbernadetteaurora]

My conspiracy for this information goes back long long time ago, and I believe it all started on the red carpet at the moment when would really look up to Aaliyah, Aaliyah and Beyoncé were polar opposites. If you wanna think about appearances, Beyoncé was voluptuous and blonde and curvy and light skin, Aaliyah with slender, darker skin and beautiful face., they both carried that superstar essence, I have literally just uploaded a video to one of my TikTok accounts about how I believe Jay-a( jay-Z if you really cared about Allah and wanted to be with her, why would you do a whole tour with R. Kelly? That’s some libra moon shit right there. No loyalties but then woman out with you that tell you that you’re the world. I’m sorry that’s just how I feel. I know many of them .

 Aaliyah wasn’t going to take that kind of crap off a man. This woman was a Capricorn, son and Aquarius rising. I won’t even say that she’s a Virgo moon fuck check this before I finish it anyway Beyoncé and Jay-Z go to film the music video drunk in Love in 2013 on the same beach, where Aaliyah filmed her last video rock the boat which she didn’t come back from. She had a pain crash. Apparently she was given a sleeping tablet and wasn’t able to be carried that load it wasn’t strong enough.

 Anyway to go back Aaliyah‘s moon sign is in Virgo. This is the important part, horizon sign is an Aquarius, so when you look at the rising sign which is the first house you want to look for the ruling planet of that sign and then that sign planet becomes your ruling planet in your birth chart so hers would be Uranus in modern, and Saturn in traditional has Saturn was in Virgo and how Uranus was in Scorpio, I’m still learning numerology guys so once I get back to you with that I’ll have so much more information but if we want to go into Beyoncé and Jay-Z top I’m happy to.

Both these women had femme fatale qualities don’t get me wrong. They’re both air sign women, and Aaliyah had a lot of earth in her chart a lot a lot and she had that beautiful subtle quality about her. I’m in Beyoncé. She won’t do interviews anymore which I get Beyoncé is not so good with her words wasn’t it Wendy Williams he wants said she talks like a fourth grade or whatever. Yeah, TV wasn’t really full Beyoncé anymore, and now she’s gone into this element of rich with Jay-Z where they team up together and become this power duo and believe me in Hollywood. A lot of these power duos are just like connected for work, and work alone.

So outside they could be having other activity, so when the lounge got caught in the elevator doing that Jay-Z, maybe that’s why Beyoncé stayed so quiet and stood back because because she knew that he humiliation in the background as it was gonna come, and even Matthew knows, use it as another PR stunt don’t be full boy like the whole PR thing because I have only recently and like the last year also that these couples aren’t really couples a lot of the time. A lot of them can’t come out is gay#LoveYourself,SoTheyHaveToGetBeardsABeardIsSomebodyWhoGetsWithUsOppositesex partner and they stay with them to make them present straight, but really like on the side of these people are living a gay existence. A good example from old Hollywood would be Rock Hudson Rock Hudson. Obviously not Israel name, that’s another thing they change your name Hudson in fact got married to his agents, mother or sister or something like that, but it was a happy marriage because they know what they expected. I actually think gay marriage would be like really cool because you’d get treated really well over a star Phil, and yeah I don’t think it’s good for the person who has to hide the sexuality that is wrong. I’m not saying Jay is gay and I’m not saying Beyoncé‘s lesbian although there are rumours about Beyoncé, this is all I’m gonna talk on it for now but just look at it. Look at the trophy on the beach. I’m drunk in love and listen to rock the boat backwards and look up what Beyoncé‘s name means, then look up what Allah’s name means. Much love. Stay safe, XOXO

Mayo also add that Virgo rising Jay-Z, Virgo, son, Beyoncé, Virgo, moon, Aaliyah, Scorpio, Venus,jay z  Scorpio, moon, Beyoncé, Scorpio, Uranus, Aaliyah. libra, rising, Beyoncé Libra, Venus Beyoncé, libra, Pluto, Aaliyah and Beyoncé, and Libra moon, Jay-Z. If you know in the astrological community, you will see how this is a bit fucked up.

[loverandservantoftheahlulbayt]

🍃🕊🍃 Prophet Muhammad (S), a Divine Mercy for the Worlds

🍃 Preface

Each and every one of the Prophets (pbbuta) is a manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes. As there is no repetition in Divine Manifestation, there is no repetition in the story of the Prophets. The story of every Prophet is unique in its style.

What happened with Prophet Noah (as), Prophet Ibrahim (as), Prophet Moses (as), and Prophet Jesus (as) did not repeat for any other Prophet, nor did what happen with other Prophets happen for these Prophets. For, every Messenger of God demonstrates a particular divinity, unlike the man made stories in which their themes are nearly the same. We all know that Iranian and Indian movies must end with a marriage ceremony. The theme of Hollywood movies is nothing other than sex or violence.

All Prophets are the Signs of Allah and the shadow of ‘The Light of the heavens and the earth’. Nonetheless, the holy Messenger of Islam (S) was the shadow of ‘and there is none like unto Him’. Thus, the story of the life of Prophet Muhammad (S) overshadows the stories of all the previous Prophets, as he is the ring and the seal of all of them.

🍃 The Ranks of the Prophets (pbbuta)

When the Almighty Allah chooses a human being for His great divine mission, he must enjoy the highest degrees of virtues. Hence, the messengers of Allah are the most virtuous of people on earth.

Are there any degrees in rank amongst the Prophets themselves? The holy Quran confirms that whilst the messengers of Allah are more virtuous than other people, there are degrees in rank and preference in virtues amongst them. The Almighty Allah states:

“Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees (of honour); and to Jesus, the son of Mary, We gave clear proofs and evidences and supported him with the Holy Spirit.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

“And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others, and to David We gave the Psalms.”

🍃 (17:55) 🍃

Whist the demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ (Telka in Arabic) is utilized in the first Ayah to express their higher status in comparison to other people; the rest of the Ayah clearly indicates the degrees of the Prophets are not equal.

Although the ranks of the Prophets are not the same in the sight of God, they are all His Messengers, absolute obedient servants, and as such we should not make any distinction in that sense between any of them. Thus, Islam denotes the wrong dogma of the divinity of Christ and blames Christians for exaggerating about the personality of Prophet Jesus. The Holy Quran as such teaches the Muslims:

“Say (O Muslims), We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim, Ishmael, Isaa, Jacob, and to the offspring of the twelve sons of Jacob, and that which has been given to Moses, and Jesus, and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted.”

🍃 (2:136) 🍃

The different degree of the Prophets in their ranks does not also mean they differed between themselves. The Prophets were like teachers of one school teaching one subject (Islam) for different grades. Should all the Prophets descend on earth and live in one city, there will be no disagreement among them whatsoever.

Thus, the Almighty Allah in explaining the degrees of the Prophets states:

“We preferred some of them above others”. But to state the different opinion between the ordinary humans, He states: “If Allah had willed, succeeding generations would not have fought against each other, after clear Signs of Allah had come to them, but they differed - some of them believed and others disbelieved.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

🍃 Muhammad, the Most Preferred Prophet (S)

“Amongst all the Prophets and the Messengers of Allah, the last and the Seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (S) is the most preferred of all and the highest in rank in the sight of Allah. The Almighty Allah states: ‘Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees’.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

The phrase ‘others He raised to degrees’ is meant for Prophet Muhammad (S). There are several reasons as to why the Almighty Allah has raised the degrees of His last Messengers above all other Prophets. The following are some examples:

The Almighty Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (S) but as a mercy for the worlds. Thus, he must be the most virtuous of all creation, material and immaterial. Allah states:

“and We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the worlds”.

🍃 (21:107) 🍃

The Almighty Allah elevated the name of Prophet Muhammad (S) to be declared five times a day after the Name of Allah during Adhan and Iqama.

“And have We not raised high your fame?”

🍃 (94:4) 🍃

The holy Quran considers the obedience to Prophet Muhammad (S) equal to the obedience to God.

“He who obeys the Messenger, has indeed obeyed Allah.” A covenant with Prophet Muhammad is a covenant with God. “Verily, those who give pledge to you (O Muhammad) they are giving pledge to Allah.”

🍃 (48:10) 🍃

Satisfaction of Prophet Muhammad is coupled with the satisfaction of Allah.

“It is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad).”

🍃 (9:62) 🍃

Answering the call of Prophet Muhammad (S) is regarded the same as answering the call of the Almighty Allah.

“O you who believe! Answer Allah and (His) Messenger when he calls you.”

🍃 (8:24) 🍃

The Almighty Allah honoured Moses (as) by granting him nine Signs (miracles)1 but Allah established every sentence of the Quran – which was granted to Prophet Muhammad - as a Sign (miracle) and calls for a challenge upon all the humans and the jinns if they could produce something like unto it. The main miracle of Prophet Muhammad, i.e. the holy Quran is more virtuous than the miracles of the previous Prophets, because not only it is the verbatim Word of God, it is an everlasting miracle.

If the miracle of Prophet Muhammad (S) is more virtuous than the miracles of the previous Prophets, then Prophet Muhammad himself must also be more virtuous than other Prophets. The Almighty God addressed the Prophets with their names. For instance, He says:

“O Moses!” (20:10),

or

“O Adam!” (2:35),

or

“O Ibrahim!” (37:104).

But He is addressing the Prophet of Islam with his title ‘O Messenger!” or “O Prophet!” which indicates a special honour.

The Almighty Allah ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam (as) out of respect to him, but ordered the angels to give their Salat to Prophet Muhammad (S) in order for them to be nearer to Allah. Also, Salat for Prophet Muhammad (S) continues until the Day of Judgment, whereas the prostration for Adam (as) had to be offered only once. Moreover, Allah ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam (as) in respect of the light of Muhammad (S) that Adam (as) had on his forehead. In short, all the virtues of the previous Prophets were also given to Prophet Muhammad (S) in addition to his own unique virtues.

🍃 Unique Characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S)

As mentioned earlier, the Prophets of Allah are the manifestation of divine beauty and names, and the Prophet of Islam demonstrates the divine attribute of ‘there is none like unto Him’. The following are some of the unique characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S).

• The light and spirit of Muhammad was the

first creation of Allah.

• Universal Mission: The most we can say

about the scope of the mission of the

previous prophets is that their mission

included all people of their time across

the globe and remained in force until the

advent of the next law-making prophet.

The mission of the Prophet of Islam,

however, was for the whole of mankind

across the globe and until the Day of

Judgment. The Almighty Allah states:

“And We have not sent you (O

Muhammad) except as a giver of glad

tidings and a warner to all mankind.”

🍃 (34:28) 🍃

• He is mercy for the whole worlds:

“And We have not sent you but as a

mercy for the worlds.”

🍃 (21:107) 🍃

• The seal of the Prophets:

“Muhammad is not the father of any of

your men, but he is the Messenger of

Allah and the last (end) of the

Prophets.”

🍃 (36:40) 🍃

• His Scripture is a protector and a guard

over all the previous scriptures,

safeguarding the truth in them which has

been perverted by man throughout

history.

“And We have sent down to you

(O Muhammad) the Book in truth,

confirming the Scripture that came

before it and Muhayman

(a protector and controller) over it.”

🍃 (5:48) 🍃

• The religion of Prophet Muhammad (S)

was Islam in its complete form with no

perversion in it, and hence it is the right

and straight (Qayyem) religion.

“So set you (O Muhammad) your face on

the straight and right religion.”

🍃 (30:43) 🍃

🍃 The World of al-Thar (Particles)

Has there been any world before this physical world? Or to be more precise, is there any world other than the world of matter? Did creation begin with the creation of the physical world or are there other types of life beyond this matter?

Many Ayaat in the Quran and numerous Ahadith indicate that there has been a world of spirit prior to this physical world. All humans had a form of existence in that world. It was in that world that the Almighty Allah introduced Himself to mankind and took a covenant from them not to worship other than Him. Mankind in that world witnessed the Almighty God and was free from the filth of polytheism and doubts.

The late Allamah Tabatabei suggested in his al-Mizan that the world of al-thar does not have a temporal preceding to this, our physical, world rather it does exist with it and encompasses it. It is the world of Sovereign (malakout) that the Almighty Allah showed to Prophet Ibrahim2 (as); it was in the world where the instinct of knowing God was enforced in man’s nature.

The following Ayaat reveals the existence of the world of al-Thar:

“And when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed and made them testify as to themselves (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! We testify, lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: Verily, we have been unaware of this.”

🍃 (7:172) 🍃

“How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return.”

🍃 (2:28) 🍃

One of the most complicated philosophical issues is about the relation of a changeable to the Unchangeable, i.e. the relation between the creation and the Creator. Muslim philosophers have dealt with this issue under the topic of ‘actuality and potentiality’.

It is proven in Islamic mysticism as well as transcendental metaphysics of Mulla-Sadra that the Almighty Allah is the Extended Existence (wujud munbasit) in all respects. The first being who appeared by God and became His first manifestation, must be the nearest to God and demonstrate the most possible divine Names and Attributes.

🍃 Stages of the Bow of Descent

To understand the concept of the first creation and manifestation of God, you need to activate your sense of imagination and fly out of the world of matter. Let your mind go beyond the four dimensions of matter. Now you are in the world of spirit. You may even endeavour to pass the entire contingent world be it matter or immaterial worlds. Muslim mystics consider the stages of life as follows:

🍃 1. The stage of the Unseen of the Unseens

1. The stage of the Unseen of the

Unseens3: In this stage all that is

considered is but the essence of Allah

without even any Names or Attributes, let

alone His creation. This is the stage that

no contingent being can ever reach.

🍃 2. The Stage of the First Appointment

2. The Stage of the First Appointment: The

stage of Uniqueness: (ahadiyyat). This is

the stage where one being or the

appointment of one being can be

considered. What we mean by the

appointment of one being is that an

attribute could be related to God. i.e. an

attribute that is the source of all other

attributes and beings. This is the stage

of God witnessing His essence for

Himself which is called the stage of

uniqueness (of God) or the stage of “or

nearer”.

🍃 3. The stage of the Second Appointment

3. The stage of the Second Appointment:

The stage of the Oneness (the distance

of two bows lengths). This is the stage of

all divine names and attributes. All

Knowing, All Mighty, All Living and all the

names of God is considered at this

stage.

After the stage of Oneness is the stage of A’yanneh sabiteh as named by Ibn Arabi. This is the stage of the manifestation of divine names and attributes. This is the stage of the appearance of the manifestations of divine names and attributes, manifestations which were concealed in the previous stage4.

Creation5 begins from this stage and the question is what would be the first creation. Some philosophers regarded the first creation or manifestation the intellect for it is immaterial and is not limited to space and time6.

🍃 The Law of the Noblest Contingent

From the time of Aristotle a law was accepted by philosophers known as the law of the Noblest Contingent; Muslim philosophers, whether the peripatetics, the illuminists as well as the transcendental metaphysics all regarded this law with special attention. The meaning of the law of the Noblest Contingent, in a nutshell, is that there is no leap in the cone of creation be it in the bow of descent or ascension.

This means in the bow of descent until and unless the Noblest Contingent doesn’t exist the less noble contingent cannot come into existence for the leap is impossible. Similarly, in the bow of ascension, unless and until a contingent fulfills the perfection of all the previous contingents, cannot elevate to a higher stage for leaping is impossible. The conclusion of this law is that the first manifestation of God must be the noblest of His creation.

Now the question is what is and who is the Noblest Creation of God? Numerous ahadith introduce the first manifestation of God as ‘the light of the lights’, ‘the light of Muhammad’, ‘water’, ‘the pen’, ‘the manifest Imam’, ‘the intellect’ and similar expressions which are different names for one reality who is by definition the noblest manifestation of divine attributes and for whose sake the rest of creation appeared.

According to ibn Arabi he is the perfect man who is the manifestation of the greatest name of God and all His attributes of beauty and glory. Ibn Arabi asserts that this is none other than the reality of Muhammadia.7

It is narrated from Prophet Muhammad (S) to have said about himself that ‘I am Qotham’ which means ‘I am the owner of comprehensiveness and the collection of all goodness’8. It is for this reason that in the supplication of the night of Mab’ath it is narrated in respect to the Prophet of Islam (S) “O Allah, Surely I ask You by Your greatest manifestation in this night and in this great month and Your most honoured messenger.”

Ibn Arabi in his mystical encyclopedia states that the first creation who is the nearest to God is the reality of Muhammad who is known as the intellect and is the master of the entire world and the first who appeared in the world of contingents. He furthers that the nearest to Him is Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) the Imam of the world and the secret of all the prophets9.

🍃 The First Manifestation in Ahadith

Numerous ahadith indicates that the first manifestation of God is the light of Muhammad and Ale Muhammad and all the rest are created in honour of them. Note that the light of Muhammad is an expression for his essence and spirit which is before the creation of matter.

Jabir ibn Abdullah said,

“I asked the Messenger of Allah what was the first that God created? The prophet replied, “Light of your prophet O Jabir. God created him and then from him created every good.”10

Jabir ibn Yazid narrated from Imam al-Baqir (as),

“O Jabir. Verily the first that God created was Muhammad and his pure family. Those who guide and are guided. They were the spirits of light before the mighty hand of God.’ Jabir said I asked the Imam what he meant by the spirits of light? The Imam replied, ‘Shadow of the Light’”11.

It seems the meaning of the shadow of the Light refers to the fact that God is “The Light’ as is refers to in Ayatul Noor and the spirit of Muhammad is His shadow and His first Manifestation.

Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated from the Prophet (S), “The first that the Almighty God created was my light who created it from His Light and it derived from the glory of His greatness. Then that light approached circulating by the might until it reached the Glory of the Greatness in seventy thousand years and then prostrated for God in glorification. Then from that light the light of Ali gushed out and so my light was encompassing by the Glory and the light of Ali was encompassing by the Might.12”

Abu Dharr al Ghifari in a long hadith in description of the journey of ascension narrated from the prophet,

“I said O angels of my Lord. Do you know us as we deserved to be known? They said, ‘O Prophet of God. How don’t we know you and you are the first creation of God, He created you as the spirits of light from His Light in a light from the sublimity of His Dignity and the sublimity of His Kingdom and the sublimity of His Honourable Face.”13

Imam Ali (as) said,

“Surely the Almighty God created from the light of Muhammad twenty oceans of light. In every ocean there is knowledge that none other than God knows about… Surely the light of Muhammad was sent down from the ocean of dignity so he came down to the ocean of patience then to the ocean of reverence then to the ocean of humbleness then to the ocean of satisfaction then to the ocean of loyalty then to the ocean of forbearing then to the ocean of piety… Until it went through twenty oceans. When it exited from the last ocean the Almighty God said ‘O My friend and the master of My messengers and the first of My creation and the last of My messengers, you are the intercessor on the day of gathering.’ Thus the light prostrated then he stood up and from that light many drops dropped that they numbered 124000 drops. So the Almighty God created from every drop of his light a prophet.14”

✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾ 🌺 ✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾

🍃🕊🍃 References 🍃🕊🍃

1. Refer to (27:12): "Now put thy hand into

thy bosom, and it will come forth white

without stain (or harm): (these are)

among the nine Signs (thou wilt take) to

Pharaoh and his people: for they are a

people rebellious in transgression."

2. Refer to (6:75): “So also did We show

Ibrahim the power and the laws of the

heavens and the earth, that he might

(with understanding) have certitude.”

3. The West Griffin: Anqa Maghrib.

4. Ibn Fanari, Mesbahul-Ouns, (pg. 72)

Mulla Sadra, al-Asfar (vol. 2. pg. 332)

5. Creation in a mystical term is

‘manifestation’ of divine attributes,

not production. That means God will

demonstrate whatever which did exist

in the world of divine knowledge

(Faydh Aqdas), in the perceptible world.

6. Sharhe Manzoumeh (vol. 2. pg. 58-59)

7. Sharheh Fusoos al Hikam, Fass Adami.

8. Bihar al-Anwar (vol. 16, pg. 130)

9. Al-Fotoohatul Makkiah (vol. 2, pg. 227)

10. Bihar al-Anwar (15:24)

11. Al Kafi (1:442£

12. Bihar al-Anwar (25:22)

13. Bihar al-Anwar (vol.1, 5:8)

14. Bihar al-Anwar (57:200)

✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾ 🌺 ✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾

🍃🕊🍃 al-Islam.org 🍃🕊🍃

🍃 By ~ Sh. Mansour Leghaei 🍃

.

[instantpansies]

adhd ramble time!!!

so i'm researching significant films from queer history right, bc i already have an interest in that and also bc of this queer media archive nick and i are working on (see my pinned post)

anyways i found the silent film Salomé (1922), which stars Alla Nazimova (generally went by just Nazimova), a Russian Jewish sapphic silent film star. several of the female characters are played by men in drag and there were supposedly several gay cast members but yk. altogether the film is not extremely canonically queer but is definitely one of those queercoded fun experimental things from the silent era. it's impressive though, and a very expensive and cool-looking production (watch here)

so i decided to research nazimova who as it turns out was in a lavender marriage for a while and had several relationships with women. her most steady girlfriend was Glesca Marshall, another actress, who lived with her in the hotel nazimova established and then sold off, the legendary Garden of Allah Hotel. marshall was later buried with another girlfriend, Emily Woodruff. interestingly, nazimova's goddaughter was Nancy Davis, who would eventually marry Ronald Reagan. yeah.

another of nazimova's girlfriends was the surrealist/magical realist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor, who was at one point the editor of Vogue, was influenced by and in turn influenced several huge names in the surrealist movement, and. wow. check out her paintings!!! that's so cool!!!

there are so many! here's the link where i found all of these.

in conclusion this is your sign to go wikipedia surfing about a random topic!! these paintings weren't even on wikipedia i had to do extra research but it was so fun! so yeah check out all these people bc they're so cool. thanks bye ok

[thesecretattic]

Lastly before dying - this girl has no religion being religious means at least believing u are not the most supreme force in this whole universe (even if there’s no God) it means living in harmony with other beings or modesty, I’m not giving a ted talk I just love being smart or studying things, it means having faith in whatever love, care etc. It also means having affirmations in diff languages which draw out all the goodness in the form of Good luck or in short “God.” They’re so bad how are they going on supporting her proves her power they are ready to kll ppl even me they know I won’t be able to survive like this. Why wud he even take her name again? I don’t want this I’m dyin they klld me. How unfair? Punar Janam toh? Humne theka leke Rakhe haï? She should’ve been distanced from us put her in some mental asylum or let her learn a lesson with her soulmate Vaishnav. Why is she with someone of my caliber? And I’ll get what? Rapd? Are u crazy? He might write now about all that EXPLAIN THE DEATHS FIRST. Or the unfairness I’ve faced those 11 yrs of torture or why you are leaving me to die n why she’s STILL SITTING THERE. His parents will say the rules will get stricter for this ghet—to or call girl hkrs NEVER get married that too after our marriage signs were coming my only hope with my husband after leaving me a virgin? That Saadi Biyah which gave her life undue power to kll more ppl was never public but her DIVORCE will be. Insta-Allah Ameen Summa Ameen even if there’s no God just to trggr u who hate Muslims. And it’s an affirmation anyway Gujju Me post was there but I realised I’m suffering due to ur community only SHAMELESS ppl for one Gujju CHAPPAN Vaibhavi & Charisma more Gujju girls were klld and THESE GUJJUS ENOYED IT for one mere uncouth ug cheap illiterate chappan with big big sandals and lanky legs n tacky sunflower print that’s how she is even on other ppl’s birthdays from behind see her pics I’ve shared she was always tacky stop snatching my life and fold and giving it her to play KINDLY TAKE THINGS IN UR STRIDE. Never hated you Harsh I loved you a lot “also?” She never did only I did it came too that u shud be with someone who’s afraid of losing you and she wasn’t are u mad? Why are u making someone write so much that too in this state bye forever you’ll never meet me I’m dying 😘😘😘😘😘😘🥰♥️♥️♥️😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

[theestervashti]

"The Pretend." From Esther 2: 10-11.

Change is often greeted with bitterness. Even if the changes are for the best, like women's voting rights, abolition, marriage equality, abortion rights, superstitious persons will always find ways to stir up trouble.

Stirring up trouble in favor of greater increments of human equity however, has always been a Jewish specialty. Early in the Torah, Abraham resolves political issues using his heart instead of his head, later God steps in and uses bombs against Sodom and Gomorrah, later a flood, also called the Beersheba to do it. The story of Moses challenging the Pharaoh needs no explanation. The God of Israel and His Arabic Self, Allah, are deeply ingrained against corruption and oppression and everyone knows it, but man will not oppose them. They are perhaps just too much fun for the oppressors.

I think of my own troubles with the Mormons and Republicans, who just want to use crystal meth all day, hang out in slings and use sexy machines on each other and their victims, many of whom are not old enough to even shave their pubes yet. They have resisted human equality, modernization, civilization, urbanization, all the signs of enlightenment are nowhere to be found, because they do not want to stop doing the things they do. They protect their interests to the death and have extorted members of nearly every governmnet on the planet, including every member of the Trump Cabinet, Republican Party, and Supreme Court.

They say the Bible gives them permission to do whatever they want. They think Jesus will atone for them if they claim they believe. Nowhere in any scripture does it state God atones for anyone. The Book of Mormon says God will atone for persons if they deliver others from suffering, there is an entire chapter in the Book that lists the conditions that can be exchanged for the unconditional: The verses even say atonement= meeting the demands of justice.

From 2 Nephi 9:

26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. 27 But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!

All of 2 Nephi is easy to understand. It says not a thing about excusing behaviors related to raping little boys or adults or making illegal porn movies all day.

Nonetheless, if we threaten such a way of life, the enemy will mount a defense and holocaust will result. This is the point where our story in Esther continues. We are facing now what is called a Mordecai, "a conflict between the law and its opposition" It has been a bitter fight. one that began long ago when we failed to recognize separation of Church and State, failed to send to those stinking six SCOTUS Justices that overturned RVW to prison, failed to arrest Donald Trump after it was discovered he and the Family Research Council cheated in the 2016 election, etc.

We are allowing the fight to continue because our vociferous opponents are willing to for their way of life with more emphasis than we are for ours.

Even though our stance is the more law abiding, the Mordecai comes about because of a little soft spot towards religious weirdoes we have taught ourselves to protect. Even if it means harming our own interests, we are too well trained.

The Book of Esther says therefore, the motivations behind religious sentiments banning oppression and violence must be kept a secret; they are however to be enforced. It doesn't matter if the sentiment to protect refugees is sacred or secular, the law says it must be done in order to keep society hinged.

When it appears that society is becoming unhinged, as in the sudden appearance of World War 3, the onset of heavy weather that lasts and lasts, and movements of large numbers of homeless people, we need to wonder about the laws we are supposed to respect and what is happening to them. Such questions, Esther states are resolved within the nationality.

Nations respect the rights of others and value peaceful relations which they know are essential for their survival and happiness. Nations like America, Russia, China, India, etc. which are run like dictatorships by unelected officials, those that prefer anarchy do not survive and do not die because they experienced too much happiness:

10 Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 

11 Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

The script says the path to law and order as a custom, as a way of life is a zig zag path, the one the Israelites followed on their way out of Egypt. Humanity was supposed to make this journey once- but we have decided to do it multiple times. Three World Wars is two too many. But now we know, right?

No we do not. Because we do not know our lineage or why the raving lunatics running this world do not resemble human beings and should not be here plaguing the rest of us. Mankind is supposed to be transmitting the knowledge of the mistakes of the past by reading the Torah, not recreating the mistakes themselves.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 10: The Number is 4220, ד‎בבאֶפֶס, "Because of the hatred of the font."

In our story, the mission of Nebuchadnezzar to the Persian Court was to establish order, but he used Jews to do it. Nebuchadnezzar means "to force the society to struggle with its leadership using the javelin of the law." Most government leaders do not welcome this. This is why Mordecai told Esther to keep her intentions secret.

Still like Ruth, she refused to join the working girls. Why?

v. 11: The Number is 9617, טואז‎ ‎, tuaz, "pretend". Esther was a goddess, a princess, she refused to pretend she needed to work. She was what is called a pack, a realized being.

When there is a happening in the courtyard, those indoors are expected to come outside. One cannot become the sovereign of the realm by living in a harem, hidden from the world, completely oblivious.

As the Book of Mormon says, Esther pacing in the courtyard is a cry for justice, one that should upon utterance should bring everyone running to see what is the matter.

[islamicloveduas]

Powerful Dua For Istikhara For Marriage

Whenever we are in a problem we seek Allah’s guidance to overcome them and make several duas. Istikhara is a prayer that seeks His guidance for making important decisions in specific situations. Through this Muslim people look for the right direction to move forward in their lives. Istikhara means Khair or good, it involves different dua for making decisions. However, a dua for Istikhara for marriage is the dua to make life decisions. 

In a person’s life marriage is the most important decision to make. Finding the right person to marry is necessary and Istikhara dua will help you in this. However, with this dua, one can seek Allah’s intervention in their matters. After reciting such prayers one should start noticing small changes in their lives. Allah gives different signs that you have to understand to make the right decision. Therefore, islamicloveduas.com is the place where you will get different prayers to seek Allah’s guidance.

Benefits Of Istikhara Dua

Istikhara is an Islamic practice that involves making a petition to Allah for guidance when one is unsure about the best course of action. Here are a few perceived benefits:

It entails asking for Allah’s guidance and wisdom in decision-making. Istikhara allows people to demonstrate their dependence on His knowledge and wisdom.

Individuals who practice Istikhara aspire to get clarity in their decisions. This gives them peace of mind, knowing that they have sought Allah’s counsel.

Muslims believe that Istikhara can shield them from making poor judgments that have negative effects. As a result, they rely on Allah’s signs to steer them clear of dangerous traps. 

Engaging in such prayers might increase one’s confidence and trust in Allah’s purpose. It supports the concept that Allah cares about His people and leads them in the best way possible.

Dua is a way to deepen one’s spiritual relationship with Allah. Individuals’ relationships with their Creator are strengthened when they turn to Him in times of uncertainty.

Istikhara represents an attitude of submission to Allah’s will. It acknowledges that human understanding is limited and  Allah alone knows what is best for His followers.

Important Dua For Istikhara For Marriage

This dua will help one make supplications for making the right decisions for their life. Marriage is one of the most necessary decisions of a person’s life. Choosing the perfect life partner requires calmness as well as a positive mindset. Therefore, people turn to Allah to seek his guidance and blessing to make a decision. The dua for Istikhara for marriage helps people to understand His signs for the right choice and do what is beneficial for them. 

“alllahumm ‘innak taqdir wala ‘aqdir wataelam wala ‘aelam wa’ant ealam alghuyub , fa’iin ra’ayt ‘ann fi falanat khayraan li fi dini wadunyay wakhirati faqdurha li wa’iin kan ghayruha khayr minha li fi dini wakhirati faqdurha li

alllahumm ‘innak taqdir wala ‘aqdir wataelam wala ‘aelam wa’ant eallam alghuyub , fa’iin ra’ayt ‘ann fi falanat khayraan li fi dini wadunyay wakhirati faqdurha li wa’iin kan ghayruha khayr minha li fi dini wakhirati faqdurha li”

“O Allah (), You have powers and I have no powers and You know and I do not know, and You know the condition of the Unseen. Thus if You see that this woman/man (here mention her/his name) is good for me concerning my Deen, world, and Akhirah then make it possible that I marry her/him, and if besides her/him there be another woman/man which is better for me concerning Deen, world, and Akhirah then specify ber/his for me”

[yaraheemu]

Understanding Istikhara Dua for Marriage: A Comprehensive Guide

Marriage, according to Islam, is much more than the union of two souls; it is a critical social and spiritual compact. Given the gravity of such a decision, many Muslims refer to Istikhara, a special prayer for seeking Allah's guidance, ensuring that the choice of life partner aligns with divine wisdom. This blog will delve deep into what Istikhara dua for marriage is, how to perform it, and answer common questions that surround this blessed practice.

What is Istikhara?

Istikhara derives from the Arabic word "khair," meaning good. Istikhara is a prayer for seeking the best from Allah when faced with a significant decision. When it comes to marriage, Istikhara helps to seek Allah's guidance to choose the right partner, ensuring that the decision is beneficial in this life and the Hereafter.

Why Perform Istikhara for Marriage?

Marriage istikhara is essential because it:

Seeks Divine Guidance: Ensures that the decision aligns with Allah's wisdom and plan for you.

Provides Peace of Mind: Helps in finding tranquility and certainty in your decision-making process.

Fosters Trust in Allah: Reinforces your faith in Allah's plan and decrees, knowing He knows what is best for you.

How to Perform Istikhara for Marriage

Make a Sincere Intention: Before starting, clear your heart of any biases or predetermined choices. Have the sincere intention to seek Allah's guidance.

Perform Wudu (Ablution): As with all prayers, it is important to be in a state of physical purity.

Pray Two Rakats: Perform two units of voluntary prayer (Salat al-Istikhara). In the first Rakat, after Surah Al-Fatiha, recite Surah Al-Kafirun. In the second Rakat, after Surah Al-Fatiha, recite Surah Al-Ikhlas.

Recite the Istikhara Dua: After completing the prayer, recite the Istikhara Dua for marriage with sincerity:

Arabic:

Allahumma inni astakhayruk bi-'ilmik; wa astaqdiruk bi-qudratik; wa as-aluk min fadhlik al-'azim; fa-innaka taqdiru wal a aqdiru; wa ta'lamu wa la a'lamu wa anta 'allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma in kunta 'alimah an hadha al-amr — khayrun li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa 'aqibati amri — (or he said: fi 'ajili amri wa ajilihi), faqdirhu li thumma yassirhu li thumma barik li fih. Wa in kunta 'alimah an hadha al-amr — shar run li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa 'aqibati amri — (or he said: fi 'ajili amri wa ajilihi), fasrifhu 'anni wasrifni 'anhu waqdir li al-khayr haythu kan thumma ardhini bih.

Translation:

"O Allah, I seek Your guidance [in making a choice] by virtue of Your knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue of Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You have power, I have none. And You know, I know not. You are the Knower of hidden things. O Allah, if in Your knowledge, this matter (mention it) is good for me both in this world and in the Hereafter (or in my religion, my livelihood, and my affairs), then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge, this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood, and my affairs (or in this world and the Hereafter)), then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and ordain for me the good wherever it may be, and make me pleased with it."

Reflect and Notice: After conducting the Istikhara, go about your daily life. Pay attention to any signs, feelings, or thoughts that may guide you towards a decision. Allah's guidance might come in various forms, such as dreams, feelings of ease or discomfort, or clear signs.

To know more in detail about istikhara, you can visit our website and see how our special istikhara changed the life of many people.

[ahlulbaytnetworks]

🍃🕊🍃 Prophet Muhammad (S), A Divine Mercy For The Worlds

🍃 Preface

Each and every one of the Prophets (pbbuta) is a manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes. As there is no repetition in Divine Manifestation, there is no repetition in the story of the Prophets. The story of every Prophet is unique in its style.

What happened with Prophet Noah (as), Prophet Ibrahim (as), Prophet Moses (as), and Prophet Jesus (as) did not repeat for any other Prophet, nor did what happen with other Prophets happen for these Prophets. For, every Messenger of God demonstrates a particular divinity, unlike the man made stories in which their themes are nearly the same. We all know that Iranian and Indian movies must end with a marriage ceremony. The theme of Hollywood movies is nothing other than sex or violence.

All Prophets are the Signs of Allah and the shadow of ‘The Light of the heavens and the earth’. Nonetheless, the holy Messenger of Islam (S) was the shadow of ‘and there is none like unto Him’. Thus, the story of the life of Prophet Muhammad (S) overshadows the stories of all the previous Prophets, as he is the ring and the seal of all of them.

🍃 The Ranks of the Prophets (pbbuta)

When the Almighty Allah chooses a human being for His great divine mission, he must enjoy the highest degrees of virtues. Hence, the messengers of Allah are the most virtuous of people on earth.

Are there any degrees in rank amongst the Prophets themselves? The holy Quran confirms that whilst the messengers of Allah are more virtuous than other people, there are degrees in rank and preference in virtues amongst them. The Almighty Allah states:

“Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees (of honour); and to Jesus, the son of Mary, We gave clear proofs and evidences and supported him with the Holy Spirit.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

“And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others, and to David We gave the Psalms.”

🍃 (17:55) 🍃

Whist the demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ (Telka in Arabic) is utilized in the first Ayah to express their higher status in comparison to other people; the rest of the Ayah clearly indicates the degrees of the Prophets are not equal.

Although the ranks of the Prophets are not the same in the sight of God, they are all His Messengers, absolute obedient servants, and as such we should not make any distinction in that sense between any of them. Thus, Islam denotes the wrong dogma of the divinity of Christ and blames Christians for exaggerating about the personality of Prophet Jesus. The Holy Quran as such teaches the Muslims:

“Say (O Muslims), We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim, Ishmael, Isaa, Jacob, and to the offspring of the twelve sons of Jacob, and that which has been given to Moses, and Jesus, and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted.”

🍃 (2:136) 🍃

The different degree of the Prophets in their ranks does not also mean they differed between themselves. The Prophets were like teachers of one school teaching one subject (Islam) for different grades. Should all the Prophets descend on earth and live in one city, there will be no disagreement among them whatsoever.

Thus, the Almighty Allah in explaining the degrees of the Prophets states:

“We preferred some of them above others”. But to state the different opinion between the ordinary humans, He states: “If Allah had willed, succeeding generations would not have fought against each other, after clear Signs of Allah had come to them, but they differed - some of them believed and others disbelieved.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

🍃 Muhammad, the Most Preferred Prophet (S)

“Amongst all the Prophets and the Messengers of Allah, the last and the Seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (S) is the most preferred of all and the highest in rank in the sight of Allah. The Almighty Allah states: ‘Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees’.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

The phrase ‘others He raised to degrees’ is meant for Prophet Muhammad (S). There are several reasons as to why the Almighty Allah has raised the degrees of His last Messengers above all other Prophets. The following are some examples:

The Almighty Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (S) but as a mercy for the worlds. Thus, he must be the most virtuous of all creation, material and immaterial. Allah states:

“and We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the worlds”.

🍃 (21:107) 🍃

The Almighty Allah elevated the name of Prophet Muhammad (S) to be declared five times a day after the Name of Allah during Adhan and Iqama.

“And have We not raised high your fame?”

🍃 (94:4) 🍃

The holy Quran considers the obedience to Prophet Muhammad (S) equal to the obedience to God.

“He who obeys the Messenger, has indeed obeyed Allah.” A covenant with Prophet Muhammad is a covenant with God. “Verily, those who give pledge to you (O Muhammad) they are giving pledge to Allah.”

🍃 (48:10) 🍃

Satisfaction of Prophet Muhammad is coupled with the satisfaction of Allah.

“It is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad).”

🍃 (9:62) 🍃

Answering the call of Prophet Muhammad (S) is regarded the same as answering the call of the Almighty Allah.

“O you who believe! Answer Allah and (His) Messenger when he calls you.”

🍃 (8:24) 🍃

The Almighty Allah honoured Moses (as) by granting him nine Signs (miracles)1 but Allah established every sentence of the Quran – which was granted to Prophet Muhammad - as a Sign (miracle) and calls for a challenge upon all the humans and the jinns if they could produce something like unto it. The main miracle of Prophet Muhammad, i.e. the holy Quran is more virtuous than the miracles of the previous Prophets, because not only it is the verbatim Word of God, it is an everlasting miracle.

If the miracle of Prophet Muhammad (S) is more virtuous than the miracles of the previous Prophets, then Prophet Muhammad himself must also be more virtuous than other Prophets. The Almighty God addressed the Prophets with their names. For instance, He says:

“O Moses!” (20:10),

or

“O Adam!” (2:35),

or

“O Ibrahim!” (37:104).

But He is addressing the Prophet of Islam with his title ‘O Messenger!” or “O Prophet!” which indicates a special honour.

The Almighty Allah ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam (as) out of respect to him, but ordered the angels to give their Salat to Prophet Muhammad (S) in order for them to be nearer to Allah. Also, Salat for Prophet Muhammad (S) continues until the Day of Judgment, whereas the prostration for Adam (as) had to be offered only once. Moreover, Allah ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam (as) in respect of the light of Muhammad (S) that Adam (as) had on his forehead. In short, all the virtues of the previous Prophets were also given to Prophet Muhammad (S) in addition to his own unique virtues.

🍃 Unique Characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S)

As mentioned earlier, the Prophets of Allah are the manifestation of divine beauty and names, and the Prophet of Islam demonstrates the divine attribute of ‘there is none like unto Him’. The following are some of the unique characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S).

• The light and spirit of Muhammad was the

first creation of Allah.

• Universal Mission: The most we can say

about the scope of the mission of the

previous prophets is that their mission

included all people of their time across

the globe and remained in force until the

advent of the next law-making prophet.

The mission of the Prophet of Islam,

however, was for the whole of mankind

across the globe and until the Day of

Judgment. The Almighty Allah states:

“And We have not sent you (O

Muhammad) except as a giver of glad

tidings and a warner to all mankind.”

🍃 (34:28) 🍃

• He is mercy for the whole worlds:

“And We have not sent you but as a

mercy for the worlds.”

🍃 (21:107) 🍃

• The seal of the Prophets:

“Muhammad is not the father of any of

your men, but he is the Messenger of

Allah and the last (end) of the

Prophets.”

🍃 (36:40) 🍃

• His Scripture is a protector and a guard

over all the previous scriptures,

safeguarding the truth in them which has

been perverted by man throughout

history.

“And We have sent down to you

(O Muhammad) the Book in truth,

confirming the Scripture that came

before it and Muhayman

(a protector and controller) over it.”

🍃 (5:48) 🍃

• The religion of Prophet Muhammad (S)

was Islam in its complete form with no

perversion in it, and hence it is the right

and straight (Qayyem) religion.

“So set you (O Muhammad) your face on

the straight and right religion.”

🍃 (30:43) 🍃

🍃 The World of al-Thar (Particles)

Has there been any world before this physical world? Or to be more precise, is there any world other than the world of matter? Did creation begin with the creation of the physical world or are there other types of life beyond this matter?

Many Ayaat in the Quran and numerous Ahadith indicate that there has been a world of spirit prior to this physical world. All humans had a form of existence in that world. It was in that world that the Almighty Allah introduced Himself to mankind and took a covenant from them not to worship other than Him. Mankind in that world witnessed the Almighty God and was free from the filth of polytheism and doubts.

The late Allamah Tabatabei suggested in his al-Mizan that the world of al-thar does not have a temporal preceding to this, our physical, world rather it does exist with it and encompasses it. It is the world of Sovereign (malakout) that the Almighty Allah showed to Prophet Ibrahim2 (as); it was in the world where the instinct of knowing God was enforced in man’s nature.

The following Ayaat reveals the existence of the world of al-Thar:

“And when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed and made them testify as to themselves (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! We testify, lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: Verily, we have been unaware of this.”

🍃 (7:172) 🍃

“How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return.”

🍃 (2:28) 🍃

One of the most complicated philosophical issues is about the relation of a changeable to the Unchangeable, i.e. the relation between the creation and the Creator. Muslim philosophers have dealt with this issue under the topic of ‘actuality and potentiality’.

It is proven in Islamic mysticism as well as transcendental metaphysics of Mulla-Sadra that the Almighty Allah is the Extended Existence (wujud munbasit) in all respects. The first being who appeared by God and became His first manifestation, must be the nearest to God and demonstrate the most possible divine Names and Attributes.

🍃 Stages of the Bow of Descent

To understand the concept of the first creation and manifestation of God, you need to activate your sense of imagination and fly out of the world of matter. Let your mind go beyond the four dimensions of matter. Now you are in the world of spirit. You may even endeavour to pass the entire contingent world be it matter or immaterial worlds. Muslim mystics consider the stages of life as follows:

🍃 1. The stage of the Unseen of the Unseens

1. The stage of the Unseen of the

Unseens3: In this stage all that is

considered is but the essence of Allah

without even any Names or Attributes, let

alone His creation. This is the stage that

no contingent being can ever reach.

🍃 2. The Stage of the First Appointment

2. The Stage of the First Appointment: The

stage of Uniqueness: (ahadiyyat). This is

the stage where one being or the

appointment of one being can be

considered. What we mean by the

appointment of one being is that an

attribute could be related to God. i.e. an

attribute that is the source of all other

attributes and beings. This is the stage

of God witnessing His essence for

Himself which is called the stage of

uniqueness (of God) or the stage of “or

nearer”.

🍃 3. The stage of the Second Appointment

3. The stage of the Second Appointment:

The stage of the Oneness (the distance

of two bows lengths). This is the stage of

all divine names and attributes. All

Knowing, All Mighty, All Living and all the

names of God is considered at this

stage.

After the stage of Oneness is the stage of A’yanneh sabiteh as named by Ibn Arabi. This is the stage of the manifestation of divine names and attributes. This is the stage of the appearance of the manifestations of divine names and attributes, manifestations which were concealed in the previous stage4.

Creation5 begins from this stage and the question is what would be the first creation. Some philosophers regarded the first creation or manifestation the intellect for it is immaterial and is not limited to space and time6.

🍃 The Law of the Noblest Contingent

From the time of Aristotle a law was accepted by philosophers known as the law of the Noblest Contingent; Muslim philosophers, whether the peripatetics, the illuminists as well as the transcendental metaphysics all regarded this law with special attention. The meaning of the law of the Noblest Contingent, in a nutshell, is that there is no leap in the cone of creation be it in the bow of descent or ascension.

This means in the bow of descent until and unless the Noblest Contingent doesn’t exist the less noble contingent cannot come into existence for the leap is impossible. Similarly, in the bow of ascension, unless and until a contingent fulfills the perfection of all the previous contingents, cannot elevate to a higher stage for leaping is impossible. The conclusion of this law is that the first manifestation of God must be the noblest of His creation.

Now the question is what is and who is the Noblest Creation of God? Numerous ahadith introduce the first manifestation of God as ‘the light of the lights’, ‘the light of Muhammad’, ‘water’, ‘the pen’, ‘the manifest Imam’, ‘the intellect’ and similar expressions which are different names for one reality who is by definition the noblest manifestation of divine attributes and for whose sake the rest of creation appeared.

According to ibn Arabi he is the perfect man who is the manifestation of the greatest name of God and all His attributes of beauty and glory. Ibn Arabi asserts that this is none other than the reality of Muhammadia.7

It is narrated from Prophet Muhammad (S) to have said about himself that ‘I am Qotham’ which means ‘I am the owner of comprehensiveness and the collection of all goodness’8. It is for this reason that in the supplication of the night of Mab’ath it is narrated in respect to the Prophet of Islam (S) “O Allah, Surely I ask You by Your greatest manifestation in this night and in this great month and Your most honoured messenger.”

Ibn Arabi in his mystical encyclopedia states that the first creation who is the nearest to God is the reality of Muhammad who is known as the intellect and is the master of the entire world and the first who appeared in the world of contingents. He furthers that the nearest to Him is Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) the Imam of the world and the secret of all the prophets9.

🍃 The First Manifestation in Ahadith

Numerous ahadith indicates that the first manifestation of God is the light of Muhammad and Ale Muhammad and all the rest are created in honour of them. Note that the light of Muhammad is an expression for his essence and spirit which is before the creation of matter.

Jabir ibn Abdullah said,

“I asked the Messenger of Allah what was the first that God created? The prophet replied, “Light of your prophet O Jabir. God created him and then from him created every good.”10

Jabir ibn Yazid narrated from Imam al-Baqir (as),

“O Jabir. Verily the first that God created was Muhammad and his pure family. Those who guide and are guided. They were the spirits of light before the mighty hand of God.’ Jabir said I asked the Imam what he meant by the spirits of light? The Imam replied, ‘Shadow of the Light’”11.

It seems the meaning of the shadow of the Light refers to the fact that God is “The Light’ as is refers to in Ayatul Noor and the spirit of Muhammad is His shadow and His first Manifestation.

Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated from the Prophet (S), “The first that the Almighty God created was my light who created it from His Light and it derived from the glory of His greatness. Then that light approached circulating by the might until it reached the Glory of the Greatness in seventy thousand years and then prostrated for God in glorification. Then from that light the light of Ali gushed out and so my light was encompassing by the Glory and the light of Ali was encompassing by the Might.12”

Abu Dharr al Ghifari in a long hadith in description of the journey of ascension narrated from the prophet,

“I said O angels of my Lord. Do you know us as we deserved to be known? They said, ‘O Prophet of God. How don’t we know you and you are the first creation of God, He created you as the spirits of light from His Light in a light from the sublimity of His Dignity and the sublimity of His Kingdom and the sublimity of His Honourable Face.”13

Imam Ali (as) said,

“Surely the Almighty God created from the light of Muhammad twenty oceans of light. In every ocean there is knowledge that none other than God knows about… Surely the light of Muhammad was sent down from the ocean of dignity so he came down to the ocean of patience then to the ocean of reverence then to the ocean of humbleness then to the ocean of satisfaction then to the ocean of loyalty then to the ocean of forbearing then to the ocean of piety… Until it went through twenty oceans. When it exited from the last ocean the Almighty God said ‘O My friend and the master of My messengers and the first of My creation and the last of My messengers, you are the intercessor on the day of gathering.’ Thus the light prostrated then he stood up and from that light many drops dropped that they numbered 124000 drops. So the Almighty God created from every drop of his light a prophet.14”

✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾ 🌺 ✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾

🍃🕊🍃 References 🍃🕊🍃

1. Refer to (27:12): "Now put thy hand into

thy bosom, and it will come forth white

without stain (or harm): (these are)

among the nine Signs (thou wilt take) to

Pharaoh and his people: for they are a

people rebellious in transgression."

2. Refer to (6:75): “So also did We show

Ibrahim the power and the laws of the

heavens and the earth, that he might

(with understanding) have certitude.”

3. The West Griffin: Anqa Maghrib.

4. Ibn Fanari, Mesbahul-Ouns, (pg. 72)

Mulla Sadra, al-Asfar (vol. 2. pg. 332)

5. Creation in a mystical term is

‘manifestation’ of divine attributes,

not production. That means God will

demonstrate whatever which did exist

in the world of divine knowledge

(Faydh Aqdas), in the perceptible world.

6. Sharhe Manzoumeh (vol. 2. pg. 58-59)

7. Sharheh Fusoos al Hikam, Fass Adami.

8. Bihar al-Anwar (vol. 16, pg. 130)

9. Al-Fotoohatul Makkiah (vol. 2, pg. 227)

10. Bihar al-Anwar (15:24)

11. Al Kafi (1:442£

12. Bihar al-Anwar (25:22)

13. Bihar al-Anwar (vol.1, 5:8)

14. Bihar al-Anwar (57:200)

✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾ 🌺 ✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾

🍃🕊🍃 al-Islam.org 🍃🕊🍃

🍃 By ~ Sh. Mansour Leghaei 🍃

.

[rueyam]

Salam <3

Thank you so much for answering my message, I really appreciate it. May Allah bless you <3

I think I’m going to end it with him, it just doesn’t feel right. At this point, after 7 meetings I should have felt something grow emotionally but it has not. Last time he told his feelings and was very kind and open about me but I don’t feel anything back. It’s so sad, so sad that I don’t feel anything back, sad to leave a great guy like him. He’s been paying for food and coffees every time. He even bought different board game for us to play so it gets easier to talk to each other and bc I brought up in one of the meetings before that we’ve got some board games at home but I have no one to play with (I just said it without any intentions, I wasn’t even thinking about it, I was just talking when we were talking about different board games). Like that’s how he is.

It feels like Allah brought a good guy like him to me after a long period of prayers for a good potential spouse, but here I am throwing away such an opportunity. It feels like I’m not appreciating what Allah has sent me. But I can’t help it, I don’t feel any attraction. What if my feelings doesn’t grow after marriage. Sometimes I start imagining how things could be and I get like mini moments of excitement but later on getting back to reality and realizing it’s only fake scenarios that gives me these good feelings but in reality I can’t go and strive for these fake scenarios that might not even happen. Like I tried to talk myself into it, you know when they say “fake it till you make it”, but nothing happens emotionally only like tiny tiny excitement but those disappears fast.

Last time I told him that it feels like he’s way further than me emotionally, he said what he felt but later said that he doesn’t attach himself fast to people, but from what I’ve seen and heard from him he does (Allah know best ofc). And that’s what I’m afraid of, making someone grow feelings for me and me prolonging this situation just bc I want to see if my feelings grow towards him but only to end up not wanting it and at that point him being much more emotionally invested in me. Even tho I was open about this and said that my emotions are not there yet and it could take a long time he’s said it’s ok that I shouldn’t worry, but I do. Do you see how good he is just him saying that?

I don’t even know how to tell him that I don’t want to continue in a good way. It sounds good in my head but whenever I speak it’s harder to articulate everything in clarity when it comes to these kind of things. He took my number last time which I actually didn’t want to give (at least not now, so far it has been our brothers whos been helping us to meet). I want to escape and just write it through a message but that wouldn’t be nice. It’s better face to face to show respect, not only for him but also for his brother (best friends with my brother) and his family.

uuuuugggghhhhhh

You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to. Salam <3

hi luv wa alaykum salam i wanted to answer at a time where i feel emotionally capable. i think you needed a last closure or sign to make this decision clear for you. please don’t feel sorry for not having feelings for him, that is not something to feel bad for. it is not something you can control! sometimes people can vibe and share the same energy w someone without developing romantic feelings for them and you not having them for him doesn’t make him a bad person either! i can tell he is a good guy from what you said, but some things just don’t work out, no matter how much you think it would be right. think as this; God has another plan for me, a plan that will satisfy me a lot more in the future. inshAllah. your feelings are valid and will bring you closer to what you are meant for. i hope you are doing good, always <3 thank you and may Allah bless you too! 🩷

[loverandservantoftheahlulbayt]

🍃🕊🍃 Prophet Muhammad (S), A Divine Mercy For The Worlds

🍃 Preface

Each and every one of the Prophets (pbbuta) is a manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes. As there is no repetition in Divine Manifestation, there is no repetition in the story of the Prophets. The story of every Prophet is unique in its style.

What happened with Prophet Noah (as), Prophet Ibrahim (as), Prophet Moses (as), and Prophet Jesus (as) did not repeat for any other Prophet, nor did what happen with other Prophets happen for these Prophets. For, every Messenger of God demonstrates a particular divinity, unlike the man made stories in which their themes are nearly the same. We all know that Iranian and Indian movies must end with a marriage ceremony. The theme of Hollywood movies is nothing other than sex or violence.

All Prophets are the Signs of Allah and the shadow of ‘The Light of the heavens and the earth’. Nonetheless, the holy Messenger of Islam (S) was the shadow of ‘and there is none like unto Him’. Thus, the story of the life of Prophet Muhammad (S) overshadows the stories of all the previous Prophets, as he is the ring and the seal of all of them.

🍃 The Ranks of the Prophets (pbbuta)

When the Almighty Allah chooses a human being for His great divine mission, he must enjoy the highest degrees of virtues. Hence, the messengers of Allah are the most virtuous of people on earth.

Are there any degrees in rank amongst the Prophets themselves? The holy Quran confirms that whilst the messengers of Allah are more virtuous than other people, there are degrees in rank and preference in virtues amongst them. The Almighty Allah states:

“Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees (of honour); and to Jesus, the son of Mary, We gave clear proofs and evidences and supported him with the Holy Spirit.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

“And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others, and to David We gave the Psalms.”

🍃 (17:55) 🍃

Whist the demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ (Telka in Arabic) is utilized in the first Ayah to express their higher status in comparison to other people; the rest of the Ayah clearly indicates the degrees of the Prophets are not equal.

Although the ranks of the Prophets are not the same in the sight of God, they are all His Messengers, absolute obedient servants, and as such we should not make any distinction in that sense between any of them. Thus, Islam denotes the wrong dogma of the divinity of Christ and blames Christians for exaggerating about the personality of Prophet Jesus. The Holy Quran as such teaches the Muslims:

“Say (O Muslims), We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim, Ishmael, Isaa, Jacob, and to the offspring of the twelve sons of Jacob, and that which has been given to Moses, and Jesus, and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted.”

🍃 (2:136) 🍃

The different degree of the Prophets in their ranks does not also mean they differed between themselves. The Prophets were like teachers of one school teaching one subject (Islam) for different grades. Should all the Prophets descend on earth and live in one city, there will be no disagreement among them whatsoever.

Thus, the Almighty Allah in explaining the degrees of the Prophets states:

“We preferred some of them above others”. But to state the different opinion between the ordinary humans, He states: “If Allah had willed, succeeding generations would not have fought against each other, after clear Signs of Allah had come to them, but they differed - some of them believed and others disbelieved.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

🍃 Muhammad, the Most Preferred Prophet (S)

“Amongst all the Prophets and the Messengers of Allah, the last and the Seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (S) is the most preferred of all and the highest in rank in the sight of Allah. The Almighty Allah states: ‘Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees’.”

🍃 (2:253) 🍃

The phrase ‘others He raised to degrees’ is meant for Prophet Muhammad (S). There are several reasons as to why the Almighty Allah has raised the degrees of His last Messengers above all other Prophets. The following are some examples:

The Almighty Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (S) but as a mercy for the worlds. Thus, he must be the most virtuous of all creation, material and immaterial. Allah states:

“and We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the worlds”.

🍃 (21:107) 🍃

The Almighty Allah elevated the name of Prophet Muhammad (S) to be declared five times a day after the Name of Allah during Adhan and Iqama.

“And have We not raised high your fame?”

🍃 (94:4) 🍃

The holy Quran considers the obedience to Prophet Muhammad (S) equal to the obedience to God.

“He who obeys the Messenger, has indeed obeyed Allah.” A covenant with Prophet Muhammad is a covenant with God. “Verily, those who give pledge to you (O Muhammad) they are giving pledge to Allah.”

🍃 (48:10) 🍃

Satisfaction of Prophet Muhammad is coupled with the satisfaction of Allah.

“It is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad).”

🍃 (9:62) 🍃

Answering the call of Prophet Muhammad (S) is regarded the same as answering the call of the Almighty Allah.

“O you who believe! Answer Allah and (His) Messenger when he calls you.”

🍃 (8:24) 🍃

The Almighty Allah honoured Moses (as) by granting him nine Signs (miracles)1 but Allah established every sentence of the Quran – which was granted to Prophet Muhammad - as a Sign (miracle) and calls for a challenge upon all the humans and the jinns if they could produce something like unto it. The main miracle of Prophet Muhammad, i.e. the holy Quran is more virtuous than the miracles of the previous Prophets, because not only it is the verbatim Word of God, it is an everlasting miracle.

If the miracle of Prophet Muhammad (S) is more virtuous than the miracles of the previous Prophets, then Prophet Muhammad himself must also be more virtuous than other Prophets. The Almighty God addressed the Prophets with their names. For instance, He says:

“O Moses!” (20:10),

or

“O Adam!” (2:35),

or

“O Ibrahim!” (37:104).

But He is addressing the Prophet of Islam with his title ‘O Messenger!” or “O Prophet!” which indicates a special honour.

The Almighty Allah ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam (as) out of respect to him, but ordered the angels to give their Salat to Prophet Muhammad (S) in order for them to be nearer to Allah. Also, Salat for Prophet Muhammad (S) continues until the Day of Judgment, whereas the prostration for Adam (as) had to be offered only once. Moreover, Allah ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam (as) in respect of the light of Muhammad (S) that Adam (as) had on his forehead. In short, all the virtues of the previous Prophets were also given to Prophet Muhammad (S) in addition to his own unique virtues.

🍃 Unique Characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S)

As mentioned earlier, the Prophets of Allah are the manifestation of divine beauty and names, and the Prophet of Islam demonstrates the divine attribute of ‘there is none like unto Him’. The following are some of the unique characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S).

• The light and spirit of Muhammad was the

first creation of Allah.

• Universal Mission: The most we can say

about the scope of the mission of the

previous prophets is that their mission

included all people of their time across

the globe and remained in force until the

advent of the next law-making prophet.

The mission of the Prophet of Islam,

however, was for the whole of mankind

across the globe and until the Day of

Judgment. The Almighty Allah states:

“And We have not sent you (O

Muhammad) except as a giver of glad

tidings and a warner to all mankind.”

🍃 (34:28) 🍃

• He is mercy for the whole worlds:

“And We have not sent you but as a

mercy for the worlds.”

🍃 (21:107) 🍃

• The seal of the Prophets:

“Muhammad is not the father of any of

your men, but he is the Messenger of

Allah and the last (end) of the

Prophets.”

🍃 (36:40) 🍃

• His Scripture is a protector and a guard

over all the previous scriptures,

safeguarding the truth in them which has

been perverted by man throughout

history.

“And We have sent down to you

(O Muhammad) the Book in truth,

confirming the Scripture that came

before it and Muhayman

(a protector and controller) over it.”

🍃 (5:48) 🍃

• The religion of Prophet Muhammad (S)

was Islam in its complete form with no

perversion in it, and hence it is the right

and straight (Qayyem) religion.

“So set you (O Muhammad) your face on

the straight and right religion.”

🍃 (30:43) 🍃

🍃 The World of al-Thar (Particles)

Has there been any world before this physical world? Or to be more precise, is there any world other than the world of matter? Did creation begin with the creation of the physical world or are there other types of life beyond this matter?

Many Ayaat in the Quran and numerous Ahadith indicate that there has been a world of spirit prior to this physical world. All humans had a form of existence in that world. It was in that world that the Almighty Allah introduced Himself to mankind and took a covenant from them not to worship other than Him. Mankind in that world witnessed the Almighty God and was free from the filth of polytheism and doubts.

The late Allamah Tabatabei suggested in his al-Mizan that the world of al-thar does not have a temporal preceding to this, our physical, world rather it does exist with it and encompasses it. It is the world of Sovereign (malakout) that the Almighty Allah showed to Prophet Ibrahim2 (as); it was in the world where the instinct of knowing God was enforced in man’s nature.

The following Ayaat reveals the existence of the world of al-Thar:

“And when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed and made them testify as to themselves (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! We testify, lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: Verily, we have been unaware of this.”

🍃 (7:172) 🍃

“How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return.”

🍃 (2:28) 🍃

One of the most complicated philosophical issues is about the relation of a changeable to the Unchangeable, i.e. the relation between the creation and the Creator. Muslim philosophers have dealt with this issue under the topic of ‘actuality and potentiality’.

It is proven in Islamic mysticism as well as transcendental metaphysics of Mulla-Sadra that the Almighty Allah is the Extended Existence (wujud munbasit) in all respects. The first being who appeared by God and became His first manifestation, must be the nearest to God and demonstrate the most possible divine Names and Attributes.

🍃 Stages of the Bow of Descent

To understand the concept of the first creation and manifestation of God, you need to activate your sense of imagination and fly out of the world of matter. Let your mind go beyond the four dimensions of matter. Now you are in the world of spirit. You may even endeavour to pass the entire contingent world be it matter or immaterial worlds. Muslim mystics consider the stages of life as follows:

🍃 1. The stage of the Unseen of the Unseens

1. The stage of the Unseen of the

Unseens3: In this stage all that is

considered is but the essence of Allah

without even any Names or Attributes, let

alone His creation. This is the stage that

no contingent being can ever reach.

🍃 2. The Stage of the First Appointment

2. The Stage of the First Appointment: The

stage of Uniqueness: (ahadiyyat). This is

the stage where one being or the

appointment of one being can be

considered. What we mean by the

appointment of one being is that an

attribute could be related to God. i.e. an

attribute that is the source of all other

attributes and beings. This is the stage

of God witnessing His essence for

Himself which is called the stage of

uniqueness (of God) or the stage of “or

nearer”.

🍃 3. The stage of the Second Appointment

3. The stage of the Second Appointment:

The stage of the Oneness (the distance

of two bows lengths). This is the stage of

all divine names and attributes. All

Knowing, All Mighty, All Living and all the

names of God is considered at this

stage.

After the stage of Oneness is the stage of A’yanneh sabiteh as named by Ibn Arabi. This is the stage of the manifestation of divine names and attributes. This is the stage of the appearance of the manifestations of divine names and attributes, manifestations which were concealed in the previous stage4.

Creation5 begins from this stage and the question is what would be the first creation. Some philosophers regarded the first creation or manifestation the intellect for it is immaterial and is not limited to space and time6.

🍃 The Law of the Noblest Contingent

From the time of Aristotle a law was accepted by philosophers known as the law of the Noblest Contingent; Muslim philosophers, whether the peripatetics, the illuminists as well as the transcendental metaphysics all regarded this law with special attention. The meaning of the law of the Noblest Contingent, in a nutshell, is that there is no leap in the cone of creation be it in the bow of descent or ascension.

This means in the bow of descent until and unless the Noblest Contingent doesn’t exist the less noble contingent cannot come into existence for the leap is impossible. Similarly, in the bow of ascension, unless and until a contingent fulfills the perfection of all the previous contingents, cannot elevate to a higher stage for leaping is impossible. The conclusion of this law is that the first manifestation of God must be the noblest of His creation.

Now the question is what is and who is the Noblest Creation of God? Numerous ahadith introduce the first manifestation of God as ‘the light of the lights’, ‘the light of Muhammad’, ‘water’, ‘the pen’, ‘the manifest Imam’, ‘the intellect’ and similar expressions which are different names for one reality who is by definition the noblest manifestation of divine attributes and for whose sake the rest of creation appeared.

According to ibn Arabi he is the perfect man who is the manifestation of the greatest name of God and all His attributes of beauty and glory. Ibn Arabi asserts that this is none other than the reality of Muhammadia.7

It is narrated from Prophet Muhammad (S) to have said about himself that ‘I am Qotham’ which means ‘I am the owner of comprehensiveness and the collection of all goodness’8. It is for this reason that in the supplication of the night of Mab’ath it is narrated in respect to the Prophet of Islam (S) “O Allah, Surely I ask You by Your greatest manifestation in this night and in this great month and Your most honoured messenger.”

Ibn Arabi in his mystical encyclopedia states that the first creation who is the nearest to God is the reality of Muhammad who is known as the intellect and is the master of the entire world and the first who appeared in the world of contingents. He furthers that the nearest to Him is Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) the Imam of the world and the secret of all the prophets9.

🍃 The First Manifestation in Ahadith

Numerous ahadith indicates that the first manifestation of God is the light of Muhammad and Ale Muhammad and all the rest are created in honour of them. Note that the light of Muhammad is an expression for his essence and spirit which is before the creation of matter.

Jabir ibn Abdullah said,

“I asked the Messenger of Allah what was the first that God created? The prophet replied, “Light of your prophet O Jabir. God created him and then from him created every good.”10

Jabir ibn Yazid narrated from Imam al-Baqir (as),

“O Jabir. Verily the first that God created was Muhammad and his pure family. Those who guide and are guided. They were the spirits of light before the mighty hand of God.’ Jabir said I asked the Imam what he meant by the spirits of light? The Imam replied, ‘Shadow of the Light’”11.

It seems the meaning of the shadow of the Light refers to the fact that God is “The Light’ as is refers to in Ayatul Noor and the spirit of Muhammad is His shadow and His first Manifestation.

Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated from the Prophet (S), “The first that the Almighty God created was my light who created it from His Light and it derived from the glory of His greatness. Then that light approached circulating by the might until it reached the Glory of the Greatness in seventy thousand years and then prostrated for God in glorification. Then from that light the light of Ali gushed out and so my light was encompassing by the Glory and the light of Ali was encompassing by the Might.12”

Abu Dharr al Ghifari in a long hadith in description of the journey of ascension narrated from the prophet,

“I said O angels of my Lord. Do you know us as we deserved to be known? They said, ‘O Prophet of God. How don’t we know you and you are the first creation of God, He created you as the spirits of light from His Light in a light from the sublimity of His Dignity and the sublimity of His Kingdom and the sublimity of His Honourable Face.”13

Imam Ali (as) said,

“Surely the Almighty God created from the light of Muhammad twenty oceans of light. In every ocean there is knowledge that none other than God knows about… Surely the light of Muhammad was sent down from the ocean of dignity so he came down to the ocean of patience then to the ocean of reverence then to the ocean of humbleness then to the ocean of satisfaction then to the ocean of loyalty then to the ocean of forbearing then to the ocean of piety… Until it went through twenty oceans. When it exited from the last ocean the Almighty God said ‘O My friend and the master of My messengers and the first of My creation and the last of My messengers, you are the intercessor on the day of gathering.’ Thus the light prostrated then he stood up and from that light many drops dropped that they numbered 124000 drops. So the Almighty God created from every drop of his light a prophet.14”

✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾ 🌺 ✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾

🍃🕊🍃 References 🍃🕊🍃

1. Refer to (27:12): "Now put thy hand into

thy bosom, and it will come forth white

without stain (or harm): (these are)

among the nine Signs (thou wilt take) to

Pharaoh and his people: for they are a

people rebellious in transgression."

2. Refer to (6:75): “So also did We show

Ibrahim the power and the laws of the

heavens and the earth, that he might

(with understanding) have certitude.”

3. The West Griffin: Anqa Maghrib.

4. Ibn Fanari, Mesbahul-Ouns, (pg. 72)

Mulla Sadra, al-Asfar (vol. 2. pg. 332)

5. Creation in a mystical term is

‘manifestation’ of divine attributes,

not production. That means God will

demonstrate whatever which did exist

in the world of divine knowledge

(Faydh Aqdas), in the perceptible world.

6. Sharhe Manzoumeh (vol. 2. pg. 58-59)

7. Sharheh Fusoos al Hikam, Fass Adami.

8. Bihar al-Anwar (vol. 16, pg. 130)

9. Al-Fotoohatul Makkiah (vol. 2, pg. 227)

10. Bihar al-Anwar (15:24)

11. Al Kafi (1:442£

12. Bihar al-Anwar (25:22)

13. Bihar al-Anwar (vol.1, 5:8)

14. Bihar al-Anwar (57:200)

✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾ 🌺 ✾❀❃❁❋❁❃❀✾

🍃🕊🍃 al-Islam.org 🍃🕊🍃

🍃 By ~ Sh. Mansour Leghaei 🍃

.

[questionsonislam]

How should engagement and the period of engagement be? What should the criterion for the engaged couple to meet each other be?

After the couple to be married sees each other, talks to each other and agrees to marry, an engagement ceremony is arranged. Since an engagement is regarded as a contract, nobody else can ask for the engaged girl’s hand in marriage. Engagement is a common tradition; it is also present in Islam. As a matter of fact our Prophet (PBUH) married Hazrat Aisha after an engagement period of about three years. After the couple to be married sees each other, talks to each other and agrees to marry, an engagement ceremony is arranged. Since an engagement is regarded as a contract, nobody else can ask for the engaged girls hand in marriage. Engagement is a common tradition in our country; it is also present in Islam. As a matter of fact our Prophet (PBUH) married Hazrat Aisha after an engagement period of about three years. Thus engagement is also regarded as a sunnah. (1)

After the engagement ceremony the first attempts to set up a relationship between the families are started. The parties send each other presents and preparations for the wedding start. The sign for the couples to be married are the rings. The man can only wear a silver ring since it is not appropriate for him to wear a ring made of gold or other metals.

Engagement is only a promise to marry and the beginning of marriage. It is not fair to break the promise without a just reason such as death or an illness that occurred afterwards. However, since marriage does go into effect only by engagement, neither of the parties has to keep their promise in terms of Islamic law, because offer and acceptance which are present in marriage are not present in engagement.

The most significant use of engagement for both parties is that it is a precautionary measure applied to base marriage on a sound basis. The breaking of an engagement due to some just reasons is less harmful than a probable divorce in the future. Although it is necessary to talk about everything before the engagement fully, the engagement contract can be broken if there are serious indications that the engaged couple will not be able to be happy.

If the engagement is broken, the parties can return the presents they have given to each other. If the presents have been damaged or lost, their price can be demanded. Something that is not paid attention and ignored from time to time during the engagement period is that the parties regard themselves as married and violate the boundaries of privacy.

As we have mentioned before, the people to be married can see each other only when people go and ask the girls parents for her hand in marriage. Otherwise it is not appropriate for the engaged couple to see each other, to talk to each other and take a walk alone unless they make a marriage contract. They are regarded as namahram to each other. If there is a necessity for them to have a talk, there must be a relative of the girl or the woman with them. The warning of our prophet (PBUH) is clear to that effect: Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not stay alone with a namahram woman; then the third person with them will be the devil."(2)

As a result of ignoring the boundaries of privacy between the engaged couple by regarding the engagement as a marriage, there occur many regrettable and troublesome happenings for families in the society. It should not be ignored that there will be the possibility of making mistakes which will cause the parties to feel sorry as a result of not paying attention to privacy. Both parties should be careful not to violate the boundaries of privacy before the marriage contract goes into effect.

The engaged couple should not only see each other and talk to each other alone but also avoid shaking hands with each other. Even during the marriage ceremony unless the marriage contract is signed, they should not violate the boundaries of privacy. Only after the marriage contract goes into effect, will they be halal to each other.

In some regions religious marriage is applied during the engagement ceremony; thus the drawback for the engaged couple to see and talk to each other is eliminated. Under Islamic law they are regarded as husband and wife; however, since the official marriage is applied later, the marriage contract does not go into effect. However, a religious marriage that is applied in the presence of two witnesses in accordance with the requirements of offer and acceptance makes the engaged couple halal to each other. They may see each other and talk to each other alone, shake hands, have a walk.

Although they have become halal to each other and have agreed to become together lifelong and take some risks after saying yes to each other, there are numerous advantages of being careful in their relationship during the engagement period by taking into consideration the worst possibilities. In particular, the would-be groom should understand the sensitivity of the girls relatives. It should be known that such sensitivity is based on caution not on distrust. Such caution is necessary, God forbid, to prevent the parties from having a guilty conscience and from having a second attempt to marry in case the engagement is broken.

By the way, we should make the following clear: when an engagement is broken, the girl or woman is not religiously allowed to marry another man if she has had religious marriage and if it is still valid. The marriage she does with another man is not valid. In order for the womans marriage to become valid, her previous fiancé (husband) must divorce her first. If he divorces her, she can marry another man. She does not need to have a waiting period. Otherwise the girl cannot marry another man unless her previous fiancé divorces her. It is not taken into consideration whether they have become husband and wife or not. The religious marriage that was applied indicates that the parties are married. If the girl marries another man without divorcing first, her marriage is invalid. The case for the man is different. He may marry another woman while he is married. (3)

1. Müslim, marriage: 69.

2. Müsned, 3: 339

3. Nisa Chapter, 3.