Boosting your Imaan - Shaykh Mohammad Salah

Bismillah

Boosting your Imaan – Shaykh Mohammad Salah

As the conference on the 8^th July 2012 began, each speaker started off with the most important verse from the Quran:

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous (Baqarah:183)

Sh. Mohammad Salah’s talk caught my attention the most because he always was talking about boosting our imaan and what better way than by sharing some of the best ahadith, pertaining to the virtues of Ramadan and virtuous moment, with us.

Hadith Number One:  Narrated by Ibn Abbas

When the Prophet returned after performing his Hajj, he asked Um Sinan Al-Ansari, "What did forbid you to perform Hajj?" She replied, "Father of so-and-so (i.e. her husband) had two camels and he performed Hajj on one of them, and the second is used for the irrigation of our land."  The Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said (to her), "Perform 'Umrah in the month of Ramadan, as it’s (reward) is equivalent to having performed Hajj with me!" (Bukhari)

Hadith Number Two:  Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘For the one who observes the dawn prayer in congregation, then sits down to remember Allah till the rising of the sun, and then observes two rak'ahs (after the sun has risen), there is for him the reward of a Hajj and an Umrah.’ (Tirmidhi)

Hadith Number Three: The most beautiful story telling us about the importance of Ramadan

Talha ibn ‘Ubaydallah reported that two men came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) who had accepted Islam at the same time. One of them used to partake in Jihad more-so than the other, and so (one day) he fought in a battle and was martyred therein. The other remained behind him for another year, and then he passed away.

Talha said, ‘I saw in my dream that I was at the door of Paradise when behold, I was with both of them (the two men). Someone came out of Paradise and allowed the man who passed away later to enter first. Then he came out again and allowed the martyred one to enter. Then he returned and said to me, ‘Go back, for your time has not come yet.’

Talha woke up and began to inform others about this and they were all surprised. This reached the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) and when they informed him of it, he said:

He (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘What are you surprised about?’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Out of them both, this one strove harder (in Jihad) then he was martyred but this other one was entered into Paradise before him.’ The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘Did he not remain behind him for one year?’They said, ‘Yes (he did).’ He said, ‘Did he not reach Ramadan, fast and pray with such and such number of prostrations in the year?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘So the difference between them is greater than what is between the heavens and the earth.’ (Ibn Majah, authenticated by Al Albani)

Hadith Number Four:  Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger, sallalahu alayhi wa sallam, said : "When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained." [Bukhari]

Hadith Number Five:  It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: The Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) ascended the minbar and said: “Ameen, ameen, ameen.” It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah, you ascended the minbar and said, ‘Ameen, ameen, ameen.” He said: “Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to me and said: ‘If Ramadaan comes and a person is not forgiven, he will enter Hell and Allaah will cast him far away. Say Ameen.’ So I said Ameen. He said: ‘O Muhammad, if both or one of a person’s parents are alive and he does not honour them and he dies, he will enter Hell and Allaah will cast him far away. Say Ameen.’ So I said Ameen. He said: ‘If you are mentioned in a person’s presence and he does not send blessings upon you and he dies, he will enter Hell and Allaah will cast him far away. Say Ameen.’ So I said Ameen.”
(Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan, 3/188; classed as saheeh by al-Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1679)

Before moving onto explaining more Imaan boosting reasons to grab Ramadan, the Shaykh mentioned a hadith that Ibn Rajab al Hanbali mentioned in his treatise:

**In a Hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas; “Allah releases in every night of Ramadan at iftar (breakfast) millions of servants from the hellfire, all of whom were destined for the hellfire. When it is the last night of Ramadan he releases in that night more servants than he did from the beginning of the month until the end of it.”** SubhanAllah, we only need to ponder over this and pray that we are amongst those Allah has made Hell haraam for!

The Shaykh mentioned various activities to help you boost your imaan

1. Accountability – Umar ibn Al Khattab said, ‘Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable’
2. Repentance  - If you repent sincerely, Allah forgives, especially in Tahajjud and Ramadan.
   
   Abu Musa reported: The Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "Allah, the Exalted, stretches His Hand during the night so that those who commit sins by day may repent, and He stretches His Hand in the day so that those who commit sins by night may repent. He keeps doing so until the sun rises from the West".
   [Muslim].
   NB: One of the conditions of tawbah is to seek forgiveness from those that you’ve hurt.
3. Purifying your heart - On the authority of Abu Huraira who said that the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said: The gates of Paradise will be opened on Mondays & on Thursdays, and every servant [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for the man who has a grudge against his brother. [About them] it will be said: Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled. [Hadith Qudsi 20]
   
   **CALL ALL FAMILY MEMBERS**
4. Month of the Qur’an – Recite and listen to the Qur’an because  you never know if we’ll get to witness another Ramadan!
5. Give charity during Ramadan - Ibn Abbas said: "The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the most generous among people, and he was more generous during the month of Ramadan." (Muslim).

With this we end the first of the talks by the speaker. All the activities mentioned will be worth so much more during Ramadan and inshaa’Allah through them you will attain Jannah. Whatever good you get out of this post is from Allah and all mistakes are from myself