The four Quls are incredible Surahs, which have the power to protect all of us InshAllah. Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas in particular can help with protection from the fear of the unknown, evil in man’s own heart and the evil in the hearts of other men.
Hadith:
Aisha (RA) narrated: “Whenever Allah’s Apostle (SAW) became sick, he would recite Mu’awwidhatayn (Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas) and then blow his breath over his body. When he became seriously ill, I used to recite (these two Surahs) and rub his hands over his body hoping for its blessings.” – Bukhari Volume 6, Book 6, Number 535
Surah Mulk is a very powerful Surah and we should try to read it every night InshAllah.
Hadith:
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (SWT) said: “Verily there is Surah of the Quran that contains thirty verses. These verses will intercede on behalf of a man until he is forgiven. It (that Surah) is ‘Tabarakal-ladhi bi yadihil mulk’ (Surah Mulk).” – Ibn Majah Number 3786
As much as we like to admit it or not, there comes a time in our lives when we are faced with a dilemma; should we help out someone that we do not like or not? We could ask ourselves, “does he deserve my help after what he did to me?”, “I don’t like her anymore so why should I bother?”, “they humiliated me in front of my friends, so I have no reason to help” etc etc.
We at Western Muslim UK feel that the Muslim Ummah truly need to learn how to swallow their pride and truly embrace the act of forgiveness, as well as helping one another out. Let us tackle these three areas one by one.
Unity
Pride:
It is very clearly stated by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that: “Never can the person who possesses a speck of kibr (pride) inside his/her heart enter Janat.” Why should we act superior or arrogant against one another, when it may risk us being purified in the Hell fire? This World is all but an illusion and feeling arrogant because we aced an exam or have a new Parker pen, is really not worth it in the grand scheme of things.
Also, the origins of pride come from a place of feeling as if we are better than someone else. Firstly, this quality is not something that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) encouraged, as he saw everyone as equal and secondly, it is not a quality that Allah (SWT) likes. In fact, Imam Ja’fer As-Sadiq (A.S) is reported to have said: “Whenever he/she has kibr (is proud), an angel says – ‘Be humble, lest Allah (SWT) should disgrace you’.” Ask yourself, is feeling arrogant because we went to a good school or University really worth the wrath of Allah (SWT)?
The most effective cure to remove kibr is to remember death as often as possible.
Forgiveness:
One of the best qualities that a person can have in the eyes of Allah (SWT) is forgiveness.
There are countless verses from the Quran that we can quote about how beneficial forgiving one another is (e.g. Surah 5 Verse 13, Surah 3 Verse 134, Surah 41 Verses 34-35 etc), however we feel that a story from Prophet Muhammad (SAW) really illustrates this point.
One day Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was gathered with his Sahabah and said that “a man of Paradise is coming.” The man that appeared seemed very ordinary. One of the Sahabi was very curious to know what was so special about this man, so went to stay with him for three days. After this time, the Sahabi could not work out what was so special about this man and asked him directly. The man pondered for a while and said: “There might be one thing — before going to sleep every night I forgive everyone and sleep with a clean heart.”
For more information on this story and for strategies on how to get Allah’s (SWT) forgiveness, watch the video below:
Togetherness:
We feel that Surah Al-Asr defines this concept perfectly! We could write a whole article on the teachings of Surah Al-Asr alone, but in summary it talks about how time is running out and how we should use our time wisely in order to do everything that we can to ensure we get into Paradise InshAllah. Ask yourself, “are you really utilising every hour in the day to learn more about the Deen, or are you wasting time on the new Grand Theft Auto game?”
Surah Al-Asr talks about four key attributes, that all need to be encompassed together:
1. Believe in Allah (SWT)
2. Do good things
3. Encourage others to do good things
4. Be patient
It is number three that we wanted to focus on, as it is very easy for us to be self centered, however Islam teaches us to help one another, as ultimately we are all tied together. So do not let someone suffer alone without helping them, for example with exam revision, as you never know, you could be the one in need of help next!
The above concept is perfectly summarised in the Nouman Ali video below:
Finally, we have come across a lot of people who exhibit qualities, which demonstrate the polar opposite of togetherness; that of being envious/jealous of our brothers and sisters. For example, hating someone for being popular or for getting a promotion at work. This is strictly not allowed. In fact, The Prophet (SAW) warned against the ill consequences of envy upon the envier, saying: “Beware of envy, for indeed envy consumes one’s good deeds like fire consumes wood.” [Sunan Abî Dâwûd]
Conclusion:
We at Western Muslim UK feel that the Muslim community really do need to remove the negative character traits from ourselves (such as jealousy, pride, hatred etc) and replace it with positive character traits (such as patience, forgiveness, unity etc) and hopefully this will help us on our journey of attaining Paradise InshAllah.
We would like to close with a verse from Anas ibn Malik (RA), where he explains that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said that: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]. A hard place to get to, granted, but one which is so beneficial.
This event was held at the Kingpin Suite at the Tavistock Hotel in Russell Square and was a jam packed evening with activities including bowling, virtual cricket, arcade games, pool and table football. Not to mention there was an open, Halal, drinks bar, lots of delicious canapés, an anniversary cake and a giant chocolate fountain to top it all off.
Chocolate Fountain
Here at Western Muslim UK, we believe this venue was a true one off. This is because it was very spacious, all of the arcade games were FREE to play all night and there was a perfect balance of enjoyable activities to get involved with as well as a lot of open space for some vital light hearted networking as well.
Sega Rally
A Western Muslim UK tip would be to get involved with all of the activities available as they were a great way of meeting new people and they helped all of the guests relax – especially the bowling!
Bowling
Overall, we had a fantastic time celebrating the five year anniversary celebration of the Deloitte Muslim Network and are already looking forward to their next event InshAllah.
We recently got invited to the prestigious one year anniversary celebration of the Inter Firm Islamic Societies group. This celebration was held at the exquisite Arab Chamber of Commerce in Park Lane and was an event that will be remembered for its professionalism and excellent organisation for years to come.
Welcome Table
How was it structured?
Upon entering the impressively presented venue, we were greeted by a series of name badges and a pleasant individual who helped us find our particular badge and directed us inside for the first round of Halal networking drinks.
Here we were able to meet with fellow like-minded individuals, exchange business cards and enjoy a range of exotic fruit juices. Salat facilities, indoor seating and an enchanted garden were also available for those who wanted a change of scenery.
A Western Muslim UK tip would be to maximize this networking opportunity as it is very rare that you get a group of inspirational young Muslims together and as the popular saying goes, “it is all about who know!”
Who were the speakers?
We had the pleasure of not one, not two, but three esteemed guests throughout the evening. First up was Iqbal Nasim who spoke about all of the brilliant work that the National Zakat Foundation do and how we can all get involved with this great cause.
Next up was Team GB Olympic Hockey player, Darren Cheesman who provided a fascinating talk on how we can be successful Muslims in this World and the hereafter as well as how we can coach others to be equally successful.
Finally, we had Sheikh Alaa Elsayed who gave a truly World class talk on Motivation and how our ultimate goal should be focused on how we can reach Jannat-ul-firdous InshAllah. The Sheikh also inspired us by using stories from the Prophets [PBUH] time as well.
Jihad Kader, Darren Cheesman and Yusuf Aleem
Was there any food?
After praying Maghrid Salat as a big community, we all returned to the main lounge for another round of networking and most importantly, were greeted to a full buffet reception! This included a range of mouth-watering Arab delicacies, which singlehandedly had the power to make you feel as if you had been transported to the Middle East.
Here we were able to help ourselves to the food and drink available, continue networking with fellow Muslims from London and reflect upon what we had learnt directly with the speakers themselves.
Overall, we at Western Muslim UK had a fantastic time at the Inter Firm Islamic Societies anniversary celebration and have been meeting up for coffee with our fellow guests on a regular basis. If you would like more information about the Inter Firm Islamic Societies group, including upcoming events, promotions and a direct link to their Facebook page, then please click here.
We were having an interesting discussion at Western Muslim UK on what people think about us. This is something that we are sure has crossed everyone’s minds at one point or another. For example: What will X person think of me if I talk to her, what will Y person think if I don’t agree with him, what will Z person think if I take that job?
However, have you ever tried changing your perspective to: “What will Allah Thallah think of me if I do XYZ?”
We feel that it is a useful exercise for all Western Muslims to try this. Stop worrying about what your friends, families, co-workers etc think of you and start thinking about how your actions will help you in achieving the ultimate goal, which is undeniably Jannat-Ul-Firdous, InshAllah.
What will people think of me?
This simple change in perspective has countless benefits for this World and the hereafter. For example:
No stress or worrying about what other people think of your actions/decisions
Increased confidence
Higher productivity; with less time contemplating about other people’s opinions, you’ll have more time to invest into the things you enjoy
No doubting yourself
Removal of negative energy
Increased chance of obtaining Paradise InshAllah
If you really can’t help but reflect upon what others think of you, put it into perspective. So what if that is what they think, why are you making their opinion of you more important than your own opinion of yourself? Don’t dwell on it. Chances are, it is all in your head anyway and they are not even thinking half of the things that your mind is telling you they are.
In conclusion, we at Western Muslim UK feel that you should not worry about what others think of you, you should be more confident within yourself and SMILE! 🙂
Getting married is one of the biggest days for a Western Muslim, so we feel it is only right to have a whole blog dedicated this. We recently got invited to the prestigious ‘National Asian Wedding Show 2013’ at the Hilton Hotel in Wembley and are going to explain to you why this event is your one stop shop to everything you need to make the Wedding of your dreams a reality.
The National Asian Wedding Show, has all of the bases covered for your Wedding day, such as the invitations, the outfits and the catering. From the beginning you are made to feel like royalty as you are welcomed by an individual asking if you are here to plan your Wedding day. If you say yes, you are provided with a Bride/Groom sticker, which means all of the stall holders will bend over backwards trying to impress you!
The stall holders have a ‘customer service’ hat on as opposed to a ‘product pushing’ hat on, so you are free to enjoy the experience, without having to worry about how you will have to avoid an overly flirtatious individual whose only objective is to make a quick sale! The live music playing throughout the day truly adds to the experience, as it makes it feel as if you have escaped to one of the Wonders of World!
The Essentials:
For the Wedding day outfits, there is an entire floor dedicated to this alone! That way you will be able to ‘play’ in the ideas floor with peace of mind that the vital Wedding day outfits have been decided. This floor consists of various rooms where London’s leading designers have showcased their best pieces for you to try on and feel one step closer making your fairytale day a reality. With hundreds of potential outfits to choose from, a bespoke Wedding outfit design team and an ongoing catwalk show, we are sure that you will be inspired and have a better idea of what you can potentially wear on your Wedding day.
Back on the ideas floor, one of our favourite stalls was the Wedding invitations stall. This was purely because of the out of the box (no pun intended!) creativity that has taken place. For example, you can send your Wedding invitation as a scroll, a manuscript, a 3D origami masterpiece – you name it, they have it!
Wedding Invitations stall at the National Asian Wedding Show
For the food, there are stalls where you can have free tasters from a whole range of mouthwatering canapés! Some other guests that we met at the event said that they didn’t even have any lunch that day as they were saving themselves for the free food on offer! The finger food is all very delicious and there are lots of unexpected choices, for example instead of having the standard onion bhaji for starters, you can have something more exotic, such as deep-fried jalapeno slices!
The all important entrance/exit is next. Whether you are having that impressive jaw-dropping outdoor entrance for your guests or you are having a classy exit after the rukhsati, there are a wide range of vehicles that you can choose from, such as a Rolls Royce or Hummer Limo, to ensure that your entrance and/or exit are carried out in true style!
A Western Muslim UK tip would be to make sure that you network. Get business cards from the stall holders so that you have a direct contact and a website name for further research! Another tip is to negotiate. There are always better prices that you get on top of the event discounts in play, so make sure you take full advantage of this!
The Extras:
Alongside all of the traditional essentials, there are also some new ideas thrown into the Wedding mix. For example, the increasingly popular photobooth is available to have on your Wedding day! This way your guests are able to leave you unique photos, personal video messages and what’s more, you get all of the raw footage to watch at your leisure – perceived outtakes included!
For those of you who have a very indulgent sweet tooth, there is a stall dedicated to chocolates and confectionary! For example, if you have a Narnia themed Wedding, you can have a magical chocolate tree whereby your guests can pick from its enchanted branches and automatically feel as if they have been transported into another World. Similarly, if you opt for an Aladdin themed Wedding, you can have chocolate Pyramids situated in all four corners of your reception room and make your guests feel as if they have travelled to a Middle Eastern Palace.
National Asian Wedding Show 2013
Another unexpected extra for your Wedding day is a mocktail bar. Before you say “Astaghfirullah,” hear us out. A mocktail is non-alcoholic concoction that not only brings your Wedding into the 21st century, but is also is set to leave your guests lost for words when the legendary bar staff create their impressive looking drinks. You can also name the mocktails available in accordance to your Wedding day theme, for example “The Shining Jewel” if you are having a Diamond themed wedding or “The Icicle” if you opt for a Winter theme.
There are loads more extras as well, including live music, photography, videography, cakes, jewellery, creative flower displays, fitness stalls to help you get in shape for your Wedding, Wedding theme walkthroughs and lots lots more!
The Summary:
In conclusion, we feel that you should definitely hit up the next Asian Wedding Show if you, a family member or a friend are getting married and you want to get some inspiration on how you can make the evening unforgettable. In fact, if you are planning ANY kind of event such as a birthday party or corporate party then there is definitely something that you can take away from the National Asian Wedding Show.
Western Muslim UK 