ON SMILE - Sunnah Rasulullah (S.A.W)

Smile-The Weapon of Islam!

What is a Smile? 

In Physiology , a smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth. The smile can be also around the eyes. In Psychology, smile is an impulse response to some situation that consequently takes us back to the emotionally stable state (this one I coined myself). One more way to define smile is, a way of welcoming any person or thing or situation in life . 

Smile : Naturally Taught Many people think that a person learns to smile as he learns to speak. But there are evidences of a baby smiling in a mother’s womb.  Also we know that blind people smile too hence proving that smile is Naturally taught just as crying as naturally taught. A baby comes to this world already aware of the art of crying. 

He who smiled the most Rasulullah (S.A.W): Abdullah ibn Haarith, radi Allahu 'anhu, said, "I have never seen any one who smiled more than Allah's Messenger." (JAMI TIRMIDHI) Jarir, radi Allahu 'anhu, reported: "Since I embraced Islam Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) never refused to see me and he did not see me but with a smile on his face." (SAHIH MUSLIM) 

Why don’t we Smile? Why do we save our smiles when our Ideal (S.A.W) used to smile the most? We see that people who are religious tend to have serious faces , they hardly smile. I’ve heard people relating the incidents of lives of saints who didn’t smile their whole life. Let us change this concept. Ideal for us is the Life of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Islam does not stop us from smiling in fact it encourages. It gives us reasons to smile. So beautify your faces with a smile. 

The smallest distance between two people is smile. What does it take to Smile? We hardly have to move a muscle to smile but the effect a smile has is tremendous. It can win the hearts. It can take care of very tense situations. Smile begets smile. Smile, and the world will smile back at you. Smile at the nature and the nature will smile back at you. Smile is a good way to express your pleasure. Actions speak louder than words. How often you find it so hard to express your Love for some, your pleasure on some happening. A smile would do just the thing. Like a couplet in urdu says Aansu chalak paray to kuch laj raeh gae Azhaar e gham ka werna saleeka na tha mujhay ( Translation : Tears felt and hence saved my honour, otherwise I didn’t knew how to express my sorrow ) Smile : An invitation to Truth A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside. 

Everyone loves a SMILE in a society full of Love and Peace. Islam teaches us to build societies bases on loved and sincerity but unfortunately we are not presenting the Islam the way it should be. Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was so kind and loving. Anyone could come and speak up his heart in front of the prophet. Prophet’s (S.A.W) smile would have a soothing effect on the hearts of the people. We have to base our society on the same principles of Love ,affection and sincerity and people will come it on their own. 

Let’s start building that society by greeting others, giving gifts and exchanging smiles. Even a Smile ! Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said, “Smiling in the face of your brother is charity (Sadaqa)”(JAMI TIRMIDHI).Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas (God be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed: "The pious offspring who casts a single look of affection at his parents receives a reward from God equal to the reward of an accepted Hajj." (SAHIH MUSLIM) 

So why waste your time in frowns when Smile gives you a way to follow the Sunnah, win the hearts of others, earn good deeds and give charity.

The story of Prophet Noah (Nuh) peace be upon him

The prophets of Allah often had a tough time getting their people to listen to them, and Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) was no exception. His people had been going very far astray, they worshipped idols, and many of them were so involved with their material well being that they forgot about their souls. Therefore Allah sent Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) to his people with a message.

Prophet Nuh’s Message

The prophet Nuh’s (Alayhis Salam) message was a simple one. He said that they should worship Allah and serve none but Allah.

After the death of Prophet Enoch (Idris) several events occurred over time that led humans to commit blasphemy for the first time.  There were five pious people whose names are mentioned in Surat Nuh, verse 23.  They were Wadd, Suwa^, Yaghuth, Ya^uq, and Nasr. After their death, Satan came to the people in the shape of a man and told them to build statues of these five men.  The people responded to the whispers of the devil and built these statues to remember and honor these five good men.  After a long period of time Satan reappeared.  Ignorance had spread widely and many tribulations had occurred among the people.  The statues had become very common among the people.  

When Satan came again, to a later generation, he ordered the people to worship these statues and told them falsely that their ancestors had worshipped these statues too.  

God sent Prophet Noah (Nuh) to these people and ordered him to warn them against a severe torture that would befall them if they do not return to Islam.  

The time span between Enoch (Idris) and Noah is one thousand years, known as the first era of ignorance.  In these years, the first blasphemy was committed and became widespread spread among humans.  Noah was the first Prophet and Messenger sent to the blasphemers.

Prophet Noah said to his people, “O my people worship God for He is the only One Who deserves to be worshipped.”  He said, “if you do not repent and leave out blasphemy, then await for a day in which a severe torture will come upon you,”. He constantly reminded them of the great rewards of being Muslims. Unfortunately, most people did not respond to his call and consequently did not come back to Islam. 

Often the leaders would say that Prophet Nuh (Alayhis Salam) was crazy. At other times the leaders of those who didn’t believe would say, “You are just a man, no different from us, no angel, so how can you carry a message from Allah?”

Prophet Noah spent 950 years calling the people to come back to Islam.  Only about 80 believed in Prophet Noah. The people were extremely harsh to Prophet Noah, and inflicted a lot of harm on him.  They were so nasty that they once tried to strangle him, until he fainted.  Each century exercised more enmity to Prophet Noah and his followers than the previous one.  

Prophet Noah told his people, “My role is to convey, but God is the only One Who creates the guidance in the hearts of the people.”  Prophet Noah did not get despaired even though only a few people responded to his call. But when God revealed to Prophet Noah that no one else of his people would believe he supplicated to God to destroy all those who did not believe, a supplication which was fulfilled by Allah.

God ordered Prophet Noah to build an ark.  Prophet Noah gathered the wood, tar, and iron for that ark.  The people mocked Prophet Noah for building an ark on a dry land and away from water.  God ordered Noah that when he sees a sign to start loading the ark.  The sign was seeing water flowing out of an oven made of stones that belonged to Lady Eve.  

God sent the rain from the sky and as a result the beasts gathered near the ark.  Prophet Noah took a pair of male and female of each kind of animal.  The believers also went on the ark.  Water sprang out of Earth in large quantities causing the Ark to rise. The rain fell in great masses like mountains as described in the Qur’an. After six months the rain stopped and the Earth started swallowing the water after which the Ark rested on Mount al-Judiy in Iraq. (Allahualam)

God protected Prophet Noah and his believing followers, and inflicted the punishment on the blasphemers.  All the blasphemers drowned including the son of Noah, Kan^an.  

It was narrated that when Prophet Noah was about to die, he was asked the following question by the angels, “How did you feel your stay on earth for so many years?”  Prophet Noah replied, “I saw this life on Earth like a house with two doors. I entered through one door and I left through the other.”  He meant that it went so quickly.  

Allah knows best. 

Disobedience to Parents

Among the major sins is disobedience to parents

Narrated by Abu Bakar (ra) Allah's messenger. Rasulullah (saw) said: "Shall I inform you of the greatest sins and in another variation he repeated this three times. We the companions said, "Certainly, O messenger of Allah! He (saw) said: "Associating anyone with Allah, disobedience to parents". The prophet sat up straight after he had reclined and added, "And I warn you against false utterance and false witness, "And I warn you against false utterance and false witness". The messenger of Allah (saw) kept saying that warning until we thought that he would not stop". Bukhari & Muslim

 

 

 

 

DRAUGHT AND FEMINE IN THE HORN OF AFRICA 2012

  Sami Yusuf - Forgotten Promises

Buy now (US$0.99) and help save lives in the Horn of Africa:

iTunes: http://bit.ly/vf1MKX
Amazon: http://amzn.to/x42Z2U
HMV: http://bit.ly/yQ1OUl
emusic: http://bit.ly/xrV8JC

Learn more about the LiveFeed campaign by visiting www.LiveFeedAfrica.org
 

Sami Yusuf Calls On The World To Remember And Support The Horn Of Africa

DUBAI - Internationally acclaimed artist Sami Yusuf appealed today to the media and donors not to forget the people of the Horn of Africa crisis facing hunger and, in some areas, the continuing impact of the worst drought in 60 years.

“Most victims are Somali families, who continue to run away from conflicts and drought affecting their country and, when lucky, find themselves in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia,” said Sami Yusuf, a Celebrity Partner for the UN World Food Programme (WFP), during a press conference in Dubai. “They never asked to be there; our conscience and humanity cannot allow us to let those people down.”

The British singer and composer dedicated his latest song “Forgotten Promises” to the fight against hunger in the Horn of Africa.  The song is at the heart of a unique fundraising campaign entitled LiveFeed.  All proceeds will be donated to WFP to help sustain and scale-up its relief efforts in the region, where millions of lives and livelihoods are still being threatened.

Yusuf’s initiative, through his partnership with WFP, aims at reviving donors’ interest to help WFP address the severe food crisis. The multi-talented artist, who has millions of dedicated followers, said he will continue to address the wider cause of fighting hunger through his music.

 “I chose this fight because I find it unbearable that one in seven people in the world still goes hungry to bed every night, and that five million children die of hunger-related causes every year,” he said. “Hunger is a solvable problem. From the moment we know that, we have to do something about it.” 

LiveFeed offers people the opportunity to fight hunger in the Horn of Africa by downloading the song, or making a direct donation online through www.livefeedafrica.org. With each song downloaded at US$0.99, WFP is able to feed two people in the Horn of Africa for a day. 

The CD version of “Forgotten Promises” will hit music stands across the Middle East in the coming days, enabling Yusuf’s fans and ‘LiveFeed’ supporters to help feed five people in the drought-stricken region with each CD purchased.

During the press event hosted by the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, the music video of “Forgotten Promises” was revealed for the first time to the media. Directed by music video director Siros Kerdouni and filmed in 16 cities across the globe, the video includes scenes featuring Sami Yusuf playing the piano in the middle of the desert and in the empty streets of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, which were cleared especially for the video shoot. 

Also present at the event were senior representatives from the UAE Red Crescent Authority, WFP’s local charity partner for this campaign; Al Aroud Group and RUS Aviation, the campaign’s main sponsors; and JWT, the communications agency behind the LiveFeed creative concept.

WFP is providing food assistance to nearly 8 million people in the Horn of Africa. The situation however remains dire, particularly in central and southern Somalia. 

“Significant progress on the ground has been made over the past few months with WFP’s food assistance but we still need to reach out to millions of people and most importantly to help support these communities in their efforts to rebuild their shattered lives,” said Ashraf Hamouda, WFP Head of Partnership and Business Development for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region. 

credit and source:- wfp.org  World Food Programme  
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/sami-yusuf-calls-world-remember-and-support-horn-africa

LIVE FEED CAMPAIGN - the Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent. Referred to in medieval times as Bilad al Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.  It covers approximately 2,000,000 km² (770,000 sq mi) and is inhabited by roughly 100 million people (Ethiopia: 85 million, Somalia: 9.3 million, Eritrea: 5.2 million, and Djibouti: 0.86 million).

Since mid-July 2011, a severe drought has been affecting the entire East Africa region. Said to be "the worst in 60 years",the drought has caused a severe food crisis across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya that threatens the livelihood of 13 million people. Many refugees from southern Somalia have fled to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, where crowded, unsanitary conditions together with severe malnutrition have led to a large number of deaths. Other countries in and around the Horn of Africa, including Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan and parts of Uganda, are also affected by a food crisis.

                              

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, PLEASE HELP FIGHT FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA's FOOD CRISIS.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no day on which the people get up but two angels come down and one of them says, ‘O Allah, give in compensation to the one who spends (in charity),’ and the other says, ‘O Allah, destroy the one who withholds.’”  

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1374; Muslim, 1010.

There are so many noble organisations out there campaigning for this food crisis, may I share one of them: 

http://livefeedafrica.org/

 

Sami Yusuf - "I’ve been given the privilege of working with the UN World Food Programme in campaigning for aid for the drought-hit Horn of Africa and the surrounding regions. The culmination of this project, I’m proud to say, is my new single, “Forgotten Promises” a song that for the very first time (to the best of my knowledge) incorporates full human body percusion. “Forgotten Promises”, I’m proud to say, will be released on the 17th of December. All proceeds will be donated to the WFP in support of their humanitarian operations in the Horn of Africa." http://www.samiyusufofficial.com/main/archives/7013