In our social lives, an important skill to have is to be able to make sound prediction judgements about how others will react in response to our own words and actions, because that can help us to choose our words and actions more wisely and deliver them in the right way and at the right time.

Of course, that doesn't mean that we will be able to predict others' behavior with 100% certainty or know anything for sure, but we should be able to create a mental model in our heads which simulate the most probable actions that one may take if we say or do something - so that we can restrain or modify our own behavior in advance and thereby prevent a possible conflict.

That in itself might be an essential part of hikmah (wisdom) and I think it's also not something that easy because you have to be able to take into account various factors such as: whether the person likes you or not and why, the person's base character, his intention, his sincerity, his past history and his interaction with others, the psychology and his mindset, and so on.

Certain recent events in my own life have caused me to have this reflection, and I was reminded of the verses in Surah Yusuf where Allah SWT tells us that Yaqub (pbuh) advised his son Yusuf (pbuh) to not relay his dream to his brothers - because otherwise they may plot against him - which shows how sharp his insight and his judgement was in relation to the knowledge of his other sons.

Ultimately, however, all hikmah and understanding comes from Allah SWT, so we should pray to Him to give us the ability to make the right judgements and right evaluation of others and to not have wrong suspicions or erroneous thinking about others. The right judgement comes only from Allah and it's not something that we ourselves possess.

#PredictingOthers   

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity recently to speak with some people who had a life changing medical condition. During the conversation, some of them mentioned the exact words, tone and circumstances in which the news of their diagnosis was delivered to them, despite this happening over 10 years prior. Unfortunately, they had often not been informed in the most empathetic way. 

It really struck me how those few seconds left an imprint. Our words are not just recorded on our scroll of deeds, but may also be imprinted in people's hearts. And what a weighty thought that is.

It made me think of these ayat. If the doctors were fully aware of an Observer, mindful of the trust they hold as communicators of another person's sensitive information, and conscious of the permanence of their speech, would they have approached these conversations differently? 

The right thing to say will be true, fair and faithful. 

It also made me think about traditional medicine, and the power practitioners understood language to carry... Hikmah (wisdom) is understood to be putting things in their right place, and is also the name of the practice of traditional medicine.

Imam Bukhari RA places the following hadith in the Book of Medicine:
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

Two men came from the East and addressed the people who wondered at their eloquent speeches On that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Some eloquent speech is as effective as magic.

Another hadith  
A desert Arab came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and began to speak. Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: In eloquence there is magic and in poetry there is wisdom.
(Abu Dawud)

May Allah SWT grant us the tawfiq to arrange our speech rightly, beautifully and kindly, and allow our words to convey healing and no harm. Ameen. 

اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِ عَلىَ سَيِّدِناَ مُحَمَّدٍ

Wisdom (ḥikmah) is a lofty bestowal from God, and the Qur’an is deliberate in singling out Luqmān for it. In Sūrah Luqmān, wisdom is immediately tied to gratitude, revealing that ḥikmah is the inner light that enables a person to recognize, appreciate, and properly use God’s blessings. Without wisdom, blessings may be possessed yet remain spiritually wasted.

This truth is echoed in the life of Prophet Sulaymān. In Sūrah al-Naml, upon hearing the ant speak, he does not rejoice in power but asks Allah to inspire him to give thanks. Despite his unmatched kingdom, he knows that even gratitude requires divine guidance. Appreciation is not instinctive; it is taught by God

When Sulaymān asks who can bring the throne of the Queen of Sheba, it is neither display nor excess. It reflects wisdom — an awareness of the hidden potentials Allah places within creation, and how to employ them to humble hearts and reveal divine power.

In essence, wisdom is not merely knowing, but knowing how to respond to blessings. It is the humility to seek God’s inspiration so that what we are given becomes a means of gratitude and nearness to Him, not a veil between us and Him.

#Hikmah ​#wisdom ​#blessings ​#Grateful ​

Imagine the pen as a cosmic artist, its strokes painting the universe into existence. This isn't just a metaphor, but a foundational belief in Islam. The pen, as the first creation, symbolizes Allah's divine blueprint for everything that will ever be. It's a testament to the power of knowledge and the sacredness of writing, a tool used to connect with the divine and share the divine message. The Quran revealed through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, is like a masterpiece penned by Allah ﷻ Himself, a testament to the pen's incredible power.

Assalamu Alaikum.!

Beloved people of reason, I would like to share my thoughts on Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 Verse 269. May Allah grant you a remarkable favour, Ameen.

An old famous shepherd man is travelling with his son and his favourite camel he believes in training his son to be greater than him, saying that he wants him to be stronger in the future, he tells his son to walk along the way that he will teach him something that no one else will teach him, the old man rides on the camel with a few bags and tells his son to carry some bags while walking along the mountains.

They began their journey on the way a few travellers saw them and said how is such an old man suffering this innocent boy walk on the mountains with these bags, another one said, don't mind this old man mistreating his son they have enjoyed their days and couldn't allow the younger ones to enjoy their own days, they pass by, the old man said son did you hear what they said the son said yes father, the old man said now you could ride the camel while I walk with legs with those heavy bags, remember on our way you will learn more always keep your ears open the son said yes father.

They continue their journey his son rides the camel with few bags while his father walks along with other heavy bags on the way other travellers meet them and begin to speak quietly about why this rude and arrogant boy rides a camel allowing his poor father to walk with legs with those heavy travelling bags, children of today's generation don't respect their poor parents any longer suffering such an old man, the father said son did you overhear what they said, he said yes father.

The old man came down from the camel and said to his son let load all our bags onto the camel in tightness for both of us will walk with legs along the way while the camel carries only our bags, they did so and continue their journey on their way going few groups of travellers saw them suddenly they began to murmur on themselves saying, how will such an old man and his son walking along the mountains with legs leaving the camel empty with their travelling bags some said don't mind them they are illiterates with no knowledge allow them to suffer their ignorance, the father said son did you overhear all they said, the son said yes father I did, the old man and his son branched to a valley beside a little river he said to his son, son I will now construct a little truck that will allow us to upload our bags upon to tight and uphold it with our camel for we both will ride on the camel together while the truck carries our bags at the back of the camel so that every one of us will ride the camel.

However, it took them some challenges to resolve they became successful and continued their journey on their way they met a few groups of traders with different camels one of them said I know this old man and his son he is a shepherd, my father bought from him the camel which we all are using, and he also brings buyers of camel and other animals to buy from him, why would he come all the way from the city with one camel suffering this innocent camel with all this heavy travelling bags and both of them on top of the same camel while he has thousands of camels and other travelling animals, this old man is a wicked man for he has no conscience to Allah's creations, punishing them at of ignorance, the old man look at him angrily and continued his journey with his son they stopped in a place where he started to advise his son.

Saying son I purposely brought you to this journey to teach you what no one else will teach you before I pass away, for you are to be there to represent your father when he may meet Allah unknowingly, as you can see we did everything possible for we couldn't please anyone after all the pains we have been through striving to please them still yet no one is pleased neither are they happy on us let today's lesson teach you that no one is perfect than Allah, only Him alone you should give your trust and hope onto, live your best life in Allah's will, Allah is always their to protect and comfort you when ever you face difficulties in life, please my son what ever you do in life always put Allah in the front, and you will explore more when you hearken to my voice as your father, now look right there, those are our two servants with two camels, I purposely ordered them to follow us at the back as other travellers, there you can join one of them we are no longer going to the village, we are retuning back to the city for I have trained and prepared you well for the future my beloved son, may Allah always protect you, for one day, I will be there no more, InshAllah.!

Sincerely.

All of us want to have khushoo` in our salah, at the same time most of us complain of not having it and of lots of distracting thoughts in our salah, perhaps the reason is that when we are not in our salah, we are wasting time in that which is useless and serves no purpose, like needless and idle chatting, wasting hours upon hours on watching useless tv shows, or browsing on our phones etc. Perhaps this is why when Allah SWT mentioned the successful people, and that one of their characteristics is that they are those who have khushoo` in salah, he immediately followed it with the ayah that says that their other trait is that they avoid all the idle talk.  Because these two things are inversely proportional to one another; the more we waste our time in useless activities, the less khushoo` we would have in our salah,

Allah SWT says in another place:

وَمَا یَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّاۤ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلۡأَلۡبَـٰبِ
'No one would take heed, except those who have pure intellect.'

Describing this (وَمَا یَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّاۤ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلۡأَلۡبَـٰبِ) Aloosi RA wrote in his tafsir.:

أيْ ما يَتَّعِظُ أوْ ما يَتَفَكَّرُ في الآياتِ إلّا ذَوُو العُقُولِ الخالِصَةِ عَنْ شَوائِبِ الوَهْمِ وظُلْمِ اِتِّباعِ الهَوى
That is, no one takes heed or contemplates the ayaat except those with minds that are pure from the blemishes of delusion and the injustice of following vain desires.

May Allah make us of those who are mindful of the true value of their time and spend it wisely. May Allah make us of those who have khusoo` in their salah.

#MindfulFasting
#Dhikr
#Khushoo

Wa iyyaaka jazaa brother Rayaan.  Thank you for your insightful comment. 

This beautiful verse reminds me of a quote that goes, 'we realize the importance of light when we see darkness.' There is so much wisdom in seeing a life devoid of guidance from Allah. It reminds us how much of a blessing it is to have a prescribed way of living from The Most Knowledgable. It also highlights the phrase that such wisdom is a 'great privilege.' This verse reminds me that it is our duty to recognize this privilege and use it for the betterment of our communities. Not only the society we live in but our own families. It is a blessing we will be questioned about by Allah. May Allah bless us with wisdom and bless our actions to carry it out.

Beautiful reflection MashaAllah. May Allah bestow us with beneficial wisdom. Aameen.

In April, before Ramadan I read some part of a  book called 'Journey to Allah'  by Ibn Ata rahimolloh. What really shocked me was that an alim (scholar) can gain the knowledge of Qur'an, teach others and pray to God but be rejected or not accepted by his Lord. What it means for me is that everything we do , even sipping water should lead us closeness to Our Creator. We should supplicate for acceptance and  seek even  small things to get rewarded. Ibrohim (AS) and Ishmail ( AS) made a dua for acceptance while laying down foundations for Ka'bah. 
     Before starting my path to Qur'an, I thought I would be able to memorize it quickly. How superficial my understanding was! When I started, I realized that Qur'an is a lifelong guide and guide 'doesn't speak' untill you question yourself, question your brain and soul. Ali (r.a) once put Qur'an in front of people and said 'Speak, Qur'an, speak'. But it didn't. Qur'an speaks to only hearts and make them humble. However, this talk makes sense and reaches its point when it lasts. 
    Understanding and critical thinking are precious gifts of Allah Who grants whom He wills. Once I had a colleague with whom I used to work. His iman was unshakeable that even at hardest points I would see him keeping the limits set by Allah. And I would look at others and wonder how God chooses few people to guide upon the truth. 
    Tomorrow InshaAllah I am going to be a student on this path but have no idea how far I can go. But 'I aim high to the stars. ' And I ask for God to have the ability to preserve the knowledge I am going to gain. 

   'The beginning of a knowledge is intention, then understanding, then preservation and then spreading it'
     (Abdulloh ibn Mubarak)