When we learn about Allah's all-encompassing control, we are not only talking about the skies, mountains, and birds. On a more immediate and personal level, we are reminded of Allah's control over our own affairs,  His control in bringing us benefit or averting harm. Allah says:

“Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ ‘I have no power to benefit or protect myself, except by the Will of Allah.’ For each community there is an appointed term. When their time arrives, they can neither delay it for a moment nor advance it.” (Qur’an 10:49)

Not only this, but reflect on our own bodies and senses. Often we feel that we are autonomous beings who have control over our faculties, but the Qur’an confronts this misconception and reminds us that even our senses,  our hearing and our sight  at every moment are controlled by the One in Whose Hands is all dominion.

“Ask ˹them, O Prophet˺, ‘Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Who owns ˹your˺ hearing and sight? Who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living? And who conducts every affair?’ They will ˹surely˺ say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Will you not then fear ˹Him˺?’” (Qur’an 10:31)

This reminds us of how acutely and wholly dependant we are on Allah, in each every moment. It is also a thoughts that inspires in us confidence and trust in Allah, teaching us to let go of the matters outside our control. "Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺.(Quran:112:2)
 
SubhanAllah. "Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything." (Quran Al-Mulk:1)
#ReflectionChallenge   

"May Allah Almighty grant you a high level of understanding of the Quran, the sublime character of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and the guidance to perform righteous deeds."

The word الصمد has meanings that the English translation cannot fully convey. Subhnallah. 
This name of Allah occurs only once in the Quran, yet it’s so powerful and encompassing of so much of what forms the foundation of tawheed, Islam monotheism .  Al-Samad is Allah, the Self-Sufficient Master, that all creatures need, the Master that needs no one.
He is the Master that we all need.

Growing up we saw our parents and  elders rush to prayers. When it got late and tired it was frustrating to most of  them not praying on time. But wait.. Was it because the coolness of it or the burden it was causing. Because we often come across statements like ' good for me, I prayed already'. ' oh my god, I am so tired and sleepy. But I can't rest since I didn't pray.' most of us were brought up with the instructions to pray only for the fear of Allah Almighty getting angry at us and taking away the blessings. Or as if Allah needed our prayers( Allahu Assamadh).
Just pause here and think. Now we are all grown up and still struggling to override that built in thoughts about salat and  train the mind that Allah Almighty never in need of our prayers but it's us who desperately need his love , care , intervention, guidance and assurance. 
As we are struggling with setting up our minds in correct direction when it comes to the salat we should never allow our children to fight the same battle. We should continuously remind them that indeed we are the one longing for the conversation with the creator so that we thank him for the countless blessings and tell all the struggles we are facing and ask forgiveness for the fragile belief we are holding. and it's the ultimate shield from the evil deeds.
And.. Just like that we feel the warmth of real love and care of the lord. Prayer is never a burden but it's the way out from all the burdens. 

It seems to me that our attitude and practice of formal prayers are a good measure of where we are with our faith, and Allah Most High knows best, and may He grant us all improvement.

The Foundation of Faith

Imagine building a house. What's the most important part? The foundation, of course. It's the base that holds everything up. In Islam, the foundation of our faith is the belief in one God, Allah ﷻ. Allah is unique; there's no one like Him. He's the Creator of everything, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, and the All-Powerful. When we truly understand this, it changes everything. It gives our lives purpose, direction, and a sense of peace.

Think about it: When you believe in Allah, you're not alone. You have a guide, a supporter, and a loving Creator watching over you. It's like having a constant source of strength and comfort. So, let's start our journey together by strengthening our belief in Allah ﷻ. Let's remember His greatness, His mercy, and His love. Have you ever felt a deep connection with Allah ﷻ?

Share your thoughts in the comments below. I absolutely love this surah! 💯

Sometimes when we do something good, we expect  some type of validation in return...

Perhaps a 'thank you', 'JAK', a thumbs up, a 'good job' etc. If we find ourselves discouraged when we don't recieve that validation, it's time to re-examine our ikhlas (sincerity).

💭 These are some of the questions we can ask ourselves when examining our levels of sincerity:  

- Am I genuinely serving Allah with this work? Or did I begin to serve His creation?

- Why do I await validation from His creation if I am serving Him and Him alone? 

- Do I truly believe that Allah sees all and that He will not allow any of my good deeds to be lost?

- If I am bitter, annoyed, resentful, or upset while doing this work - why is that? Should a servant who loves His Master feel this way while serving Him? Or did I start to serve others without realizing it?

📖 Let's reflect on Surah Al-Ikhlas and remember Who we strive to serve, and let's get back on track when we subconsciously begin serving anyone else: 

Our Master is One.

He is the One who sustains every single thing (not us or anyone else!).

He has never had offspring, nor was He ever born - so carefully re-examine who you think you are serving and re-adjust if you began to make any of your efforts for the sake of someone on this earth. Being discouraged by a lack of human validation is a good signal to re-examine our hearts.

There is none comparable to Him! We will never serve anyone like Him - the One Whose service only enriches us, and never depletes us. He is the only One worth serving, and we serve others for His sake alone.

🤲 Oh Allah, grant us genuine Ikhlas in serving You and make us those who serve you gratefully, appreciative of the opportunity to be Your servants. May we not depend upon validation from the creation, but may our love for You be the fuel that drives us to serve You, and You alone. 

💬 Do you have tips on how to increase in sincerity? Are there any particular ayahs that help you when you desire validation from others? Share your thoughts and comments below so we can reflect and grow together ❤️

(Please be sure to see the wonderful comments from the QR community below! MashaAllah)

Surah Al Ikhlas,

The Names of Allaah:
Al Ahad and As Samad.

I understand these names of Allaah are mentioned only once in the Qur'an and within this surah. These attributes are only attributed with Allah and nothing else.

As Samad - The One who is self sufficient, the One who is the disposer of all affairs. The sustainer of all. No one else can have this attribute for example a person can be very merciful (though no one can be as merciful as Allaah)

Al Ahad - The One. This Name is only mentioned once in the Qur'an. (Unlike Al Awwal the first). 

I once listened to the tafseer of Surah Ikhlas by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi in which he said that Suratul Ikhlas is the Surah we mention and learn most frequently one reason because it is short, he advised there is also a deeper reason. I recall the following hadith when reading Ibn Kathir that:

In his book of Tafsir An Nasa'i recorded from Abdullah bin Buraydah who reported from his father that he entered the masjid with the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) and there was a man praying and supplicating: 'O Allah verily, I ask you by testifying that there is no God worthy of worship except You. You are the One, the Self Sufficient, Sustainer of all, who does not give birth, not were You born and there is none comparable to Him.' The blessed Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: 'By He in whose Hand is my soul, verily he has asked Him by His greatest Name. It is His Name that if He is asked by it He will give, and if He is called by it He will answer.' - Tirmidhi.


The fact that these two blessed Names are mentioned only once and are only synonymous with Allah, yet this is the Surah we repeat so often, inclines me to think that indeed Allaah wants to answer our du'a for we repeat this beautiful Surah and His Names in almost every single salah. It is the Sustainer of All, the One who is not begotten nor begets that answers our supplications. 

May Allaah forgive me if I have made any errors in this speech and guide me towards understanding His book and thus implementing His book better - Ameen. 

#SurahAlIkhlas #AsSamad #AlAhad #ShaykhYasirQadhi

jazaki Allaah 5hyran very much new to this. so I really welcome your advice 😊

I spent my Friday trying to be as productive as possible, by the end of the day I was happy because a lot happened today. Alhamdulillah
 Yet as I was trying to reflect a homeless man entered the train . 

He was Muslim , he greeted everyone but said 
السلام عليكم  
to the Muslims . And that caught me off guard. He started talking about Allah , he recited surah Ikhlas and continued talking about Allah. 

The surah we recite carelessly in our salah is everything he has. And I can see it means so much to him. 

His pronounciation wasn't perfect but he was doing more dawah in these two minutes that I ever did in my life. I looked around as he was talking and he got a few affirmation from non Muslims , meaning some of what he was saying was being recieved. 

He walked through the cart. 
'Allah is the greatest'. He didn't beg for money. 

I felt so ashamed, the day I thought was productive is nothing compared to what he accumulated in these two minutes. 

I wish I had the confidence to at least say
 و عليكم السلام 
back at loud but I was so puzzled 

He said jazak Allah khairun to the Muslims and left. 

Ya Rab, I look forward to seeing him again and if not in the highest level of Jannah.

If you don't have the confidence to speak, keep some dawah leaflets with you at all times, and when you get the chance give one to someone you meet. Iera have some great booklets. Making Sense of God, Muhammad the Messenger, God's Testimony. All free, just postage. All logical and basic. https://iera.org/shop/ 