[daasayse]

Often I feel this darkness and hardness in my heart especially when I am too occupied with the concerns of daily life . Such as we can not do without.Business , dealing with people , tackling difficult people at work or society.
Sometimes I get consumed by negative thoughts concerning solutions needed in my life , for my loved ones.

I know the solution to everything is with one simple sentence
لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِؕ'

I wish to make special supplications to Allah (swt) daily or do zikr / daily
ibadah that will help me make my journey of life such it will give me
success in Akhira and on earth .

Make my life easier and more effective , make my ikhlas pure and benefit me in all my works be it related to Akhira or to this world.

Do any brother / sister have such Dua with arabic and translation compiled ? Or some Zikr /ibadah to recommend from their knowledge .

No doubt Solution of life is given in Ilm and Amal by Allah ( swt ) and his
messenger (saws) and proper Adab shown by the ulema , arefa .

Allah make everyone's journey on earth easy and full of barakah and our
Akhira successful and easy.

[Pete789]

Opposite of ikhlaas is Riya(show off). Its minor Shirk. There is a dua that the Prophet taught for protection against it:

Dua against riya.


'AbAbu 'Ali, a man from Banu Kaalil, said, "Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari addressed us and said, "O people! Fear this shirk as it is more hidden than a crawling ant."
'Abdullah ibn Hazm and Qays bin al-Madaarib both stood and said, "By Allah! You should clarify what you have said, otherwise we shall bring 'Umar with authority on our behalf or without it".
He then said, "Rather I will explain to you what I said. Allaah's Messenger (saw) addressed us one day and said,


"O People! Fear this shirk as it is more hidden than a crawling ant." Then someone whom Allaah had willed to speak said: "
And how shall we save ourselves from it when it is more hidden than a crawling ant, O Messenger of Allaah?".
He said, "Say "Allahumma inni a`udhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a`lamu wa astaghfiruka lima la a`lamu"
[O Allah I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which I do not know].

[Pete789]

I have also heard 2 very important zikr that purifies our Rooh (soul) from Shaykh Hamza yusuf's commentary on Sidi Ahmed Zarooq's book.

1. Istighfar
2. Prayer on the Prophet (Durood)

[AndreasLV]

Definitely you're right. Our hectic routine of work in daily life create a distance from religion. If we don't follow religious norms and values, we will not be able to find the motive of life.

[BariGrootrego]

my dear brother there are 2 solutions. spend time in tabligh and connect with some reliable shaykh and spend time in his company. where are you based? Maybe we can give you advice. I have found that the books by hazrat maulana yunus patel saab found on http://yunuspatel.co.za/downloads are very very beneficial. you make a lot of dua and cry to ALLAH. Speak to ALLAH like he is your friend but remember that he is a friend who if you befriend you don't need any other friend.

[InsManKV]

This world is not the place to get cozy with it.

[grubnismarl]

InshaAllah try to do i'tikaaf once every month. Completely cut yourself off from technology, people, family, phone calls etc. Seclude yourself in the masjid and concentrate on 'ibadah, dhikr, remembering death, dua and reading Quran etc.

"For everything there is a polish and the polish for the heart is the dhikr of Allah”. [Abu Darda]

Undoubtedly, the heart gets rusted like metal gets rusted when water goes over it. The People asked, "How can they [hearts] be cleaned." The Prophet replied, "To remember death in abundance and to recite the Holy Quran." (Mishkat)

[BDDkDvgZ]

Asalaam

Abu Huraira (May Allah swt be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Apostle (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Satan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot he reads and exhales the following words, ‘The night is long, so stay asleep.’ When one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when one performs ablution, the second knot is undone, and when one prays the third knot is undone and one gets up energetic with a good heart in the morning; otherwise one gets up lazy and with a mischievous heart.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume No. 2, Book No. 21, Hadith No. 243).


Wake up pray the masnoon dua for waking up, do wudhu, pray fajr salaat.

Another personal recommendation is to do all zikr in the morning making you feel fully refreshed.
You could do:
100 times astaghfar
100 times 3rd kalima
300 times durud sharif the short version may be easier which is Sallallahualayhi wa salam, differentiate the letters right and dont say 'swaad as seen'.


Ibn al-Qayyim says of Ibn Taymiyyah's rememberance of his Lord "I heard Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah sanctify his soul, say, 'Remember to the heart is like water to fish. What will be the state of the fish if it becomes separated from water?... I once attended fajr prayer with Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah he then sat and remembered Allaah until it was nearly midday. He then turned round to me and said 'This is my early morning meal, if I do not take this breakfast, my strength will drop'."

Al-Waabil as-Sayyib pg 60, Daar al-Bayyan


A man once came to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, and complained that he feels hardness in his heart. The Messenger of Allah said, what translated means, "Would you like that your heart becomes soft and that you acquire what you need? Be merciful with the orphan, pat his head and feed him from what you eat. This will soften your heart, and enable you to get what you need." [At-Tabarani & As-Silsilah as-Sahihah]

Wasalaam

[onlineslotetes]

Do any brother / sister have such Dua with arabic and translation compiled ? Or some Zikr /ibadah to recommend from their knowledge .

In the link below you can find a Bangladeshi recording of group zikr done in the UK . In the house , if you find it difficult to do zikr alone , then run the zikr audio at the back ground and do zikr simultaneously.

----------
http://sanctuaryofserenity.wordpress...rer-is-online/
--------

This group-zikr is done according to the rules of Chsitiya Sufi order , particularly the Chistiya-Rashidia order
Rashidia refers to Hazrat Rashid Ahmed Gangohi (RAH) as shown in this link.

http://books.themajlis.net/node/518

However, there are some group-zikr event of the same Sufi order in some mosques in or around Uttara, Dhaka ,Bangladesh. You may attend those event to feel the taste of zikr.

Or , you may attend another weekly event organized by a sufi shaykh of Chistiya Ashrafiya order in Uttra. More info about this shaykh who teaches in a male-only engg university ( IUT , Gazipur ) is here.

---------------------------
http://www.annoor-bd.com/

http://www.annoor-bd.com/hrlife.html
---------------------

[daasayse]

Thank you brothers . The essence of the unrest I was feeling was a conflict with my worldly aspirations and my duties to Allah. By worldly aspirations I do not mean unreasonable ambition but my duties of necessity to my family and myself .

This online community is a good way to share your hearts unrest and find
' Ishara ' of solutions .

Part of me said your doing what you do to find peace and happiness , prosperity on this world ( turning toAllah or in the process of making allah the center of all your existence ).

Another part said no you are doing ibadah and want the good in this worldand the next as well and there is nothing wrong in wanting both.

I get into this annoying discourse with myself if my niyat and ikhlass is perfect or not. I try to find a way to balance and combine both the worldly needs and focus on akhira often in regular intervals.

Like all good things understanding your deen and its practice comes to youwith time and patience.

Allah is the most patient and merciful to everyone. Allah (swt) is most
beautiful and he gives all his creations beauty in their inward and outward existence.

[Pete789]

Thank you brothers . The essence of the unrest I was feeling was a conflict with my worldly aspirations
and my duties to Allah. By worldly aspirations I do not mean unreasonable ambition but my duties of
necessity to my family and myself .

This online community is a good way to share your hearts unrest and find ' Ishara ' of solutions .

Part of me said your doing what you do to find peace and happiness , prosperity on this world ( turning toAllah or in the process of making allah the center of all your existence ).
Another part said no you are doing ibadah and want the good in this world and the next as well and there is nothing wrong in wanting both.

I get into this annoying discourse with myself if my niyat and ikhlass is perfect or not.
I try to find a way to balance and combine both the worldly needs and focus on akhira often in
regular intervals.

Like all good things understanding your deen and its practice comes to you with time and patience.
Allah is the most patient and merciful to everyone. Allah (swt) is most beautiful and he gives all his
creations beauty in their inward and outward existence.

You can keep proper Niyyah to convert even Halal actions into Ibadah with reward. As I mentioned in the other thread, one can sleep with the intention of getting fresh to be more energetic for Salah. Eating to get more energy for Ibadah. Exercising to be more strong for participating in Jihad or protection of family. Earning money to spend for the family, spending for family is Sadaqa itself. Also earning money to spend for Masjid, sadaqa etc.

[daasayse]

You can keep proper Niyyah to convert even Halal actions into Ibadah with reward. As I mentioned in the other thread, one can sleep with the intention of getting fresh to be more energetic for Salah. Eating to get more energy for Ibadah. Exercising to be more strong for participating in Jihad or protection of family. Earning money to spend for the family, spending for family is Sadaqa itself. Also earning money to spend for Masjid, sadaqa etc.

Yes I did that but a thought has come to my heart that I am worshiping
Allah because I know he is the source of my worldly success and I am not his good servant or sincere about my relationship with him as I can not
keep out the want of the world from myself.

I doubt it that this is a result of any enlightenment , nor am I disillusioned about my state and stature of Iman.

Rather I think this is a Shaytani waswasa .

[BritneySpearsFun@@@]

Recite blessings upon Rasoolullah as often as you can.

[daasayse]

Interesting video answered some of the unease I had about understanding and practicing Islam . Good and 'Haqq' knowledge is more important in our time then mindless Ibadah .
I am talking about the Hadith in the very beginning of the video.
I have seen so many people lecturing about islam and saying others are not rightful on the islamic path .
This rationalizes what the hadith says .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buUZtAgL8Pc

[SasortFkire]

Recite الرحيم one hundred times daily.

Your hard heartedness will be replaced with affection, tenderness, kindness and compassion - Insha Allah.

[Nfxutkpa]

Yes I did that but a thought has come to my heart that I am worshiping
Allah because I know he is the source of my worldly success and I am not his good servant or sincere about my relationship with him as I can not
keep out the want of the world from myself.

I doubt it that this is a result of any enlightenment , nor am I disillusioned about my state and stature of Iman.

Rather I think this is a Shaytani waswasa .

السلام عليكم

Brother, hope this helps.. this helped me come out of dreaded phase of my life..

By Hakim-ul-Ummah Mujaddid-ul-Millah Hazrat Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (RA)

“The easy remedy to evil thoughts is that when the onslaught of such thoughts overpowers the heart and mind, then one should intentionally and purposely focus one’s attention towards a good and/or positive thought. After this exercise, if these unwanted thoughts continue to linger, then undoubtedly these are unintentional thoughts (for which there is no sin). This method which I have mentioned is very simple and one should make it a routine and then rest at ease from these thoughts forever.

Many a salik, due to these types of evil thoughts and or fantasies, start to consider them self as contemptible and wicked, but this is absolutely not true. It is actually shaytaan who insinuates these types of thoughts into the heart, therefore what sin has the poor salik committed? The salik is actually so depressed and suffering due to these thoughts that in fact they are receiving great rewards from Allah Ta`ala for the internal, spiritual struggle they are undergoing…”

Hazrat continues to explain the reality of these thoughts saying, “…In actuality these evil thoughts are not even within the heart of a believer, rather they linger around the external precincts of the heart. Thus, those “evil-thoughts” which the salikeen suffer from, that loiter outside of the heart, are not really thoughts, but mere reflections or effects of those reflections, which give the impression to a person that they are actually coming from within. The only thing which is actually firmly embedded within the heart of a believer is faith, not stray thoughts. These stray thoughts are nothing but superficial and external which have no reality or substance, thus one should not be worried about them at all.

Shaytaan only insinuates such thoughts into those hearts which have the valuable treasure of faith in them. Just like a thief. A thief only goes to rob a house which has some wealth inside. Thus we should understand that stray thoughts only come about for the true believers and accepted servants of Allah, not for people that are faithless and rejected.

The question might still remain regarding the darkness and spiritual low a person might feel due to these stray thoughts entering the heart. For this I say that the feeling of “darkness” in the heart is tab`i (natural) and all types of darkness are not necessarily an obstacle in treading the path to Allah as long as a person is on the right track. Take for example a train which is headed to its destination. Does a train not travel in the darkness of the night? Don’t we close the shudders at times which block the light from outside? Does this stop the train from traveling on to its destination? All it needs is that the driver should have light and that the train should remain on track. Insha Allah, we know that this train will ultimately get to its destination.

In order to benefit from the above-mentioned advices one should not do the aforesaid exercises with the intention of averting stray thoughts. Neither should one wait for the complete disappearance of such thoughts from the mind and heart after doing it. Rather a person should merely put them to practice when needed, considering them to be an ongoing beneficial-practice without waiting for any results. The reason for this is that intending the aversion of thoughts will lead to hastiness and worry. That worry will lead to anxiety, and how can one possibly avert stray thoughts when one is worried and anxious?

(Anfaas-e-Eesa; Part 2, pgs. 445-446)

[didrexx]

السلام عليكم ... By Hakim-ul-Ummah Mujaddid-ul-Millah Hazrat Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (RA)... (Anfaas-e-Eesa; Part 2, pgs. 445-446)

Brother Shahed-560, I would like to learn more on ^ if you could please recommend an accessible resource I would appreciate it. JazakAllah.

[StincPriene]

Often I feel this darkness and hardness in my heart especially when I am too occupied with the concerns of daily life . Such as we can not do without.Business , dealing with people , tackling difficult people at work or society.
Sometimes I get consumed by negative thoughts concerning solutions needed in my life , for my loved ones.

I know the solution to everything is with one simple sentence
لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِؕ'

I wish to make special supplications to Allah (swt) daily or do zikr / daily
ibadah that will help me make my journey of life such it will give me
success in Akhira and on earth .

Make my life easier and more effective , make my ikhlas pure and benefit me in all my works be it related to Akhira or to this world.

Do any brother / sister have such Dua with arabic and translation compiled ? Or some Zikr /ibadah to recommend from their knowledge .

No doubt Solution of life is given in Ilm and Amal by Allah ( swt ) and his
messenger (saws) and proper Adab shown by the ulema , arefa .

Allah make everyone's journey on earth easy and full of barakah and our
Akhira successful and easy.

Dear Brother,
Open wide your heart only to Allah and be determined for Him. He will give power and inshirah to your heart

Being Determined in Worship

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed satan-
"He is Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between them, so worship Him and persevere in His worship. Do you know of any other with His Name?" (Surah Maryam, 65)

“Determination” is showing patience about something, stopping at nothing to reach the goal, and fulfilling what needs to be done no matter what by acting with steadfastness. Allah wants Muslims not only to worship Him, but also to be determined about worship.

Worship means being a servant. Every behavior, action, conversation, and attitude people do for the cause of Allah is an act of worship. As performing the prayer five times a day is an important and obligatory act of worship for a person, in the same way, overcoming anger, saying a nice word, warning people, not to make an assumption or not to be argumentative are also acts of worship. Therefore, Allah’s Command “to be determined about worship” is valid for both factual prayers and good moral values.

However, while Muslims are commanded to be determined in the verses, there is one more important point revealed. This is the explanations revealing that Muslims’ steadfastness will be tested. Almighty Allah may test Muslims’ steadfastness to live according to the morality of religion both through events that appear to be negative and with blessings such as prosperity, health, richness or power. In short, Muslims are tested with both difficulty and accommodation. However, in both situations, sincere believers would experience no negative change in their behaviors, and they live the morality of Islam in every situation and environment with the same determination.

[Vagtlaldo]

Some great suggestions in this thread, Masha'Allah.

Brother I know what you mean by your heart becoming dark and hard due to worldly things, we all experience that these days I believe, may Allah protect our hearts from becoming dark and hard. Ameen.

I also Insha'Allah have a simple but powerful recipe for you to "wash" your heart as much as you can daily.

Listen to recitation of the Qur'an as much as possible. I accomplish this usually when driving. Whenever I'm driving, I put the Qur'an on through my phone (can be done with phone, CD, etc, whatever is convenient for someone Insha'Allah). Listening to the recitation of the Qur'an is Insha'Allah literally like taking your heart out, washing it really well with the cleanest water as all the darkness, dirtiness and hardness washes away, and then putting it back into your body. Even if you're going somewhere for a quick 5 minute drive, just put on the Qur'an until you get to your destination. If I end up at a place where music is being played and immodesty is all around (such as going to the mall to buy clothes, even supermarket and many "simple" places these days), then I feel that was a bad 'blow' to my heart so I try to increase the amount of time I listen to the Qur'an that day as soon as possible. So for example, if I'm driving somewhere and I get there, I'll just sit in the car for another few minutes listening and pondering before turning the car off and getting out. You can also put some earphones on while in bed before going to sleep and listen, but you have to be careful with this: You should be dressed appropriately (awrah covered) and turn it off while you're still fully awake. It is not recommended to fall asleep while listening to the Qur'an as Allah commands us in the Qur'an to listen with attentiveness while the Qur'an is being recited.

For those who don't drive, the same goes for walking & taking buses/trains/taxis/etc. Insha'Allah download any of the several free Qur'an apps available for smartphones these days and pop on your earphones. Similarly, you can download MP3's online and invest in a cheap MP3 player if you do not have a smartphone.

You do not need wudhu or anything special to listen to the recitation of the Qur'an. Just need to be properly dressed and be in a clean place (obviously your car qualifies). Insha'Allah you will notice a huge, huge difference after adopting this simple but powerful habit.

May Allah make it easy for all of us. Ameen.

May Allah forgive me if I said anything wrong and Allah knows best.

[Nfxutkpa]

Brother Shahed-560, I would like to learn more on ^ if you could please recommend an accessible resource I would appreciate it. JazakAllah.

السلام عليكم

Sister, I assume your query is about learning more about the 'Tazkiya-e-Nafs' (the refinement of inner self). For starter, I believe following downloadable books should suffice:

1. Shariah and Tariqat1: Inseperable & indivisible by Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Mohammad Zakariya (RA)
2. Shariat and Tasawwuf by Maulana Masihullah Khan (RA)
3. Polishing the hearts by Shaikh Ibn Qayyim (RA)

Just google the name of the book. You can download from number of sites.

Apart from the above, google for sites like Majlis.net, Khanqah.com & Mufti Taqi Usmani (DB's) site.

Above all, one need a Kamil Shaikh for guidance (through spouse/guardian for Masturat (ladies)