Thalaba Ibn Abdul Rahman was a young man at the age of 16. He always ran errands for the Prophet Muhammad (saw). One day while walking though the city of Medina, he passed by a house with an open door. Out of curiosity he took a glance inside. In this glance, he saw a light curtain being blown away from a bathroom entrance were a woman was bathing. He immediately lowered his gaze. With an extreme feeling of guilt and hypocrisy his mind ran. Thinking to himself,h ow could he be of the companions of Muhammad who runs his errands and be so horrible as to disrespect peoples privacy?

He feared that Allah would reveal to the Prophet evidence of his hypocrisy. His guilt denied him to ever show his face to the Prophet, so he ran away. Days went by and the Prophet kept asking the other companions if they had seen Thalaba. No one had seen him. With the Prophet's worrying about Thalaba, He sent a few of the companions to look for him everywhere and among them were Omar Ibn Al Khattab, and Salman Al Farisiy. They looked everywhere in Medina and also the out skirts of Medina, until they came about a set of mountains between Mecca and Medina where some nomads where herding sheep. The companions asked the nomads if they had seen a young man that describe as Thalaba's characteristics. They told the companions about a weeping boy. He had been here for 40 days. He came down from the mountains once a day weeping and drank the milk that they would offer him. Then he went back up the mountains weeping, crying, always asking for Allah for forgiveness, and saying words of repentance. So the companions waited until he came down and watched him. Down came Thalaba, he look like he had lost weight. His countenance reflected sorrow as he drank the milk that was mixed with his tears.

The companions insisted that they take him back to the Prophet but he refused and asked them if Allah had revealed any verses saying he was a hypocrite. They told him that they had no knowledge of such verses. He was taken back to Medina where the Prophet went to see him. He asked again if Allah had put him among the hypocrites or revealed that he was. The Prophet assured him that there were no such verses. Prophet laid out Thalaba's head onto his lap and Thalaba asked, "Oh Prophet of Allah, remove the head of a sinner away from you." The Prophet comforted him even though he told the Prophet that he felt as though ants are walking between his flesh and bones. The Prophet told him that his death is near and it's time had come. Prophet witnessed Thalaba proclaim, "There is no God worthy of worship other than Allah, and that Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." The Prophet then washed Thalaba and carried him to the grave. It is narrated that on their way to bury Thalaba, the Prophet walked on his tip toes as though he was in a crowd. When Omar asked about this, the Prophet (saw) explained that he was being crowded with the angels.

Reference:

http://bestislamstories.blogspot.com/2012/12/inspiring-and-touching-story-of-sahaba.html

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was still an infant, a group of ladies visited Makkah to take the new born babies to the open desert environment as per custom of the town. Halimatus Saadiah, from Banu Saad tribe, was that fortunate lady who took Muhammad (peace be upon him), then just an-eight-day-old, for foster care. She realised it was not just a normal baby, but an angel of blessings.

The other ladies of the group could get babies of rich families, but Halimatus opted for this orphan as his father, Abdullah, had died before his birth. Her companions were apparently happy with their findings but nobody knew that Halimatus was carrying a baby that was to become arguably the greatest personality in human history. He was gifted with blessings from Almighty Allah. And it occurred instantly. Her breast was filled with milk; her mule got strength and ran ahead of the caravan.

Halimatus Saadiah was daughter of Abdullah bin Harith and wife of Harith Abu Zowaib. When she brought the blessed child home, she had a daughter named Shaima and her sucking son, Abdullah. Shaima was about five years old and she used to help her mother take care of Mohammed. She would bath him and take him for walks and always embraced him with love. Shaima witnessed a change that happened in her family from poverty to comfort because of the blessing of this child. She used to sing songs about him and say: “Our Lord! Keep Muhammad (peace be upon him) alive for us so that I can see him become an adolescent, then a leader. Suppress his enemies and those who are envious of him, and give him everlasting glory!”

The time of 24 months passed swiftly and the occasion came when young Muhammad (peace be upon him) was to depart from Halimatus. Shaima was also shocked and very sad to see him go. Halimatus brought the child back to Makkah but she wept while separating him from her breast. Mother Aminah was moved by her love and gave the child back to Halimatus to be raised in Banu Saad region near Taif. It is said that Muhammad (peace be upon him) returned to Makkah when he was about five years of age. He lived in the loving arms of his real mother Aminah only for one more year. She took him to Madinah to show him his parental relations with Bani Najjar and died on her return journey at a place called Abwa. Muhammad (peace be upon him) later on grew under the care of his grandfather, and then his uncle, Abu Talib. He became a man of dignity.

Halimatus once returned to Muhammad (peace be upon him) at Makkah and Khadijah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave her 40 sheep as gift. It is said that Halimatus Saadiah once again came to the holy city of Madinah in her last days. She died there and was buried in Jannatul Baqi. A grave in her name is marked in the blessed cemetery.

During the Battle of Hunain, 6000 war captives were released merely on account of the Prophet being in milk-relation with many of his captives. It so happened that when the tribe of Hawazen planned an attack on Makkah, it was swiftly defeated with great losses at the Battle of Hunain. There were 6,000 captives, both male and female, with 24,000 camels and 40,000 goats at Jairanah, in Muslim hands.

It was on this occasion when an old lady, in her 60’s, appeared from among the captives and claimed that she was the sister of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). She was taken to him with high esteem. She told him, “O, messenger of Allah, I am Shaima, your foster sister, daughter of Abu Kabsha and Halimatus Saadiah bint Zuwaib.” Prophet (peace be upon him) welcomed her and spread his shawl and asked her to sit near him. She told that when he were young he bit on her shoulder, which left a scar on her body. Prophet (peace be upon him) recognised that and tears rolled down upon his cheeks remembering those olden days. Shaima embraced Islam and consented to go back to her tribe. Prophet (peace be upon him) gave a maid, a few camels and goats as gift and she returned to her tribe happily.

After waiting for few days, Prophet (peace be upon him) distributed the booty lavishly among both the Muslim and non-Muslim leaders of Makkah. Later a delegation of 14 Muslims from Banu Saad and Hawazen came to Prophet (peace be upon him) under Zuhair ibn Surad and Abu Barqan (foster uncle of the Prophet). They pleaded for the release of their captives, in heart touching appeal. They said: “There in those huts among the prisoners are your foster mother and sister (referring to Halimatus Saadiah and Shaima); they that have nursed thee and fondled thee in their bosoms. We have known thee a suckling, a weaning child, youth generous and noble. And now thou hast risen to this dignity, be gracious unto us, even as the Lord hath been gracious unto thee.”

Prophet (peace be upon him) was so moved with these words that he arranged for the release of all the 6,000 prisoners, and every one of them was given a shawl as a gift which was unprecedented in the history of tribal wars. This gesture won the hearts of the people and they embraced Islam in thousands. Thus was the benevolence of Halimatus Saadiah and her daughter Shaima bint Harith for their native tribe.

The place of Halimatus’s house is still located in the valley of Bani Saad near Taif. The name of Halimatus Saadiah and Shaima are very popular among Muslim ladies. Many institutions were named after including Halimatus Saadiah College Rabat (Morocco), Halimatus Saadiah Orphanage & Relief Organization Leicester (UK) and Halimatus Saadiah Grand Mosque Attok (Pakistan).

Islam develops cohesion in society for the general benefit of the mankind. It promotes strong bonds between parents and the children. It expands relationship to even the wet nurses, serving the infants. If a child is reared and suckled by a woman other than the real mother, she is accorded the status of an additional mother called Umm Ridah (foster mother, or milk mother); her husband is treated as the father of the child, and her children real brothers and sisters prohibiting marriages with them. Thus, a woman who nurses a child (more than five times before the age of two years), becomes mother by milk-relation with special rights under Islamic law. The suckled child is considered as a full sibling to the foster-mother’s other children, and as mahram to the woman. No other religion accords such a status to the suckling mothers.

Reference:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/525516

“Remember, curiosity killed the cat."

She was wrong of course. Curiosity could never kill this cat. But yes, a pair of beautiful brown eyes could.” 
(Saurbh Katyal, The Invisible Woman)

When Le Pure and Felicite decides to work as a team.

As one.

Time.

We're always trying to catch up with time. I feel like it will be outnumbered. Sometimes, I feel like it gets to me and I have to run faster to keep up. I wish I could slow down time, but nope. We have to keep on moving forward. Do what's best, give all your best and by the time, it will be a moment in time that you can give a huge sigh of relief with a sense of accomplishment.

Venue:

Causeway Point, Bagus

Fish Soup Stall, Level 7

1 Woodlands Square, Singapore 738099,

Hurry to Success

Every time when I hear the athan, I've always wondered what the part where it says, "Hurry to Success" means. I mean, athan is a call for prayer, so what does it have anything to do with worldly success? Or does it mean "success" for hereafter?

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar

(God is Great, God is Great)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, 

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah

(I bear witness that there is no god except the One God,

I bear witness that there is no god except the One God)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah,

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah

(I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God,

I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God)

Hayya 'ala-s-Salah, Hayya 'ala-s-Salah

(Hurry to the prayer, Hurry to the prayer)

Hayya 'ala-l-Falah, Hayya 'ala-l-Falah

(Hurry to success, Hurry to success)

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar

(God is Great, God is Great)

La ilaha illa Allah

(There is no god except the One God)

I understand about prayer being our connection to God Almighty but there are many successful people who are not praying. There are also people who are praying who are not successful in this world.

So I started asking scholars about the meaning of athan. I was given different answers, all of which I believe are correct but it wasn't until a few years ago that I finally understood its meaning.

I used to have trouble keeping my prayers. I never did pray on time, in fact most of the time, I was often late. I also had the tendency to combine two prayers together in that I would wait till the last hour of Zuhr and then immediately pray Asr. I would also do the same for Maghrib and Isya' prayers. I thought I was saving time n that way but I was ever so wrong. It was also a rarity for me to be able to complete the 5 prayers in a day. 

When I decided to re-learn about Islam, I knew that the top most pirority was to improve my prayers, or more accurate, lack of it. I decided to try my hardest to keep the 5 times a day appointment as its appointed time. I can tell you, it wasn't easy at first as I had so many distractions. Still, I was determined.

Then, I realized that the days I managed to pray 5 times at its appointed time, I felt that I've conquered the world. After that, I made sure as much as possible, that I didn't miss any more prayers. So now I truly get it! The meaning of "Hurry to Success" is, to me, to have the will power and strength to fight distraction and satanic persuasion and to pray 5 times a day at it's appointed time. When we hear the call of prayer, we hasten to pray and that is the true "success". Success against our inner battle.

Adbullah ibn Mas'ud reported:

I asked, "O Messenger of Allah, which deed is best?". The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Prayer in it's proper time." I asked again, "What's next?". The Prophet (saw) said, "Good treatment of your parents." I asked once again, "What's next?". The Prophet (saw) replied, "Struggling (Jihad) in the way of Allah." I became silent and if I had asked him more, he would have told me.

(Hadith Bukhari)

Calling Me Softly

by Norhafsah Hamid

(Page 94 - 97)