In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Kind,

You awake. The horizon is dark and as you get up you recite the morning dua, you go to perform wudu and you perform your fajr Salah, afterwards you recite the morning adkhar, if you are one who recites the Qur’an in the morning you recite some Qur’an.

You know this day is a day that will never return.

You get ready to shower, eat breakfast, feed the children, go to work, go to college, go to school, take the children to their school, finish serving your elderly parents, finish the medication rounds and so on. Whilst on the way to work, during your outside the home tasks you proclaim the praises of Allah. Despite the ample time that

I used to hear this verse every week and wonder about why it in particular was chosen to be the introduction to the sermon every Friday. But as fitan touch our hearts every day it becomes clearer. As challenges to our faith, our belief in it and our practices of it, continue this verse becomes more urgent, more resounding. 'Oh you who believe, fear Allah as He deserves to be feared and do not die except in a state of Islam' (Aal Imran v 102) May we live, die and be resurrected as those in submission to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.

On Taqwā One commonly misunderstood and mistranslated Islamic term is taqwā. Usually, taqwā is translated as God-consciousness, fear of God, awe of God, awareness of God, mindfulness of God, or conscious obedience to God. However, the term taqwā is far more extensive and multi-faceted than the poor translations found in one or two English words. Taqwā is to be mindful and conscious of Allah, recognizing His Majesty and Perfection, acknowledging one’s status as a human being in need before the Creator, and recognizing the importance of submission to Allah out of love, hope, and fear, all with a consistent equilibrium. Thus, the internal state of taqwā leads to external manifestations, s

Being Mindful of Allah to The Best of Your Ability

When this verse (Aal-i Imran 102) was revealed, some of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) started becoming very worried, standing all night in prayer and exhausting themselves with extra worship. They understood the verse to mean have God-consciousness of Allah as He deserves to be feared, and recognised that, as flawed humans, we can never truly worship Allah as He deserves to be worshipped, can never thank Allah as much as He deserves to be thanked, and can never truly correspond our sacrifice for Allah to His infinite mercy upon us. (see Ma'ariful Quran/ Ruh Al-Ma'ani)

Allah then revealed (verse 16 of Al-Taghabun ), and