“As-salamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatul lahi wa barakatuh!”
“A-uthu billahi minash shaytanir rajeem. Bismillahir rahmanir raheem. Al hamduillah lillahi nahmaduhu wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wan’oothu. billaahi min shuroori an fusinaa, wamin sayyati aati a’malina. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad wa may-yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill Allah, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”
Praise to Allah
All praise is due to Allah, We repent to Him, and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no-one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His Messenger.
Allah who created Heavens and Earth
When Allah, swt, created the Heavens, and earth, and every animal to roam about on it, before he created Man, Allah, turned to the Angels, and host of Janna, telling them He was going to create Man. The Angels asked him are you going to create something that will cause fitna on the Earth? Allah, swt, replied indeed you know not what I know.
The Angels knew that man would be created with free will, from what they were told by Allah, swt. That they would have the capacity to obey, and seek the good pleasure of Allah, swt or refuse to obey Him, and anger Him. Many times I’m asked by Christians, What is your relationship with the God you call ‘Allah’? They usually expect me to give the normal scholarly reply of ” I am His slave, and he is my Master” I catch them off guard, or most of them when I reply that Allah is ‘Al Rahman’ the most gracious, whom I supplicate to daily, and seek as ‘wali’ (protector) Everyday that He blesses me with the ability to see a new day. My ‘wali’ who is the most trustworthy friend when all my mortal, human friends forsake me. Maybe some of my Muslim brothers and sisters may think of this as b’ida, however, in the Qur’an, we find Allah, swt, calling Ibrahim(peace and blessings be upon him) as a friend of Allah, swt. Why? We all know why, Ibrahim was devout in his ‘Iman’, and didn’t place the ‘dunya’ before his Rabb.
Many Christians and non-Muslims find it hard to see Allah, swt, as a close personal friend, and protector of the Mu’min (Muslim). However that’s what he is, he is our protector, when we have no one else; our guide, when we need true guidance, and this guidance only comes when we truly, and sincerly submit to Allah, swt.
