Perfume from His Sayings

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Amongst all the thousands of hadith, are some that belong in a special category. They are known as Hadith Qudsi. They are sayings that Prophet Muhammad attributes to God. They are God’s message to humankind but in the words of Prophet Muhammad. There are more than 100 Hadith Qudsi and they usually deal with spiritual or ethical subjects. One of the most beautiful and comprehensive of the hadith Qudsi is the following saying. Transmitted to us from God to Prophet Muhammad and then down through the generations by an authentic and reliable chain of narrators.


"'O My slaves, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My slaves, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My slaves, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My slaves, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.

O My slaves, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My slaves, you will not harm Me so nor will you benefit Me. O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.

O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My slaves, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself.'"

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God emphasizes justice, and Islam condemns and prohibits all forms of injustice and oppression. God, the Almighty, is the Most Just; it is from Him that all justice emanates. God has made oppression unlawful for Himself and His promise is true: many verses in Quran testify to this.
“Your Lord is not unjust at all to His slaves.” (Quran 41:46)
“And God wills no injustice to the world.” (Quran 3:108)
“Surely God wrongs not even of the weight of an atom.” (Quran 4:40)

God has also made oppression of any kind unlawful for humankind. Islam tells us that there are three kinds of oppression or injustice. The first is injustice towards God that is associating partners with Him. The second is injustice towards ourselves, that is committing sins and the third is being unjust towards others (humankind or other creatures). Islam is more than a religion it is a code of practice. Following Islam means that the rights bestowed on humankind by God are respected and upheld. Islam seeks justice for all creatures, great, and small.

“We sent Our Messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the Measure in order to establish justice among the people…” (Quran 57:25)
In this Hadith Qudsi God begins by stressing the importance of justice. He condemns oppression and makes it quite clear that oppression is not from the tenants of Islam nor is it tolerated by the believers. However, He does not stop there, He then goes on to say that all of humankind are misguided except for those whom He (God) has chosen to guide. He asks that whenever we seek guidance we seek it from Him, for it can be obtained from no other place.

Without guidance, we are lost, continually searching for solace. It is God’s most precious gift. Knowing this and understanding the concepts of justice and forgiveness inherent in Islam enriches and completes us. Knowing that our purpose is to worship God liberates us. Guidance enables a person to accept and be grateful for the blessings that God bestows every second of every day. Humankind depends on God; God however has no need for humankind. This comprehensive hadith gives us a clear understanding of our need for God.

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Hadith Qudsi, and learned that this type of hadith belong in a special category. These sayings are God’s message to humankind in the words of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and deal predominantly in ethical and spiritual matters. “All of you are misguided except those whom I guide...all of you are hungry except those whom I have fed...” Without God, we are nothing, without God in our lives and our hearts we are lost, alone and vulnerable. Humans need God.


God, on the other hand does not need us. He is the Al Mighty, the Most High, and the Most Powerful. Whatever good we do does not benefit or affect God in any way neither does the bad we do. God does not need anything from us. He is the Self Sufficient Master Whom all creatures need – As Samad.
“He is Allah (God), (the) One. Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks). He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.” (Quran 112)
The hadith we are focusing on (which was mentioned in the first part of this series) explains that Islam is a religion concerned with justice, and a religion that condemns oppression of any kind. God then reminds us that everything we have is from Him. When we are hungry God feeds us, when we are naked He clothes us, and when we sin He, the Most Wise, the Most Just, forgives us.


God covers us in His mercy, but at the same time, He reminds us that our strength is from Him alone. Any good we do is for our own benefit and any sins we commit are to our own detriment. Our behavior does not benefit Him in any way. God is completely independent from His creation. If all humans were to ask for something from God and if every request was fulfilled it would not decrease His Kingdom, His Power or His Strength in any way.
Every day in our prayers we ask God to guide us on the straight path, the path that leads directly to His Mercy and Forgiveness. At least seventeen times a day Muslims repeat the words of the opening chapter of the Quran. We ask for God’s guidance, acknowledge that we worship Him alone and seek help from Him alone.

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“All the praises and thanks be to God, the Lord of mankind, jinn and all that exists. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection). You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the Straight Path. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger nor of those who went astray” (Quran 1:1-7)

This hadith Qudsi God reminds us in a most beautiful and sublime way that all power and strength is from Him alone.
We are able to move and function, eat, drink, and breathe; all our bodily functions and systems work with precise timing. Our hearts beat and our blood circulates. All these functions depend entirely on the will of God. If any stop working, no one can return it to normal except by the will of God.

God is the One who provides all sustenance. Imagine all the work that goes into having a piece of toast for breakfast. The bread, the toaster, the butter, and the electricity and so on, all did not magically appear. The butter was churned, the toaster manufactured, the wheat was harvested, and turned into flour, and the bread was baked, wrapped and delivered. As we spread the butter on the toast we need to remember that none of these simple, yet necessary, tasks could have occurred without the permission or the power of God.

God is the Creator of everything and He has no needs. He does not need our obedience, and our disobedience does not harm Him. He does not need to reward us if we obey Him, he has chosen to because of His generosity. Quran tells us that we were created to worship God, but this does not mean He needs our worship; no, on the contrary, we are the ones who need to worship God. It is in the remembrance of God that our hearts find rest.

“..and I (God) did not create the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).” (Quran 51:56)
“Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.” (Quran 13:28)
“All of you are misguided except those whom I guide...” this is a beautiful and comprehensive saying from the traditions of Prophet Muhammad. It emphasises God’s love for humankind, but it also reminds us that we should be grateful for that love. We can search for comfort and peace anywhere in this world but we will never find it until we search for it in our relationship with God.
Media and Islam: War or Peace - Dr. Zakir Naik

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Days go by and it feels like minutes. Before the day’s work even starts it is night time. God mentions this phenomenon in various places throughout the Quran.
They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account.” (Quran 23:113)
…A speaker from among them said, “How long have you stayed (here)?” They said, “We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord (alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here)… (Quran 18:19)


Time passes swiftly, and when we stand before God on the Day of Judgement it will seem as if we have lived, dreamed and hoped for less than a day. It will seem as if we have worshipped our Creator for only the briefest of time and in only the most lackadaisical way. We know that many of us will beg God for more time, time to correct our actions and time to worship in a better way.
Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with God), he says: “My Lord! send me back, (Quran 23:99)


Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, reiterated this for us. Time will not slow down and we cannot go back to fix the mistakes we make therefore he advised us to take advantage of five, before five.
“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you become poor; your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.”


We are advised to take advantage of what time we have. When we are young we take our youth and energy for granted. We feel as if we have all the time in the world, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. But tomorrow creeps up on us slowly and one of the first things we lose is our youth. A grey hair appears, there is a niggling pain in our back, or our shoulder or a knee.


As old age approaches people find it harder to fulfil even their obligatory acts of worship. When it is impossible to bend our knees and put our head on the ground in submission, we want only to be able to go back and pray one extra prayer, fast one extra day the way we did when we were young and full of energy. The young must take advantage of their youth before old age strips it away. Boundless energy should be used to help others, and to collect as many rewards as possible.
كوري يسأل : كيف نعيش بلا حروب ؟ - ذاكر نايك Zakir Naik


يرد الدكتور ذاكر على شبهة العين الحمئة في سورة الكهف - Zakir Naik


My Journey To Islam Sister Layla Singleton

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Days go by and it feels like minutes. Before the day’s work even starts it is night time. God mentions this phenomenon in various places throughout the Quran.
They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account.” (Quran 23:113)
…A speaker from among them said, “How long have you stayed (here)?” They said, “We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord (alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here)… (Quran 18:19)


Time passes swiftly, and when we stand before God on the Day of Judgement it will seem as if we have lived, dreamed and hoped for less than a day. It will seem as if we have worshipped our Creator for only the briefest of time and in only the most lackadaisical way. We know that many of us will beg God for more time, time to correct our actions and time to worship in a better way.
Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with God), he says: “My Lord! send me back, (Quran 23:99)


Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, reiterated this for us. Time will not slow down and we cannot go back to fix the mistakes we make therefore he advised us to take advantage of five, before five.
“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you become poor; your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.”


We are advised to take advantage of what time we have. When we are young we take our youth and energy for granted. We feel as if we have all the time in the world, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. But tomorrow creeps up on us slowly and one of the first things we lose is our youth. A grey hair appears, there is a niggling pain in our back, or our shoulder or a knee.


As old age approaches people find it harder to fulfil even their obligatory acts of worship. When it is impossible to bend our knees and put our head on the ground in submission, we want only to be able to go back and pray one extra prayer, fast one extra day the way we did when we were young and full of energy. The young must take advantage of their youth before old age strips it away. Boundless energy should be used to help others, and to collect as many rewards as possible.

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A believer must also take advantage of health before being overcome by sickness, with or without old age. Even young people are affected by ill health and injuries that make it impossible to worship in the way that they would like. Both God and Prophet Muhammad have emphasised the benefits and rewards that come from a believer experiencing pain and suffering. However when a person suffers ill health, he realises just how fragile human beings are. Prophet Muhammad reminds us that we do not know when our health will be taken from us. One day we have all our strength and mental faculties, the next we might be relying on others for even the simplest things.

Wealth is another blessing that comes to us from God. A believer should give as much as possible in charity while there is still something to give. We tend to think of charity as money but it is not confined to monetary matters. We give with our hands, our time, our knowledge and our money. We even give with our smile.

However, we should use our monetary wealth to worship and please God before it is taken from us. We have no way of knowing when God will see fit to remove our wealth from us. People are rich one day and homeless the next. We must spend our wealth for the sake of God before we do not have the means to do so. And this will not go unrewarded.
The likeness of those who spend their money for God’s sake, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn), it grows seven ears, every single ear has a hundred grains, and God multiplies (increases the reward) for whom He wills, and God is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs, All Knower. (Quran 2:261)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me7-Gt9MWXs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPt8avjN7zw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dRqGNFPMbE

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Free time is another great blessing from God that each of us possesses, regardless of how busy we think we are. Spending this time wisely means not wasting it in fruitless activities that have no benefit. Even the simplest of acts can become worthwhile by simply doing them for the sake of God. If we free ourselves from fruitless time wasting activities it is possible the time to increase our religious deeds. When a person chooses wisely, worldly deeds can also be done for the sake of God. Remember that time moves inexorably forward. Do it today because you may not have a tomorrow. Use your free time wisely today before life is filled with worldly obligations that contain no benefit whatsoever unless you live every moment to please God.

The final thing we have been advised to take advantage of is, life before death overtakes us. Every morning we should thank God for another day. Each day is a chance to do well; to spend in charity, to worship longer, harder, or in a better way. It is a chance to spread good cheer, smile, and pay that extra dollar or two in charity. It is a chance to perform countless random acts of kindness. We have become relaxed about the reality of death. At some point, perhaps in a matter of hours, minutes, or even seconds, our life will be taken away from us. Prophet Muhammad advises us to take advantage of the time we have. Do what you can now, not tomorrow, for tomorrow may never come.

This reminder from the Prophet Muhammad deals with responsibility, wisdom, foresight and time management, but it is not the only time he reminded us of the importance of being aware of our blessings and using them to our own advantage. We are constantly reminded, throughout the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet, that time is fleeting and that every little thing we do is able to become a source of great reward. Prophet Muhammad also said, “Three things follow the deceased [to his grave], two of them return and one remains with him. His family, wealth and deeds follow him, while his family and wealth return, his deeds remain with him.”