Zhikr (S2) The Messenger ﷺ: “When a servant abandons making dua for his parents, then his sustenance is cut off”. Glad tidings! The Messenger ﷺ: “Whoever supplicates like this: ‘[The dua sent below]’. Then Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى says: ‘I have forgiven his sins, even if they are equal to the number of ants’”. There are approximately 20 Quadrillion ants on Earth! Do not despair of Allah’s سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى Mercy. He سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى loves us more than we love ourselves. Be consistent in supplication and do not lose hope.

Zhikr (S1) The Messenger ﷺ: “Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى Has not given His servant a blessing better than the blessing of being able to do Zhikr”. Surah [29:45]: “and the remembrance of Allah [سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى] is greater”. Umar رضي الله عنه: “If one of you knew what you recieved for saying ‘جَزَاكَ ٱللَّٰهُ خَيْرًا’ to his brother, you wouldn’t stop saying it”. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه: “Verily, the dua of a brother in Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى is answered”.

The Qur’an (S2) Uthmaan رضي الله عنه disliked letting a day pass without reciting the Qur’an from his Mushaf. His Qur’an was literally falling apart due to how much he رضي الله عنه used it. Compare this to today, where our Mushafs are left on our shelves collecting dust. The Messenger ﷺ: “The best act of worship of my Ummah is to recite the Qur’an by sight”. To recite the Qur’an without a Mushaf, you gain 1,000 merits. To recite it with a Mushaf, you gain 2,000 merits. Onto Zhikr: Shaytaan attacks you in proportion to your negligence of Zhikr. A burglar does not burgle a house when the inhabitants are awake.

The Qur’an (S1) Surah Ikhlaas - Surah [112]. It is called “Sincerity” as it only mentions Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى within this blessed Surah and mentions nothing else. Reading Surah Ikhlaas 10x after every Fardh Salah will get you the forgiveness and blessings of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى. You can enter also enter Paradise through any gate you wish! If you recite it 50x a day, when you rise out of your grave a caller will say: “O you who has praised Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى, enter Paradise”. If you make Wudhu, read Surah Fatiha, then read Surah Ikhlaas 100x, it then lets off a roar around the Arsh. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى then Gazes upon the reciter. The reciter will then never ever be punished. (One must strive to get this in at least once in our lifetime!).

Hajj and Umrah (S2) Zam Zam water strengthens the heart and consoles the soul. It is Sunnah to perform Wudhu with Zam Zam. It is also Sunnah to pour the blessed Zam Zam water over your head. The throwing of the stones at Hajj: The Messenger ﷺ: “With every stone you throw, one major destructive sin is forgiven”. What is a sign that your Hajj has been accepted? Haafiz Ibn Hajr (r.h): “A sign that someone’s Hajj is accepted is that they return a better person”. (e.g you grow a beard, attend the Masjid more, be kinder to the people, follow the Sunnah more etc). Hajj is the only Pillar which has a Surah named after it in the Qur’an. It is also the only Surah that has 2 prostrations within it.

Hajj and Umrah (S1) The Messenger ﷺ: “The Jihad of the elderly, the child, the weak and the woman is Hajj and Umrah”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Whoever stays in al-Madinah and shows patience throughout the difficulties he experiences in it, I will be a witness for him and intercede for him on the Day of Judgement”. The blessed Zam Zam water: Abdullah Ibn Abaas رضي الله عنهم: “The people of Makkah would beat anyone in a race and anyone in a wrestling match. They lost this when they turned away from Zam Zam”.

Sadaqah (S1) The Messenger ﷺ: “Bring cure to your ailing through Sadaqah”. Ali رضي الله عنه: “And miserliness brings together all moral faults”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Verily, charity will protect a people from the heat of their graves and verily, only the believer will be shaded on the Day of Resurrection in the shade of his charity”. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى: “I Will return it to you when you need it the most”. When giving, in reality, you’re helping yourself.

Fasting (S2) The Messenger ﷺ: “Do not sniff food as the animals sniff”. Yahya Ibn Abi Katheer (r.h): “There is 3 times where blowing is disliked; Onto the place of prostration, into your drink and into your food”. Onto Sadaqah: An Arabic proverb: “The farmer who doesn’t feed his cat [i.e out of stinginess] will have his crops eaten by mice”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Sadaqah prolongs life, wards off an evil death and removes pride”.

Fasting (S1) The Messenger ﷺ: “Winter is the Spring for a believer. It’s nights are long for night worship and its days are short for fasting”. The Messenger ﷺ: “The best worship is the one where you struggle the most”. The Messenger ﷺ: “I fear the most for my Ummah; overeating, oversleeping, laziness and weakness in certainty”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Hasten to break the fast and delay the Suhoor”.

Salah (S5) Salat al-Duha: The mid morning prayer. Paradise has a gate called: “ad-Duha”. On the Day of judgment, the announcer will call out: “Where are they who regularly recited Salat al-Duha? This gate is yours, enter”. For reading 2 Rakats of Salat al-Duha, you are classed as those who are not amongst the forgetful. 4 = Written amongst the obedient. 6 = Won’t be harmed by a sin you commit that day. 8 = written amongst the Qaniteen. 10 = Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى builds for you a house in Paradise.

Salah (S4) The Messenger ﷺ: “A person going on a journey cannot leave anything better for his family than reciting 2 Rakats for them”. What is the wisdom of Tahajjud? The Messenger ﷺ: “..As for Paradise, its aspirant does not sleep. As for Hell, he who flees from it does not sleep. Today, the Hereafter is surrounded by unpleasant things, the world is surrounded by pleasures. Do not let the pleasures deceive you”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Stick to offering the night prayer, for it extinguishes and replaces sins”.

Salah (S3) Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهم: “If you guard your 5 prayers, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى will guard this Ummah”. The Messenger ﷺ: “If anyone offers 4 Rakats before the Zuhr prayer, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى will forgive his sins for that day”. (The 4 Rakats Sunnah Muakadah). The Messenger ﷺ prayed this Sunnah prayer in the dwelling of Abu Ayub al-Ansari رضي الله عنه.

Salah (S2) The Messenger ﷺ: “Salah is the key to all goodness”. One of the ways we can ascertain what this goodness is, is to know what actually happens when we pray: The following priceless things occur when we offer our Salah. One must remember [4], [2] and [3]. [4]: When you start your Salah, 1. Your sins are placed on your head and shoulders. 2. Birr (a special grace) is sprinkled on your head. 3. The Divine Mercy envelopes you from your feet to the Heavens. 4. Angels (a.s) envelope you from your feet to the Heavens. [2]: In Rukuh, 1. You’re completely submerged by Allah’s (سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى) Mercy. 2. Your sins fall off. [3]: In sujood, 1. You’re prostrating at the Feet of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى. Then, 2. Sins fall from the feet. 3. Your needs are fulfilled.

Salah (S1) Before getting to Salah, some important matters: One should use Itr after performing Wudhu. After a meal, one should floss and rinse his mouth with water. 3 things we are to bury so people who practice black magic can’t use them; Blood, hair and nails. The Messenger ﷺ: “He is not from amongst us, the one who practices witchcraft or asks someone to do it”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Whoever practices witchcraft is a polytheist”.

Sacred Knowledge (S3) The Messenger ﷺ: “It [i.e knowledge] is wasted when you address it to someone not worthy of it”. By supporting the Deen, I.e through Dawah, teaching, charity etc, you will be supported by Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى. Surah [3:160]: “If Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى helps you, none can overcome you”.

Sacred Knowledge (S2) Imam Abu Yusuf (r.h) who was the student of Imam Abu Hanifa (r.h) received a palace in Paradise due to teaching the people knowledge and people would speak ill of him. Ali رضي الله عنه: “The smarter you become, the less you speak”. To say: “I don’t know” is half of knowledge. Ali رضي الله عنه: “Why does the children of Adam (a.s) engage in vanity? His beginning is a drop of semen, his end is a stinking corpse, he cannot sustain himself nor ward off death”. One looks at the state today and realises, we are the complete opposite to what the Salaf (رضي الله عنهم) were

Sacred Knowledge (S1) Hasan al-Basri (r.h) said the true scholars have these signs; They are Zaahids, they yearn for the Akhirah, they deeply understand the Deen and they are immense in their worship. The Messenger ﷺ advised Ali رضي الله عنه: “Consult with the fuqaha and the worshippers. Do not give your own opinion”. What is knowledge without worship? You have planted the tree but bore no fruit. Miracles involving Imam Abu Hanifa (r.h) take place.

The Prophets (a.s) (S17) Surah [27:59]: “and Peace be upon His servants, who He Has chosen”. Abdullah Ibn Abaas رضي الله عنهم said this refers to the Companions رضي الله عنهم. Onto Sacred knowledge: Ali (a.s): “You must understand, knowledge is greater than riches. Knowledge guards you, but you have to guard riches. Knowledge increases, but riches decrease when you spend. Knowledge governs, riches need to be governed”. The Messenger ﷺ: “Do not give wisdom to those unworthy of it, just as you wouldn’t throw jewels to swines”.

The Prophets (a.s) (S16) The Messenger ﷺ, the prism of perfection. Many have come and gone, but none have matched him ﷺ. He ﷺ put kings to shame. He ﷺ never sought fame. He ﷺ is al-Mustafa, the greatest of creation! Hasan Ibn Thaabit رضي الله عنه: “A person more handsome than you [ﷺ] my eyes never saw. One more beautiful a woman never bore. You were fashioned free from every flaw. It is as if you [ﷺ] were created the way you sought”. When the Messenger ﷺ was very ill he advised: “Take care of the earliest Muslims amongst you and their children [رضي الله عنهم]. If you fail to do so, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى will not accept anything from your deeds”. Thus it is a must for us to love the Muhajireen رضي الله عنهم. The Companions رضي الله عنهم to us are like the stars. They burn bright. They left many years ago, yet still their light reaches us, guiding us through our journey. They are all distinct beams of light, shining through the prism of perfection ﷺ. May Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى be well pleased with all the blessed and noble companions of the Messenger ﷺ, indeed, He (سُبْحَانَهُ وتَعَالَى) is!

The Prophets (a.s) (S15) The Messenger ﷺ would always forgive those who wronged him. The tribe of Muhaarib caused great harm to the Messenger ﷺ in the early days. When the tribe of Muhaarib came to him ﷺ in the year of delegations, the Messenger ﷺ did not mention any of their harm once! They accepted Islam and the Messenger ﷺ gave them all gifts. One man from their tribe called Huzayma Ibn Sawa رضي الله عنه didn’t have a beard. The Messenger ﷺ rubbed Huzayma’s رضي الله عنه face and a beard appeared! Was there a lizard companion of the Messenger? ﷺ A Bedouin says to the Messenger ﷺ: “I will not believe until this lizard believes!”. The Messenger ﷺ speaks to the lizard and it says: “I am here, at your service”. The lizard says: “You are the Messenger of The Lord of the worlds and the last of the Prophets [a.s]”.