QUR’AN JOURNALLING SESSIONS AT HUJJAT STANMORE

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Journalling the Qur’an Audio

28 August 2025

RABI UL AWWAL 1447 (01)

RASULULLAH (PBUH) PART 1

And so were in an awesome month in which we celebrate Miladun Nabi (The birthday of the most awesome man that walked the earth) and nothing else matters but the man himself.
I’d like  to share some thoughts about him.
Every Muslim has in his/her  heart a love for Rasulullah (pbuh), which, given the essence  of human beings,  naturally seeks to express itself in poetry, in nasheeds, in  narrations and  in an event which  expresses the principle to celebrate blessings.
And there is no blessing conferred upon humanity greater than the coming into the world of this phenomenal man.

His birthday present to us is the gift of possibility for he taught us faith in unlimited possibility  – the fact that the One who is there for ‘Nobodies’ can still intervene at any moment even in the depth of despair.

Take home message is we don’t need to wait for a miracle to happen. We are the miracles and if we spent time learning lessons from  Muhammad (pbuh)  we can move forward, unshackling ourselves from our previous burdens, and releasing our regrets. After all, is  that not what’ Laa Ilaaha Illallah’  is all about?

And a gift from him – A dua that changes circumstances given to Umm Salama called Dua Ni’mal Badal. Recite it when things are looking grim  😔 and you want to change them to positivity 😊
More about him in the coming days leading up to his birthday….

29 August 2025

RABI UL AWWAL 1447 (02)

RASULULLAH (PBUH) – PART 2

Rasulullah was a man whom the Encyclopedia Brittanica calls the most successful of all religious personalities of the world. A man who moved not only empires, dynasties, legislations and armies but millions of human beings in the 1/3 of the then inhabited world- more than that he moved broke idols, beliefs, ideas, deeds and souls – his ambition entirely devoted to overthrow false deities and to establish the unity of the one God – 4 words – LAA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH

He was born in Makka on the 29th of August, 570 CE/17 Rabi ul Awwal (Friday), and when he died at the age of 63, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula had changes from idol worship to the worship of One God; from tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion; from lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living; from utter moral bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete transformation of a people or a place before or since.

Media manipulation and preconceived ideas tend to make us fail to recognise real truths – The Prophet (pbuh) said “If you have a pearl in your hands and people call it a peanut it will not cease to be a pearl.”

01 SEPTEMBER 2025

RABI UL AWWAL 1447 (03)

RASULULLAH (PBUH) – PART 3

Let me tell you a little bit more about this amazing man
– He was born an orphan but belonged to the noblest of the Arabian tribes, his geneology accepted as the most righteous, yet he said “No honour is nobler than humility and kindness”

When he was asked – What is religion?
He said – The best of manners (being Truthful, Trustworthy & Compassionate TTC)
The person asked from right, left, back, front
– Eventually the Prophet (pbuh) with a deep look said – “why don’t you understand?”Religion is defined not to get angry!
Danile Goleman may have coined the word Emotional Intelligence and its acronym as EQ but it was Muhammad ‘Arabi who first declared that the cleverest of human being was the one who had SQ – Spiritual Intelligence.

He abhorred nationalism – “Human beings from Adam to this day are like the teeth of a comb, there is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for one colour over another except with God awareness” .

His opponents created enmity with him – wronged him, spoke ill of him, harassed him, yet he would say “ Oblige your brother by warning them, correct them by showing favours and giving them favours”

He was always first to greet others – He spoke in short, meaningful sentences and was never seen or heard to interrupt anybody’s speech. He never spoke with a morose face, nor did he ever say hurtful words. He avoided sitting at prominent places in gatherings – rather sitting in a circle to avoid any distinction,  so much so that visitors had difficulty identifying who he was, visited the poor and sick – no housework was too low or undignified for him- and ate the simplest of foods.

02 SEPTEMBER 2025

RABI UL AWWAL 1447 (04)

RASULULLAH (PBUH) – PART 4

When it came to bravery there was no parallal to the Prophet – his most perfect student and successor Imam Ali (pbuh) would say “ When we used to meet the enemy and battle was at it’s peak, we would stand behind Muhammad when our hearts wavered – He was always closest to the enemy”
– he instructed his people never to start war and to fight only when they were attacked first- if the enemy lost, his orders were not to chase the fleeing soldiers
– he would always try and talk to the enemy hoping that their humanity would shine through and the fighting averted .

He emancipated women – He taught that both genders were created for the same purpose – the recognition of their Creator and therefore the realisation of their full potential as human beings – but have been given different tools with which to fulfill their common goal. Their physiological, emotional, and psychological differences are a result of their divergent spiritual mandates.
Women are better at harnessing and nurturing spiritual and emotional energy.
The mandate of a Muslim woman is clearly defined. Her primary role is to build the basis of the structure of a society – to provide the invisible foundation of a nucleus from which all human beings build their lives.
When his daughter used to enter the room he would stand for her in respect…..

They tried to bribe him – intimidate him, threatened him with death and destruction – but he stood firm – not for a moment losing momentum in pursuing him mission to ensure that in recognising the unity of the one God the human being would realise his/her full potential physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually –

A teacher is recognised through his students – Imam Ali (pbuh) said of him – “In the past I had a brother in God – the insignificance of the world in his eyes made him great in my eyes. He was not ruled by his stomach – he used to keep silent most of the time – yet when he spoke he silenced all speakers and quenched the thirst of all questioners. He was more eager to listen than to speak. He was considered weak, yet in an emergency he was a lion of the forest. He would not advance an argument unless it was decisive, and he would not censure anyone for what could be excused until he had heard the excuse. He would say what he would do and not say what he would not do.  When two things came to him, he would see which was more emotionally desirable and then do the contrary……”

This personality preached a religion – founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numberless social and political reforms, established a dynamic and powerful society to practise and represent his teachings, revolutionised the worlds of human thought and action for all time.

09 SEPTEMBER 2025

RABI UL AWWAL 1447 (05)

MILADUN NABI MUBARAK 

So we celebrate the birthday of the most awesome man who walked the earth.
One for whom Allah says is the perfect role model for us if we wish to reach our full potential.

‎لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلۡيَوۡمَ ٱلۡأٓخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
_
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have the most perfect role model for anyone who hopes in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often. “_ 33:21

.Sayyida Khadija saw her Rabb in him…
There is an Indian song whose lyrics say “Tujme Rabb dikhtaa hai,” ( I see my Rabb in you…)

That to me is Rasulullah – He reflected Divinity … and in essence that is what life is about – To manifest the attributes of Allah.
Did the Prophet (pbuh) not say:
“Takhalluqu bi akhlaqillah” (Adopt in yourself the akhlaq of Allah”
Let’s start with being TTC in our interactions..
(Truthful, Trustworthy and Compassionate)

17 SEPTEMBER 2025

RABI UL AWWAL 1447 (06)

It’s still the month of the Prophets wiladat …..He overawes me every time I read about him. I fall in love again and again with this man… The Qur’an says he is for me the best of those to emulate if I wish to reach my personal best.

 Like some sort of obsession I want to find out everything about him – how he sat, walked, slept…what he ate, drank, liked , didn’t like… what made him tick….
I’ll list some of the stuffs:
1.      His favourite perfume was Musk
2.      He used Violet oil for his hair and body
3.      He structured his seating so it was always towards Qibla
4.      Favourite foods were watermelon, grapes, dry dates with milk, vinegar, endives, chicory and purslane.
5.      Favourite colours for clothes were white and green – for white he said “Clothe your living and shroud your dead with it”
6.      When ill, the chosen food s were apples and cold water and avoidance of dates…..
7.      His favourite sura was Suratul A’laa….