QUR’AN JOURNALLING SESSIONS AT HUJJAT STANMORE

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF THE THURSDAY NIGHT SESSIONS
AVAILABLE TO WATCH AT YOUR OWN CONVENIENCE

Journalling the Qur’an Audio

4 FEBRUARY 2025

DUA SHA’BANIYYA

One of the most awesome duas to be recited in Sha’ban and throughout the year is Dua Shabaniyya.
Taught by Imam Ali (pbuh) and recited by all the Ma’sumeen 
Imam Zainul ‘Abideen (pbuh) used to recite this dua every day in Sha`ban at the time the sun passes the meridian and especially on the night of 15th Sha’ban.
Its one of the most awesome conversations one can have with Divinity … You tube has several renditions of it…

And just a reminder
Three recommended things to do throughout this month (The Prophet (pbuh) called it his month)
1.            Istighfar (seeking forgiveness)
2.            Giving sadaqa (charity)
3.            Fasting (here’s the deal according to hadith – each fast in Sha’ban accords you 20 hajat and forgiveness for 20 sins…) Do the math and go for it (Oh! And entry into Janna guaranteed).
And finally, this month has a blue cross sale of Divine Mercy and Grace……Not rocket science to access it…

1 FEBRUARY 2025

Many many felicitations on the birthdays of Abaa Abdullah, Hazrat Abbas & Imam Sajjad

It is the night of the birthday of Sayyedush Shuhada tonight and am remembering Futrus, the angel who got his wings back when he went to congratulate Sayyida on the birth of her son… The story brings back childhood memories  but somehow now its mystical element has a greater impact then it did then. Pray for wings to reach your full potential  with the wasila of Abaa Abdillah…….

And tomorrow night, the birthday of Hazrat Abbas
Hazrat Abbas was given a horse named “Uqab” (Eagle)
It  was initially  presented to Rasulullah (pbuh)  bythe King of Yemen, Saif ibn Zee Yazni, through Abdul Muttalib. The king considered the horse to be very important and its superiority over other horses was evident by the fact that its genealogical tree was also maintained. It was initially named as “Murtajiz” which comes from Arabic name “Rijiz” meaning  thunder (lightning).
Allama Iqbal in his poetry makes more than 35 references to the eagle (using the Urdu names shaheen,shahbaz and uqab).  I love his poetry and wanted to share:
“Tundi-e- Baad-E-Mukhalif se na ghabra, ae Uqab;
Yeh to chalti hai tujhe uncha udane ke liye.”
“Don’t fear the  violent winds, O Eagle! These blow only to make you fly higher.”
“Khuda tujhe kissi toofan say ashna kar de;
Keh tere bahr ki mojon main iztirab naheen.”
“May God bless you with some storms!
Because the waves in your ocean (of self) are devoid of movement (turmoil)”

And finally my favourite
“Nighae ishq dil-e-zinda ki thalaash main hai
shikar-e-murdah sazawar-e-shahbaaz nahin”
“Love is in search of a passionate  heart;
For an eagle, a carcass  is not acceptable.”

And then Imam Sajjad. Suffice to see his awesomeness in Sahifatus Sajjadiyya and the sermon in Damascus….
Recite Dua Tawba and Dua Makarimul Akhlaq in preparation for the month of Ramadhan.

31 JANUARY 2025

Sha’ban and Jumua Mubarak
THE MONTH OF THE PROPHET (pbuh)

The more I read about him, the more I fall in love with this awesome man…
Where do you start to talk about him. Every aspect of his life screams out “Talk about me first”.
Have decided to focus on the three credentials that highlight the awesomeness of a human being that he was titled with…
His enemies despite their enmity called him The Truthful One and The Trustworthy one. His God called him a Mercy to the worlds. So the focus is on Truthfulness , Trustworthiness and Compassion. (TTC). not either or but as a package.
But then the dilemma… How do you teach it to children…especially compassion!
Is it inherent?
Can it be taught and/or developed.
There’s a whole playlist on compassion on www.ted.com
I’ve been listening/watching Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf on compassion in Islam
and Abraham Verghese on compassion in the medical profession.
Abraham Verghese   relates a story from Conan Doyle about Joseph Bell (the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes) who was a lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh.
Joseph Bell is with his students when a woman walks in with a young child and says “Good Morning”.
He asks her a series of questions from “How was the crossing on the ferry this morning?” to “What of your other child?” to “Did you take the short cut?” to “Are you still working at the Linoleum factory” – all gleaned from her accent, the clay on her soles, the coat the child was wearing and dermatitis on her finger (as he explained to his students).
It was all about observation, compassion and care. 
The Prophet (pbuh)  stressed the need to look for means to show compassion and thus the emphasis on getting together  (like Salatul Jama’ being more reward worthy 70x than Salaa prayed alone). In my mind that’s what being part of a QCommunity (Qur’anic community) is all about. Being TTC towards each other.

In this month of the Prophet ask Allah (*Al Rauf) with the waseela of His *Rauf Prophet.

*Extremely compassionate and the One who understands the dilemmas of the heart and soul.

Salaams love gratitude and duas

30 JANUARY 2025

Sha’ban Mubarak for tonight.
Tonight is the first night of the month of Sha’ban
The Prophet (pbuh) called it his month signifying its importance in his life and being able to revive his sunna in ourselves.
One of the most awesome books is Sunan An Nabi by Syed Muhammad Hasan Taba Tabai
Id like to share one aspect of his day to day practices
He was persistent in his dua especially during Salaa
1. After wudhoo
2. After adhan
3. Before Salaa
4. In Qunoot
5. After Salaa
He never stopped so ask and ask and ask.

Thursdays in Sha’ban (today to start with) are awesome. It is said that the heavens are decorated every Thursday in Sha’ban and angels plead for human beings (that their forgiveness is accepted and their duas answered). So not rocket science to raise your hands and ask and ask and ask (especially for forgiveness)
There is also a 2 rakat salaa tonight with 11x Suratul Ikhlaas after Suratul Fatiha in both rakats
It will ensure safety for the month

And finally recommended to connect to the Quran in preparation for the month of Ramadhan
Please remember me in your duas
Love gratitude and tons of duas

17 DECEMBER 2024

CONVERSATION WITH UMMULBANIN MERALI ON KHOJA KONNECTION PODCASTS