Tag Archives: new Muslims

Khutbah: Some of the Many Amazing Benefits of Establishing the Prayer

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All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance, and we ask Him to forgive us. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the consequences of our bad actions. Whomever Allah guides cannot be led astray by anyone, and whomever Allah leaves to stray cannot be guided by anyone. I testify openly that no one deserves any type of worship whatsoever, except for Allah, alone, without partners. I further testify openly that Muhammad was his worshipful slave and messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). As for what follows:

Dear believing brothers in Islam,

After having the correct creed and believing in Allah as He has commanded, then it is a must upon each and every one of us that:

  • We are obedient to Allah.
  • We establish His religion in our lives.
  • We actualize servitude within our worship.
  • We are wise and put everything in its place.
  • We actualize the benefits of our worship so that we attain some tranquility and some piece and mind in this world.
  • We become people with clean hearts, far away from foul deeds of an illicit nature and all evil deeds.
  • We are people of upright good character.
  • We are believers in truth, far away from showing off in insincerity, hypocrisy and all its forms, and far from disbelief in Allah.

If you have heard these words, and you say, “That’s a lot to embody as a person,” then please know, dear brothers in Islam, that you can do one single thing in your religion to bring all of this together! You can Continue reading →

Common Mistakes: Replacing the Father’s Name or the Family Name

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In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Ever Merciful…

A common mistake made in the West is when new Muslims are instructed to change their family names, or to change, replace, or abandon their fathers’ names. For example, a new Muslim named “Joe Smith”, whose father’s name is Michael, may be advised to change his name to “Abdullaah Muhammad al-Amreekee”. Often, without the right guidance, a new Muslim may be inclined against his family’s name and want to free himself of it. He may even feel this is required or encouraged in Islam!

In reality, from the most basic human needs preserved in all the divine religions throughout history is the preservation of the people’s ancestry. Islam, as the culmination of all previous revelations, gives this matter the utmost urgency, as our Lord orders us:

ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ

“Call them by their fathers’ (names), it is more just with Allaah” [33:5]

A Muslim is required to keep his father’s name, as well as his family name. This Islaamic manner of naming is so important that the Messenger of Allaah (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) warned those who replace their fathers’ names with a very serious consequence:

مَنِ ادَّعَى إِلَى غَيْرِ أَبِيهِ، وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ غَيْرُ أَبِيهِ، فَالْجَنَّةُ عَلَيْهِ حَرَامٌ

“Whoever ascribes himself to someone other than his (real) father, knowing that he is not his (real) father, Paradise is forbidden for him!” [al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]

We see clearly that changing one’s name in a way that replaces the father’s and/or family’s names with other names is absolutely forbidden, and we must Continue reading →