monthly ideal muslim

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How to earn a Halal income?

3 unique tips to become a practical Muslim

What are Islamic mutual funds?

How to keep learning all about Islam?

4 tips to never tell a lie

Which Women Enter Jannat

What they said about Knowledge?

Creative: Adnan Hussain

In this age of materialism it is very difficultto earn a Halal income. The task gets moredifficult if one lives in a non-Muslim society.Here you not only have to examine the sourceof your income but also to see what a company

does commercially where you work. In Muslim soci-eties one has to just keep watch on the source of in-come and to ensure that whatever amount is heearning that is the exact reward of his services. Sim-ilarly in business one has to keep the profit marginsaccording to Shariah to make the business profit asHalal income.

Usually all types of earning from the followingsources is strictly prohibited.

The institutions which deal with usury or interestbased transactions

The activities that promote vulgarity, obscenity Activities related to gambling The activities that develop intoxication

If you work in any venture related to any of theabove four sources you don’t earn Halal income asyou are related to that specific prohibited activity.Therefore, you must remain aloof from all such jobsor business that directly or indirectly related toabove mentioned.

Usury or interest base financeThe earning from a job in any financial institution

that deals with interest is not Halal income. That iswhy you should not even apply in such institutionsbecause if you get that job, your friends and familymay force you to join it. This is also a deception thatsomeone who joins such a job with the pledge as

soonas he gets theone with Halal income he wouldswitch over. It is nothing but a self-deception andmust be avoided. Even you cannot do a job in an Is-lamic bank under a group of banks where some ofits companies also deal with interest based bankingbecause there is no guarantee from which sourceyour paid your salary.

Activities that promote vulgarity or obscenityEntire entertainment industry of the present

times falls under this category. Yes if you do any en-tertainment work according to the teachings ofIslam then you are allowed to do a job or start a busi-ness in such ventures. Otherwise this industry allover the world is directly or indirectly depraving thehuman beings with vulgarity and obscenity. Hereagain you cannot work in makeup department of afilm company that produces sensation movies be-cause it does not earn Halal income to pay you yoursalary out of it.

Activities that develop intoxicationAll manufacturing concerns that produce intoxi-

cants in shape of liquid or solid you cannot do a jobor business there because their income is not Halalincome. Islam strictly prohibits sale, purchase, man-ufacture and use of all types of intoxicants.

Activities of and related to gamblingThe earning from all work that are do with gam-

bling or promotes it, is not a Halal income. The busi-ness of gambling is growing everywhere so youmust take care to do a job in place that might be pro-moting their business like websites or ad agencywith sole contract of promoting a gambling den.

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HALALINCOME?

How to earn a


And take a provision (with you)

for the journey, but the best provision is al-taqwa

(piety, righteousness)

[al-Baqarah 2:197]

Ideologically no doubtwe are Muslims. We areproud of being Muslim.With our appearancemost of us clearly look asthe followers of Islam.

But are we practically following thisreligion of peace and blessings. Thisis the right question we must ask toourselves. On the occasions of anyreligious festival we follow the teach-ings related to it. But is this enoughto be the follower of one of themost modern religions of the world?Not exactly. For this we have to atleast follow the Faraiz (obligations)and stay away from all major sins(Gunah kabeera) more particularly.

Apart from common disinclina-tion to be a practical Muslim, thereare minor things which stop us tofulfill the obligations and simultane-ously rubbish things which attractus, spoil our belief. So we have totake strict vigil over apparently trivialthings which actually drag us to thepath of disaster. For this purposehere are 3 unique tips to control thenegative thoughts and happily actupon Islamic teachings.

Remain alert of evil forceThis is the first step which can

make us realize where the fault lies.We must see where we skipped theobligations willfully and where some

evil force stopped us to do so. Thisevil force is not any physical being.It is a pretext. Whenever we make aplan to do a good deed the secondthought that comes in our mind is afascinating proposal to defer it for awhile and do something more nec-essary. That evil force tries to con-vince us to first finish the worldlywork so that we can offer the prayerwith more devotion. It is nothingbut a misguidance. To crush suchthoughts we should argue if wedon’t offer prayer on time we wouldnot be able to concentrate our work.To fight any kind of negativethought we must prepare a counterargument to reject it. We must re-member that evil force never rejectsour ideas of doing something good.It tries to make us defer it with theplan to do a good deed more effec-tively after sometime. So remain alertof evil force.

Don’t be unduly courteousThis is the second hurdle when-

ever we try to fulfill our obligations.While at workplace we sometimesbecome reluctant to quit a gathering.In family we try to defer any goodwork just to avoid displeasure of anyfamily member. So instead of be-coming rigid in observance of Is-lamic teachings we should ask themto join us if our fellow beings are

also Muslims and are very close tous. Secondly we should make an im-pression as if our religious activitiesare our unavoidable routine whichwe enjoy doing on time. In this waywe don’t have to inform them whilegoing to mosque to offer prayer orto do any other religious obligation. Always fulfill basic requirements

This is another lethal attack fromthe evil force to stop us from doingour religious obligations. Sometimesa negative thought misguides us thatwe are not in complete physical pu-rity, sometimes it creates a doubtabout the cleanliness of our clothesor appearance. So from the start ofthe day we should take full care ofour cleanliness and purity and don’tgive a chance to our negative self tostop us doing well.

Keep praying for the righteousway

We must remember that withoutthe support of Allah we can neverstay on the right path. So applying allour tips and tricks to become a prac-tical Muslim we must keep on seek-ing the favor of Allah. Obviously Hewill help us to be His obedient wor-shippers and this must be our firmbelief. In this way we would alwaysresort to Him in case any worldly af-fair attempts to divert us from theright path.

unique tips to become a

PRACTICAL MUSLIM


Tutorial


Money Matters

To understand the Islamic mu-tual funds first we have to beclear on the question; whatare mutual funds in general.

It is actually a way of safer investmentwhere an investor does not need tohave any technical knowledge of in-vesting. What he needs to do is tosimply deposit his money into a mu-tual fund company under a deal.Now it is the job of fund managers ofthat mutual fund company to findthe best lucrative options to put thatmoney and earn maximum return onit. The Mutual Fund Company gets itscommission on every chunk of profitfrom each investor. This is a generaldefinition of mutual funds.

Under Islamic mutual funds thesame process is adopted but fundmanagers are bound to invest themoney in those investment optionsthat are interest-free which meansthey accept the money on profit andloss basis not on any fixed term of re-turns. Here investors are not to justtrust on fund managers that theirmoney would be used according toteachings of Islam for investing.There is certification of such Islamicfunds by Shariah boards in eachcountry that clearly describes whichfunds are Islamic.

The processMutual fund companies do not

receive money from investors with-out any plan. They offer various typesof funds to serve the needs of alltypes of investors. Many people saveless and want to invest less as wellwhile many people just save moreand after that they invest their entiresaved money into any safe mode ofinvestment. Mutual Fund Companiesintroduces various types of fundssome offer less return with less in-vestment and some other offershuge investment with huge returns.This is the general rule of investmentthat higher the returns, higher therisk and vice versa. Why Islamic mutual funds are safer?

It is generally said that conven-tional mutual funds are safe and Is-lamic mutual funds are safer. Ingeneral type of mutual funds the el-ement of riba (interest) is involvedwhile latter is free from any type of il-legitimate mode of investment.Therefore more safety of latter is nat-ural. Another reason of their beingsafe mode of investment is that fundsare handled by investment experts.They have sound knowledge of vari-ous investment options. They fullyknow how much money to be in-

vested in which option and for howmuch time. They also foresee anychange in the trends of returns of anyinvestment product and take deci-sion according to it. That is why veryrarely their investment decision failsto bring return or bring lesser returns.Usually they make investors earnsmartly. In return they charge theirfee as commission.

AvailabilityIn every Islamic country Islamic

mutual funds of various types areavailable. Most popular of its typesare Islamic equity funds, Islamic stockfunds, Islamic income funds, Islamicbalanced funds etc. You can also in-vest in funds online regardless of thecountry of your origin. It is wise tofirst visit the company of mutualfunds to get detailed briefing aboutthe benefits of various types of fundsand to see which ones are the mostsuitable for you. If you have hugesum of money to invest you can alsoget the services of any investmentadvisor to make decision of investinghugely in this safe and Islamic way ofinvesting. Most of the huge invest-ment companies in non-Muslimcountries of the advance part of theworld also offer Islamic mutual fundsfor investing.

WHAT ARE

ISLAMIC MUTUAL FUNDS?


“The worst thief among

people is the one who

steals from his prayer,

by not doing rukoo’

and sujood properly.”

Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him


Article

We need to keep learning all aboutIslam to become a perfect Muslimand win the blessings of Allah. Ouractions can never be strictly ac-cording to Islam unless we fully

know about what it demands from us. For this pur-pose we need not to devote our entire time for Islamiclearning. We should regularly spare a little time tolearn it as much as possible and whatever we learnwe should apply it on our daily life. In this way we willbe following all the teachings of Islam and also thoseteachings that are not compulsory to follow but aredesirable if we act upon them.

Don’t take it as a dutyIf we take it as our duty to keep learning all about

Islam we will be devoid of passion while doing so. Weneed to develop interest in it. For this purpose learnthose teachings first that are directly related to ourlife. These are:

• All about compulsory religious obligations• Sunnah related to our daily life• About rights of people• About rights of Allah• About rights of self• About family life• About professional life

Discuss after studyIf we simply keep learning all about Islam through

books and websites we may not be able to retain allwe learn. For this purpose we need to discuss what-ever we learn with our family members, friends andother fellows. Our intention to do this should be to re-tain our knowledge and to share with others for their

benefits also. We must not try to show how scholarlyor knowledge lovers we are. Any pompous behaviorwill lead to a disaster and we will not be able to be atrue Muslim.

Action mustThe second effective tip to retain whatever we

learn about Islam is to apply in our daily life. If welearn about how to behave with our elders our everyact must reflect that we know about this. Secondlyour ultimate purpose should also be to improve ourdeeds with the help of what we learnt about Islamicteachings. People will also note change in us if wekeep learning all about Islam and show it through ourdeeds.

Never be bookishLearning about Islamic history and philosophical

issues regarding Islam is equally good but in first in-stance we should learn about the practical aspects ofIslam. Our ultimate objective must be to become apractical Muslim. After this stage we may resort totheoretical aspect to strengthen our Islamic ideology.

Full use of online resourcesNowadays online resources are the best hub to

teach us practical aspects of Islam. Most of thewebsites and blogs nicely cover topics that relateto our practical life. We can search such re-sources by writing top Islamic resources inGoogle search window. Moreover, if we keep vis-iting this blog we can have lot of tips and tricksto learn how to spend our life as an ideal Muslim.So never forget to keep visiting this blog and alsoshare your views about its contents in commentssection below.

“Do not become angry,

and Paradise willbe yours.”




Tips and Tricks

Being a Muslim it is our bounden duty tospeak truth all the time. Even if we have toface any type of hardship by following thepath of truthfulness we should never cave

in before falsehood. We all know that falsehood isthe root-cause of several other sins. Just to protectour one lie we have to tell lies over lies and to com-mit a great sin (gunah kabeerah). Therefore, it is nec-essary to adopt easy to follow tips and always stayaway from the path of shatan. Here are four easy tipsyou can follow without any ado and avoid one of thegreat sins.

Think long-termIt happens in everyone’s life that a little lie gives

us huge worldly benefits. But ultimately we not onlyhave to be liable for this here and hereafter but weare also known as a liar if we keep on doing so.Therefore, whenever a situation arises where a liecan save from problems we must think:

• Will this lie save me in the hereafter?• Will I not become known as liar?• Will the benefits of lie last forever?

If you find the answers of the above three ques-tions in affirmation you may go ahead and follow theshatan. But from all the rational standards it is im-possible you would escape from the ire of Allah atdoomsday because of speaking lies. Nor anyone inthis world will remember you as a truthful person if

you tell a lie. Similarly the benefits you derive by fol-lowing the falsehood will end earlier or later. Itmeans you would be loser in all the ways.

Control fear factorThis is the most lethal trick of shatan that he de-

velops the fear factor if you speak the truth. So al-ways control it with following reasoning:

• I have to obey the order of Allah even if I lose or gain• If Allah is the savior no one can harm me in any way• Those who speak truth remain alive in their deeds forever

Think logicallyWhenever you need to tell a lie just think would

that be the last one in your life. Just imagine howyou have to move ahead with your one lie. You haveto become a liar to put a cover over it. Therefore, in-stead of doing thousand sins it is good to avoid thefirst one and face a little worldly hardship for thetime being.

Leave the rest up to AllahNot everything is under our control in this world.

Our freedom of choice is very limited. It is AllahWho has complete control over all the affairs of thisworld. With this concept in mind just speak thetruth in any kind of adverse situation and leave therest up to Allah.

4 tips to never tell a


Hadith

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu

alaihi wa sallam) said: “ShallI inform you which woman will enterParadise?” The Sahaba replied: “Yes, most

certainly.” Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “The womanwho has children, is lovable, when she becomes angry the husband con-soles her, and when the husband becomes angry she says that as longas you do not become pleased with me, I will not even apply surmah(antimony) to my eyes.” [Tibrani]

The love between husband and wife offends Shaytaan more than any-thing else. If husbands and wives are to care for each other and try tokeep the environment of the house as peaceful and loving as possible,every Muslim house can become a model of Jannat. All kinds of quarrelswill cease and the misfortune of divorce will not prevail. Children broughtup in such environments will be an example of piety, discipline, love andsympathy. May Allah make every Muslim house a model of Jannat.

If the hearts of both spouses are united, there can be no greater bounty,and if there are differences between them (Allah forbid), there can beno greater calamity.

Which

Women Enter Jannat


“The mostbeloved of people to

Allaah are thosewho have the

best attitudes.”Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him


Opinion

What Muhammad [PBUH] said about education/study • The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim. [both male and female]

• If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise.

• He who issues forth in search of knowledge is busy in the cause of Allah till he returns from his quest.

• Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave

• He who leaveth home in search of knowledge, walk in the path of God”

• Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave”

What his Muhammad S.A.W followers (Imam, Scholars, etc) said :“True knowledge is not measured in relationship to how much you memorize and then narrate, but rather, true knowledge is an expression ofpiety [protecting oneself from what Allah prohibited and acting upon what He mandated]. “Also, “Study and act upon what you learn.”

Ibn Masòod, radiallaahu ànhu [Related by Abu Naèem]

“All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds; andthose who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.”

Imam Shafi’i (rahimullah)

“There is no worse calamity for knowledge and its people than when outsiders intrude. They are ignorant, but presume to know. They causetrouble yet think that they are helping.”

Imam Ibn Hazm Rahimahullah

Seek (beneficial) knowledge, because seeking it for the sake of Allah is worship. And knowing it makes you more God-fearing; and searching forit is jihad, teaching it to those who do not know is charity, reviewing and learning it more is like tasbeeh. Through knowledge Allah will be knownand worshiped.”

-Ibn Taymiyyah

A learned man who doesn’t restrain his passions is like a blind man holding a torch, he guides others but not himself.

-Shaykh Sa’di

Knowledge is my companion; it is with me wherever I go. My heart is its container, not the bookshelf.

–Ali RA

The creative spirit demands persistence. Seeking knowledge at an Young age is like engraving on a stone.

- Hasan al-Basr


“If your good deedsplease you and your

bad deeds upsetyou, then you are amu’min (believer).”


This E-Magazine is a monthly publication as anew initiative brought to you by the Ideal Muslimteam. Ideal Muslim is an organisation headed byMufti Mohammed Kamil Sheikh (Med, MCMI)aiming to enhance the quality of people’s lives byproviding practical tips and advices on all areasof life, giving the readers the opportunity to be-come Ideal Muslims. The organisation also oper-ates Islamic Weekend Schools across London andactively teaches the future generations’ practicalliving techniques in a fun and enjoyable manner.

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