Protection from Satan Series-Part I

I had read a book a while back titled "Ista'aaza;Seeking Allah's Protection from Satan" by Shaeed E Mehrab Ayatollah  Abdul Hussain Dastghaib Shirazi.

Ayatollah Abdul Hussain Dastghaib Shirazi

I have started to read it again and thought i should summarize its main points and helpful things so that others can benefit from it as well. In this first part i will outline the various duas we should recite at different times and places to gain protection.

At the time of wearing the clothes one should say:

Allahumma astarurati wa la tajal alshaitan lahu naseeba

Translation: O Allah keep my private parts hidden and save them from the interference of Shaitan

while going to a washroom one should recite:

Allahumma inni a-oozu beka min al khabeesil khabs ar rijs al khabs ash sahaitan ir rajeem

Translation: O Allah I seek Your Protection from the accursed Satan and the defiled impurities) 

Recite the following supplication at the moment of emerging out of the house:

Bismillahi wa billahi aamanto billahi tawakkalto alallaha wa la haula wa la quwawata illa billa

Translation: In the name of Allah and with His Help I am proceeding on my errand. I have absolute Faith in the Great Allah and there is no power besides Him. 

ref:Ista'aaza; Seeking Allah's Protection from Satan

Focus on your own

With so much anxiety and frustration coming one's way these days, it can be very easy to lose your akhlaq. As the world has become more fast paced, selfish and self centered it is easy to be disappointed or hurt by the behavior of people. In such times, its easy to feel if that person doesn't behave well with us, why should we? This can affect our behavior with our friends, family and even strangers. It more so effects when someone close to us hurst us or misbehaves with us.

The important thing to remember is the lesson taught to us by Ahlulbayt(s.a). To sum it up they always showed us that no matter how anyone behaves we should never shirk on our responsibilities and generosity. Once someone asked one of the Imam(a.s) that these people misbehave with you so much, yet you still answer their questions and help them? The Imam(a.s) replied that they may have forgotten that i am their Imam but i haven't forgotten that they are my followers.

Once when Imam Hassan Askari(a.s) was in the prison, a shia of the imam(a.s) managed to get 4 pomegranates to him. At that time, he was being guraded by a very cruel secuirty guard who always used to harass the imam(a.s).In those days imam(a.s) was only being fed 2 loaves of bread and cold water. After giving the fruit to the imam(a.s), the guard was giving hungry looks to the fruit. Imam(a.s) looked at the guard and told him to take one of the fruits. After sometime, the imam(a.s) notice that the guard still hadn't eaten the fruit, so he inquired. The guard replied that he was saving it for his kids. On hearing this the Imam(a.s) gave him the rest of the fruit as well so he could eat some himself and save the rest. Imagine the level of generosity...even though the guard forgot his akhlaq and responsibility, the Imam(a.s) remembered what he(a.s) had to do.

Sometimes we feel that our parents, our relatives or friends are being unfair and we start misbehaving. It is understandable more so in close family situations especially if you feel slighted or mistreated by your parents or some close relatives. At such times, we shouldn't give up hope and forget our manners. These people and relations might have forgotten their responsibilities BUT we shouldn't. Doing so will only earn us sins. We should trust Allah(swt) and preform our duties and responsibilities for HIS(swt) sake and trust only HIM to do right by us instead of basing our expectations on people.

 Keep your hand extended for the sake of Allah(swt).

Shocker!

It might seem as if i am shocked about too many things today based on my posts BUT really sometimes it gets to a point where you just cant keep quiet. Somethings are really irksome and saddening. Something like this happened yesterday. I was at a gathering and met a young girl aged around 12 or 13. When i met her she had a dupatta(scarf) on her head. I was happy to see that this young girl was covering her head whereas her parents didnt show any such inclination. My happiness turned to surprise after an hour or so when i saw her uncovered head.

I called her over and inquired as to what happened and she told me that one of her aunts told her to take off her scarf. I tried to tell her that its ok she can take it even if someone makes fun of her or forces it off her...she should remain stubborn on her stance. On this she felt that is she disobeyed her elders, even her parents might take the elder's side and scold her for covering. I was truly saddened by this. I mean what is the world coming to?! A young girl wants to be covered and feels gulity for not wearing hijab whereas the elders are forcing her on the wrong path?!

Have we forgotten the tragedy of Kerbala, the importance of Hijab taught to us by Bibi Zainab(a.s)...?! Who should be blamed when young kids are forced on the wrong path when they are just developing their character?! Please ask yourself if you are forcing someone to be on the right path or deviating them from it!!!

Measuring Worth?

Although things shouldn't surprise me but still i guess one never gets used to how the society is deteriorating and becoming more and more materialistic day by day. One of the prime examples is based on the fact how society measures the worth of individuals these days. While making friends, finding a spouse, becoming close with some family member or generally developing any form of social relationship, what would you consider as the most important factor? Faith, Akhlaq, Character OR the material wealth they possess? If you have chosen the latter then i am sorry to say you are not going to like where i am going with this post.


When people look at two people and wonder how they could be friends, be married or get along so well just because one might have more riches than the other really makes me surprised. Rather than thinking that how can these two be friends when one clearly has a greater level of eeman, they base it on money. The sad part is that society has brainwashed us so much that even we ourselves tend to judge ourselves based on our material wealth. Be honest with yourself and imagine if having more material good would make you feel better with the same level of eeman? What answer did you get? You dont need to reveal the answer to anyone, just be your own judge!


Have we forgotten the examples of Hazrat Behlool(r.a)? Who was better Hazrat Brehlool (r.a) or Haroon with all his wealth? Have you forgotten Hazrat Meesam-e-Tammar(r.a), Hazrat Bilal(r.a), Hazrat Qambar(r.a)? History has even shown some close companions of Imam Al-Asr(ajtf) to be cobblers. Do you think some wealthy people in their time were more worthy than these companions?

Qambar's name is often mentioned in the traditions. And he has been immortalised by the poetry lines of Imam 'Ali(a.s):

When I saw an unlawful thing, 

1 kindled a fire and called Qambar.

ref:http://www.al-islam.org/slavery/

Imagine Imam Ali(a.s) saying that about someone! Now compare that with how you measure someone's worth and how Ahlulbayt(s.a) did?

Let's look at another incident which led to the revelation of a Quranic Ayat.

[Shakir 80:1] He frowned and turned (his) back,
[Shakir 80:2] Because there came to him the blind man.
[Shakir 80:3] And what would make you know that he would purify himself,
[Shakir 80:4] Or become reminded so that the reminder should profit him?
[Shakir 80:5] As for him who considers himself free from need (of you),
[Shakir 80:6] To him do you address yourself.
[Shakir 80:7] And no blame is on you if he would not purify himself
[Shakir 80:8] And as to him who comes to you striving hard,
[Shakir 80:9] And he fears,
[Shakir 80:10] From him will you divert yourself.
[Shakir 80:11] Nay! surely it is an admonishment.

The occasion for the revelation of this Chapter was a historic event which took place. Once the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) was with some the rich individuals of Quraish from the tribe of Umayad. While the Messenger of Allah was preaching them, Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom who was blind and was one of the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) came to see him. The Holy Prophet received him with honor and pleasure and gave him the closest place to himself. However, the Prophet did not answer the question of the blind immediately Since he was at the middle of his speech with the Qurashites. Since Abdullah was poor and blind, the chieftains of the Quraish looked down upon him and they did not like the honor and the respect bestowed upon him by the Prophet (PBUH&HF). They also did not like the presence of the blind among themselves and his interrupting their conversation with the Prophet (PBUH&HF). Finally one of the wealthy Umayad frowned at Abdullah and turned his back to him.
This act of the chieftains of Quraish displeased Allah and thus He revealed the Chapter 80 (Abas) through Gabriel at the same time. This Chapter commended Abdullah's position though poor and blind. In the first 4 verses, Allah denounced the detesting attitude of the chieftain of the Quraish. And in the later verses, Allah * reminds * his Prophet (PBUH&HF) that preaching an unbeliever is not necessary if the unbeliever does not intend to purify himself and offenses a believer just because of his lack of wealth and health.

ref:http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter1b/1.html


There are many such incidents and people in history which show us how to truly measure the worth of a person. It's unfortunate that we have become so twisted in our beliefs and always look at the wrong criteria. Hopefully this can make some,if not all, realize that there needs to be a real big readjustment of attitude. Maybe it should start with ourselves first as maybe we also measure our own self worth based on the money we have. Learn to recognize the real gems!


May Allah(swt) guide us all...(ameen).

The Barzakh Series

This is the first part in the series. You can click on the link to find more videos about the journey in Barzakh.

Who are you?

Ali Murtaza Zaidi is one of the most knowledgeable and eloquent speakers in Pakistan. He has an uncanny ability to speak simply yet get his message across forcefully. Below i will be posting an excerpt from one of his lectures.

Once we enter this world we become so used to it that we start thinking that this is the place we will always be residing in. We start to love this world and grow very attached to it. It becomes very easy for us to forget about our real abode. What we easily forget is that "Dunya"(world) is the lowest stage where humans are sent. To understand this we can take the example of a clock. 12 can be taken as the highest point, a human starts from 1 goes to 2, 3,4,5 and finally falls to 6...the lowest ebb. This is the place Allah(swt) sends humans to be tested and prove themselves. This stage could be taken as a bonus round, where if you do
well you are awarded double the points BUT if you fail you face a very grave penalty. Same as the bonus round, Allah(swt) has made our stay in this world very short as compared to the other stages. Now its upon us that we can raise our level and rise back or stay stuck in this low ebb.

After death our eyes to this world close and we shed our physical body and only our soul is left. Upon dying a new reality is revealed to us, which is the reality of Alam-e-Barzakh. In that "Alam" or stage we have a soul and a "misal". This misal is unlike the physical body of this world; to understand better it could be likened to the physical existence of jinns. Its not as solid as the body of this world but more like a smoky state. The thing to note is that when we leave this world we think we might be humans, but we can't be more wrong. Upon opening our eyes in Barzakh we could take on the form of any animal which would reflect our habits adopted in Dunya. It's not so that this animal form was lacking when we were in this world, it was the veil on our eyes that prevented us from seeing the truth. Remember the example of Imam(a.s) when he showed one person that many people performing hajj((?) or umrah(?) were actually animals.

Question now arises that what would happen once we enter Barzakh. To understand clearly lets take the example of examinations. In schools we have a minimum passing level, say 50%, all the students progress who have marks greater than 50% but this does not mean that all are at the same level. In schools all such students are usually treated the same. This would not be so in Barzakh. If someone comes with 50% marks, he/she would have to get to 100% marks and then the counter would be reset to 0 for Barzakh. This person would then have to reach 100% marks for Barzakh and then progress forward. Now its upon you how short or long you make your barzakh. You do good in this world, and you pass Barzakh soon and vice versa.

People who come with negative marks, that is to say enter Barzakh in animal forms, would first have to get to 100%, i.e., take on the shape of humans and then they could progress on the barzakh marks. Now imagine how long of a journey this would be?! Imagine how short sighted we are that we extend our journey of Barzakh which could span over million years for a comparatively short life of this dunya.

It is this time that you look at yourself and analyze are you truly a human or an animal? You must be wondering how to do that. Its very easy, just look at your habits and see if you would be raised as a human or an animal. To see what habits we possess, do a little test. Look at the first action you perform. For example if answering or telling something, do you first get the urge to tell the truth or lie? If its lie, then that means that you have a habit of lying. Remember at this point that people who are raised not even as animals but as satans in Barzakh would be in trouble the most.

You must be wondering who would be raised as satan? Anyone who possess the habit of lying, manipulating and hypocrisy will be raised in the form of satan. From the incidents of Hazrat Adam(a.s) and Bibi Hajra(a.s) it could be seen that these are the three main characteristics Satan possess.

Now ask yourself who are you?

To listen to more of his lectures visit here:http://amzaidi.com/
Te become aware of and contribute to his ongoing projects visit here: http://amzaidi.org/

Hard Times...

The world is a volatile place, one day you feel secure basking in the love of someone and the next moment that love might convert to hate or indifference. Can anyone of us say with surety that the person we are depending on will remain the same? Is anyone a constant? It's human nature to seek love and look up to someone and when the expectations fall short, one has nothing left except disappointments. I may have mentioned this before as well BUT at times like this its only the treasure of duas that can help us. One such lovely dua is from Sahifa-e-Zahra(a.s).

All Praise is for Allah
He who does not forget one who remembers Him
and does not disappoint one who calls to Him
and does not cut the hopes of one who hopes in Him

The dua has only four lines, but just look at the depth of the meaning. It's only Allah(swt) one can look up to or rely on otherwise everything and everyone is a mirage. It's unfortunate that the mirage seems more real to us and hence we always land in a deep pit of disappointments and depression.

See this link for more such beautiful duas: http://www.duas.org/Sahife%20Zehra/Index.htm