Jealousy

what surahs help you feel better when you're feeling down and how can i fix my feelings of jealousy, what does the Quran say about jealousy?

Salamu alaykum,
I apologize for responding so late. These past few days have been hectic and I have a test tomorrow as a matter of fact, but I’m taking a break right now (a.k.a. I hardly studied and decided it’s time for a tumblr break lol). I also don’t like to respond to these type of questions right away unless I know I can respond well because they have to do with Islam and the last thing I would want is to respond with a wrong answer, so inshAllah I don’t misguide anyone with my response. This is a really good question and inshAllah the response is beneficial to other people as well as myself.
The sourah that always makes me feel better when I’m down is surah adh Dhuha (The Morning Light.) I can’t even stress that enough. When I was going through a really tough time months ago, I was really drawn to this sourah. The verses just spoke to me subhanAllah. Later I found out that when one is overcome by anxiety and distress then they should recite Surah adh Dhuha. This surah was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad pbuh when he was going through a tough time and stopped receiving revelations from Allah swt. The people at the time made fun of him and told him that his Lord had forsaken him. He pbuh was feeling really down and felt like Allah was angry with him so Allah swt revealed this surah letting him know that He was pleased with him and that he would be rewarded for his hardships. 
The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said something really profound that I think will help you fix your feelings of jealousy: he pbuh said: “When you see a person who has been given more than you in money and beauty, look to those, who have been given less.” Reported by Muslim, Hadeeth.
There will always be people who have more than you and those that have less than you. If you look at those that have less than you, that will help you to be more grateful for what Allah swt has blessed you with. 
Jealousy is completely normal, and even the Prophet pbuh’s wives experienced it. Although it’s normal to feel jealous sometimes, it’s important to try to control it and not let it turn into envy. If you see that someone else has something you want and you wish it for yourself that is called ghibtah, which is positive envy.  If you wish that that thing was taken away from them and given to you instead, that is destructive jealousy, which you want to avoid at all costs. There’s a hadith that states: ”None of you will truly believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself”. (Al-Bukhari)
So having destructive feelings of jealousy towards another does not fall under the category of loving for your brother what you love for yourself.
This hadith explains when one should be jealous of another:
“No one should be jealous of anything except two people – a man whom Allah has blessed with knowledge and he teaches it; and a man who has money and he spends it in the sake of Allah.” (Bukhari)
Again, jealousy and envy are natural human emotions, but just because they’re natural does not mean we shouldn’t try our best to control ourselves except in the cases explained in the hadith. 
The Prophet Muhammad pbuh warned against jealousy and envy  and the evil feelings it creates between brothers and sisters in Islam. Hasad (jealousy and envy) is a disease of the heart and makes your heart impure, which is very dangerous for your imaan (faith.) 
The Prophet pbuh said: “Beware of jealousy, for verily it destroys good deeds the way fire destroys wood.” [Abu Dawood]
These are some verses in the Quran that  relate to jealousy: Allah says: “Allah favored some of you over others with wealth and properties… Do they deny the favors of Allah?” [Soorah an-Nahl [16: 71] “Do they envy men for what Allah has given them of His Bounty?” [Soorah an-Nisa 4: 54] “It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in this world, and We raised some of them above others in ranks, so that some may employ others in their work. But the mercy of your Lord is better.” 43:32 “And wish not for the things in which Allâh has made some of you to excel others.” 4:32
To help yourself fix the feelings of jealousy first of all like I mentioned earlier, look at those that have less than you in the hopes of feeling grateful for all the blessings Allah has given you.
Second, make duaa to Allah swt to help rid you of this problem. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his du’aa’, “Wa’hdi qalbi wa’slul sakheemata sadri (guide my heart and remove ill will from my breast).” The phrase “guide my heart” means to the straight path, and “remove ill will from my breast” means take away all insincerity and hatred. 
Third, Read the Quran and look deeply into the meanings of the verses. Learn the meanings and work on applying them to your life. Especially Surat al-Falaq (The Daybreak.) “Say: “I seek refuge with (Allâh) the Lord of the daybreak”…”And from the evil of the envier when he envies.” (1-5)
Fourth, having negative envious feelings to someone destroys good deeds so while your working on fixing your problem, work on increasing your good deeds to cancel out the bad ones inshAllah. 
Fifth, count your own blessings not theirs. Keep yourself busy and whenever jealous thoughts cross your mind, seek refuge in Allah from the accursed shaytan. 
Jazak’Allah kheir for this question. It really helped me to reflect on myself and my own problems. I’d also like to mention that I have very little knowledge if any at all when it comes to answering questions about Islam. A lot of this is just my opinion, so please refer to a local imam or skeikh if you have more detailed questions regarding rulings. I hope this helped and I didn’t confuse you. 

You Don't Have to Agree With Her, but You Should Respect Her

Yesterday I was working at the register at my job when this girl came up to buy something. She was in short shorts and a crop top so her stomach was showing. I noticed right away but didn’t think much of it. No one was staring at her or anything. She started to cover up her stomach with her sweater. I thought she was doing it because she was embarrassed that she was half naked when everyone else was fully dressed, but no, she didn’t want her stomach to rub up against the counter because she’d get “stomach cancer” as she put it. I went on with my transaction and told her to have a good day. 
Moments later, a woman comes in wearing the niqaab with her husband and beautiful children. It was so cute. She was shopping, and he was playing with the kids. I must have been the only one who found them “cute” because the entire store was staring at them. Not only staring, but making comments as well as they laughed to themselves. I helped her check out at the register and asked her where she was from. She’s from Saudi Arabia and here studying English with her husband. There is nothing oppressed about this woman. She was so kind and you could tell she was happy. She purchased a regular top for God’s sake that any ordinary woman whether she covers or not would wear. She has a life outside of the niqaab. She has a life at home with her family and friends where she’s not covered. She chooses to cover herself to protect herself from unworthy eyes that don’t deserve to see her beauty. She covers for Allah, not for society. Even if you don’t agree with it, respect her enough to no talk about her when she walks into a store or laugh to yourself because you think she looks crazy or something.
After she left I asked my co-worker if she saw her and what she thought of her. She told me she was honestly scared of her and that she thinks she needs to not wear it here, but only back in her country. I can understand that some people have never seen a woman in niqaab in their life, but there are plenty of things that people who have immigrated from other countries have never seen. I remember the first time I saw people making out at the mall when I was young and first came to America. I was taken back thinking why in the world would people be doing this in public, even my mother thought that same thing, but we didn’t laugh at them and talk badly about them. This is the way they are and it’s not for us to try to change them or restrict them. America is the land of the free right? Then people should be allowed to do as they please as long as it does not harm other people. 
I just didn’t find it fair that a girl could come in half naked and not be looked down upon and a woman fully covered could be feared and talked about badly. It’s just not right. 

IBN AL-QAYYIM: SIT FOR A SHORT WHILE BEFORE YOU SLEEP AND DO THIS …

Ibn al-Qayyim said, ‘Avoid those things that necessitate the punishment of the grave.


And from the most beneficial of them is that when a man wants to sleep, he sits for an hour, for the Sake of Allaah, calling himself to account over the things that he has lost and gained during that day of his. Then, between him and his Lord, he renews his sincere repentance over those things that he lost, and sleeps on that repentance, firmly resolving not to return to the sin when he wakes up–and he does this every night.
So if he dies on that night of his, he would have died upon repentance and if he wakes up, he will wake up going towards action, pleased with the postponement of his appointed time so that he can turn to his Lord and set right what he missed out on.
And there is nothing more beneficial for the servant than this sleep, especially when he follows that [i.e., his resolve to renew his repentance] up with the remembrance of Allaah, performing those sunnahs which have been reported from the Prophet of Allaah when going to bed, [doing so] until sleep overtakes him.
So whoever Allaah wishes good for, He will grant him the success to do that. And there is neither movement, nor power except through Allaah.”
Ar-Rooh, p. 79.
Source: Gifts of Knowledge

If it were your last day on Earth, what would you do?

If it was the last day on Earth for all of humanity, I would remain calm first of all because I know the world would be in chaos. I would ask everyone I know for forgiveness because I wouldn’t want to leave this world having hurt anyone, I would make sure my mother and father are content with me, I would make my last prayers as sincere as possible, pay off all of my college debts, forgive anyone who ever hurt me, repeat la ilaha ila Allah throughout the day because the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said “Whoever breathes his last with the words: La ilaha illallah, enters Paradise.”


Man kana akhir kalamihi La ilaha illallah dakhala al-janna

Tips for a New Muslim Revert

As-salamu Alaikum sister, as new revert I was wondering if you could help me out with some of things. 1) It’s summer, how should I keep cool while still wearing hijab? What about going to pools/beaches? 2) What tips do you have for remembering how to conduct salah correctly and knowing the prayers by heart? 3) What are the most important things for me to know about going to Mosque? Thank you!


Wa alaykum al salam Sister :)
First off, congratulations on your reversion to Islam and May Allah make everything easier for you. Of course I don’t mind answering your questions, if you have anymore I’d be happy to try to help. 
1) When I first started wearing the hijab, I was scared to death of the summer time because I thought it would be incredibly hot and I’d die of the heat (i was a dramatic one lol), but it really isn’t bad at all. You quickly get used to it. I have a modest fashion blog called Her Name is Modesty, there are plenty of modest summer outfit ideas there. During the summer time, women who wear the hijab usually stick with maxi dresses and skirts. You can also wear pants and not be hot. If I were wearing pants, I would just pair it with a tank top and cardigan. There are also options with the hijab. You don’t need to wear a thick scarf, go for a light breezy preferably cotton scarf to keep cool. There are also different styles you can wear your hijab to keep cool, don’t wrap it too tight around your face, that could also make you really hot.  
If you want to go to the pool or beach, there’s a lovely option called the burqini lol see here. It’s really not that attractive, but if you’re desperate to get in the water, go for it. Otherwise, I usually just wear regular clothes and get in the water at maybe knee level. You can always go to an all girls pool. It’s a sacrifice you have to make for Allah, of course you can go swimming, but if it’s too difficult and there’s no way to dress comfortably and go swimming maybe you can let it go until you find a better option?
2) When remembering how to conduct the salah correctly, the best tip I have is practice. Try to practice a few times before you actually pray. Take a look at this, it shows you how to pray and what to say. If you mess up, it’s okay. Allah is the Most Forgiving, you’ll figure it out eventually. Also when memorizing the prayers, practice over and over again. Write it out in English transliteration if it helps you. Find a Muslim who can help you with knowing the prayers by heart. It really helps if you have someone there to listen to you recite the prayers and correct you when you make a mistake. 
3) The most important things to know about going to the mosque:
- Dress modestly even if you don’t wear the hijab everyday, wear it to the mosque. If you didn’t know already, the hijab consists of you covering everything but the face and hands. 
- You should be clean. Make wudu (ablution) and make sure your clothes are also clean. Watch this video if you want to learn how to make proper wudu and learn what to say before and afterwards. 
- Before entering the mosque, remove your shoes (it’ll be pretty obvious to know where to place your shoes, it’s usually at the front near the door)
- The prayer area in the mosque is divided between the men and women, so you should go to the women’s section. If you don’t know where it is, just ask, I’m sure someone will be happy to help you.
-Finally, enter the mosque with your right foot. There is a duaa for entering and exiting the mosque if you want to learn it (don’t stress yourself out if you don’t memorize it)
I hope this was helpful and I didn’t provide you with any wrong information (May Allah forgive me if I did). Have a wonderful day wa salamu alaykum wa rahmutullahi wa barakatu :)

30 Days Muslims and America

Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think

Very well made informational video