Wim Van Ael

I remember when I first started memorizing the Qur'an in the desert of Sudan. I left the world of beatbox and ragamuffin behind me. When I was in sujud I said: "O my Lord, allow me to be one of the voices of your book, and forgive me, as I was the voice of the ego and evil before." A man passed by and said: "Know that everything you have asked for in this sujud will be accepted." I looked quite surprised at this man, then he left, and I never saw him again, although this dese...rt village was very tiny. When Allah allowed me to complete the 14 qira'at I thought about this moment. It was not thanks to what I asked, but I am sure this man asked my Lord to accept the du'a I made at that instance, and that his du'a was granted.
I don't know his name, and don't know where he went, but I ask Allah to accept his du'a as he - I am sure - asked Allah to accept mine.
Amin
Van Ael
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If you don't want your legs to shake and tremble on Qyama, then do the following: "The legs of he (or she) who fulfills the need of his (or her) Muslim brother (or sister) will not tremble on the day that legs will tremble." (Authentic narration, Jami' Suyuti)

Remember that feeling of Divine nearness that made you so happy, that left you and that you kept on looking for ever since? This was not thanks to you nor the result of something you did, but rather thanks to Him. He wanted you to experience this spiritual connection, in order for you to long for it and struggle to find it. That He allowed you to experience this, is the very proof that He wants you to find Him.
Van Ael

When Shaytan tries to put you check and mate
If the things we pray for don't happen Shaytan will make us believe that petitionary prayers don't work; if they do happen, then he will inspire us with the false thought that it would have happened anyway. And thus a granted prayer becomes - for him - just as good a proof as a denied one that prayers are ineffective.
Next time, when your prayers are answered - consider it to be a miracle, it is a manifestation of the proof that H...e - the Almighty King - listened to you, and answered your question. Allahu Akbar.
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1 None is more fake than someone giving you the impression being close to Allah, while he or she are far away from Him.
2 Real knowledge encourages you to perform acts of worship, false knowledge makes you lazy and encourages you to talk.
3 As long as you claim that the world you live in is the reason why you can't become a devoted pious believer, you are actually the obstacle.

It is horrifying to see how many Muslims struggle with prayer: praying with a sense of absence of God, praying without focus, praying too late, skipping prayers, joining prayers, turbo-speed prayers ... But yet they want to get closer to Allah through memorisation of the Qur'an, learning hadeeth, fasting on Monday and Thursday, or even NIGHT PRAYERS.
By Allah, we have to start with perfecting our obligatory prayers, and all the rest will follow. But if you really want to know... how strong your connection is with Allah, then just look at the strength of your prayer.
Allah!
Van Ael
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Khutba (in Arabic) about three things every Muslim needs in his/her life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IvdtLtwl f8

100 years ago, if a man or a woman were to teach or answer religious questions in the streets of Morocco they would be taken to the Qadhi, as no one had the right to speak about religion or teach it but those who were taught.
Today speaking about religion is a fashion. It is copy and paste and there you are: the scholar, the know-all, the gnostic.
Time has come that we should inspire people with fear to talk about religion without having studied. It is something enormous. You... wouldn't talk about chemistry, medicine, biology, engineering without being an expert in that matter. You wouldn't go drilling someones teeth just because you read a book about how important dentistry is, or because you are passionate about it.
But when it concerns religion, everybody seems to be talking the night away.
We have to start at the bottom, and do some introspection and ask our selves sincerely: what did I study? What do I really know. Maybe this is the first step towards a massive change, an intellectual revolution created by Muslims that are aware that internet has made us to courageous.
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إن الله منع عباده من أن يصوموا في مثل هذا اليوم، بل أجبرهم بأن يأكلوا ويشكروا وحسنوا إلى الآخرين، وبأن يرفعوا أصواتهم بذكره، فيا من مزج جميل بين هذه المعاني العاليات التي لو أن الإنسان اتصف بها طول عمره لكان من زمرة المحسنين: إطعام، وذكر، وصلاة وزيارة وشكر ... نعم، إن ربنا يُحرم علينا الأكل في بعض الأوقات ويوجبه علينا في أوقات أخرى ليظهر سلطانه مانعا وموجبا... فالحمد لله رب العالمين.
فان آل
God has prevented his servants from being caught on such a day, but forced them to eat, thank, and to others, and to raise their voices by mentioning it, from a beautiful blending between these meanings, which, if a man has been characterized as long as he is From a group of benefactors: Feeding, mentioning, praying, visiting and thanks... Yes, our Lord forbids us to eat at some times and like us at other times to show his authority is forbidden and positive... praise to God the Lord of worlds I

Van AlTranslated

His Mercy is so great that He forbade us to fast today, so that we might rejoice with His blessings. On the other hand He shows us that we belong to Him. Sometimes eating has been made forbidden and at other times it is obligatory ... "And He does whatever He wants to."
Ied Mubarak
Van Ael

“I have a friend, my love for him increases every day, as his love for this worldly life decreases every day.”
Great grandson of Muhammad (sas)

My first mistake after converting
I remember attending the Khutba at the University mosque in Khartoum, Sudan, before heading for the desert. When the Imam said: as_Salamu 'Alaykum. I said out loud: Wa 'Alaykum salam. And was surprised that no one answered his salam but myself. After prayer I looked quite angry I think and a Turkish brother asked me what was wrong. I said: "I am sad that people don't put the sunna into practice. Returning the salam is fardh!!!" He said: "Yes..., but there is something like fardh kifaya ..."
Then I knew I had to keep my mouth shut, head out to the desert memorize Qur'an and Sunna, sit with the scholars until I knew what I was talking about.
aaaah, how jahl can give you the impression you know so much, and how knowledge makes you realize you know so little.
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"Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them which We had established upon the earth as We have not established you? And We sent [rain from] the sky upon them in showers and made rivers flow beneath them; then We destroyed them for their sins and brought forth after them a generation of others." (al_An'am, 6)
These people were enjoying their worldly life, everything seems to have turned out o so well. Rain turning their barren grounds into beautiful garde...ns. Rivers nourishing their cattle and crops. Sailing with their small boats during summer time. They were at the climax of their strength: intellectual, physical, infrastructural ... but yet ... their destruction came from there where they least expected it: their own hands. Their sins! And then, they vanished and became a sign for the coming generations. But they didn't seem to get it and it became a vicious circle ...
In brief: Don't destroy your blessing with the hammer of sins, but lift it with the strength of gratitude.
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"When someone has gathered knowledge but hasn't been blessed with three things, then this knowledge will be an argument against him: (1) Not harming anybody nor oppressing them, (2) Deeds accompanied by sincere devotion, (3) Giving sincere advice and being just, even if it were against his own self."
al_Harith al_Muhasibi, Risala al_Mustarshideen.

What if a voice from the sky were to cry out ...
If a voice from the sky were to cry out: O worshippers, worship Him as much as you like, there will be no Paradise! The answer of a true believer would be
Lord, we do not worship You because of what You give, but because of Who you are.
... "And worship Me and establish prayer to commemorate Me." (Taha)
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I have a straight forward question:
Are there any students that are interested in studying the ten qira'at: (The way they evolved, the ten Imams and their students, the differences between the qira'at, and how the Qira'at change fiqh, grammar and meaning).
This would be an online course for advanced students.
... Thank you for replying.
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How ignorance of Arabic made me act like an ignorant
When I converted, I heard the hadeeth: "المسلم من سلم المسلمون من لسانه ويده" I thought it meant:
"The real Muslim is he who gives salam to people with his tongue (talking) and with his hands."
... So I shook the hand of every Muslim I saw on the street. If he was on the opposite side of the street, I would walk towards him, thinking that this was a proof of true Iman.
Even though I was not practicing any sunna, I felt great, thinking that every handshake and every salam alaykum was increasing my faith and brotherhood.
When I understood Arabic - and also the hadeeth - ""A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands the Muslims are safe."
I just laughed and said: "Ignorant people are happy in the midst of their ignorance while increasing in knowledge makes you sad."
Van Ael
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My first spiritual knockout with Shaykh Mahmud Turi
When I travelled to Sudan, I had my Islamic terminology book with me. I used to read from it wherever I went. I once sat with a tall Nigerian man, dressed in white, with a beautiful turban, and his face was illuminated by the light of faith. When I saw a new paper in the hands of one of my Nigerian roommates I noticed a picture of 'my student' Mahmud Turi, behind a mic with hundreds of people surrounding him. I asked them w...ho this man was: "Don't you know him?" they asked. I said: yes he is my ... student? They said: "Astaghfirullah! He is the greatest Da'iya in North Nigeria and has a couple of PHD's and he replaces the grand imam of Sudan in his absence."
I went to this man, humbled by his greatness and humility. And I asked him why he listened to me talking about 'the deen' while he had this amount of knowledge. He answered:
"My son, we accept the truth from whomever it may come, because we submit to the truth not to people."
May Allah preserve you, o teacher in humility, and sincerity, amin!
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