To Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth and Allah hath power over all things.

La illa ha ill Allah (There is no deity but Allah), this is the bed rock of Islam, it is Islam’s foundation and its essence.  No just estimate have they made of Allah for Allah is he who is powerful and able to carry out His will.  All that has ever been said or written about Allah’s power and might is insufficient; it is but a drop in the ocean.

Surah 3:133

Be quick, don’t hesitate, and don’t wait.  Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, your cherisher, your sustainer, the one who evolves you and I from our earliest state to our highest state of completion, be quick in asking

For forgiveness from your Lord and for a garden whose width is that of the heavens and the earth?

Who is the garden prepared for?  It is prepared for the muttaqin, (those who have taqwa), God consciousness & God awareness, those who strive to do God’s work.  Islam is a call to worship Allah, and a call to cultivate the garden of your own soul. In the call to prayer it is said come to prayer; come to success.  Hayya Al Salat- Hayya Al-Falah.  Hayya means life, Allah is Al-Hayyu, the forever living. Prayer brings us to life. Allah wants us to have the garden he has prepared for us,  but we must work and cultivate the garden of our souls first,  to develop taqwa within.  Falah means to till  a thing, it  means come to

Prosperity- come to success;  to be successful  in this life and in the next,  Falah means to unfold something in order to reveal its intrinsic properties.  Till and break open the surface of the earth and make its productivity powers active.  To work out our own evolution and to bring out what our creator has placed in us (the best).

We know the Prophet was tested by stubborn and the most ignorant people around him.  He and his followers were oppressed and unjustly punished for accepting Islam.  The Prophet Muhammad is an example and a sign for human beings who find themselves in the most unfavorable circumstances or hardships.  He is an example and a sign that says you must keep to patience, you must keep your human excellence in tack, you must preserve the original patterns that God has created you in.  Allah wants us to have this garden,  paradise.  He gave us Ramadan so that we can gain self restraint, discipline, control, mastery over our biological appetites.  Allah wants us to have taqwa so we can qualify for the garden, paradise.  Allah gave us Hajj;  take your provisions with you but the best provision to take is Taqwa.  Allah gave us garments to wear, but the best garment is taqwa.  Allah really wants us to have this garden; He gave us the glorious Quran through His messenger to help us.

Surah 2: 1-2

This is the book of guidance and greatness, the book you were asking for in your prayer, Al-fatiha; the book that humanity needs.  As you give water to a thirsty person, saying “ here it is, this is what you need”. The book of guidance, the book of knowledge.  Don’t  be like Iblis, he rebelled against Allah.

Iblis said, “I’m not going to submit to him, I am better than he.  You created me from fire, thou created him from clay.  Iblis became angry and lost his mind, he was puffed up with pride and arrogance, he was the leader of the angels. His anger caused him to become the big Satan or devil.

Surah 3:134

A man went to the prophet and asked for advice, the Prophet said to the man don’t get angry three times. “No one does anything more excellent in the sight of Allah than restraining his anger.

The strong is not the one who overcomes people by the use of their strength; rather he is the one who controls himself in anger”.

Anger is like a raging fire out of control, it’s destructive to the inner and outer self.  A raging fire destroys everything in its path.  It has no retard for life or property.  Fire has no regard for the past, the present or the future.  You can work hard to build your house, your family life and your community life, long years of labor with much struggle and sacrifice.  If a fire breaks out you can lose it all.  Anger, uncontrolled, is the same way.

Surah 3:134

Abu Lahab – Father of the Flame (read again)

After the call was made to the public, when the Prophet announced  his mission  his uncle said” mayest thou perish”, was it for this that thou didst call us for?  He then threw stones at the Prophet.  He would follow the Prophet when he went out to preach saying to the people that the Prophet was a mad relative of his.

Perish the hands or breaking of the hands means a person failing in his aim and object which he or she exerted themselves.  He exerted himself to his utmost to defeat Islam, to frustrate the messenger (pbuh), but he failed; as will the opponents of Islam today will fail.  His wife used to lay thorns in the Prophets pathway.  She sold her necklace and other jewelry to have the expense to satisfy her enmity, anger and hatred against the Prophet.  One of the richest men of the Quraish died from a fire within his own soul because of anger and envy, consumed with grief.  His own children accepted Al-Islam.

O Allah please help us to restrain our anger, accept our prayers, and grant us paradise. Ameen