Notes from Habib Abu Bakr’s Lesson

10 Good Qualities to have

1. Sabr – show patient perseverance.
2. Perform prayer in congregation.
3. Obedient to one’s parents with kindness and compassion, by serving them and in sincerity
4. Continuously reciting Quran everyday because it protects the person from evil and black magic and all sorts of things.
5. Send salutations and prayers upon the Prophet SAW. Allah sends 10x upon you for every one that you do.
6. Istighfar – ask for forgiveness. Those who ask for forgiveness, Allah will give them from wealth and offspring and flowing rivers.
7. Sadaqah – giving in charity is a form of protection for health and your own property. Story of a man from Egypt who had a serious disease in his organs and had to do an operation. He passed by a lady who he found eating some of the rubbish on the road, gave her some money and meat and told butcher to every day give her some meat. When the time came for the operation, he found out there was no need for it anymore.
8. Bring joy to any Muslim, whether it be any family member, with a good act.
9. Gentleness – when you give advice, come to them gently and advise theme
10. Shukr – to be in a state of gratitude in everything we do and say.

Four recommended things to apply in life

1. To speak the truth whenever you converse with anyone.
2. To be sincere, whenever you come to help someone for instance, to do it sincerely for the sake of Allah.
3. To cooperate with one another in order to fulfil good things.
4. Be abundantly involved in making dua, by consistently making dua for those Muslims around the world.

Four things to refrain from:

1. Lying
2. Backbiting
3. Nameema: To come to people and tell them that someone has said something I’ll about them.
4. Not insult anyone, whether in their face or otherwise, because of something perhaps that is a fault or a weakness in them, so that Allah does not trial you with the same thing.

General advice

– Do not despise someone for something they may have as Allah may end up trialling you with the same thing.
– Be careful with your words. One wrong word could have you in hellfire for 70 seasons.
– Be good to one’s parents.
– No hatred towards anyone, particularly within our family as this person will be held from the mercy of Allah.
– 60 parts of mercy for those doing tawaaf, 40 parts of mercy for those who are praying in front of the kaabah and 20 parts of mercy for those who are simply gazing upon the kaabah.
– Every single good deed is multiplied in its reward here in Makkah by 100,000 times.
– And of the things that are very important is that we should not sever our kin relations.
– We should acquire and seek knowledge.
– If our salah is in good order, everything else will be in good order.
– Have a good opinion of everyone, don’t think you’re better than anyone else.
– A person who has pride and arrogance in their heart won’t even smell the fragrance of paradise.
– Don’t criticise other people because you may be in the same position later.
– If you see someone not in a good state, make dua that Allah rectifies their situation.

How to increase khushoo/concentration in salah

1. Be present and conscious in your wudu because wudu is the key to your salah.
2. Pray 2 raqaat sunnah of wudu.
3. Read surah naas and surah falaq before your salah so that you are protected for the deviance of shaitan.
4. Realise you are standing in front of the creator of the heavens and earth.