Hosai Mojaddidi

There was a time when I felt a heavy burden on my heart from the thoughts and worries that consumed me which eventually forced their way through my fingertips. Writing was my therapy. For a while now, I've struggled to write. My fingertips hover over the keyboard they once danced upon. I find it difficult to assemble my feelings into words clearly or creatively like I used to before. Some may say this is simply "writer's block," but I wonder if it's more than that.

They say that with age, our bodies begin to "dry up". In other words, the energy, intensity, passion, and vibrancy often found in youthful hearts, tongues, and limbs begin to dissipate with time. I can surely say that this is true for me. I find myself less moved by things.

Is it a physical, emotional, or spiritual response?
Is it a coping mechanism to manage the ebbs and flows of life? Or is it that contrary to popular opinion, in the shared human experiences of uncertainty, suffering, and loss, there is greater healing and comfort in silence than speaking or sharing one's feelings?

Allahu Alim. All of this is to share that 9 years ago today, my siblings and our late mother (Allah yarhamha) buried my beloved father (Allah yarhamhu). His loss was a monumental reminder to all of us about the fleeting nature of this world and the great necessity for all of us to hold on to our faith and preserve our bonds with even more commitment.

Alhamdulillah for Allah, the Beloved of Allah ﷻ, the book of Allah ﷻ, and the gift of Islam.

Alhamdulillah for family, friends, and teachers who with their love, unwavering support, and powerful reminders, uplift you with all of their might when your legs feel weak and frail.

Alhamdulillah for community and treasured souls who Allah ﷻ sends to soothe the aching heart with their gentle company.

To my beloved late father, Hajj Mohammad Mojaddidi (Allah yarhamhu), I say, "Agha jaan, not a day goes by I don't think about you or miss you. I love you always and forever and cannot wait until I am reunited with you and see those gorgeous eyes and that beaming smile with Mohr jaan (Allah yarhamha) by your side in the best of places, Jannatul Firdaws al 'Ala in sha Allah!!!!"

Alhamdulillah for any opportunity to highlight and share reflections about our Beloved ﷺ especially in the blessed month of Rabi’ al-Awwal.

Please kindly support by watching, liking, and sharing this 4-part series from Zaytuna College with others.

Also, learn more about the 12,000 Strong campaign as well by visiting www.zaytuna.edu!

JazakumAllahu khayran!

https://youtu.be/PJLdX440q1E

The Temperance of Trials and Tribulations with Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi | Rabi' al-Awwal 2021 Listen to the second lecture in the 2021 First Spring (Rabi' al-Awwal) series by Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi.00:28 Introduction: Imam al-Ghazali on the Four Virt...

Repost ! 😍 For so many years I would see brothers gathering after different lectures with various scholars, making plans to eat with the Shaykh, or travel with him or play basketball together.

And I wished I could have women scholars to eat dinner with, play basketball with, have discussions on fiqh, identity and Quran. How much I prayed for it!

And as I started my path to learn, Allah honored me to not only be in the presence of women seeking the precious ilm- but to *chill* with them and learn from their adab!

Recently, as we prayed behind Shaykha Ustada 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙖𝙞 𝙈𝙤𝙟𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙞] and I cried. We cried bc for years, we wished we could learn from the adab of casual chill sessions with the Shaykh- but we were so incredibly blessed to find it in a Shaykha. In Shaykhas.

What an honor to be amongst women of knowledge like Shaykha .raniaawaad founder of head of trailblazing research and publishing work on Muslim mental health and the legacy of Muslim scholars from centuries ago and their shaping of psychology- changing the way psychology is studied in academic institutions.

And Ustada reciter of all of the qira’aat, Hajj, Umrah and Masjid AlAqsa group lecturer, and Stanford’s Muslim chaplain.

And Ustada 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙖𝙞 𝙈𝙤𝙟𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙞] who is known for her gentle preaching of people back to accountability, purifying the soul and connection to Allah with deep empathy.

And scholar and OBGYN, founder of Shaykha known for her dedication to women’s knowledge, cleansing the heart and soul, and deep commitment to the Quran and Sunnah.

There are so many women scholars of our ummah. They’re teaching in the privacy of homes or in the public space of conference stages. They’re following the example of the women companions and scholars who’ve taught Islam for centuries. So when you wonder where women are- they’re here. They’ve been here.

We as a community can continue to commit amplifying their voices so our daughters never weep out of halal jealousy not being able to chill with the shaykh; because as they’re blessed to learn with him, they’ll also know the Shaykhas got their backs.

Beautiful patience is a virtue, but when dealing with corrupt individuals it can often be used to manipulate, suppress, or oppress you.

Every situation requires an appropriate response, so you must learn what beautiful patience is and remember it’s not meant to keep you in a painful situation and prolong your misery; it’s about maintaining your trust in Allah and not losing faith or falling into despair. You absolutely can speak up and are encouraged to look for the best permissible ways out of difficult situations. So figure out which “sabr style” works for the situation you’re in or which one you’re most comfortable with and put your trust in God!

In today’s world, there is no shortage of treacherous people with divisive messages who work hard every day to incite hatred, competition, and envy between people, especially women.

Our power is great so it comes as no surprise that others would try to exploit it. With that said, however, what is surprising is how quickly we turn on one another based on the most superficial and petty reasons. The female body & form for centuries has been the subject of countless political debates. Every inch and movement of a woman has been analyzed and criticized.

But where are the writings, discussions, art, and thoughtful analyses always that depict the inner dimensions of her soul and heart which are rooted in Divine mercy?

How have we lost our nature to be compassionate towards others—other women in particular, and towards our very own selves?

The lenses we choose to see each other with determine our perception. It’s time we throw aside the lenses of judgement, envy, suspicion, arrogance, & enmity that have been forced upon us by broken cultures, dysfunctional families, & diseased societies.

It’s time we put on the spiritual spectacles that direct our eyes inward & see the beautiful intentions, the ambition, the hopes, the faith, the good will, the loving warmth, the compassion, the empathy, the hurt, the sacrifices, the prayers, and the light that is often buried so far down but never extinguishes in every woman.

May Allah unite our hearts in His love & increase us in goodwill towards one another. Sisterhood rooted in love of Allah is among the greatest treasures of this world. May we all get our portion of it. Amīn. 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

Today is the end of the work week for most, but it’s the greatest day of the week for far better reasons!

It is the day of abundance and opportunity; contrition and redemption; purification and salutation. Do not squander this day but seize every opportunity to connect with Allah through prayer, reading His words, supplication, seeking forgiveness, and sending salawat upon His beloved ﷺ! 🤲🏼📿

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Among the best of your days is Friday. So, pray to Allah frequently on it to bless me, for such supplications of you will be presented to me.” (Abu Dawud)

“Increase your supplications for me on the day and night of Friday. Whoever blesses me once, Allah will bless him ten times.” (An-Nasa’i)

“Increase your supplications for me on the day of Friday, for no one blesses me on Friday but that his supplication is presented to me.” (Al-Bayhaqi)

There are far too many singles struggling to find suitable matches, and far too many couples struggling to communicate effectively with their partners.

and I have worked for decades separately and together to help people navigate the complex world of human relationships. With our combined knowledge and experience we have put together a comprehensive course that tackles a lot of different areas!

We have two courses left this month which include the live Q&A with us to answer all of your questions! Check out the link in bio for more and register ASAP!

You have no right to expect what you cannot give. If you want respect from your children then give it first so they learn. Set aside your ego and need for power, and realize that success is ONLY through that which pleases Allah ﷻ as exemplified by His Beloved ﷺ. If you stray from his way, you will ultimately fail.

Learn to also see past the physical form of everyone, including your children and you will discover that like you, they possess eternal souls that need to be nurtured and cared for, which is exactly the assignment you were given the moment they came into existence.

It all starts with you acknowledging their true essence and that they do not belong to you but nevertheless you are expected to care for them and do your best to prevent them harm.

May ﷲ guide us all and enable us to protect our children as they deserve! Amin! 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

We all need to be reminded of the facts of the matter, and what matters most is our survival of this world & salvation in the next. So here are just some basic straightforward FACTS OF LIFE.

May we live by them, strive towards them, & be successful through them. Amin! 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

In every relationship boundaries are the most important matters to be communicated from the onset. Unfortunately, many people become too swept away with emotion to remember this and end up suffering greatly as a result.

Before you begin to dictate to others what your boundaries are, make sure you’re clear about the most important boundaries of your existence: those created by your creator. Not only does He set limits for your protection but also to prevent you from harming others. Thus, logically speaking, it should be clear to you that when you disregard these boundaries you invite harm upon yourself which may include others crossing or disregarding your boundaries. Indeed, God is ever watchful over us and will repay us in kind for how we behave in this world.

So respect His boundaries and assert your own—in that order, if you want to be treated with dignity and have true success.

May Allah ﷻ make us people of taqwa (God consciousness) and sincerity. May He protect us from harm and harmful people, and surround us with benefit and beneficial people. Amin. 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

So much negativity all around us can feel disorienting to say the least. Many have a hard time processing it all and feel the weight and burden of uncertainty in the chaos. We must therefore recalibrate our inner compasses and find our way back to Allah ﷻ. May we hold firm to His rope, never waiver in our trust or doubt Him, and seek refuge in His mercy. Amin.

.raniaawaad
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Are you feeling like I'm feeling too?

Everything feels really heavy right now. In light of what is happening around the world, is hosting a virtual Ummah Healing Circle pop-up session

Please join me and Ust Friday evening, August 20th at 7pm PST/ 10pm EST by registering at tinyurl.com/UmmahHealing
(link in bio)!

May Allah ﷻ bring peace and security to the people of Afghanistan who have endured unimaginable horrors of war and political crimes for longer than most of us have lived. 🤲🏼💔

Our faith naturally fluctuates through life as we learn more & experience its ebbs and flows; its highs and lows. Spiritual health is thus indicated by growth, movement, and evolution. Stagnancy or regression is a sign of spiritual illness.

To achieve inner tranquility and find safe passage from this earthly realm, we must strive toward a wholistic, healthy, balanced, and enhanced practice of faith. This necessitates will + action through the pursuit of knowledge, consistent practice, and sincere self discipline.

Furthermore, when we raise the bar for ourselves to God’s standards, put our trust in Him and ask Him for continuous help, follow the prophetic model, and continuously struggle against our ego (nafs)—our greatest enemy, we will be successful in this life and the next in sha Allah!

So you think you’re in love? Are you sure about that? Is your day filled with overwhelming desire, lust, obsessive thoughts, stalking behavior, and panic? Are you constantly anxious thinking about this person or even when you’re around them? Do you make excuses for their character flaws, poor temperament, & obnoxious behavior? Are you infatuated with the idea of being with them even though you know very little?

Lust is often confused with love which leads to a long list of problems. Know the signs. Stop lying to yourself. A relationship built on passion and desire alone cannot and will not last long, & like a volatile storm will devastate everything it touches…including your heart.

If you’ve ever been too busy to pray, read Qur’an, or fulfill any obligatory act then know for a fact that is heedlessness which according to many of the scholars is the root disease of the heart which leads to all others!

We’ve all been there before and some of us may be drowning in the murky and toxic pool of heedlessness right now.

This is a reminder for all of us to get off our high horse, humble ourselves, stop acting like our work, relationships, worldly commitments or pursuits are more important than God. Nothing supersedes Him, and we better learn this lesson now while we have time or else we’ll learn it the hard way—God have mercy!!

May ﷲ forgive and guide us all, and take us from this life in the best of states! Amin! 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

We live in a time of immense vanity. Many people are so obsessed with their own appearance that a great deal of time is spent in outward beautification with little time left to remove inner blemishes.

The reality is that no amount of make-up, fillers, or filters can remove spiritual diseases manifested as (spiritual) darkness in the face—which has NOTHING to do with skin color but rather a beauty that God gives to whomever He chooses.

And while billions of people all over the world suffer every single day wishing and hoping they were more physically beautiful, chasing ideals that don’t exist and pining for things they will never likely attain, they neglect the one sure way to beautify themselves in this life and eternity: submission to God & remembrance of Him.

It’s scary to imagine the disparity between the spiritually deformed and the beautiful in this life, but just imagine the scene in the next life where according to the hadith some people will be dragged by their faces—the very ones they obsessed over 🤳🪞every day in this life!

A’uthubillah!!!!

Eid Mubarak to all my dear brothers and sisters, near and far from my family to yours. I pray your every prayer, du’a, act of charity, and fast is accepted. May your burdens be removed, your blessings be increased, and your hearts filled with His love and mercy. Amīn! 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

Looking forward to this beautiful program with so many dear teachers and friends. May Allah ﷻ bless CelebrateMercy for all they do for our ummah. Please join us and share the event!

🟡 FINDING FORGIVENESS - Arafah Webinar: Lessons & Dua 🕋

On Monday, July 19th at 5:30 p.m. EST CelebrateMercy brings you a special, 6-speaker webinar on the blessed Day of Arafah. Guest teachers will share reflections on the virtues of the Day of Arafah and guide us through beautiful duas with the global audience. We will also show video and photo images of the Hajj in Makkah.

While space remains, RSVP below to join this free webinar. 👇

Teachers include Imam Omar Suleiman, Shaykha Ieasha Prime, Shaykh Yasir Fahmy, Imam Adeyinka 'Muhammad' Mendes, Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi, and Ustadha Maryam Amir!

RSVP Here ➡ bit.ly/21-AR

Earlier in the week and I had an exciting announcement via IG live about our upcoming comprehensive marriage course for Muslims! Please check it out (link in bio) and share with anyone you think will benefit! The costs for these classes are affordable but to make it even more affordable we have an early bird discount until 8/1/2021 so take advantage now!

JazakumAllahu khayran!

Divorce is an uncomfortable topic but that’s also part of the reason we have such an epidemic. In other words, avoidance & denial due to discomfort is often why so many couples end up in divorce. Every couple benefits from periodic health check-ups. Knowing what behaviors to look out for and address will prevent a lot of toxic behaviors from becoming patterns and habits. Couples can be vigilant and quickly identify dangerous symptoms early to prevent long term marital diseases that may prove lethal.

For prospective singles or new couples this information can also help establish healthy preventative habits like developing stronger communication skills, investing in premarital or individual counseling to protect the marital bond from external factors.

Marriage is one of the great blessings in life, but we must be prepared for it in every way; physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, and spiritually. It will help us grow, but we determine with our choices and actions whether we are the flowers in our garden or the weeds. Will we flourish and beautify the marriage or deplete, decay, and destroy it?

May Allah guide us to take our relationships seriously and to strive for His pleasure in all matters. Amin. 🤲🏼

Character is formed early but is not immutable. We can always improve but like any endeavor it takes commitment and discipline. The soul can grow and evolve through training and rigor much the same way a wild animal can be domesticated and obedient.

The first step in improving ourselves is determining whether we are spiritually ignorant and negligent willfully or unknowingly, and then we can proceed from there.

God is fully aware of our reality, so we must not be deluded to think we can pretend to not know or deflect responsibility.

Time is running and moving forward, but are you?

Caring is sharing as they say, and vice versa so here’s something I hope is beneficial.

As we notice an increase in narcissism and self-centeredness in our world, there’s a correlating decrease in empathy. Each of us have to hold ourselves accountable by evaluating our level of care and concern for our fellow human beings. One way to do that is by defining how we care, why we care, and how much effort we put into our level of care. Not only will this reveal to us where we fall in the spectrum but also what we need to do to become more aligned with the example of our Beloved ﷺ, the paragon of empathy and universal compassion.

May God make us people of sincerity, love, care, empathy, and compassion so that we are worthy of His mercy. Amin. 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

(Had to repost due to a typo!) Sorry! Please repost this one! There are a lot of messages out there that define womanhood for women. Alhamdulillah that our beautiful faith offers such a comprehensive, beautiful, and affirming definition that connects us directly to our Lord and our Beloved Prophet ﷺ.

When we stray from our natural disposition (fitra) as women and adopt dangerous rhetoric and ideologies that defy our faith, we invite hardship into our lives that can affect our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.

We are empowered as Muslim women because our power is sourced from the All Mighty and no one else. That’s worth celebrating! Allahu Akbar! 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

Dear friends,

Last night I stumbled upon this incredible documentary after learning about & the powerful work she does with compassion circles and prisoners.

Fritzi shared this film in one of her IG posts and mentioned that it was only available for free screening until the 14th. I immediately followed the link & registered. They sent an email right away and I began watching it.

Wow! What a powerful storyteller & what an incredible film! .gabormate is an exceptional human being who has dedicated his life to helping people heal through their trauma which often stems from one or more ACE (adverse childhood events). He is compassionate, wise, thoughtful, and nonjudgmental.

If you or anyone you know has struggled with any form of abuse, been diagnosed with ADHD or other learning disorders, alcohol, drug, or sexual addiction, eating disorder, other mental health disorders, or if you often suppress your joy—please watch this!!

Please also kindly share it with others! Please check out to learn more & watch the film ASAP! There are only 2 days left!

Please share your feedback here once you’ve seen it!

At the root of so much heartache is poor or undeveloped communication skills. So many relationships are broken because of destructive patterns like distraction, dismissiveness, stonewalling, defensiveness, gaslighting, criticism, contempt, interrupting, argumentation, etc.

The prophetic way is to listen attentively and to speak judiciously. We need to teach these skills early on to our children so they are equipped to handle difficult conversations instead of fighting or fleeing.

Emotional intelligence is something we can all increase in but it begins with the self-awareness and humility to recognize oneself and one’s shortcomings.

If you want improved quality of life, don’t underestimate the power of effective and strong communication skills. With the proper understanding and skills, you will become more successful in every area of your life in sha Allah.

There are many popular books, self-help guides, frameworks, and philosophies today, but most of them borrow from ancient systems and universal truths. I enjoy connecting the dots between some of these modern ideas and the beautiful teachings within our own faith tradition. May it be beneficial to you and all who come across it.

If you enjoy it, please kindly share it with others and keep me in your duas. BarakAllahu feekum. 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

There are many practical changes we can all make to improve our spiritual and mental health. Among them are these tried and tested sunnah practices that abound with blessings.

Spreading peace should be understood as more than just offering the salams which of course is an essential sunnah. To be a spreader of peace is to be positive, kind, compassionate, forgiving, and desire good for all. One cannot spread peace while simultaneously holding on to resentment, anger, enmity, rancor, hatred and bitterness.

To be focused and mindful in everything one does, especially in prayer and duah is to maximize the benefit and potential of every experience. It requires one to be hyper vigilant and seek to remove distractions.

And character development includes acquiring virtuous qualities as well as carrying oneself with respect, dignity, comportment, & proper etiquette.

All of these 3 practices are easy to do at any stage of one’s spiritual path.

May Allah give us all taufeeq (success) in sha Allah. Amin. 🤲🏼💞🤲🏼

This world can’t exist without suffering, injustice, loss, grief, pain, anxiety, and disappointment. It is designed in every way to leave us feeling a permanent weight upon our hearts. Despite all of this, we have been blessed with guidance so we can overcome whatever comes our way without losing hope and falling into despair. Prayer is essential to our own salvation & to whatever relief we wish to bring others. We must use it before we lose it.