Be among the forty that travel with us every month.

Allah states in the Qur’an:

“… When he comes of age and reaches forty years, he says, ‘My Lord! Inspire me to give thanks for Your blessing with which You have blessed my parents and me, and that I may do righteous deeds which please You, and invest my descendants with righteousness. Indeed I have turned to you in penitence, and I am one of the Muslims.” (46: 15)

The number 40 extraordinary significance in our tradition, so we made an intention this Ramadan 2020 to share some inspiring stories highlighting this number. We may not truly understand the reality of this number, but we cannot deny its prevalence and importance. We invite you to accept this invitation of 40 and become a part of building a lasting legacy that will help produce the next 40 generations insha'Allah.

We welcome you to be inspired by stories of: Imam Nawawi who accomplished so much in 40 yrs of life, including his famous compilation of 40 Hadith, the Prophet Musa (upon him peace) who is known to have traveled to the top of Mount Sinai for 40 days before descending back with the ten commandments from God, and the Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - who received revelation at age 40.

May your last ten days in Ramadan be filled with light and abundant good.

Time is not the same for all of us. Nor is it measured the same way. Although we appear to be moving through it all the same. We don’t feel its constrictions or expansions at a physical level but they are a reality. The concept of time and barakah (blessing or increase) coincide a lot in the Islamic tradition. So one may ask for an increase in our wealth, health, livelihood, knowledge, careers, etc. This Arabic word however is not limited to a physical increase. It may be that God permits a person to achieve more with fewer resources, or accomplish a lot over a small period. It is this increase that creates a mystery about time and its relation to achievement. So begs the century old question, why are some people able to achieve so much more in short periods of time while others cannot?

Understanding the concept of barakah in Islam can help shed some light on this mystery. Today, we would like to share some highlights of the life of an incredible person in history, Muhyi al-Din Abu Zakariya Yahya bin Sharaf al-Nawawi or also known popularly as Imam Nawawi. He was born in the village of Nawa near Damascus in 631 A.H. From a young age, Abu Zakariya was known for his interest in the pursuit of knowledge and did not have any inclinations for play like his peers. Therefore, his father facilitated his interest and the young lad studied with the most prominent teachers of the time in Damascus mastering diverse sciences in a short period of time including hadith, tafseer, fiqh, and more. He was much loved and celebrated by his teachers because of his capacity for learning and disseminating knowledge. Imam Nawawi is described by his teachers and students as simple, modest, grateful, honest and just. He did not live a long life but he lived an expansive life.

He passed away around the age of 44 but those 40 odd years of his life were filled with incredible achievement and success. Allah gave him barakah in almost everything. Although he wrote dozens of books including the popular Riyaad as-Saliheen, he is most famous for his compilation of the Arba’ian or the 40 Ahadeeth of Imam Nawawi. In this 40 hadith compilation, the Imam captures a condensed version of knowledge that every Muslim is at minimum obligated to know. The subject matter of the hadiths are diverse yet relatable in a timeless manner making them relevant to any age and time. His legacy of 40 years stands tall in Islamic history. It's no coincidence that he became most known for the compilation of 40 hadith. Less can be more. It depends on what you do with what you are given. Some may be given a lot but they waste it so it never amounts to much. Others are given a little yet they expand its impact in unimaginable ways.

In this day and age, time is what everyone seems to complain about or not have enough of. But is it really time that we do not have, or is it that we no longer have barakah in it? What can we do to achieve this barakah in our time and our lives extending beyond our breathing moments on earth?

Maybe what we do with our time makes a difference. Maybe the company we keep in the time makes a difference. Maybe the intentions we have for a given time make a difference. Maybe the commitment we make with our wealth, health and resources in a time makes a difference. Even in our brief overview of Imam Nawawi’s life, we see the embodiment of so much that Allah mentions in the Qur’an about barakah. Allah truly blessed Imam Nawawi with barakah. In his time. In his life. In his knowledge. And in his legacy. So much so that even after 40 generations since he left the world, we continue to benefit from the barakah Allah provided for him.

As we conclude the 40 series, we invite you to join this legacy and pass this barakah on to the next generation. At Sanad Trust Foundation, our focus remains inculcating prophetic principles and values into the next generation. We are filling the gaps so guidance never fades away. Today, we invite you to build a legacy. For Allah, His messenger, our faith and the hope for our children’s collective future. Together, let’s make history, build a legacy, get connected.

Mountains call you differently than caves do, if they do at all. Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - chose to retreat inside of a cave, which was on top of a mountain but we seldom talk about the mountain. And not without a reason. The cave for the prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - is a reclusive retreat from the paganistic practices that are ubiquitous in Arabia. He is 40 years old. It's a time of introspection and deep contemplation with a tenacious desire for clarity and answers. ...Read more.

When you only look at the opening of a cave, it can be misleading. You see a small, narrow passageway that hollows into an unknown darkness and you may be right, if that’s all you are permitted to see. Perspectives are a great blessing from God. Although intangible, they build our frames of references and allow us to experience our life and those around us as we know it. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sat in the cave of Hira on a silent, dark night, he may have initially felt alone, small and uncertain. ....Read More.

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