Loving Allah alone is insufficient to earn Allah's reward and for salvation. Loving what Allah loves is a means to enter Islam and leave disbelief, and those most devoted to this love are most beloved to Allah. Love for the sake of Allah is essential and interconnected with loving what Allah loves. Loving that which Allah loves cannot be complete until one also loves for the sake of Allah.

The Prophet did not urge us to choose names just because they are mentioned in the Quran. There are many names mentioned in the Quran that the Muslim is not allowed to give to his children such as Fir`awn (Pharaoh), Haman and Qarun.

Conditions of accepting invitations in Islam • There should be nothing objectionable in the place where the party etc. is to be held. • The host should not be someone whom it is obligatory or recommended to forsake. • The host should be a Muslim. • The food offered should be permissible for us to eat. • Accepting the invitation should not lead to neglecting a more important duty. • It should not cause any trouble to the person who is invited.

Conditions of accepting Du`a are: • You should call upon no one except Allah. • You should seek to draw close to Allah in one of the ways that are prescribed in Shari`ah. • You should avoid seeking a quick response. • The Du`a should not involve sin or severing of the ties of kinship. • You should think positively of Allah. • You should be focused, aware of the greatness of the One upon Whom you are calling. • Ensuring that one’s food comes from permissible sources. • You should avoid aggression in Du`a. • You should not let Du`a distract you from an obligatory duty.

Hasad (destructive envy) means wishing that a blessing that Allah has bestowed on the envied person be taken away.

If a person who is asking for forgiveness experiences a delay in the arrival of a child or the occurrence of rain, it is not appropriate for him to think negatively of his Lord, may He be Exalted. Rather he must reflect and think negatively of his own self, for perhaps he is praying for forgiveness without proper focus and humility, or is merely paying lip service to praying for forgiveness, and this is an obstacle to his prayer for forgiveness being answered. Or perhaps the one who is praying for forgiveness has some sins of which he is heedless, and has not repented from them.

1. Faith increases by doing acts of worship and righteous deeds, and it decreases by committing sins. So whoever wants to increase his faith, let him focus on obeying Allah and let him avoid disobeying Him. What will help him to do that is spending time with righteous people and keeping away from innovators and sinners. 2. The remedy for intrusive thoughts (Waswas) is to ignore them and turn away from them; to recite a great deal of Quran; to do great deal of righteous deeds; and to call upon Allah, may He be Glorified, and beseech Him to ward off the schemes of the Shaytan from you and to make you steadfast in adhering to the truth.

Joking, whether it is based on truth or lies, has many scenarios: 1- when the joke is based on truth, and there is no lying involved; this is permissible; 2- when the joke is based on a lie; this is prohibited; 3- joking by telling stories, when you are not certain whether they are true, but they could have happened, what appears to be the case, based on the actions of some scholars is that this is permissible. Interesting and funny stories are of three types: 1- stories which we know to be true; there is nothing wrong with this type; 2- stories which are known to be lies and did not happen, it is impermissible to tell these stories; 3- stories regarding which it is not known whether they happened or not; there is nothing wrong with telling these stories.

The wording mentioned in the question was not soundly narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and there is no sound report from him to suggest that it is not allowed to offer supplication for what is good in this world, so it is not correct to say that praying for what is good in this world will bring worries and stress. Rather what has been narrated is a warning against being distracted by worldly concerns from the hereafter, or seeking worldly gains in ways that are not permissible.

You can increase Taqwa by: • Reflecting on the matter of this world and the hereafter and understanding the value of each of them • Striving to obey Allah and do righteous deeds • Fasting a great deal • Striving to acquire the characteristics of the righteous who fear Allah • Adhering to the guidance and teachings of the Prophet • Keeping away from what Allah has prohibited • Reflecting on the verses of Allah and His signs in the universe • Remembering Allah a great deal and reciting Quran • Keeping company with good people • Reading biographies of those who feared Allah among the righteous believers.