Asaalam everyone,
It's the second odd night. Therefore, it's my second Laylatul Qadr blog! Tonight my blog is going to be on signs of a hypocrite (munafiq).
As you may now, there used to be certain enemies of Islaam, and they used to act like they were Muslims, when inside they were not, they were the munafiqeen.
Recently, the qualites of a munafiq were mentioned, and I noted them down. Today, I thought "Why don't I write about that in todays Laylatul Qadr blog?" You may or may not know that on every odd night now I write a second blog, based on something I've just learnt (Ilearn it, and then write about it in a blog) and seeing I just learnt this list recently, I thought, why don't I write todays blog on that?
Let's begin...
There are certain qualites that a hypocrite has, I want you to read through this list and I want you to think carefully. Do you have any of these qualites- and remember for the activity afterwards.
A munafiq:
1. Breaks promises.
2. Lies.
3. Breaks people's trust.
4. Takes things to heart (personally)
5. Misses Salah
6. Finds spending for the sake of Allah hard.
7. Feels proud when they are praised for something they do not have.
8. Hates it if someone speaks against them.
9. Thinks every arrow is pointing towards them, e.g. everyone is talking about them.
These are only some signs, I have only put the ones I am able to understand and explain fully, and that I'm sure she said, because I do not want to end up writing the wrong thing and if a lot of people see it, or pass it on etc. with any part of this blog, then- I think you get my point...
Insha-Allah this blog came of use to you, I hope you had a nice Iftari, and are getting to spend this night well, finnally- have a nice sehri!
Ramadan Mubarak!
Asaalam everyone,
I said I would do a special extra blog on every odd night for Laylatul Qadr, and this is my apology type blog, for not doing a blog yesterday.
This blog is all about Jihad.
WE (Muslims) use the word Jihad to describe three things (each different):
When a believer struggles to live out the Muslim faith.
The battle to build a good Muslim society
The battle to defend Islam- Holy War.
INTERNAL JIHAD.
The internal Jihad is when a believer tries to live their life in a way they know will make Allah (Subhanataala) happy.
We should try as much as we can to live how Allah has told us to.
There are however other types of Jihad, but I do not have time to write more than this at current because Iftari is soon, and I have just learnt about Jihad.
However, here's a link to read more:
Asaalam everyone,
I wanted to cover this topic today, and I am also going to write the Laylatul Qadr blog I was going to write yesterday, however, I didn't get the time, therefore I am going to write it today.
This blog, however, is going to be quite short, as I want to get my point around to you, and Insha-Allah, it should not take to long.
Ramadan is the month when we spend more time as we should. Reading Quran, doing tasbeeh, even praying all our salaah on time if we've been behind before. However, it doesn't stop there?
It doesn't mean, you've prayed your salaah, you've read Quran, done tasbeeh, so now you stop.
Why don't we come out of Ramadan as better people? We should make the most of Ramadan.
I have said this in most of my blogs.
Insha-Allah we have all adapted at least one activity from Ramadan that we can use after Ramadan. So here's what I want you to do.
I want you to write it down. Just write down the one ability you will be taking with you this Ramadan, are there more than one? Write all of them down!
Now, just have a read over your list, and add random notes.
Make sure these notes have meaning, don't just scribble what you had for sehri by the side...
Tonight is the beginning of the last 10 days of Ramadan for me, I'm not sure about others or whether it's the same, but I know these last 10 days are important- especially because of Laylatul Qadr, which I wrote about in my last blog, but also Itikaf, in fact I was going to write a blog on just one topic today, as I pretty much always have done, but I remembered that many are starting Itikaf today, therefore, I thought I would go over this topic with you.
Firstly, I want to give a brief explanation of what Itikaf is. Itikaf is when you enter the masjid (or in your home if you are a woman) with the intention of staying inside. Insha-Allah there will be many people who will do Itikaf for the last 10 days of Ramadan. There are three types of Itikaf.
ITIKAF.
WAAJIB ITIKAF:
If you pledged to make Itikaf if one of your wishes, or desires is fulfilled. For example, if you day you will make Itikaf if you pass your exams. This kind of Itikaf is one day and one night, and you must accompany this Itikaf with a fast.
SUNNAT MU-AKKADAH:
Performing Itikaf on the last 10 days of Ramadan is sunnat mu-akkadah'alal kifaayah, which means at least one person in the community has to perform it, or else everyone will be sinful.
MUSTAHAB OR NAFL:
Performing Itikaf for any amount of time, and no fast is needed.
You could even perform this type of Itikaf for a few minutes.
In order to perform Itikaf, you must be:
1. A Muslim
2. Sane
3. Free from Hadase Akbar (in need of a bath)
4. You must have the niyyat (intention)
It's makrooh for you to stay completely silent, as a form of Ibadah, but you should avoid talking about worldly things (matters).
A Mu'takif is some-one who performs Itikaf.
During Itikaf some things the Mu'takif should engage in are:
"1. Ibadat
2. Reading the Qur'aan.
3. Nafl salaat and Zikr
4. Durood Shareef and Istighfar
5. Remembrance of Allah
6. Learning or teach the knowledge of the deen."
Woman should do their Itikaf in their houses, where she prays her namaaz, or just in any place that's suitable.
WAYS TO LEARN IN RAMADAN.
I was initially going to do this list today, but I think it's important to know about Itikaf especially as many people are performing it soon.
Recently I have wrote quite a lot of advice on how to make your Ramadan productive, along with different activities to try, and Ramadan is the month where we should spend our time wisely.
Therefore, I am going to write some ways to learn (about Islam and different topics inside Islam) in a list.
1. Firstly, NOTES. It may seem simple but you can do so much from one set of notes, you could write it out into a report or more formal document, you could re-read your notes whenever you are unsure about something. You could go through your notes. You could share what you've learnt. However, by notes, I don't mean sitting there randomly, no book, no lecture,not even at a talk just scribbling about maybe the football match that's on TV. I mean go to a talk, listen to a talk on the internet, take notes from a book etc.
You could mindmap, bullet point- whatever helps you.
2. The Internet.
You can listen to talks over the Internet or read blogs, like this one.
I'm going to leave a a link to a talk below, as this is one of the talks I listened to in Ramadan and it really got to me.
It is about the day of reckoning.
It should encourage us to try hard, that this dunya is a test and that we should try our very best and more to pass it!
I know your thinking these are opposites, but you can learn from teaching. For example, if you are about to teach on a topic you only know a bit about, you will learn more about it won't you?
Through that, you have learnt and you have taught someone else.
Perhaps you can start a blog!
4. The Qur'aan.
Read the Qur'aan! You can read the translation if you don't know Arabic. Maybe you can even attend Tafsir classes to learn more deeply into the meaning of the Qur'aan.
It's important to know how you learn as well, so you can use this in a useful manner, and if I were you I would make sure the way you are learning is safe, and halal (so you are not looking on dodgy websites or learning in a manner that is not allowed in Islam.
I hope you are having a nice Ramadan, and if you are doing Itikaf, I hope it goes well.
You may have looked at the time I released this already, if you haven't then you may be trying to find out right now. Yes,it's early, very early. I've just finished reading Taraweeh. The reason I'm writing this blog now is because I did not get time to write it previously. There-fore, I have decided to write it now. You may be thinking AREN'T YOU TIRED! GO TO BED! However, the feeling you have in Ramadan is different, and besides, I thought I hadn't finished yesterdays blog, so why not finish it and post it today?
You may already know that the last 10 days of Ramadan are approaching soon, I'm not sure when everyone is starting, but I do know it is soon.
These last 10 days of Ramadan holds the night of power (Laylatul Qadr). This night was only granted to he Prophet (SAW)'s ummah. There is a few stories and quite some information about Laylatul Qadr, and today I'm going to go through some with you.
The Prophet (SAW) used to ponder about the long lives of people that had existed before, in the other ummahs. They had had many years to spend in Ibadah and so on. To comfort him Allah granted this night to the Prophet (SAW).
Did you know that 10 Laylatul Qadrs that you do are equal to 833 years of Ibadah!
Once the Sahabah heard about a man that has spent 1000 months in Jihad ("War or struggle against unbelievers"). The Sahabah begun to get envious, after all- their lives were not long enough to do that. Laylatul Qadr was granted, and is better than a thousand months.
The more sincerity you have on this night the more reward there is?
However... What is this night? The best way I would describe Laylatul Qadr to you is when you spend your night in worship. Praying, doing Tasbeeh etc. and the more sincerity you have, the more reward you get.
In this month the angels come down, and Jibraeel follows them, they also visit your houses, and shake you hand if they see you in prayer. They will not visit your house if you have: A dog A pig Photos of people (or any living creatures)
If you do then the best thing to do is to get rid of them for this night because imagine missing out on- this!
Just like if you had a guest coming over you would prepare wouldn't you? Well in this case you should do the same, taking off any photos of living creatures and placing them away ina cupboard etc.
I have heard that some people think Laylatul Qadr is only on the 27th of Ramadan. This isn't true. Allah (Subahanaatallah) has not specified. You should ,however, focus on the odd nights, so:
21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th.
Either of them could be Laylatul Qadr- and if you read once, you might be missing out, so read on all of these nights.
This was just some basic information about Laylatul Qadr because I am thinking of doing an extra blog every odd night, or for every odd night, and I'll tell you about it in my next blog Insha-Allah.
Hope your Ramadan goes well and if your reading this now, have a nice sehri... and before I forget:
Asaalam everyone!
Recently I read someone else's blog on how to keep your cool during Ramadan, however, I was not able to find it for this blog, but I will try to find it as soon as possible (Insha-Allah). Today I am going to write my own tips on staying calm during Ramadan, because it can be stressful. These are just the advice I would give you, but I also have another activity at the end, as they can be quite helpful depending on how you learn.
When you're not eating or drinking your bound to get irritated easily, and probably get stressed or very hot if it's summer, therefore it's important to do everything you can to keep calm and fast peacefully.
1. Firstly, water, drink etc. are so important.
I know what you're thinking "HOW CAN WE DRINK WATER IF WE'RE FASTING???" I am talking about Sehri, Iftari, the night and so on. If you are reading at night, keep a bottle of drink nearby and drink it when you can.
If you aren't then keep one nearby anyway, if you wake-up, have a quick drink, after eating your sehri meal and if you have a minute left, have a quick drink.
Fit in as many fluids as you can.
2. FOOD! What to have at Sehri? What to have at Iftari? When it comes to Sehri you should have something that will keep you going, maybe porridge, wheat etc.
When it comes to Iftari it's pretty much down to you, however avoid junk food.
3. When you get irritated just walk away. Say something that might calm you down. If someone is trying to pick an argument with you or you think that the situation would end up with an argument, just say " I'm fasting. I'm fasting" or think it.
If you need to relax then relax by either reading, praying (and more) as you should do in Ramadan, or maybe even doing an activity that you enjoy.
4. Take time out for Quran. Wudhu, Salah and Quran should help calm you down.
5. Finally, know your body. If you know that doing a certain activity will make you feel even more tired than anyone else usually would, stay away from it. If you know that something else will do you good, then do it.
I just want to take this space to mention that smoking does not apply in number 3. Smoking is extremely bad for your body. In fact, it is not Makrooh, it is actually Haraam. Some think it's makrooh because of the smell, however, if you look into the ayah's in the Quran, you will actually find out smoking is haram.
Don't believe me? Read this, an entry from someone else's blog, about smoking being Haram: http://inshafdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/why-islam-says-dont-smoke.html
This was probably the best one I found, as everything else I saw was either a debate or a video that didn't explain it properly or fully, here it is straight to the point and easy to understand.
Also, smoking during a fast breaks your fast.
It makes both Qadhaa (to keep a fast for one you broke intentionally) and kaffarah (to keep 60 fasts one after another).
I found this out from my Taleemul-Haq book which I have mentioned before.
"Eating, drinking or breaking fast in any other manner without e.g., smoking etc., without a valid reason, will make both Qadhaa and Kaffarah necessary."
In the book itself I am not sure whether it states anything about smoking being Haraam or Makrooh, but I do know that it is haram.
You can search it up anywhere.
It was a new discovery...
Also, smoking kills- it's best you don't do it.
Now onto the activity, what I want you to do is to write down your own weaknesses and you own tips, you can mindmap, you can make a list and so on. Just write anything that will help you whilst you are fasting, maybe write your weak points and what you can do to help prevent that getting in your way.
I hope your Ramadan is going well. Ramadan Mubarak!
Asaalam everyone,
Today I am going to write down the definition of Surah Ash-Shams, as this is the month we try to increase the amount of Quran we read. I was reading through this particular Surah yesterday, and I thought it would be great to post the definition so here we go.
"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful.
I swear by the sun and it's brilliance,
And the moon when it follows the sun,
And the Day when it shows it,
And the night when it draws a veil over it,
And the heaven and Him who made it,
And the earth and Him Who extended it,
And the soul and Him who made it perfect,
Then he inspired it to understand it to understand what is right and wrong for it;
He will indeed be successful who purifies it,
And he will indeed fail who corrupts it.
Samood gave the lie (to the truth) in their inordinacy,
When the most unfortunate of them broke forth with
So Allah's apostle said to them (Leave alone) Allah's she camel, and (give) her (to) drink.
But they called him a liar and slaughtered her, and therefore their Lord crushed them for their sin and leveled them (with the ground)
And He fears not it's consequence."
I got the translation from a new app, called iQuran, I got the lite version, but there is a paid version.
I definitely recommend for your tablets! I, myself, do not have it on a tablet, but even if you do not have a tablet, I recommend it for your phone, iPod etc.
It is available in the apple store, and I think it's available on android, I don't know whether it's available on windows devices- but have a check!
Be sure you get the correct one.
The app itself is quite useful, but it's essential for you to have an actual Quran, you see- I'm not sure if it's just me, but after reading through Surah Ash-Shams, I spotted a difference from what I have read before. In Surah Ash-Shams you usually say "Wa-laylee-iza-yagsha" on the 4th Ayah, on but on this app it says "Wa-oo-lay-lee-iza-yagsha".
I'm not exactly sure, but I noticed it and got confused.
Insha-Allah you are having a productive Ramadan. I wanted to add this video just before I leave,
and I am considering adding more of them into my blogs.
Asaalam everyone,
Today I am going to write on how important Hajj is. I'm sure we've all wanted to got on Hajj once in our lifetime. However, Hajj is quite important, it is Fardh to go once in your lifetime. Hajj is the fifth pillar as-well,
so you have probably already started to see how important Hajj is.
Did you know that if you have the wealth and you have all the means so that you can go on Hajj, but yet you did not perform Hajj (after you have passed away) you would not die as a Muslim.
Also, Rasoolullah (SAW) said
"Verily Allah has declared Hajj Fardh upon you, therefore perform Hajj"
Rasoolullah SAW also said
"Hasten in performing Hajj, for verily one never knows what will befall him"
The above is quite important, because who knows when you'll pass away, or if you'll become to ill to go on Hajj, perhaps it may become even more difficult for you to go on Hajj in a few years time, and we have to go once in our life. So why say "No, I can't go now, it's to hard" or "Maybe in a few years" or even "At the moment it's impossible" If you have the money, and the means to go, then why say later.
Perhaps it will be even more difficult then, and remember-it's the fifth pillar of Islam.
Also,
Hajj has many benefits and it is exciting.
Can you imagine, so many Muslims gathered to take this religious journey?
Rasoolullah SAW said:
"One who dies while on his journey for Hajj, Allah will record the reward of Hajj for him upto the day of Qiyaamah, and one who dies while on his journey for Umrah, Allah will record the reward of Umrah for him upto the day of Qiyaamah".
Rasoolullah SAW also said
"For an accepted Hajj, there is no reward besides Jannah"
Jannah- Paradise.
Overall, the importance of Hajj is huge, and the benefits are to.
Insha-Allah, one day we'll all get to go.
Today I used "Taleemul-Haq" for writing this blog.
I think I have mentioned it before, it is basically full of many chapters, if you want to read more about it just scroll down a few blogs and I would have mentioned it two blogs before, where I wrote about the Prophet's (SAW) milk mother.
I did not write a blog yesterday because I was working on this one, however I hope your fasts are going well, and you are not wasting the time we have in this blessed month.
I apologise everyone, I thouhgt I had published this blog-it was saved as a draft-
woops.
Asaalam everyone,
Yesterday I spent some time completing my own activity idea (that I wrote about in the last blog)
and today I am going to write about Ramadan- so far.
Can you believe it? Over half of Ramadan has already past! Maybe it's just me, but hasn't it passed
by so quickly?
Therefore, I decided to write a blog on how we have spent our Ramadan so far.
This blog will be quite a short blog though...
Ramadan is a blessed month- we shouldn't waste it! I think it helps to reflect on what we've done so
far so that we can improve. How can we improve without knowing what we actually need to improve?
Therefore, I have devised another activity, and if you have time I recommend you give this a go.
I learn by doing, therefore sometimes I just randomly think of these ideas...
and here's one:
What I want you to do is to devise a list of what you have struggled on so far, something like this:
This way you have a basic idea of what you've struggled on.
If you want to work through this more thoroughly keep a piece of paper with you and whenever you do something wrong, or notice you have been doing something wrong, then you can write it down.
From here we are going to move onto
another list...
This time I want you to write what you are going to do to improve:
Now the last step is the most important, to follow the second list.
Imagine you have a blackboard and have wrote all over it- but your handwriting was messy-
you would clear it and start again, putting in more effort.
So do that!
Remember,
this month only comes once a year brothers and sisters, and also-
Ramadan Mubarak, hope you having a great Ramadan!
Asaalam everyone,
I realise I have very behind regarding blogs, and I am so sorry! From now, one of my Ramadan goals is to keep up with this blog and write one entry every day.
In order to do this, I need to make sure that I take out some time everyday and instead of sleeping or using the Internet for worldly matters (e.g. gaming, socialising) and instead use the time for this blog.
There are many other goals that I want to achieve this Ramadan as well, just like you probably have many goals to. I remember writing about goals in another one of my blog entries, but setting goals is not where you stop.
For example, you cannot say "My goal is to become a teacher" and suddenly you find yourself in a classroom full of children...
Similarly, you can't say a goal that you have for Ramadan and suddenly you have done it.
You need to know what you are going to do and how. When you are going to do it, and what might get in your way that you can try prevent interrupting you.
I have something I want you to do...
Firstly, I want you to write down your goals...
Now, as you know what you want to do, and what you wish to this Ramadan, it's time
for you to write how you are going to acheive these goals.
Finally, you need to know what you are going to do if a problem occurs or to stop a problem occurring.
This matter is quite wide so it's better to mind-map about it. To give you an example, what if you have some work to do and therefore your work becomes an issue, because you want to acheive goal 3.
What could you do?
You could perhaps catch up...
or even better, you could be working with a friend or relative to learn about a certain topic, every week, day etc.
You could contact them and ask them to tell you what they have learnt in detail, and make notes or you could take half an hour to complete goal 3, half an hour to work, half an hour to complete goal 3 and so on.
Insha-Allah your fasts are going great, and you are using this time productively.
Asaalam everyone,
Recently I have not been up to date with blogs, so I just decided to write a short apology, and let you know I will be carrying on with blogs.
At current, I need more ideas for what I can write about and next week I am considering writing another story from the life of the Prophet (SAW), because it's quite a nice thing to do. To read and to learn about.
I am considering writing a basic guide on how to read Salah, maybe a guide on how to perform Wudhu.
Insha-Allah I will also write a blog as soon as possible today.
Asaalam everyone,
Ramadan has been absolutely wonderful so far, Insha-Allah, it's been wonderful for you to.
Today I am going to talk about Surah Fatihah in Salah.
I remember mentioning the book " Love Of Allah" (the first book in the series).
Sometimes in our salah, we can think- "Oh- I have to do this" or" Soon, I'll have to go there" which can cause us to rush.
Sometimes we just rush considering the beautiful gift of prayer a burden!
Therefore, I wanted to show you something I was fascinated by, did you know when you are reading your Surah Fatihah Allah is actually answering us at each verse.
When you say:
"All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds"
Allah says
"My servant has praised me."
After that when you say:
"The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
Allah says "My servant has glorified me."
When we say:
"The Master of the Day of Judgement"
Allah says "My servant has glorified me" or "My servant has related all matters to me."
When we say:
"You [alone] we worship, and you [alone] we ask for help"
Allah says "This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall be granted what he sought".
When we say:
"Guide us to the straight path. The way of those on whom You have granted Your grace, not [the way] of those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray"
Allah says "This is for My servant, and My servant shall be granted what he asked for."
Therefore, when you are reading this Surah in your Salah, try to pause momentarily like the Prophet (PBUH) did.
Today I used my "Love of Allah. Experience the beauty of Salah" book.
This book is absolutely wonderful! In the Editors Preface it says you can actually download a free PDF version of the book on the site- http://www.quranproject.org/
I hope your fasts are going great, May Allah make Ramadan a blessed month for us all.
Ameen.
Asaalam everyone,
I just thought I'd write a bit about having a productive Ramadan, because it's important we spend
this month productively.
In order to spend the month productively, I like to know some things I can do, in basic, do my research.
Today I am going to write down some ways to spend your Ramadan productively, from what I do, and what I suggest, and I will show some ideas from research, or maybe some sites you can get ideas from or use.
To begin with, It's compulsory to read your salah, and I think I mentioned a few ideas on how to use technology to stay organised with your prayers etc.
I mentioned an app, but there are a few more. I'll put a link below, so you can have a look at some of them afterwards.
Also, you should increase Quran recitation, maybe set a goal, of how much you are going to read and when.
For me, I am trying to at least read one sphara each day so by the end of Ramadan I would have finished the Quran. If I miss a day I'll make up for it by reading the sphara I've missed as well as the day's sphara.
Finally, how are you spending your time- are you watching TV most of the time or whenever your on the Internet spend 5 minutes reading Islamic blogs etc. or websites or listening to lectures like this, and then playing games, and spending your time on entertainment? When I'm on the Internet during this moth I try to make sure I am on this blog, doing research, or listening to lectures etc. If I do anything else I feel guitly after a while.
After all, this month is so blessed- why waste it.
I listen to beautiful lectures, recently I've only listened to two by "Soldier of Islam", however I recommend you listen to them to.
"Queens of Islam" Is a wonderful lecture, that is not not only targeted at woman, because it also tells Men about how special women are.
I hope you Ramadan is going well!
Below are some links you might find useful: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/tech-savvy-muslims-10-popular-093040796.html
The above link is a link to a list of Islamic apps you might like to download and use during Ramadan. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Queens+of+Islaam&view=detail&mid=721930D73CE373CC0C0B721930D73CE373CC0C0B&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR
The above link is a link to the lecture I was talking about before.
I haven't used the You-tube link because some people can be slightly disrespectful in the comments (in most religious videos) I listened to the same one on Bing Videos- I should think this is the same version I have heard, but I don't think they vary much, it's pretty much only different people who have posted it, which is quite nice to see, lots of people are posting it etc.
I hope you're Ramadan is going well, and may Ramadan go well for everyone,
Ameen.
I was thinking how nice it would be to read a story today, as in a story from the life of Muhammad (PBUH), I thought today was a nice day as we'll be putting out some time to read, or perhaps even be reading some articles on some Islam related sites etc.
So, today I am going to write about the Prophet's (PBUH) mil mother).
You may know that it was a tradition for children to be sent to the countryside to be looked after, therefore Muhammad (PBUH) was also sent to the country side to be looked after. The Prophet's (PBUH) milk mother was Sayiditina Halima (RAA). whilst Muhammad (PBUH) lived with her at her house, her house was in basic blessed. I would thinks she must have loved having him around, but one day she had to send him back, and this wasn't just any normal farewell, the farewell took place after a significant event.
The angel Jibraeel (alayhisalaam) had appeared one day before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and after he appeared the angel Jibraeel (alayhisalaam) split the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) heart open and took out a black spot that lay inside. Thereafter, the spot was washed with zam-zam water and it was filled with Imaam) faith and wisdom. After that the heart was put back into his body. Halima (RAA) got scared, felt fear, therefore she returned Rasulullah (PBUH) to his mother, Aemena.
This week I used the story I had actually written down in a notebook after reading it from another book, and off the Internet etc. It was quite a while ago when I was doing some research, but I think one of the books I used was "Ta'leemul Haq" which covers quite a lot of things, and at the very back there is some brief history from the life of the Prophet (PBUH). This book is quite good if your learning about wudhu, tayammum etc.
So far, I have seen it used in Masjids were children learn, but it's till quite good, and I've kept it with me for some time.
Asaalam,
I hope Ramadan is going well for all of you! It is extremely hot at the moment, but usually you get used to fasts after 2-3 days. Firstly, I'd like to apologise I didn't put the source (website) that I used in yesterdays blog, as soon as I find it I'll add it in. As I said I would start talking about different topics when Ramadan has started, but I'll try to make sure a write a lot about Ramadan itself. Recently I have started reading a book about salaah. It's a beautiful book and even though I've just started it, I can't put it down. So today, Id like to talk about the topic of the book, salaah.
To start of, I'm just going to quickly ask a question. How many times a day do you pray your namaaz? Do you pray all of them. Do you pray some, or hardly any?
Do you know the story of salah?
I think it goes a little bit like this:
Allah gave the Prophet (P.B.U.H) the gift of salah, however, the numbers were quite large and after a while they were decreased to 5 prayers a day.
I am little bit unsure about the story because I have heard different versions.
There was a beautiful chapter of the book which I passed.
This chapter is about incidents in history that have shown how special salah is, one of the examples was as following:
"Imam Bukhari was once stung by a wasp 17 times while standing in prayer. When he finished, he felt some discomfort and asked if anyone was aware of what caused it".
I find the so inspiring, as sometimes we miss namaaz, but here Imam Bukhari carried on. In fact, perhaps it even means he never felt the wasp sting him, or he felt the wasp and did not care, because he was reading namaaz.
I'd like to show one last example:
"It was said that when Ali washed in preparation for prayer, he always went pale and trembled with anxiety as he thought of himself about to stand before his Lord."
Again, just motivating. Why is it that we act like salaah is just a simple thing which you can choose to do or not, why do we rush into finishing at and even at times avoid it? It's not exact;y nice to see a person who does no harm to us, in-fact will do us good by becoming our friend or teaching us something, ignore them, rush quickly whilst talking to them to go away, or even treat them like dirt?
Then we do we act the same way towards namaaz?
For this weeks blog, my source was the book I have been reading, which is called "Love of Allah. Experience the beauty of salaah". I think there is actually a series, and this is part one.
Remember- the next time you read namaaz, spend some time on it, and see how you feel compared to a quick rush.
Last week I introduced this new blog and I explained how I have not done something like this before,
so please leave a comment if I've done something wrong, or check first.
From what I've heard, some people have started their fasts today, whilst some are starting to fast tomorrow.
Today I am going to write about certain things that might be useful (to know) before Ramadan starts, or if you've started, at the start of Ramadan.
Firstly, I'm going to write about some do's and dont's of Ramadan.
Do:
Lower your gaze.
Pray 5 times a day.
Increase the amount of time you spend reading Qur'an and also listening to recitation of the Qur'an, Khutba etc.
Increase the amount of times you ask for forgiveness from Allah (Astaghfar).
Increase Dhikr
Forget about any grudges you're holding.
Give others Iftar:
DID YOU KNOW- when you give food to a fasting person to break their fast you get the reward the other person is getting for their fast to, and their reward is not taken away!
Increase acts of charity.
Don't:
Miss prayer
Looking at people of the opposite gender
Listen to gossip, music etc.
Don't tell lies, gossip, backbite etc.
Avoid abusive language
Avoid violence
Don't waste time- use it on useful things like dhikr.
Don't be vulgar or rude and avoid swearing.
Don't eat doubtful food at Iftar.
Remember it's not exactly great to do these things (don'ts) outside of Ramadan as-well.
Also, I would like to share some Islamic resources that might be useful to you during Ramadan.
I looked around for an app that might be useful to me during Ramadan. I found "Muslim Pro" Which has Azaan reminder, Quraan, 99 names of Allah and the Prophet and even more.
When I looked at the holidays though it came up with an odd date for the start of Ramadan, as Ramadan is starting just now, and for some has just started, but it stated Ramadan started in April.
You can find even more useful apps in the app-store for Ramadan and beyond.
Also, iBooks holds free books as well as payed.
In the IBooks store you can get free books, that might come handy to you during Ramadan.
All of the Harun Yayha books I've seen in the store are free- and there's plenty more Islamic books to.
Finally,
I just wanted to say it is hot- very hot. However, remember people in other countries are having to starve everyday, in even more heat. They're having to watch children starve, which is probably even more painful.
Insha-Allah, Ramadan will be great for everyone, let's hope to come out of Ramadan as better, more Islamic people.
Asaalamulaykum everyone,
Ramadan time is near, and I am so excited!
Sometimes, when I tend to tell others they think I'm mad, but the thing is- it's not all about the food. It's that feeling you have during the blessed month for me.
Ramadan for 2013 is only a few days away, and that's why I thought I thought I'd make this blog.
I'm asking you to correct me if I get something wrong, by commenting below, or, if you're unsure about something, whether it be on this blog, any other blog, a website etc. make sure you check.
When doing research you should check anyone because there are so many resources, you can be unsure of which to trust.
Also be careful when searching for information on your religion, because you might find the wrong thing, or maybe an unreliable resource.
Ramadan is approaching soon, and so I will be spending a few of these entries writing on topics that will be useful in Ramadan, and I'll try to gather up as much information as I can from my own research.
After that I will be writing during Ramadan, perhaps on different topics.
Insha-Allah, I'll try and keep the blog as up to date as I can, and also as reliable and helpful as possible.
I'll leave the sources that I have used along with the blogs if you wish to see them as well.
Are you feeling excited about Ramadan?
