Ramadan, an Opportunity.....

Lesson 1: Gaining taqwa (fear of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala)

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala legislated fasting for gaining taqwa, "O you who believe fasting has been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain taqwa." (meaning of Sooratul Baqarah (2):138) Tawqa in this case means, to make a shield between oneself and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala's anger and hellfire. So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, 'Has this fasting day made us fear Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala more ? Has it resulted that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire ?'

Lesson 2: Drawing us closer to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala

This is achieved by reciting and reflecting on Al-Qur'an during the night and the day, attending the taraveeh prayers, remembering Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and his prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam, Also for those who can, making itikaf (seclusion) in the last ten days of Ramadan, However, the obedient worshipper feels closer to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and wants to worship Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala more, because Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaforgives and is merciful.

Lesson 3: Acquiring patience and strong will

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'an and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So when one fasts, and gives up one's food and drink, for those hours, one learns restraint and patience. Lesson 4: Striving for ihsan (righteousness & sincerity) and staying away from riyaa’ (showing off)

Ihsan means to worship Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala as if one sees Him, for if one does not see Him, So when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself and also staying away from riyah (showing off). That is why Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala said in a qudsi hadith, "..Fasting is for Me and I will reward it.." (Bukhari) Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala singles out fasting from all other types of worship saying, "..Fasting is for Me..", because no one knows whether you are fasting or not, except Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Lesson 5: Refinement of manners, especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts.

The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said,"Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has no need that he should leave his food and drink." (Bukhari) And the Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said,"It may be that a fasting person attains nothing but hunger and thirst from his fast." (Ibn Majah) What we learn from this, is that we must pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallamsaid,"I was sent to perfect good manners." (Muwatta)

Lesson 6: Recognising that one can change for the better

The Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said,"Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who repent." (Ibn Majah) Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala provides many opportunities to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become obedient. Lesson 7:Being more charitable
Ibn Abbas Radi Allahu anhu said,"The Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam is the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadan when Gibreel alayhis 'salam used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month. The Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said, "He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting person's reward." (Tirmidhi )



Lesson 8: Sensing the unity of the Muslims

The Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said, "...Those of you who will live after me, will see many differences. Then you must cling on to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided khalifah. Hold fast to it and stick to it.." (Abu Dawud) It is possible for Muslims to be a single body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Rasool Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam one senses unity, because the Muslims pray and fast together.

PREPARING FOR RAMADHAN ! ! ! !~

In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh

Preparing for Ramadhaan

Ramadaan is just round the corner. It's never too late to start preparing for it. A good reminder and beneficial tips to get ourselves prepared & enjoy Ramadaan at its fullest.
Ayesha (radhi-Allaahu anha) said: "I have never seen Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam fast in month of the year more than he did in Sha3baan. He used to fast all of Sha'baan." and in another narration. "He used to fast almost all of it, except a little." [Saheeh Muslim]
The scholars' advice is to fast a lot in sha3baan, and increase acts of worship in the same way, by getting up at night for Taha jjud, more Qur'aan, and more Dhikr and to make it a month of 3Ibaadah, to prepare ourselves for Ramadaan.
Sweetness of any Ibaadah does not com e straight away. It requires a lot of patience and striving. We have to start early to taste the sweetness of Ibaadah in Ramadaan.
One of the salaf said: "I strove hard to do Qiyaam al-Layl (supererogatory prayers offered at night) for twenty years, and I enjoyed it for the next twenty years."
Before running a marathon one has to do some preparation. In the same way, we need to do some Preparatory/ Warm Up exercises.
1st Exercise:
We have to renew our Tawbah (repentance) and practice perfecting it. Tawbah is a lifetime affair. We have to clean our hearts from all the dirt, junk and rust of the sins before we decorate & fill them with the beautiful, powerful acts of worship in Ramadaan.
We have to make Tawbah from:
1. Sins of the tongue (backbiting, lies, slander, speaking to people in an insulting way, making fun of others).
2. Sins of the heart (show-off, self admiration, arrogance, envy, hatred)
3. Lack of modesty (in dressing, mannerism, way of speaking with the Non-Mahrams)
4. Tawbah from pleasing others while its displeasing to Allaah
5. Tawbah from all the time wasted (in shopping, telephone, long chat, browsing net).
Clean up your heart, forgive others and forget, hoping for Allaah's forgiveness.
When making Tawbah, remember that there is no sin too great/huge that Allaah does not forgive. Be confident that Allaah will forgive your sins.
2nd Exercise:
Increase your level of motivation by increasing Ibaadah (act of worship) during Sha'baan.
1. Pray/increase the nawafil (supererogatory) prayers.
2. Pray Du'aa (If you are already praying, increase the raka3h)
3. Tahajjud (night prayer)
4. Fast (Monday & Thursday / make up your missed fast)
5. Morning and Evening Adhkaar (these are protection/shield against Jinn &Shayateen. Do not leave them ever)
6. Make a lot of Du3aa' (at last 3rd part of night, accepted times, last hour of Friday)
7. Read Qur'aan after Fajr.
3rd Exercise:
We need to train our senses (tongue/ears/eye-sight). These are the avenues/ways to the heart. We have to train them to get them used to the act of worship and to refrain from sins.
We have to train ourselves/our nafs to hate the sins. Naturally our fitrah (inborn natural state) hates sins, but we have be com e so accustomed to sins that we have be com e numb to them. Prophet Sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said:" Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand (by taking action); if he cannot, then with his tongue (by speaking out); and if he cannot, then with his heart (by hating it and feeling that it is wrong)." (Narrated by Muslim, 49).
All this is part of cleaning the inside/heart/soul for Ramadaan to take effect & to feel the real sweetness of 3Ibaadah.
4th Exercise:
Train your self to humiliate/break yourself apart before Allaah. Understand that you are in desperate need of Allaah.
Human beings transgress when they feel self sufficient. Teenagers rebel against parents when they feel they no longer need them. Ask Allaah to keep us steadfast upon His Path, we are in desperate need of Allaah to survive in our Dunya and Deen. If Allaah doesn't keep us steadfast on his way, we can never last!
We are in need of Allaah to fulfill any act of worship. We have to realize ourselves how badly we are in need of Allaah for everything.
5th Exercise
Magnify the symbols of Allaah.
Salaah (prayer), Hajj, Fasting, Masaajid, these are all the symbols of Allaah. We should magnify and elevate the symbols of Allaah. We should not take these acts of worship routinely and lightly. We have to give them their right & take them as something huge/heavy and serious.
Having Ghaflah (heedlessness) is very dangerous to our religion. We must awake ourselves.
Ramadaan is a big symbol of Allaah. It com es once a Year. The doors of Jannah are open, doors of Jahannam are closed, Allaah is boasting to His angels about people, it has "laylatul-Qadr".
One way to help to magnify the symbols is to get ourselves used to reflecting on acts of worship before we do them. e.g., when you are starting the salaah, reflect and think:
"I am about to pray, I am going to meet Allah, put Jannah (Paradise) to your right and the Naar (Hellfire) to your left, think what if I am on the Siraat (Path over Hellfire on day of Judgement) now?"
The nafs will start talking and reminding you of this and that, say be quiet I am the only one talking now and I am talking to Allaah.
Keep struggling and fighting to have Khushoo (humility and attentiveness) in Salaah and Allaah will grant it.

IMPORTANCE OF THE PRAYER..!!!!

The importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be understated. It is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned after mentioning the testimony of faith, by which one becomes a Muslim. It was made obligatory upon all the prophets and for all peoples. Allah has declared its obligatory status under majestic circumstances. For example, when Allah spoke directly to Moses, He said,

"And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to you. Verily, I am Allah! There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance." [Taha 13-14]

Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during his ascension to heaven. Furthermore, when Allah praises the believers, such as in the beginning of surah al-Muminoon, one of the first descriptions He states is their adherence to the prayers.

Once a man asked the Prohpet (peace be upon him) about the most virtuous deed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that the most virtuous deed is the prayer. The man asked again and again. The first three times, the Prophet (peace be upon him) again answered, "The prayer," then on the fourth occasion he stated, "Jihad in the way of Allah." [This is form a hadith recorded by Ahmad and ibn Hibban. According to al-Albani, the hadith is hasan. Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Sahih al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1982), vol. 1, p. 150]

The importance of prayer is demonstrated in the many of the Prophet’s statement. For example, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad." [Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.

The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions one performs in his life, the msot important aspect is one’s relationship to Allah, that is, one’s faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of Allah (`ibaadah). This relationship with Allah is both demonstrated and put into practice, as well as improved and increased, by the prayer. Therefore, if the prayers are sound and proper, the rest of the deeds will be sound and proper; and if the prayers are not sound and proper, then the rest of the deeds will not be sound and proper, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself stated.

In reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of Allah and turning to Him for forgiveness – it will have a lasting effect on the person. After he finishes the prayer, his heart will be filled with the remembrance of Allah. He will be fearful as well as hopeful of Allah. After that experience, he will not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein he disobeys Allah. Allah has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when He has said,

"Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds" (al-Ankaboot 45). Nadwi has described this effect in the following eloquent way,

Its aim is to generate within the subliminal self of man such spiritual power, light of faith and awareness of God as can enable him to strive successfully against all kinds of evils and temptations and remain steadfast at times of trial and adversity and protect himself against the weakness of the flesh and the mischief of immoderate appetites. [Nadwi, p. 24]

The overall affect that the properly performed prayers should have upon humans is described in other verses in the Quran:

 "Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and niggardly when good touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…" (al-Maarij 19-23).