Ramadan - Part Two

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Who Must Fast In Ramadan?

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is Fardh (compulsory) on every single Muslim who is not a lunatic (mad) or immature (not reached age of puberty).  

Generally, it is compulsory for children to pray Salah at age of 10. The Hadith says: "Order your children to perform Salah when they are seven years old, and beat them (if they have neglected it) when reaching ten years old. And separate between your male and female children in bed."

So at the age of 10, when permission is given to beat them for missing Salah, children should be encouraged as much as possible to fast as well.

As long as there is no valid excuse, it is not permissible to stop fasting or miss any fasts.

What is a Qadha fast?

Making up the missed fasts of Ramadan – they have to be kept after Ramadan as soon as possible. You shouldn’t delay in keeping these missed fasts. It is a sin to delay in keeping these missed fasts without any reason.

When keeping the qadha fasts, it is not necessary to specify the date by saying, “I am keeping a qadha fast for so and so day”. The intention for Qadha and Kaffarah fasts has to be made before sehri time finishes – if you don’t, the fast will be counted as a nafl fast. There is no need to keep the qadha all at once but you can if you want.

What is a Kaffarah fast?

A Kaffarah fast is when you have to fast 60 days (2 months) in a row. If you don’t have the ability to do that then feed 60 people for 2 meals, or 1 person 2 meals for 60 days. Nowadays, people give the value of the food in money instead.

Kaffarah is not compulsory when a woman has her menstruation the same day she broke her fast, or if the person didn’t make an intention before they fasted. If a fast is missed during the 60, then they should be started all over again.

If a person did not fast in Ramadhaan, then only Qadhaa (make up) for the missed fasts is compulsory. For example, if one missed four fasts, then only four fasts will have to be kept. The person should also make Tawbah and repent.

Kaffaarah is only if one kept a fast and broke the fast without a valid excuse in Shari’ah.

Things Which Break the Fast

•   If incense sticks are burning, and a person went and sat near them and inhaled the smoke. The fast will break. In the same way, the fast breaks when smoking cigarettes or cigars etc.

• While rinsing the mouth, water went down the throat and the person knew that he was fasting. His fast will break and he will have to keep qadha of it later.

• If a person vomits intentionally, his fast will break if the vomit was full mouth – meaning he can’t keep it down.

•  A person ate a pebble, a piece of steel or another object which is not normally eaten. His fast will break and he will have to keep qadha.

• If he eats or drinks something that is normally consumed or is not normally consumed but is eaten for medicinal purposes, his fast will break and he will have to keep qadha and kaffarah.

• If a person has intercourse while fasting, the fast will break and he will have to do both qadha and kaffarah.

• If a person puts oil or ear drops into the ears, or nose drops into the nose, the fast will break and qadha has to be kept.  

• A person bleeds in his mouth, and then swallows it. If the blood could be tasted, the fast is broken, and he will have to keep qadha. If the blood could not be tasted, the fast is not broken.

• When a person is fasting, it is makrooh (disliked) that he should brush his teeth with toothpaste. If the toothpaste is swallowed, the fast is broken, and he will have to keep qadha. 

• If a person ate forgetfully while fasting, and then realised and carried on eating intentionally, his fast is broken and he will have to keep qadha.

• A person vomited unintentionally, and he thought his fast was broken so he started to eat. His fast is now broken, and he will have to keep qadha.

• If a person has Sehri too late or Iftar too early, the fast is broken, and qadha has to be kept.

Other Ramadan Rulings

• If a persons fast breaks in Ramadan, out of respect for others around him who are fasting, he should not eat or drink until Iftaar.

• If a woman is breastfeeding or is pregnant, then she can fast if she wants to. But if she feels that fasting will harm the baby, then she can miss the fasts but will have to keep qadha of them later. 

• If someone misses Sehri, whether on purpose or not, they will still have to fast. Sehri is not compulsory but is Sunnah.

(Source: Behishti Zewar and askimam.com)

And Allah knows best.

Wasalaam!

12 Facts About Ramadan

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. The doors of Jahannam (Hell) are closed.

2. The doors of Jannah (Paradise) are open.

3. The rebellious Shayateen (Devils) are chained up.

4. The breath of the fasting believer is better than the smell of musk to Allah.

5. All the fish in the sea pray for the fasting believers.

6. The prayers of the fasting believer are accepted, especially just before the Iftar - the breaking of the fast.

7. Every Fardh (compulsory) action is multiplied by 70 rewards.

8. Every Nafl (optional) action will be rewarded as though it was a Fardh (compulsory) action.

9. Those who perform the Taraweeh prayer throughout the blessed month shall have their sins forgiven, and will also get the reward of worship for 1000 months, as one of the nights of the month will be Laylatul Qadr (The Night of Power).

10. To wake up and eat Suhoor (morning meal) is an act of worship as it is a Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

11. By spending in the path of Allah every night will ensure that you will get the reward of spending for 1000 months as one of the nights will be Laylatul Qadr (The Night of Power).

12. This is the time to make changes in our lives, by repenting, making firm intentions to stay away from sins and to carry out good deeds, as our hearts become very soft in this month.

May Allah give us all the ability to make the most out of Ramadan - Ameen!

Wasalaam!

Quotes of the Week: June 21 - June 28

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The keys to the life of the heart lie in reflecting upon the Quran, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving sins.

(Ibn Qayyim ra)

A busy life hides the people you miss. Distance pushes them further. Time becomes limited to talk to one another. But what the eyes can't see are the thoughts and duas that keep us close.

(Molana Qasim Sahib)

Five Reasons Why Allah Gives Us Problems:

1. To direct us

2. To inspect us

3. To protect us

4. To correct us

5. To perfect us

Allah is at work in our lives - even when you do not recognize or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Allah - so just bow down to Him.

It is such that you will see a man who is viewed to be knowledgeable and an ascetic worshipper, but he speaks with words that bring the wrath of Allah, without giving them a second thought.

How often do you see a man who steers clear of evil sins and oppression but you see his tongue sever the honour of everyone - dead or alive, and he doesn't even care about what he says.

(Ibn Qayyim ra) 

Have a blessed week, inshallah.

Wasalaam!

Ramadan - Part One

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

When and what is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the 9^th month of Islamic calendar. This year it begins approximately 9^th July – 9^th August. Ramadan, as with any Islamic month, begins with the sighting of the crescent moon. Its name comes from the Arabic word Ar-Ramad which means, “the heat of the stones arising from the intense heat of the sun”. It was named Ramadan because when the Arabs changed the names of the months from the ancient language, they named them according to the seasons in which they happened to fall. The month which they named Ramadan, used to be called Natiq, and it fell in the summer which was the time of extreme heat.

Virtues of Ramadan

Ramadan is a great favour for us from Allah. But it will only be considered as a favour if we take it as such. Otherwise Ramadan will come and go without us gaining anything from it.

The Prophet (saw) said, “If my Ummah realise what Ramadan really is, they would wish that the whole year should just be Ramadan”.

Salman (ra) reports, “On the last day of Shaban, the Prophet (saw) addressed us and said, “O people, there comes over you now a great month, a most blessed month in which lies a night more greater in virtue than a thousand months. It is a month in which Allah has made fasting compulsory by day, and has made sunnah the taraweeh at night.

Whosoever intends drawing near to Allah by performing any virtuous deed, for such person shall be the reward like the one who had performed a fardh (compulsory) act in any other time. And whoever performs a fardh action, shall be blessed with the reward of 70 faraaidh in any other time.

This is indeed the month of patience, and the reward of true patience is Paradise. It is the month of sympathy for one’s fellowmen. It is a month where the sustenance of a true believer is increased.

Whoever feeds another who fasted, in order to break the fast at sunset, for the feeder there shall be forgiveness of sins and emancipation from the Fire of Hell, and for such feeder shall be the same reward as the one who fasted, without that persons reward being decreased in the least.

Some of the companions said, “O messenger of Allah, not all of us possess the means  where we can give a fasting person to break his fast.” The Prophet (saw) replied, “Allah grants the same reward to one who gives a fasting person to break his fast a date, a drink of water or a sip of milk.”

This is a month, the first of which brings Allah’s mercy, the middle of which brings His forgiveness, and the last of which brings emancipation from the Fire of Hell.

Whoever lessens the burden of his servants in this month, Allah will forgive him and free him from the Fire of Hell.

And in this month, there are 4 things which you should continue to perform in great number, two of which shall be to please your Lord, while the other two shall be those without which you cannot do.

Those which shall be to please your Lord, are that you should:

1.       in great quantity recite the Kalima Tayyibah – (saying that Allah is one)

2.      do a lot of Istighfar (asking forgiveness from Allah)

And as for those which you cannot do without:

1.       beg Allah to grant you Paradise

2.      ask of Him to give you refuge from Hell

whoever gave a person who fasted water to drink, Allah shall grant that giver to drink from My fountain, such a drink where that person shall never again feel thirsty until he enters Paradise”.

The Prophet (saw) said when Ramadan had drawn near, “Ramadan, the month of blessing has come to you, where Allah turns towards you and sends down to you His special mercy, forgives faults, accepts prayers .. boasts to His angels about you. So, show to Allah your righteousness from yourselves. For verily the most pitiable and unfortunate one is the one who is deprived of Allah’s mercy in this month.”

What do Muslims do in Ramadan?

Adult Muslims refrain from food, drink and intercourse between sunrise and sunset.

When we fast, we must also observe the various etiquettes of fasting e.g. not sinning.

 A hadith of Bukhari reads, “Allah has no necessity for a person to leave eating and drinking when he does not abstain from false speech and sinful deeds”.

So fasting is not only staying away from food, drink and intercourse but it is staying away from anything sinful. For example, we should stay away from arguing and indecent speech because in a hadith, the Prophet (saw) said, “When any one of you is fasting, he should not speak indecently, nor be rowdy. If another person swears at him, or wants to involve him in a dispute, he should just say, I am fasting meaning I do not wish to dispute”.

In another Hadith, the Prophet (saw) said, “There are many fasting persons who because they indulge in backbiting, illicit acts and haraam deeds, achieve nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst”.

Ramadan is a Muslim “invention”. Pre-Islamic Arabs used to fast here and there but never for one straight month.

When did Allah command us to fast in Ramadan?

Verse in Quran commanding observance of Ramadan – Surah Baqarah verse 183.

O you who believe! Fasting has been ordained for you just as it was ordained for those before you, so that you may attain piety.

This verse announces the obligation to fast.

Why do we fast?

The answer is in the Quran!

So that you may attain piety – the verse explains that fasting has been made obligatory so that we attain taqwa. Taqwa means to stay away from all types of sins, whether they’re major, minor, hidden or apparent.

When we fast, we experience a degree of difficulty to our nafs – carnal desires. Fasting is a form of worship which curbs these inclinations -  so we don’t do what we want, and therefore decreases the capacity to commit sins.

If a person fasts in accordance with the laws and etiquettes described in the Ahadith, then a person’s soul can truly be purified, and he will be closer to Allah.

The causes of most sins committed by people is through their tongue and private parts. A hadith of Tirmidhi says, that the Prophet (saw) was asked what will be the greatest cause for people entering the Hell Fire? He replied, “the tongue and the private parts”.  When we fast, the tongue and private parts are restricted, and therefore less able to commit sins. This is why the Prophet (saw) said “Fasting is a shield” It offers protection against sins and the Hell fire.

May Allah give us all the ability to make the most of this blessed month - Ameen.

Wasalaam!

Having a Sincere Intention

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The most important thing to do before starting anything is to have sincerity in what we are doing, and to make the right intention. The tiniest of actions can become huge just by having the right intention. Most of the books of Ahadith begin with the same Hadith:

It is narrated by Umar bin al-Khattab (ra), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw), say:

Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.

(Al-Bukhari & Muslim)

This is a really important thing to remember because being sincere in what we do puts our physical and spiritual state together. By us making a sincere intention or changing our intention, the result of our action changes.

As Muslims, we  should always be checking our intentions and understanding the purpose of our actions. We should always be asking ourselves about our intentions for our short term and long term goals.  The believer should constantly ask himself; “Why am I doing what I am doing?”

 The Hadith above means that the person will be rewarded for only that which he intended. So, as mentioned in the Hadith, if a person performed the Hijrah (migration), but did it with a different intention then he would not be rewarded for that action of Hijrah (migration).

Riya, the showing off of deeds publicly, is a major sin which ruins sincerity and can invalidate actions. For example, giving money in charity will not be accepted as a good deed if it was for the sake of showing off to others.

The Prophet (saw) informed us that if you perform an act for the sake of someone else rather than for Allah’s sake, then Allah will reject that deed entirely and will leave the reward of it for the partner that the person has made. This highlights the implications of showing off as well as the graveness of associating another person in your actions which should have been for the sake of Allah.

Everything we do has to be intended for the sake of Allah. A good action with the wrong intention will not get us any reward in the Hereafter.

May Allah give us all the ability to have sincere intentions for everything that we do - ameen.

Wasalaam!

                                                                                    

The One Who Loves Allah

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

A scholar was once asked about the one who loves Allah. He said:

"It is one who spends little time with people and much time alone; who is always in thought and outwardly silent; who is in a spiritual state that overtakes his sight, hearing and speech; who does not become sad if afflicted with a calamity, and if afflicted with hunger, he is not aware; who looks to Allah in times of solace, who is happy with His company, and speaks to Him intimately, and does not contend with the people of this world over their world".

May Allah make us from one of those people who love Him sincerely - Ameen.

Wasalaam!

Quotes of the Week: 14th June - 21st June

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Frequently remind yourself that Allah is with you, that He will never fail you, that you can count upon Him. Say these words, "Allah is with me, helping me".

Don't be angry. Anger comes from Shaytaan. He came from fire, and fire is extinguished by wudhu. Therefore, when you become angry, perform wudhu.

Ask Allah, and you shall recieve.

Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us. He is our Protector, and in Allah must the believers place their trust.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (ra) studied adab (manners and etiquette) for 30 years, and knowledge for 20 years. This shows the importance of manners and etiquette when studying knowledge. 

To be able to thank Allah for a blessing is a blessing in itself.
(Imam Shafi ra)

How sinful are those youth who speak gently with their friends while they shout at their mothers.

O friend! The cloth from which your burial shroud will be cut may have already reached the market, and you remain unaware.
(Imam Ghazali ra)

Have a blessed week everyone, inshallah.

Wasalaam!