Category: Preparation

Making the Best in Ramadan

Preparation

By Shaikh M. Ibrahim Memon

The Holy month of Ramadan is a great opportunity for all believers to reestablish their relationship with Almighty Allah . During this month, Allah opens the doors of guidance, mercy, and forgiveness and showers His blessings on mankind. Blessed are those who avail this opportunity and work hard to obtain the pleasure of Allah .

Following are some points to remember that may help us have a better Ramadan:

Sahoor: Rasulullah said, “Allah sends blessings on those who eat Sahoor (meal before Fajr) and the angels pray for them.” (Ibn Habban) We should never miss Sahoor as it is blessed food and a Sunnah of the Prophet .

Salat Al-Taraweeh: Perform twenty raka’ah of Taraweeh every night.

Salat Al-Tahajud: Other than Taraweeh, perform some raka’ah of Tahajud prayer.

Dua: After Tahajud, spend some time making Dua for yourself, your family, the community, and the whole Muslim Ummah. This is extremely needed and very few do it. Every person in the family should engage in Dua and prayers in the darkness of the night and in isolation. Cry before Allah for forgiveness and for all of your needs.

Also wake up your children and teach them how to make Dua to Allah . Teach them how to cry before Allah , for those who do not cry before Allah will have to cry before people like themselves.

Crying and begging to Allah attracts His Mercy. Rasulullah encouraged his followers to cry when making Dua.

Salah in the Masjid: Try your best to perform every Salah in the Masjid with congregation (jama’ah)

Perform the additional following ibadah:

1. Recite Istighfaar 100 times a day (i.e. Astaghfirallah)
2. Send blessing on Rasulullah 100 times a day
3. Tasbeehaat 100 times a day (i.e. Subhanallah Wal-Hamdulillah wala Illaha Illallah Wallahu Akbar)
4. Recite at least one Juz of the Qur’an every day

Avoid all kinds of sins: Rasulullah said, “Many of those who fast get nothing out of it except hunger” (Nasa’ee) Advising his wife, once Rasulullah said, “O Aishah, refrain from even the minor sins because Allah will question you about them also.” (Ibn Majah)

Do not become angry: Avoid all quarrels, fights, and arguments which may lead you to anger.

Use only Halal food bought by Halal earnings. Avoid all doubtful items.
Reduce the amount of:

1. Eating
2. Sleeping
3. Talking

Unfortunately, it is very common in many Masajid to sit and chat after iftaar. This time should be used for Nawafil prayers, recitation of the Holy Qur’an, Tasbeeh, and Dua. Masjid is the House of Allah . It must be given its due respect. Disrespecting the house of Allah is disrespect to Allah .

Raising the voice or talking of worldly matters in the Masjid is forbidden. It is the responsibility of every Muslim to maintain the order, silence, respect, and cleanliness in the Masjid.

May Allah bless and guide all of us.

Source: http://mujahidah-an-nafs.blogspot.com

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Value Ramadan

Preparation

Ramadan Coming Soon

Very good reminder of valuing time!

May Allah give us Barakah in time & the ability to value our most precious asset

Via: Shaykh Abdul Raheem

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Ramadhan 24 Hour programme

Preparation

Hereunder we suggest a 24-hour programme for the month of Ramadhan. It is an example of spending our time correctly. The programme starts from Maghrib till Maghrib the following day.

Read: “O You who are Great in Bounties, forgive me”, as many times as possible before Iftar.

Make du’a 5 to 10 minutes before Iftar. The du’a of a fasting person is readily accepted at this time.

Make Iftar quickly. Thereafter perform Maghrib (for men with Jamat and for women at home).

After Maghrib perform 6 to 20 Rakats Awwâbîn Namaz.

Read Surah Tabarak after Maghrib. The benefit of it is that it will save us from the punishment of the grave.

Read Surah Waqiyah. The virtue of it is that it will save one from poverty.

Have supper quickly. Our suggestion is that due to the long days, have a rest for 15 – 20 minutes before Esha, so that one may be fresh for Taraweeh and Esha salâh.

Prepare for Esha before the Esha Azan and proceed for Esha and Taraweeh Salat. Return home immediately after Tarawih or after any Deeni programme in the Masjid. Do not waste time talking and discussing political and business issues.

On returning home, read Surah Sajdah. Thereafter spend a few minutes with the family and try to sleep as early as possible allowing one to arise at 3.00 a.m. for Tahajjud salâh.

Read Tasbeeh-e-Fatimi before sleeping.

Perform at least 4,8, or 12 rakâts Tahajjud salah, thereafter read the first kalima 100 times and then make du’a before partaking of Sehri.

Immediately after Sehri proceed to the Masjid for Fajr Salâh. After Fajr recite the Quran till Ishraq time.

Perform 2 or 4 Rakats Ishraq. The benefit is that your daily work will become easy and you will attain the reward of an accepted Haj. After Ishraq rest before going to work. People who are self employed should take advantage of this rest and also give their employees this opportunity.

At work or at one’s business, one should keep one’s tongue moist with Zikr eg. Kalimah Tayyibah, Istighfar and Durood Shareef. Those who are bay’t to a Sheikh should complete their prescribed Zikr.

Try to be early for Zohar Namaz so that one could read the Qur,an immediately after one has read the 4 Sunnat-e-Muakkadah before the Jamat Namaz. If possible try to read Qur’an after Zohar Namaz as well, depending on how long one’s lunch break is.

After completing Asar Namaz, read Durood Shareef at least 100 times and Istighfar 100 times. Thereafter spend the balance of the time reciting Qur’an till Iftar time, not forgetting the du’a before Iftar.

Published by Villa Liza Madrasah, Actonville, BENONI

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Ramadan Checklist

Preparation

Ramadan Mubarak to you all for whenever you commence this blessed month.

If you want to download a simple Ramadan Checklist please click the link below.

Ramadan Checklist

Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions on how to improve the checklist, jazakallah.

Please remember me in your duas.

Wasalam

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Ibadah chart for kids in Ramadan

Preparation

Ibaadah chart for Kids

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Ramadan Fever

Preparation

The heat is on! Once a year a dramatic change occurs in the Muslim community. Once a year Icky baby and the Sams becomes Brother Iqbal and Sister Sameera. Off come the baggy jeans, the Nikes and the Raiders cap. On come the yellow Shalwar Kameez (clothes most Pakistanis wear), out goes the brylcreamed hairstyle which glues on that terribly uncool Towpee (cap) and in comes the miswak in the top pocket, making you look like something like “Karachi cops”.

It’s during this HOLY month of Ramadan that we ditch the daytime raves and frequent visit to the library (and we don’t mean for the reference section) and begin to act it out. Icky baby becomes temporarily religious.

It’s a sort of spooky feeling. The Mosques are full and you feel good. Good cos’ you’ve done your bit for the year. One by one you scratch the days from your Ramadan timetable that your dad brought back from the Mosque-and then-thank crunchie it’s Eid.

Eid Mubarak!

The Mosques again becomes museums for the old and for those deprived “ACHA BACHA”- a good baby. The crease-free shalwar kameez comes off and comes the baggy jeans, whilst the libraries reopen for “business as usual”. Just 11 more months of “freedom” to go before the smelly breath season come back with a vengeance.

Year after year it goes on, almost as a ritual. You know it’s rough. Yet Allah(swt) is Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem as we are told by our parents (who probably also have gone through this). And anyway religion is for the old men in the mosques- with smelly breaths, and beards that sweep the floor everytime they walk from one end of the mosque to the other.

Religion is for those “fundies”(fundamentalists) at school/college, the “weirdoes” who only talk to the opposite sex about the benefits of the Khilafah ruling system or the fallacies of Western ideology such as Capitalism and Marxist Philosophy.(i.e.try saying that in one breath!).

The game
So you go around playing this game. It’s like an endless spiral. You think you’re a rebel or tough-yet you’re just one of the pack- a zombie, conforming to master-plan, when you turn 40s you grow your beard and take your seat in front row of the mosque, invest in a miswak, pack your bags for Hajj, and then everything is gonna be safe!
Well no! It doesn’t quite work like that. The million dollar question is will you ever turn 40?

Game Over
Suppose you die. Just suppose you snuff it before you turn 40? What then? It could severely damage that master-plan of yours. Alright, the chances may look slim yet the stakes are high. Nobody knows when he or she is going to die. Just suppose you’re locked up in a room and there’s no way out. Just suppose there’s a time bomb ticking away in this room. Now if this bomb has “6 days” on it you would probably turn “fundy” and spend all six days reading namaz(salah).

Just suppose the bomb had a “?” on it? What then? That’s exactly how life is!!! A ticking-bomb with a “?” on it, you never know when it’s gonna blow-up. Whereever you are, death will find you. Even if you are in tower built up strong and high!” (Translation of the meaning of the Qu’ran) 30 days or a lifetime? And anyway, even if you do go along with this “dodgy” game, don’t you think your Creator will know your intention? Many people have sussed out Islam as a blind faith or and emotional/spiritual/spooky belief which leaves you contemplating rationally about the meanings of life. Where did you come from? Why are we here? Or the question that puts a dampner on all raves, ” what’s going to happen to us when we die?”

Islam asks us to answer these vital questions and come to a conclusion, the correct one. Islam doesn’t rely on the dodgy culture we are brought up with either from our parents or from the Molvi-Saab(imam). Islam is far from being a “religion” as it is often coined in the media. Islam is a complete system of life- with solutions to all our problems be it for Muslims or non-Muslims. Check out Islam for yourself and free yourself from this shallow zombie-like culture. Before your credits run out!

Word out!
Remember there is no Life or Dignity without Islam. “O you who believe answer the call of Allah(swt) and His Messenger to that which gives you Life.” (8:24)

Rememberance of the people is the disease, and rememberance of Allaah is the cure. Yet how strange is it that we hasten to the disease and not the cure?

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