Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan: Part 2

Asalam Aleykom!

      Let's continue with Part 2 of "Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan."

4. Be around so7ba sal7a (Good company)

سُوۡرَةُ الکهف

وَٱصۡبِرۡ نَفۡسَكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ رَبَّہُم بِٱلۡغَدَوٰةِ وَٱلۡعَشِىِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجۡهَهُ ۥ‌ۖ وَلَا تَعۡدُ عَيۡنَاكَ عَنۡہُمۡ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۖ وَلَا تُطِعۡ مَنۡ أَغۡفَلۡنَا قَلۡبَهُ ۥ عَن ذِكۡرِنَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَٮٰهُ وَكَانَ أَمۡرُهُ ۥ فُرُطً۬ا (٢٨)

“And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.”

5. Make the most of Qiyam: 

               - Have Suhoor

              - Ask Allah for anything! Beg as if you are a child who wants their parents consent on something.

               - Read Qur’an

               - Ask Allah for forgiveness

6.  There may be small bumps that will take you away from 3ibadat (practicing), so be cautious. These things may be TV shows or people that will stop you from doing good deeds. Lower your gaze to this dunya and focus on the bigger more important picture.

Use new duaas that you aren’t used to using and understand them so that you can recite them with more emotion and sincerity.

7.  Be careful of bigger bumps that may take you steps backward when you just started to move forward. Things that cause much bigger bumps include Al 3ojb (which was mentioned above).

When you start being proud of your accomplishments remember that Allah is the reason behind them. When you are blessed with a gift from Allah be thankful for the gift and don’t let it cause you to forget Who gave it to you. Always be in need of Allah, without Him we are nothing and be sincere with your actions.

8. Make the most of the last 10 days of Ramadan and await  laylit Al Qadr (The Night of Power).

9. Evaluate yourself through Ramadan and get rid of things that went wrong. To make up for the things that went wrong you can carry out zakat al fitr.

10. Husn zun bi Allah; expecting good from Allah or being optimistic towards Allah

"يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ، ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَإٍ، ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلَإٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ بِشِبْرٍ، تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ ذِرَاعًا، تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا(1) وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي، أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً"

رواه البخاري (وكذلك مسلم والترمذي وابن ماجه)

Allah the Almighty said: 'I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."

انا عند ظن عبدي بي فليظن عبدي بي ما شاء
 

And Allah knows best.

May Allah purify our hearts and guide us to the straight path.

Ramadan Kareem and Jazakom Allahu Khayra! 

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Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan: Part 1

                           Tips on Making the Most of Ramadan: Part 1

Asalam Aleykom w Rahmato Allahu w Barakato lovely people!    

         I just attended a very beneficial Ramadan preparation lecture. Allahuma Bale3’na Ramadan! We have beautiful and blessed days ahead of us insha’Allah and we must make the most of them. I would like to thank Miss Hoda for giving a lovely lecture and I would like to thank Brother Abdulrahman Maged for helping me out,  Jazakom Allahu Khayra!

                         The lecture started out with a couple of important reminders:

- It is important to note that Ramadan is not a destination rather it is a tool that we use to improve ourselves.

- The aya that orders us to fast:

سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡڪُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِڪُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ (١٨٣)

Surah Al-Baqara

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous  (183)

- What is Taqwa?

                 According to Ali Ibn Abi Talib, “Taqwa (God-consciousness) is to fear the Almighty; to act upon the revelation; to be content with little, and to prepare for the day of travel.”

- In order to improve ourselves we must get rid of the diseases in our hearts:

                The heart must be taken care of because; as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said; "Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt, and hearken it is the heart." [Sahih Muslim]

              When the heart is sound, so are our actions which are based on our intentions; Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “When man’s love, knowledge and aspiration is directed in this worldly way, the heart becomes narrow and gloomy as it is distant from the source of its revival and life.”

              We must us the Qur’an to fix our hearts; "O mankind! There has come to you an instruction (Quran) from your Lord, a cure for whatever (disease) is in your hearts, a guidance and a blessing for the true believers."  [Yunus - 10:57]

سُوۡرَةُ یُونس

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡكُم مَّوۡعِظَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ وَشِفَآءٌ۬ لِّمَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٥٧)

                                             Tools to Change the Heart

1.     Search your heart with sidk (sincerity):

Look for the flaws such as;

1.           Riya2; doing things to show off in other words not for Allah but for people to complement you

2.     Love of worldly things

3.    7asad; Jinxing or being envious of what others have.

4.     Soo2 el zun; being pessimistic towards or questioning; others, Allah, life, etc. When you feel pessimism towards something say:

اللهم لاَ خَيْرَ إلا خَيْرُكَ وَلاَ طَيْرَ إلا طَيْرُكَ وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ ) .

5.     I7tikar el zonoob; belittling the sins that you are guilty of

6.     Al 3ojb; being pleased with oneself and actions that one becomes conceited. Ibn Qayim had a saying which basically means that if you feel that you reached a point where you perfected your faith and you have no flaws then you are in big trouble.

The things mentioned above are only a couple of the diseases of the heart. If you want help in overcoming the diseases of the heart, you can watch Moez Masoud’s show; “Thawra 3ala El Nafs.”

The diseases of the heart take are considered as cancer of the soul. They take away thawab and stop you from doing good deeds. Your heart becomes weak heart which makes its immunity weak and the smallest fitna can ruin you heart. So Ask Allah for a pure heart.

Abu Bakr (RA) asked Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) what a good duaa would be to say in prayer and the Prophet (PBUH) said:

اللهم إني ظلمت نفسي ظلماً كثيراً، و لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت. فاغفر لي مغفرة من عندك و ارحمني إنك أنت الغفور الرحيم.

2.  Decide your goal. What goals do you want to accomplish during Ramadan?

3.  Fix the heart:

   -Don't belittle the smallest sin.

-             Talk to Allah and tell Him everything.

-             Get rid of debt; for example if you owe people money pay them back. If you gossiped about someones ask for their forgiveness or make duaa for them or spend in charity so that Allah forgives you.

-             Forgive

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Why?

                                                                Why?
                                                By: Salma Hossam Mohsen

      Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim (In the name of Allah),

      Why? The only answer should be for the sake of Allah, as simple as that. Allah is Al-Awal (The First) and he is Al-Akher (The last), make him that and you will have peace of mind.  
      
      Why do I go to school/work? For the sake of Allah.
      Why do I get married? For the sake of Allah.
      Why do I treat people nicely? Why do I smile? For the sake of Allah.

       The answer is always that simple.

       There is nothing in the world that should concern you more than that. We get carried away so easily in our daily lives forgetting the main purpose. Life is not but a few days, and you are here on a mission, so don’t get carried away. Always make sure that your Niyah (Intention) is to please the All Mighty and the All Loving, the Most Merciful my beloved Allah.

       How do you know that your on the right track? Its when the last thing you think of before you go to sleep, the thing that’s been occupying you all day, the thing you care about the most: is what have I done for the sake of Allah today, how much am I grateful and how much do I love Him and His messenger Mohamed (PBUH).

       Let the earth and the skies weep when you die, let them testify for you on the day of judgment and not against you, that every step you took on this earth was only for His sake.

      You are showered with blessings, you are breathing, your reading. If one of Allah’s gifts is weighed against all your deeds, your deeds will never be enough. We are dealing with the Most Generous, the Kindest, the One who has the most beautiful names; Allah (SWT).

        So Elhamdollelah (Thank you Allah).

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My Super Hero Cape

       Asalam Aleykom lovely people!! 

                           The following poem is extra special to me. I hope you all like it!                                                       

                                                My Superhero Cape

                                               By: Habiba Ghanem

Most superheroes have capes around their necks

And while I may not be a superhero I have a cape around my head

It is one way for me to represent

The messages of Prophets that Allah has sent

A way for people to REALLY see

My true identity

A way for me to earn respect

And a way for me, my sisters, and Muslims everywhere to connect

I know that some will judge

But rest assured I won’t budge

For what they may not approve of is my safe haven

One of many reminders that my ultimate goal is to go to heaven

And while it may not be a cape that allows me to fly

It gives me many reasons to smile

It is something that makes me, me

Just your average hijabee

For the latest updates make sure to follow Hijabymo on Twitter: @Hijabymo
  
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12:23 a.m

12:23 a.m.

By: Monica Elshazzly

So is it accountable to wake up in the morning the next day alive?

The fear of dying suddenly haunts me day by day.

Night by night.

Hour by hour.

Minute by minute.

Second by second.

Seriously, When you are all alone trapped in your life script, ask yourself.

Is it worth watching?

Worth answering questions about your life, beliefs and religion.

Is it?

Take a minute there, and breathe.

It'll take a while till you wake up.

Take your time to wake up, because frankly.. 

It might be too late.

Take all your hopes and dreams aside. 

And ask yourself what do you do to thank He who gave you all those things you have.

Do you pray the 5 prayers on time?

Focused?

Determined?

Do you lower your gaze to your brothers and sisters for the sake of Allah?

Think about it..

What do YOU do?

You might read this and say who the hell is she to tell me what to do or how to think?

And you might also read this and say, Oh my.. What have I been doing with my life all those years?

Let me tell you..

You see..

Well.. I've been thinking.

Or.. Let's say I always try to think of Him.

Allah -Sobhanw'ta3ala.

And I always ask myself.

I ask myself, will Almighty forgive my selfishness?

Is it possible to enter paradise? 

Will Allah -Sobhanw't3ala stand by my side in every obstacle He puts me through?

It is a dilemma.

Always a catastrophe.

Contradiction of emotions and thoughts in a minute or so.

My head seems to explode.

I shake.

The thought of dying knocks me down.

I wish.

And then I hope. 

Someday I'll know and I'll be forever rested upon His hands.

Somehow I'll follow my soul and give my life to Allah for eternity.

Someday.. Somehow..

"I will sacrifice my being for Allah, and Prophet Mohamed" -maypeacebeuponhim.

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