Google

Monday, July 25, 2011

How to prepare for Ramadhan

Bism Allah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem

How to Prepare for Ramadan

By Ustadha Eiman Sidky

*A Translation from Arabic



1. Tawba/Repentance: Sincerely repent by remembering each sin and making tawba for it.

· A reminder that tawba erases all that precedes it, and that Allah loves those who make tawba.

2. Purification of the heart and entering the month to Allah with humility and broken-ness (inkisar)

3. Pray 2 rak’at (units), asking Allah in sujood (prostration) all that you desire, for He can select you and abundantly show His generosity upon you. (Huwa yistifeeki wu yikrimik)

· A reminder that the servant is the most near to his/her Lord is during prostration.

4. Free yourself and the family for the time of witnessing the Hilal/Crescent, be from amongst the first who see it, and when you do see it, recite the following Dua:

“ALLAAHUMMA AHILLAHOO A'LAYNAA BIL-AMNI WAL EEMAANI WAS SALAAMATI WAL ISLAAM. RABBEE WA RABBUKALLAAHU”
“O Allah! Let this month be a period of peace, faith safety and total submission to your will. My Lord and your Lord is Allah”

5. Purify your home from all that will displease or anger Allah (anything that contains haram/impermissibility).

6. Return the trusts to their owners, and reconcile/end any quarrels.

7. Congregate the pure and sincere intentions and prepare the duas/supplications that you will implore on Allah during Ramadan.

8. Prepare your charity box, for Rasool Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to give charity abundantly during Ramadan. Also prepare a worship/ibada timetable for yourself and the family.

9. Seek to please and give to your family out of sheer joy as a sign of happiness with Ramadan.

10. Prepare to be freed from the Hell-fire; however you must first free yourself from sins, small or great, such as usury, looking at haram, listening to haram, etc.

· A reminder that the one who is freed/protected from the Hell-fire is the best of worshipers and best in manners.

11. Talk to your children to prepare them for suhoor, for this is the time during which Al-Rahman will gaze upon His servants, and Allah and His Angels send blessings upon those who get up for suhoor.

12. Making a plan such that if someone in the family gets lazy in a form of worship, then the rest of the family should encourage them with it.

13. Try to prepare your food before Ramadan (store it in the freezer) so you are not burdened with the length of time to cook during Ramadan. Try to buy the Eid clothes early to be free during the last ten days for worship and not shopping. Do not forget to revive the night before Eid in worship for Allah frees from the Hell-fire servants as many as those He freed one each day from the beginning to the end of the month of Ramadan. Go to the Masjid/Mosque during the night before Eid using one route and returning from another route.



Dua/Supplication When Ramadan Enters:
“Allahumma sallimni bi Ramadan wa sallim Ramadan wa sallimhu minni mutaqabbala”

“Oh Allah! Protect and give me peace with Ramadan, and protect and give peace to Ramadan, and protect and give peace to Ramdan and accept it from me”

Friday, July 08, 2011

Sha'ban

Bismillah

We will shortly be entering Shaban. Allah give us the best ending to the month of Rajab and the best entry to Shaban.


Merits of Sha`ban
The scholars say that the linguistic root of the word Sha`ban is a branch, because the month of Sha`ban “branches off” and leads on to many good things. It acts as a bridge between the two blessed months of Rajab and Ramadan. In spite of this, it is often neglected. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) alerted us to this fact when he was asked why he was fasting so much in Sha`ban. He replied: “It is a month that people neglect, between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which actions are raised to the Lord of the Worlds and I love for my actions to be raised while I am fasting.”[1]

What is meant by actions being raised? The scholars say it is a symbolic displaying of our actions to Allah. Of course Allah is All-Seeing, All-Knowing and does not need for our actions to be displayed to him as He is constantly aware of them. However if the slave is not aware of Allah’s constant vigilance then he should at least strive to do good actions at times when his actions are displayed to Allah. If he is able to gain Allah’s pleasure at these times then he hopes that Allah will overlook his wrongdoings and shortcomings at other times. There is a daily display after Fajr and `Asr, and a weekly display on Monday and Thursday, and a yearly display which takes place in the month of Sha`ban. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was keen to do good works at all these times and was keen for his Ummah to do the same.


One of the greatest works we can do in Sha`ban is fasting, and this is what the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) loved to be doing when his actions were raised, on Monday and Thursday and also during Sha`ban. Sayyida `A’isha said of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): “I did not see him fasting in any month more than Sha`ban.”[2] She also said: “The month which he loved to fast the most was Sha`ban.”[3] Both hadith of course refer to voluntary fasting outside of Ramadan. Some hadith suggest that he would fast the whole of Sha`ban, although there is perhaps more evidence to suggest that he would fast most of the month and leave a few days. In another hadith he said (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in response once again to a question about his fasting in Sha`ban: “In this month those who are destined to die are recorded for the Angel of Death. I love for my name to be recorded when I am fasting.”[4]

One of the wisdoms behind the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) fasting abundantly in Sha`ban is mentioned by Sayyida `A’isha, who said that in Sha`ban he would make up any voluntary fasts that he had missed during the course of the year.[5] At this time she would fast with him to make up any of the fasts that she had missed in Ramadan.[6] From this we learn the importance of making up supererogatory actions which we are accustomed to performing and also the necessity of making up any days of Ramadan which we have missed before Ramadan comes round again. The scholars also mention that fasting in Sha`ban before Ramadan resembles praying the supererogatory prayers before the obligatory prayer, while fasting in Shawwal after Ramadan resembles praying the supererogatory prayers after the obligatory prayer. Performing supererogatory actions makes up for any deficiencies in the obligatory actions that we have performed.

In spite of all this the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said: “When the first half of Sha`ban is finished do not fast.”[7] The scholars of the Shafi`i school understood that this hadith prohibits voluntary fasting in the second half of Sha’ban, except in certain circumstances.[8] The other schools, however, say that there is no prohibition on fasting in the second half of the month but say that it is disliked to fast a day or two before Ramadan.
We have mentioned much detail on fasting and this is due to the sheer number of narrations on the subject. Even if we can just fast the “White Days”[9] or any three days this would have a great effect.

Other than fasting, it is recommended to send abundant blessings and peace upon the Beloved of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). It was in this month that Allah revealed:

﴿ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلاَئِكَـتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِيِّ يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً ﴾
Allah and His angels send their blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe send blessings and peace upon him in abundance![10]

Perhaps this is why the Prophet called Sha`ban “my month,” when he said in the hadith: “Rajab is the month of Allah, Sha`bān is my month, and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah.”[11] Sending blessings upon him is one of the greatest means of strengthening our connection to him in this life and also the next, as he informed us (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): “The closest people to me on the Day of Rising will be those who send the most blessings upon me.”[12]

It was also the habit of some of the early Muslims to recite the Qur’an in abundance during Sha`ban. This along with fasting gives us the best preparation for Ramadan, as it takes time for the self (nafs) to become accustomed to doing these things in abundance. If we are already accustomed to doing them before Ramadan it will enable us to do more when the month begins. Perhaps this is why Imam Abu Bakr al-Warraq said: “in Rajab you sow the seeds, in Sha`ban you irrigate them and in Ramadan you reap the harvest.”

Two momentous events occurred in Sha`ban. The scholars of Sira say that it was the month in which the moon was split in half for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). It was also the month in which the Qibla (direction of prayer) was changed from Bayt al-Maqdis in Jerusalem to the Ka`ba in Mecca . While these events have now passed there is one momentous event which comes around every year, and that is the Fifteenth Night of Sha`ban, one of the greatest nights of the year. We intend to deal with it in detail closer to the time.

We end by asking, as the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked:

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا في رَجَبٍ وَ شَعْبَانَ وَ بَلِّغْنا رَمَضَانَ
“O Allah bless us in Rajab and Sha`bān and enable us to reach Ramadan!”[13]



[1] Narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasa’i
[2] Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim
[3] Narrated by al-Nasa’i
[4] Narrated by al-Haythami
[5] Such as fasting Monday and Thursday and three days in every month, which he may have been unable to perform due to expeditions and illness
[6] Narrated by al-Tabarani
[7] Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim and Ibn Hibban
[8] Such as if someone begins fasting in the first half of the month and continues his fast into the second half or if someone regularly fasted on a Monday throughout the year. In these situations it is permissible to fast in the second half of the month. A make up fast (qada’) is of course permissible, as this discussion only revolves around voluntary fasting.
[9] The “White Days” are the days which follow nights in which the moon is full, namely the 13th, 14th and 15th days of each lunar month. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) encouraged his Companions to fast three days in every month and to fast these days specifically. The 15th day is regarded as being in the first half of the month and thus there is no prohibition in the Shafi`i school on fasting it in Sha`ban.
[10] Al-Ahzab 33.56
[11] Narrated by al-Suyuti
[12] Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban
[13] Narrated by Ahmad

--

Al-hikam 24, 25, 26

  Ramai boleh dakwa tetapi tiada bukti ‘Bukti pd yang mendakwa, sumpah pd yang mengingkari’ hadith Pengakuan perlu ada bukti.. Muslim, apa b...