Bismillah
 Found an old email from Ustaza Nagheba (May Allah bless her and her family abundantly, and give them openings and blessings upon blessings)

 Asalam Alaikum all,
 Tomorrow night signifies the beginning of Rabi' al- Awwal the month in which the blessed prophet Muhammad was born (may Allah shower His mercy and grace upon him). On the 12th of this blessed month a great light was born to the worlds, he was to carry a great gift to mankind, Jin-Kind and even realms beyond, he was the bearer of a final, unchangeable message, a message that not only offered a way of life to humanity but offered each soul internal peace, tranquillity and proximaty to the Divine.
 Allah Exalted be He tells us in the Qu'ran; 'And we did not send you except as a mercy to the worlds' These words help us understand the magnitude of the blessing of our blessed prophet's birth, through his arrival a mercy so great, so powerful penetrated not just our world but all worlds in existence. The angels recognized the great blessing of this nobel messenger Muhammad when he was raised beyond the heavens and sent salams (peace) from Allah himself (asalam alaikum aya-han Nabi- peace be upon you Oh messenger) he shared that peace with all of Gods righteous servants (as-salam alaina wa ala ibad Allah as-salahin- Peace be upon me and upon the righteous servants of God) rejoicing over the portion of Gods peace that they had recieved through the generosity of this great prophet the angels called out to all in the heavens that ....'There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger', proclaiming their belief in the messengership of this blessed being. The Jinn took his message back to their tribes uniting many factions from amongst them, the existence of the final and most perfect of messengers really was a mercy sent to all worlds. Animals and the inanimate recognised his messengership. The trunk of a tree that cried out in pain when the messenger began to deliver the Friday sermon upon a pulpit instead of standing next to the tree; the Ghazal that proclaimed his messengership when the prophet freed him from the snare of a hunter, the camel that bowed down to him honering him for his kindness and the rocks that sent him salams are but a few of the stories narrated in the books of sira that inspire us to love he who was chosen to be the most perfect of mankind. The Qu'ran tells us; 'If you love Allah then follow me (Muhammad) and Allah will love you' This verse gives us a clear methodology in how to gain His love. Love of the Divine is reserved soley for those who tread the path of his beloved Muhammad. His path is the sirat al-musaqim (the straight path) that we ask for in our five daily prayers, a path that can only be known through studying his life and how he engaged with the world around him, how he ate, slept, spoke, treated neighbours, family, friends and enemies, his life can only be known through attaching oneself with the study of sira (his biography) and shamail (his physical traits and attributes). Once his path is known to you know that knowledge is not enough to attain the love of God that you long. The path must be walked upon, embodied and become part of you, know that this path can only be Trodden through love...loving him, he (peace be upon him) who is loved by the Divine. Loving him allows his sunnah to be part of your very being, his way becomes more than historical truths it becomes a reality that illuminates your everyday life and awakens your heart.

 May Allah allow this month to be a month in which we discover the greatness of our nobel messenger, a month in which we learn to walk to the Divine through the door of Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him Ukhtukum nagheba

The end of a year (Message from Ustadha Nagheba)

Asalamu Alaikum my dear sisters

Today is the 30th of Dhul Hijja which represents
the last day of the Islamic calendar. How fast the year has gone and what a
reminder this is to how fast the moments
of life run by us, how true is the statement of the great Imam Shafai’ ‘Life
is but a moment; therefore make it a moment of worship’.

As we enter the year 1433 we are reminded that one thousand
four hundred and thirty three years ago the prophet Muhammad–peace be upon
him-took flight from Mecca to Medina in order to establish what was to become
the first Islamic state. As our beloved messenger –peace be upon him-left Mecca
he stood looking at his city of birth and called out ‘ Oh Mecca you
are the most beloved of God’s earth to me...’
(Tirmidhi). The hijra was indeed an act of love and immense sacrifice,
a migration
not only towards Medina but also towards the Divine, the great men and women of
this migration left that which they dearly loved in order to flee to their
greater love, Allah the most high.

When the prophet
–peace be upon him- arrived in Medina he built a Mosque, opened a market place
and established a brotherhood between the people of the land and the new
migrants of Mecca. Through bringing together the spiritual, the communal and
economically empowering the new Muslim community the prophet –peace be upon
him-produced a community that was healthy and whole; they lived and breathed
Islam in every part of their lives. This flight or the Hijra as it is
known as in Arabic represents a great turning point
in the lives of the first Muslims; in Medina they thrived, practicing Islam
openly gaining the strength to spread this word of truth beyond the
Arabian Peninsula.


Ustadha Munirah al-Junayd- a blessed teacher of mine- once
told me that Hijra should be part of the spiritual development of every
believer upon this path, just as the first community took flight fleeing to
Allah so too should we take flight, she would say, ‘Flee from darkness
to light, from falsehood to truth, from the
temporal to the eternal, from illusion to reality, from the impermissible to
the Halal and lawful; flee from responding to the Nafs to solely seeking the
pleasure of the Divine...’.whilst reading with her Imam al-Hadad’s ‘
Manners of the Wayfarer unto God’ she would
remind me; ‘ Migration, migration our
state should always be in migration’.

As we strive to remind ourselves of the internal hijra the end of the
year has arrived
bringing with it a reminder of how little our effort to take flight
has been. Today
my dear sisters is a day of self reflection; a day of looking back in order to
learn how to move forward, a day of repentance and remorse as well as a day of
new resolve and renewed determination for as we have been given the 30th
of Dhul Hijja to end the year we have also been give the 1st of Muharam
to begin a new year. How blessed we are
to be given another chance to re-align the soul and turn our entire being to
He-the most high.

As the year 1432 comes to a close let us endeavour to bring
a good ending to it in the hope that we are blessed with good deeds being the
last of our actions, The messenger of Allah –peace be upon him-has said; ‘One of
you behaves like the people of The Garden until there is but an arm’s length
between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, so he
behaves like the people of the fire until he enters it. And one of you behaves
like the people of The Fire until there is but an arm’s length between him and
it, and that which has been written overtakes him, so he behaves like the
people of The Garden until he enters it’ (Bukhari)



It is because of this Hadith that our teachers would call
out in the gatherings of remembrance Oh
Allah bless us with a good ending, a life that ends with good deeds. Habib
Muhammad al-Hadar the late Mufti of Bayda (In Northern Yemen) and father of my
blessed teacher Hababa Nur bint Muhammad would say to his students ‘Do not just
ask for a good ending, but ask for the most excellent of excellent
endings, ‘Kamal husnul, khatimah .

Let us end the last moments of this year in prayer, fast and
charity. Let us raise our hands and call upon our Lord, seeking forgiveness for
the sinful states we find ourselves in; for our inability to exact meaningful
and continuous change in our lives; for our love of the world and how we have
allowed it to consume us.

Let us raise our hands and ask a Most Generous, Most Giving,
Most Merciful Lord to give us the strength and resolve we need to walk this path
unto Him, the path that has been trodden by His beloved prophets and
saints (the awliya), the path of love, longing,
sacrifice and true surrender.

In these last moments of this year let us renew our faith
and call out La ilaha ila Allah from
the depths of our souls asking the almighty that He makes us courageous enough
to live by these words. Let us strive and struggle with all of our strength;
with every last breath and with every beat of our hearts to take flight; a
Hijra that is true and sincere, fleeing unto Him, a Most Gentle and Loving
Lord.






Love and peace always

Ukhtukum nagheba



Below is a supplication that is traditionally recited at the
end of the year as well as the supplication of Imam Ali al- Habashi which
he-may Allah preserve him- would recite on the first day of the year may we all
benefit from it.

End of year supplication:

In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and God bless our
beloved Messenger
Muhammad and

his family and
companions and grant them peace. O God, whatever actions I have committed this

past year which have not pleased
You, which I may have forgotten though You do not forget,

while You are
forbearing with me though fully capable of punishing me, while You called me to

relent and atone
even after my audaciousness before You — O God, I surely seek Your

forgiveness for
this, thus forgive me. O God, as for my actions that have pleased You and for

which recompense
and forgiveness have been promised, please accept them from me. And do

not dash my hopes
in You, 0 Generous, O Most Merciful of the Merciful. And God, the Exalted,

bless our beloved
Messenger Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace. (3
times)



Beginning
of year supplication:

In the Name of Allah the All-Merciful the
All-Compassionate

All
praise is Allah’s, Lord of all creations.

O
Lord, with all beauteous names (Allahuma),bestow blessings and peace upon our
beloved messenger Muhammad, our supreme access to You in the answer to what we
supplicate for,

the
achievement of what we aspire to, and the forgiving of such wrongdoings as we
have committed, and upon members of his household and his companions and those
who

support
him. Indeed, elapsed in
our span of life is a whole year, You have garlanded us in it with Your
bounties for which we are unable to offer gratitude, and You have protected us
in it from evils and unpleasant things from which we could not have protected
ourselves, and we have put into it works of which You are All-Knowing. Such
good deeds which You have enabled us to do in it, may You please accept that
from us, and may You record them in Your presence as virtuous works, and may
You forgive us the blemishes of ostentation, and self-glory, and
self-embellishment,
and other things as have interfered with them, and may You make them a means
through which we
are led to Your good pleasure and drawn near to You,

and
such evil deeds and errors as we have committed. And actions unpleasing in Your
sight. And intentions which are unrighteous [such of these that we may have
committed] with our limbs and our hearts we ask You, Allahuma, by virtue of
Your essence and Your names and Your attributes and by virtue of the sublime
Quran and Your revealed books, and by virtue of our beloved messenger Muhammad,
Allah bless him and bestow peace upon him as well as members of his household,
and by virtue of whosoever has rank before You amongst all Your created beings,
that You will forgive all those wrongdoings and cover all those defects, and
that You will favour us from Your ample, magnificent, generosity with all that
we aspire to, and that You will exchange our evils actions for good ones, and
that You will enable us to attain Your good pleasure at the highest level of
our aspirations and the uppermost limit of our wishes. And we, as You know us,
have our forelocks in Your hands and our entire affair, in all our states, comes
back to You, and whatever good opinion we cherish regarding You, You are well
aware of it, and our absolute dependence upon You, and extreme need of You, are
not concealed from You, and here are our hands stretched out towards You and
our hearts are focused upon You, do not therefore, turn us away empty handed, O,
the Hope of all aspirers! And the Refuge of all refuge seekers! Show mercy unto
he who calls You when he believes that You are his Lord and comes exclusively
to You, when indeed, You are his sufficiency. After the outgoing year a new
year has come upon us while we do not know what has been pre-ordained in Your
knowledge regarding us. And our hope is that You will open for us in this new
year a door of sincere, genuine, repentance from which we shall not renege, and
that You will grace us in it with the ability for virtuous works, acceptable to
You, that will in turn grace us with Your good pleasure towards us, and that
You will employ our limbs in obedience that is well-pleasing in Your sight, and
our hearts with love for You, and love for whomsoever You love, and love for
whatsoever You love, and that You will expand our hearts and grant them the
capacity for Your special knowledge, with which You have ennobled such of Your
servants that are possessed of knowledge about You and virtuous saints, and
that You will sustain us with taqwa with which You have ennobled servants of
Yours who are endowed with taqwa [that You will sustain us] with its
essence, its
fruit, its main roots and its branches and may You lodge us in the highest
stations of rectitude, and raise us to certainty at the highest levels of
certainty, and that You may grant us entry to the path of following,
in words, deeds,
intentions, and works ,Your beloved, the most honoured of created beings in
your presence, namely our beloved messenger Muhammad, may Allah bless him and
bestow peace upon him, as well as his household, and that You may make ample
our share of love for this beloved and of following him in all our states and
that You make us, O our Lord, among the happiest of people by virtue of him, and
those closest to him, and among those who cherish the greatest lasting love for
him, and may You honour us with the vision of his honoured face, Allah bless
him and bestow peace upon him and his household whilst he is well pleased with
us, in sleep and our wakeful moments, in this world,

the
world in between and the hereafter, and may You honour us, O our Lord, with
complete and copious blessing in our works, our intentions, and our
sustenance and
in our movements and stillness, and may You make the coming years of
our lives rotate
around firmness in our religion and dedication to Your service, and may You
protect us in all this from the evil of Satan, and his works, and from the evil
of the evil-commanding soul, and its work, and from the evil of worldly
temptation, and may You protect us from plunging into its gewgaws, and its
decorations, and from such tests as derive from it in the area of wealth and
dependents

and
things other than these, and from yielding to ruinous passions, and may You
protect us from being overwhelmed in the domain of ephemeral desires, and from
evil companions and their companionship, and may You make our renewed spans of
life all employed in what is well pleasing to You, and such bounties as You
have generously bestowed upon us, may You enable us to offer gratitude for
that, and may You make us, O our Lord, among those who hold firm to the firm
handhold of sincerity towards You, in all our pursuits, and may You embrace in
all these supplications, our children and our parents, and our friends and our
brethren in religion, and endow us with an immense strength which will
[further] strengthen us in obedience to You, and in the discharge of Your
obligation upon us, in the manner that You like, and with which You are well
pleased, and may You grant us a plentiful share with which to strive vigorously
in Your service, and in the constancy of such works as will earn Your good
pleasure, and may You open for us, a manifest opening, in the reflection of the
magnificent Quran, and in the access to its secrets, and in the excellent
manners at the time of reciting its verses, and when listening to them, and may
You grant us, O our Lord, the memorisation of its words and the fulfilling of
its obligations, and the response to its call, and the hastening to abide by
its commands and the avoidance of its prohibitions, and may You make us amongst
a people who are loyally wedded to its rights, and may You appoint it for us,
in Your presence, a witness of sincerity through fulfilling what it calls us
to, O Most Merciful of the Merciful, [since every merciful one receives the
gift of mercy from You],

and
may Allah bestow blessings on our beloved messenger Muhammad and his household,

and
upon his companions in their entirety, and the praise is Allah’s, Lord of all

universes

Preparation for Ramadhan

Special talk - Thursday: 30 June 2011
Preparation for Ramadhan
By: Ustazah Nagheba Hayel


Ustazah begins by reciting the intention of Imam Al-Haddad.
Intention = very important
Small action with great intention is much better than big action with small intention
Ta’lam wa ta’leem: We are all teachers as mothers, wife, sister, friend and through any knowledge we gain from Quran & Sunnah, what is good & disseminate it.
The story of miskina: A lady called miskina (not even her real name as she was really insignificant that people didn’t even know her name. She carries water to the people and at the night when she passed away, a scholar in the town dreamed of her. He saw her in green silk and looking glorious. He called ‘Miskina’ and she replied ‘hayhata, hayhata’ (things of the past). She said that at night time, she listened to dars and daytime she brought water to people with the intention of disseminating knowledge.
Tazdkir: to remind each other as we are insaan. Root of 'Insan' - nasia --- means forget that's why we remind each other
Ibtigha’ wajhiLlah: hope to reach the countenance of Allah.

"Infinite is the native land from whence Allah has created the soul"
The saying above, from a scholar, jannah =the infinite land where our soul is created, created to worship Allah.
Jannah is surrounded by what human usually dislike; like not to do or say or see or hear bad things, not to backbite, to perform solah on time, read the Qur'an etc... It is a "forever land" and the soul will feel tranquil because it is where it actually belongs to. Therefore, we must work and focus to reach Jannah
Always concentrate on the main goal, the world is like a bridge to pass through to reach the real world = Jannah
World is just a passing place

Man is created to worship Allah - az Zariyyat verse 56 (And I did not create the Jin or mankind except to worship Me) = mankind is the slave to Allah
What is the good in worship? It's not just a routine but connection between you & the divine
Eg: surah al Fatihah, we say 'iyya ka na'budu..." = direct communication with Allah
With citing "bismillah" - it is accompanied with goodness & barakah (fr Hadith)
"there is no good in worship that is not understood" by Imam Ali
We must understand the significance of prayer, fasting / Ramadhan

How do we prepare ourselves for Ramadhan?

"May Allah bless us in Rejab & Syaaban and allows us to reach Ramadhan" - Musnad Imam Ahmad

"Rajab is the month of Allah, Shaaban is my month & Ramadhan is the month of my nation " narrated by Imam Al-Suyuti in Al-Jami
Rajab is the month of repentance and cleanser for our hearts.
During Syaaban, send as much salutation to the prophet Muhammad saw

Ramadhan - is a special month coz - based on the wisdom of the following sayings:

The scholars said that:

Rajab : the Month of repentance (cleansing your soul... And your heart. To glorify Allah so your heart is glossed and cleansed. Getting ones heart ready for Ramadhan

Repentance is cleansing yourself with istighfar - with determination not to repeat the same sin. If it is repeated, repent again! Also by doing loads of zikir

To clean ones heart so it is cleansed & the shine & nur from Allah will shine

Syaaban : the month of sending salutation upon the prophet

Believing in your heart - persevere with the thought of love to Rasulullah

It is also said that those who send Salawat to rasulullah Allah will send the same to that person

To get the barakah & follow the sunnah. We are indebt to Rasool ‘alayhi salatu wassalam.

Connecting the sunnah acts (not just the fard) with the Prophet

Remind ourselves as much as possible to practice sunnah deeds

Ramadhan : the month of Al-Quran. Sayidina Jibril Alayhi Salaam came and read the Qur’an with Rasool ‘alayhi salatu wassalam

Imam Abu Bakra al-Warraq : Rajab is d month of planting seeds, Syaaban is the month of irrigating the crop & Ramadhan is the month for harvesting

‘Rajab is like the wind, Syaaban is like a cloud, Ramadhan is like the rain’

According to Imam Ghazali, there are three different type of mu’min anticipating the month 1) prepared a hugh tank so that they can collect water to be used for the whole year 2) prepared a bucket and it lasted a few months 3) those who are busy and he forgets, when the rain came, they took a cup to get the water. Ramadhan is like the rain - mercy and blessings. Preparation should be way before Ramadhan.

Surah al baqarah: 183 - "fasting had been prescribed for you, as it was prescribed upon those before you, so that you may become God conscious" . Fasting was prescribed to every nation. Taqwa - fear of Allah, Feeling the presence of Allah

"All of the deeds of man are for himself except for fasting which is for Me & I shall reward it Myself" - Bukhari. Unknown amount of rewards.

"In paradise there is a gate called al-Rayyan through which those who fast will enter and no one will enter it except them, when they have entered it will be locked and no one else will enter through it ... " - Bukhari

The du'a of d fasting one will not be refused - al Bayhaqi

My du'a is the witness of my slave state

Musnad Imam Ahmad: "ones fast will intercede for one on the Day of Judgment saying 'O Lord I prevented him from his food & physical desires during the day so let me intercede for him"

Everyone will pass on the bridge and they will cross it according to the way they walk in this dunya. Five different type of crossings 1) faster than lightning 2) riding upon a beast 3) running 4) walking 5) crawling

So that is why Muslims are allowed to cry for the prophet - rasulullah may intercede for his nation

Crossing the 'sirat' to jannah - this is helped with all our deeds & all our prayers, Salawat

Luqman once said to his son: "oh my son, when the stomach is full then the intellect sleeps, wisdom is silenced & d limbs are too lazy to perform any act of worship "

Ibrahim al-Adham: those that came before us were ruined because of 3 things- their excessive talking, excessive sleeping & excessive eating "

(all he needs is simplicity - look out for his story)

Hadith from Muslim: the smell of mouth of the fasting one is better with Allah than scent of musk

When the month of Ramadhan enters, the gates of heaven opened, the gates of hell are closed, the devils are chained (Bukhari) - this is more metaphorical because what must be 'chained' is our nafs

Jannah beautifies itself in Ramadhan (more beautiful, more sweet smelling)

On the first night of Ramadhan, a very light wind under the Throne, touching every single leaves. Angels said ‘tonight is the first night of Ramadhan

Bukhari: whoever fast during Ramadhan out of faith will have all his previous sins forgiven

Saying of d Salaf:[during the month of] ramadhan, 1st part is mercy, middle of it is forgiveness, the last of it is freedom from the fire

(forgiveness - seeking Allah's forgiveness to cleanse all the previous sins)

Degrees of the fast

1. Layman - Awwam

2. Elite - to abstain from sin by guarding the hearing, eye, sight, Tongue & limbs from evil acts

3. Elect from the Elite - awlia , to abstain

Ibn ata'illah - kitab al Hikam: actions are erect forms & their soul is the existence of sincerity within them

Many of those take nothing from their fasting except hunger & thirst - by Ahmad & Ibn Majah

The wisdom of fasting

- protect the senses from all that is haram from saying bad things, sight, hearing

- teaches one patienc / fortitude

- Increase generosity - zakah & Sadaqah
- Increase gratitude
- helps one to experience poverty
- increase your humility
- teaches you about yourself - ones ability to submit
- ability to conquer / discipline nafs - ones carnal desire

5 things that breaks fast - lying, backbiting, slander, lying under oath, covertness & lustful eyes - related by Anas bin Malik (break the reward of fasting)

Guarding the senses & limbs

Tongue
Eyes

Ramadhan an increase of good deeds
- recite Quran, make du'a
Iktikaf
Umrah in the last 10 days
Priority in 5 pillars in Ramadhan especially solat

Recommended (fasting) / sunnah
Yearly : 1st & 10th Muharram, Day of Arafat, 1st Rajab, 15 Syaaban, 6 days in shawwal, 9th Zulhijjah, 1 to 9 th Zulhijjah

Monthly
White days-13 14 15,
Black 28 29 30
Weekly -Thursday & Mondays

Ramadhan preparation

RAMADHAN PREPARATION –
Notes taken during Ustaza Nagheba Hayel’s class (July 2010)

Fast of the elite (Inner form)
1) Guard the eyes
- ‘A glance is an arrow from the arrows of Iblis, whoever leaves it out of Godly fear, then Allah Exalted be He will grant him iman, the sweetness in which he will experience in his heart.
2) Guard the tongue
- ‘Fasting is a shield with which one protects itself, so let not him (who fasts) utter immodest (or foul) speech, nor let him act in an ignorant manner; and if a man quarrels with him or abuses him, he should say twice, I am fasting.’
- Allah created two barriers after the tongue: lip and teeth.
- Allah will send down tests upon us – liyabluwakum ayyukum ahsanu ‘amala (a good you want from Allah is Ghaliya)
3) Guard the ears
- All that is sinful to utter is sinful to listen to. (‘The backbiter and the listener are partners in sin – At-Tabrani)
4) Guard the limbs
- Imam Ghazali: keep all limbs away from sins: the hands and feet from reprehensible deeds, and the stomach from questionable food at the time for breaking fast. It is meaningless to fast – to abstain from lawful food – only to break one’s fast and eat what is unlawful.
- Try to find halal and tayyib food (good and pure)
- Food is our source of energy which will result in our action.
- A young boy took milk to Sayidina Abu Bakar RadhiyaAllahu ‘anhu. He was really hungry at that time and drank it straightaway. The boy said, “Ya Abu Bakar, you do not ask me the source of this milk. The milk was from goat that graze in so-and-so field. (The field belongs to orphans).” Upon hearing this, Sayidina Abu Bakar RadhiyaAllahu ‘anhu forced his finger down his throat and vomited out the milk. He said that any meat and flesh that grow in impermissible, the fire have more right to it.
- 50 years ago in Tarim, all the food consumed by the people of Tarim were grown in the city itself. They always said basmala when planting anything and the barakah can be seen from it. It goes to the people who eat it and the animal that ate it.
- ‘innamal bai’u anil turadhi’ A hadith which meant Verily buying and selling is by mutual agreement. Buying and selling should be based on fair trade.
- Imam Haddad said that those who eat good food, whether he wants it or not, he will do worship and if one eat impermissible food he will do sinful act whether he wants it or not.
5) Not to overeat
- Imam Ghazali: Anyone who puts a bag of food between his heart and his breast becomes blind
- The sunna was to eat bread made from wheat, and he Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam eat once a day only. If he eats in the daytime, he will not eat at night time and vice versa.
- A student came to a syeikh and asked him, what do you say about a man who eats once a day? The Syeikh said that it is the food of prophets. The student asked again, what do you say about a man who eats twice a day? The Syeikh said that it is the food of the righteous. The student asked again, what do you say about a man who eats three times a day? And the Syeikh replied, why don’t you just build him a stable for him to graze?
- Overeating will prevent hudhur in our prayers.
- In tarim, they will break their fast with dates and water, then they will stand up and pray Maghrib prayer. After that, they will pray the Nawafil prayers and continue with Tasbih prayer. After the du’a for Tasbih prayer, they continue with Ratib Al-Haddad and after finishing all that, they will begin eating. According to Hababah Nur, this is the sa’atul Ghafla (the hour of heedlessness). A lot of people lost control at this time.

Outer form of fasting

Legal ruling pertaining the fast
1) Obligatory
- Fasting in the month of Ramadhan
- Make up fasts
- Expiation that requires fasting
- To fast for the prayer of rain if ordered to do so by the Hakim
- To fast if one has made an oath to do so

2) Mandub fasts (recommended)
- Yearly
o 1st of Muharram
o Asyoura (10th of Muharram) – by extension 9th of Muharram
o Day of Arafah – the mercy of Allah descend upon the earth, sunnah to fast if we are not in Arafah.
o 1st of Rajab
o 15th of Sha’ban – Imam Ali KaramaAllahu wajha said that five nights in a year that Allah will not reject du’as: 1st of Rajab, 15th of Sha’ban, night of Jum’ah, Night of Eidul Fitr and night of Eidul Adha. He never sleep on these nights.
o 6 days of Shawwal – Rasul sallalllahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wasssalam fasted 6 days straight after Eid.
o 9th of Zulhijja
o 1-9th of Zulhijja – The first ten days are sacred: Wal Fajr, wa layalin ‘asyr
- Monthly
o The white days (13th, 14th, 15th of every month)
o The black days (28th, 29th, 30th of every month) – Every good deeds in these days will be written 10 times ie if we fast 3 days in a month (3 x10 =30) is equal to fasting for the whole month.
- Weekly
o Monday, Thursday – Monday is the day I was born (Rasul sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam); Thursday is the day that actions is taken to Allah and I want it to be taken while I am in worship.
- Makruh (dislike)
o Single out Friday – Friday is the day of worship and we need strength to worship. According to Imam Ghazali Rahmatullahi ‘alayh, on Friday we should pray 4 rak’at to greet the mosque (Tahiyatul masjid) and in each raka’at we read 50 times Al-Ikhlas
o Single out Saturday
o Single out Sunday
o To fast for ones entire life if one fears it may harm
- Haram
o Fast on Eidul Fitr
o Fast on Eidul Adha
o Fast on Day of Tasyriq (11th, 12th and 13th of Zulhijja)
o Fast on second half of Sya’ban (16th onwards) – even if we start on 14th or 15th, that is fine; but if we break even one day after 16th, we shouldn’t start again.
o Fast on the day of doubt (30th of Sha’ban)
• exception for makruh and haram fasts are when the fasts become obligatory upon us.

(question: In Syafi’e school, it is sunnah to buy new clothes for Eid if we are able to do so, and sunnah to give away old clothes.)

Entering of month of Ramadhan:
Communal obligation to fast:
- the completion of 30 days of Sha’ban
- sighting of the new moon by a single witness that is considered upright
Individual obligation to fast:
- The sighting of the new moon by a single witness that is not considered upright
- If one believes a person that has informed him that he has sighted the moon.
- Through reasoning (ijtihad) that the month has entered.
According to Syafi’e school, moon should be seen with naked eyes.
If one person saw the moon with naked eyes at any city of the world, Imam from the Syafi’e school said that if it cause split in the community and if the leader command to fast, it is obligatory to fast (if we are sure that someone saw the moon in other places, whereas if we are sure that no one can see the moon, it is obligatory to complete 30 days of Sya’ban).

Question: we should always follow the land we are in, even if it will result in a traveller to fast 31 days or 28 days in Ramadhan.

Integrals of fast:
1) Intention
2) Specify the fast is obligatory
3) To abstain from everything that breaks the fast

Intention
a) the obligatory fast
enter: the maghrib preceding fast
exit: the fajr preceding fast
b) the recommended fast
enter: the maghrib preceding fast
exit: the zenith on the day of fasting (Zohor enters just after zenith)
Rasul salllallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam came to Sayidatina A’isya RadyhiaAllahu ‘anha and asked whether they have any food. Upon hearing there is no food, he Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam decided to fast on that day.
- If one forgets that it is Ramadhan, it is obligatory upon him to fast (imsak) but the fast is not counted and he has to make up for it later. The fast is in honouring the month of Ramadhan.
- To specify the type of fast is obligatory: one specify the type of fast whilst making the intention ie I intend to fast for Ramadhan or I intend to fast for my oath or I intend to fast for make up fast.
- It is recommended to specify a Sunnah fast that is attached to a specific time ie the Day of Arafah, ‘Asyoura etc.
- The intention should be in the heart and tongue act as the reminder of the heart (It is sunnah to say it with tongue).
- The optimal intention is I intend to fast tomorrow the current obligatory fast of Ramadhan in the present year for Allah the Most High (Nawaytu Sawma Ghadin an ada’I fardhu syahri ramadhana fi hazihi sanah lillahi ta’ala.)

To abstain from all that breaks the fast
- apostasy
- the menstrual cycle, post natal bleeding or giving birth (it is sunnah to eat something to break the fast, and similarly it is sunnah to fast (imsak) once bleeding stop even if it is in the middle of the day).
- Insanity
- To lose conscience for the entire fasting day e.g. fainting, epileptic fit or comma
- Eating on purpose (if it is a sunnah fast and one normally fast for example on a Monday, and he forgets that it is a Monday, he can still fast even after eating breakfast and realised it is a Monday).
- Drinking
- Taking snuffs (through nasal cavity that affected sinuses)
- Suppositories (for istinja’, hands should not be placed far inside)
- Pouring water, oil or the like into the ears until it reaches the eardrum
- Anything that enters the body cavity whether stabbed into it or for medical reasons (intramuscular injections do not break fast).
- Vomiting (if done deliberately)
- Sexual intercourse or deliberate orgasm (If a man enters a woman, the man has to pay dispensation: 1. free a slave, or if he can’t 2. qadha (make-up fast) for two consecutive months), and if he can’t eg for medical reasons 3. feed 60 impoverished people a mudd)
(Deliberate orgasm means a person looked intentionally on a pornographic images with intention for orgasm, or doing masturbation).

That which is disliked (Makruh) to do during fasting

- to chew on something (chewing on things that have no flavour like wood)
- to taste food (it is mubah (permissible) for one who is cooking or a restaurant owner to taste food and spit it out and rinse their mouth).
- Blood letting (hajama) – including taking blood
- To rinse mouth with water
- To immerse oneself in water
- To use miswak after the zenith – to brush teeth with toothpaste is makru as it falls in the tasting category)
- To sleep much during the day
- To eat much after breaking the fast

Recommended (sunnah) acts during fasting

- to hasten breaking up the fast
- to take sahoor (to eat or drink after mid-night: rely upon the sahoor in your fast)
- to break the fast up on odd number of fresh dates (best:3), or dry dates, or zamzam water, or water, something that is sweet and fress (honey, figs, raisins), or sweet and cooked (halawa). The best things to break our fast are according to the order above.
Ulama said after breaking the fast, make intention, after maghrib: make intention, after tarawih: make intention and after sahoor make intention (The best time to make intention is after sahoor).
- To make du’a (the moment breaking the fast: Allhuma laka sumtu , wa ‘ala rizqika aftartu)
- To feed people that are fasting (community spirit, when you break a fast of a fasting one, you will get his reward without his rewards being lessen)
- To make ghusl because of any higher ritual impurities before fajr (Makruh to immerse onself in water)
- To pray tarawih each night of Ramadhan (rasul sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam always prayed at least 20 rak’ah of tarawih each night, 8 rak’at in masjid and he will continue the rest at home).
- To recite much qur’an with contemplation of its words.
- To implement as many sunnahs as one can
- To increase in righteous acts (giving charity, visiting the sick etc.)

Qadha (to make up the fast)

An obligatory fast that has been missed due to breaking the fast, lawfully or unlawfully. (Lawfully : menstruation, forgetting ones intention etc; unlawfully = breaking the fast intentionally etc)

Qada and fidya (dispensation

A person who does not fast due to fear of other than one self ie.
- the pregnant one who fears for her unborn child
- the breastfeeding one that fears for her suckling child
A person who has not made up obligatory fasts before the entering of the next Ramadhan.

Fidya

- A person unable to fast an obligatory fast due to old age, illness or the like.

Fidya is to give to the needy one mudd (0.51litre) of the staple of the land one is in for each day missed. (A needy one is a muslim who can’t meet all his requirements)

If make up fast is delayed for a second Ramadhan then the fidya is doubled, if one delays it for another Ramadhan then the fidya is tripled and so on.

Q&A
- In Syafi’e mazhab, it is not permissible to replace Fidya with money.
- The prayer timetable of a community is reliable if the ‘ulama follow it.
- For the intention, make all the good intention that we can think of and finish it with what Rasul sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam intended, and the awliya’ and the soliheen intended.