At - Taqwā July - September 2014
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At - Taqwā July - September 2014 The Month of Ramadhãn By Mawlãnã Muhammad Ali Mankda Let us imagine the extent of the desire of the Prophet s to meet Allāh S and also the great insight the Prophet s had regarding the bounties of the Hereafter; He had already seen Jannah and was bestowed with the honour of seeing and communicating with Allāh S. Yet, despite this great longing and desire, upon the advent of Rajab the Prophet s would make the following duā desiring to remain in this world until Ramadhān: ِ ِ ِّ اللُّه َّم بَارْك لَنَا ف ْي َرَج َب َو َشْعبَا َن َو بَ لغْنَا َرَم َضا َن O Allāh, make the month of Rajab and Sha‟bān blessed for us, and let us reach the month of Ramadhān. (At Tabrānī) From this we understand the extraordinary nature of Ramadhān, for it is so great that the Prophet s would supplicate for the prolongation of his worldly life so that he could take advantage of this great month and all its blessings. The great scholar and reformer Shaykh Ahmad Farūqi v (Mujaddid Alf Thāni) said, “If we combine all the blessings of the other eleven months, they would not add up to the blessings of Ramadhān.” Ahādith on the merits and virtues of this month are well known. For example, “The month of Ramadhān, the month of blessing has come to you, wherein Allāh turns towards you and sends down on you His special Mercy, forgives your faults, accepts prayers, observes your competition for doing good deeds and boasts to the angels about you. So show to Allāh your righteousness; for verily, the most pitiable and unfortunate is he who is deprived of Allāh„s Mercy in this month” (At Tabrānī) Along with the possibility of a great reward, there is the risk of a terrible loss. If we let any other month pass by carelessly, we just lost a month. If we do the same during Ramadhān we have lost a great deal. Of the three persons the Prophet s cursed, one is the unfortunate Muslim who finds Ramadhān in good health but does not use the opportunity to seek Allāh S„s forgiveness. (Hākim) Those who understand this, for them Ramadhān is indeed a very special month. In order to fully benefit from this month, the following is recommended: 1) Abstain from every disobedience to Allāh S. Protect your eyes, ears, tongue and even the mind. We should minimize interaction with people as this is a cause of many sins. 2) Prepare a timetable and keep yourselves occupied at all times in good activities. 3) Spend as much time as possible reciting the Qur‟ān. Set a daily target for yourself. 4) Do abundance of zikr e.g. salāh alan nabi, the kalimah tayyibah, the third kalimah, istighfar etc. 5) Make lots of duā, asking Allāh for all the needs of this world and the Hereafter, after the performance of good deeds, before iftār and at the time of tahajjud. 6) Increase charity during this moth. 7) Following the sunnah of the Prophet s spend the last ten days in I‟tikāf, for these are the very cream of Ramadhān. Inshā‟allāh, if we keep the above few points in mind, we will be able to benefit from this priceless month and benefit from the showers of Mercy of Allāh S. May Allāh S grant us all the tawfīq. Ãmīn. At - Taqwā 2 July - September 2014 InIn Shaykh’sShaykh’s CompanyCompany www.shaykh.org shaykh.org is a blog maintained by the students of Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat (may Allāh S preserve him). It aspires to meticulously record the eminent Shaykh’s teachings, discourses, and advices in the light of the Sharī’ah. Benefitting from Islamic Lectures “To benefit from a Dīnī talk, there are two requirements: 1) Ṭalab: to listen with a yearning and desire to gain from it. 2) Iḥtiyāj: to consider oneself to be in need of what is being said. Just participating and listening to talks, without these, will not bring change in one‟s life. The disbelievers of Makkah Mukarramah had many opportunities to listen to our beloved Nabi s, but did not change because they neither had ṭalab nor iḥtiyāj.” Weak Excuses “Many make very weak excuses as a pretext for committing sins. For example, when they are advised to avoid extravagance in weddings they say, „I do not want to, but my wife and children won‟t listen to me, so what can I do?‟ The question that needs to be asked is, why is it that when our wife or children desire something which is against our wishes we never give in? Why is it that we only become helpless and weak when our family demand something which is against the wishes of the Creator!” Effective Management “Every group, team and organisation has a hierarchy. Without this, it would be impossible to function. Similar is the situation in the home with Allāh S granting the husband superiority over the wife. It is just like a group of ministers working together. Each will contribute to the running of affairs, but one will have to be given the au- thority to make decisions.” Duā For Ramadhān The Prophet s has mentioned four things that we must do in the Month of Ramadhān, two for the pleasure of Allāh S and two items we cannot do without. 1. Recite in abundance the Kalimah . ََل إِلهَ إََِّل اهللُ 2. Seek His forgiveness through Istighfār. 3. Ask for His Jannah. 4. Ask His refuge from the Fire of Jahannam. (Sahīh Ibn Khuzaimah) The honourable Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh mentions “My late father, Hāfidh Ibrahim Dhorat v taught me a prayer during my childhood which I suppose he instructed it to me keeping in mind the aforementioned hadīth of the Prophet s. He taught me to recite abundantly during the month of Ramadhān:” ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ََل إلهَ إََّل اهللُ أَ ْستَ غْفُر اهللَ أَ ْسئَ لُ َك الْ َجنَّةَ َو أَعُْوذُ ب َك م َن النَّاِر At - Taqwā 3 July - September 2014 Fasting in Summer By Mawlãnã Ahmed Teladia The issue of long fasts is important as for the next few years Ramadhãn coincides with the summer months. Here are a few points regarding fasting, hence it will be a means of encouragement for one in completing these long fasts. 1) Allãh S has ordered us to fast. So by us fasting we are carrying out this command of His, “O you who believe, the fasts have been enjoined upon you as they were enjoined upon those before you, so that you may be God- fearing” (2:183) If a person keeps this in his mind he will be rewarded for these fast, it will be very easy for a person. 2) Allãh S says, “...for days few in number.” (2:184) It‟s only a matter of 29/30 days. From experience we can say that Ramadhãn comes and goes in a flash and seems only a few days. So if we keep this in mind it will be easy for us. 3) As in this world we undergo many difficult and challenging tasks and we endure all difficulties and hurdles in our path because our focus is on the end result and the fruits that this task will bring about. The same mentality and mind set should also be adopted here that by fasting Allãh S wants to give me taqwã. Allãh S says, “...so that you may be God-fearing.” (2:183) So think over the end result, this will make the fasts easy. 4) The struggle that we are facing due to the long fasts makes us hopeful that Allãh S will reward us more than those who keep fasts which are considerably shorter than ours. 5) Another point to consider is that out of 24 hours approximately 20 hours will be spent in the very noble Ibãdah of fasting. Hence the spirituality will be more because a longer amount of time is being spent in a very noble Ibadãh regarding which Allãh S says, “The fast is for me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times.” (Bukhãrĩ) Look at our pious predecessors, they would feel upset when nights were short because they wanted to spend more time in ibãdah! In these long fasts we are given the opportunity to stay in the very noble Ibadãh of fasting for a long period of time. So fasting in the summer is actually a blessing through which Allãh S is giving us the chance to stay in Ibadãh for a long duration of time. 6) We find in the Ahãdĩth of the Prophet s many virtues and merits regarding fasting. We should keep these virtues and merits in our minds. If we do this, fasting in summer will be very easy for us. In one hadĩth narrated in the Sahĩh of Imãm Bukhãrĩ rahmatullãhi alayh on the authority of Hadhrat Sahl t the Prophet s said, "There is a gate in Paradise, called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it." In another hadĩth narrated by Imãm Bukhãrĩ rahmatullãhi alayh on the authority of Hadhrat Abũ Huraira t the Prophet s said, "By Him in whose hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk." (Allah says about the fasting person), "He has left his food, drink and desires for my sake.