Month of Mercy!!

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Ramadan, the month of mercy.....it's such a beautiful month full of Allah's blessings. We can't even comprehend how great this month is. It's the most auspicious in the sight of the creator. It is the month in which the Glorious Qu'ran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad SAW, the final messenger, the seal of all the prophets. It is the only month whose name was revealed in the Qu'ran.

This month is such a great favour of Allah SWT on the ummah of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

It is a month whose days and nights shine with light. The doors of heaven are opened wide and the dreaded doors of hell are locked tight , evil is lessened in this month as Shaitaan ( satan) is chained Alhamdulillah!

"When Ramadan comes the gates of paradise are opened, the gates of Hell-fire are locked and the devils are chained." Muslim

We should not let this glorious month pass without gaining benefit from it.....it is a blessing to live to see this month.

The month of Ramadan is distinguished by fasting. Allah SWT says in the Holy Qu'ran:

" O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may attain taqwa." 2:183

Taqwa is being conscious of Allah SWT , being mindful of Him and making sure we do deeds that will please Him. It's an act of worship which continues over a whole day so it makes us be aware of how we behave and the things we do. Fasting is not just about keeping away from food and drink, its about making sure we also avoid anything that is bad for us like swearing, cursing , backbiting.....all the things that will distance us from Allah SWT.

The Messenger of Allah SAW said " He who does not leave dishonest speech and acting in accordance to it and (practising) ignorance, Allah has no need for him to leave his food and drink." (Bukhari)

Fasting has many virtues:-

• It is a shield - The Prophet PBUH said " Fasting is a shield with which a servant protects himself from the fire."(Ahmad)
• It causes one to enter paradise - Because it distances one from the fire, it causes a person to get close to Jannah. A companion of the Prophet SAW asked, " O messenger of Allah tell me of an action by which I may enter Paradise." The Prophet said "Take to fasting, there is nothing like it"
• Those who fast are rewarded with an immense reward - An unimaginable reward awaits the person who fasts, he experiences joy twice - once in this world when he breaks his fast and once in the hereafter, and even the smell coming fron his mouth is better with Allah SWT than the smell of musk. Allah SWT says : Every deed that the son of Adam performs is for himself except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward it.
• Fasting and qu'ran will intercede for a person - Prophet Muhammad SAW said " Fasting & the Qu'ran will intercede for the servant on the day of Resurrection. Fasting will say : O my Lord I prevented him from food & desires so accept my intercession for him, and the Qu'ran will say : I prevented him from sleep at night, so accept my intercession for him, so their intercession will be accepted."
• Fasting is an expiation for various sins - Example of these sins are hunting game while in a state of Ihraam, violating an oath, accidentally killing one of a people with whom you have a treaty, a person who is unable to carry out the obligatory sacrifice and shaving the head whilst in a state of ihraam for one who does that due to some illness.
• Ar-Rayyaan is for those who fast - And what is ar-Rayyaan. The Prophet PBUH said: " Indeed there is a gate of Paradise called Ar-Rayyan. On the day of Resurrection those who fast will enter through it; no one enters it except for them, and when they have entered, it is closed so that no one else enters it."
• Supplication of a fasting person isn't refused - Fasting is such a beloved act in the eyes of Allah SWT that He promises to accept the dua (supplication) made by one who has endured hunger for His sake. Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah said: " There are 3 people whose supplications are not rejected: the fasting person when he breaks his fast, the just ruler, and the dua of the oppressed."

As you can see Ramadan is a unique month, the first of which is mercy, the middle of which is forgiveness and the last of which is asking Allah SWT to be freed from the fire whose fuel is men & stones.

Not only has Allah blessed us with this month but within this month He has given us a special night called The night of Decree (Lailat al-Qadr) and what a grand night this is. It is the most magnificent night of the year, a night about which Allah has revealed a Surah (chapter) in the Qu'ran i.e Surat Al-Qadr (97).
In it He says: " The night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein descend the angels and the spirit (Gabriel) by Allah's permission with all decrees. (All that night) there is peace until the appearance of dawn."
It is the night the Qu'ran was made to descend to the lowest heaven before being revealed on Earth. But it is also the night in which all that is to happen in the coming year is revealed to the angels who are assigned to discharge Allah's decrees, including: who is to recieve how much sustenance, who is to be born and who is to die.

Imagine a night that has been declared as better than a thousand months and so worship in this one awesome night is better than the worship of 83.3 years. That is worshipping Allah SWT night & day, 24 by 7 ..... isn't that amazing! What a beautiful gift from Allah, it's like winning the lottery but only if we put the effort in to try and seek it in the last 10 nights, the odd nights of ramadan. No particular worship has been prescribed for this night: salah(prayer), reciting the holy Qu'ran, engaging in dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and lots of duas are all ways in which we can gain reward and nearness to the Almighty. It seems a tough task, waking up early hours of the night but its an oppurtunity that should not be missed because you have no guarantee you will be blessed with another Ramadan so we should all strive to seek and gain this jackpot.
Ramadan truly is a blessed month .....Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah SWT with all my heart for giving us this beautiful gift...May we all appreciate it and reap it's rewards Ameen!

99 names of Allah SWT

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

In a famous hadith, the Prophet PBUH said
"Verily, there are ninety-nine names of God, one hundred minus one. He who remembers them off by heart (and believes in them) would enter Paradise."
(Sahih Muslim, Vol. 4, no. 1410) .
A video that should help in knowing the names of the Creator that I put together....check it out:

We should strive to call to the creator using His beautiful names but how many times do we actually do that. For example one of Allah's names is al-Kareem (the most generous) but what I find in myself and others is we will make dua and say i.e Oh Allah just give me a little piece of Heaven when really if we reflect on that name....the most Generous we should be asking for the ultimate which is Jannat ul Firdous because Allah SWT is the one who can easily give it to us as He calls Himself Most Generous therefore we should be saying "Ya Kareem bless me with the highest place in Jannat", without feeling shy or hesitating.

We need to reflect on the names of Allah SWT and ask accordingly using those names.

All of Allahs names are beautiful,and so if you are impatient like me then it's good to say Ya Sabur which means Oh Patient one bless me with patience and you know what I've found my patient level has gone much better....improved tremendously ever since I have started calling on Allah SWT more. Each of Allah's names have a different meaning but I absolutely love al-Wali meaning the Friend and I often pray to God Almighty saying Please be my friend and I also love al-Wadud which is the Loving because in reality Allah SWT is the most loving .....He loves us even more than our own mothers.

As mothers we sometimes get fed up and shout /scream at our children but Allah never gets fed up of us in fact He is always there listening to us , watching us, responding to us in many different ways if only we could understand them. He really is the only true friend that we need in our life because unto Him is our return and there is no doubt about that....

I would like to finish this entry with a dua that I often make....

" Oh Allah make my love for You the most beloved thing to me, and my fear for You the most fearful thing to me and remove from me all worldly needs and wants by instilling a passion for meeting You, and when You have given the people of the world the pleasures of their world, make the coolness of my eyes in worshipping YOU Ameen."

Virtues of Surah Mulk

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim ,
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful .

Surah Mulk is the 67th chapter of the Holy Quran and what a beautiful surah it is. It begins with the words " Blessed be He in Whose hand is the Dominion and He has power over all things."

It is reported from ibn ‘Abbas (ra) who said that one of the Prophet’s companions set up his tent over a grave without realising that it was a grave and it contained a man who was reciting the Surah al-Mulk up to the end. He went and told the Prophet (saw) who said: “It is The Defender; it is The Protector which safeguards from the punishment of the grave.” (Tirmidhi )

The Prophet said: "I wish that 'Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion' is in the heart of every believer."

Abu Hurairah (ra) narrates that the Prophet said: "There is a Surah in the Quran of thirty ayat which intercedes for its reciter until he is forgiven. (It is): Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion."(Ahmad)

Subhanallah these hadith tells us why we should be reciting this surah daily....it will save us from the punishment of the grave as that is our first destination when we die and if that goes well then Inshallah everything else should fall into place.

Below is a video that I composed to help with the memorisation of this virtuous surah:

Purify yourself!

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

I was reading a beautiful hadith(saying of the Messenger of Allah PBUH) that I would like to share .

On the authority of Abu Malik al-Harith bin 'Asim al-Ash'ari, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:

'Cleanliness is half of faith, and saying 'Alhamdulillah'(Praise be to God) fills the scale, Saying 'Subhanallah wa al-Hamdulillahi' (Exhalted be Allah and Praise be to Allah) fills the space between the heavens and the earth. Salah (prayer) is a light. Sadaqah (charity) is proof(of one's faith). Sabr (patience) is a brightness. The Qur'an is a proof for or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, some setting themselves free and others destroying themselves."

What a beautiful hadith. It shows the importance of these great deeds in Islam through which every Muslim can free him or herself from the punishment of Allah subhana wa ta'ala in the Hereafter . What a beautiful way to purify yourself as Jannah (paradise) is reserved only for the ones who are pure....those who carry out these deeds will be those who are near to the creator. May Allah SWT make us of those who will be near and dear to Him, Ameen.

The hadith also explains the importance the Holy Qur'an should have in our lives. It states that "The Qur'an is either an argument and proof for or against you".

In Surah al-Isra Ayah 82 Allah says:
"We send down the Qur'an that which is a healing and mercy for those who believe and for the unjust people it causes nothing but loss after loss."

So people who recite the Qur'an, learn it and practice its rulings are people who become the people of the Qur'an and it (the Qur'an) will be a proof for them. But those who ignore the Qur'an and never read or practice it in their lives, then the Qur'an will stand against them in the hereafter. Now thats heavy......it's not an ordinary book ....it's a book that can save us from the fire whose fuel is men and stones. Not only should we be reading it daily, we should also be implementing it in our every day life.