The Excellence of Fasting during the first ten Days of Dhul-Hijjah

Ibn 'Abbas (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,

 "There are no days during which the righteous action is so pleasing to Allah than these days (i.e., the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah)." He was asked: "O Messenger of Allah, not even Jihad in the Cause of Allah?" He (PBUH) replied, "Not even Jihad in the Cause of Allah, except in case one goes forth with his life and his property and does not return with either of it."

[Al-Bukhari]

Commentary:

 This Hadith brings out the following two points:

1. Righteous deeds done during the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah are far better and more rewarding than righteous deeds done on other days of the year, because they are Hajj days in the sacred season of pilgrimage. Because of their excellence and importance, Allah (SWT) swore by them, thus: "By the Dawn; by the ten Nights..." (89:1, 2)

2. Jihad has immense importance in Islam.

Similarly in other hadith Abu Qatadah (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked about the observance of Saum (fasting) on the day of 'Arafah. He said, "It is expiation for the sins of the preceding year and the current year." [Muslim]

On the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah called Yaum-'Arafah, the pilgrims are engaged in the remembrance of Allah and supplications as this is the most important worship of hajj. For this reason, fast is not desirable for them, but for other people, fast has a special merit. The importance and merit of this fasting can be judged from the fact that it expiates sins (minor) for two consecutive years: the previous year and the current year. 

Dua on seeing New Moon

Talhah bin Ubaidullah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: At the sight of the new moon (of the lunar month), the Prophet (PBUH) used to supplicate:

Allahumma ahillahu 'alaina bil-amni wal-iman, was-salamati wal-Islam, Rabbi wa Rabbuk-Allah, Hilalu rushdin wa khairin

Translation:

(O Allah let this moon appear on us with security and Iman; with safety and Islam. (O moon!) Your Rubb and mine is Allah. May this moon be bringing guidance and good)."

[At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary:

After sighting the moon, one should recite the prayer which was recited by the Prophet (PBUH). The prayer cited in the text of this Hadith is one of them.

The Beauty of Surah Al-Faatihah

Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) said in his book As-Salaat wa Hukm Taarikihaa:

 And when he (the servant reciting Surat Al-Faatihah in prayer) says: All praise is due to Allah the Rabb of all the Worlds, he pauses for a short while waiting for the response of his Lord: ‘My servant has praised Me.’ Then when he says: The Most Gracious the Most Merciful he waits for the response: ‘My servant has extolled Me’ and when he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, he waits for the response: ‘My servant has glorified Me.’

It is the delight of his heart, the pleasure of his eye and the joy of his soul that his Lord says about him: ‘My servant’ three times. By Allah! If the fumes of desire and the darkness of the soul were not upon the hearts, they would have flown out of happiness and joy that their Lord, Maker and Deity says: “My servant has praised Me, My servant has extolled Me and My servant has glorified Me.”

·         Selected from: Imaan Builder 2: Employing Al-Faatihah As the Basis for the Development and Maintenance of Imaan, SalafiPublications

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "When any one of you sleeps, Satan ties three knots at the back of his neck. He recites this incantation at every knot: 'You have a long night, so sleep.' If he awakes and remembers Allah, one knot is loosened. If he performs Wudu', the (second) knot is loosened; and if he performs prayer, (all) knots are loosened. He begins his morning in a happy and refreshed mood; otherwise, he gets up in bad spirits and sluggish state."

Allah, the Exalted, says:

"And in some parts of the night (also) perform the Salat (prayer) with it (i.e., recite the Qur'an in the prayer) as an additional prayer (Tahajjud optional prayer - Nawafil) for you (O Muhammad (PBUH)). It may be that your Rubb will raise you to Maqam Mahmud (a station of praise and glory, i.e., the honour of intercession on the Day of Resurrection)." (17:79)

"Their sides forsake their beds..." (32:16)

"They used to sleep but little by night [invoking their Rubb (Allah) and praying, with fear and hope]." (51:17)

We supplicate day and night for our dua’s to come true. How about if we know about a certain moment in which we make dua and it comes true? Yes there is a moment and it occurs on the day of Friday. A hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah indicates about it:

"There is a time on Friday at which a Muslim, while he (or she) is performing Salat and is supplicating, will be granted whatever he (or she) is supplicating for." And he (PBUH) pointed with his hand to indicate that this period of time is very short. [Al-Bukari and Muslim]

The above hadith mentions about a specific moment (that occurs on Friday) in which every prayer that a person makes is granted with the condition that what one is asking for is good and lawful. It is a very short lived moment i.e. it’s equal to the distance between index and middle finger. The specific time when it occurs has also not been revealed. For this reason one should remember Allah frequently and pray to Him on Jumu'ah so that one attains that moment when prayers are answered. Prayers can also be answered outside Salat if one happens to be supplicating at the specified moment.

Surah waqaih

“Whoever recites Surah Waqiah every night will never be afflicted with starvation.”
[Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
Today lets talk about the benefits of reciting surah waqiah. According to one of the hadith ‘Surah al Waqiah is the Surah of Wealth, so recite it and teach it to your children’[Ibn Asakir]
What a blessing to muslim ummah. Reciting everyday makes you wealthy. According to one of the narration taken from ibn khathir Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, May Allah be pleased with him was suffering from great illness and that was his final moments, mean while Amirul Mu’min Uthman Ghani Radhi Allahu anhu paid him a visit. There conversation went like:
Uthman radhi Allahu anhu: what is your illness?
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, May Allah be pleased with him: My sins are all the root cause of my pain {illness}.
Uthman radhi Allahu anhu: what is your desire {final desire}?
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, May Allah be pleased with him: I seek the mercy and blessings of my Lord, Allah azza wa jal.
Uthman radhi Allahu anhu: may I call a doctor for you?
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, May Allah be pleased with him: the doctors have made me ill.
Uthman radhi Allahu anhu: may I send some gift from the Baitul Maal, the government stock?
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, May Allah be pleased with him: thank you, no need.
Uthman radhi Allahu anhu: but please let me do that for you. These might help your daughters after you {your death}.
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, May Allah be pleased with him: Do you think that after my death my daughters going to face poverty and hunger? I don’t think so, because I've strictly instructed my daughters to recite Sura Waqiah every night. I've heard, Prophet salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam saying: one who will recite sura Waqiah every night, will never be needy/poor.

The Prophet(SAW) said, ‘Whoever recites surah al Waqiah at night would never encounter poverty’ [Ibn Sunni 620}  
As we can see that there are many benefits of reciting aurah waqiah.we should recite it daily and better learn the surah and make our children to memorize it also so that we can prepare for a day we have been asked.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,

"If anyone performs Wudu' properly, then comes to the Friday prayer, listens to the Khutbah (religious talk) attentively and keeps silent, his (minor) sins between that Friday and the following Friday will be forgiven, with the addition of three more days; but he who touches pebbles has caused an interruption."

[Muslim]

Commentary:

There are three things that should be done on Fridays: performing the whdu properly, listening to the khutbah attentively, and keeping silent. A person who does all three will have sins forgiven between two consecutive Fridays with the addition of three more days.

1. Performs ablution properly means to do it in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). One should not exceed the prescribed limits, nor should one use water extravagantly and should wash every organ of the body involved in wudu, at the most for three times. This Hadith also makes it evident that it is more meritorious to perform wudu at home.

2. Sins of ten days are pardoned because every virtue has at least ten-times reward. Here sins means minor sins as the major ones.

3. One should listen to the Khutbah quietly with full attention. One must avoid toying with anything (such as straws, one's watch, etc.) that diverts the attention and deprives from the reward of jummah.

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,

"He who The observes Al-Bardan (i.e., Fajr and 'Asr prayers) will enter Jannah."  

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary:

A Muslim should perform salat five times a day. Every salat has assigned time and significance. But there are some prayers that need more consideration and regularity of time than the rest. That is the reason additional merits have been attached to them, like the hadith says. Of these two is the ‘Fajr’ prayer, the performance of which is more difficult than the other prayers because it occurs at a time of rest and deep sleep. Similar is the case of 'Asr’ prayer, the performance of which is difficult too as it is the middle prayer. The hadith gives the tidings of paradise to those who take care to perform fajr and asr punctually. Hence the merit is so great that one feels entitled to do the deed.

Similarly there is another hadith that highlights the significance of fajr and asr prayer.

Abu Zuhair 'Umarah Ruwaibah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying,

"He who performs Salat (prayers) before the rising of the sun and before its setting, will not enter the Hell."

It will be wrong to infer that one who performs these two Salat punctually will be safe from Hell merely because of his strictness in their observance, will be safe from Hell. In this Hadith, Fajr and 'Asr prayers have been particularly mentioned because of their special importance.

It is implied that one who takes special care of fajr and asr prayer and does not show any laxity in the other ones too, will be safe from hell. A Muslim who will perform all the five salah punctually but be strict in observance of fajr and asr.

The Amazing Quran (3)

The resting place of Noah’s Ark

The holy Quran states that Noah’s ark rested upon Al-Judi while the Bible states that the ark rested upon mount Ararat.

 “And the Ark rested… upon the mountains of Ararat.” [Bible Genesis 8:4]. According to the Holy Qur’an (11:44): “The Ark came to rest upon Al-Judi.”

But the evidence from an archaeological found in Eastern Turkey remains of an ancient vessel whose dimensions mirror those of Noah’s Ark as told in the Bible. However, the discovery was made on Al-Judi! [10,11]

Relativity of Time

Reveled by Einstein, relativity is a proven scientific fact. According to the theory, time depends on mass and velocity. In the history of evolutionary science this concept was never explained before. However Quran included information about time being relative.

"They ask you to hasten the punishment. God will not break His promise. A day with your Lord is equivalent to a thousand years in the way you count." (The Qur'an, 22:47)

"He directs the whole affair from heaven to earth. Then it will again ascend to Him on a Day whose length is a thousand years by the way you measure." (The Qur'an, 32:5)

"The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose length is fifty thousand years." (The Qur'an, 70:4)

The fact that the relativity of time is so clearly mentioned in the Qur'an, which started to be revealed in 610, is evidence that it is a holy book.

The Miracle in the Iron

Iron is one of the elements highlighted in the Qur'an. In Sura Hadid, meaning Iron, we are informed:

"…And We sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind...." (The Qur'an, 57:25)

Allah’s Mercy

Certainly no one despairs of Allah’s Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.  (Qur’an 12: 87)

[They were reprieved] until, when the Messengers gave up hope and thought that they were denied [by their people], then came to them Our Help…   (Quran 12:110)

And we delivered him from the distress. And thus we do deliver the believers. (Quran 21:88)

And you were harboring doubts about Allah. There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking. (Qur’an 33: 10-11)

We often get hurt by ill-treatment and cruelty of our fellow beings. Or sometimes we become the target of jealousy and rancor. In both cases we should neither grief nor despair and adopt the strategy of forgiveness. We should rely on Allah to help us with his infinite mercy. Allah has remedy and cure for every type of ill-emotion.

[Those] who repress anger, and who pardon men… (Qur’an 3: 134)

Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish [i.e. don’t punish them].
(Qur’an 7. 199)

Repel [the evil] with one which is better [i.e. Allah ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly], then verily! He, between whom and you there was enmity [will become] as though he was a close friend.
(Qur’an 41: 34)

Do not grieve over that which has passed you by in life, for indeed you have been blessed with much. Similarly we should be thankful to Allah for hi many blessings and bounties. Contemplate his many favors and gifts be thankful to Him for them. Remind ourself of Allah’s many blessings, for Him, the Almighty, said:

And if you would count the graces of Allah, never could you be able to count them. (Qur’an 16: 18)

And [Allah] has completed and perfected His Graces upon you, [both] apparent [i.e. Islamic Monotheism, and the lawful pleasures of this world, including health, good looks, etc.] and hidden [i.e. One's Faith in Allah (of Islamic Monotheism) knowledge, wisdom, guidance for doing righteous deeds, and also the pleasures and delights of the Hereafter in Paradise, etc.]. (Qur’an 31: 20)

And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah. Then, when harm touches you, unto Him you cry aloud for help. (Qur’an 16: 53)

The Amazing Quran [2]

The Developing Human Embryo

Quranexplained the human reproduction and development long before the modern science. The staging of human embryos was not described until the 20th century. Quran states that both parents share in the origins of the offspring

 “O mankind! We created you from male and female.” (49:13) and “We created mankind from a mixed drop (nutfah-amshaj).” (76:2)

The mixed drop refers to the mixture and convergence of a small quantity of sperms with the ovum (and its associated follicular fluid) to form the zygote. The human embryo clings to the mothers womb, in the same way that a leech clings to the skin.

”Then out of that leech-like structure We made a chewed lump (mudghah).” This statement is from Surah 23:14.

”Then we made the drop into a leech-like structure (‘alaqah).” (23:14)

Lost Civilizations

In the 89th chapter of the Qur’an, the city of “Iram” is mentioned: “Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with Aad, of the city of Iram, with lofty pillars the like of which was never created in any land?”

Iram has been unknown to history until in 1975; in North-Western Syria the ancient city of Ebla was excavated. Ebla is over 4500 years old. In the ruins of the Palace Library they found the largest collection of cuneiform clay tablets ever discovered – around 15,000. Written in the oldest Semitic language yet identified, the tablets reveal that Ebla rivalled Egypt and Mesopotamia as a major power of the ancient world. They found in there a record of all the cities that Ebla used to do business with including one IRAM! [7,8,9]

The Holy Qur’an made a definite prediction about the preservation of the body of that same Pharaoh of Moses’ time 10:90-92: “This day We shall save you in your body so that you may be a sign for those that come after you”. The body was discovered in the tomb of Amenhotep II in 1898.[2,12]

The Amazing Quran [1]

The Quran is the last revealed word of Allah to the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the angel Jibraeel. It was then directed to his companions who either learnt it by heart or wrote it down for coming generations. Until now i.e. about fourteen years, the miraculous and unique book is preserved in its original state. Not one word of its 114 chapters is changed. The Quran deals with many subjects such as relation of humans to creator, wisdom, doctrine, worship, law and order, worship and supplication etc. There are many verses in holy Quran that are concerned with natural phenomena that are astounding to human mind. Science has formulated facts and figures about the universe and human body only after the Quran mentioned them about fourteen years ago. It is impossible to explain their presence in human’s terms, given the state of knowledge at the time the Qur’an was revealed. In the West, such statements had never before formed the subject of a scientific communication until recent times. This short article highlights only a few brief facts from the Amazing Qur’an.

The Origin of Life

“And We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (21:30)

The basic unit of life is called a cell. It is made up of protoplasm and cytoplasm which consist of water and dissolved substances. Protoplasm consists of 80-85% water. Hence water is necessary for life to be in existence.

The Expansion of the Universe

The expansion of the universe is the most imposing discovery of modern science. Today it is a firmly established concept and the only debate centers around the way this is taking place.

“The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily, We are expanding it.” (51:47)

“We are expanding it’ is the translation of the plural present particle musi’una of the verb ausa’a meaning “to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand.”

The Mountains

Mountains are means of fixation of the earth outer surface. They serve as pegs to hold the ground from shaking and turning around. The Quran explained this phenomenon as

”Have we not made the earth an expanse, and the mountains stakes (awtad)?” (78:6-7) and

“And God cast into the Ground Mountains standing so that it does not shake with you.” (31:10). [1,3]

The Qur’an accurately describes mountains as stabilizers for the Earth that holds its outer surface firmly.