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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Twenty-five Ways to Get the Most Out of Ramadan |
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| Siham |
| 09/27/05 at 20:45:07 |
| [slm] A few introductory and complementary notes by the translator: 1. Ramadan is an auspicious opportunity for believers to renew their commitment to their Creator and the Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. This commitment must be both outward and inward, so that a Muslim not only recites more Qur'an and offers more units of prayer, but that she or he does so with reflection, humility and attentiveness. 2. Muslims must ensure they are not formalisms who concentrate only on the outward. Achieving Allah's acceptance must be a believer's priority and is not easy. "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear him - al muttaqoon]." [Qur'an 5:27] 3. Ramadan is a wonderful opportunity for accounting of one's sins and making repentance. If one does not repent in Ramadan, when will he or she do so? 4. Muslims should strive to worship Allah as best as they can from the beginning of the month, for that increases chances of the end of the month being good as well. 5. Muslims should consider what is it that they truly want to achieve in Ramadan, whether they want to be from the winners or from the losers, and should make sure they do not perform acts of worship simply because it is the surrounding people's custom to do so. 6. Muslims must be firmly aware that Ramadan is only a means and not an end. Twenty-five Ways to Get the Most Out of Ramadan From the book "Khulaasatul Kalaam" by [i]Shaykh Jaarullah[/i] Brother Muslim, Sister Muslima: 1. Fast Ramadan with belief and truly seeking the reward of Allah the Most High so that He may forgive you your past sins. 2. Beware of breaking your fast during the days of Ramadan without a valid Islamic excuse, for it is from the greatest of sins. 3. Pray Salat ut-Taraweeh and the night prayer during the nights of Ramadan - especially on Layatul-Qadr - based on belief and truly seeking the reward of Allah, so that Allah may forgive you your past sins. 4. Make sure that your food, your drink and your clothing are from halal means, in order that your actions be accepted, and your supplications answered. Beware of refraining from the halal while fasting and breaking your fast with the haram. 5. Give food to some fasting people to gain a reward similar to theirs. 6. Perform your five prayers on time in congregation to gain the reward and Allah's protection. 7. Give a lot of charity for the best charity is that of Ramadan. 8. Beware of spending your time without performing righteous deeds, for you will be responsible and reckoned for it and will be rewarded for all you do during your time. 9. Perform `umrah in Ramadan for `Umrah in Ramadan is equal to Hajj. 10. Seek help for fasting during the day by eating the sahoor meal in the last part of the night before the appearance of Fajr. 11. Hasten breaking your fast after the sun has truly set in order to gain the love of Allah. 12. Perform ghusl before fajr if you need to purify yourself from the state of major impurity so that you are able to do acts of worship in a state of purity and cleanliness. 13. Seize the opportunity of being in Ramadan and spend it with the good that has been revealed in it - by reciting the noble Qur'an and pondering and reflection of its meanings so that it be a proof for you with your Lord and an intercessor for you on the Day of Reckoning. 14. Preserve your tongue from lying, cursing, backbiting and slander for it decreases the reward of fasting. 15. Do not let fasting cause you cross your boundaries by getting upset due to the slightest of reasons. Rather, fating should be a cause of peacefulness and tranquility of your soul. 16. Upon completion of fasting, be in a state of taqwa of Allah the Most High, being aware of Allah watching you in secret and in public, in thankfulness for His favors, and steadfastness upon obedience of Allah by doing all what He has ordered and shunning all that He has prohibited. 17. Increase in remembrance of Allah, seeking of forgiveness, asking for Paradise and protection against the Fire, especially when fasting, while breaking the fast and during suhoor, for these actions are among greatest causes of attaining Allah's forgiveness. 18. Increase in supplication for yourself, your parents, your children and Muslims, for Allah has ordered making of supplications and has guaranteed acceptance. 19. Repent to Allah with a sincere repentance in all times by leaving sins, regretting those that you have done before and firmly deciding not to return to them in the future, for Allah accepts repentance of those who repent. 20. Fast six days of Shawwal, for whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasts all the time. 21. Fast on the Day of `Arafah, the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, to attain success by being forgiven your sins of the last year and the coming year. 22. Fast on the day of `Aashuraa', the 10th of Muharram, along with the 9th, to attain success by being forgiven your sins of the past year. 23. Continue being in a state of iman and taqwa and perform righteous actions after the month of Ramadan, until you die. "And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (i.e. death)". [Qur'an 15:99] 24. Ensure that you attain the positive effects of your acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, zakat and hajj, sincere repentance and leaving of customs that are in variance with the Sharee`ah. 25. Invoke a lot of salawat and salam upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, his Companions and all those who follow them until the Day of Judgment. O'Allah make us and all Muslims of those who fast and stand in prayer during the month of Ramadan based on belief and truly seeking Your reward so that we are forgiven our past and future sins. O'Allah make us of those who fasted the month, attained full reward, witnessed Layatul-Qadr and attained success by permission of the Lord, Blessed and Most High. O'Allah, verily you are Forgiver, like to forgive, so forgive us. O'Lord, accept from us, verily you are the All-Hearing, all-Seeing, O Living, O Independent, O Owner of all majesty and honor. And may Allah's blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, his family and his Companions. Ameen. |
| corrected: the most out of Ramadan |
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| timbuktu |
| 10/04/05 at 12:16:15 |
| [slm] jazakiAllah, sister I read something, and I post the gist here, to get the best out of Ramadan. I jhave made some corrections, but if there are still some mistakes or lack of authenticity, please do not hesitate to correct me, for I wouldn't want anyone to be misled. Ramadan is for obtaining forgiveness of Allah, release from Hell, and gaining entry to Jannatul Firdaws 1. For the first ten days (and nights) ask Allah for forgiveness with the following dua: Çááåã ÇÛÝÑ æÇÑÍã æ ÇäÊ ÎíÑ ÇáÑÇÍãíä Allahummagfir warham wa anta kheirur rahimeen O our Allah! Forgive me, and have Mercy on me, and You are the best of all merciful ones. 2. For the next ten days [and nights :) ] ask Allah to forgive one and accept repentance. ÇÓÊÛÝÑÇááå ÑÈí ãä ßá ÐäÈ ÇÐäÈÊå æÇÊæÈ Çáíå astaghfirullaha Rabbi min kulli dhanbin wa atoobu ileh O my Allah! Forgive my sins and accept my repentance. 3. For the next ten days [and nights :) ] ask Allah to save one from fire (hell). Çááåã ÇÌÑäí ãä ÇáäÇÑ Allahumma ajirni minanaar O our Allah! Save me from Fire (Hell) 4. For the shabe Qadr, (most likely in odd numbered Ramadan nights: (21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th of Ramadan, recite this dua: Çááåã Çäß ÚÝæ ÊÍÈ ÇáÚÝæ ÝÇÚÝ Úäí allahumma innaka tuhibbul a`fwa fa`afu a`nnee O our Allah! Surely You overlook (our) trespasses, and You like those who overlook (other’s trespasses), so do overlook mine. 5. And as a corollary of number 2 above, I have added this one: Çááåã Çäí äÓÃáß ÇáÌäÊ ÇáÝÑÏæÓ Allahumma inni asalukal Jannatul Firdaws O our Allah! I ask You for Jannatul Firdaws. |
| 10/05/05 at 09:51:13 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: Twenty-five Ways to Get the Most Out of Ramada |
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| Siham |
| 10/07/05 at 17:15:36 |
| Assalamu Alaikum, Dear Brother, Indeed The Prophet [saw] said: "Ramadan is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is Forgiveness and whose end is freedom from the Hellfire." Insha’Allah May Allah SWT accept our fasting, forgive our sins and shortcomings, and bestowed His tremendous mercy on us all and grant us Al-Jannah. Ameen! wassalaam. |
| Re: Twenty-five Ways to Get the Most Out of Ramada |
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| Siham |
| 10/07/05 at 17:25:52 |
| Your Plan for Ramadan As-Salam alikom Muslims..... Ramadan Kareem, Here is a translation of a lecture about how to plan your daily activities in Ramadan: The sheikh said that you should write down a plan for Ramdan of what you would like to do during the Holy month of Ramadan and what you would like to achieve at the end of Ramadan, he said write it down and put it somewhere in your room where you could easily see it … because at the start of Ramdan we usually get excited and have lots of plans, but in the middle we tend to kind of forget them or slow down in our progress or practices. so to having a plan available will remind us of our duty.And he said you should have the following subheadings, in your plan: 1st Subheading: Salat 1. Obligatory Salat -> make sure you pray all your 5 SALAT right ON TIME…that PLEASES Allah, saves u from the grave punishment, increases your iman and draws u closer to Allah…Make sure you either pray them in a mosque first row or in congregation anyway even if you have a lecture, make sure you look for someone to pray with after your class or work, if you can't pray 5 in congregation than at least 3 prayers. 2. Sunnah Salat -> the 12 extra Rakat per day(2 before Fajr, 4 Raka before Dhur & 2 after Dhur, 2 after Magrib, 2 after Isha = 12 Rakat per day) it was performed by the Prophet and the Prophet said that (meaning of which) whom ever performs the 12 Rakat gets a palace in Jannah, and in another hadith (meaning of which) whom ever performs them enters Jannah….my dear Muslims if that was in any month…how much do u think the reward will be in Ramadan??And there is a hadith (meaning of which) whom ever performs an extra Salat, its reward will be as if he performed an obligatory Salat … so don’t miss out! B. Salat Al-Dohaa, which is 2 Raka to be prayed after the sunrise, anytime between sunrise & Duhr..By praying AL-Dohaa is equivalent to Shukr(Thanking Allah) for the day.. C. Salat Al-Tarweeh -> our Prophet [saw] said "Whoever prayed at night in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven." 2nd Subheading: The Holy Qu’ran How many times do you wanna finish reading the whole Qur’an in this Ramadan?? And How many Juzz do you need to read everyday to reach your goal at the end of Ramadan insha’Allah? 3rd Subheading: My close relatives Write down your close-relative names because you need to call them on the first day/night of Ramadan. remember Ramadan is a month of Mercy and that "Mercy will not descend upon those people who cut ties with their close relatives"..you wouldn't wanna miss out on the first 10 days of Mercy!! Don't say my auntie doesn't talk to my mom or my uncle doesn't talk to my dad whatever the reason may be, even if they did something to you personally - remember that pleasing Allah is the priority. 4th Subheading: The Duaa Leave 20 mins everyday before Magrib just for Duaa, and if you can't because you need to cook ect.... than at least leave 5 mins for Duaa , and make a list of the Duaas you want for instance the top 5 or 20 or 100 most important things which you want Allah to give you (e.g., help u quit smoking, wear the hijab, help u stop the committing the sin which you've been 10 years doing, increase your iman, grant you a good end, give you health and success in you studies, grant you Hajj, accepts you Salat, grant you the highest place in Paradise, grant you a palace next to the Prophet’s in Paradise..ect)....the companions of the Prophet [saw] said that 'we used to prepare some Duaas and continually begged Allah through out the month with those Duaas, and Walahi the next Ramadan doesn't come before Allah gives all we asked for'... So make Duaa anytime during the day and during the night… "'To the fasting person there is prayer that is never refused.'" especially at Iftar time.."the duaa of a fasting person at Iftar time is accepted" Do NOT let a day pass without making duaa for the Muslims, that's the least thing we can do for them.. ask Allah forgiveness, guidance, acceptance of fasting for all the Muslims around the world and especially all those Muslims who wish to fast & celebrate the coming of Ramadan with us, but unfortunately the angel of death was faster in reaching them than Ramadan .so ask Allah to forgive their sins and shower them with Mercy and make their graves full of light and make it a garden from Jannah and grant them and us the Firdos Al-Alaa (Highest Paradise).. and you won’t loose anything, in fact u will gain one good deed for every Muslim (brother & sister) in the world. Lets say there are 2 billion Muslims, it means just saying "O Allah, forgive the Muslimeena (Male Muslims) & Muslimaat (female Muslims)" you got 2 billion good deed times 10 = 20 billion good deeds written in your book (because Allah multiplies each good deed by 10) how about if you add to your duaa "O Allah, forgive the Muslimeena & Muslimaat, those who are alive and those who are dead" .. it will be 20 billion good deeds MULTIPLIED BY the number of Muslims from Adam (peace be upon him) time til today, and only Allah knows how many good deeds will be written in you book … see!! how easy is it to gain good deeds. 5th Subheading: Sadaqa (charity) Put a side some money everyday, which you can afford for Sadaqa it could be 50 cent, $1, $5 up to $1000000, and say that, insha’Allah, its a Sadaqa for those Muslims who don’t have food to eat; till you the end of the month when usually Human Appeal opens its doors for charity. The Prophet [saw] said: "In Paradise there are Palaces (made from glass) whose outside can be seen from the inside and the inside can be seen from the outside. Allah has prepared them for those who feed the poor, who are gentle in speech, who fast regularly and who pray at night when people are asleep." 6th subheading: Accompanying the Saliheen(righteous) Remember that our Prophet [saw] used to accompany Gabriel (aleeh Al-Salam) in Ramadan EVERY night. Therefore, write down the times, at least once a week to spend at least 5 mins with ‘Good Muslims’, those who remind you of Allah, those that Ibn Taymia says that you need them as much as you need food & drink. 7th Subheading: Dawwah Don’t live and care for yourself only, make this Ramadan for you and all those around you…write the names of the people that you intend to give Dawwah to, and ask Alalh to help you as a first step…you can give them dawwah by inviting them (your muslim friends) to the mosque to pray with you or have an Iftar at your house and invite them over, invite them to go to a Halaqah/Islamic talks with you. Or give them lectures to remind them of their duty to Allah. 8th Subheading: Time Waste Do NOT NOT NOT waste time.Its only 30 days … do NOT waste time..don't sleep all day..instead..read the Quran, make Zakr(La Elah Ela Allah, Istaqafar Allah, Salla Allah Ala Mohoammed..ect), pray 2 Raka, attend Halaqahs, make duaa..But do NOT waste time...this might be your last Ramadan in this life..make sure you get the maximum reward out of it…..and whenever you have a spare time go and read your plan. Advices from our beloved Prophet Muhammad [saw] : 1. "When any of you is fasting, let him not commit sin…" 2. "It may be that a fasting person gets nothing from his fast except hunger." 3. "Whoever does not stop speaking falsehood and acting in accordance with it, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink." And Allah knows best. |
| 10/07/05 at 17:30:12 |
| Siham |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |