In the months of Ramadhan

[obmar]

here's a prayer....

O'Allah during this month,
accept my fast as the fast
of those whose fast is acceptable to Thee.

Accept my standing up in Salaat
as the standing up of those whose Salaat is acceptable to Thee.

Keep me awake during this month
and free me from the desires of the insensible persons.

in this holy month please forgive my sins and errors,

Oh the One worshipped in all the Universe.
Pardon me,
O the One who pardons the sinners.

[Captain America]

No disrespect, but all this "I'm not worthy! Forgive me for I am a vile wretched sinner not worthy enough to touch your garment" crap makes we wanna yak.

Blatant mind-control.

Guess what? I am worth something. I am NOT vile. I am not wretched. I feel no need to be forgiven by anyone or anything.

Happy Ramadan Obmar. Hope you get lot's of presents.;)

[obmar]

One man's meat can be a poison to another....
Some look at those refuse to see
as those that had their mind controlled, CA.

1st day
O Allah, on this day
make my fasts the fasts of those who fast (sincerely),
and my standing up in prayer of those
who stand up in prayer (obediently),
awaken me in it from the sleep of the heedless,
and forgive me my sins, O God of the worlds.
and forgive me, O one who forgives the sinners.

2nd day
O Allah, on this day,
take me closer towards Your pleasure,
keep me away from Your anger and punishment,
grant me the opportunity to recite Your verses (of the Qur'an),
by Your mercy, O the most Merciful

3rd day
O Allah, on this day,
Grant me wisdom and awareness,
keep me away from foolishness and pretension,
grant me a share in every blessing You send down,
by Your generosity, O the most Generous.

4th day
O Allah, on this day,
strengthen me in carrying out Your commands,
let me taste the sweetness of Your remembrance,
grant me, through Your graciousness,
that I give thanks to You.
Protect me, with Your protection and cover,
O the most discerning of those who see.

5th day
O Allah, on this day,
place me among those who seek forgiveness.
Place me among Your righteous and obedient servants,
and place me among Your close friends,
by Your kindness, O the most Merciful.

6th day
O Allah, on this day,
do not let me abase myself by incurring Your disobedience,
and do not strike me with the whip of Your punishment,
keep me away from the causes of Your anger,
by Your kindness and Your power,
O the ultimate wish of those who desire.

7th day
O Allah, on this day,
help me with its fasts and prayers,
and keep me away from mistakes and sins of the day,
grant me that 1 remember You continuously through the day,
by Your assistance, O the Guide of those who stray.

[Missouri Mule]

Let's be respectful now.

[obmar]

One night I heard a knock on my door;
Who can it be,I wasn't quite sure.
I open the door and am filled with glee;
The visitor ahead is no stranger to me.

I welcome the guest with utmost delight;
For I know it has come to give me respite.
An air of happiness fills the space;
My home now seems, a better place!

Have you any clue who this visitor could be?
Yes!its Ramadhan,the month of mercy.
The pious and righteous can't await its arrival;
Others seem to greet it, with waves of denial.

For Allah(SWT) we fast from dawn to dusk;
For Him our breath is the fragrance of musk.
The muslims who pray and fast with zest;
Are aware of the rewards of this month manifest.

Throughout this month we weep and repent;
Now is the time to strongly lament.
And those who shun this sacred month;
on the Day of Reckoning will face the brunt.

In the last ten nights,hides the Night of Decree;
Allah(SWT) then awaits for his slaves to plea.
The angels descend with Gabriel(AS) in the lead;
To check on the steadfast and record every deed.

A feeling of grief now fills my heart;
As the month of Ramadhan will soon depart.
So lets make a start and worship Him alone;
Now that the worth of this month is known.

by Asma Sadia

[Captain America]

Three, six, nine,
The goose drank wine,
The monkey chewed tobacco,
On the streetcar line.

The line broke,
The monkey got choked,
And we all went to heaven,
In a little rowboat.
Clap, clap.....:rofl:

[obmar]

Habits are hard to change even after we move house.

[Captain America]

Is humor allowed during Ramadan?

[obmar]

I dont see why not, so long as you dont ROFL

[Captain America]

I thought that ROFL was permitted after sundown. :D

[obmar]

your sundown is sunshine in these part.
;)

[Missouri Mule]

Would it be about 10:30 AM where you are at, Obmar?

[obmar]

By the time I read yours it had already reached 10.24PM
See the effect of timezone and schedules of work.

[Missouri Mule]

Would it now be 11 PM where you are at?

[obmar]

11.40PM now

[Missouri Mule]

Which puts you 14 hours ahead. That's what I had calculated. Thx,

[obmar]

We are already on the 8thNov, 10 minutes pass midnite. ;)

[Missouri Mule]

Time for you to hit the sack. See you later. Take care.

[obmar]

Take care you too...

Ramadhan

Ramadhan is the :

9th Month in the Islamic Lunar calendar most meritorious month of the whole year

Philosophy of Ramadhan

The Holy Quran has told us that the basic objective for which man is created by Allah is that he "worships" Him :
And I did not create Jinn and human beings except that they should worship Me.
The word used by the Holy Quran for the worship is "Ibadah", which has a much wider sense than "worship".

The month of Ramadhan has been designed to maintain a balance between material and spiritual aspects of the human life. This month is meant to maximize the direct acts of ibadah and to maximize the pure mundane activities, so that one may accelerate his spiritual progress to make up the distance and to repair the spiritual loss one may have suffered through his deep involvement in the mundane activities during the year. The days of Ramadhan are designed to keep fast which is an act of ibadah for the whole day, and depriving oneself from any material food for many hours, it lessens the bad spiritual effects, if any, of the material pleasures. The nights of Ramadhan, on the other hand, are spent in offering Tarawih and waking up for tahajjud and suhoor, reducing the time of one's sleep much less than in the normal days. The rewards of the virtuous acts in this month has been multiplied, to encourage the Muslims to the maximum possible acts of ibaadah.

Merits of Ramadhan
It contains a night far better than one thousand months (Laila tul Qadr).
It is a month where Allah has made it obligatory to fast.
It is commendable to stand up praying in its nights.
An optional act of worship (nafl) in this month has the same reward as an obligatory worship (fard) in other days.
Performing an obligatory (fard) act of worship will carry as much reward as the reward of performing seventy obligatory acts of worship in other days.
It is a month of patience and the reward of patience is Jannah (paradise).
It is a month of sympathy.
A month in which the provision for a believer is increased.
If someone provides another person with food to make Iftar, it will cause forgiveness to his sins and freeing his neck from hell and he will be awarded the same thawab as the fasting person will be rewarded for his fast, without decreasing his own thawab.
The first part of this month is mercy from Allah.
The middle part of this month is forgiveness from Allah.
The last part of this month is liberation from hell.
In this month, you should do four acts frequently :
bear witness that there is no God but Allah
seek forgiveness from Allah
pray to Allah to give you the Jannah
seek refuge to Allah from the Fire.
It is a month of divine blessing.
It is a month of purification, to purify one's soul and heart.
It is an opportunity to strengthen one's Imaan.
Show Allah the best of deeds from your side, because unfortunate is the person who deprives himself from Allah's mercy in this month.

Characteristic honours for Muslims in Ramadhan
The smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk.
Fish (in the water) keep praying to Allah to forgive the fasting persons until they make Iftar.
Every day, Allah decorates the Jannah and addresses it saying 'It is not too far that my righteous servants shall throw away the burdens (of the worldly life) and shall proceed towards towards you .
Rebellious satans are shackled in this month.
In the last night of this month, the fasting persons are granted amnesty.

How to Spend Ramadhan
Among other things, one should carry out the following with due care :
To offer every prayer with Jamaah in a mosque.
To rise up a little earlier than the exact time of Suhoor and offer the salah of Tahajjud.
To offer the nafl prayers of Ishraq, Duha and Awwabin (link to explanation).
Recitation of Holy Quran should be done as much as possible.
Dhikr or Tasbeeh, throughout the day.
Prayers and supplications - as much as one can.
A Muslim should give as much money in Sadaqah (charity) as he can afford.

What should be avoided in Ramadhan
Although the sinful acts are totallly prohibited in Shariah, whether in Ramadhan or at any other time, but their prohibition becomes even more severe in this month. If a Muslim continues to commit sins in Ramadhan, it will be a mockery to avoid lawful things and yet be engaged in unlawful acts never allowed in Shariah.
Specially the following acts should be avoided totally:
1. Telling a lie.
2. Backbiting
3. Quarrelling
4. Eating unlawful things
5. Earning through unlawful means.
6. Any act which may harm a person without a valid cause.
In short, one should try his best to refrain from all kinds of sins, and protect his eyes, ears, tongue and all other organs from indulging in an unlawful activity.

Rules of fasting
"Fast" means "to refrain from eating, drinking and having sexual intercourse throughout the day, right from the break of dawn upto sunset, with a clear intention of seeking the pleasure of Allah". It is necessary that there should be an intention which is callled the "Niyyah".

[obmar]

Acts nullifying the fast
Acts nullifying the fast are of two kinds :
1. Acts which make one liable to both qada and kaffara, namely :
(a) Eating something
(b) Drinking something
(c) Having sexual intercourse.
These three acts are liable to kaffarah when they are committed deliberately after one has started a fast, provided that the person committing them knows that they render the fast broken.
In such cases, both qada and kaffarah are obligatory on him. Qada means to keep another fast in lieu of the broken one. And kaffarah means to perform an act to expiate the sin of having broken the fast.
Kaffarah may be given in the following three ways :
(a) freeing a slave
(b) fasting for two months constantly without a break
(c) giving food to sixty persons

2. Acts which do not make the relevant person liable to kaffarah (only Qada is obligatory) :
(a) Eating or drinking unintentionally.
(b) Dropping medicine or anything else in the nose and ear.
(c) Smoking
(d) Emission of semen while touching, kissing or caressing a woman.
(e) Eating or drinking under the wrong impression that dawn has not yet broken, or the sun has set, while otherwise was true.


Acts rendering the fast makrooh
(a) Chewing something or tasting it with the tongue without eating it.
(b) Using tooth paste or tooth powder. However, cleaning teeth with a miswak or a brush is allowed.
(c) Remainig in the state of Janabah (major impurity) for thw whole day.
(d) Giving blood to anyone.
(e) Quarelling with someone or abusing him.
(f) Gheebah i.e. to abuse or to blame someone in his absence.
(g) Telling a lie.

Acts which are allowed
(a) Cleaning teeth using a miswak or a brush and ear with cotton swabs
(b) Applying oil or henna to hair
(c) Using eye-drops or kohl (surma/kajal).
(d) Wearing perfume
(e) Taking a shower
(f) Vomiting unintentionally
(g) Entrance of smoke or dust into the throat unintentionally
(h) Ejaculation while dreaming
(i) Delaying the ghusl of janabah upto sunrise.

Suhoor (Sehri)
Suhoor is the meal one takes in the last hours of the night before commencement of a fast. It is a sunnah to have Suhoor. If someone has no appetite at that time, it is advisable for him to have something light. Even by having a few sips of water the sunnah of suhoor can be fulfilled.

Iftar
Iftar means to conclude a fast after sunset by eating or drinking something. It si also sunnah to amke iftar soon after sunset, and it is makrooh to delay Iftar after sunset without a valid excuse. However, if someone is doubtful if the sun has set or not, he should not make iftar until he si sure about it, because if it proved at any time that he made iftar even half aminute earlier than the sunset actually took place on his horizon, his fast will be renderred nullified and void.
(dua)

Tarawih
Another important feature of the month of Ramadhan is Tarawih. It is a special salh (prayer) consisting of 20 rakat which is performed immediately after Isha prayer. This Salah is Sunna Mu`akkadah (repeatedly emphasized) and should not be missed.It is sunnah to complete the recitation of the whole QUran in Tarawih in Ramadhan.

LailatulQadr
One of the most merious aspects of hte month of Ramdhan is that it contains LailatulQadr, the most blessed night of the year. It is a night better than a thousand months. The authentic traditons mention that, in this night, Allah Almighty directs His special mercy towards the people of the Earth, accepts the supplications made by His slaves and forgives a large number of people who repemt and pray. LailatulQadr falls in on eof the last five odd nights of Ramadhan i.e. 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th. Th epurpose of this alternation is that one should spend all five nights in worship and prayers, so that he may find lailatulqadr with certainty.
No special fomr of worship is prescribed in this night. THe night should be spent by offering as nafl prayers as one can offer, in recitation of the Holy Quran, in dhikr and Tasbeeh, in supplications and in making sadaqah (charity).
The follwoing Dua can be recited in this night :
Allahumma innaka `afuwwan tuhibbul `afwa f`afu `anni
Allah, You are surely most forgiving and You like forgiving, so forgive me.


I`tikaf
Another unique form of worship in this month is i`tikaf, in which a person gives up all his activities, abondons his attachments, associations and routines and enters the mosque for a specific period. IN i`tikafd onre leaves his home and fmaily and undertakes to remain in teh mosque for a limited period. It has been declared as SUnnah in the last ten days o f Ramadhan, because Ramdhan is the most suitable tiem to carry out this worship.

Extracted from the book : Islamic Months (by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani).

[obmar]

http://www.sunnah.org/ibadaat/fasting/siyam.html

[obmar]

Ramadan, the Month of Fasting

The Meaning of Ramadan
Ramadan is a special month of the year for over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives. There are as many meanings of Ramadan as there are Muslims.

The third "pillar" or religious obligation of Islam, fasting has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control. Due to the lack of preoccupation with the satisfaction of bodily appetites during the daylight hours of fasting, a measure of ascendancy is given to one's spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming closer to God. Ramadan is also a time of intensive worship, reading of the Qur'an, giving charity, purifying one's behavior, and doing good deeds.

As a secondary goal, fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to thankfulness and appreciation for all of God's bounties. Fasting is also beneficial to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.


Who Fasts in Ramadan?
While voluntary fasting is recommended for Muslims, during Ramadan fasting becomes obligatory. Sick people, travelers, and women in certain conditions are exempted from the fast but must make it up as they are able. Perhaps fasting in Ramadan is the most widely practiced of all the Muslim forms of worship.


The Sighting of the Moon
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The much-anticipated start of the month is based on a combination of physical sightings of the moon and astronomical calculations. The practice varies from place to place, some places relying heavily on sighting reports and others totally on calculations. In the United States, most communities follow the decision of the Islamic Society of North America, which accepts bonafide sightings of the new moon anywhere in the United States as the start of the new month. The end of the month, marked by the celebration of 'Eid-ul-Fitr, is similarly determined.


From Dawn to Sunset
The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. In between -- that is, during the daylight hours -- Muslims totally abstain from food, drink, smoking, and marital sex. The usual practice is to have a pre-fast meal (suhoor) before dawn and a post-fast meal (iftar) after sunset.

The Islamic lunar calendar, being 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, migrates throughout the seasons. Thus, since Ramadan begins on January 20 or 21 this year, next year it will begin on January 9 or 10. The entire cycle takes around 35 years. In this way, the length of the day, and thus the fasting period, varies in length from place to place over the years. Every Muslim, no matter where he or she lives, will see an average Ramadan day of the approximately 13.5 hours.


Devotion to God
The last ten days of Ramadan are a time of special spiritual power as everyone tries to come closer to God through devotions and good deeds. The night on which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet, known as the Night of Power (Lailat ul-Qadr), is generally taken to be the 27th night of the month. The Qur'an states that this night is better than a thousand months. Therefore many Muslims spend the entire night in prayer.

During the month, Muslims try to read as much of the Qur'an as they can. Most try to read the whole book at least once. Some spend part of their day listening to the recitation of the Qur'an in a mosque.


Food in Ramadan
Since Ramadan is a special time, Muslims in many parts of the world prepare certain favorite foods during this month.

It is a common practice for Muslims to break their fast at sunset with dates (iftar), following the custom of Prophet Muhammad. This is followed by the sunset prayer, which is followed by dinner. Since Ramadan emphasizes community aspects and since everyone eats dinner at the same time, Muslims often invite one another to share in the Ramadan evening meal.

Some Muslims find that they eat less for dinner during Ramadan than at other times due to stomach contraction. However, as a rule, most Muslims experience little fatigue during the day since the body becomes used to the altered routine during the first week of Ramadan.


The Spirit of Ramadan
Muslims use many phrases in various languages to congratulate one another for the completion of the obligation of fasting and the 'Eid-ul-Fitr festival. Here is a sampling of them:


"Kullu am wa antum bi-khair" (May you be well throughout the year) - Arabic
"Atyab at-tihani bi-munasabat hulul shahru Ramadan al-Mubarak" (The most precious congratulations on the occasion of the coming of Ramadan) - Arabic

"Elveda, ey Ramazan" (Farewell, O Ramadan) - Turkish

"Kullu am wa antum bi-khair" (May you be well throughout the year) - Arabic

"'Eid mubarak (A Blessed 'Eid)" - universal