Planning Ramadan Diaries

Rajab's almost gone, the moon is waning away, and soon, inshAllah, the new crescent shall be gleaming to announce Shabaan. RasoolAllah (sallalahu alehe wa'alehi wasallam) used to begin fasting in Shabaan as a prelude and towards the end of the month he would stop to gather strength for Ramadan. Therefore, planning ahead is a Sunnah and each of us should proactively organize our goals and schedule for Ramadan. I am, too, planning ahead. There are a couple of pointers I wish to share with you as a prelude to Ramadan and also a list of things that I would be putting up on Sisterly Yours to help ensure a productive Ramadan for myself and my brothers and sisters, inshAllah.

My initiatives towards a productive Ramadan sparked off as I began to write pre-Ramadan prep articles for Productive Muslim.com's Ramadan project - Productive Ramadan.com. Last year I had participated in their Ramadan activities and their Taskinator, a Ramadan To-Do List, was a structural component of my Ramadan Diaries. Ramadan Diaries was a special Ramadan series that I came up with for the readers of Sisterly Yours. Alhamdulillah, it was pretty successful. This year I wish to take it to a better level. 

Ramadan Diaries was a minimal series that started off with the day's revised Taskinator update and an article pertaining to the theme of the ongoing Ashra of the month. I included Ramadan ethics and etiquette, reflections on the questions prompted by various Muslim youth initiatives like Productive Ramadan, Productive Muslim, Habibi Halaqas, and iPoet, and also some articles about the theme of Ramadan and how it influences our lives.

This year, inshAllah, I intend to include:

• The Taskinator from Productive Ramadan.com
• Hadith from the Book of Fasting in Sahih Al-Bukhari series
• Daily Ayah from the Quran and its Tafsir
• Recipe of the Day
• Tidbits from Ramadan activities going on fellow websites and pages.

Think Forward

People who are rightly guided are realizing the meaning of their life in this world and it is making them abandon their past lifestyle. They are reverts who're turning to the religion of Allah (swt), the rich and the famous who're giving up a life of Riyaah and becoming modest Muslims, adulterers (Zaani) who're shedding tears to seek repentance and rinsing their life off their misdeeds, women who've exposed their modesty are turning to the Hijab, and so on, subhaanAllah. The road towards Allah (swt) and His Deen (religion) is not easy. When a person makes an intention to strive in the way of Allah (swt), to correct his/her morals, ethics, and faith, the strongest challenge comes from the world around them in form of bitter reminders of their past, and this they must combat to keep their struggle headstrong. 

Mockery is a social art mastered by those who're greatly influenced by the ways of Shaytan (Devil). They sink low beyond all leaps and bounds to criticize the new path you've chosen for your life. And their greatest talent is to revise before you your past misdeeds. A person who has freshly turned to the right way is weak because his pool of Imaan (faith) is not deep enough to drown the bigger beasts that attack it. The repetition of one's misdeeds before him is the biggest blow one could make to his way of struggle. This is the "make or break point" for the newly guided Believer. Why? Because the first question that a person puts up when he is publicly humiliated or hears a comments about himself/herself through gossip and rumors is, "Why am I facing such disgrace when I have turned towards Allah (swt)? Is He not going to protect me?"

At this "make or break point" a naive Believer faces a test of his/her Imaan (faith) as to whether he/she will understand the Hikmah (Wisdom) and Qadr (Doing) of Allah (swt) or he/she would conclude that his/her struggle is useless. So, there are 2 decisions that can me made. The first is the "Think Forward" decision where you dedicate yourself to struggle in the way to attain closeness and reward of your Lord. You accept wholeheartedly that He only tests you to check your Sabr (Patience) and that's why He allows Shaytan to challenge your Nafs (psyche). The second decision is the "Relapse" which is usually true of a weak Believer who fails to trust his Lord, assumes that striving towards the right and facing the trials brings only shame and depression, and relapses into his/her former misguided life. Several common examples from everyday life reflect what the "Relapse" is all about. A sister chucking off her Hijab to remain popular and avoiding the mockery, a brother shaving off his beard because his friends like to call him a "Mullah" or "Sheikh" and keep reminding him of his past "fashionable" days, a man readopting a wasted lifestyle of drugs, music, and women after having changed for the better, and etc.

The best way to avoid a relapse or a bout of depression resulting from social mockery is to turn deaf to the bitter echoes that emit behind your back or hit you face to face. Sabr (patience) is hard earned but it is the only remedy to the wounds inflicted to the one who strives towards being a better Muslim. It is important for a Believer to remember that Allah (swt) doesn't let even the slightest bit of struggle go unrewarded. Try reciting some heartfelt verses, dua'as, or offering a few Rakaahs of prayer. Turning more intensely towards Allah (swt) is bound to get you lots of strength and Sabr, inshAllah.
"When the foolish one speaks, do not reply to him, for better than a response (to him) is silence..." (Imam Ash-Shaafi'ee)
Think Forward and when you face a head on collision by social mockery, respond with the words from a beautiful nasheed:

This is who I am...

This is me...

Like it or not but God loves me.

Sisterly Yours on Top 100 Muslim Women Facebook Pages list 2011

The good news came unexpectedly this morning when I received a note from American Muslim Mom on the Sisterly Yours Page on Facebook. My Page which is a Facebook communique for my Muslim sisters blog "Sisterly Yours" has been listed in the top 100 Muslim Women Facebook Pages. MashAllah. 

This did not call for any prearranged applications to the list or anything which is why it was a beautiful surprise. Sisterly Yours stands at No. 65. May Allah bless me with more creative skills and productive ideas, ameen.

The list can be found at http://americanmuslimmom.com/top-100-muslim-women-facebook-fan-pages

Nervousness before Tests, Exams, Debates

This beautiful dua'a was shared by sister Rahma on The Hijabi Girl group, mashAllah. It is ideal for recitation in times when one is nervous, is going to appear for an exam, a debate, or another testifying situation. It's also beneficial to recite this at the end of each prayer because it comprises of such beautiful sentences which request Allah (swt) to enhance our knowledge and understand and boost our confidence level.

“ALLAHUMMA INFA’NII BIMAA ‘ALLAMTANII WA’ALLIMNII MAA YANFA’UUNII. ALLAHUMMA INII AS’ALUKA FAHMAL-NABIYYEN WA HIFZAL MURSALEEN AL-MUQARRABEEN. ALLAHUMMA IJAL LEESANEE ‘AIMAN BI DHIKRIKA WA QALBI BI KHASHYATIKA. INNAKA ‘ALA MA-TASHA’U QADEER WA ANTA HASBUN-ALLAHU WA NA’MAL WAKEEL.”

“Oh Allah! Make useful for me what you have taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me. Oh Allah! I ask you for the understanding of the prophets and the memory of the messengers, and those nearest to you. Oh Allah! Make my tongue full of your remembrance and my heart with consciousness of you. Oh Allah! You do whatever you wish, and you are my availer and protector and best of aid.”

Surah Al-Ambiya and Surah Al Asr (Beautiful morals)

Beautiful points shared at the end of a ladies supper from Surah Al-Ambiya and Surah Al-Asr. I've added to them my own reflections

:

*SURAH AL-AMBIYA verse 10 moral:

The Quran has been gifted to us by Allah and he says that's it is ABOUT Man himself. And yet, Man searches for answers to his life's problems in the world and from the people. There is the major Shirk that man commits whereby he relies on human beings: authority figures, to resolve problems. This is sheer foolishness because the answers have been prescribed in the lessons and instances mentioned in the Quran. The reason why our complications today have been heightened is because we've deviated from the book of Allah.

*SURAH AL-ASR

In Surah Al-Asr, Allah (swt) tells us about the 4 traits that would disappear from the people near the coming of the Day of Judgement. Asr means time and time, here, refers to the End. 

People who do not possess 4 characteristics would be of the losers on the Day of Judgement. True believers possess the following traits:

1- They do righteous deeds

Righteousness is that of words, thoughts, and deeds. The simply act of doing good is not enough. The righteousness must be born in the heart and must translate into what you think and what you do.

2- They inspire and instruct others to do righteous deeds

Next, a righteous person is incomplete without becoming a guide, a light of knowledge, to others. When you learn something, wholesome and beneficial, it is pure charity to let the others know of it. I believe that our purpose of existence is not fulfilled until we become a living inspiration for someone or the other. 

3- They work for the betterment of the community, it's correction, its awareness of the truth

A Muslim is for Allah, for Allah's people, and his creations. Our life is not only our own but others have rights in it as well. We are obliged to fulfill these rights. We have a big responsibility towards the well-being of the community. This involves the spreading of Allah's word to those who do not know, the giving of charity to all who need it (whether Muslim or non-Muslim), and to work for people's welfare. 

4- They exercise Sabr (patience)

As people begin to follow a righteous and morally correct code of life they are bound to face criticism. Their friends and family and the social circle, at large, would critique the change they observe. This is where one needs to take inspiration from the lives of the Sahaba (r.a.) (the blessed companions of Rasool Allah (saww)), and the Sunnah (life of Rasool Allah (saww)) himself. They are full of stories of patience and forbearance. I remember reading how the Prophet Mohammad (saww) was pelted with stones until his shoes were filled with blood when he was visiting Taif. Allah (swt) has given him an option to punish the people of Taif and have the city crushed by the mountains that neighbored it. The angels were ready at his command. But, Rasool Allah (saww) exercised great Sabr and forgave them. A woman used to throw garbage at him when he would pass from her house, he never became hostile to her. Instead, when she took ill, he visited her to ask how she was. Non-believers threw filth on him when he was praying, but he forgave them as well. They expelled him from his own homeland, Makkah, but when he conquered it several years later he forgave their follies and welcomed them like brethren. 

We would only be fools if we, despite being the lovers of such a wonderful man of Allah, do not exercise sabr when we are faced by people who're hostile towards us.

Fate of a Believer vs a non-Believer: Now and Hereafter

In the words of RasoolAllah (saww) collected by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah:

"When a believing slave is reaching the end of his term in the life of this world and the beginning of his term in the Hereafter, a group of angels, whose faces are white and as radiant as the sun, will descend unto him from heaven. They will carry with them white shroud (clothing) fro Paradise, and fragrance for enshrouding from Paradise. They will sit as far from him as the sight goes. 

Then, the angel of death, will come until he sits right next to his head, saying, "O, good and pure soul! Depart (your body) to Allah's forgiveness and pleasure."

So the soul flows (out of its body), just as the drop flows out from the tip of the jug, and the angel of death captures it. When he captures the soul, they (the group of angels) will seize it and wrap it in that shroud, and in that fragrance. A most pleasant musk scent ever found on the earth, will flow out of the soul, and the angels will ascend it (to heaven). The angels passing by will ask, "Whose is this Tayyib (good) soul?" The angel ascending with it will reply, "Such person, the son of such and such person," - calling him by the best of names that he used to be called in the world. 

They will reach the lower heavenand will ask that its door be opened for him, and it will be opened for them. The best residents of every heaven will then see him to the next heaven, until he is brought to the 7th heaven.

Allah, the Exalted and Ever High, will say, "List my servant's record in Illiyyin and send him back to earth, for I have created them from it, and into it I shall return them, and from it I shall bring them out once again."

The soul will be joined with its body, and two angels will come to him, sit him up and ask him, "Who is your Lord?" He will reply, "Allah is my Lord." They will ask him, "What is your religion?" He will say, "My religion is Islam." They will ask, "What do you say about this man (Prophet Mohammad pbuh) who was sent to you?" He will say, "He is the Messenger of Allah." They will ask him, "And what proof do you have about it?" He will say, "I read the Book of Allah (the Quran), and had faith and belief in him."

Then a caller (Allah) will herald from heaven, "My servant has said the truth. Therefore, furnish him from Paradise, and let him wear from the clothes of Paradise, and open a door for him to Paradise."

So he is given from Paradise's tranquility and good scent, and his grave will be expanded for him as far as his sight can reach. 

Then, a man, with a handsome face and handsome clothes and whose scent is pleasant, will come to him, saying, "Receive the glad tidings with that which pleases you. This is the Day which you were promised." He will ask him, "Who are you; for yours is the face that carries the good news?" He will answer, "I am your good works." He will say, "O Lord! Hurry up with the commencement of the Hour, so I can return to my family and wealth."

Coming up... Fate of the non-Believer

Ahmad 4:287, Sunan Abu Dawud 3:546, An-Nasai 4:78, Ibn Majah 1:494