RAMADAN ARTICLES - Eight tips on sharing Ramadan with your neighbors:

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: "He is not a believer who eats his
fill while his neighbor remains hungry by his side." (Baihaqi)
"By Allah, he has no faith (the Prophet [SAW] repeated it three times)
whose neighbors are not safe from his wickedness." (Bukhari)
Ramadan is a great opportunity to share Islam and more specifically,
its values of spirituality, generosity and kindness with others,
especially your neighbors. It's a great time to do Dawa. And Dawa is
very much needed in the current atmosphere of anger, tension and
sadness.
Here are some ideas on how you can share the joy with your neighbors
this Ramadan.
01.Begin with Dua
Make Dua that Allah give you and your family the sincerity, strength,
motivation and wisdom to do this. Dawa is hard work, and it needs
preparation, commitment and organization.
02.Put up a Ramadan banner on your door
This can be something handmade or something more formal.
But don't stop there. Print out a fact sheet on Ramadan and stick that
on the door to educate readers passing by aboutthe blessed month and
what it means to Muslims.
03.Send neighbors Iftar snacks
Include a note with the food that the month of Ramadan is here and
youare sharing your joy withthem.
You can offer snacks that are not just "Muslims" but also
"non-Muslims" (i.e. American, African, Middle Eastern, Indo-Pakistani,
etc.). You can include index cards with the snacks listing all of the
ingredients. This will help neighbors avoidfood that causes allergies.
04.Give kids Ramadan Mubarak balloons and candy
Let your neighbors' kids also feel the happiness ofRamadan by
including chocolate and candy among your snacks. Balloons also add a
nice touch, and if you can get some printed which have"Ramadan
Mubarak" written on them, they may remember the blessed month even
afterit has passed.
05.Publish Ramadan information in your neighborhood newsletter
If you are part of a tenants' association, a group within your housing
complex or your neighborhood block parents' association and they
publish a newsletter, inform them about Ramadan and prepare a short
write-up about the month. This is a great way of informingmany more
neighbors about Ramadan.
06.Have a neighborhood Iftar gathering
You don't have to invite everyone. Perhaps just the closest neighbors
canattend this event. Send handmade invitations foran "Iftar
gathering" at most a week in advance (avoid the word "party" as it may
be misunderstood to mean agathering including alcohol, loud music,
etc.).
Ask about allergies or other food issues before establishing the menu.
Include vegetarian, American and "ethnic" food.
Be sure to invite Muslim family and friends who are comfortable
interacting with non-Muslims to this event, and brief them about how
they should properly share Ramadan with the neighbors. Also, have some
written material on Ramadan available for your guests.
At the gathering:
Be cordial, generous and friendly, but maintain Islamic rules of
behavior and modesty. This shouldnot be a "party" in the common
understanding, but more of a religious celebration that is spiritual
and respectful to all.
Don't impose information. Just let non-Muslim guests ask questions, if
they want to. As well, be ready for questions about Islam and
violence/terrorism, the oppression of women, etc.Give neighbors the
benefit of the doubt and clarify their misunderstanding in a calm,
gentle manner.
07.Get your kids on it
Tell your kids to inform other neighbors' kids what Ramadan is all
about and have the children invite their classmates to your Iftar
gatherings.
08.Talk about what Ramadan means to you
What's it like to fast? How do you work/go to school and still fast?
These are some questionsyou may be asked. Don't just point your guests
to the pamphlets. Tell them and use some personal examples they can
relate to.

RAMADAN ARTICLES - Ramadan preparation

01.Buy all necessities for the month of Ramadan before Ramadan so you
can spend less time during the holy month rushing around. You can be
more focused on your religious rituals and spiritual development.
Everyone in the family, even the kids, can participate, writing a
shopping list, preparing some meals to be stored in the freezer.
02.If you have gotten into bad sleeping habits throughout the year,
start readjusting now so you can wake up for Fajr prayer.
03.Sunnah fasts of Shaaban(the month before Ramadan) help to prepare
for Ramadan and help to make the transition into the holy month a
smooth one.
04.Reduce TV watching and prepare the family for the new spirit of
Ramadan. Engage with your kids more and morein creative activities
that remind them of Ramadan. (Suggested activities including reading
the moral story booksin group).
05.Organize your tape/CD collectionto make it easy to select and to
play nice nasheed (Hamd/Naat) to sing along together or Quran and Dua
recitation, so as to introduce the spirit of the month gradually.
06.Plan ahead for the time you are spend at home in order not to
losethe balance between your responsibility as a parent to supervise
the children's studies and your engagement in religious practices such
as reading Quran and praying Salat.
07.Plan ahead if your daughter needs a hijab to accompany you to the
mosque. If possible, get shoes for the kids that are easy to tie when
theyleave the mosque. Do youor the kids need prayer rugs for prayer?
Plan transportation to the mosque and back home.
08.Prepare as much cooking as you can before Ramadan. Here are some
time-saving tips:
1.Prepare some vegetables and store them in the freezer to have them
ready when needed.
2.If you soak dates in milk or water and eat them for Iftar, pit the
dates before Ramadan.
3.Chop onions, garlic andstore them in the freezer to have them ready
when cooking during Ramadan.
09.If you are planning to invite guests for Iftar, thebest time to do
that is during your monthly period (menstruation). This has several
advantages:
1.You will be able to tastethe food that is going to be served.
2.You won't be engaged in some acts of worshipso you'll have more time
for cooking.
3.You won't have guilt feelings for staying after 'Isha' with the
guests and not going tothe mosque.
10.Prepare your kids before Ramadan that they have to help you more in
housework and in setting the table and preparing the Iftar. Relate
their action with the notion of Sadaqah and good deeds. Remind them
that the reward of their good deeds is multiplied during Ramadan.

Fathwa - The Ruling Concerning Posing Questions to the Fortune-tellers and Soothsayers.

Question:
My father suffered from a psychological disease. This disease stayed
with him for some time. Therewere visits to the hospital during that
time. Some of our relatives advised us to visit a specific women as
they said that she knew a cure for that kind of disease. They also
said all you need to do is giveher his name and she will tell you what
is afflicting him and will give you a cure. Is it allowed for us to
visit that women? Help us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
It is not allowed to eitherput questions to or to believe in that
women orany other like her. This isbecause she is from the
fortune-tellers and soothsayers, who claim to have knowledge of the
unseen and who seek the help of the jinn for their cures and their
information about people. It has been authentically reported that the
Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi-wasallam) said,
"If a person goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something,
his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights."
Muslim recorded this in hisSahih.It is authentically narrated that he said,
"Whoever goes to a fortune-teller or a soothsayer and believes in what
he says, he has then disbelieved in whathas been revealed to Muhammed
(sallallaahu 'alaihi-wasallam)."[1]
There are many Ahadith with that meaning. Therefore, it is a must to
stop such people and those who visit them. They should not be
questioned nor should they be believed. They should be taken to the
people in authority in order to receive the punishment they deserve.
Allowing them to be present and not taking them to the authorities
harms society as a whole. Leaving them would alsohelp them in
deceiving the ignorant people, who will ask them questions and believe
in them. [2]
The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi-wasallam) said,
"If anyone of you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand. If he
is not able to, then he should do so with his tongue. And if he still
not able to, then with his heart and that is the weakest of faith."
This was recorded by Muslim in hisSahih.There is no doubt that taking
them to the authorities, such as the mayor of the city, the people
whose job it is toenforce right and eradicate evil, and the courts, is
part of the general concept of removing them by one's tongue. It is
also part of helping another in righteousness and piety. May Allah
support all the Muslims in that which is best for them and protect
them from every evil.
________________________
[1] Recorded by Ahmed. It seems that the correct version inSahih
Muslimis without the words"and believes in what hesays."Allah Knows
Best.
[2] The ruling in this question also applies to all of the other forms
of predicting the future that have become commonplace in the West,
such as astrologersand psychic networks. Muslims must avoid
themcompletely and must notbelieve in their statements.

Fathwa - Ignore Shaytan's Whispers

Question:
Although I am a young practicing Muslim. I am often beset with doubts.
When i perform ablution, I doubt that I have performed it well, so I
perform it a second time. During prayer, I feel that I may have passed
wind, so I stop my prayer to perform ablution another time. When I go
out to eat, I avoid meat sometimes because I am afraid that the meat
was not slaughtered properly according to Islamic guidelines. I even
avoid eating cookies, for example, because I am afraid that some meat
substance may have been used from meat that was not
slaughteredaccording to Islamic guidelines. My brother - as he became
aware of this problem - advised me not to doubt so much. I have
another problem as well: When I sleep I am not mindful about waking up
to pray.
Answer:
Doubts - that beset the mind concerning worship or matters of belief,
even the essence of Allaah - are fromShaytaan. When the Prophet's
Companions complained to him aboutdoubts that sometimes entered their
hearts, doubts they thought too wicked to speak about, the
ProphetSalallaahu alayhi wasallam)told them that, that was because of
their faith, meaning its purity.
That is becauseShaytaanwhispers doubts about faith only in those
heartsthat are free from any doubt, hoping that thosehearts will obey
him. Meanwhile,Shaytaandoes not need to whisper into a heart thatis
already beset with doubts because he has already successfully
completed his work on that heart.
I advise you to seek refuge in Allaah Almighty fromShaytaan;ignore his
whispers, regardless whether they come to you during prayer, during
ablution, or at any other time. Although these doubts indicate a pure
faith, if they continue, they may also indicate weak willpower.
Try your utmost to ignore his whisperings. When you bring an item home
from the store, do you doubt that it is in your hands? The answer is
obviously no. This is because theShaytaandoes not whisper to manin
these kinds of affairs; he only whispers to him about his worship so
that he can ruin it for him. Also, when you have completed an act of
worship, don't have doubts about whether it was performed
correctly,unless you are sure that there was some defect.
You mentioned your doubts about food; the general ruling on food
isthat it is permissible, so your doubts are not valid. A jewish women
gave the ProphetSalallaahu alayhi wasallamsome lamb to eat at khaybar,
and he ate it. A jewish man invited him to eat and presented him with
barely bread and some other food and he ate it.
InSahih Al-Bukhariit is reported that some Muslims who had recently
accepted Islaam gave some meat as a giftto a group Muslims, who said,
"O Messenger of Allaah, some people brought us meat, and we do not
know whether they said Allaah's Name over it (when they slaughtered
it) or not?" The Messenger of AllaahSalallaahu alayhi wasallamsaid to
them,
"Say the Name of Allaah and eat."(Al-Bukhari no.5507)
Therefore, the general rule concerning meat slaughtered by people
whose slaughtered animals are lawful is thatit is lawful, unless there
is proof indicating the contrary. To forbid what Allaah Almighty has
made lawful is making restrictions over people without reason.
The last problem you mentioned is also fromShaytaan. In
aHadithrecorded inSahih Al-Bukhari, a man was described to the
Messenger of AllaahSalallaahu alayhi wasallam- a man who would not
wake up to pray on time. The Messenger of AllaahSalallaahu alayhi
wasallamsaid,
That is a man in whose ears the Shaytaan has urinated(Al-Bukhari
no.3270 and Muslim no.774)
Shaytaansometimes makes sleep very heavy for somebody, so that
hedoesn't wake up for the morning prayer. You canovercome this problem
by using an alarm clock or by asking somebody to wake you up.