The Month of Mercy

"Ramadan is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is Forgiveness and whose end is freedom from the fire."
-Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh)
Mercy > Forgiveness> Freedom from Fire
Ponder on the inherent logical sequence ( subhanAllah ) of the above! We cannot be exempt from fire without first being forgiven. And tobe forgiven, we must be graced by Allah's mercy.
The first one third of Ramadan (10days ) is MERCY from Allah
1. Can we expect to receivemercy if we only deprive our bodies of food and drink? Of course not. Because Ramadan is meant for SPIRITUAL development through fasting. Physiologically, by fasting the body eliminates toxins efficiently and the mind becomes clear for "power thinking" so that one may ponder on the meaning of the Qur'an, Hadith and the necessity of Zhikr. One must also do some self-analysis to monitor and correct one's behaviour if necessary. With meditation the mind becomes quiet and so should our tongues!
2. Allah is looking for a sincere commitment from us and not just physical starvation till sunset and then returning to the status quo. Ramadan does not end at every iftar. It ends only on sighting the hilal of Shawwal. So the hard spiritual work must carry on for the whole of the month.
3. One must plead for mercy and sincerely cry to receive it because without it, we are stuck at stage one and our prospects of"freedom from fire" will bebleak.
4. Therefore this stage oneis for sincere confession to Allah that we are weak and sinful and that we desperately need His mercy. We have only about 10 days to qualify tostage two.
The second one third of Ramadan is ----- FORGIVENESS
1. We must now beg for Allah's forgiveness becausewe have broken so many of His rules and covenants and disobeyed His commands during the year, both knowingly and unknowingly. We must sayistighfaar day and night and ask in every sajda for forgiveness. We must be afraid that if Allah does not forgive, we will surely be among the losers. Here again, Allah will be assessing the degree of sincerity in our repentance.He looks not for lip service but for soul service!
2. We must also be forgiving to other people'smistakes and tempers.
The last one third of Ramadan is ......... FREEDOM FROM FIRE
These are our last ten daysor so. Instead of just focusing on Laylat Al-Qadar (the night of power) one should intensify supplications for the whole last third of Ramadan. If possible and affordable then do go for Umrah ... it will be probably the most spiritually fulfilling experience you will have, aside from Hajj. And Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to having done a Hajj with our Rasool pbuh! At the completion ofthe last fast, be optimistically hopeful that you will be alive to give similar pious worship during the forthcoming Ramadans. And if you remain guided in your life then you'll be will be admitted to Paradise, insha'Allah, by the Ryan gate of Paradise! Indeed Allah swt does not break His promise to his slaves.
NOTE:
The month after Ramadan is Shaw'wal .
Those who fast just 6 days of this month, get the reward of fasting the WHOLE of the year! So if one has missed fasting for 12 yrs of his/her life, just 6 days ( in any order) of Shaw'wal fasting gives onean opportunity to make upfor our past deficiency of fasting days. SubhanAllah , isn't Allah swt indeed SUPER-MERCIFUL?

/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

The Best Quality is to Have Trust in Allaah

As for the next part of the question, about the most valuable quality
to aim for,then the answer to this is that the best prize is to have
trust in Allaah, reliance upon Him of His sufficiency, and keeping a
good opinion of Him, the latter being that if anyone is anxious
regarding their sustenance then he shouldturn to the shelter of
Allaah, as the Exalted said, from what is narrated by His Prophet,
sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam,
"O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so
seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are
naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I
shall clothe you." [Upon Aboo Dharr, related by Muslim, at-Tirmidhee,
and Ahmad]
In this regard there is also a hadeeth which at-Tirmidhee narrates
from Anas (radiyallaahu `anhu), who said that the Messenger of Allaah
(salalllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said,
"Each of you should ask forhis needs from Allaah, even if the strap of
your sandal breaks, because if Allaah does not facilitate it, it will
never be possible."
Allaah the Most High says in His Book:
"...But ask Allaah for His bounty..." [4:32]
"And when the prayer is finished, then you may disperse through the
land, and seek the Bounty of Allaah..." [62:10]
Although this aayah is in the context of the congreagational Friday
prayer, its meaning appliesto all the prayers. That is why- and Allaah
knows best - the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam instructed the
person entering the mosque to say,
"AllaahummaftaH lee abwaaba raHmatik" (O Allaah! open the doors of
Your mercy for me)
and when leaving the mosque to say,
"Allaahumma innee as'aluka min faDlik" (O Allaah! I ask of You some of
Your Bounty)
[Muslim, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, ad-Daarimee, ibn Maajah, Ahmad,
Aboo 'Awaanah, Abdur-Razzaaq and al-Baihaqee]
Also the Friend of Allaah (i.e. Ibraaheem, `alayhis salaam) had said,
"...then seek sustenance from Allaah, serve Him, and be grateful to
Him." [29:17]
This is a command, and a command signifies obligation. Therefore, to
seek help from Allaah and to entreat to Him in the matter of
livelihood and others is a fundamental principle. Furthermore, it
isimportant in seeking a livelihood that one should acquire wealth
with generosity of heart and not with greed so that he may be blessed
in it. Neither should he make the wealth the primary aim; rather, he
should regard wealth much as he regards the toilet, which he has need
of but it has no place in his heart, and he only resorts to it when
necessary.
A marfoo` (i.e. report consisting of a chain of narration that goes
back to the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) hadeethwhich is
related by at-Tirmidhee and others states that, "He who begins the
morning with this world as his greatest concern, Allaah disperses his
collected gains and puts its loss in front of him, and only that of
the world comes to him whichis written for him. And he who begins the
morning with the Hereafter as his greatest concern, Allaah gathers for
him his works and creates richness in his heart due to them, and
theworld comes to him subserviently." [Related by at-Tirmidhee with a
da`eefisnaad, but the hadeeth is saheeh due to the supporting
narrations of ibn Maajah, Ibn Hibbaan and Ahmad]
One of the Salaf said, " Eachof you is in need of the world, but you
are in moreneed of your portion in theHereafter. Therefore, if youare
in search of your portion in the Hereafter first and foremost, then
you will achieve your portion of the world in passing, such that it is
taken care of as it comes."
Allaah the Exalted says:
"I have only created jinn and men that they may worship Me. No
sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should
feed Me.For Allaah is He who gives (all) sustenance, Lord of Power,
Steadfast (forever)." [51:56-58]

--
- - - - - - -

Quran - its significance in Ramadan

"Ramadhan is the (month) in which the Qur'an was sent down, as a guide
to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between
right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home)
during that month should spend it in fasting�" Qur'an (2:185).
"Shahru ramadaana llethi unzila feehil quraana hudalinnaasi wa
bayyinaatin minal hudaa wal furqaan. Fa man shahida minkumu shahra fal
yasumhu"
This Qur'anic verse explains the inseparable link between the Qur'an
and the month of Ramadan. The revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon Him) began in this month. Somescholars have
explained that the word 'so' (fa) in this ayah leads to the following
paraphrase of one aspect of its meaning:"Fast this month because it is
the one in which the Qur'an was sent down". The night in which the
Qur'an was revealed is known as The Night of Power or The Night of
Destiny. This night is referred to by the Qur'an in the following
verses:
"Indeed, We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power.
And what will explain to thee what the night of power is? The Night of
Power is better than a thousand months." Qur'an (97:1-3)

--
- - - - - - -

The social benefits of fasting

Question : Does fasting have any social benefits?
Response : Yes, it has social benefits. From them is the feelingpeople have that they are one nation eating at one time and fasting at one time. The wealthy one is cognizant of Allaah's blessings and is sympathetic to the poor. Fasting lessens shaytaan's treachery to the son of Aadam. In fasting there is pietyof Allaah, and piety of Allaah strengthens the bonds between the individuals of the community.
Shaykh Ibn al-'Uthaymeen / (Fataawa Ramadan, Volume 1/Page 37/Fatwa No.10), also (Fiqh al-'Ibaadaat libni 'Uthaymeen, Page 170)/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en