1a] Ramadan: The Month of Deeds

1a]
beyond your normal deeds with more voluntary acts and increase them in
a gradual manner. Then whoever can perform i'tikaaf (confinement of
oneself to the mosque) they spend all of their time in good deeds
until the end of Ramadan, while those who cannot, exert themselves to
spend their days performing good deeds and their nights in prayer.
After celebrating Eid al Fitr, the six fasts of Shawwal should be
performed and good deeds should remain part of our routines until the
following Ramadan.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Companions (may
Allahbe pleased with them) would perform various good deeds in
Ramadan. Some of the deeds that have been mentioned in association
with fasting and Ramadan will now be mentioned, all of which are
highly recommended acts of worship to be performed.
Allah the Most High combined fasting with eight other deeds when
Hedescribed the successful believers "(The believers whose lives Allah
has purchased are) those who repent to Allah (from polytheism and
hypocrisy, etc.), who worship Him, who praise Him, who fast (or go out
in Allah\\\'s Cause), who bow down (in prayer), who prostrate
themselves (in prayer), who enjoin (people) for Al-Ma\\\'rûf (i.e.
Islaamic Monotheism and all what Islaam has ordained) and forbid
(people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds
andall that Islaam has forbidden), and who observe the limits set by
Allah (do all that Allah has ordained and abstain fromall kinds of
sins and evil deeds which Allah has forbidden). And give glad tidings
to the believers. [6] Ramadan is also the month of Quran as Allah the
Most High said
"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, guidance for
mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between
right and wrong)" [7]
Abdullah ibn 'Amr (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah said
"Fasting and the Quran will intercede for a slave on the day of
judgement, the fasts will say, 'my Lord I prevented him (or her) from
food and desires so let me intercede', and the Quran will say, 'I
prevented him (or her) from sleeping at night so let me intercede',
then they will intercede" [8] .
It was said that the salaf would spend the days of Ramadan reading the
Quran [9] , and the importance of studying the Quran cannot be
emphasised enough. A single ayah recited with contemplation (tadabbur)
may be better then reciting many ayaat (verses) of the Quran without
contemplation. Scholars differed regardingwhether it is better to
recite more or recite less with contemplation. Although as isolated
deedsthey both may be equal, the latter will benefit you for the rest
of your life andthus the effects of understanding the Quran will
elevate you further in the Hereafter. Abu Jumrah once said to Abdullah
ibn
Masud 'I am fast in my recitation and perhaps I would recite the Quran
once or even twice in a single night', Abdullah (ra) replied 'For me
to recite one surah is more pleasingto me than if I did that which you
do, if you do so then make sure that you recite so that your ears hear
what you recite and your heart pays attention.' [10]
Ibn 'Abbas (ra) narrated
"Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was the most generous of people
and he was the most generous in the month of Ramadan, when Jibreel
would meet him. Jibreel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to
teachhim the Quran." [11]
This hadith emphasises theneed to be generous in giving all kinds of
charity in Ramadan, in addition to studying the Quran. It is also
important to feed others, especially those with less. The Prophet
(peace be upon him) said
"whoever gives a fasting person (food or drink to break their fast),
they will have similar to the reward of the one who fasted, without
any decrease for the one who fasted." [12]
It is upon us all to fear Allah, and direct our best efforts in and
out of the month of Ramadan towards obeying Him. Allah the Most High
commanded us
"So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can; listen
and obey; and spend in charity that is better for yourselves. And
whosoever is saved fromhis own covetousness, then they are the
successful ones." [13]
No one is burdened with more than they can take, however it is through
the performance of good deeds and the attainment of taqwa that we will
earnthe reward prepared for the muttaqeen.
Notes:
Source: www.islam21c.com [1] Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183
[2] Mu'jam al-lughatul-fuqahaa, Dar An-Nafaes
[3] Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, Zaad al-Ma'aad, Maktabah Al-Risalah,
Volume 2, pp27-29
[4] Sunan al-Tirmidhî 618 and Ibn Maajah 1632; authenticated by Sheikh Albaani
[5] Sahîh Ibn Khuzaymah 1887
[6] Surah At-Taubah 9:112/

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1] Ramadan: The Month of Deeds

1]
All praise belongs to Allah the Most High, who created both life and
deathas a test to see who is foremost in deed. ThroughHis infinite
mercy He blessed mankind with selected times and seasonsin which the
best deeds are made obligatory and the reward for good deedsis
multiplied. Allah, the Most Wise, prescribed the third pillar of
Islam, fasting, in the second year after the hijrah of the final
Messenger (peace be upon him). Fasting is obligatory upon every sane
Muslim adult, Allah the Most High says,
"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for
you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain
taqwa." [1]
Taqwa is defined as "the consciousness of the soul to fulfil what
Allah the Most High has commandedand abstain from what He has
prohibited" [2] . Fastingis therefore a means towards achieving a
level of self-restraint. The scholars of tafsir (exegesis)mention
various behaviours that are restrained by fasting including eating,
drinking, fulfilling one's desires, being angry and disobeying Allah
the Most High in general. Sufyan Al Thawri said,
"The reason for the title muttaqin (those who havetaqwa) is that they
leave that which is not left".
Ibn al-Qayyimsaid
"The objective behind fasting is to restrain the soul from desires
(for food,drink, and sexual relations), divert it from itsnormal
circumstances, tame the strong desires, prepare it to attain the
happiness and benefits (from fasting), and purify itfrom its untamed
state. By experiencing the intensity of hunger and thirst, one
isreminded of the condition of the hungry stomachs of needy people."
[3]
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
said "On the first night of Ramadan, the devils and rebellious jinn
are bound in chains; the gates of Paradise are opened until not a
single gate remains closed. The gates of Hell are bound shut until not
a single gate remains open. Then a caller calls out, 'O desirer of
good, go forth! Odesirer of evil, restrain yourself! Allah is
emancipating people from the Fire every night'." [4]
On the last day of Sha'ban, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave a
sermon and said
, "O people! A great and blessed month has approached you, a month
containing a night better than a thousand months. Allah has made
fasting in its days an obligation and prayer in its nights a
(recommended) voluntary act. Anyone who seeks nearness to Allah in
this month through any virtuous act will be like one who carried out
an obligatory act at another time (outside of Ramadan),and whoever
performs an obligatory act in this month will be like one who
performed seventy such acts at another time. It is the month of
patience,and the reward for patience is Paradise. It is the month of
equality, the month in which the wealth of the believer is
increased..." [5]
With the reward for obligatory acts multiplied, one must exert to
performthem in the best of manners, and with the reward for voluntary
acts multiplied one must hasten to perform good deeds. Ramadan is
withoutdoubt a golden opportunity for the one who seeks to be absolved
from the Hell fire and the one who yearns to dwell in Paradise,
wherein they will have all that they desire.
Many Muslims assume thatwhen Ramadan comes they will endeavour to
become obedient Muslims and do the maximum possible good deeds for the
whole month. If you imagine the reality as a graph, what happens is
that you start off with a peak and then the influx ofdeeds becomes
difficult forso many reasons, so you trough or lull for much of this
precious month. You then try a bit harder at theend to try to catch
laylat-ul-Qadr (the night of decree), but even then youmay sleep some
nights and even miss some obligatory prayers! This approach to Ramadan
is not correct will repeatedly fail. The Messenger (peace be upon him)
and his companions would pray, fast, and be obedient to Allah all year
round. In Ramadan, like other special times in the year, they would
maximise theirefforts to excel in good deeds.
Ramadan should be used as a platform to change lives, every day should
get increasingly better, the case being even more so each and every
year. Allah the Most High loves those deeds that are done with
consistency, because they represent a Muslim's personality, and they
are the deeds that will pave the path to Jannah (paradise). Prior to
Ramadan, Muslims must perform the obligatory acts, otherwise they will
be punished for their negligence after this life. The obligatory acts
should be supplemented with voluntary acts that are part of one's
daily routine. Once Ramadan arrives then that is the time to exceed
beyond your :->

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Bride-Price / Dowry for a poor man

One day, a woman came to see the Prophet of Allah [PBUH= Allah's
blessings and Peace be upon him] and said: "Oh! Messenger of Allah! I
do not have a husband and I want to be a good wife; i give myself to
you."
The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] kept silent for a long while.
Suddenly, a man who waspresent stood up and asked if the woman would
accept him for a husband.
The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] said: "Do you haveanything to give her
as a dowry."
The man thought and said: "I have half of my cloth," and indeed he was
wearing a single cloth around him.
"If you give her part of this cloth, you will have nothing to wear
anymore;it will become her possession. Find something else." Since at
this time the followers of Islam and the Prophet himself [PBUH] were
poor,the man thought again a long time and declared:"No, I do not
possess a thing to give her."
The Messenger of Allah then told him: "Go to yourhouse and look for
something, even if it is an iron ring."
The man departed and came back a while later, and declared: "I looked
everywhere, but I did not find anything to give her as her dowry."
After reflection, the Prophet of Allah [PBUH]said: "Did you learnsome
of the Qur'an?"
"Yes, I have learned by heart so-and-so Surahs [chapters of the Qur'an]"
The Messenger of Alah [PBUH] therefore declared:"Teach her what you
know of the Qur'an, and this will constitute her dowry."
The couple felt contented with what was proposed, and they got married.

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The miracle at the spring of Tabuk

During the year of Tabuk, they went out with the Messenger of Allah
[PBUH=May Allah bless him and grant him Peace],and the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH) prayed Dhur and 'Asr together.
Then he said, "Tomorrow we will meet, Insha Allah, at the spring of
Tabuk. Do not go there until well into the morning. You should not
touch the water until i arrive." We all agreed and, the day after, we
all gathered at the spring of Tabuk. But, when we got there, two men
had already reached it before us and the springwas dripping with very
little water.
The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] approached and asked them: "Did you
touche this water?" They said: "Yes, we did." "Take water with your
hands from the spring little by little until you have collected a
small amount in something." When this was done, the Messenger of Allah
[PBUH] washed his face and hands on it. Then he put it back into the
spring and the spring began to flow with abundant water, and the
people began to draw water from it. Then he said [PBUH): "If you live
long enough, you will see this place full with gardens."

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