4] When You Forgive, You Live

4]
Forgiveness is not for the weak. Being able to forgive those who have
wronged you is a mark of spiritual strength and confidence. When you
forgive, you grow, your heart begins to heal, your back straightens
up, your eyes clear so that you can see the road ahead. Anger is a
spiritual sickness; but when you forgive you live.
I know this isn't easy. In anearlier article I mentioned my time in
Fort Worth. There was one particular person there who treated me quite
badly. It's very difficult for me to hold an image of that person in
my mind and say, "I forgive you." It's almost frightening in some
strange way. But in doing it, I feel something in my chest let go, and
I find tears in my eyes, and a smile on my face. SubhanAllah.
It doesn't matter if the other person deserves forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. If someone has hurt you,
don't worry about receiving an apology or explanation, or making them
understand you. You'll rarely get an explanation that makes sense. In
fact, if you want to move on, the best way to do that is to forgive.
Resentment is a chain that binds you to the other person, but
forgiveness breaks the chain, so that you can release that person
along your anger.
Not to mention, as the poet Oscar Wilde said, "Always forgive your
enemies – nothing annoys them so much."
In ancient Chinese thought, the state of forgiveness is like a wide,
deep valley. That's becauseit opens your mind and allows your thoughts
to flow freely, while anger constricts your mind and makes you blind.
"Hold to forgiveness, command what is right, and turn away from the
ignorant." (Qur'an, 7: 199)
In other words be constantly forgiving but don't give up your
principles ("command what is right"). If you've forgiven the ignorant
and they persist in their hurtfulways, then move on and leave them
behind. Separate yourself from those who are negative, and seek the
company of people who are supportiveand kind. Hold no rancor. When you
lay your head on the pillow, sleep in peace, and you'll wake with
tranquility.
I admit that I'm working on this. It's easy to say, "I forgive you."
The hard partis getting to a place wheremy heart is clear, where I
have no resentment or fear.:->

Compassion, Taqwa, Allah, Nature, the Heart

"Hatred and bigotry are NOT the permanent conditions of man. Dictators
fall and pass. War, oppression and hunger remain, but the power to
change those terrible things is in our hands. Allah made us khulafaa
over the earth. We have the ability to forgive, to understand, andto
comfort one another. I believe that compassion is the essence of who
we are.Is the best part of us, the quality that makes us worthy of the
mercy of Ar-Rahman. Our love is an elemental force, a vast untapped
potential. We only have to be who Allah created us to be. If we can
aspire to that, and hew to it, it will suffice us and the earth
itself."
- Wael Abdelgawad
***
"Do not become proud of your position. Do not become harsh toward
those weaker than yourself. And always speakof Allah's kindness to
you."- Ibn Isaq, "The Life of Muhammad"
Taqwa
"If we let Taqwa – Allah-consciousness – become our guide then it
leads us to self-awareness and sincerity. A person who cultivates
Taqwa can neverbecome a terrorist, an oppressor, a hypocrite. A person
with true Taqwa must shed compassion as the sun sheds light." - Wael
Abdelgawad
Changing the World
"Sometimes I want to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and
injustice in the world when He could do something about it; but I"m
afraid He might ask me the same question." - Anonymous
Allah
"People will love you for a short time but Allah will love you
forever. People will listen to you sometimes, but Allah will listen to
you all the time. People will forgive you sometimes, but Allah
forgives every time." - Anonymous
***
"You don't need a Plan B ifPlan A is for Allah." – Bilal Int'l
Nature
I gave my Salam to the mountain
And I drank from the mountain stream
And I walked upon its surface
And it all felt like a dream
And this mountain it is a Muslim
And I feel like he's my friend
And as I climbed on to his peak
I wished it would never end
- Hamza Robertson
The Heart
"Your heart is a mirror thatreflects the world. If it's clean, it will
see the world as it really is. If it's dirty and warped, it will see a
warped vision of the world." – Yasmin Mogahed
***
"When you get close to giving up take a step back,pray and come right
back to it. You just never know who you could be inspiring out there.
May Allah keep our faith strongand grant us the ability to turn back
to Him and to begrateful for that ability and many more…ameen ya Rabb.
This goes out to all those who inspire me."

8a] For whom is fasting Ramadaan obligatory?

8a]
As Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) interpreted it, it
refers to the old man and old woman who are not able to fast, so they
should feed one poor person for each day.
The fourth condition:
He should be settled (not travelling). If he is travelling then it is
not obligatory for him to fast, because Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"and whoever is ill or on ajourney, the same number[of days which one
did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days"
[al-Baqarah 2:185]
The scholars are agreed that it is permissible for a traveller not to fast.
It is better for the traveller to do that which is easier. If fasting
is likelyto be harmful then it becomes haraam to fast, because Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allaah is
Most Merciful to you"
[al-Nisa' 4:29]
This indicates that whatever is harmful to a person is forbidden to
him. See also question no. 20165 .
If you ask, what is the degree of harm which makes fasting haraam?
The answer is:
Harm may be physical, or someone advises him thatfasting may harm him.
With regard to physical harm, that means that thesick person feels
that fasting is harming him and causing him pain, andwill delay his
recovery and so on.
With regard to being advised, this means that aknowledgeable and
trustworthy doctor tells him that it will harm him.
The fifth condition:
There should be no impediments. This appliesspecifically to women.
Women who are menstruating or bleeding following childbirth should not
fast, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Is it not the case that when she gets her period, she does not
pray or fast?"
So she should not fast andher fast is not valid in this case,
according to scholarly consensus. And she has to make up the days
missed, also according to scholarly consensus.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti', 6/330.
And Allaah knows best.

8] For whom is fasting Ramadaan obligatory?

8]
For whom is fasting Ramadaan obligatory?
Praise be to Allaah.
Fasting is obligatory for a person if he fulfils five conditions:
1- He is a Muslim
2- He is accountable (mukallaf)
3- He is able to fast
4- He is settled (not travelling)
5- There are no impediments to fasting
If these five conditions aremet, then it is obligatory for a person to fast.
Kaafirs are excluded from the first condition. The kaafir is not
obliged to fast and his fast is not valid. If he becomes Muslim he is
not obliged to make up fasts from before.
The evidence for that is the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretation of themeaning):
"And nothing prevents their contributions from being accepted from
themexcept that they disbelieved in Allaah and in His Messenger
(Muhammad) and that they came not to As-Salaah (the prayer) except in
a lazy state, and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly"
[al-Tawbah 9:54]
If the contribution is not acceptable even though itbenefits others,
because of their kufr, then other acts of worship may be even more
unacceptable.
He does not have to makeup fasts if he becomes Muslim because Allaah
says (interpretation of themeaning):
"Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief),
their past will be forgiven"
[al-Anfaal 8:38]
And it was proven in mutawaatir reports that the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not tell those who became Muslim
to make up the obligatory duties that they had missed.
Will the kaafir be punished in the Hereafter for not fasting if he did
not become Muslim?
The answer is:
Yes, he will be punished for not fasting, and for not doing any other
obligatory duties, becauseif the Muslim who obeyedAllaah and adhered
to His laws will be punished for that, then it is more apt that he
(the kaafir) shouldbe punished. If the kaafir is to be punished for
the blessings of Allaah that heenjoyed, such as food, drink and
clothing, then itis more appropriate that he will be punished for
doing haraam actions andnot doing obligatory duties. This is by way of
analogy.
With regard to the texts, Allaah says that those on the Right (i.e.,
the believers) will say to the disbelievers:
" 'What has caused you toenter Hell?'
They will say: 'We were not of those who used to offer the Salaah (prayers),
Nor used we to feed Al-Miskeen (the poor);
And we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allaah hated) with vain talkers.
And we used to belie the Day of Recompense'"
[al-Muddaththir 74:42]
These four things are what will cause them to enter Hell.
"We were not of those who used to offer the Salaah (prayers)" means
they did not pray; "Nor used we to feed Al-Miskeen (the poor)" means
they did not pay zakaah; "And we used to talk falsehood (all that
which Allaah hated) with vain talkers" means things like mocking the
verses of Allaah; "And we used to belie the Day of Recompense."
The second condition:
He should be accountable (mukallaf). The one who ismukallaf is one who
is hasreached the age of puberty and is of sound mind, because a minor
or one who is insane is not accountable. Puberty is reached when one
of the three signs is noticed – see question no. 20475 .
The one who is of sound mind is the opposite of one is insane, which
is one who has lost his mind, whether he is insane or feeble-minded.
Everyone who has lost hismind, in whatever sense, is not accountable
and he is not obliged to do any ofthe obligatory duties of Islam, be
it prayer, fastingor feeding the poor; he does not have to do anything
at all.
The third condition:
Being able to fast. The one who is unable to fast does not have to
fast, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"and whoever is ill or on ajourney, the same number[of days which one
did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days"
[al-Baqarah 2:185]
But being unable to fast falls into two categories: temporary
inability and permanent inability.
Temporary inability is that which is mentioned in the verse quoted
above, such as one who issick but hopes to recover, and the traveller.
These people are allowed not tofast, then they have to make up what
they missed.
Those who are permanently unable to fast, such as one who is sick and
has no hope of recovery, or those who are elderly and are unableto
fast, are mentioned in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
"And as for those who canfast with difficulty, (e.g. anold man), they
have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskeen (poor person) (for
every day)"
[al-Baqarah 2:184]
As Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) interpreted it, it
refers to the old man and old woman who are not able to fast,:->