2] The Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) and the establishment of the Islamic society

2]
How and with degree of success was muhammed(s.a.w)able to establish a
stable community in medinah 632ce.
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly the society that was established by the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Madeenah was an example of a
stable and secure society. That was manifestly apparent from the
moment the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) first
set foot in Madeenah and stated to form the Islamic state. The
security and stability of this society were due to a number of reasons
and factors, including the following:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) built the
mosque in Madeenah as soon as he arrived there, which helped to
establish a focal point to which people could turn when calamities
struck, and a place where the Muslims could gather to meet one another
and find out about one another, so they could find out who was sick
and go to visit them, attend the funerals of those who died, help
their poor and arrange marriages for those who were single.
These are some of the ahaadeeth concerning that:
It was narrated from Anasibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) came to Madeenah, he ordered that the mosque should be
built, and he said, "O Banu Najjaar, name me a price for this garden
of yours." They said, "No by Allaah, we will not seek its price except
from Allaah."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2622; Muslim, 524)
It was narrated that al-Bara' ibn 'Aazib said: "[The verse] 'and do
not aim at that which is bad to spend from it' [al-Baqarah 2:267 –
interpretation of the meaning] was revealed concerning us Ansaar. We
used to own date palm trees. A man would bring (the harvest) from his
date palms, whether it was a little or a lot. A manwould bring one or
two bunches of dates and hang them in the mosque.Ahl al-Suffah – or
according to a report narrated by Ibn Maajah, the poor among the
Muhaajireen – had no food, so if one of them got hungry he would come
and strike the bunch with his stick, and ripe and unripe dates would
fall, and he would eat them. But there were some uncharitable
peoplewho would bring a bunch of dates that contained rotten or
dried-up dates, or a bunch that was damaged, and hang it up. Then
Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Spend of the good things which you have (legally)
earned, and of that which We have produced from the earth for you, and
do not aim at that which is bad to spend from it, (though) you would
not accept it save if you close your eyes and tolerate therein"
[al-Baqarah 2:267]
He said: if any one of you were to be given something like they gave,
he would not accept it unless he did so with his eyes closed or out of
shyness. He said, after that one of us would bring the best dates that
he had.
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2987; Ibn Maajah, 1822. Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2389.
Secondly:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) established
brotherhood between theMuhaajireen (the Emigrants who had come from
Makkah) and the Ansaar (helpers, the Muslims in Madeenah). This action
strengthened the bonds between the members of the Madeenan society in
a manner previously unheard of. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) established bonds of brotherhood between non-Arabs
and Arabs, between free men and former slaves, between people of
Quraysh and members of other tribes. So the society became one entity,
after which it was not surprising that anAnsaari would ask a Muhaajir
to take half of his wealth, or an Ansaari would offer to divorce one
of his wives so that a Muhaajir could marry her, or a Muhaajir would
inherit from an Ansaari, because of the strength ofthe bonds between
them. Then inheritance betweenthem was abrogated by the verse on
inheritance, but the Ansaar were encouraged to bequeath something to
them. This was an exemplary society.
There follow some of the ahaadeeth concerning that:
1 – It was narrated that 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn 'Awf (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: When we came to Madeenah, the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) established bonds
of brotherhood between meand Sa'd ibn al-Rabee'. Sa'd ibn al-Rabee'
said: "I am the wealthiest of the Ansaar, so I will give you half my
wealth, and see which of my wives you would prefer, I will divorce her
for you, and when she becomes permissible you can marryher." 'Abd
al-Rahmaan said to him, "I do not need that. Is there a marketplace
where people trade?" :->

1a] A Christian is asking, what do you do during the month of Ramadaan?

1a]
and they wish that the whole year was Ramadaan.
Perhaps if you visit an Islamic Centre, you will see for yourself the
happiness and joy that the Muslims, young and old, feel during
Ramadaan. This is due to the effects of worship andobedience, as
stated above.
We ask Allaah to guide you to that which is good for you and will
bring youhappiness in this world and in the Hereafter.
And Allaah knows best.

1] A Christian is asking, what do you do during the month of Ramadaan?

1]
What do you do during the month of fasting?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah has singled out the month of Ramadaan with special virtues that
are not present in any other month. It is the best of months. Allaah
has the right to single out some months and nights and prefer them
over others, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): "And your
Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses"
[al-Qasas 28:68]
Allaah has placed in the month of Ramadaan Laylat al-Qadr (the Night
of Decree), of which He says (interpretation of themeaning):
"The Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months"
[al-Qadr 97:3]
i.e., worship on that night brings a greater reward than worshipping
for a thousand months; this is by the great bounty of Allaah towards
this ummah (nation - i.e., the Muslims).
Laylat al-Qadr occurs during the last ten nights of Ramadaan. Hence
the Muslims strive hard in worship during these ten days more than at
other times, seeking this blessed night.
With regard to what we Muslims do in Ramadaan, we seek to draw closer
to Allaah and strive hard in worship. Various kinds of worship have
been prescribed for us, by which we seek to draw closer to Allaah.
These include the following:
1 -Fasting.
This means refraining from food, drink, intercourse and sexual
activity from dawn until sunset. We are not the only nation on whom
Godhas enjoined fasting, rather there is no nation among the previous
nations upon whom God did not enjoin fasting. Allaah says
(interpretationof the meaning):
"O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for
you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become
Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)"
[al-Baqarah 2:183]
2 - Prayers at night (Taraweeh)
Praying at night (qiyaam al-layl) has a great effect in purifying and
reforming hearts, and is also a means of forgiveness of sin.
3 - Reading Qur'aan
Ramadaan is the month of the Qur'aan, in which the revelation of the
Qur'aan to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
first began. Hence you will findthe Muslims reading the entire Qur'aan
during Ramadaan, and some of them read the entire Bookonce or twice,
or more than that. The Muslim knows that reading a single letter of
the Qur'aan brings a tenfold reward, and that reading a single page
brings a thousand rewards (hasanaat).
4 - Charity and feeding the poor
Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the most
generous of people, and he was at his most generous in Ramadaan.
Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged us
to feed the poor and to give fasting people food to break their fast.
He toldus that the reward of the one who gives food to a fasting
person to break his fast is equivalent to the reward of the fasting
person, without that detracting from the reward of the fasting person
in the slightest.
5 - Supplication
Ramadaan is the month of supplication (du'aa'). It is mustahabb for
the fasting person to make du'aa', and the du'aa' (supplication) of
one who has fasted at the time of breaking the fast will not be
rejected.
6 - I'tikaaf ("retreat" for worship)
This means staying in the mosque in order to devote oneself to
worshipof Allaah. It is Sunnah in the last ten days of Ramadaan,
seeking Laylatal-Qadr.
7 - Allaah has enjoined a special charity to be givenat the end of
Ramadaan. This is called Zakaat al-Fitr, by means of which the fasting
person offers expiation for any idle or obscene speech he may have
uttered during his fast; it is also a means of feeding and helping the
poor.
It is obligatory upon every Muslim, young and old, male and female. It
is one of the ways of making people feel the unity, cohesion and
mutual compassion of theMuslim community.
8 - Allaah has also enjoined that those who have fasted should offer
the Eid prayer, as a conclusion to these good deeds that they have
done during Ramadaan, and as a way of bringing them together to
express their joy and gratitude towards Allaah.
The point is that the Muslim spends the month of Ramadaan in fasting,
praying, offering night prayers (Taraweeh), remembering Allaah and
reading Qur'aan, and has ended it with i'tikaaf and charity, as well
as striving to uphold the ties of kinship and do good deeds, and
spending a great deal for the sake of Allaah, and other righteous good
deeds. Ramadaan is an occasion that is good for him, in which he does
acts of worship and rids himself of the burdens of sin. On every night
of Ramadaan Allaah frees people from Hell, overlooks their bad deeds
and forgives their sins. Hence the month of Ramadaan is the most
beloved of months to the Muslims, and they feel happy, joyful and
content at this time, and they wish that the whole year was Ramadaan.
:->

Can a person start fasting six days of Shawwaal when he still has days to make up from Ramadaan?

If a person fasts six days of Shawwaal after Ramadaan when he has not
yet completed the Ramadaan fast because he did not fast ten days
ofRamadaan for a legitimate reason will he have the same reward as a
person who fasted all ofRamadaan and followed itwith six days of
Shawwaal, i.e. will he be like a person who fasted for a lifetime?
Please explain to us, may Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
The precise rewards for the deeds which people do for the sake of
Allaah issomething which is known only to Allaah. If a person seeks
the reward from Allaah and strives to obey Him, his reward will not be
lost, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"We shall not make the reward of anyone who does his (righteous)
deedsin the most perfect manner to be lost." [al-Kahf 18:30]. If
someone has missed some of the days of Ramadaan, he should fast them
first, then fast six days of Shawwaal, because he cannot follow the
fast of Ramadaan with six days of Shawwaal unless he has completed his
Ramadaan fast.
And Allaah is the source ofstrength. May Allaah bless our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah,