Fasting is a Shield

Fasting is a shield for a person which protects them from Shaytan,
Allah 'spunishment and Jahannam. However, one needs to make sure the
shield is not damaged in any way. Otherwise it will not be effective
in doing itsjob. The actions that damage this shield and render it
useless are sins like Backbiting, Lying, Evil Glance, Swearing,
Nonsensical Conversation, Arguments, Slander, HaramSustenance, and
every other evil.
Besides the compulsory fasting in the month of Ramadan , one should
try to fast during those days for which Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه و
سلم) has mentioned many rewards, for example:
*. 6 days of Shawwal
*. Day of Aarafah
*. Ashoora (9th & 10th or 10th & 11th of Muharram)

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Flavour of Faith

It is related by Abbas bin Adbul Muttalib that he heard the Apostle of
God say: "He tasted the flavour of Faith and experienced itssweetness
who agreed with a truthful heart to accept God as His Cherisher, Islam
as his religion, and Muhammad as his Prophet." [Bukhari]
Commentary:
Just as all delicious foods posses a flavour but can beperceived only
when one's faculty of taste has not been lost or become perverted due
to illness or any other cause, there is also a special sweetness in
faith which can be enjoyed by those alone who have, willingly and
earnestly, made Allah their Lord and Master, Muhammad (PBUH) their
prophet and guide, and Islam their religion and way of life, and whose
hearts have bowed in submission to God and yielded in obedience to
theprophet and assented to bethe adherents of the path of Islam. In
other words, their bond with God, the prophet and Islam is not merely
formal, hereditary or intellectual but real, sincere and genuine.
Anas related to us that "Only he will taste the sweetness of faith who
hasthese three qualities: the love of God and the prophet that comes
to him before everything else, he loves whom he loves solelyfor the
sake of God, and theidea of going back to apostasy after he has
embraced Islam is as repugnant to him as being thrown into fire."
[Bukhari and Muslim]
Commentary:
The subject matter of this tradition is almost identicalto that of
proceeding one. It says that the sweetness of faith can only be
perceived by him whose love for God and the Apostle is stronger that
for anyone or anything else in the world, so much so that when he
loves somebody, it is wholly for the sake of God, and who is so deeply
devoted to the Islamic faiththat the very idea of leaving it and
reverting back to the apostasy is as painful to him as being castinto
fire.

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Going on Umrah without a Mahram

Q.) Is it permissible for a woman to perform Umrah with her friends
who are travelling with their mehrams in a group?
A.) According to the Hanafi school of thought, a woman can only travel
on a journey of more than 78 kms (about 48 miles) be this for Umrah,
Hajj or otherwise, if she is accompanied by her husband or a Mahram
relative. Mahrams refer to those males that are perpetually haram for
her to marry, like her father, grandfather, brothers of her father and
mother, sons, grandsons, her brothers, and sons of her brothers and
sisters.
Hence if the woman concerned does not have a mahram then she cannot
travel in this way i.e. with her friends and their Mahrams.
And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best/

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Talks/Announcements Immediately After Prayer

Q.) In some masajid, they have short announcments/talks between the
fardh and sunnah salat such as:
1.) A short talk, after prayer, on sunnah and adab.
2.) The Imam stands and talks to the congregation for a few minutes
and gives them advice.
3.) Du'a requests for sick and deceased people.
4.) In some schools, they have students read a page of Qur'an after
prayer to encourage other students to memorize.
What is the legal status of all of these announcements? The reason for
the question is that people who missed a few rakahs of prayer are
making up the missed rakahs are usually when the announcements start.
Or people start praying their sunnah and are interrupted by
announcements. So even if it is permissible to make a short
announcement after prayer, does the legal ruling change because of the
possibility of disturbingsomeone else's prayer?
A.) We are of the opinion that if people are performing Salaah or
making up for some missed rakaats, then announcements and duas should
not be made using the loud speaker unless they are extremely important
and kept very concise.
And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best/

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