Dought & clear - How should we welcome the month of Ramadaan?.

Are there any special things that are prescribed for the Muslim to
welcome Ramadaan?
Praise be to Allaah.
The month of Ramadaan is the best month of the year, because Allaah
has chosen it to make fasting this month obligatory and the fourth
pillar of Islam andHe has prescribed for theMuslims to spend its
nights in prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "Islam is built on five (pillars): testimony that
there is no god but Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allaah, establishing prayer, paying zakaah, fasting Ramadaan and
performing pilgrimage to the House (Ka'bah)." Agreed upon. And he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever spend the
nights of Ramadaan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward,
his previous sinswill be forgiven." Agreedupon. I do not know of any
specific way of welcoming Ramadaan, but the Muslim should welcome it
with joy and happiness and thanking Allaah for enabling him to reach
Ramadaan, for He has caused him to be among the living who compete in
doing righteous deeds. Reaching Ramadaan is a great blessing from
Allaah. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
used to give his companions the glad tidings of the arrival of
Ramadaan and explain its virtues, and the great reward that Allaah has
prepared for those who fast and who spend the night in prayer. It is
prescribed for the Muslim to welcome this blessed month with sincere
repentance and preparations to fast and pray qiyaam, with a sound
intention and sincere resolve. End quote.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him)
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi'ah (15/9).

Dought & clear - Can the testimony of a woman be accepted with regard to sighting the new moon of Ramadaan?.

Can the testimony of a woman be accepted with regard to sighting the
new moon of Ramadaan?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The fuqaha' differed with regard to acceptingthe testimony of a woman
with regard to sighting the new moon of Ramadaan. There are two
opinions:
1 – Her testimony may beaccepted. This is the view of the Hanafis – if
itis cloudy– and the Hanbalis, and it is one of the two views held by
the Shaafa'is.
2 –That it cannot be accepted. This is the view of the Maalikis,
andthe more correct view according to the Shaafa'is.
Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (3/48):
If the one who brings the news is a woman, then according to the
madhhab her word is to be accepted. This is the view of Abu Haneefah
and is one of the two views held by the companions of al-Shaafa'i,
because it is news that has to do witha religious matter, so it is
akin to narration of reports, or telling peoplewhat the direction of
the qiblah is, or that the time for prayer has begun. And it may be
that it is not acceptable, because it is testimony about the sighting
of thenew moon, and the word of a woman cannot be accepted concerning
that, like the new moon of Shawwaal.End quote.
See: Tabyeen al-Haqaa'iq(1/319), al-Taaj wa'l-Ikleel (3/278),
al-Majmoo' (6/286) and Kashshaaf al-Qinaa' (2/304).
The Hanafis differentiatebetween cloudy and clear weather. If it is
cloudy, the testimony of two men, or a man and two women, is
acceptable, but if it is clear then it is essential to have many
people to testify to that . See: al-Bahr al-Raa'iq (2/290).
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Some
scholars say that the testimony of a female cannot be accepted, either
in Ramadaan or atother times, because the one who saw the new moon at
the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) wasa man, and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "If two witnesses (shaahidayn) bear witness,
then start the fast and end the fast," and a woman is a shaahidah not
a shaahid.
The evidence of our madhhab is that this is a report concerning a
religious matter which isaddressed equally to males and females, as
males and females are equal with regard to narrating reports, and
reports are religious matters. Hence they did not stipulate that
sighting the new moon of Ramadaan should be proven by a judge, and
they did not stipulate any particular wording for the testimony,
ratherthey said: If he hears a trustworthy person telling the people
in his presence that he has seen the new moon, then he must fast on
the basis of this news. End quote from al-Sharh al-Mumti' (6/326).
As for the new moon of Shawwaal, it can only beproven by the testimony
of two men.
And Allaah knows best.

Time in Islam: Time is very precious utilize reading Noble Quran

Since last night my youngson has been unwell. When I got back from
work this evening I decided to take him to hospital despite my
exhaustion. There were many waiting; perhaps we will be delayed by
more than an hour. I took my number and sat down in the waiting room.
There were many faces, young and old, but all silent.
Some brothers made use of the many booklets available in the waiting
room. Some of those waiting had their eyes closed, while others
werelooking around. Most were bored. Once in a while the long silence
was broken by a nurse calling out a number. Happiness appears on
theone whose turn it is, and he gets up quickly; then silence returns.
A young man grabbed myattention. He was reading a pocket-sized Noble
Qur'an continuously; not raising his head even once. At first I did
not think much about him. However, after one hour of waitingmy casual
glances turned into a deep reflection about his lifestyle and how he
utilizes his time. One hour of life wasted! Instead of making benefit
of that hour, it was just a boring wait. Then the call for prayer was
made. We went to prayer in the hospital's Masjid (Mosque). I tried to
pray close to the man who was reading the Noble Qur'an earlier in the
waiting room.
After the prayer I walked with him. I informed him of how impressed I
was of him and how he tries to benefit from his time.
He told me that most of our time is wasted without any benefit. These
are days that go from our lives without being conscious of them or
regretting their waste.He said that he started carrying the
pocket-sizedNoble Qur'an around when a friend encouraged him to make
full use of his time. He told me that in the time other people waste
he gets to read much more of the Noble Qur'an than he gets to read
either at home or in the mosque. Moreover, besides the reward of
reading the Noble Qur'an, this habit saves him from boredom and
stress.
He added that he has now been waiting for one and a half hours. Then
he asked, when willyou find one and a half hours to read the Noble
Qur'an? I reflected; how much time do we waste? How many moments of
our lives pass by, and yet we do not account for how they passed by?
Indeed, how many months pass by and we do not read the Noble Qur'an? I
came to respect my companion, and I discovered that I am to stand for
account and that time is not in my hand; so what am I waiting for? My
thoughts were interrupted by the nurse calling out my number; I went
to the doctor.
But I want to achieve something now. After I left the hospital I
quickly went to the bookshop and bought a pocket-sized Noble Qur'an. I
decided to be mindful of how I spend the time.

Quran Stories for Children: Who will take the Noble Qur'an?

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had
everything in their collection, from Picasso (Spanish artist who lived
in France) to Raphael (Italian painter). They would often sit together
and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The
father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Eid ul-Fitr, there was a knock at the
door. A young man stood at thedoor with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your
son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying
me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died
instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art."
The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not
really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to
havethis."
The father opened the package. It was a portraitof his son, painted by
theyoung man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the
personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the
eyesthat his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man
and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never
repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came
to his home he took themto see the portrait of his son before he
showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of
his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing
the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for
their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded
his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son.
Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence. Then avoice in the back of the room shouted, "We
want to see the famous paintings! Skip this one."
But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting.
Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice angrily, "We didn't come to see this painting. We came
tosee the Van Goghs (Dutch painter), the Rembrandts (Dutch artist).
Get on withthe real bids!"
But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the
son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the
longtime gardener of theman and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the
painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
We have $10, who will bid $20? Give it to him for$10. "Let's see the
masters...." $10 is the bid,won't someone bid $20?
The crowd was becomingangry. They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"
The auctioneer laid downhis gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the great paintings?"
I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a
secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that
stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire
estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets
everything!
Allah (SWT) gave His Noble Qur'an hundreds ofyears ago to guide us.
Much like the auctioneer,His message today is: "The Noble Qur'an, the
Noble Qur'an, who'll take the Noble Qur'an? Because whoever takes the
Noble Qur'an gets everything."