Two strangers bridging barriers with the Quran

A colleague of mine named Farah* who is a medical doctor in Boston
recently sent me the following email:
Assalaamualaikam
I had a beautiful experience today at work. A lady who spoke very
little English was admitted, and she was very upset – she came over to
me and I said Salaam… Her eyes lit up, she took my hand and started
reciting Al Fatiha. We said it in unison and she smiled – "sister".
We then shared a couple of other surahs – she knows more in Arabic
than I do in English! Even though we couldn't have conversed in our
nationallanguages, we could communicate in a far more significant way,
by sharing our love for Allah.
In Boston at the moment it's a bit scary, but this lit up my day and
gave me hope that we will be alright in the end, inshaAllah.
My sister from the other side of the world held myhand and said Alhamdulillah.
Wa salaam

Ramadan Articles - Make Hard Work Your Motto in Ramadan

Hard work should be the slogan of the righteous people who do not
likeRamadanto pass away before they take their reward. They would
rather persist in this good state in order to receive their prize from
their Lord, and obtain Hisforgiveness than enjoy the pleasures of this
world. Thus, when they celebrate'Eed, they would have earned the right
to do so, and when they break their fast, they would rejoice, as
mentioned by the Messenger of Allaahwhen he said:"There are two
delights for the fasting person: when he breaks his fast at the time
of Iftaar, he rejoices; and when he meets Allaah The Almighty, he will
rejoice in his fasting."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ That is, he will find
that fasting, whose outcome is forgiveness and emancipation from Hell,
interceding for him on the Day of Judgment, as confirmed by the
Messenger of Allaahin his saying:"The fasting people will
enter)Paradise( from a gate called Ar-Rayyaan, from which no one else
will ever enter."
The days have come upon us again, with the same slogan we have already
raised: the determination to attain all the possible means of the
forgiveness of Allaah The Almighty, and strive his utmost to show
AllaahThe Almighty our good performance, truthfulness, good deeds and
sincerity. We approach the Lord with devotion and direct all our
concerns, words and deeds to obtain the goodpleasure, love and
attachment of his Lord, and prepare for his Hereafter. If a believer
does all this for the sake of Allaah The Almighty, he will receive
more in the world and the Hereafter, as confirmed by Allaah The
Almighty when He Says )what means(:}And]remember[ when your Lord
proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely Increase you ]in
favor[; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe'"{]Quran
14:7[ One must be satisfied with a little portion of this world, seek
the Hereafter, have aversion to the abode of arrogance in order to
have the signs of the loveand good pleasure of Allaah The Almighty
visible on him.
Hence, in the days ofRamadan, one should begin with repentance, seek
forgiveness, and seek to amend his inner self persistently so that he
would prepare his own soul and heart for the reward of Allaah The
Almighty. In this way, he can make up for the dayson which he was lazy
and slow, and distracted from Allaah The Almighty,and seized by
heedlessness in all of his states and deeds. He repents for the days
he did not obtain anything from the Quran and remembrance )of Allaah
The Almighty( that could fill his breast with the light of faith, and
make his heart firm, so that he would find himself approaching the
Hereafter, unaffected by desires, well-established and strong on his
journey to Allaah The Almighty. He should not find himself compliant
with the devil and his own evil inclinations, hesitant and distracted.
On the contrary, he should see himself in a state loved by his Lord.
It was narrated on the authority of the Messenger of Allaahthat
whenever the last ten days came, he would stay awake all night )in
prayer(, keep aloof from women, devote himself to worship more
diligently and awaken his family )to perform thenight
prayers(.]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ This was his practice during the
last ten days ofRamadan. He did all this by
practicingI'tikaaf)seclusion in the mosque(. That is, he devoted his
heart and body to his Lord, refrained from mixing with people to be in
seclusion with Allaah The Almighty, and became anexample to be
followed by the believers. This seclusion with Allaah The Almighty is
a means for the people to reform their worldly affairs and Hereafter,
prepare their hearts and body to realize the means of forgiveness. He
did all this persistently in the last ten days ofRamadanseeking to be
forgiven, even though Allaah The Almighty had forgiven his previous
and future sins. He did all of this by way of showing
gratitude:"Should I not be a grateful slave?"]Al-Bukhaari[

Ramadan Articles - Being Grateful for the Blessings of Ramadan

The first thing one shoulddo upon enteringRamadanis to praise Allaah
The Almighty for conveying him toRamadan, the month of mercy. What
confirms those blessings, and opens the mercy of AllaahThe Almighty
for you is your gratitude for this blessing being the first thing you
think of doing,and that He has opened this season in your lifetime. If
a person dies, he wishes to return to this world even for a day in
order to repent to Allaah The Almighty, seekHis forgiveness, and do
righteous deeds as confirmed by Allaah The Almighty when He Says)what
means(:}until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "MyLord, send
me back that I might do righteousness in that which I left
behind."{]Quran 23:99-100[
This is why you should think of the best way to praise Allaah The
Almighty who has conveyed you to this season sound and healthy, hoping
for the forgiveness of Allaah The Almighty, waiting for His pardon,
seeking His goodpleasure and desiring that He emancipates you from
Hell in this noble month.
The Messenger of Allaah,, was the role model and example to be
followed in praising Allaah The Almighty, when he kept standing)in
prayer( at night until his feet became swollen because of the duration
for which he stood in prayer. When 'Aa'ishahasked him why he was doing
that despite the fact that Allaah The Almighty had forgiven him his
previous and future sins, he said:"Then, should I not be a grateful
slave?"]Al-Bukhaari[ Thus, he praised Allaah The Almighty by standing
)in prayer( for long periods, drawing close to Him, speaking privately
with Him, reciting His noble verses, reflecting upon their meanings,
submitting and humblinghimself to Him by subjecting his perishable
body to hardship for the sake of Allaah The Almighty. This body that
you preserve and protecttoday will perish and turn into dust tomorrow,
and at that time, nothingwill benefit you except the acts of obedience
that you offered. This is because, as it was said,"One's property,
deeds and children go with him, and both his property and children
return, and only his deeds are left and enter the grave with him."
This is why the Messenger of Allaah,, praised Allaah The Almighty in
those states by standing )in prayer at night( so long until his feet
actually cracked and got swollen as confirmedby theHadeeth)narration(.
IfRamadancomes upon you, the gratitude for this blessing is to stand
inprayer )at night(, multiply the acts of worship you perform, learn
the etiquette of fasting, remember Allaah The Almighty frequently and
recite the Quran as stated by Allaah The Almighty Who Says
)whatmeans(:}The month of Ramadan ]is that[ in which was revealed the
Quran, a guidance for thepeople and clear proofs of guidance and
criterion.{]Quran 2:185[
What is required in thesedays is fasting, standing)at night in
prayer(,Thikr)remembrance of Allaah The Almighty(, worship, recitation
of the Quran, charity, self-reckoning, repentance of sins, correction
of intentions and deeds and elimination of evil, resentment, spite,
envy, excessive ambitions in this world, inclination towards desires,
heedlessness and forgetfulness of the Hereafter and death. One's heart
should be reassured by the remembrance of Allaah The Almighty, the
physical organs become fit for proceeding to Allaah The Almighty, and
his body should be light enough to move toward the obedience and
worship of Allaah The Almighty. He should not find the acts of worship
hard upon himself; rather he should realize the statement of the
Messenger of Allaah,,"Should I not be a grateful slave?"]Al-Bukhaari[
Consider: If you were youto have fallen as a martyrlast year, your
fastingRamadanthis )present( year would have been superior, higher and
greater in rank in the sight of Allaah The Almighty than that position
)of martyrdom(. Then, how would it be if you came out of
lastRamadanwithout such a position or martyrdom? There would be
nothing but failure and loss that one receives upon coming out
ofRamadanin this way.

Ramadan Articles - Be Grateful for Witnessing Ramadan

Although the days of one's life pass quickly justas those ofRamadan,
onefeels this quick passage especially inRamadan, because its days are
very short. The truth is, all of one's days are limited and short even
though a person does not feel it.
Allaah The Almighty has opened for you a new month ofRamadan. Having
pledged the last year to be better this year, in terms of
drawingcloser to Allaah The Almighty, having greater love for Allaah
The Almighty, and more sacrificing and striving for the sake of Allaah
TheAlmighty, this is the time to realize all those covenants. Suppose
you have been seized by Allaah The Almighty before reachingRamadanin
which you placed your hope, you would have neither received
forgiveness in the lastRamadan, nor reached thisRamadan. You have seen
how manyof your brothers and sisters in faith have been seized by
death, which makes no difference between the young and the old.
Another point which frightens one today, is that having seen one's
lethargy and laziness, and known that he neither takes the matter
seriously, nor cares for the forgiveness of Allaah The Almighty, nor
sacrifices anything for that, Allaah The Almighty may deprive him of
forgiveness. He may say: since you do not like it; you are too lazy
to do anything for it; you sacrifice nothing for it; and you do not
appreciate it in the manner that is due, then,you have been deprived
of it.
However, if one has strong determination today, now, it is time for
him to act accordingly. Allaah The Almighty has opened for him this
year the gates of forgiveness; and he, in turn, still has hope in His
generous countenance that He would not deprive him ofit, nor close His
gate in his face. Having entered with this wish, he should insist on
realizing this hope in Allaah The Almighty.
The following are some of the duties of the believers inRamadan:
1-ThankingAllaah The Almighty for the blessing of reaching the month ofRamadan
2-Sacrificing one's property, effort and time
Reaching the month ofRamadanis a great blessing that requires
continuous thanks to Allaah The Almighty. This was the way of the
righteous predecessors. If any of them was granted success by
AllaahThe Almighty to stand )in prayer( one night, then, in the
morning, he wouldobserve fasting out of gratitude to Allaah The
Almighty. Gratitude is one of the causes which increase these
blessings as confirmed by Allaah The Almighty in His Saying )what
means(:}And ]remember[ when your Lord proclaimed,"If you are grateful,
I will surely Increase you ]in favor[; but if you deny, indeed,
Mypunishment is severe."{]Quran 14:7[This causes Allaah The Almighty
to increase you in favor, draw close to you and provide for you.
TheHadeethnarrated on the authority of Talhahclarifies well the
blessing attained by reaching the month ofRamadan. In his vision, he
saw as if there were three men inJihaad)armed struggle in the cause of
Allaah The Almighty(, two of whom were martyred, and the gates of
Paradise were opened to them, and they saw theHoor)celestial maidens(
and although the third was awaited by his wife from among theHoor, he
did not fall as a martyr in the cause of Allaah The Almighty. She
said, "May Allaah disappoint you! What have you done in order not to
rise up to that rank?"A year later, he saw in a vision the third one
who died naturally and did not fall as a martyr in the cause of Allaah
The Almighty in a degree higher than that of his two fellows who had
fallen martyrs in the cause of Allaah. He related that to the
Messenger of Allaah,, who said:"Has he not prayed to Allaah six
thousand Rak'ahs? Has henot observed the fast of Ramadan?"Allaah The
Almighty caused him to survive this year that delayed him from his
fellows who fell as martyrs, and because of his prayers and fasting
during this year, he rose to a rank higher than that of the martyrs,
and became higher in position than those who were martyred in the way
of Allaah The Almighty, due to his righteous deeds, including, of
course, witnessingRamadan. Let us consider how one should praise his
Lord because He has granted him this great opportunity.