Ramalan Articles, - Ramadan Contest!

The season of glad tidings, whichbrings the greatest joy to the hearts
of the believers is near. It brings the universal competition that
starts with the first night in the month of Ramadan and ends with its
last night. Get ready for the greatest opportunity and the most
blessed season in the whole year.
It is the great competition that was proclaimed by Allaah The Exalted
in the Noble Quran when He Says )what means(: }Race toward forgiveness
from your Lord and a Garden whose width is like the width of the
heavens and earth, prepared for those who believed in Allaah and His
messengers.{ ]Quran 57:21[
Bear in mind that the prize in thiscontest is the greatest prize
ever.It is Paradise, whose width is equal to that of the heavens and
the earth. It is Paradise, which abounds in bliss and pleasures which
the self desires and the eye enjoys. These heavenly, spiritual and
physical pleasures are beyond words – the eye has not seen, the ear
has not heard and no human heart has ever perceived such bounties!
Is there any better prize than Paradise? Is there a greater aspiration
or objective for the seekers of spiritual ranks and human perfection,
other than gaining the pleasure of Allaah The Exalted and looking at
His Face?
Description of the competition:
Let us describe the competition to you so that you can join it with
proper understanding of the nature of the competition.
The competition takes place in the holy month of Ramadan, when all the
gates of Paradise are opened.
The conditions of the competition:
First: the competitor should give up all forbidden acts and sins that
he used to commit before joining the competition. He should give back
people their duerights, evade prohibitions, falsehood and evil, in
every form. He should also shun listening to songs and music and
disallow them in his house, shop or workplace.
The contestant should also abstain from playing cards, and stay away
from idle gatherings. He should avoid saying, or even listening to
backbiting, gossip, lies and falsehood. He should purify his tongue
from words of obscenity and vulgarity, and avoid listening to such
immoral actions. He should purify his mouth and his gatherings from
such mood altering substances such as tobacco, hookah and the like.
Second: the competitor should show determination and persistence in
carrying out the following:
A – Declaring his repentance to Allaah The Exalted, saying, "O Lord! I
am seeking Your Forgiveness for all my sins and I repent to You from
any ill belief, word, or deed that does not please You. O Allaah The
Exalted; forgive me and accept my repentance; for You are the
All-Forgiving."
B – Carrying out the following good deeds:
1 – Performing the five daily prayers in congregation without missing a Rak'ah.
2 – Reciting the Noble Quran day and night throughout the monthof Ramadan.
3 – Carrying out many voluntary prayers night and day throughout the
month of Ramadan.
4 – Giving money, food, drink andclothing in charity, according to
one's abilities and what one can afford.
5 – Supplicating Allaah The Exalted a lot and seeking His forgiveness,
especially during Sahar )the time before dawn( every night.
Would you like to be awarded with the Hoor )celestial maidens(? Would
you like to add new life to yours? Would you like to add abundant
rewards to yourrecords? Would you like to earn the rewards of a
thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months? Would you like to expiate
all your sins and erase all your misdeeds? All these benefitscan be
gained by participating in this competition faithfully and with
devotion.
In order to earn all this, safeguard your ears from listening to songs
and music, backbiting, obscenity and vulgarity. Guard your hands from
touching what is impermissible and your legs from walking to what is
forbidden. Evade backbiting, gossip, lying, falsehood, obscenity and
vulgarity. Do not preoccupy your heart with what does not avail you
and with thinking what is not necessary.
Offer your money in charity; for it is the optimal time for giving in
charity. Observe I'tikaaf in the mosque, hoping for the rewards of
Allaah The Exalted and fearing His punishment. Strive in worshipin the
House of Allaah The Exaltedso that you would earn His forgiveness and
have your repentance accepted. Your place is in the first rows in
congregational prayers; you should strive not to miss the opening
Takbeerah )Allaahu Akbar( of every prayer. Do not forget the Noble
Quran. You should recite it during the holy month of Ramadan, ponder
over its meanings with an attentive heart, tearful eyes and a
yearningheart.
May Allaah The Exalted render you among the forerunners uponwhom He
bestows His peace and the blessed winners in the great contest!

Ramalan Articles, - In Ramadan: Why Do They Weep And I Do Not?

One of the causes of prosperity and success in both religious and
worldly affairs is to be honest with oneself, and not to seek false
excuses until the time deathstrikes a person by surprise, and he feels
regretful at a time when regrets will be of no profit to him.
No doubt, the virtue of weeping out of fear of Allaah The Almightyis
great. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allaahsaid: "Allaah will
give shade to seven)types of people( on the Day there will be no shade
other than His", and those seven types of people include: "A person
who remembers Allaah The Almighty in seclusion, thereupon his eyes
overflow with tears."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
A question echoes within many of those who are negligent, and we are
all negligent – we ask Allaah The Almighty to pardon us. When we hear
the noble verses of the Quran being recited,or the Prophetic
Ahaadeeth)narrations( of the Messenger of Allaahor the stories of the
righteous predecessors, we find many soft-hearted people weeping.
Why do they weep and some of us do not?
We all do our best to be submissive and to weep, but some of us
cannot. What is the reason behind this?
The reason is shown by Allaah The Almighty in His statement)which
means(: }No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which
they were earning.{ ]Quran 83:14[ That is, because oftheir deeds,
their hearts have been veiled from goodness, and they have become more
heedless. That is the real cause ofnot weeping out of fear of Allaah
The Almighty.
Why do they weep?
What enables some of us to be humbly submissive? What makes some
people weep and even takepleasure in doing so, when others do not?
People with soft hearts keep away from sins, focus their attention on
the Hereafter in their secret and public life and when they do so,
their hearts become righteous and their eyes shed tears.
When we lose these characteristics, our hearts become corrupted, and
our eyes do not shed tears.
You should know that the fear of Allaah The Almighty which is followed
by weeping comes and continues only when one abides by the following
actions regularly:
1. To repent to Allaah The Almighty and seek His forgiveness by heart
and tongue, where one turns his face to Him with repentance, fear and
bashfulness before his Lord, The Great, The Forbearing, Who has given
him respite, conferred favors upon him, and guided himto repentance.
This requires a true reflective pause within the soul to take it to
account.
2. To abandon sins and be awareof them, whether they are minor or
major, apparent or hidden. These are the chronic diseases that veil
the heart from closenessto Allaah The Almighty, darken it and bring
about distress.
3. To come closer to Allaah The Almighty with acts of worship such as
fasting, prayer, Hajj, charity, reciting the Athkaar)words of
remembrance( and all good deeds.
4. To remember the Hereafter. Is it not quite strange that although
we know that the world will come to an end, and that the real future
lies in the Hereafter, we still do not work for the sake of this
enduring real future? Allaah The Almighty Says)what means(: }Whoever
should desire the immediate - We hasten for him from it what We will
to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will
]enter to[ burn, censured and banished. But whoever desires the
Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it
is those whose effort is ever appreciated]by Allaah[.{ ]Quran
17:18-19[
5. To have knowledge of Allaah The Almighty, His Names, Attributes,
and law, in compliance with His statement)which means(: }Only those
fear Allaah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.{ ]Quran
35:28[ It was also said, that the more one knows Allaah The Almighty,
the more he fears Him.
6. To read more often about the spiritual state of the righteous and
emulate them.
In the days of Ramadan, the days of goodness and blessings, there are
great opportunities for one to return to his Lord, when the devils are
chained in fetters, the gates of goodness are opened, and the rewards
of the acts of worship are multiplied. Thus, return to your Lord, draw
close to Him, turn your face to Him, and get rid of the yokes of sins,
and the barriers of misdeeds: it isthen that you will find the eye
shedding tears and the heart submissive.

Ramalan Articles, - Anticipating Ramadan

Ramadan is just around the corner. It will be a great blessing for
those of us who live to see it and pick its invaluable fruits. It is a
time of Taqwa )piety(, of Emaan)faith(, and of Ihsaan )excellence(.Its
time for renovation of faith, for renewal of our pledge to Allaah
Almighty, for refueling our soul for the onslaughts the next year
holds for us. Yet, it will pass by many of us without touching them.
How deprived are those who will remain untouched by it! And how lucky
are those whom its nights will bless with tears of love and fear, and
its days with the sweet hunger and thirst of fasting!
Allaah Almighty breaks the monotony of human life by appointing times
and places that He, by His infinite Wisdom and Knowledge, calls
special, or `Mubaarak', one that has the special touch of Allaah's
Barakah)benediction, blessing(. This concept of Barakah is extremely
important for it appears quite frequently in the Noble Quran and the
Prophetic narrations.
The concept of Barakah has a kind of mystery in it. The devotedservant
does not know exactly how, when and in what form willthe promised
increase or acceptance will descend, so he orshe keeps an eye on the
unknown prize and keeps going. It is hidden in some moments of the
night, some morsels of food, some days of the week, some months of the
year, and some cities or places in the world. No one knows but the
All-Knower, Allaah Almighty.
Even a cursory look at the history of various human cultures showsthat
humans have a timeless instinct to separate the special from the
mundane and to distinguish the sacred from the profane. This very
distinction has formed the essence of worship inall human societies,
primitive or modern. In the true religion of Allaah Almighty, all
sanctity and devotion goes finally to Allaah, and Allaah alone. Yet to
break our routine, to grab our attention, to challenge our intellect,
to satiate our spiritual yearning, and finally to fill our instinctive
need of worship, devotion and love, Allaah Almighty has chosen, by His
Wisdom, tangible symbols for us.These symbols of time and space,of
sacred moments and Mubaarak )blessed( places, are anaid to our
worship. Ramadan is perhaps the richest, the largest and the most
loaded of these symbols.
The modern secular society has played havoc with this sense of
sacredness, leaving us without symbols and their spirituality
andmystery. Surrounded by man-made buildings, cars, computers,
highways and gadgets, we forget the Creator ofthe makers of these
trivialities. Emails preempt Prayer, cheap fiction strikes off the
Quran, fashion magazines replace beneficial books, TV sports take care
of any reflective moments you might have otherwise had.
So much so that the month of Ramadan takes many of us by surprise when
our favorite news service announces that the `Muslims are celebrating
Ramadan tomorrow'. Ramadan comes to many of us without arousing and
ecstasy in the heartor anticipation in the mind. All the joys of its
anticipation and memories of its presence are sidelined by the clutter
of this busy life. A provocative email going around these days
understandably spells BUSY out as: 'Being Under Satan's Yoke!'
If you are busy, but not necessarily getting much done in terms of
real responsibilities of your life, that is, there is no Barakah in
your time and efforts, nor have you any `spare' time for pondering
Allaah's Message, thenbe sure, the one keeping you busy is none but
Satan. The solution is easy: seeking Allaah's refuge. But it is being
aware and ready perpetually to seek Allaah'srefuge that makes the
toughest challenge. The times and places of special, barakah help us
do just that.
Don't be too busy for Ramadan. Small things like Masjid announcements
about Ramadan and other sacred days and nights, discussions with
friends and relatives about your plans to read Quran and mutual
encouragement to excel in piety can work wonders. Seek blessings by
keeping track of the Islamic calendar and of the months and days,
fasting on the recommended days, and visiting outdoors to reflect upon
the creation of Allaah Almighty. Learnthe sayings of the Prophetabout
blessed moments like Ramadan, and intensify your worship, devotions
and supplications during these times.Keep you tongue wet by asking for
Allaah's mercy and blessings. Meet the blessed Ramadan fully prepared
to reap its gifts. Pray that Ramadan touches you with its incalculable
blessings.

Hadees -

28 Ramadan - The Prophet sallallaahu alayhiwa sallam married Zaynab
Bint Khuzaymah -4 A.H. - The tribe of Thaqeef embraced Islam. A
delegation from Thaqeef came to the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, after his return from Tabook to announce their and their
people's conversionto Islam. The delegation was headed by 'Abd Yaaleel
ibn 'Amr, three men from Banu Maalik, and two men from their allies –
9 A.H. - The Conquest of Andalusia and the Battle of Barbate.The
region of Andalusia was conquered at the hand of the Muslim leader
Taarik ibn Ziyaad, may Allaah have mercy upon him, who arrived there
through Gibraltar. He defeated the Visigothsin the Battle of Barbate,
conquered Cordoba, and killed its governor Rodrigo – 92 A.H. - The
Death of Shaykh Saalih ibn Ahmad ibn 'AbdullaahAl-Khuraysi. He was
born in Buraydah, 1328 A.H. and grew up an orphan among his brothers.
He acquired the Sharee'ah knowledge at the hands of several scholars
and Shaykhs. He was then chosen as an Imaam and teacher in a large
Masjid)Mosque( in Buraydah. Later, he was appointed as judge in
Ad-Dilam, then, he returned to Buraydah and became chief judge in the
Buraydah court until he retired – 1415 A.H. The Death of the eminent
scholar Shaykh 'Abdullaah ibn Zayd ibn 'Abdullaah ibn Muhammad ibn
Raashid ibn Ibraaheem ibn Mahmood died in this year. He was one of the
prominent scholars and figures of Qatar. He studied at the hands of
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal Ash-Shaykh, Mufti of Saudi Arabia,
and several other great scholars of Najd. He worked as a teacher in
the Sacred Mosque in Makkah for a full year, then, moved to Qatar as a
judge, a Mufti and a teacher. He remained in Qatar until he passed
away. His publications were over sixty and he had a remarkable impact
on the course of Da'wah)propagation( in the region – 1420 A.H.