Dought & clear - The virtue of fasting six days of Shawwaal

What is the ruling on fasting six days of Shawwaal? Is it waajib (obligatory)?
Praise be to Allaah.
Fasting six days of Shawwaal after the obligatory fast of Ramadaan
isSunnah Mustahabbah, not waajib. It is recommended for the Muslim to
fast six days ofShawwaal, and in this there is great virtue and an
immense reward. Whoever fasts these six days will have recorded for
him a reward as if hehad fasted a whole year,as was reported in a
saheeh hadeeth from the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). Abu Ayyoob (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the
Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever fasts Ramadaan and follows itwith six days of Shawwaal, it
will be as ifhe fasted for a lifetime."(Narrated by Muslim, Abu
Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nisaa'i and Ibn Maajah).
The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained
thiswhen he said: "Whoever fasts for six days after (Eid) al-Fitr has
completed the year: (whoever does a good deed (hasanah) will have ten
hasanah like it)." According to another report: "Allaah has made for
each hasanah ten like it, so a month is like fasting ten months, and
fasting six days completes the year."(al-Nisaa'i and Ibn Maajah. See
alsoSaheeh al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb, 1/421).It was also narrated by
IbnKhuzaymah with the wording: "Fasting for the month of Ramadaan
brings the reward of tenlike it, and fasting for sixdays brings the
reward of two months, and that is the fasting of the whole year."
The Hanbali and Shaafa'ifuqaha' explained that fasting six days of
Shawwaal after fasting Ramadaan makes it as if one has fasted for an
entire year of obligatoryfasts, because the multiplication of the
reward applies even to naafil fasts, because each hasanah brings the
reward of ten like it.
Another of the important benefits of fasting six days of Shawwaal is
that is makes up for any shortfall in a person's obligatory Ramadaan
fasts, because no one is free of shortcomings or sins that have a
negativeeffect on his fasting. On the Day of Resurrection, some of his
naafil deeds will be taken to make upthe shortcomings in his
obligatory deeds, as the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "The first thing for which people will be brought to
account on the Day of Resurrection will be their salaah (prayer).
OurLord, may He be glorified and exalted, will say to His angels –
although He knows best – 'Look at the salaah of My slave, whether it
is complete or incomplete.'If it is perfect, it will be recorded as
perfect, and if something is lacking, He will say, 'Look and see
whether My slave didany voluntary (naafil) prayers.' If he did some
voluntary prayers, [Allaah] will say, Complete the obligatory actions
of My slave from his voluntary actions.' Then all his actions will be
dealt with in a similarmanner."(Narrated by Abu Dawood).
And Allaah knows best.

Inspirational Stories for Teenagers: Most BeautifulHeart(Love and Islam, Love (Hubb) in Islam)

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming
that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.
A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect.
There was nota mark or a flaw in it.
Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen.
The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautifulheart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said,
"Whyyour heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."
The crowd and the youngman looked at the old man's heart. It was
beating strongly ... but full of scars. It had places where pieces had
been removed and other pieces put in ... but they didn't fit quite
right and there were several jagged edges.
In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.
The people starred ... how could he say his heart is more beautiful,
they thought?
The young man looked atthe old man's heart and saw its state and
laughed. "You must be joking," he said."Compare your heart withmine
... mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
"Yes," said theold man,"Yours is perfect looking ... but I would never
trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have
given my love ..... I tear out a piece of my heart and give it tothem
... and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the
empty place in my heart... but because the pieces aren't exact, I have
some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love
weshared.
Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away... and the other person
hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges
... giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful,
they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too
... and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have
waiting. So now do you see what true beautyis?"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He
walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful
heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with
trembling hands.
The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a
piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the
young man's heart.
It fit .... but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked athis heart, not perfect anymore but more
beautiful than ever, sincelove from the old man's heart flowed into
his.
They embraced and walked away side by side.

Inspirational Stories for Teenagers: Gift of Love(Love Story, Love and Islam, Love (Hubb) in Islam)

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive
young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps.
She paid thedriver and, using her hands to feel the locationof the
seats, walked down the aisle and foundthe seat he had told her was
empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested
her cane against her leg.
It had been a year since Safiya, thirty-four, became blind. Due to a
medical misdiagnosis shehad been rendered sightless, and she was
suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and
self-pity.Once a fiercely independent woman, Safiya now felt condemned
by this terrible twist of fate to become a powerless, helpless burden
on everyone around her.
"How could this have happened to me?" she would plead, her heart
knotted with anger. But no matter how much she cried or ranted, she
knewthe painful truth her sight was never going to return. A cloud of
depression hung over Safiya's once optimistic spirit. Just getting
through each day was anexercise in frustration and exhaustion. And all
she had to cling to was her husband Meraj.
Meraj was an Air Force officer and he loved Safiya with all of his
heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched hersink into despair
and wasdetermined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence
she needed to become independent again. Meraj's military background
had trained him well to deal with sensitive situations, and yet he
knew this was the most difficult battle he would ever face.
Finally, Safiya felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get
there? She used to take the bus, but was now toofrightened to get
around the city by herself. Meraj volunteered to drive her to work
each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city.
At first, this comforted Safiya and fulfilled Meraj's need to protect
his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest
task. Soon, however, Meraj realized that this arrangement was not
working - it was hectic, and costly. Safiya is goingto have to start
taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the thought of
mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile, so
angry. How would she react?
Just as Meraj predicted, Safiya was horrified at the idea of taking
the bus again. "I am blind!" she responded bitterly."How am I supposed
to know where I am going? I feel like you are abandoning me."
Meraj's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be
done. Meraj promised Safiya that each morning and evening he would
ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang
of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Meraj,
military uniform and all, accompanied Safiya to and from work each
day. Meraj taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically
her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new
environment.
Meraj helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her
and save her a seat. Meraj made her laugh, even on those not-so-good
days when she would trip exiting the bus or drop her briefcase. Each
morning they made the journey together and Meraj would take a cab back
to his office. Although this routine was even more costly and
exhausting than the previous one, Meraj knew it was only a matter of
time before Safiya would be able to ride the bus on her own. Meraj
believed in her, in the Safiya he used to know before she would lost
her sight, who was not afraid of any challenge and who would never,
ever quit.
Finally, Safiya decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own.
Monday morning arrived,and before she left, she threw her arms around
Meraj, her temporary busriding companion, her husband, and her best
friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his
patience, his love. Safiya said good-bye, and for the first time, they
went their separate ways.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Each day on her own went
perfectly and Safiyahad never felt better. Safiya was doing it! She
was going to work all by herself!
On Friday morning, Safiyatook the bus to work as usual. As she was
paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said,"Sister, I sure
envy you."
Safiya was not sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After
all, who on earth would ever envya blind woman who had struggled just
to find the courage to live for the past year? Curious, she asked the
driver, "Why do you say that you envy me?"
The driver responded, "It must feel so good to be taken care of and
protected like you are."
Safiya had no idea what the driver was talking about, and asked
again,"What do you mean?"
The driver answered,"You know, every morning for the past week, a fine
looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the
corner watching you when you get off the bus.He makes sure you cross
the street safely and he watches you until you enter your office
building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and
walks away. You are one lucky woman."
Tears of happiness poured down Safiya's cheeks. For although she could
not physically see him, she had always felt Meraj's presence. Safiya
was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than
sight, a gift she did not need to see to believe - Gift of Lovethat
can bring light where there had been darkness ...
Surely Noble Qur'an says:"The Believers, men and women, are protectors
one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil:
they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah
and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is
Exalted in power, Wise." Tawba (9:71) Love (Hubb) in Islam

Fathwa - Women Praying at the Masjid & The Nature of Moral Responsibility

Question:
Is it forbidden for sisters to pray Taraweeh prayers in the masjid? Do
we know the Hikma behind it?
Answer:
Assalamu alaikum,
As for just praying, a woman's prayer in the depths of her house has
more reward than for her to pray in the masjid;in one narration, more
reward than praying in the Prophet's masjid itself, upon its dweller
the best of blessings and most perfect of peace. Some scholars mention
that the reward men get for praying in congregation is attained by
women when they pray at home.
However, as many scholars note, including Shaykh Hassaan al-Hindi of
Damascus and Mufti Taqi Usmani, if a woman goes to the masjid to
attain unto beneficial religious knowledge (or other religious
benefit) that may not be reasonably obtained elsewhere, then it would
not only be permitted forher to go to the masjid for this reason, but
praiseworthy, as long as there is no interminglingand no resultant
fitna or negligence of primary responsibilities (such as in the case
of a wife).
This, of course, would have to be done according to the proper norms
of Islamic behavior: the woman would have to be properly dressed, get
to the masjid in an appropriate and safe manner, not travel alone at
night, and avoid all intermingling with men.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam,