Personal, - Zakaah and Hajj

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Zakaah:
The Muslim women payZakaat)obligatory charity( on her wealth, if she is wealthy enough to be liable forZakaat.Every year at a specified time, she calculates how much she owns and pays what she has to, becauseZakaatis a pillar of Islam, and there can be no compromise or excuse when it comes to paying it every year, even if the amount comes to thousands or millions. It would never occur to the true Muslim woman to try to avoid paying some of theZakaatthat she is obliged to pay.
Zakaatis a clearly-defined financial obligation and act of worship which Allaah has enjoined upon every Muslim, man or women, who owns the minimum amount )Nisaab( or more. WithholdingZakaat, or denying that it is obligatory, is tantamount to apostasy and disbelief. The words of Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him, concerning the apostates who withheld theirZakaatecho down the centuries to us:"By Allaah I will fight whoever separates Salaat from Zakaat."
These immortal words demonstrate the greatness of this religion, which made the connection between "religious" and "secular" affairs, and reveal Abu Bakr's, may Allaah be pleased with him, deep understanding of the nature of this integrated, holistic way of life, which combines abstract beliefs with the practical application of their principles. Many verses of the Quran confirm the interdependence ofSalaah)prayer( andZakaatin the structure of faith:
}. . . Those who establish regular prayer and regular charity . . .{]Quran 5:55[
}And be steadfast in prayer: practice regular charity.{]Quran 2:43[
}. . . ]those who[ . . . establish prayers and regular charity.{]Quran 2:277[
It is clear to the true Muslim woman that Islam - although it has given her, the right to financial independence, and has not obliged her to support herself or others, which is, rather, the duty of men - has indeed enjoinedZakaaton her, and has madeZakaata right to which the poor are entitled. So the Muslim woman would not hesitate to pay it in the ways prescribed by Islam. She cannot claim to be excused because she is a woman and no woman is obliged to spend on others. Any woman who makes such a claim has a poor understanding of Islam, her faith is weak and there is some fault in her personality. Or else she is a woman, who appears to be religious, but she is ignorant and negligent, or is stingy and loves money, and it would never occur to her to payZakaateven though she fasts, prays and performsHajj, and occasionally gives a small charitable donation from her great wealth. These types of women - ignorant or stingy - are nothing like the true Muslim woman as envisaged by Islam. In which part of the month he would fast.'"
Hajj:
The true Muslim woman intends to go onHajj)pilgrimage( to the House of Allaah when conditions are fulfilled )she is financially and physically able to do so and has aMahramto travel with(. Before she sets out on her journey, she takes the time to study the rules ofHajjin depth, so that when she begins to perform the rituals ofHajj, her actions will be based on true understanding and herHajjwill be complete according to the conditions laid down by the Islam.Hajjfor women is the equivalent ofJihaadfor men, as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, described it in the following narration reported by `Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her:"I ]`Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her[ said: `O Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, can we )women( not go out on military expeditions and fight in Jihaad with you )men(?' He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said,`You )women( have the best of Jihaad, and the best of it is Hajj, an accepted Hajj.'"`Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, said,"I should never stop going for Hajj after I heard this from the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam."
`Umrah:
Just asHajjis obligatory for the Muslim woman, so also is `Umrah, if she is able to go. `UmrahduringRamadan, is especially important because its reward is equivalent to that for performingHajjwith the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Ibn `Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, who said:"When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came back from Hajj, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to Umm Sinaan Al-Ansariyyah, may Allaah be pleased with her,`What stopped you from going to Hajj?'She said, `Abu )so-and-so - meaning her husband( has two camels; he took one to go to Hajj, and we needed the other to irrigate our land.' He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said,`When Ramadan comes, go for `Umrah, because `Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to Hajj.'"According to another report also narrated by Ibn `Abbaas, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:"For `Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to )performing( Hajj with me."]Al-Bukhaari[



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Personal, - Using Pills to Delay the Monthly Period

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I would like to go and perform‘Umrahat the end ofRamadan. However, this will coincide with my monthly period, which usually lasts for 10 days. Can I take some pills to delay my monthly period? Do these pills have any side-effects? What pills can you recommend for this purpose? Would consuming these pills hinder me from having children when I get married in the future?
Answer:
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum, dear sister Nada.
You can use Primolet-N. Start taking these at least one week before your monthly period begins and continue through the last days ofRamadan. These pills will have no side-effects if used for such a short period, nor will they have any long-term effects for when you get married.




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Personal, - Your Time During Ramadan

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Time is the essence of life, and man’s life is but the seconds and minutes he/she lives. Every hour we live through in this life takes us that much closer to our destiny in the Hereafter.
Even though time is the most precious item in our lives )or at least it should be( and we should be guarding it with all the power we possess, it seems to be the easiest thing that we can squander!
One would never allow anyone to steal his wealth, but when it comes to our time, it is disgraceful that we seem to have no problem in allowing others to rob us of what they wish of it - and we might at times even help them do so! This is indeed a grave calamity because wealth can be recovered while one can never retrieve even a second of his lost time, regardless of the efforts he would spend in doing so.
This is why the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, described the one who wastes his time as a loser.Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allaah,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“There are two blessings in which many people incur loss. )They are( health and free time.”]Al-Bukhaari[ The one who uses his merchandise )in this case being his time and health( carelessly, gaining worldly profit while he wastes it, will be a loser on the Day of Resurrection. The vast majority of people do not take proper care of both these matters, with the result that they waste their time in useless activities and spend their physical strength and energy in the disobedience of Allaah. They will have to face the stern consequences of this on the Day of Resurrection when they will be brought to account for everything.
The great importance of time is magnified during virtuous seasons and blessed times, such as the great season of the blessed month ofRamadan.It is a great opportunity to gain multiplied rewards and accumulate tremendous profit. Therefore, it becomes compulsory upon one to utilize his/her time carefully during this month.
A regrettable phenomenon which has become noticeably widespread among people is that they spend their time during this month wastefully in social gatherings, shopping, or watching satellite television channels. Many years may pass while the months ofRamadanduring which they would have lived through would have had no impact on many Muslim sisters. No mistakes would have been corrected. No new virtuous deeds would have been adopted and practiced, and no misconducts would have been changed.
Every sister should reevaluate her situation and the strength of her faith if she truly wishes to please Allaah and hope for His reward in the Hereafter. She must be firm with herself and determined to improve and reform herself by utilizing every minute of this coming month in things that would yield fruitful results for her and bring her closer to her Lord.
Many people do realize the importance and value of time. However this knowledge often does not go beyond the knowledge stage and is never translated into action. The implications of such knowledge that affects the behavior, worship and conduct of the person, is very often not realized. Thus, we are requested to move to the next step and transform our knowledge into real life actions which would be manifested in our daily practice. The following are some tips on how sisters can utilize their time during the month ofRamadan:
Planning:Plan what you want to do during the entire month as well as what you wish to accomplish. Set clear objectives to achieve these and establish a plan of action with a timetable for each task you wish to perform, as well as every objective you hope to achieve. Plan every day and night: when you will go to bed and when you will wake up, and everything in between. Make a schedule for reciting the Quran and prayingTaraweeh. Set aside an amount to be spent in charity.
Remember! If you do not set clear goals, you will end up wasting a great deal of your precious time during this month and a lot of hours will pass uselessly.
Set your priorities:You must decide when you want to do things, and which objective should be accomplished first. Make up your mind on what is more important and what takes the highest priority. It is important to spend time doing things that are beneficial, but what is more important is to prioritize and spend time doing the more important of these beneficial things. This is because one of the plots of Satan is to busy the person with something beneficial with a very low priority in order to waste his chance of accomplishing what is more important.
Preserve your time:You must stay away from anything that wastes time or leads to it, such as talking on the phone purposelessly, frequent visits, going out of the house too much, or watching TV for long periods. Also, we must get others who know us to respect our time and privacy. People should know that they must have an appointment before coming to visit, and that visiting is not an open issue to be done any time and any day.
You must be realistic when trying to utilize your time. Many sisters get carried away and overload their time with tasks to be accomplished, only to be surprised later on that the time allocated was not enough to accomplish these tasks. This usually has a negative impact on the sister’s zeal and could lead to disillusionment.
Choose the right time to do things:Things that do not require close and deep concentration can be done in any part of the day. For example, while you are cooking you can busy yourself with mentioning Allaah, glorifying and praising Him or listening to lectures or Quran cassettes )or CDs(. On the other hand, there are things that necessitate concentration on the part of the sister, such as praying and reciting the Quran. You must do things at their proper times according to what they require from you.
Do not delay things:Be keen to not delay things to later times, because you may be struck with death at any moment and would therefore never get around to doing what you have delayed. Delaying is one of the worst mistakes man can make and is one of the most lethal weapons the devil uses against us.‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez, may Allaah have mercy upon him, was told once to delay the work of a day to the next due to his exhaustion, to which he replied:“One day’s tasks overburden me, so how would I be able to handle the load of two days together?”
Finally, intend to do things sincerely for Allaah and seek His help and support in accomplishing your goals during this blessed month. Be in the company of those who have the zeal to work and fruitfully utilize their time. Always remember that if time is not spent righteously, it will be spent otherwise. Know that every minute has its own task, so make proper use of your time and spend it in things that would benefit you in this life and the Hereafter. Fill your record of good deeds with as much reward as you can before the month slips away.


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