Life After Ramadan

All praise is due to Allaah. We thank Him, we seek forHis help and forgiveness. We also seek His refuge against the evils of our souls and that of our deeds. Whoever Allaah guides, nobody can mislead him, and whoever He misleads will never have no guide. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. May He bestow Peace and blessingupon this noble Prophet, his family and companions.
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah as He should be feared for, the fear of Allaah is the best treasure for you.
Dear Muslims! Months, days and years are made to determine lifespan and to afford people the oppurtunity to perform good deeds. Further, deathdo patrol day and night to take the souls of those whose time is due and youshall be addressed on the Day of Ressurection on account of your deeds. It isthen that your Lord will say:
“These are only your deeds that has been recorded for you and for which I am going to reward you. So, whoevergets a good reward should be thankful to Allaah and whoever gets otherwise should only blame himself.”
Dear brothers! Your monthof Ramadan has now gonewith your deeds. Let those who have committed wrong among you quickly repent and mend their ways before Door of Repentance is closed and let those who have done good continue on the same for, the best of all acts of obedience are the the ones followed up with its like. Be concerned moreover the acceptance of your deeds than over the deeds itself for, Allaah does not accept deeds except from the pious ones. Also, beware of following up good deeds with bad ones because, if we say that good deeds eradicate bad ones, it is also not impossible that bad deeds destroy good ones.
Brothers in faith! You were- during the just concludedmonth of righteous - fasting in the day, praying in the night and doing different kinds of sacrificialacts in oder to get reward and to be saved from the Fire. With the depature of this month, a stage of our live has passed. Such is how we pass days of this life in stages on our way to the everlasting abode. Indeed, continuation of good deeds at all time is character of righteous people for, acts of obedience do not have a specific time; it is rather Allaah’s unconditional right upon His servants as long as they are alive. Though, month of Ramadaan is an opportunity for the faithfuls to race with one another towards good deeds and an opportunity to direct one’s soul towards meritorious acts and keep it from vices; yet,it is quite incumbent on Muslims to remain on the path of righteousness evenafter Ramadaan. Worshipping Allaah shouldnot be restricted to Ramadaan alone for, there is no end to Muslim’s worship except when he dies. What evil people those who worship only time and do not know Allaah except in Ramadaan!
Dear Muslims! Certainly, the acceptance and rejection of deeds in this month have signs. Among the signs of acceptance of good deed is when it is followed up by good deeds and it is among the signs of rejection to followup one’s good deeds with evil ones. Therefore, followup the good deeds with itslike, it will be a sign of acceptance of that good deed and follow up your evil deeds with good ones,that will indicate that those evil deeds have beenoverlooked. Allaah says:
“Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice)." (Hood 11:114)
The Prophet saws also said:
“Fear Allaah wherever you are, follow up the evil deed with good one it will remove it and relate with people with good conduct.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhee)
Let those who are determined to go back to sins after Ramadaan know that Allaah is always pleased with those who obey Him regardless of themonth the obedience takes place and is angry with those who disobey Him irrespective of the month the disobedience takes place. The essence ofposperity lies in long life and good deeds and a person’s continuation of good deeds without restricting it to a certain period, particular month orspecial place is a sign of one’s righteousness and acceptance of his good deeds.
Fellow Muslims! Though Ramadaan season is now gone, yet, fasting is still recommended in other months. The Messenger of Allaah saws has recommended fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. He said:
“Deeds are presented to Allaah on Mondays and Thursdays and I would likethat my deeds be presented while I am fasting."
It is also reported that he admonished Aboo Hurayrah ra thus:
"Fasting for three days in every month is (equal to) fasting forever." (Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).
He also said:
Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadaan and then follows it with six days fasting in Shawwaal has done as if he has fast for live." (Reported by Muslim)/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

* Intermarrying among Adam and Eve's children

*
Asalam Alaikum?
I have no doubt whatsoever, but these kind a things come to mind. Whem Adam and Eve bore children, I assume their children got married among themselves. Isn’t marryingbetween brothers and sisters haram in the Quran?
Can you recommend a good book(s) on Islamic Law covering every and each aspect of Life? Thankyou very much for the generous work for the sake of Allah.
Thanks.
wa alaikum us-salaam wa-rahmat ullaahi wa-barakaatuh
All Praise be to Allaah.
As long as you are confident in your heart about your belief, no suchinsinuations will hurt you (inshaa' Allaah). If a doubtstrikes a believer or something appears to himas a conflict between different textual sources of Shari'ah, he must believe that indeed for such doubts there are trueanswers and for such apparent conflicts there are solutions even if he doesn’t know it or is unable to find the right answer himself. However, a person should not collect all the doubts in his heart and worry aboutthe complexities and leave aside the learning ofuseful knowledge. This is because it is incumbent upon a Muslim to learn and know things which have been clearly described (Muhkamaat) in Shari'ah so that he may be able to repel the doubts.
Regarding the question you have asked, it is a known fact that legislation differs from one Shari'ah to another, while the principles and beliefs remain the same inall of them. So, making of portraits was allowed in the Shari'ah of Sulayman (peace be upon him) but is prohibited in our Shari'ah. Similarly, makingprostration of salutation was permitted in the Shari'ah of Yusuf (peace be upon him) but is illegalin ours. Also, war booty was prohibited for nations before us but it is completely legal for us. The Qiblah of people before us used to be towards Bayt Al-Maqdis, but for us it is towards Ka'bah. In a similar way, marriage between brothers and sisters was permitted in the Shari'ah of Adam (peace be upon him) as opposed to those that came afterwards. Thefollowing is a clarification on the issue by Haafidh Ibn Katheer, who said:
Allaah allowed Adam (peace be upon him) to marry his daughters to hissons for necessity. Every couple used to have a boyand a girl. Hence, he married the girl of one couple to the boy of another. This is said by Suddi regarding what has been narrated by Abu Maalik and Abu Salih, fromIbn ‘Abbas, by Murrah from Ibn Mas‘ood and by other companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that Adam did not have (in his grandchildren) a baby boyunless it was accompanied by a girl, so he married the male of a couple to the female of another, and the female of a couple to the male of another.
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Taking the crescent as asymbol

What is the symbolism behind the Muslim star and crescent? I did a keyword search of your site and searched my library's reference books and cannot find anything more than a reference to the flag of the Ottoman Empire. Thank you for your interest.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is no basis in sharee’ah for taking the crescent or star as a symbol of the Muslims. This was not known at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or atthe time of the Khulafa’ al-Raashidoon (the first four leaders of Islam after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or during the time of the Umawis (Umayyad dynasty). It emerged some time after that, and historians differ as to when this symbol was first adopted and who was the first to adopt it. Some say it was the Persians, others say it wasthe Greeks, and that this symbol was somehow passed to the Muslims. (See Al-Taraateeb al-Idaariyah by al-Kittaani,1/320). It was said that the reason why the Muslims adopted the crescent was that when they conquered some western countries, the churches there had crosses on top of them, the Muslims replaced the crosses with these crescents, and the practicespread in this way. Whatever the case, symbols and banners must be in accordance with the teachings of Islam, and as there is no evidence that this symbol is prescribed by Islam, it isbetter not to use it. Neither the crescent nor the star are symbols of the Muslims, even though some Muslims may use them as symbols.
As regards what Muslims think about the moon andthe stars, they believe that they are part of the creation of Allaah, and as such can neither benefit nor harm people, and they do not have any influence over events on earth. Allaah has created them for the benefit of mankind, an example of which is seen in the aayahor verse of the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning):
“They ask you (O Muhammad) about the new moons. Say: These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage…” [al-Baqarah 2:189]
[The commentator] Ibn Katheer said, explaining the phrase Say: these are signs to mark fixed periods of time: “From them (the new moons) they may know the times for repaying loans, the ‘iddah (waiting period) of their women [after being divorced or widowed] andthe timing of their Hajj (pilgrimage)… Allaah has made them signs to mark the times when Muslims should start to fast and break their fast [the beginning and end of Ramadaan], to count the ‘iddah of their women and to know the times forrepaying loans.” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).
[Another commentator] Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on thisaayah [verse]: “This explains the wisdom behind the waxing and waning of the moon, which is to avoid any confusion in appointed dates, dealings, oaths, Hajj, ‘iddah, fasting, breaking fasts, length of pregnancy, rentals and other matters that concern mankind. Similar to this aayah are others (interpretation of the meanings):
‘And We have appointed the night and the day as two aayaat (signs). Then, We have made dark the sign of the night while We have made the sign ofday illuminating, that youmay seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning…” [al-Isra’ 17:12]
‘It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out its (their) stages, that you might know the number of years and the reckoning…’[Yoonus 10:5]
Counting the new moons is easier than counting days.” (See Tafseer al-Qurtubi).
With regard to the stars, the scholars of Islam say that Allaah created these stars for three reasons: to adorn the heavens, to drive away the devils (shayaateen) and as signs for navigation. (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab Bad’ al-Khalq), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is He Who has set the stars for you, so that you may guide your course with their help through the darkness of the land and the sea…” [al-An’aam 6:97]
“And indeed We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps, and We have made such lamps (as) missiles to drive away the shayaateen (devils), and have prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire.” [al-Mulk 67:5]/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

The mercy of the merciful Prophet

A Bedouin came to Rasul Allah and told him, "Give me from what Allah gave you, not from the wealth of your mother nor from the wealth of your father." The Sahaabah were furious at the man and step forward to discipline him for what hesaid. Rasul Allah commanded everyone to leave him.
Then by the hand, Rasul Allah took him home, opened his door and said,"Take what you wish and leave what you wish." Theman did so and after he completed, Rasul Allah asked him, "Have I honored you?" "Yes, by Allah,"
said the Bedouin. "Ash hadu an laa ilaaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah."
When the Sahabah heard of how the man changed, Rasul Allah taught them.
"Verily the example of myself, you and this Bedouin is that of a man who had his camel run away. The townspeople tried capturing the camel for him by running and shouting after the camel, only driving it further away. The man would shout, 'Leave me and my camel, I know my camel better.' Then he took some grass in his hand, ruffled it in front of the camel, until it came willingly.
'By Allah, had I left you to this Bedouin, you would have hit him, hurt him, hewould have left without Islam and eventually haveentered hellfire."/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en