For children, - Be Careful What You Plant

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An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."
The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "What great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.
But
If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.
If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.
So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap tomorrow, The seeds you now scatter, Will make life worse or better, your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday, you will enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today. Honesty in Islam

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Women in Ramadaan, - Dought & clear, - * Her menses ended before Fajr andshe started fasting without doing ghusl

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My menses ended before Fajr prayer and I waited until after the prayer, but I fell asleep and I woke up at ten a.m. I did not do ghusl because I forgot, and I took my sick daughter to the hospital, and I was busy until the time of ‘Asr prayer, then I did ghusl and made up the prayers that I had missed. Allaah knows that this is the first time this had happened to me since I reached puberty. The reason was that my period usually lasts for 9 days but this month it was 8 days, but I waited to make sure, but I was fasting. What should I do? Should I make up the fast?.
Praise be to Allaah.
If you were certain that your menses had ended and you formed the intention to fast before dawn, even if it was one minute before, then your fast is valid, even if you delayed doing ghusl.
See the answer to question no. 37936.
But if you were uncertain as to whether your period had ended, but you still intended to fast, then the fast was not valid because of your uncertainty as to whether your menses had ended.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a woman who fasted when she was unsure whether her period was over, then when morning came she saw that it had indeed ended. Does her fast count even though she was not certain that her period had ended?
He replied: Her fast does not count, and she has to make up that day, because the basic principle is that the menses was still there, and her starting to fast when she was not certain that her menses was over means that she started to do an act of worship when she was uncertain as to whether one of the conditions of it being valid was fulfilled or not, and this means that it does not count. End quote fromMajmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(19/107).
If a woman knows that her menses has ended, she must do ghusl so that she may pray, and it is not permissible for her to delay that until the time for prayer ends. If she does that, then she has to repent, as well as make up the prayers that she has missed.
If she forgets that her period has ended – as you mention in your question – then there is no sin on her in sha Allaah for delaying her prayer, but when she remembers she must do ghusl and offer the prayers that she has missed – as you did.
We ask Allaah to forgive us and you.
And Allaah knows best.

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Women in Ramadaan, - Dought & clear, - * Does tabarruj invalidate the fast?

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Does tabarruj invalidate the fast?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Allaah has prescribed fasting for great reasons. One of the most important of these reasons and one of the greatest purposes achieved by the fast is so that we may attain piety (taqwa), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning) :
“O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[al-Baqarah 2:183]
Taqwa or piety means obeying that which Allaah has commanded and avoiding that which He has forbidden.
The person who is fasting is commanded to do acts of worship and obedience, and he is forbidden to do haraam things. Sins are bad enough when committed by anyone, but they are even worse when committed by one who is fasting. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting in accordance with it, and ignorant conduct, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6057. See also question no. 37989and 37658.
Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibaan and al-Haakim narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fasting does not just mean giving up food and drink, rather fasting also means giving up idle and obscene talk.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 1082.
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with them) said: Fasting does not just mean giving up food and drink; it also means giving up lies, falsehood and idle talk.
Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: If you fast, then block your ears, eyes and tongue from lies and sin; do not abuse your servants; be tranquil and dignified on the day of your fast; do not let the day when you do not fast and the day when you fast be the same.
It was narrated that Taleeq ibn Qays said: Abu Dharr said: When you fast then be careful as much as you can. When Taleeq was fasting he would enter his house and only come out to pray.
When Abu Hurayrah and his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) fasted, they would stay in the mosque and say, “We are keeping our fast pure.”
Seeal-Muhalla, 4/305
One of the scholars said:
The person who is fasting must fast with his eyes and not look at anything that is not permissible; with his ears and not listen to anything that is not permissible; with his tongue and not speak any obscene words or slander any one or tell lies or backbite.
The believer should make the most of this blessed month in which the devils are chained up, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and a caller cries out, “O seeker of good, go ahead; O seeker of evil, desist!” The believer should make the most of this month so that he may draw closer to Allaah, repent sincerely from all his sins and make a pledge to Allaah to adhere to His religion and laws.
Secondly:
Sin – including a woman’s making a wanton display (tabarruj) of her beauty and charms to non-mahram men – detracts from the reward of fasting. The more sins are committed and the more serious they are, the more that detracts from the reward of fasting, and it may cancel out the reward altogether, so that a person may have denied himself food, drink and all the things that break the fast, yet still deprived himself of the reward for that by disobeying Allaah. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The one who fasts may get nothing from his fast but hunger, and the one who prays qiyaam may get nothing from his qiyaam but a sleepless night.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1690; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Ibn Maajah.
Al-Subki said in hisFataawa, 1/221-226:
Can the (reward for) fasting be decreased by sins that may occur while one is fasting, or not? The view which we favour is that it can decrease, and I do not think there is any differing opinion on this matter…
Note that the complete reward for fasting is achieved when it is accompanied by acts of worship such as reading Qur’aan, observing i’tikaaf, praying, giving charity etc, and it may be achieved by avoiding haraam things. All of these things make the reward more complete.
Thirdly:
With regard to fasting that is accompanied by sins – including tabarruj on the part of a woman – the fast is not invalidated by that, rather it is valid and the fasting person has fulfilled his obligation and does not have to make up the fast. But the reward for fasting is decreased by that sin and it may be cancelled out altogether as stated above.
Al-Nawawi said inal-Majmoo’(6/398):
The fasting person should protect his fast from backbiting and slander. What this means is that it is more important for the fasting person to avoid these sins than others, although those who are not fasting should avoid these sins too, as that is enjoined in all situations. If a person backbites while fasting, he has committed a sin but that does not invalidate his fast in our view. This is the view of Maalik, Abu Haneefah, Ahmad and all the scholars except al-Awzaa’i who said that the fast is invalidated by backbiting, and must be made up.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked inFataawa al-Siyaam(p. 358): If a person utters some haraam words during the day in Ramadaan does that invalidate his fast?
He replied:
If we read the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[al-Baqarah 2:183]
we will see that the reason why fasting is enjoined is so that we may attain piety, and piety means avoiding things that are forbidden. In general it means doing that which is commanded and avoiding that which is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting in accordance with it, and ignorant conduct, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.”
Based on this, the fasting person has to avoid haraam words and actions, so he should not backbite about people, or tell lies, or spread malicious gossip amongst them, he should not engage in haraam transactions, and he should avoid all haraam things. If a person avoids that for a whole month then he should be able to adhere to that straight path for the rest of the year. But unfortunately many of those who fast do not differentiate between the days when they fast and the days when they do not fast, so they carry on as usual with haraam speech such as lying, cheating and so on. You do not feel that they are observing the dignity of fasting. These actions do not invalidate the fast but they do detract from its reward, and may cancel out the reward of fasting altogether.

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Women in Ramadaan, - Dought & clear, - * She has reached the age of puberty but she is not strong enough to fast

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A girl has reached puberty at the age of eleven and she is weak. Does she have to fast? If she is unable to fast then what should she do?.
Praise be to Allaah.
If the situation is as described, then she has to fast because menstruation is one of the signs of puberty for women, if it comes when she is nine years old or more. If she is able to fast then she must do it at the proper time, and if she is unable to do it or she faces extreme hardship in doing so, then she may not fast but she must make up the days that she did not fast when she is able to do so.

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