Story - ••• I WANT TO MERRY HER •••

A boy said to his father: "Isaw a girl and I want to marry her. She is
so beautiful and she has gorgeous eyes. The father answered his son:
of course son, let's ask forher hand in marriage."
When the father saw the girl, he admired her beauty and he told his
son: "You don't deserve this girl, she needs someone who has
experience in life and shecan depend on, someone like me."
The boy was surprised bythe attitude of his father and he told him:
"She willmarry me, not you". They started to fight and finally they
decided both to go to the police station to solve their problem.
When they tell their storyto the police officer, he told them: "bring
the girl so we can ask her about her opinion about this." When the
officer saw the beauty of the girl he said to the boy and his
father:"you both don't deserve her, she needs someone who has prestige
like me."
The three men started a fight and decided to go to the minister to
solve their problem. When the minister saw the girl, he said: "She
deserves to be married with a minister like me". The prince heard
about their problem and calls them all to help them solve it but and
when he saw thegirl he said: "This girl willmarry me".
All the five men started tofight. Finally, the girl said"I have the
solution! I willstart to run and whoever catches me first, he will be
my husband". When she started to run, the boy, his father, the
policeofficer, the minister and the prince started to run to catch
her. Suddenly the 5 men fell into a deephole.
Moral : The girl looked to them from the top and she said "do you know
who I am?"
I am the Dunya - THE LIFE!!
People want to run to catch me, they are racing to have me. By doing
that, they forget their religion, until they end up in their grave and
still won't have me.

"R" is for Ramadan and resolution – II

Another sense of precedence for setting goals should come from the
fact that Allaah Almighty has made certain things obligatory for
Muslims while encouraging them toward other levels of worship )Sunan
and Nawaafil, that is, the desirable and the additional(. Some Muslims
focus more on the later )like the Taraaweeh prayers( to the neglect of
the obligation )like thefive daily prayers(. It is important to
fulfill the obligation, before attempting to practice the Sunan and
Nawaafil.
When setting goals for Ramadan,then, remember to set smart)sensible,
measurable, attainable, realistic, timely( goals:
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being
accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must
answer the six "W" questions:
Who:Who is involved?)remember, you are a Muslim, a servant of Allaah(
What: What do I want to accomplish? )for Ramadan - attain Taqwa; in
life - seek the pleasure of Allaah(
When: Establish a timeframe
Where: Identify a location )work,home, etc.(
How: Identify requirements and constraints )if the goal is to memorize
certain parts of the Quran then the requirement is to know proper
Tajweed. If so, one constraint that one may face is the amount of
Quran one can memorize depending on their fluency in reciting Quran(
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal
Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward
the attainment of your goals. To determine if your goal is measurable,
ask questions like How much? How many? How will I know when it is
accomplished? Hence, a measurable, spiritual goal for Ramadan can be,
say: I will perform all the Sunnah prayers before and after each
obligatory prayer everyday duringthe month of Ramadan.
Attainable: You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your
steps wisely and establish a timeframe that allows you to carry out
those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach
eventually move closer and become attainable notbecause your goals
shrink, but because you grow and expand tomatch them. A believer is
susceptible to falling into the fallacy of considering him - or
herself unworthy of a certain level of spirituality because of past
sins committed. This is an old device of Satan, to weigh us down and
cause us to despond of the mercy of Allaah. To succumb to this
whispering is to forget that our Lord, Allaah, MostHigh, is all
forgiving and Most Merciful. Allaah States in a Sacred Hadeeth:"I am
as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me.
If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself.
And if he makes mention of Me inan assembly, I make mention of him in
an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's
length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me
walking, I go to himat speed."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ Therefore, as
the servantof Allaah exerts himself or herselfspiritually, Allaah
expedites the attainment of that spiritual goal.
Realistic: This is not a synonym for "easy." Realistic, in this case,
means "doable." To be realistic, agoal must represent an objective
toward which you are both willing and able to work.
One way to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have
accomplished anything similar in the past. Also, ask yourself what
conditions would have to exist to achieve this goal.
Timely: Binding a goal to a time -frame will give a sense of urgency
in attaining it. Learning to recite the Quran "someday" won't work. It
is important to identify by what date you will learn to recite the
Quran. This due date will not only motivate you to work to reach that
goal but also help you to determine if you have fulfilled your goal or
not. And, of course, a goal of this magnitude should be broken up into
smaller smart goals, to ensure advancement and assessment.
The Prophetand his Companionsused to prepare for Ramadan well before
start the month. One way of doing so is to identify and formalize
goals for it now, if you haven't already. For goals not only help us
prioritize our life but also enable us to undergo the requisite
purification of intention. This, in turn, assists us in becoming
focused in and with our lives. Thus goals are an integral part
ofhaving a plan, a purpose, for our life.
Heed this last point well, for a lifewithout a plan is a plan for
certain failure. We ask Allaah to direct us toward those goals
thatwill help us earn His pleasure, for,indeed, that is the ultimate
goal that He Almighty has commanded all of us to seek in this fleeting
life.

Ramadan Articles - "R" is for Ramadan and resolution – I

It is customary among many peoples to set New Year resolutions. The
majority of people lose their newfound resolve, however, within just a
few months. This is mainly because few of us know how to set goals for
our self-promises. Even less have an action plan to achieve them.
The best time to set resolutions or renew intentions for Muslims is
not in Muharram or January, but Ramadan, for Ramadan is Divinely
designed to be a month of personal and communal change. No surprise,
then, that it is also the lunar period in which Allaah Almighty
changed the destiny of humankind by blessingthem with His final and
universal Divine Guidance.
In it, as a commemoration and a renewal, Allaah re-instituted fasting
among humanity and magnified all the other great actsof worship not
specifically time-bound to another calendar date or season. His
Heavenly purpose, therein, being precisely to purify us both
physically and spiritually. These acts of worship,within a state of
worship, within framework of worship— Sadaqah)charity(, for instance,
given when one is in a condition of self-imposed deprivation, within a
divinely demarcated, obligatorysacred span—of and by their verynature
facilitate—even mandate—change in our lives, at the very list by
disrupting our daily routines. It is during this time of flux that our
lives are most malleable to any attempts to improve them. Muslims
must, therefore, set new resolutions and goals for and during this
month.
But what kind of resolutions should we make? What type of goals should
we seek to achieve?
Allaah Almighty has clearly set out the main goal for the month of
Ramadan by declaring what means:}O you who have believed,decreed upon
you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may
become righteous{]Quran 2:183[, that is to become ever God-fearing.
But the acquisition of Taqwa itself contains a higher purpose: To
prepare us for a much greater achievement in life— namely, to meet
Allaah. Allaah States this throughout the Quran what means:
...{•Then to your Lord is your return…{]Quran 6:164[
•}…To Him is the destination.{]Quran 40:3[
•}And that to your Lord is the finality.{]Quran 53:42[
It is for this reason that Allaah States in another place in the Quran
concerning Hajj)Pilgrimage( what means:}…And take provisions, but
indeed, the best provision is fear of Allaah. And fear Me, O you of
understanding.{]Quran 2: 197[ Hajj, in this life, symbolizes our
inevitable meeting with Allaah in the Hereafter while Ramadan
represents the life of this world that we are living, which, again, is
a preparation for that ultimate goal.
The practical reflection of our spiritual objectives
Given this understanding of the profound aspirations of the believer,
the main focus for any Ramadan goal should entail the ultimate
ambition of a favorable meeting with Allaah.
One of the most common New Year resolutions is to lose weight. This,
it seems, has also become a common objective for Muslims during
Ramadan. Although keeping a healthy body is part of our responsibility
as Muslims, if our focus is as solemnas meeting Allaah in joy and
happiness, then it becomes clear that our goals for Ramadan mustbe
more comprehensive than losing weight.
Our lives are multidimensional: Financial, spiritual, intellectual,
social, familial, personal, philanthropic, physical, etc.
Consequently, the resolutions weset for Ramadan must reflect
thismulti-dimensionality. Some people expend all their energy in
pursuing only their financial goals and pay no heed to other aspects
of their life. Muslims should try to achieve and maintain the golden
mean, as practiced by the Messenger of Allaahin all aspects of his
life.
A successful personal goal setting endeavor begins with a
self-assessment. For Muslims, thecentral question in accounting for
oneself is to ask sincerely:"Am I observing the golden meanin my
life?"This will reveal wherewe focus most of our energy and resources
in life.
For some of us, we may realize that we are spending the bulk of our
time and energy at work, to the detrimental neglect of our family
life. Others may come to realize that though their family, social, and
intellectual life is satisfactory, the spiritual aspect is wanting.
Still others may conclude that while they are financially fulfilled,
they fall short in giving charity. This central question will help us
identify areas and aspects in our lives that we need to work on in
orderto achieve and maintain that golden mean. Still, the question
remains, How should we prioritize our goals?
Allaah Almighty provides guidance in setting priorities in life
through the example of His Friend, Ibraaheem. After delivering his
wife Hajar and his son Ismaa'eelto the precincts of the barren sacred
valley of Makkah, Ibraaheemwalks away from them, as directed by Allaah
Almighty. When he is out of their sight, he turns around facing the
place of the Ka'bah and makes the following Du'aa )supplication(
forthem:}Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an
uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may
establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them
and provide for them from the fruits that they might be
grateful.{]Quran 14:37[
Note that though Ibraaheemacknowledges in his supplicationthe scarcity
of food and water faced by his family—an urgent matter of life and
death—the first affair of significance that Ibraaheemplaces before
Allaah Almighty is the high purpose of his intent: To facilitate his
family in the establishment of Salaah )prayer(. Only after first
establishing their spiritual mission—and by extension his hope in
Allaah's succor of their vital spiritual need—does Ibraaheemturn in
his supplication toward their dire physical and social needs in his
supplication. And even then, he connects the purpose of the
fulfillment of their social and physical needs to their )ultimate(
spiritual goal, namely, to thank Allaah.
It is with this same spirit and understanding that we need to
prioritize our goals for life in general, and more specifically for
the month of Ramadan.

Ramadan Articles - Why Ramadan is Special: Characteristics and Features - II

… Continued
It is the month of Thikr)remembrance of Allaah( and supplication.
Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
• }and remember Allaah often that you may succeed.{ ]Quran 62:10[
• }and the men who remember Allaah often and the women whodo so -
for them Allaah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.{ ]Quran
33:35[
• }And invoke Him in fear and aspiration. Indeed, the mercy of
Allaah is near to the doers of good.{ ]Quran 7:56[
• }And when My servants ask you, ]O Muhammad[, concerning Me -
indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when
he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me]by obedience[ and believe
in Me that they may be ]rightly[ guided.{ ]Quran 2:186[
This last noble verse in particular highlights the intimate relation
between fasting and supplication.
In Ramadan, there is Laylatu Al-Qadr )the Night of Decree(, in
connection with which Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}The Night
of Qadr )Decree( is better than a thousand months.{ ]Quran 97:3[
According to the scholars, any righteous deed performed therein is
better than the actions of one thousand months, i.e. almost 83 years.
Thisis sufficient commendation of its superiority and honor, and the
magnificence of the deed done on it for the one whom Allaah guides to
stay up in worship on that night– we ask Allaah The Almighty to guide
us to that always, by His bounty and generosity. It is narrated in an
authentic Hadeeth that the Messenger of Allaahsaid: "Hewho stands )in
prayer( on the Night of Al-Qadr, out of sincere faith, and expecting
the reward with Allaah, his previous sins would be forgiven for him."
Thatis among the merits of standing)in prayer( on it; and sufficient
it is for a prize and profit.
Among the characteristics of Ramadan is the superiority of charity in
it, compared to any other time. It is narrated that theMessenger of
Allaahwas asked, "Which object of charity isthe best?" He said: "An
object of charity to be given in Ramadan."]At-Tirmithi[ It is narrated
on the authority of Ibn 'Abbaasthat he said, "The Messenger of
Allaahwas the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach
the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when Jibreel)Gabriel(
met him. Jibreel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him
the Quran.The Messenger of Allaahwas the most generous person, even
more generous and faster in spending charity than the blowing wind."
]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ According to the narration of Ahmad, "He was
never asked ]for[ anything but hegave it." Generosity is to give
liberally and openhandedly in charity or anything else.
His increased munificenceinRamadanwas a means to avail himself of this
blessed time and of the multiplication of deeds and their rewards in
it. It is narrated on the authority of Salmaanin a Marfoo' Hadeeth,
that hesaid: "Whoever draws near to Allaah in it )Ramadan( with a good
act, it is )multiplied as much( as if he has performed an obligatory
dutyat any other time; and whoever draws near to Allaah with an
obligatory duty in it, it is)multiplied as much( as if he has
performed seventy obligatory duties at any other time."
The combination of fasting and charity has a greater effect in
removing sins and prevention from Hellfire. According to an authentic
Hadeeth: "Fasting acts as a protective shield" i.e., to save one from
Hellfire. According to another authentic Hadeeth, hesaid: "Safeguard
yourselves from Hellfire even with half a date )to be given in
charity(."
A further characteristic of Ramadan is that the 'Umrah)minor
pilgrimage( performed in it is equal to Hajj )major pilgrimage( in
reward. It is proven in the books of Al-Bukhaari and Muslim that the
Messenger of Allaahsaid: "'Umrah performed in Ramadan is equal to
Hajj." Or, according to another narration: "… is equal to Hajj
performed along with me."
Another characteristic lies in the fact that it is the month of the
Quran, as Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(: }The month of Ramadan
]is that[ in which was revealed the Quran, guidancefor the people and
clear proofs ofguidance and criterion.{ ]Quran 2:185[ The Quran
recited in it mends the hearts and provides guidance for the one who
recites it, reflects upon its meanings, and supplicates Allaah The
Almighty with it. In connection with the superiority of recitation of
the Quran, the Messenger of Allaahsaid:
• "The skillful reciter of the Quran will be with the noble and
dutiful messenger-angels, and the one who recites it with difficulty
will be granted a doublereward."
• "Recite the Quran, because it will come as an intercessor for
itsreciters on the Day of Judgment."
• "Verily, Allaah raises some people by )virtue of( that Book)i.e., the Quran(."
• "The best one among you is he who learns and then teaches the Quran."
All those Hadeeths are authentic, and include the greatest glad
tidings to the person who recitesthe Quran with reflection and
meditation. Then, how much greater would be the reward andbenefit if
it was recited in Ramadan?
May Allaah The Almighty make us of the people of the Quran, who are
counted among the special worshippers of Allaah The Almighty and the
elite among thebelievers.
Why Ramadan is Special: Characteristics and Features - I