Ramadan Articles - Gateways of Goodness in Ramadan-II

1-RecitingThikr)remembrance ofAllaah( afterFajrprayer until sunrise.
The Prophet,, said:"Whoever performs Fajr prayer in congregation, then
stays remembering Allaah till the sun rises, then performs two
Rak'ahs,will have the reward of Hajj and 'Umrah in
full."]At-Tirmithi:Hasan[
2-Performing Friday prayers regularly. The Prophet,, said:"The five
daily prayers, and from one Friday prayer to the )next( Friday prayer,
and from Ramadanto Ramadan are expiations for the sins committed in
between)their intervals(, provided major sins are not
committed."]Muslim[
3-Seeking the hour in which supplications are answered on Friday. The
Prophet,, said:"There is a time on Friday during which a Muslim, while
he )or she( is performing prayer and is supplicating, will be granted
whatever he )or she( is supplicating for.'']Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
4-ReadingSurat Al-Kahf. The Prophet,said:"A Muslim who reads Surat
Al-Kahf on Friday, a light will shine for him between this Friday and
the next one."]An-Nasaa'i and Al-Haakim[
5-Giving charity frequently."Charity extinguishes sin as water
extinguishes fire."]At-Tirmithi[
6-The best charity is that of the poor. The Prophet,, was asked: "What
is the best charity?"and he said:"The best charity is that which is
given by a poor man, and start giving charity to those under your
care."]Abu Daawood, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Al-Haakim[
7-Giving charity in secret."Doing favors helps in saving from evil
deaths, secret charity puts out the anger of the Lord, and maintaining
kinship ties increases one's lifespan."]At-Tabaraani[
8-Obeying and being dutiful to parents. The Prophet,, said:"He is a
loser, he is a loser, he is aloser."It was said, "O Messenger of
Allaah, who is he?" He replied:"He who lives until his parents reach
old age, either one or both of them, and misses the chance to enter
Paradise )because of being dutiful to them(."]Muslim[
9-Supplicating for parents. The Prophet,, said:"Allaah The Almighty
raises the degree of therighteous slave in Paradise, and as a result
he asks, 'O my Lord, where did I get this from?' Allaahwill Say, 'This
is because of your son's asking forgiveness for you.'"]Ahmad[
10-Dutifulness to one's maternal uncles and aunts. The Prophet,,
said:"The maternal aunt is like the mother in position."]Al-Bukhaari[
11-Saying kind words. The Prophet,said:"Save yourself from Hell even
by giving half a date in charity, and if you do not find that, then by
saying a kind word."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
12-Fulfilling people's needs. The Prophet,, said:"A man who goes to
fulfill ]the Muslim's[ need, )then he pointed with his finger(, it
will be better for him than making I'tikaaf )staying in seclusion( in
this Masjid of mine for two months."]Al-Haakim[
13-Visiting the sick. The Prophet,, said:"A man who visits an ailing
person will attain the fruitsof Paradise."]Muslim[
14-Maintaining kinship ties. The Prophet,, said:"Kinship ties are
hanging on the Throne, saying, 'whoever keeps ties with me, Allaah
will keep good connection with him; and whoever severs ties with me,
Allaah will sever connection with him.'"]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
15-Making Muslims happy. The Prophet,, said:"Whoever meets his Muslim
brother with what he likes seeking to make him happy with it, Allaah
will make him happy on the Day of Resurrection."]At-Tabaraani[
16-Making life easy for people in straitened circumstances. The
Prophet,, said:"A person who makes things easy for an insolvent
person, Allaah will make things easy for him in this life and in the
Hereafter."]Muslim[
17-Showing compassion and mercy to the weak. The Prophet,,
said:"Allaah will be Merciful with those who show mercy to others.
Show mercy to those on earth, and The One in Heaven will show mercy to
you."]Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi[
18-Reconciling people. The Prophet,, said:"Shall I not inform you of
something more excellent in degree than fasting, prayer and
almsgiving?"The people replied, "Yes, O Messengerof Allaah." The
Prophetsaid:"It is reconciling people."]Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi[
19-Forbearance, forgiveness, andsuppressing anger. Allaah The Almighty
Says )what means(:}And who restrain anger and who pardon the people -
and Allaah loves the doers of good.{]Quran 3:134[ The Prophet,, said
to Al-Ashajj ibn 'Abd Al-Qays: "You have two qualities that Allaah The
Almighty loves: forbearance and patience."]Muslim[
20-Shaking hands with love and a pure soul. The Prophet,, said:"No two
Muslims meet and shake hands with one another but Allaah will forgive
them before they leave."]Abu Daawoodand At-Tirmithi: Hasan[
21-A smiling face. The Prophet,said:"Smiling at your brotheris charity."
22-Lowering one's gaze from what Allaah The Almighty forbade. The
Prophet,, said:"The unlawful look is one of the poisonous arrows of
Satan, and whoever abstains from it out of fear from Allaah will find
its sweetness in his heart."]At-Tabaraani[
23-Enjoining good and forbidding evil. The Prophet,said:"Whoever sees
evil let him change it by his hand; if he is unable, let him change it
by his tongue; and if he is unable, let him abhor it in his heart and
this is the weakest level of faith."]Muslim[
24-Sitting with righteous and good people. The Prophet,, said:"No
people sit to mention Allaah The Almighty but the angels will circle
them, mercy will shower them, tranquility willdescend upon them, and
Allaah will mention them among those with Him."]Muslim[
25-Preserving one's tongue and private parts. The Prophet,,
said:"Whoever gives me a guarantee to safeguard what is between his
jaws and what is between his legs )his tongue andprivate parts(, I
shall guarantee him Paradise."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[

Fathwa - Interaction with Muslim husband and non-mehram non-Muslimlady

Question:
Is it permissible for a married man to be alone in his own home, with
a non-mehram non-Muslim woman who works for him, even if he treats her
as a sister? Would the case be any different if the wife of the
husband did not know about this meeting and was never told? Would it
be permissible if the married man was withanother man and this
non-mehram woman, and having a non-business conversation? Could you
please provide me with some Qu'ranic verses/hadiths as well,and
general advice on how the wife should approach her husband on this
matter?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Dear Sister,
Assalamu alaikum,
I pray all is well.
Whether the woman is Muslim or non-Muslim, oryou know about these
meetings or not, it remains impermissible for your husband to be alone
with her. However,if they are accompanied by another man or another
woman, then the situation is no longerkhalwa. However, even in that
scenario, caution should be exercised.
However, considering that your husband is married and that Islamic
marriages are predicatedon mutual respect and honesty, then it remains
imperative that he consult you when he needs to speak to this woman.
If there's a reason to bring her to your home, then he needs to make
sure this is okay with you and he needs to make sure you are present
when this woman visits.
However, it is not okay for your husband to hang out with this woman
just because she works for him. If there's some business matter to
discuss, then that's fine. But this should be done in a business
environment.
Allah Ta'ala says, "Say to the believing men to lower their gaze and
guard their modesty. That is purer for them, and Allah is aware of
what they do. And say to the believing women to lower their gaze and
guard their modesty..." (Surat an-Nur, 24:30-31).
The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, says, "A man and
woman do not remain alone in privacy except that the third amongst
them is shaytan" (Tirmidhi).
Since you're clearly uncomfortable with yourhusband's behavior,
thenyou need to talk to him. Don't condemn him. But do tell him that
you are uncomfortable with these meetings and would like to have the
same consideration applied to you that you apply to him. I'm assuming
that you don't bring non-mahram men into your home. Likewise, your
husband should have the same consideration for you when he interacts
with non-mahram women.
I pray you work things out, emphasizing what ismost pleasing to Allah
and most conducive to the sanctity of your marriage.

Fathwa - Desire to seek high level of Islamic Knowledge vs current Occupation

Question:
I am a convert to Islamas of 1995, alHamdulillah, and a doctor by
occupation. Iam specialising in obstetrics and gynecology, and have
insha'Allah 3 more years full time before I am fully qualified. I have
been married 3 years and we have twochildren together. My husband and
I have begun the path to self improvement and acquisition of our fard
'ain with classes, including those at Sunnipath in fiqh and (for me)
Arabic, since I am limited in my ability to travel with young children
and work etc. Over the last year or so, I have begun to become quite
disillusioned with my work, and began feeling more strongly than
before that I want to seek Islamic knowledge to a (high) level, and be
the best Muslim (wife, mother, person) I can be. Also, I have
increasingly had a desire to learn more so that I can teach my
children their fard 'ain etc. I know that I did not undertake my job
lightly, and that it is a fard kifayah, and I am also blessed with a
husband who is very supportive of this job, but I don't know what to
do. Due to our circumstances, we don't envisage being able to go to an
Arab country for at least a decade to live and study, and so at
present we are limitedto learning from teachers here, as well as
SunniPath. I just keep thinking, of the time I converted, whenI was
given the opportunity to go to al-Azhar to study fiqh and become a
faqih by the organisation I was involved with. I was also concurrently
offered medicine, and chose the latter because it had been my lifelong
dream. I know everything happens for a reason, but I suppose I need
encouragement to continue, if it is the right thing, versus even
stopping, and being a full time mum. Please advise. Jazak Allahu
khayr.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah
Blessings and salutations to our beloved Messenger
Dear Sister,
Assalamu alaikum,
I pray this reaches you ingood health and spirits.
Thank you for sharing this information; nonetheless, I can't makethis
decision for you. Whatever path you take, remember that Allah Most
High does not place upon us a burden greater than we can bear.
Try not to live with regret. You chose the decision that reflected
your lifelong dream. You should learn to accept that decision and see
thebenefit in it. We Muslim women have a definite need for observant,
practicing female Muslimdoctors. There's certainlya lot of good you
can do with your skills and training.
If your heart is simply not in medicine, however, then you have the
freedom to leave the field and stay home with your children. However,
don't live in the past. Instead, look to the future. To that end, you
should make Salat al-Istikhara, then draw up a plan for how you might
pursue your new dream of studying Sacred Knowledge.
With a husband and children to relocate overseas, you will have some
challenges on your hands. But given your training in medicine and the
academic rigor required, I'm sure you're prepared to meet any
challenges that lie ahead.
Again, I am not telling you to finish your medical degree. And I amnot
suggesting that you leave medicine. What I am suggesting is that you
ask Allah to give you contentment and the best of this world and the
hereafter in whatever choice you make.
And Allah knows best.

Fathwa - Difference in way of life in our marriage

Question:
My problem has been hurting me since I got divorced. My husband and I
have had issues since the beginning of our marriage. We disagreed on
many things getting into the marriage like how big the wedding should
be. If getting a ring was the right thing to do. How big should
thehouse we're buying going to be. I know these could be very trivial
issues compared to many disasters in the world and I realize this now
but the point is we entered this marriage with many stresses. I know I
wanted more than what he wanted to give but like any girlin my
position I had many suitors ask for my hand with great offers. I
picked one and hoped he will giveme what I want. We had nikah right
away after the engagement and it lasted for a year before the wedding.
I felt helpless because I was already married and I wondered had I
stayed engaged , would he have grantedme my wishes with much of a
struggle. Wehave a beautiful child now but we are divorced. We kept
having issues from his mother--incredible interference in all of our
affairs...where we live, when we should have a kid, how much money my
husband should spend on me and so forth. My other issue with my
husbandis that I put on hijab right before I met him.We met and got
married. I felt that hijab got me into this mess. Now I'm accepting
the qadar of Allah more that I ever did before and I'm hoping for a
better life.He handled his mother's issues he says but the
remainingissue is how religious Iam. I don't and never smoked or drank
or dated. I alhamdullilah am very pretty and I know that I could do
all of that and have funbut I don't want to. Allah's path is better
that any other. I just can't wear the hijab anymore. I emotionally and
physically suffer when I go out with it. I tried personal and family
counseling to fix this problem but we got nowhere we got divorced at a
time of anger. I asked for the divorce and he gave it to me. Now we
both regret it and want to get back together but the deciding factor
is me wearing hijab. He says that he won't expect much from me but he
needs some minimums and hijab isone of them. I really really
understand his point of view and he has every right to feel that way
but I'm really confused. I told him that I always tried to force
myself to do things for him so we won't destroy this marriage but this
timeI'm having such a hard time and I am not good at explaining my
feelings. He asked me to stay with my parents until I have figured out
what I will do about hijab and based on that he will decide whether we
should stay together or not meaning divorce if I take it off. I am
lost. I don't want tobreak this family and I don't want to suffer
everyday. I pray and ask for guidance believe me and I will continue
to do that butfor the mean time what do I do? I think sometimes why
couldn't he be more reasonable with me. Out of all of his friends he
one of the most strict ones I've met and yet he enjoys his life too. I
feel that my decision will affect my life, his and our son's and it
won't be pretty. I know I must have confused you already and I swear
I'm much more confused than I ever was. Many women don't wear hijab
but they aren't necessarily not religious. He has no faith in me now
and doesn't trust that I can be a good wife. I went through a lot with
himand what got to me the most is how ready he was to divorce me
whenever we had an issue. I hope your answer will guide me a little.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Dear Sister,
Assalamu alaikum,
Thank you for your question.
Given the seriousness of the situation, I strongly urge you and your
husband to seek marriage counseling.
There are only a few observations I can offer based on what I could
understand of your situation:
1.You and your husband have a child together. You owe it to your child
to consider the impact of a broken home on his future. Areyour and
your husband's issues irreconcilable?
2.You seem to be very conflicted about the purpose and status of
hijab. Hijab is a command from Allah Most High. To make the hijab a
bone of contention between you and your husband is a mistake. Are you
really prepared to sacrifice your marriageover hijab?
3.There are obviously deeper issues than whether or not to wearhijab.
You and your husband appear to have some compatibility issues that
absolutely must beresolved before you goany further.
4.There are valuable lessons that can be learned from this situation.
You and yourhusband need to decide if you can make a fresh start. (I'm
assuming the divorce isnon-finalized). You both need to make the
Guidance Prayerand mutually agree to seek marriage counseling tohelp
you work throughthese issues.
5.You both need to change the way you handle conflict. Threatening
divorce every time an issue crops up is unhealthy and, from a fiqh
perspective, risky.I pray you can work things out.