A Believer's Ramadan

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The Mercy Mission A Believer’s Ramadan /London Prepare yourself for Ramadan

• I liked this sentence was mentioned in a video for charity Right:

-‐ Without education the chances to survive will diminish!

Speaker Biography (link) Topic

Shaikh Sajid Umar

http://www.alkauthar.org/instructor.php?id=14

Taqwa Time !

Aims of the talk: o A look at the aim of Ramadan . o An explanation of Taqwa. o An introduction to the importance of Ramadan .

Started with the recitation of Surah Albaqarah (verses about Ramadan)[ 183-187]: o Nice recitation (183-185): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuBbDEw9jCo o Translation in English (183-187): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJmZMg0JWE

Taqwa : االلتتققووىى o Allah SWT says : “ Indeed Allah is with people with taqwa and with good

deeds”. o Our prophet said to Mua’ath bin Jabal : “ Have taqwa of Allah wherever

you are”. o Initiating Salam is sunnah but responding to it is wajib (Obligatory) , therefor

have taqwa in these situations for example. o Why each sermon delivered by Alrasool started with taqwa ?

§ Because Allah SWT advised previous nations with it and to gain it in their lives and same applies to our Ummah

§ He guided us to adopt this manner in ourselves. § Because it is the foundation of the religion § Without taqwa there is no prosperity § The fruit of taqwa you will gain it in this life and the next

o It was mentioned 240 x in the Quran, this indicates how important this attribute is to Allah SWT to be manifested in our lives.

o The boat of the taqwa is just in the heart and the soul nowhere else. o Ramadan is the month where we can attain this quality to be with us whole the

life. Therefor, Ramadan is named also the month of Taqwa. Denotations and meaning of taqwa : o The English translation of it is :

§ Fear of Allah § Piety & righteousness

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§ Being God conscious But these translations deal with just a small proportion of the real meaning.

o Taqwa can be defined depending on the context and linguistically as well. o The meaning of taqwa before the advent of Rasoolona :

§ The method by which someone repels a particular harm. o After the advent of Rasoolona PBUH, the meaning was explained by the

giants the scholars by different meanings the are close to each other as Allah SWT used it in different contexts:

1) e.g. Prohibition of al-‐Khamr (Alcohol) : Some of the companions of the prophets went to the prophet and asked him about whether or not the companions who died before the prohibition of the khamr will be punished or not ( Here we can take a lesson how much they had love and care for each other ). So Allah SWT revealed a verse of Quran saying SWT [chapter 5 :verse 93] :

o Here the taqwa mentioned three times , intending different meanings:

1st Taqwa : Avoiding sherk and perfecting tawheed. 2nd Taqwa : Avoiding bida’a and protecting sunnah 3rd taqwa : Allah SWT denotes the importance of obedience and maintain upright by the right manifestation of Islam. Ø These all together help us to try our best to acquire taqwa

2) Allah SWT use taqwa in the context of fearing something :

§ e.g. “ Fear the day you die” § e.g. “Fear the day of judgement “ Ø It does not mean fear Allah SWT because that will lead you to stay

away of Him and fear Him but it means fearing the punishment so you will get closer to Him SWT.

3) Reverent to Allah SWT: § Command just to glorify Allah SWT § When the taqwa will be embedded in the heart of the servant then Allah

SWT will be the greatest in his/her heart. § The previous point can be seen when there is a call to pray, the azan says

‘Allahu Akbar’ which in the English translation will be Allah the greatest but another translation could be Allah is greater i.e. Allah is greater than

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everything you are doing now ( So leave everything and go and stand to pray).

Other definitions: 1) To place a barrier between you and the punishment of Allah SWT by

following the prophet PBUH. v This is best explained in a book called ‘Alfateh Albari’ by Ibn alhajr

Ala’asqlani (One of the Imam Alshafe’e students). v All scholars praised this book as they said it is very good book explains

taqwa. 2) Ali bin Talib described taqwa by saying:

v Fearing the majestic v Acting Upon the revelations v Being the person of contentment (satisfying with little) v Being well prepared to go back to Allah SWT

3) Umar bin Al-‐Khattab asked Ubbay bin Ka’ab about the meaning

of taqwa by saying : what is taqwa ? He replied: Have you ever walked a thorny path? Umar said: Yes. Then Ubbay asked: What did you do? I rolled up my garment and walked step by step carefully. Then Ubbay said: This is Taqwa!.

v Ibn Almo’taz explained this Hadith by saying: Leave the small and the big sins this is taqwa , and make a garment that will cover the earth which is full of thorns so they will not be seen , and do not underestimate the small sins because the mountain also made of small stones.

4) Ibn AlQayyem wrote a whole book explaining this concept of taqwa which

was based on one verse only of the Quran that is in surah Al-‐Fatiha :

“You Alone we worship and You Alone we ask on for help.” v The gist of the book: Taqwa means acting in the obedience to Allah

SWT to desire the rewarding and leaving bad because you fear it. v Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon

him) said,Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

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v Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

5) Talq Bin Habib said : When tribulation hits you , you extinguishes with

taqwa. v He said: Taqwa is to be obedient to Allah SWT on the noor of Allah by

asking for the reward of Allah SWT and to leave the bad on the noor of Allah SWT and fearing the punishment of Allah SWT. Make tawba of big Sins.

All definitions refer to three main points : 1. Tawheed of Allah SWT and leaving sherk and everything related to it. 2. Leaving everything that leads to the hell fire even if you do them for a

short period ( tawba, being charitable , good deeds are related to taqwa) 3. Shunning those matters that will take you away from Allah SWT even if

they are permissible and will slow you down.

Some questions comes on our mind: o Why some people still commit sins during Ramadan?

-‐ The answer simply they didn’t fast with their heart, soul and nafs. -‐ As our prophet PBUH said: (There is a person who fasts just by not drinking

and not eating and there is a person who prays at night he might be just not sleeping).

-‐ Therefore when you fast everything should fast with you holistically (Heart , soul, nafs, etc… ) o How do we know if we are from people of taqwa after Ramadan ?

-‐If you can stop doing the sins beloved to you before Ramadan after Ramadan finishes then you can be called a taqeyy.

Some advices: o Prepare yourself from now and train it very well (just like the athletes

train themselves before hand long time ago in order to get into the habit and excel at the end).

o Ramadan is a gift from Allah SWT and a guest as well so treat it as a guest.

o May Allah SWT protect us from the curse of Jibreel : Curse on people who didn’t make a full advantage of Ramadan .

o Always have the sincerity in you just for Allah SWT, only to worship him.

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Shaikh Yahya Ibrahim

http://www.alkauthar.org/instructor.php?id=15

The believer’s brotherhood and sisterhood

Aims of the talk: o The importance of true brotherhood in Islam. o How Ramadan should bring the community together.

Brotherhood and sisterhood starts from within and which can be achieved through unity: o E.g. Salah: Everyone stands next to each other despite their color, origin, etc. o Zakat: Giving it to everyone not specifying it. o Haj: Everyone will eat together in the same place and same etc.

Stages and steps to maintain the brotherhood and sisterhood within the community: 1. Family hood:

§ Strengthen the relationships within the family ( the husband& wife , children etc…).

§ Solve the big problems among the family members prior or in Ramadan.

§ Have a special time just between you and the family members ( e.g. The prophet PBUH raced sayyedah Aisha in one of the battles that he wanted a romantic moment between him and his wife :D ),

2. Mingle with righteous people i.e. Open your door to them.

§ The prophet PBUH invited different people to his house despite their ethnicity or color. E.g. Suhaib Alromi, Salman AlFarsi, Belal etc..

3. Do not take advantage of each other (Nepotism). § When the prophet PBUH did ekha’a Almohajreen and Al Ansar . He did

ekha’a between rich and rich , poor and poor so the muslims don’t take advantage of each other.

4. Avoid being Haram police (lol) § The brotherhood and sisterhood is very sensitive if it is broken once, it

will be very hard to be fixed. Therefore, be extra cautious of back biting (AlGaiba , Alnamema etc..)

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Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan

https://www.facebook.com/noumanbayyinah http://bayyinah.com/about/

Lesson from Surah Al-‐Dhaariyat

Aims of the talk: o Lessons from the 51st Surah i.e. Al-‐Dhaariyat. o Some of the conclusions from verses [47-‐50]

The beginning of the surah: o Allah SWT starts with mentioning different types of wind and each of

them has a significant meaning and sign. ( Ustadh explained it on Mercy mission Manchester and will be uploaded on YouTube).

o Allah SWT has written for each one of us something special and it will reach us. (Slowly but surly).

o It’s not a healthy attitude to say I can’t gain the sacred knowledge. o We need to make time for our deen. o Make the most of what Allah SWT has given you. o Journey of seeking the sacred knowledge will never stop. o Allah SWT will judge you on what He has given you.

The middle of Surah:

o Allah SWT speaks about seven nations were destroyed because of disbelieving in Allah SWT § Mosa § Nooh § Loot etc.

At the end:

o [47] Allah SWT goes back to the skies and describes how amazingly Him SWT built the sky. Some lessons to take from the sky: § The sky is sign of Justice

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§ The Sky is a reminder to every one of us to have a purpose and mission in life.

o [48] Then Allah SWT moves to the earth:

§ The ‘Mahedoon’ is from the word ‘mahada’ or ‘mahd’ that means the cradle. This indicates our last cradle is the earth.

o [49] Allah SWT explains that every single thing Allah SWT created there is

a complementary pair for it.

§ Allah SWT used tadhakroon that is different than tadhakrro as the first one you need to make an effort in remembering (i.e. pondering and reflecting) and the second one is a past tense of remembering.

o [50] This verse is very unique: ( Open your heart and mind to understand) What’s unique about the word circled?

Examples Earth Sky Sun Moon Night Day Body Soul Allah SWT The prophet PBUH Here Hereafter Quran The Sunnah

Lesson: Whenever you look at the sky remember you have a purpose in life and you have to strive for it and whenever you look at the earth remember there is not enough time left because one day it will hug you.

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• ‘Faferro’ this word comes from the root’ farra’ that means to run away from something e.g.

Differences between the meanings of positive walking described in Quran

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• In this verse, an analogy that the criminals on the day of judgment are like donkeys running away from lions for their lives.

• But in the verse ‘faferro’ running towards dear life towords Allah SWT • Your survival depends on it • How to make the most out of Alferar (running for your life towards Allah SWT

) o Stop comparing yourself with others o Just think about yourself and how to get it to the highest standards. o This Ramadan, start understanding the Quran, ponder and reflect (the

act of tadabbur)= Reflection § Reflection gives you convictions § Reflection will unlock your heart


Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan

https://www.facebook.com/noumanbayyinah http://bayyinah.com/about/

Reflection of Quran

The question of not reflecting the Quran is always connected to hypocrites.

Reflection and pondering the verses is the legacy of the Quran. The problem nowadays, it’s the era of specialization. The more you will be specialized, the more the language will be advanced. The knowledge becomes sophisticated. Therefore, people will be disconnected and the knowledge will be alienated People say it is the age of connectivity but not in reality. The only text give you a set of wisdom in the whole world the term “ Ayah “

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What is an Ayah? 1. Means verse of Quran.

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• Therefore, everything surrounding us is an Ayah, trees, ants, sun, moon , breeze, skies, earths ,ourselves, Jesus, words of Allah SWT Inside us etc..

2. Think about the Ayah

3. People who reflect an Ayah are more compelled with it.

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Therefore, the Aayat of the book engage us with the Ayaat outside.

All Aayat of Allah SWT is to think , ponder and reflect. This is for example the difference between Buda and Islam Mediation disconnect you from the world but for us the our Islam engage us with the reality after the Salah

So, the Ayah is unifying all the knowledge and it is the center of the final revelation.. How? Why? What does it mean?

Ayah

And words extracted

from

it and their

meanings

Enquiry and curiosity by asking question à Ayyu?

Amazement function, everything is marvellous and wondrous à Ayyu!

Points to a direction , Allah SWT points them to directionà Ayyu jeha ?

Calling and getting attention, Every Ayah grabs our attentionà Ya Ayyuha!

Valuable, Every Ayah has a value à ja’a Alqawmu beayatihim

Convections, Every Ayah leads to a convectionà Ee wa rabbi means Yes my lord

Purpose, Every Ayah has an importanceà ta’ayyaha is to go somewhere with a purpose

Signs as a reminder, Every Ayah is A sign that remind us of Allah SWT à Aayah

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Therefore, whenever we listen an aayah and think about it and ponder we automatically say SubhanAllah , Allah Akbar , Ennah lilah etc..

Therefore, we should remind each other and everyone about reflection and we should not turn deaf and blind!

Dedicate this Ramadan for reflection and understanding the Quran. :D!

I ask Allah SWT to put lots of Baraka in our Ramadan and to guide us to the best and everything we do is just for His sake SWT . I ask Him SWT to make this Ramadan a life changing one to everyone of us ya rab. I hope you have benefitted from this, please remember me in your Dua’as. Everything right I wrote above it’s from Allah SWT and if there was something wrong is from me and Shaitan. All praise to Allah SWT Jazakum Allah kol Al-‐Khair Fadhila Al-‐Dhahouri

A Believer's Ramadan

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