6 Ramadhan for year 2009

Bismi-llahi ar-rahmani ar-rahimi, In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. And I beg for forgiveness from Allah for whatever sin that I have done in the past and to show me the right path. Ameen.

Assalamualaikum / Greetings dear readers.

Alhamdulillah we have been granted the chance to witness and be in the holy month of Ramadhan. Currently, I am blogging on the 6th Ramadhan yr 1430 hijriah. Maybe its a bit too late to start talking about the month of Ramadhan, but I feel its never to late as long as we're in it=)

Alhamdulillah, I have been able to pick up several learning points along the way by attending some lectures given by some dedicated ustaz(s) and through some self learning. Allah has allowed me to gain good knowledge of it, and I will share it today insya'Allah =)

Firstly, i just came across Islam.com and there is a tab link for "reward of fasting". I will copy paste the whole article here, may it be good information to all of us including me.

Every act of goodness is rewarded. Rewards are given based on the sincerity of the intention. Fasting is the only worship about which Allah has said that He Himself is the reward for it. This means that one develops such a close relationship with Allah that Allah Himself becomes the helper.

Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Allah, the Lord of Honor and glory says: All other deeds of man are for himself, but his fasting is purely for Me and I shall reward him for it. The fast is a shield. When any of you is fasting he should abstain from loose talk and noisy exchanges. Should anyone revile him or seek to pick a quarrel with him, he should respond with: I am observing a fast. By Him in Whose hands is the life of Muhammad, the breath of one who is fasting is purer in the sight of Allah than the fragrance of musk. One who fasts experiences two joys: he is joyful when he breaks his fast, and he is joyful by virtue of his fast when he meets his Lord" (Bukhari and Muslim).

Sa'ad ibn Sahl relates that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "There is a gate of Paradise called Rayyan through which only those will enter on the Day of Judgment who are regular in observing the fast and no one else. A call will go forth: Where are those who observed the fast regularly? And they will step forth and no one beside them will enter through that gate. After they shall have entered, the gate will be closed and no one else will enter thereby" (Bokhari and Muslim).

Abu Sa'id Khudri relates that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "When a servant of Allah observes the fast for a day for the sake of Allah, He thereby repels the Fire from him a distance of seventy years of journeying" (Bokhari and Muslim).

Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "He who observes the fast during Ramadhan out of sincerity of faith and in hope of earning merit will have his past sins forgiven him" (Bokhari and Muslim).

Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "When Ramadhan arrives the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of hell are locked up and satans are put in chains" (Bokhari and Muslim).


Secondly, i would like to share some learning points I managed to captured from lectures by ustaz Jailaludin Hassan, ustaz Saripi Rawi and Ustaz al-hafiz Izal Mustafa Kamar:

By ustaz Jailaludin Hassan:
- three types of people who carry out fasting;
> People who only fast but they only look after their hunger and thirst. Other parts of the body are as if they are not fasting. Because they don't look after their eyes (looking at unlawful things), mouth (saying unneccesary/bad things), ears (choosing to listen to things that do not bring any benefit) etc
> People who are like the first type but they look after their other body parts as well. However, this is not the best yet.
> People who are fasting exactly like how Allah SWT wants us to fast. That is, like people type 2 but they do not think about food for break-fast. This is the true meaning of fasting, which is to feel exactly how the poor feels. They do not think of which food to eat, or rather they do not even have food. They take whatever that is given to them. To be amongst these people, a perfect example will be break-fasting at the mosques, where we do not know what food is there for us to eat. These people really fast for the sake of Allah SWT, and not for themselves.


By ustaz Saripi Rawi:
- human beings always forget about our origins. We may eventually become someone big, like imaam, doctor, lawyer, or anyone earning big bucks in life. but often we forget our origin, that is just a clot of blood. It is Allah SWT who lent us everything that we have now, like our body parts, our life, our money, our happiness etc. All these are from Allah so that we are thankful and constantly reminding ourselves of Him.
- another point which I feel has relation to this is by ustaz al-hafiz Abdul Aziz Md Yunus who mentioned that we dont have to be jealous of what the kafirs or non-believers have in wealth. because at the end of the day (literally), we mukmins and muslims have a higher status than them in the Eyes of Allah SWT

By Ustaz al-hafiz Izal Mustafa Kamar:
- every day of the Ramadhan is a chance for us to redeem ourselves for all the sins we have created since the day we're born. On Judgement Day, when we stand in front of Allah for the Ultimate Judgement, on our right stands a creature representing our good deeds and on the left stands a creature representing our sins. In the month of Ramadhan, there are three ways to get ourselves forgiven each day. So let's grab this chance insya'Allah:
> 100% full pure ikhlas fasting for the sake of Allah; if not 100%,
> Night prayers at 100% ikhlas (taraweh prayers and Qiyamullail) for the sake of Allah; it not 100%.
> Other good deeds that we do such as reading the holy Qur'an and giving zakaat or donation for the good of Islam or the needy

- the Lightest punishment on Judgement Day will be a man who will stand just next to Hell, not inside but just next to it. And his brains will be boiling.


Thirdly, some learning points I managed to pick up by myself, with Allah's permission.

- From the Quran, surah an-nisa' ayat 143 which means

"(They are) distracted in mind even in the midst of it (prayers),- being (sincerely) for neither one group nor for another whom Allah leaves straying,- never wilt thou find for him the way." translation by 'Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This ayat is describing the hypocrites who think they are over-reaching Allah, but little remembrance does he have for Him.

However, there's always an door open for repent. Ayat 146:

"Except for those who repent, mend (their lives) hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion as in Allah.s sight: if so they will be (numbered) with the believers. And soon will Allah grant to the believers a reward of immense value." translation by 'Abdullah Yusuf Ali



- From the Quran Surah al-Ma'idah, ayat 53 which means

"O ye who believe! take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport,- whether among those who received the Scripture before you, or among those who reject Faith; but fear ye Allah, if ye have faith (indeed). " translation by 'Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Nowadays, we see many mockery made at Islam, both from the unbelievers and sadly some of those who claim themselves muslims as well. What they are laughing at or making a fool of or taking lightly and not seriously, is something that is brought down from the seven layers of heavens down to earth. This religion is the only true one that brings us lucky human creatures to the right path and straight to Al-Jannah, the gardens of the heaven. It is not something to be played with, eg praying not 5 times a day and only when we feel like it. If we bear witness upon this religion, it means we have sworn to carry out responsibilities that Allah wants us to do. There is no alternative religion out there, this is what all human beings are created for; praying to Allah.



If there's any error, I'm open for rectification. None is perfect as perfection only belongs to Allah (God Almighty). All good things come from Allah and all the bad things are from my side and the side of Shaiytan the accursed.