Evaluate Your Ramadhan

We can evaluate our Ramaḍān by asking ourselves the following questions:

1. Did my īmān in Allah increase? What do I know about Allah that I didn’t prior to Ramaḍān? Do I feel closer to Him?

2. Did I go to Allah with a broken heart in utter desperation? Did I humble myself as a true servant of His?

3. Were there times in the month where my heart felt overwhelmed with love and gratitude for Allah?

4. Did my love for Allah’s Messenger ﷺ increase? Which sunnah am I going to start implementing in my life that I previously didn’t used to do?

5. Did my worship in Ramaḍān purify and soften my heart?

6. Did my fasting cause me to give up my bad habits?

7. Which sins of the eyes and the tongue did I give up? What steps am I going to take to maintain this?

8. Did I improve my akhlāq in this month?

9. Did I become a more gentle and loving family member?

10. Did I taste the sweetness of spending in the path of Allah? Did I give charity in secret?

11. Has Ramaḍān made me more determined to continue serving the dīn of Allah and the Ummah?

12. Did I taste the sweetness of solitude with Allah at night in qiyām? Has it made me determined to continue with this good deed?

13. Did I feel a difference in the quality of my ṣalāh?

14. Did I feel emotionally connected to the Qur’ān?

15. Did I feel the closeness of Allah when making duʿā’ to Him?

16. Did I do dhikr with the presence of my heart?

17. Which one act of worship am I going to hold on to from Ramaḍān, something which I previously did not used to do?

18. What do I not want to lose of Ramaḍān?

19. Do I feel a greater level of self-control now that Ramaḍān is over?

20. If Allah gives me life, what two things will I do differently next Ramaḍān?

The Journey Continues

 Throughout Ramaḍān, by Allah’s favour, we tasted the sweetness of fasting and the night prayer. We revived our dead hearts with the recitation of the Qur’ān and the dhikr of Allah. We basked in the serenity of talking to Allah and felt the peace of seeking His forgiveness in the last parts of the night.

 

Now that Ramaḍān is over, let us ask ourselves: what next? What did we gain from Ramaḍān? How did it change us? Did it transform our lives? Will our life post-Ramaḍān look exactly the same as life pre-Ramaḍān?

 

Just a short while ago, we were planning for the ‘dream project’ of Ramaḍān. Now that Ramaḍān has ended, we should spend time in Shawwāl to evaluate our Ramaḍān.

Eid- A day of gratitude & glory and

 After a month of effort, sleeplessness and fatigue, Allah (ʿazza wa jall) has rewarded us with the Day of Eid. Allāhu Akbar!

 

Eid al-Fiṭr is a day of celebration for the whole Ummah. We, the sinners, have inshāAllah been forgiven throughout this month. It is a day of joy and happiness. We should be happy that Allah (ʿazza wa jall) allowed us to fast and perform qiyām throughout Ramaḍān. And we should be grateful that He granted us a month of immense blessings, forgiveness and goodness, and blessed us with Laylat al-Qadr. Allah (ʿazza wa jall) says,

 

قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللّٰهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذٰلِكَ فَلْيَـفرَحُوْا ؕ هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُوْنَ‏

“Say: In Allah’s grace and mercy let them rejoice. That is far better than whatever (wealth) they accumulate” (10:58).

 

On this great day, we remember those who are suffering and oppressed, the orphans and the widows, the unjustly imprisoned and those who are sick. May Allah bring the happiness of Eid to the entire Ummah and restore its honour and glory. May your Eid be blessed!

 

اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلِلّٰهِ الْحَمْدُ

Bid Farewell to Ramadhan

 “How can the believer not shed tears at the departure of Ramaḍān, when he does not know if he will live to the next Ramaḍān?” – (Ibn Rajab (raḥimahullāh))

 

Our hearts feel sad. Our cheeks are damp with tears. As we bid farewell to our beloved friend (i.e. Ramaḍān), we reflect on the shortness of its visit. Is this a metaphor for life? Will it pass by like the blink of an eye?

 

I should have done more. I shouldn’t have wasted my time. These are regrets we are all familiar with. However, we still have precious hours remaining. Let us make the most of them. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Indeed, deeds are only judged by their endings” (Bukhārī).

 

Let us not waste these last precious moments doing Eid preparations. Let us not become complacent about attending the tarāwīḥ prayers, just because the imām has finished the recitation (khatm) of the Qur’ān.

 

As we come to the end of this great month, let us end it keeping the following five pointers in mind:

 

1. Fear Your Actions Not Being Accepted
2. Ask Allah to Accept Your Good Deeds
3. Thank Allah & Seek Forgiveness
4. Be Wary of Pride & ʿUjb
5. Give Sadaqat al-Fitr

 

May Allah al-Shakūr (The Most Appreciative) accept our worship, forgive our sins and make us from His chosen servants.

 

Sayadna Abu Bakar R.A window

 If you stand to greet the Messenger of Allah SWT in the Prophet’s ﷺ Mosque and look behind you, you will find a great looking window. This window has not been closed for 1400 years because there is a

Hadith of a promise from Prophet ﷺ to the great companion Sayadna Abu Bakar R.A

Abu Sa'id reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sat on the pulpit and said:

Allah gave a choice to His servant that he may opt the beauties of the world or that which is with Him and the servant chose that which was with Him. Thereupon Abu Bakr wept and he wept bitterly and said: Let our fathers and our mothers be taken as ransom for you. It was Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who had been given the choice and Abu Bakr knew it better than us, and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is reported to have said: Behold, of all people the most generous toward me in regard to his companionship and his property was Abu Bakr and were I to choose anyone as my bosom friend, I would have chosen Abu Bakr as my dear friend, but (for him) I cherish Islamic brotherliness and love. There shall be left open no window in the mosque except Abu Bakr's window.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦

What is the secret behind the popularity of this phrase and who said it?

Omar bin Al-Khattab's attention was drawn to the fact that Abu Bakr went out to the outskirts of Medina after Fajr prayer, entered a small house for hours, and then he goes to his own house. And Omar knew everything that Abu Bakr was doing except for the secret of this house. Days have passed and the Caliph of the Believers is still visiting this house. Omar still did not know what Abu Bakr was doing inside, so Omar decided to enter the house after Abu Bakr left. So that he can see with his eyes what is inside, and know what Abu Bakr does after the Fajr prayer. When Omar entered this little house, he found an old woman who could not move and had no one, and she is also blind. Ibn Al-Khattab was surprised by what he saw. He wanted to know what is the secret of Abu Bakr's relationship with this blind old woman, so he asked her: "What does this man do here in your house?" (Meaning Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq) The old woman answered: "Wa Allahi, I do not know, my son. This man comes every morning and cleans and sweeps the house for me. Then he prepares food for me, and he leaves without talking to me." When Abu Bakr died, Omar completed the care of the blind old woman. She said to him: "Did your friend die?" He said: "How did you know?" She said: "You brought me dates, and you did not remove the seeds from them." Omar bin Al-Khattab crouched on his knees and his eyes filled with tears and said his famous phrase: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐎 𝐀𝐛𝐮 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐫.” Should we cry for Abu Bakr, or cry for Omar, or cry today about the feelings and morals that have collapsed and deteriorated. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘶𝘭 𝘬𝘩𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘲 (𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴) 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. What a lesson to each of us & to those tyrants that rule over Muslim lands without a care for their people or Allah SWT... Our Duas will be answered & the Believers Day will come, Insha'Allah! 😢😢😢