Wednesday 3 September 2008

Ramadan Mubarak!

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah

Ramadhan Mubarak!!!

So the beautiful month of blessed Ramadhan is upon us once again. How lucky we are! There are some who were blessed to take part in this month last year who are not with us today, who have passed by, and there are those of us lucky, lucky ones who were able to take part last year and have been blessed once again this year. Lets give thanks to Allah for giving us this blessing, and ask him to give us many more Ramadhans to come Ameen. Every year many of us make the intention to make this Ramadhan better than the last, to fill the time with worship and spend time wisely. I usually fall far from the mark. But still, we should make a good intention and at least try to act upon it. I want to share some beautiful Ahadith and Aayah's about Ramadhan with you all;

Allah's Apostle said, ' When the month of Ramadhan starts, the gates of Heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained. '
So since one of the biggest obstacles in the path stopping us from being good Muslims (the Shayateen) are chained, it should be easier for us to be better, right? Wrong. We still have our Nafs, that inner part of us through which we succumb to desires etc, and this is what we have to fight against, and really, since the devil is chained up, we really should make an intense effort to change.

Ramadhan is the (month) in which the Quran was sent down, as a guide to mankind and a clear guidance and judgement ( so that mankind will distinguish between right and wrong).
(Quran 2:183)
So
this is also the month of the Quran, the month in which this amazing book of Allah was revealed to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Therefore, in this month we should read the Quran as much as we can. There is great reward in reading the Quran.

Abu Umamah reports, I came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ' Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter paradise. ' He said, ' Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it. ' Then i came to him again and asked him again, and he said, ' Stick to fasting'
(Ahmad, Nisai)


InshaAllah i hope you all have a fruitful Ramadhan, and inshAllah none of us are deprived of its blessings and Allah's mercy. Make amends with those we have broken ties with, ask forgiveness for any wrongs we have committed, towards Allah and if towards a fellow human, then ask forgiveness from that human. Brotherhood is a strong part of Islam. If we have mercy on people and others in this world, Allah will have mercy on us.

George Bernard Shaw.He was -and still is- a famous Irish playwright. Some of you may know him for his literature...i myself like the play written by him 'Pygmalion' or more commonly known as 'My fair Lady.' George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, and grew up in situations close to genteel poverty-he was also a teetotaller . Shaw was an ardent socialist, and even more than his interesting life and ideas and writings, what interested me most were his views regarding Islam.

' I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him- the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being the anti-christ , he must be called the savior of humanity.

I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today. '
( GBS in the Genuine Islam, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936)


What a wise man. Not only are his views on Islam full of wisdom and understanding, but some of his preserved quotes are pretty thought provoking too.

A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic.
T
hat one made me laugh; but don't you think its true? I do, to an extent.
Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read him mad.


W
ell, i think i shall change the quote of the week to one of GBS's.
Once again, Ramadhan greetings folks, make sure you have a good one!
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah