A Prayer to Welcome Ramadhan

Here is a prayer to welcome the Month of Ramadhan. Each image I searched by using a word from each section of the Prayer. The prayer is long, but worth it. May Allah accept our fasts in the month of Sha'ban and the month of Ramadhan and may it be a means of us attaining nearness to Him.

A'udzubillahi minassyaithanir rajim.Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Allahumma shalli 'ala muhammad wa'ala ali muhammad..

Praise belongs to God who guided us to His praise and placed us among the people of praise, that we might be among the thankful for His beneficence and that He might recompense us for that with the recompense of the good-doers!
Thankful


And praise belongs to God who showed favour to us through His religion, singled us out for His creed, and directed us onto the roads of His beneficence, in order that through His kindness we might travel upon them to His good pleasure, a praise which He will accept from us and through which He will be pleased with us!

And praise belongs to God who appointed among those roads His month, the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting, the month of submission, the month of purity, the month of putting to test, the month of standing in prayer, in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to the people, and as clear signs of the Guidance and the Separator!
Praise Allah



He clarified its excellence over other months by the many sacred things and well-known excellencies which He placed therein, for He made unlawful in it what He declared lawful in others to magnify it, He prohibited foods and drinks in it to honour it, and He appointed for it a clear time which He (majestic and mighty is He) allows not to be set forward and accepts not to be placed behind.

Then He made one of its nights surpass the nights of a thousand months and named it the Night of Decree; in it the angels and the Spirit descend by the leave of their Lord upon every command, a peace constant in blessings until the rising of the dawn upon whomsoever He will of His servants according to the decision He has made firm.
Night of Decree


O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, inspire us with knowledge of its excellence, veneration of its inviolability, and caution against what Thou hast forbidden within it, and help us to fast in it by our restraining our limbs from acts of disobedience toward Thee and our employing them in that which pleases Thee, so that we lend not our ears to idle talk and hurry not with our eyes to diversion, we stretch not our hands toward the forbidden and stride not with our feet toward the prohibited, our bellies hold only what Thou hast made lawful and our tongues speak only what Thou hast exemplified, we undertake nothing but what brings close to Thy reward and pursue nothing but what protects from Thy punishment! Then rid all of that from the false show of the false showers and the fame seeking of the fame seekers, lest we associate therein anything with Thee or seek therein any object of desire but Thee!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, in it make us attend to the appointed moments of the five prayers within the bounds Thou hast set, the obligations Thou hast decreed, the duties Thou hast assigned, and the times Thou hast specified; and in the prayers make us alight in the station of the keepers of their stations, the guardians of their pillars, their performers in their times, as Thy servant and Thy messenger set down in his Sunna (Thy blessings be upon him and his Household) in their rowings, their prostrations, and all their excellent acts, with the most complete and ample ritual purity and the most evident and intense humility!

Five Prayers


Give us success in this month to tighten our bonds of kin with devotion and gifts, attend to our neighbours with bestowal and giving, rid our possessions from claims, purify them through paying the alms, go back to him who has gone far from us, treat justly him who has wronged us, make peace with him who shows enmity toward us (except him who is regarded as an enemy in Thee and for Thee, for he is the enemy whom we will not befriend, the party whom we will not hold dear), and seek nearness to Thee through blameless works which will purify us from sins and preserve us from renewing faults, so that none of Thy angels will bring for Thee the kinds of obedience and sorts of nearness-seeking unless they be less than what we bring!

O God, I ask Thee by the right of this month and by the right of him who worships Thee within it from its beginning to the time of its passing, whether angel Thou hast brought nigh to Thee, prophet Thou hast sent, or righteous servant Thou hast singled out, that Thou bless Muhammad and his Household, make us worthy of the generosity Thou hast promised Thy friends, make incumbent for us what Thou hast made incumbent for those who go to great lengths in obeying Thee, and place us in the ranks of those who deserve through Thy mercy the highest elevation!
Purify Them

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, turn us aside from deviation in professing Thy Unity, falling short in magnifying Thee, in Thy religion, blindness toward Thy path, heedlessness of Thy inviolability, and being deceived by Thy enemy, the accursed Satan!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, and when in every night of this month’s nights Thou hast necks which Thy pardon will release and Thy forgiveness disregard, place our necks among those necks and place us among the best folk and companions of this our month!
Months Moon


O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, efface our sins along with the effacing of its crescent moon, and make us pass forth from the ill effects of our acts with the passing of its days, until it leaves us behind, while within it Thou hast purified us of offenses and rid us of evil deeds!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, and should we go off to one side in this month, set us aright; should we swerve, point us straight; and should Thy enemy Satan enwrap us, rescue us from him!

Rescue Us

O God, fill this month with our worship of Thee, adorn its times with our obedience toward Thee, help us during its daytime with its fast, and in its night with prayer and pleading toward Thee, humility toward Thee, and lowliness before Thee, so that its daytime may not bear witness against our heedlessness, nor its night against our neglect!

O God, make us like this in the other months and days as long as Thou givest us life, and place us among Thy righteous servants, those who shall inherit Paradise, therein dwelling forever, those who give what they give, while their hearts quake, that they are returning to their Lord, those who vie in good works,
outracing to them!


Inherit Paradise



O God, bless Muhammad and his Household in every time, in all moments, and in every state, to the number that Thou hast blessed whomsoever Thou hast blessed and to multiples of all that, through multiples which none can count but Thee! Surely Thou art Accomplisher of what Thou desirest.
-The Prayer of Imam Ali ZaynulAbideen ibn Hussein ibn Ali On Welcoming the Month of Ramadhan

The Holy Qur'an

he Holy Quran is a compilation of the verbal revelations given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) over a period of twenty two years. The Holy Quran is the Holy Book or the Scriptures of the Muslims. It lays down for them the law and commandments, codes for their social and moral behaviour, and contains a comprehensive religious philosophy. The language of the Quran is Arabic.

Besides its proper name, the Quran is also known by the following names:al Kitab The Book;al Furqan The Discriminant: al Dhikr The Exposition; al Bayan The Explanation; al Burhan The Argument; al Haqq The Truth; al Tanzil The Revelation; al Hikmat The Wisdom; al Huda The Guide; al Hukm The Judgment; al Mau'izah The Admonition; al Rahmat The Mercy; al-Noor The Light; al-Rooh The Word
Surahs And Verses

The Holy Quran is divided into 114 Surahs or Chapters and each Chapter consists of individual Ayaat or verses. There are in total 6,348 verses in the Holy Quran. The Surahs are of varying lengths, some consisting of a few lines while others run for many pages. Surah al Baqarah (Ch.2 ) is the longest Chapter comprising 287 verses while Surah al Kauthar( Ch. 108) is the shortest with only four verses including the tasmia.

The text of the Holy Quran has remained unchanged over the past 1400 years. The millions of copies of the Quran circulating in the world today are all identical down to a single letter. And this is not strange since God says in the Holy Quran that He Himself will guard this book:

"Surely it is We Who have revealed the Exposition, and surely it is We Who are its guardians" (15:10)


source : http://www.alislam.org/quran/about-quran.php

Islam and Peace

Islam aims to build a peaceful society at all cost. It is because higher human objectives cannot be achieved in the absence of peaceful circumstances. The spiritual as well as moral progress of the individual is possible only in peaceful atmosphere. Hence the atmosphere of peace is essential for the building of good society. Academic research too is possible only in peaceful circumstances. The task of the propagation of truth too can be performed only in peaceful atmosphere.

That is why one of the teachings of Islam is ‘reconciliation is the best’ (4:128). In this regard Islam enjoins us to establish peace even at the cost of unilateral sacrifice and patience. An event of the first phase of Islamic history provides us with an example of this unilateralism. This is known as Sulh Hudaibiya (Hudaiybiya Treaty). This was in actual fact a no-war pact that was secured by accepting all the demands of the rival group.

To bring about an atmosphere of peace within the society Islam has given a number of commandments. For instance, the Prophet of Islam observed ‘A believer is one from whom people feel secure as regards their lives and property (At-Tirmizi). Another hadith has this to say: By God, he is not a believer from whose nuisance his neighbor is not safe. (Al-Bukhari)

Islam aims at making all individuals peace-loving to the ultimate extent. That is why we are enjoined to greet one another by saying ‘Assalam-o-Alaikum’ that is, peace be upon you. According to another saying of the Prophet, the best Islam is to greet everyone you come across, whether or not you are acquainted with the person. (Fathul-Bari 1/103).

The frequent reiteration of this phrase ‘peace be upon you’ is in actual fact an external manifestation of the desire for peace within. Islam wishes to inculcate this feeling within every individual that he should become a true lover of peace, to the point that this feeling starts welling up in his heart, finding expression whenever he meets a person.

Islam is a peace-loving religion from beginning to end. And it is but natural that it should be so, as all the best results it aims to achieve, can be achieved only when an atmosphere of peace is maintained at both national and international level.

This path of peace is followed by the entire universe. It is known in science as the law of nature, which is imposed upon it by God. Whereas man has to adopt this path of peace of his own free will. This has been expressed in the Qur’an in these words: "Are they seeking a religion other than God’s, when every soul in heaven and earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion? To Him they shall all return" (3:83).When peace is the religion of the entire universe, it should, therefore, be the religion of man too, so that, in the words of Jesus Christ, the will of the Lord may be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

In a similar vein, the Qur’an tells us that: "The sun is not allowed to overtake the moon, nor does the night outpace the day. Each in its own orbit runs." (36:40)

When God created heaven and the earth, He so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully without clashing with any other part. For billions of years, therefore, the entire universe has been fulfilling its function in total harmony with His divine plan. Peace is no external commodity to be artificially imposed upon man. Peace is inherent in nature itself. The system of nature set up by God already rests on the basis of peace. If this system is not disrupted, it will continue to stay the course set for it by the Almighty. It is true that the only condition to maintain the human system on the path of peace is to keep it free from the elements of corruption. That is why the Qur’an states:
And do not corrupt the land after it has been set in order. (7:85)

In order to preserve the peace established by nature, from disruption, two important injunctions have been laid down by Islam. One at the individual level, stresses the exercise of patience, and the other, at the social level, forbids taking the offensive.

Negative reaction on the part of the individual is the greatest factor responsible for disrupting peace in daily life. It repeatedly happens that in social life one experiences bitterness on account of others. On such occasions, if one reacts negatively, the matter would escalate to the point of a head-on collision. That is why Islam repeatedly enjoins us to tread the path of patience. The Qur’an says: Surely the patient will be paid their wages in full without measure. (39:10)

The reason for the rewards for patience being so great is that patience is the key factor in maintaining the desired system of God. In the words of the Qur’an the patient man is the helper of God. (61:14)

The other injunction, designed to maintain peace in human society is to forbid the waging of an offensive war. No one in Islam enjoys the right to wage war against another. There are no grounds on which this could be considered justifiable. (2:190)

There is only one kind of war permitted in Islam and that is a defensive war. If a nation by deviating from the principles of nature wages war against another nation, then, a defensive war, with certain conditions, may be waged by the country under attack. To sum up, Islam is a religion of peace. The Arabic root of Islam is ‘silm’ which means peace. The Qur’an states: ‘…and Gods calls to the home of peace’ (10:25). It is thus God’s will that men and women should jointly establish a society of peace in His world. Peace is basic to all religions. Let us all strive then to establish peace in the world, for that is the bedrock on which all human progress rests.

Source: http://www.alrisala.org/Articles/tolerance/islamnpeace.htm

Love Prophet Muhammad ? Reestablish Syariah

Prophet Muhammah was born in Mekkah.He is the first leader of ummah.He reestablished caliphate by da'wah in Yatsrib city or Madinah.It was the beginning of Islamic empire.Then Islam spans from the East to the West.
Rasulullah is the paragon of Muslim in the world.Because of him,we can recognize Islam recently.He is a great man in the world...
Reestablish syariah is an obligation of muslims.If we love prophet Muhammad,we have to do what he asked to us,include to reestablish syariah...Today we are not in a muslim country,so that the rules are not from Allah. We must change that condition....

"...Then there will be caliphate on method of prophetood"
(Musnad of Ahmad)

Muhammad And The West

Talk of Islam's new moral order and the normative nature that Muhammad's life had for Muslims seems to clash with Western perceptions of Islam. If Muslim tradition tended to mythify the Prophet, Western tradition too often has denigrated and vilified his memory. Two issues in particular-Muhammad's treatment of the Jews and his (polygynous) marriages-have proven popular stumbling blocks, or perhaps more accurately whipping posts, for Western critics and polemics.

In his early preaching, Muhammad had looked to the Jews and Christians of Arabia as natural allies whose faiths had much in common with Islam. He anticipated their acceptance and approval. When the Islamic community was established at Medina, Muslims, like the Jews, had faced Jerusalem to pray. However, the Jewish tribes, which had long lived in Medina and had political ties with the Quraysh, tended to resist both religious and political cooperation with the Muslims. They denied Muhammad's prophet-hood and message and cooperated with his Meccan enemies. While the constitution of Medina had granted them autonomy in internal religious affairs, political loyalty and allegiance were expected. Yet the Quran accuses the Jewish tribes of regularly breaking such pacts: "Why is it that whenever they make pacts, a group among them casts it aside unilaterally?" (2:100).

After each major battle, one of the Jewish tribes was accused and punished for such acts. Muslim perception of distrust, intrigue, and rejection on the part of the Jews led first to exile and later to warfare. After Badr, the Banu Qainuqa tribe and after the Battle of Uhud, the Banu Nadir, with their families and possessions, were expelled from Medina. After the Battle of the Ditch in 627, the Jews of the Banu Qurayza were denounced as traitors who had consorted with the Meccans. As was common in Arab (and, indeed, Semitic) practice, the men were massacred; the women and children were spared but enslaved. However, it is important to note that the motivation for such actions was political rather than racial or theological. Although the Banu Qurayza had remained neutral, they had also negotiated with the Quraysh. Moreover, the exiled Jewish clans had actively supported the Meccans. Muhammad moved decisively to crush the Jews who remained in Medina, viewing them as a continued political threat to the consolidation of Muslim dominance and rule in Arabia.

One final point should be made. Muhammad's use of warfare in general was alien neither to Arab custom nor to that of the Hebrew prophets. Both believed that God had sanctioned battle with the enemies of the Lord. Biblical stories about the exploits of kings and prophets such as Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Samuel, Jehu, Saul, and David recount the struggles of a community called by God and the permissibility, indeed requirement, to take up arms when necessary against those who had defied God, and to fight "in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel." Similarly, in speaking of the Israelite conquests, Moses recalls: "And I commanded you at that time, saying, 'The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. . . . You shall not fear them; for it is the Lord your God who fights for you " (Deuteronomy 3:18-22).

Muhammad's marriages have long provided another source of Western criticism of the moral character of the Prophet. A noted British author has observed:

No great religious leader has been so maligned as Muhammad. Attacked in the past as a heretic, an imposter, or a sensualist, it is still possible to find him referred to as "the false prophet." A modern German writer accuses Muhammad of sensuality, surrounding himself with young women. This man was not married until he was twenty-five years of age, then he and his wife lived in happiness and fidelity for twenty-four years, until her death when he was forty-nine. Only between the age of fifty and his death at sixty-two did Muhammad take other wives, only one of whom was a virgin, and most of them were taken for dynastic and political reasons. Certainly the Prophet's record was better than that head of the Church of England, Henry VIII.

In addressing the issue of Muhammad's polygynous marriages, it is important to remember several points. First, Semitic culture in general and Arab practice in particular permitted polygyny. It was common practice in Arabian society, especially among nobles and leaders. Though less common, polygyny was also permitted in biblical and even in post biblical Judaism. From Abraham, David, and Solomon down to the reformation period, polygyny was practiced by some Jews. While Jewish law changed after the Middle Ages due to the influence of Christian rule, for Jews under Islamic rule, polygyny remained licit, though it was not extensively practiced . Second, during the prime of his life, Muhammad remained married to one woman, Khadija. Third, it was only after her death that he took a number of wives. Fourth, Muhammad's use of the special dispensation from God to exceed the limit of four wives imposed by the Quran, occurred only after the death of Khadija. Moreover, most of the eleven marriages had political and social motives. As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection. Remarriage was difficult in a society that emphasized virgin marriages. Aisha was the only virgin that Muhammad married and the wife with whom he had the closest relationship. Fifth, as we shall see later, Muhammad's teachings and actions, as well as the Quranic message, improved the status of all women-wives, daughters, mothers, widows, and orphans.

Talk of the political and social motives behind many of the Prophet's marriages should not obscure the fact that Muhammad was attracted to women and enjoyed his wives. To deny this would contradict the Islamic outlook on marriage and sexuality, found in both revelation and Prophetic traditions, which emphasizes the importance of family and views sex as a gift from God to be enjoyed within the bonds of marriage. The many stories about Muhammad's concern and care for his wives reflect these values.

Excerpted from 'Islam the Straight Way' by Professor John L. Esposito, Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University

from :www.islamiCity.com

Share your smile every day to others

Smiling....one avtivity that very simple.But, don't we feel it is rarely to do by people to their neighbours. If you go out from your house and meet people outside, just give them your smile.Why?beside prophet Muhammad commands muslims to do that,it is one way to keep our relations in society.People will respect you and see you as a friendly guy.

Harmony Family.....

I love to talk about harmony family, of course from Islamic perspective. Why? because in Islam a family should be based on ideology of Islam. Many researches show to us family that based on religion, will takes long time in harmony. I really love it. It is good if you see men and women got married because God, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala....
In this century, many families in the world are in mass. The man doesn't do his obligation as husband and father. Beside it, the woman sometimes just want to rise her carreer while her son and daughter stay home with baby sitter. And the most important thing, it is because many people do not understand their obligation as husband or wife. As husband,the man has to be a leader for his wife and children. He has to work outside to complete household needs.
As wife,woman has to give her love to husband and kids. It is important to keep the family in harmony. She has to take care her kids and give good education for them (islamic education). You have to know,all activities in a family (islamic family) should based on Al Qur'an and hadits.All of family's members have to keep struggle for Islam,to get His bless. Because as muslims,we have to struggle to enter the heaven.All activites of husband and wife are pray to Allah.The highest love just for Him,not for our couples.Because that,before we decided to get marry with someone,don't look at his/her face or the intelligence,but from the faithness.If he is a faith man,he will love his wife sincerily,no matter she is ugly or not rich.But he looks for the faith woman,who keeps their family in harmony to get Allah's bless....
So,keep your love just for Allah,His prophet,your parents,your husband/wife,and people around you.....

How is Valentine's Day in Islam ?

Hhm...how do you celebrate the Valentine's Day? It's celebrated by almost all of people in the world on 14th February. From people in Europe until south east Asia. They give their dates a gift (such as chocolate or flowers) to show their love. The color as symbol of love, pink, is decorating the places on Valentine's day.
Now, how about muslim who has some laws in life? It's unallowed of course. All muslims haven't to celebrate Valentine's day, because it doesn't come from Islam. Allah SWT said :
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers" [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]
The Valentine's day came from The Old Rome culture, which the people are adorers of God (such as God Zeus, Hera, and Lupercus). On 13-14th of Februari the men did some rituals. One of them choose one of young girls in Rome to be his date for a year. Of course to have fun and do free sex. Na'udzubillahi min dzalik.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that groups of his ummah would follow the enemies of Allah in some of their rituals and customs, as it says in the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard’s hole, you would follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else? !” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-I’tisaam bi’l-Kitaab wa’l-Sunnah, Baab Qawl al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) La tattabi’unna Sanan man kaana qablakum, 8/151; and by Muslim in Kitaab al-‘Ilm, Baab Ittibaa’ Sanan al-Yahood wa’l-Nasaara, 4/ 2054)
That's why we have to say NO to Valentine's Day!
Wallahu a'lam bi ash shawab....