Date: February 27, 2015
Who is Allah? What an awful question. Right? You are feeling peace inside your soul. Inside your mind. Then, who is creating this peace? Here is your answer. Allah is the most compassionate strength in you, creates the peace in you. You are always confident in your personality. This is Allah’s grace upon you. This strength and peace help you to speak up and act as a wonderful human being. Expect less and less from others and more and more from Allah. Allah is the best teacher in the universe for your grief and happiness.
"The best of what a man leaves behind are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, ongoing charity the reward of which reaches him, and knowledge that is acted upon after him."
Sunan Ibn Mājah
"Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,' and the other (angel) says, 'O Allah! Destroy every miser.'"
Sahih Bukhari
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five fundamental pillars of Islam and mandatory for all healthy adult Muslims to fast from sunrise to sunset for a period of a month. During fasting, Muslims are required to refrain from all intakes of food, water, beverages, smoking and from sexual intercourse. Ramadan fasting causes many physiological, biochemical, metabolic and spiritual changes in the body. Ramadan Fasting increases the Red Blood Cells (RBCs), White Blood Cells (WBCs), platelet (PLT) count, High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-c), and decreases the blood cholesterol, triglycerides, Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-c) and Very Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (VLDL-c). Moreover, it reduces body weight, waist circumference, body mass index, body fat, blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and anxiety levels. Furthermore, Ramadan fasting decreases the inflammation, pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1b, IL-6, tumour necrosis factor a and cancer promotion. Among healthy adults, there are no adverse effects of Ramadan fasting on the brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, haematologic, endocrine profile and cognitive functions. Ramadan fasting is a healthy non pharmacological means for minimizing the risk factors and improving health. Although Ramadan fasting is safe for all healthy individuals, but those with various illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, renal and eye illness should consult their physicians and firmly follow the scientific recommendations.
Read MoreThis is a wonderful article on suicide and its haram in Islam. The author of this article Saba Malik shares some knowledge he got from a depression mastery seminar by a prominent Muslim Shaykh, eight years back. Suicide is a sin in Islam. But the author still wonders that by knowing the fact that suicide is a bad activity, why Muslims still tries to kill themselves. Once the seminar finished, the author went up and asked the Shaykh that if a Muslim attempts or commits suicide, what happens to him. The Shaykh answered that definitely, he will go to hell. Mental illness, hallucinations, diseases, financial conditions, family problems etc. can cause one to commit suicide. Depression can be treated with some of the tools practiced in our day to day life and concentration. Following steps are helpful to avoid depression. 1. Regular salah 2. Medication 3. Psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy 4. Regular exercise 5. Healthy eating 6. Good sleep hygiene 7. Keeping up with physical hygiene 8. Active and meaningful social relationships 9. Support groups or blog 10.Giving back to your community Dr. Al-Khater says that apart from the above tools, situational depression can be alleviated by practicing the following tools: 1. Using the Islamic creed 2. Doing righteous deeds 3. Offering salah and reciting prayers 4. Contemplating the worst cases 5. Having good opinions 6. Living with a realistic – not idealistic – point of view 7. Behaving well towards other and yourself 8. Having hope Above all, prayer and preach Allah is the best solution to forget the thoughts about committing suicide.
Read MoreThe Alim.org is an indispensable tool that any Muslim family should be missing. The important features that Alim.org presents: 1. Al-Qur’an: Arabic and English Search; Translations of the meaning of Al-Qur’an by Muhammad Asad, Mohammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik, Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf Ali; Compare Translations; Transliteration, Surah Introductions by Syed Abul A’ala Maududi and Mohammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik; Qur’an Subject Index; Ayah Themes; Duas from the Qur’an; Select: Surah, Ayah, and Juz; and Arabic and English font and size. 2. Authentic Ahadith: Abu-Dawood, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Al-Muwatta, Al-Qudsi, At-Tirmidhi, Sahih Muslim, Fiqh-us-Sunnah; Index: Hadith Narrator and Hadith Subjects; and Prophet’s Last Sermon. 3. Islamic History: Khalifa Abu Bakr, Khalifa Umar Ibn Khattab, Khalifa Uthman Bin Affan, Khalifa Ali Ibn Abi Talib; All Prophets in the Qur'an; and Muslim Scientists. 4. Combined Subjects (over 50,000 topics). Coming soon: 1. Collaborative Editing, Comments, and Discussions on the Meaning of Al-Qur’an. 1. Comments feature with Alim online and facility of religious collaboration. 2. Rating of authors and their works and online reputation building. 3. Ratings of comments and "most popular" type of rankings. 2. Full Arabic Script Quran Recitation-Abdul Basit, English Recitation of Quran Translation, Surah Themes Arabic Recitation of Duas. 3. Questions & Answers: Q&A page called "Ask Alim.org" or something similar that allows questions to be posted and answered by anyone; people can rate questions and answers; similar to StackOverflow.com in ease of use and capabilities. 4. Enhanced Arabic Playhouse online. 5. Video Islam: A Closer Look Video How to Perform Hajj (90 min.) 3-D Animated Walk-through of Haram in Mecca.
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