Date: April 28, 2015
Marriage is a religious duty and a moral safeguard in the society. Marriage is the most legal way to indulge in intimacy between a man and woman. Delaying marriage without a legitimate reason is a sin in Islam. We should not get engaged for many months and the marriage should be solemnized quickly in order to allow the newlyweds to start their new life in the most pure manner. Keeping the engaged couples without a Nikkah is a great sin and it is similar to widowing. Get your Nikkah as soon as possible and complete your studies. To delay marriage in Islam is prohibited.
There are many memorable and historic journeys took place in the past which stands as the milestones in the historic culture. Musa had crossed the Red Sea! Caesar crossed Rubicon! These are some wonderful and inspiring instances for historic journeys. But here is a wonderful story of an epic journey which changed the human civilization. Dr Abdullah Al-Kadi researched for years and wrote the book Makkah to Madinah: A Photographic Journey of the Hijrah Route. The book reveals the journey took place in the start of the Muslim calendar Hijrah from Mecca to Madinah by Umar and the great companions of the Prophet who were alive at the time. Dr Abdullah Al-Kadi travelled 30,000 miles through the route of Hijrah to know the hurdles and puddles across the way. The journey helped him to get familiar about the oddly shaped rocks that were used as milestones along the way. Dr Al-Kadi was accompanied by his family and Peter Sanders a well-known British photographer. The book incorporates wonderful images from the journey which is captured by the golden eyes of Peter Sanders. Author reveals that there is much more to learn from the history for even more than 14 centuries.
Read MoreIn the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent _O Believers! Fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you, so that you may remain God-fearing. Fast for a certain number of days. But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, shall fast, instead of the same number of days later on. Those who find fasting a strain too hard to bear may compensate for it by the feeding of a needy person. He who does good of his own account does himself good thereby, for to fast is to do yourselves good, if you but knew it._ (The Cow, “Al-Baqarah” 2: 183-4) Fasting is a manifestation of man&8217;s determined will and his relationship with his Lord which is based on total submission to Him. It is also a demonstration of man&8217;s deliberate disregard of all his physical needs in order to win Allah&8217;s pleasure. These are necessary elements in the training of the believers so that they are able to bear the hardships of the way they have chosen. On both sides of it, there are all sorts of pleasures and temptations which beckon its travellers, trying to force them off their course. Fasting has numerous advantages for health which continue to be discovered as time passes. It goes without saying that Allah takes into consideration the physical constitution of man. Allah relalizes that man requires help and motivation in order to respond to duty and fulfill it regardless of its benefits. It takes time for man to get used to a certain duty and to be convinced of its wisdom. Hence, the decree of fasting starts with the address made to the believers which reminds them of their essential quality, that is, they believe in Allah. They are then told that fasting has always been a duty required of the believers. Its principal aim is their education and training so that their hearts acquire a high standard of sensitivity and purity and that the fear of Allah is well established in them: “Believers, fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you, so that you may remain God-fearing.” Fear of Allah To fear Allah, then, is the great aim of fasting which looms large before our eyes. As the believers fulfill this duty, in total obedience of Allah and in pursuit of His pleasure, they feel the quality of fearing Allah to be a life within them. This is indeed the quality which guards their hearts against spoiling their fasting by indulging in sin, even if it is of the type which only passes through the mind. Those who are addressed by the Quran are fully aware of the value Allah attaches to this quality of fearing Allah and being conscious of Him. Its acquirement is something for which they yearn. Fasting is a tool with which it is achieved. Hence, the Quran raises it before them as a noble objective. Allah Wishes to Make Things Easy They are then told that fasting is prescribed only for a certain number of days. Exempted from it, however, are the sick until they have recovered, and the travellers until they have settled: “Fast a certain number of days. But whoever of you is sick, or on journey, shall fast instead the same number of days later on.” Taken at its face value, the statement concerning the exemption of the sick and the travellers is general, unrestricted. Hence any illness or journey is a good reason for exemption from fasting, provided that compensatory fasts are held when those reasons no longer obtain. The purpose of the exemption is that it is Allah&8217;s wish to make things easy, not hard, for man. We cannot claim to have full knowledge of the divine wisdom behind relating this exemption to sickness and travelling generally. There may be some hardships which may not immediately appear to us or we may tend to overlook. Since Allah has not attached this exemption to any particular reason, we refrain from making any judgment concerning it. We obey any statement Allah has made, even if its wisdom does not appear immediately to us. What is certain is that there is a wisdom behind it, whether we recognize it or not. Using the Concessions Some people may fear that such an opinion may cause people to neglect their worship for any reason indeed, this is what has prompted Islamic scholars to adopt a more strict attitude and to lay down conditions. Islam does not compel people to be obedient. Its method is to implant in them the consciousness of Allah so that they obey Him. The acquisition of the quality of fearing Allah is the particular aim of this worship. He who tries to use a certain concession made by Allah in order to evade fulfilling a duty is, in the first place, devoid of goodness. With such an attitude, the aim behind the religious duty cannot be fulfilled. We must not forget that Islam is a religion laid down by Allah. Allah knows best that this religion achieves a perfect balance between the relaxation of certain duties and strict adherence to duty. A certain concession may serve a certain interest which cannot be served otherwise. Indeed, this must be the case. Hence, the Prophet has ordered Muslims to make use of the concession Allah has allowed them. As for the exemption from fasting in cases of illness, it appears that the exemption applies to every case which may be reasonably described as illness, regardless of its nature or intensity. It is compulsory for anyone who makes use of exemption to compensate for the days of Ramadan for which he missed the fasting due to illness or travelling. Each day is compensated for by fasting one day any time during the year.
Read MoreSheima Salam Sumer, a trained counselor by profession explains that faith should be a source of achieving felicity and joy, paving the way for happy individuals and happy societies, and a happy humanity at large through her book ‘How to Be A Happy Muslim Insha Allah.’ The book aims to guide you in attaining inner peace and joy by uniting Islamic teachings with mental and physical health concepts. Do not get into worries or hurries due to pitfalls in your life, Allah will create a happy path in between. By reading this book, you can manage your emotions and sentiments. One of the main subjects she talks about is on negative judgement about other people. There are people around us who used to blame others for their deeds or conditions. But why we are talking negative on others? Who gave us the authority to blame them? Our situations will go back and forth. It will progress or regress. But the apex of judgement can be given by Allah only. No other living legends can comment negative on others. The book also talks about Quran and Sunnah, resources from psychology, health and nutrition, and personal stories to provide readers with clear, practical tools to make positive improvements in their attitude and behavior. Happiness has great importance in one’s life so that we have to produce contents that can establish happiness all the way. The book provides steps on how the practical application of timeless and sacred Islamic teachings can formulate a happy Muslim.
Read More"When a person dies, his works end, except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who prays for him."
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
"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