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.
Hiba Masood a writer, speaker and a story teller talks about her Baba's influence in teaching Quran and its holy threads in her wonderful opinion piece "Baba, The Quran and Me". When she was in her younger age, she had to recite Quran every day, that her Baba taught her to do so without fail. She memorizes her childhood experience in the holy month of Ramadan as well as her Baba's powerful Ramadan experiences. Her Baba looked after all his children with extreme care. She had not faced poverty or any other means difficulties in life. Baba used to talk about his life and his days spent with his eight brothers and sisters used to look like. They were like in abject poverty, splitting one bowl of food for Iftar amongst a family of eleven and so on. Baba used to say that once all the work is done, you should recite Quran in every single possible minute. Every letter you recite during Ramadan has 70 times the regular reward? That means every letter, like saying Alif, gets you seven hundred good deeds. Years passed and with all the impetuous, rebellion of youth, of spending my days in smoke-filled rooms, strategizing with socialist/activists, and my evenings protesting against the Iraq war on the frozen streets of Toronto. Of not praying at all, of not so much as glancing towards the dusty shelf where my Qur'an sat the entire year. Next year Hiba got married and her brand new husband got astonished by her behavior and activities. She never proper placed her shoes and she always misplaced her cell phone. And she blessed with a baby boy just before the month of holy Ramadan. And there have many, many more years filled with anxiety, scary financial strain and a stormy marriage of sickness and grief. Years passed with no changes. Hiba recited Quran verses just as a routine, or just like fasting in the month of Ramadan without knowing the rewards of reciting. At last wisdom came to her brain at the age of thirty and she started to settle in life. Slowly, as an enthusiastically expected reconnection, she started reciting Quran well to Allah to the Qur'an to her childhood, to her father and to herself. Now her beloved father is aging and sick and she is in great agony by thinking about her sick dad. She used to caress his dad's grey hair, press her cheeks to his. She says that she misses him a lot and she is afraid of the future. But most of all, she whisper her gratitude. Gratitude for gifting her so freely all the things, all the lessons, all the beliefs, all the forces of habit and inspiring stories and abiding, enriching traditions that have blessed her life. Ultimately he was the lighthouse when he was able.
Read MoreWhat are the good ways to lead a balanced family atmosphere? Did you ever think of? Do you care your children in a lovable way? You might have tried to keep your standards in cooking, housekeeping, taking care of children or your desire to write, create and plan for the future. The reality is that no matter how much you do, it is never enough – the house, children and life will never be perfect and at that one moment you get on top of things. You have to keep the things in a balanced way and to move on. You don’t need to do things in with haste. Slow down and try to be present in each moment. Spent your precious time for playing with Baby and enjoy his smiles and activities. So you can realize yourself in you that you are enough to lead a good family and you are the best to lead a happy family. You will study to slow down your haste to complete the house works. But you will be doing it all with your friendly efforts and playing with your dear ones and babies at the same time. Stop constantly looking forward and thinking about the next thing to do and instead take your current time to do the cute works.
Read MoreA human being’s caliber and knowledge lies in his bio and gene. Some of us excel in mathematics, some in social studies etc. by profession we will be doctors, engineers, scientists, politicians etc. by hobby, we will be coin collectors, riders, cookers etc. profession, wishes, character and everything may be different. But ultimately, each Muslim has a clear singular goal. It is nothing but, aspiring to the character of Prophet Muhammed. If you are physically clean for the day, you should read Quran on that day. If it is possible, a Muslim should read Quran every day. And there is a belief that Muslim should read Quran during the holy month of Ramadan. But you should read it before, during and after the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is meant for intense character training and its lessons are applicable for the year round. In the holy month of Ramadan and there after we should attempt to focus on the wisdom of Quran and the idealistic ways of Prophet Muhammed. In addition, we should engage with two greatest miracles of life through prayer, those are reflection and action. We should always be in remembrance of Allah and we should learn Quran and its teachings before, during and after Ramadan.
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