Date: April 15, 2016
A 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.
"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
Giving to Eternity directed by Ayed Nabaa is a visual treat to the film lovers which explores the history of the Waqf tradition seen through the eyes of Tunisian historians, imams, legal academics &8211; and the descendants of philanthropic donors who&8217;ve struggled to repossess their property. Charity is a unique belief in Islam. Waqf is a form of charity which means permanently endowing property dating back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. In Tunisia, waqf got a controversial history. In fact, waqf property cannot sell, donate, inherit or buy. The beneficiaries of waqf can be private individuals like donors, descendants or the public. But this very system of waqf is prone to abuse and mismanagement. In 1957, just a year after the independence of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, the first president of Tunisia abolished waqf. The abolition of Waqf threw the ancient system of permanent endowment into disarray. The government established some commissions to investigate and properly manage and distribute the properties to the right individuals or authority. Critics say that the settlement process was totally futile and cases are still pending due to mismanagement and fraud play in settlement. The film Giving for Eternity portrays the very issues and settlement of waqf properties in Tunisia.
Read MoreZakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. The word Zakat means purification and growth. Quran promotes feeding hungry people and helping the poor. Since, the month of Ramadan is termed as the very month of forgiveness, blessings, helping others, prayers and thanks giving. Zakat is an activity connected with prayer and compassion towards the poor people. Allah says that provide Zakat with prayers and it will make you and the receiver blessed. Conditions for Zakat Giving If you are possessing property in excess of a minimum exemption limit, you must give Zakat to the needy. Another term is that if your wealth equal to or in surplus of Nisab in the beginning and at the end of the lunar year, you must give Zakat. At the same time, at the end of the lunar year if the wealth is less than the Nisab, it is not necessary to give Zakat. It says that Zakat is due on all the gold and silver ornaments, jewellery. All bank deposits and provident fund will fall under the Zakat giving. It is also said that if one has agriculture land irrigated by rain water or by natural water channels or if the land is wet due to a nearby water channel, the yield of the land must be provided as Zakat. Zakat is obligatory on goats, sheep, cows, buffaloes and camels which graze on wild grass, plant leaves and on some feed, now and then given by the owner, and on the above animals meant for sale. Do Not Give Zakat to these People * To a person who owns minimum 7 1/2 tolas of gold or 52 1/2 tolas of silver or equivalent wealth in cash, kind or in trade goods. * To one’s mother, father, paternal and maternal grand-parents, great grand-parents, etc. * To one’s offspring-sons, daughters, grand-children, great grand-children, etc. * to spouse * To other relatives such as brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, etc. * To Sayyeds(descendants of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). * To domestic or other servants as wages. * Zakat cannot be given for repairing or maintenance of mosque. * Do not pay Zakat to meet the funeral expenses.
Read MoreParenting is the most admirable and challenging task that a family need to work out a lifetime. We are living in the very post modern culture of 21st century that follows a different and dazzled way. The biggest challenge that a parent has to understand is that we are living in a world very different from the one in which we grew up. Every now and then, our children are living in a globalized, materialized and a superpower world of technology. The major global changes that we face are information exchange and threatening technology empowerment. We live in the information overloaded age and our daily walks on the information super highway and we definitely need to thank the technology for having the complete picture on every walks of the life. But what we need is to have the knowledge on what information to believe in reality and what to believe as just propaganda. Secondly we can say that technology is a challenging scenario. Technology can make life easy. But it can distract and increase false sense of satisfaction to us. Facebook and such social networking sites share billions of posts a day. But do you think, all the shares are informative or justifiable? Never can it be. The aftereffects of the thoughtless words are serious and severe. While posting such things on virtual platforms, always keep in that technology cannot replace wisdom. Natural wisdom never can be replaced by artificial intelligence and vice versa. Use your intellect to understand the event and color the scene to see the whole world.
Read More