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December 7, 2001 C.E. |
Ramadan 22, 1422 A.H. |
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Young
Muslims Canada Issue
#147 Al-Hamduli Llahi Rabb il A'alameen
was-Salaatu was-Salaam 'ala Rasulih il-Kareem |
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The Qur'an |
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Surah al-Qadr (The Power) "Verily,
We have sent it (Quran) down in the Night of Al-Qadr (Power). Commentary: The theme of this chapter of the Quran is to acquaint us with
the importance of the Quran and the role of the Night of Al-Qadr,
which falls in the last ten nights of Ramadan, plays in connecting us with
Allah. Al-Qadr could be translated in several ways,
all of which are interrelated in meaning: Power, Decree, Glory, Destiny, etc. The Night of Decree has two implications: First, it is the night during which the destinies of
people and the Allah's creation are decided. It is also the night when
the times of death and provisions are measured out, as Allah says about this
night in another chapter: "Therein is decreed every matter of
decree." [44:4] In other words, it is not an ordinary night, but
a night in which new decisions are being made and the relationships of the
believers with Allah strengthened and refreshed. No wonder,
Allah then emphasizes its importance in the following manner, "The
Night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months." And as the
Prophet (peace be upon him) once said, "...Whoever is deprived of
its good, then he has truly been deprived!" [Ahmed and An-Nasaai].
Not only that, this night can surely change our life forever, as the Prophet
(pbuh) further says, "Whoever stands (in prayer) during the Night
of Al-Qadr with faith and expecting reward (from Allah), he will be forgiven
for his previous sins." [Muslim] Second, the revelation of this Book and its revolutionary message
is not merely the revelation of a book, only to be used for academic study or
recited on certain occasions, but this revelation is an event that will
change the destiny of not only the Arabia, but of the entire world! Allah concludes
by outlining some signs of this Night: when the angels, peace, and blessings
descend on earth, surrounding the believers. In fact, as Mujahid (Rahimahullah)
said, "[On this Night] Peace is concerning every matter. It
is peace and security because Shaytan will not be able to do any evil or any
harm on this night." [compiled from "Tafsir Ibn Kathir", by
Ibn Kathir (Rahimahullah) and "Towards Understanding the Quran"
by Syed Abul Ala Mawdudi] |
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Hadith
For Those Who Reflect |
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~ Time for Repentance (Tawbah) ~ The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said: "Allah
extends His Hand at night so that He can forgive the sinner of the day; He
extends His Hand in the day so that He can forgive the sinner of the night.
He will continue to do so until the sun rises from the West (the Day of
Judgment)" [Related by Imam Muslim] Lessons to Think about:
·
Imam Raghib al-Isfihani mentions the following three
benefits of a sincere Tawbah (repentance) in Adh-Dhari'ah: 1.
It patches up your faults and identifies
the devil's points of entry to the human heart. This makes the repenting person more aware of evil around him
or her.
2.
You, the repenting person, become
embarrassed and are thus overcome with fear. You approach the door of your Merciful Lord with humbleness
and apprehension. 3.
Since you have experienced both the
good and bad aspects of this life, and have tasted its sweet and bitter
fruits, you become more sympathetic
towards other sinners, and do not look down upon them. ·
Last ten nights of Ramadan, also described as the days of
'Freedom from Hellfire', offer a perfect opportunity to turn to Allah in Tawbah [compiled from "Sincere Repentance",
by Imam Ghazali, Imam Ibn Qayyim, and Imam Rajab (May Allah bless their
souls)] |
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Symptoms
of Weak Faith |
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Series
continued from YMFN Issue #146 Following are some of the signs and symptoms of weak faith
that one can use to assess whether he or she suffers from spiritual death or
disease: Not practising what one preaches: Allah says: “O you who
believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful is it with
Allah that you say that which you do not do.” [al-Saff
61:2-3]. No doubt this is a kind of hypocrisy, and the person
whose deeds do not match his words is blameworthy before Allah and despicable
in the eyes of his fellow man. The people of Hellfire will soon discover the
reality of the one who enjoins good but does not do it, and forbids evil, but
does it himself. ...to be continued... [from "Weakness
of Faith: Causes and Cures" by
Shaykh M. Salih al-Munajjid] |
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Ramadan
Special |
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[16
THINGS YOU CAN DO ON THE NIGHT OF POWER!] Here are some tips on things we can do on the Night of Power
and the time before and after it. This list is a
summary of an insightful article on www.SoundVision.com. We strongly recommend you to visit the link below and benefit
from the whole article. 1. Take a vacation for Allah: We take
a break from our jobs for almost everything in life. Why not this time to
focus on worshiping and thanking our Creator. 2. Do Itikaf: It was a
practice of the Prophet to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in
the Masjid for Itikaf, which involves people performing various forms
of Dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), doing extra Prayers, and
recitation and study of the Quran. 3. Make this special Dua: Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: I asked the
Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night the
night of al-Qadr is, what should I say during it?' He said: 'Say: O
Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.'
"(Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Tirmidhi). The transliteration of this
supplication is "Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu
`annee" 4. Recite the Quran: Perhaps you can
choose Surahs or passages from the Quran which you have heard in Tarawih
Prayer this Ramadan to recite.
5. Reflect on the meaning of the Quran: Choose the latest Surah or Surahs you've heard in Tarawih
and read their translation and Tafseer. Then think deeply about their
meaning and how it affects you on a personal level. 6. Get your sins wiped out: Pray some
extra/voluntary Salah. Don't just pray using the shorter Surahs that
you know. Try to make your prayers longer, deeper and meaningful. Read the
translation and explanation of the Surahs you know and then pray reciting
these Surahs, carefully reflecting on the meaning while you pray. 7. Make a personal Dua list: Ask yourself what you really want from Allah. Make a list of
each and everything, no matter how small or how big it is, whether it deals
with this world or not. Allah loves to hear from us. Once this list is ready,
ask Allah to give you those things and plan your efforts in getting those
things in the future. 8. Evaluate yourself: Do an evaluation
of where you are and where you are going. Let this evaluation lead you to
feel happiness for the good you have done and remorse for the bad you have
done. This latter feeling should make it easier to seek Allah's sincere
forgiveness when making the Dua mentioned in tip #3 above. 9. Make long, sincere and deep Duas: One of the best times to do this is during the last part of
the night. For instance, wake up one hour before Suhoor time to ask
Allah for anything and everything you want that is permissible. This can be
done using the Duas of the Sunnah, but also Dua in your
own language, with sincerity and conviction. 10. Memorize a different Dua every night: They don't have to be long. They can be just one line. And be
sure to know what they mean generally at least. You can put them on index
cards (and glance at them during work, while driving, waiting in line, etc.) Then
practice them at night in prayer. 11. Have Iftar with the family: If
you've spent Iftar time on weekdays in your cubicle at work alone with a
couple of dates, now is the last few days you'll have this Ramadan to spend
with your family. Use it wisely. 12. Take the family to Tarawih: Have your spouse and kids missed Tarawih most of Ramadan
because you weren't there to drive them to the Masjid, which is too far away
to walk to? If so, bring everyone for Tarawih in these last ten nights
at least. 13. Attend the Dua after the completion of Quran
recitation: Almost all Masjids where the Imam
aims to finish an entire reading of the Quran in Tarawih prayers in
Ramadan, will be completing their recitation in these last ten nights. Attend
this particular night's Tarawih prayer with your family. 14. Finish reading a book on the Prophet: Read about the Prophet's life, which can increase your love for
him and Islam by seeing how much he struggled for Allah's sake. It may
inspire you to push yourself even harder during these last ten nights. This
community is built on sacrifice. 15. Plan for the next year: Once
you've done a self-evaluation, you can plan on where you want to go, at least
in the next 12 months. Laylatul Qadr is a great night to be thinking
about this (without taking away from your worship), since you'll Insha Allah,
be in a more contemplative state. 16. To do list for the Night of Power: Make a to do checklist for each odd Night of these last ten
days. This should define how you would like your night to be used. Pick things
from this list and define the sequence you would like to do things in. This
will help you avoid wasting your time in unproductive chats which are common
in the festive atmosphere of Masjids at the Night of Power. [from
"16 things you
can do on the Night of Power" by
Abdul Malik Mujahid] |
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