The Ijtema.net team wish our readers a wonderful Eid! May Allah accept our good deeds, Ameen.
And just to help you keep up the Ramadan spirit all year round, insha’Allah, check out this awesome series of short posts on how to realise the true beauty of Salat. Eleven posts on, and I think it’s still being updated! Subhanallah.
From the tongue-in-cheek files: Mr. Moo describes the chaos that ensues when a Muslim umbrella organization for other Muslim umbrella organizations protests against a united Ramadhan.
“This was the one opportunity we had to avoid our families” said Mullah Charles Balasubramaniamnarasimharao, spokesperson for the group. “Every year we conveniently switch madhabs or geographical sightings, all so we don’t have to consume the dreaded first iftar with our mothers watching. This year, the mosque committes have let us down by starting Ramadhan on the same day”
A tip of the kufi to Minaret Muse.
I am surprised that we have yet to plug DuaPower.com on Ijtema… but alhamdulillah, here we go!
Here at DuaPower.com, we strive to bring to you without any compromise the best, well known and authentic duas you can ever find. Using the latest technology, to show you the beauty of reading, memorising and using these divine supplications.
At the moment, they have two dua packs available for free download & dissemination:
Gate of ar-Rayyan – a pamphlet with all of the duas from the authentic Sunnah for Ramadan.
Muslim Prayers of Happiness – a pamphlet of all the duas from the authentic Sunnah for times of distress, sorrow and anxiety.
Made of Earth collects a series of hadith and photographs that capture the qualities and spirit of Ramadhan.
Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah
The team at Ijtema.net wish all of our readers a wonderful and fulfilling Ramadan!
If you have an interesting and inspiring story to share about this sacred month, why not submit it to the MuslimMatters.org Ramadan short story contest? There are some great prizes on offer, so do check it out, as the deadline is 15th September!
With the blessed month only a week away, several bloggers have posts up on how they, and we, should welcome Ramadhan and make the most use of our time.
Some ideas in addition to the extra ibadat:
“-Help out in setting up the iftaar in the masjid
-Come early and clean the masjid so the people come to a masjid which looks very clean
-Buy some air freshners and leave them to be used in the masjid
-Buy some burning incense to be used during Taraweeh”
Baitunjamil (“beautiful home”) has tips to minimize time spent in the kitchen.
“No matter how much we try to avoid it-some of us spend more time in the kitchen than we would like to during Ramadan. Instead of devoting more time to dhikr or Quran we find ourselves sweating it out over pots of stew or vegetables. Even for someone like me, who loves to cook, it can prove to be quite tiresome.”
And, of course, don’t forget to check out MR’s Ramadhan contest.
Less than two weeks remain until Ramadhan begins, and Abdur-Rahman prepares us at the starting blocks for the only race worth racing.
But then, Ramadan is also the beginning of a race – a race against the selfish dictates of the soul and a race of endurance in the face of privation and quietude. The first two weeks of Ramadan find me energised and enthused. As with any race, fatigue begins to set in towards the end and I find myself flagging. In the past, Ive either ignored my failing stamina (and thus exhausted myself to the point of illness) or else Ive slowed down, at exactly the wrong time.
I’m sure most of you are aware of the significance of fasting on the day of Ashura, but just in case, here’s a little reminder of what it’s all about:
It has been reported in both Bukhari and Muslim from Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him), that, When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) reached Medina, he found the Jews fasting the Day of `Ashura, so he asked them, What is this day you are fasting? They said, This is a tremendous day. Allah saved Musa and his people on this day and drowned Pharaoh and his people. Musa fasted it out of thanks, so we fast it too. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said, And we are more deserving of Musa than you are. So he fasted this day, and ordered that it be fasted. [Bukhari (2004) and Muslim (1130)]
Lots more about this, and the general benefits of the month of Muharram, at Seeker’s Digest.