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.

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“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.

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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.

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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!

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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 Qur�an 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.

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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, I�ve either ignored my failing stamina (and thus exhausted myself to the point of illness) or else I�ve slowed down, at exactly the wrong time.

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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.

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Now I understand that Allah has been fair to Muslims all around the world by commanding the Hijri calender, because a Muslim in any part of the world, gets to experience Ramadan in winters or summers, long days or short days. Imagine, if it was a static calender, one part of the earth would have Ramadan in summers while others in winters, some will enjoy fasting on short days while others on long days..

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For over eight years, the City Circle has been running a supplementary school that offers academic support to students between the ages of 8 and 18. The school is run by volunteers and serves around 110 students. CC Saturday School enjoys a great reputation and fantastic feedback.

Inspired by the movie Freedom Writers, we decided to give our students the chance to share their views on the CC blogs. The students were given the freedom to write about whatever they want and that the good pieces would be published unedited. To encourage the students, we promised prizes to the best six stories. Over this week, the CC blogs belongs to the young ones, the innocent, those with no political agendas. Some bits will make you laugh, other make you shed a tear, some are entertaining, others thoughtful. Above all, we cannot ignore them. They are the future.

To find out more about the school please visit the school’s page.

• War Rose – by Salem, aged 11

War,
Would you like to be beaten to the core?
Violence for freedom,
Freedom from violence,
At the end, all you will hear is silence…

• Race & Religion – by Asma, aged 10 and Aya, aged 11

Stand up for yourself and make Islam a happy community for us.

• My Homeschooling Life – by Sara, aged 14

Some people think that homeschooling kids don’t socialize enough but they are wrong.

• The Night I saw the Light of Allah – by Aisha, aged 17

I always knew something is missing in my life. Everyday, every night, I wake up sad and sleep miserable. I considered if I turn to Allah it’s too late. Until one night I was searching to fill my heart, I opened the Koran, the word of Allah. Bang! The voice of Allah hit me. “O son of Adam! I do not care even if your sins should pile up to the sky and should you beg pardon of Me, I would forgive you“

• Ramadan & Eid – by Yousef, aged 8 and Huda, aged 9

Eid is a special thing for Muslims when they pray in the Mosqe and I went to the Mosqe with my mum and dad and when I came home we had a big Party and we had Sweets and Chocolate.

• When I Grow Up – by Eman, aged 15

When I grow up I wonder if people will be more afraid to cry than they are to die.
Will I be able to ever see a rainbow above a green hill and a blue sky?
Or will we be killing trees alive, or how will the planet survive?
Will the internet have a web site called www.Lifetimeairsupply?

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