Ramadan: A month Unlike Other
Introduction and Definition of Ramadan:
Ramadan is an Arabic word, and roughly translated as intense heat or sun-scorched ground. It is for that reason that it is called Ramadan due to its dry sensation of thirst and burn of the stomach when fasting. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. It was mandated to Muslims in the 2nd year of Hijrah; thus, it is one of the pillars of Islam. Ramadan was also mandated to people before Muslims.
Allah said, “O you who believe! Observe Asawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)” (2:183).
It is a blessed and significant month, for it is the month of Qur’an. It was in Ramadan when the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), as well as Injeel to Prophet Issa, Torah to Prophet Musa, Zabur to Prophet Da’ud, and Suhuf to Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon all of them.
Allah said, “The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)” (2:185).
The word fasting is sawm in Arabic, and it is interpreted as to abstaining from something. During the whole month of Ramadan all applicable Muslim adults fast, commencing and ending with the sighting of new moon, and the entire day is spent on fasting from dawn to dust. It is recommended to break the fasting with dates and/or water, and to have a meal before the dawn prayer. However, if the fasting person drinks or eats unconsciously during the day, the person will stop when he or she remembers and continues fasting the rest of the day. Fasting the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam.
Things to Fast from:
The word sawm literally means to “abstain.” However, in the Islamic shar’ah it means abstaining from food, water, sexual activities, and smoking during daylight. One is also not allowed to engage in any misconduct whether that is gossiping, slandering, lying, or harming others physically or psychologically. Parts of the rituals of Ramadan are to be peaceful and behave well, so that even if someone insults you while you are fasting, your response would to be do nothing but say “I am fasting; I am fasting.”
The Prophet said (pbuh) “Fasting is protection or shield, screen, or a shelter from the Hell-fire). So, the person observing fasting should avoid sexual relation with his wife or her husband and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with his/her or abuses them, he or she should say to him or her twice I am fasting” , ( Bukhari).
Therefore things that we should fast from can shortly be summarized as the following categories [Read More]:
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Why are Our Lives Unbalanced & Lack Progress?
The word change refers to a process of becoming different, while status quo, means leave things the way they are. It is a human nature to seek both change and to hesitate it at the same time. While both can be good and bad, it really depends on when and how one wants to make the change and when and how one wants to stay in status quo. While this is true in its essence, I would like to step in further on where the real confusion and contradiction of the two is coming from. Whenever changes happen, many people underestimate “adaptation”, which is the foundation of change. When one moves from known stage to unknown stage, adaptation has to happen in order to stabilize his or her change. Change has many different forms, and we are in the state of change every day. For example, when children are born, they are interring the first phase of a line-up series of changes that are coming to their lives. Therefore, the first cry they make is their sense of adapting and resisting at the same time to the change they found themselves in. After couple of years of being staying home child; they will go to school, thus, the first day for their life in school is a life making changes for them. This process happens and continues in every angle of our lives. The unbalance and lack of progress in our lives are not only about change or resisting about change, but rather it is a lack of foundation and prioritizing our agendas’. A Muslim psychologist once said “Balanced life is a lifestyle where all priorities are placed appropriately in sync with our values and beliefs”. Despite the progresses that our community made such as education, businesses and institutions; the problems are enormous whether be high number of bachelors; high divorce rate, drop out of both academics and Islam, lack of ethical responsibility, contribution and cooperation to the public interest and personal development. These are just what excerpted from unprecedented issues within the community. [Read More]
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Welcome to your Gateway to Islamic & Scientific Information. In today’s world where everything is being flipped from it is original aspect, where the role and responsibilities of an individual, family, community, and nations are intermingled; the right and wrong are blended and tough to classify; the religion and purpose of life are misunderstood; where science became a tool to kill people for all physical and mental, to destroy the environment, where ethics and moral guidance are no longer the norms of the daily lives. Many tribulations occurred to the world. Therefore, in this program we will put Islamic and Scientific Education into practical skills and practices of everyday life insha-Allah, where they help nurture the social, mental and physical philosophy of person’s way of life. Our intention in this program is for it to be a model to follow by placing everything in its original place instead of flip flopping it from its innovative site. The articles, videos and books you can find in this site will be beneficial to our society.
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