After Ramadan

The Holy month of Ramadaan came like seasonal rain and passed by. This rain did not water the plants and crops -it showered upon the hearts of believers. It is sad, but true, that the hearts of the majority of Muslims are stricken with spiritual drought and spiritual decadence. It is a drought caused by excessive indulgence in un-Islamic activities, immoral behaviour, unjust actions, unfair dealings etc. Drought caused by lack of rain destroys crops -drought caused by lack of piety, lack of fear of Allah and lack of Allah consciousness destroys the SPIRITUALITY of the heart.

Ramadaan’s spiritual rains brought to life the Masaajid and other prayer places. Ramadaan had fanned the dying spark of charity .Ramadaan had awakened the dying spirit of tolerance, patience and sympathy for the less fortunate.

Now that we come to the end of Ramadaan the big question is what to do? Did we go through all the spiritual exercises in Ramadaan in order that we may have the freedom to indulge, on Eid day, in all types of immoral, shameless and indecent amusement? Did we restrain ourselves from halaal food, drinks and other pleasures from dawn to sunset throughout Ramadaan, so that we may return with renewed vigour to gambling, drinking, adultery and fornication? Will the spirit of tolerance, mercy, patience, charity and sympathy be still evident or will these noble qualities be shelved until the dawn of the next Ramadaan?

Will the Masajids which were filled on most nights in Ramadaan remain the same or will they become empty wondering where the faithful have gone? Our lifetsyles after Ramadaan will show whether we used the month to bring about a total reformation within ourselves or are we going to waste the valuable opportunity?

The National and international position of the Muslim communities leaves much to be desired. Muslims are lamenting the loss of lives, destruction of property, oppression, tyranny, injustice and a host of other problems all over the world. They are wondering why the promised help of Allah to the believers is nowhere in sight. Just one glance into the lifestyles of the overwhelming majority of the Muslims is sufficient to answer the question. Millions of Muslims do not have much to their credit besides Muslim names.

Allah’s help comes with action and Islamic qualities -not with names or faces – Arabs or non-Arabs, African or European, Chinese or Indians. On the other hand every group, organization, society or individual who talks Islam, seems to have got its own brand of Islam. The Islamic teachings which were left behind for us, crystal clear and pristine pure, have become so adulterated with foreign customs, alien practices and un-Islamic ideologies, that a new Muslim has to make an effort to search for the Quran and Sunnah brand of Islam or remain confused and ignorant.

May Allah Ta’ala on the occasion of Eid give us the guidance to resolve that we shall make the Quran and Sunnah our guiding lights and practise Islam as much as possible. If  the non-Muslim inhabitants of our country see Islam in the lives of Muslims, they will not require much persuasion to accept our beautiful deen.

Hazrat Moulana Yunus Patel

www.jamiat.org.za

Dua for Istikharah

Istikharah Dua in Arabic
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِي الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي

Transliteration
Allâhumma inni astakhiruka bi ilmika wa astaqdiruka biqudratika wa as’aluka min fadlikal-azimi, fa innaka taqdiru walâ aqdiru wa ta’lamu walâ a’lamu wa anta allamul ghuyubi. Allâhumma in kunta ta’lamu anna hâdhal amra khayrun li fi dini wa ma-ashi wa aqibati amri faqdir-hu li wa yassir-hu li thumma barik li fihi wa in kunta ta’lamu anna hâdhal amra sharrun li fi dini wa maâshi wa aqibati amri fasrifhu anni wasrifni anhu waqdir liyal-khayra haythu kâna thumma ardini.

Translation
“O Allah, verily I seek the better [of either choice] from You, by Your knowledge, and I seek ability from You, by Your power, and I ask You from Your immense bounty. For indeed You have power, and I am powerless; You have knowledge and I know not; You are the Knower of the unseen realms. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood and the end of my affair then decree it for me, facilitate it for me, and grant me blessing in it. And if You know that this matter is not good for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood and the end of my affair then turn it away from me and me from it; and decree for me better than it, wherever it may be, and make me content with it.”

Dua in Anticipation of Ramadan

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), used to say the following when the month of Rajab began.
اَللّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِى رَجَبَ وَ شَعْبَانَ وَ بَلِّغْنَا رَمَضَان
“Oh Allah! Bless us in Rajab and Sha`ban, and bring us, oh Allah, to Ramadan.”
[Narrated by Tabarani and Ahmad]

Adhkar for Alleviating Calamaties

Every individual should make a point of reciting this at times of difficulty.

A recommendation is to stipulate a daily amount to be recited, e.g. 50/100/200 times.

Dua Upon Waking Up

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِىْ اَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا اَمَاتَنَا وَ اِلَيْهِ النُّشُوْرُ

All praise to Allah, who gave us life after having given us death and to him is our final return.

(Bukhari)

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Dua for Returning Haji

Say the following words when meeting the Haji after their return from the blessed journey
قَبِلَ اللهُ حَجَّكَ وَ غَفَرَ ذَنْبَكَ وَ اَخْلَفَ نَفَقَتَكَ

May Allah accept your Hajj, forgive your sins and recompense your expenses.

(at-Tabrani)
Source: at Tazkiyah

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After Hajj

How fortunate are these souls who are blessed with the following words from Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam:

“Whoever performs Hajj for the Pleasure of Allah and therein utters no word of evil, nor commits any evil deed, shall return from it (free from sin) as the day on which his mother gave birth to him.” (Bukhaari, Muslim)

“Verily there shall be no reward for a Mabroor Hajj except Jannah.” (Bukhaari, Muslim)

It is hoped that all the pilgrims were sincere in their intentions and had traveled thousands of miles only to secure the Pleasure of Allah by fulfilling the obligation laid down upon them. May Allah the Almighty grant all the pilgrims acceptance and grant them opportunity again and again to visit the Sacred bud. Aameen.

Nevertheless, we wish to draw the attention of the pilgrims towards certain points which are necessary and of utmost importance to observe and for which many pilgrims are seen neglectful of their significance.

1, the sincerity of intention should remain even after the performance of Hajj. There should be no pomp or show. One should not wish to be called or recognized as a Haajee.
Many people adopt the habit of talking frequently about their journey in order that people may come to know of their Hajj. They talk about the expenses incurred in the way of Allah, their charity amongst the poor and needy, their devotion and worship, their assisting the weak and old, etc.; and all is mentioned only with the intention of gaining fame. This is a deceit from Shaytaan who ruins the ibaadat without the person even knowing. It is therefore of great importance that the pilgrim does not talk about his Hajj without necessity as it may lead to ‘Riyaa’ (show, insincerity). However, if necessity arises and one must talk about his Hajj then he is at liberty to do so. But, he must not indulge in this type of conversation unnecessarily.

2, it is noted through experience, that many pilgrims return with only the bad side of the journey and make it a habit of talking about nothing except the hardships they have encountered during Hajj. The pilgrims should strictly refrain from this. On the contrary they should talk about the greatness of the sacred places, the spiritual gains, the enjoyment in devotions of Haramayn – Umrah, Tawaaf, Salaam on the Sacred Grave, Salaat in Masjid-ul-Haraam and Masjid-un-Nabawi etc. If one looks at his journey of Hajj carefully he will find that the good things far outweighs the bad. Every second spent in these sacred places is incomparable with anything in the world.

The journey of Hajj is a long journey; one has to travel by air, pass the immigrations, go through the customs, encounter people who speak foreign languages, etc. In these circumstances, difficulties are certain to arise. when we travel in our country do we always travel with comfort and ease? Do we never encounter difficulty? Do we not find ourselves held up in traffic for hours on a Motorway? Considering the fact that 2 – 3 million pilgrims perform the rituals of Hajj at one time, in one place and that they all come from different countries and backgrounds and that many of them have never before used or seen the facilities available to them. We think the difficulties encountered are insignificant. Moreover, the pilgrims are rewarded abundantly by Allah Ta’aala upon every difficulty encountered in their journey whereas the same is not the case whilst we are on another journey.
Those people who engage in these types of conversation become the cause of discouragement to others who have not yet had the opportunity to perform Hajj. These unfortunate pilgrims fall into the category … and who stop (men) from the way of Allah, and from the Sacred Masjid, … mentioned in Surah Hajj in the Qur’aan. They should take heed that if people are discouraged by their conversation and postpone their Hajj then those who have discouraged them will be equally responsible.

3, the sign of a ‘Mabroor Hajj’ or an ‘accepted Hajj’ is that upon one’s return, his life changes from worst to good. He becomes totally punctual in fulfilling the commands of Allah Ta’aala. His love and inclination towards the Hereafter increases and love for the worldly pleasures decline. Therefore, it is essential that the pilgrim is watchful over his actions and should try his utmost to instill in himself good characters and refrain from all types of evil. He should try his best to fulfill the obligations laid down by Allah and avoid all the things forbidden by Him.

Source: Sunnah Organisation

Day 5 of Hajj

5th day: 12th Zul Hijjah
Make Ramee, i.e. pelt all three Shaytaans after Zawaal. The Hajjees may now proceed to MAKKAH MU’AZZAM. Those who wish to remain in Mina on the l3th Zul Hijjah should pelt the 3 Shaytaans before proceeding to Makkah Mukarramah. The pelting on this day is permissible throughout the day (including the period before Zawaal).

Day 4 of Hajj

4th day: 11th Zul Hijjah
All three SHAYTAANS have to be pelted on this day and the night will be spent at MINA. RAAMEE, i.e. pelting time begins after ZAWAAL and ends before SUNSET.

Jamarat

Day 3 of Hajj

3rd day: 10th Zul Hijjah, Yaum-un-Nahr  

After performing Fajr Salaah at Muzdalifah, the Hajjees proceed to Mina before sunrise. On this day four important rites have to be performed.  
1. RAMEE of Jamaratul Aqabah (stoning the big Shaytaan).  
2. ZABH (to sacrifice an animal).  
3. HALQ or Qasr (shaving or trimming the hair of the head).  
4. To perform TAWAAFUZ ZIYAARAH. 

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