Brief life of Khadijah

The first woman to follow the religion of Islam was Khadijah ul-Kubra’. Every Muslim knows who she was and what a role-model she was and continues to be. We also know that she was according to the Prophet (saw), one of the four greatest women from among the whole earth.

 Khadijah’s life should be a role model to all women. She accepted and started working for the religion of Islam after the first revelation. She led the example of a good, loving wife. She also showed us how to forget the desires of this life and work only for the good of Islam. Khadijah truly was a righteous woman.

Prophet Mohammed (SWAS) would often go to Mount Hira for meditation. On returning one day, Khadijah could see he was quite shaken and upset. She inquired about this and he told her what had happened. She found out that today had been unlike any other in that, today, he had been given revelations from God! He had thought that he was possessed and was going mad. Khadijah tried to console her terrified husband by saying:

“Rejoice, O son of my uncle, and be of good heart. Surely by Him in whose hand is my soul, I have hope that you will be the prophet of this people. You have never done any wrong to anyone. You are kind to others and you help the poor. So Allah will not let you down.”

 

During the next 10 years, she proved herself to be a loving wife. She supported him when nobody else would. She consoled him when rough time hit them. She comforted and encouraged him when the Quraish did all they could to stop him from preaching.  She remained the only wife of Prophet Mohammed (SWAS) until her death at the age of 65. She died on 10 Ramadan 620 C.E. in the 10th year of prophethood. Long after her death, Prophet Mohammed (SWAS) remembered and honored her often. 

WOMEN OF THE HIJAB

Her long, thick, shiny black hair
Fell against her back.
Her rich, copper skin
Gleamed in the sunlight.
Her slender figure outlined,
With her soft voluptuous curves.
But when she stepped outside,
She became a ghostly figure of the night.
Nothing more to the people
Than a dark, shadowy figure of oppression.
But she showed them.
As she walked down the street,
People made way,
Men lowered their gazes in utmost respect.
And others whispered,
As she held her head up high,
With pride in her belief
And showed them how oppressed she really was!
While they whistled at their women,
Looking them up and down as they were pieces of meat to be inspected?
She pitied their savage ways.
As she walked into the arms of her partner,
Her only love, Her husband.
Where she was transformed,
Into her beautiful self,
For only his eyes to see.

 

Ramadan: A Return to God

Amr Khaled

 

Ramadan is the time of the year when the soul is revamped from the previous year and reconstructed for the coming one. The human being is like a machine that needs regular fixing and continuous upgrading for better performance.

 

Ramadan is how God proves His love for His subjects and His keenness to grant them happiness both in this life as well as the next. It is the best opportunity for them to cleanse their souls of any evil from the previous year.

In Ramadan, people go back to their original good selves. It’s a return to God and the constitution He blessed humanity with — the Quran, a restoration of the true spirit of Islam that calls for love and compassion between people.

After getting rid of impurities, the soul is rejuvenated in preparation for the coming year. It becomes ready for a strong affinity with God, for the determination to resist sins and conquer the devil.

Thus, people start becoming true Muslims who obeys God everywhere they go—at work, in the street, at school, in the mosque, etc.

The Prophet (PBUH) said that in Ramadan “all the gates of heaven are open. The gates of hell are closed, and the devils are shackled.” The devil has no access to the human soul in this month.

 

 

How to reform the past

1- Self evaluation: Be accountable to yourself. Whether privately or publicly, think of everything you’ve done and ask yourself where you went wrong. This is the best way to begin to cleanse your soul.

2- Atonement: This erases your sins and allows you to start anew. Even infidels will be forgiven if they repent, so imagine what it would be like for the believer who just went astray for a while.

3- Supplication: It is like atonement, only more effective. The prophet always reiterated that God listens to all supplicants and forgives their sins. Pleading to God directly makes you closer to Him and eliminates all the wrongdoing you may have done.

4- Invocation: Uttering God’s name protects you from disobeying Him. It revives the soul and alerts the conscience. It is like waking up from the dead, as the prophet said.

5- Contemplation: Ponder God’s creation and the blessings He bestowed upon you and the world. This strengthens your faith and revives the good inherent in you.

6- Praying: Surrendering yourself to God in this act of reverence and humility absolves you of all sins.

7- Good deeds: The more good you do, the more sins you are absolved of.

How to prepare for the future

1- Real fasting: Fasting makes your will stronger and enhances your determination to resist sins. Fasting is not only about abstaining from food drink; it is avoiding words that hurt and deeds that harm. The power to resist is the core of fasting.

2- The Quran: It is the law that guides you to the right path and grants you the ultimate bliss on earth and in the afterlife.

3- Honesty: In fasting, you are only answerable to God; nobody else knows if you’re really fasting. It trains you to be sincere in everything you do, and this sincerity will stay with you all year long and will be applied to everything you do.

4- Ethics: Stay away from foul words and immoral deeds. Honesty, justice, hard work, and cooperation are the most important virtues.

If every Ramadan you work on atoning for past sins and preparing for future chastity, you will find that this process gets easier every year. There will come a time when you will be totally free sin, and in the Ramadans that follow, you will focus on attaining higher and higher levels of spirituality.

 

 

Ramadan is on it’s way.. Prepare for it!

By Umm Bilal

Ramadan is the month of excitement for Muslims. It is the month of revelation of the Quran, the month of reading and reciting the whole Quran, the month of Tahajjud and the month of Tarawih prayers, of Sadaqah and Zakah-ul-Fitr.

No one can go anywhere without preparation, and no one invites a guest without preparing to welcome him/her. Similarly, to welcome Ramadan, the month of fasting, one has to prepare.

Tips for Preparing for Ramadan:

1. Try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays as of today.
2. Start reading the Quran everyday after Fajr prayers.
3. Spend some time listening to recitations from the Quran.
4. Train yourself to go bed early so that you do not miss the Fajr prayers.
5. Keep yourself in a state of Wudu most of the time.
6. Evaluate yourself each day before going to bed.
7. Thank Allah for good deeds, and repent to Him for your mistakes and sins.
8. Give yourself time alone, so that you can meditate, make dhikr and tasbeeh.
9. Start giving Sadaqah each day, no matter how little. Make it a habit like eating and drinking.
10. Spend more time reading Islamic books, especially the Quran, Seerah, Hadith, and Fiqh.
11. Find time to help others with your wisdom, knowledge and talent.
    

Dua for Christian mothers belonging to a Muslim Family

Islam is not only a belief system but also a way of life. Islam teaches you how to communicate properly with everybody  and how it is important to show respect and love towards ones parents. These days, many people have a wrong misconception towards Islam because the media plays a major role these days.

There are many mothers whom familes are Muslims so prayers should be made to them in order they can be taught what Islam really is.

Thank you readers for reading this and enshallah we will have another Muslim among us.

Peace to all