Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh!
1 WEEK BEFORE RAMADAN
'Connecting with family and friends' week
· Organise a family get together
· Contact all of your family, those who live locally as well as those abroad, to wish them the best for this Ramadan
· Organise goody bags for your family and friends children to get them excited about Ramadan
· Take time out to sit and talk/listen to the people you live with as it can be easy to take them for granted
GENERAL PREPARATION
· Do your Eid shopping now so as not to consume precious time during Ramadan and especially the last 10 days
· Find out were you will be praying Taraweeh
· Print out the Ramadan check list and put it on your wall
THINGS YOU WILL NEED FOR RAMADAN
· Quran with translation
· Tafsir book
· Tasbeeh/counter
· Book of Adhkar (e.g. Selected prayers by Jamal Badawi)
· Abridged book of Hadith
· Lectures of a scholar that you like and a topic that motivates you
· Books that inspire you and teach you more about Islam and how to become a better Muslim
· Dates
DHIKR AND REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH
'Ali ibn Abi Talha relates that Ibn Abbas said, "All obligations imposed upon man by Allah are clearly marked and one is exempted from them in the presence of a genuine cause. The only exception is the obligation of dhikr. Allah has set no specific limits for it, and under no circumstances is one allowed to be negligent of it. We are commanded to 'remember Allah standing, sitting and reclining on your side' (3:191), in the morning, during the day, at sea or on land, on a journey or at home, in poverty and in prosperity, in sickness or in health, openly and secretly, and in fact at all times throughout one's life and in all circumstances."
"Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace" (13:28)
"Those men and women who engage much in Allah's praise. For them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward." (33:35)
Excellence of saying
La ilaha ill-Allah
Jabir (ra) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The best remembrance of Allah is to repeat La ilaha illallah and the best prayer is alhumdulillah." (An-Nasa'I, Ibn Majah and Al-Hakim)
Excellence of Tasbih, Hamd, Tahlil, Takbir and others
Abu Huraira (ra) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "There are 2 phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to Allah. These are: Subhanallah wa bihamdihi (All glory is to Allah and all praise to Him) and Subhanallah al-Azim (Glorified is Allah the great)". (Muslim, Bukhari and At-Tirmidhi)
Samura ibn Jundab (ra) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The dearest phrases to Allah are four: Subhanallah (glorified is Allah), Alhamdulillah (all praise is due to Allah), la ilaha illallah there is no god but Allah), Allahu akbar (Allah is the Greatest)
There is no harm in beginning them in any order you choose while remembering Allah." (Muslim)
Abu Sa'id (ra) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Perform the enduring deeds more frequently. "They asked, "What are these enduring deeds?" The Prophet (pbuh) replied, "At-Takbir, At-Tahlil, At-Tasbih, Alhamdulillah and la hawla wala quwwata illa billah [There is no power nor nay might except with the permission of Allah] (An-Nasa'i and Al-Hakim)
(Takbir means saying Allahu akbar, Tahlil means saying la ilaha illallah, Tasbih means saying subhanallah)
EXCELLENCE OF ISTIGHFAR
Abdallah ibn Abbas (ra) said, "If one supplicates without fail for forgiveness from Allah, He finds a way out for him to get out of every distress and difficulty, and gives him sustenance through ways utterly unthought of." (Abu Dawud, An-Nasai, Ibn Majah, Al-Hakim)
MERITS OF RECITING SUBHANALLAH
Juwairiya (ra) reported that Allah's messenger (pbuh) came out form (her apartment) in the morning as she was busy in observing her dawn prayer in her place of worship. He came back in the forenoon and she was sitting there. He (the Holy Prophet) said to her: 'You have been in the same seat since I left you.' She said: 'Yes'. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (pbuh) said: 'I recited four words 3 times after I left you and if these are to be weighted against what you have recited since morning these would outweigh them and (these words) are Subhanallah wa bihamdihi 'adada khalqihi wa rida' nafsihi wa zinata 'arshihi wa midada kalimatihi [Hallowed be Allah and praise is due to Him according to the number of His creation and according to the pleasure of His Self and according to the weight of His Throne and according to the ink (used in recording) words (for his Praise)].' (Muslim and Abu Dawud)
ETIQUETTE FOR READING THE QURAN
1. You should be in a state of taharah (ritual purity) before you can touch the Quran, either by performing ghusl or by performing wudu
2. You should try to face the direction of the Qiblah
3. The place where you choose to sit and recite the Quran should be clean from any filth or bad odour
4. You shouldbegin with Ta'awudh
'A'udhu billahi minash-shaytanir rajim
[I seek refuge from Shaytan, the cursed one], followed by
Bismillahir rahman ar-rahim
[In the name of Allah, the most Kind and the most Merciful]
5. If you can read Quran in the Arabic language, it is preferred to recite it with the basic rules of Tajweed
6. It is recommended to beautify your recital with a pleasant voice
7. The speed of your recitation must be regulated by your ability to understand so that you can think about what you are reading
8. If the verse contains commands and prohibitions you should immediately decide to accept or restraint from them. But if it is something you have failed to do in the past, you should seek forgiveness and intend to do it in the future. In the event that the verse contains mercy, you should feel happy and request it, or if it contains wrath, you should seek refuge in Allah. If the verse glorifies Allah, you should glorify Him
9. It is undesirable to stop reading to converse or talk to someone, laugh or play or look at something that takes away your attention, unless there is a valid reason
10. The best time to recite the Quran is during salah, then night-time reading, especially the latter part of it. The best time of day is after Fajr
GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS ON RAMADAN
Ramadan – The month of fasting
Features of good practise
ü School has a written policy for the requirements and implications for their Muslim pupils
ü School offers its staff Ramadan awareness training about factors affecting pupils during Ramadan
ü School recognises and celebrates the spirit and values of Ramadan through collective worship or assembly themes and communal iftar (collective breaking of the fats)
ü School is aware of the likely increase in the number of pupils offering prayer during the month of Ramadan and facilities are provided accordingly, for example a larger area for daily prayers
ü Adequate arrangements are in place to supervise fasting children, during the lunch hour. These arrangements are well publicised amongst pupils and parents
ü School takes account of Ramadan when planning internal examinations and tries to avoid scheduling them during the month of Ramadan
ü School avoids scheduling sex and relationship education and swimming during Ramadan
ü School teachers are considerate and mindful that fasting children avoid engaging in over-demanding exercises during physical education lessons that may result in dehydration
ü School gives the option for those Muslim pupils who are entitle to free school meals to take packed lunches home, should they wish to do so.
DRAFT E-MAIL THAT CAN BE SENT OUT TO NON-MUSLIMS
For those of you that work, you may feel the need to send out an email about Ramadan in order to break the ice about the Holy month and also as a source of information and da'wah to your non-Muslim colleagues.
Every company has a different culture, so feel free to play about with this and tailor it to what best suite you and your work place.
Below is an example of an email that has been sent around in the past from big corporate companies with over 1000 employees to small companies that have 15 members of staff.
From experience, you will find that once you have sent the email, a few people will come and ask you a bit about it, so be prepared to answer their questions.
Dear all,
It's that time of year again; Ramadan is just around the corner and for those of you that don't know much about it. I've detailed some useful points below that should help give you an idea about this Holy month for Muslims.
If none of the below makes sense, or if you have any questions then, please do not hesitate to ask and I will do my best to answer your questions.
Best regards,
Mohammed
The Islamic month of Ramadan will begin on Xth of…………………….. 2008 (depending on the sighting of the moon) and end on the Xrd of………………………… 2008 (again depending on the sighting of the moon).
Some of the people you may be working with might be Muslim and there are a few points that may be useful to know when contacting and interacting with Muslims during this month as general life and working patterns of Muslims change slightly during Ramadan:
1. Fasting (Sawm) is one of the five pillars of Islam and was the month that the Holy Quran was revealed in over 1400 years ago. Its purpose is to provide an opportunity for Muslims to become more religious, increase spirituality and heavily encourages self-discipline
2. Fasting, at face value, means not consuming food or drink during daylight hours, for every day of the month of Ramadan, though its spiritual side carries much more importance.
3. Muslims are expected to fast between dawn (about an hour and a half before sunrise) and sunset.
· During the start of Ramadan, fasting times will start and finish between XX:XXam and XX:XXpm approximately
· If you require a timetable, please do not hesitate to ask the person who has sent this.
4. Please be wary of these times and allow 15-30 mins after fast breaking times for food and prayers before contacting external parties or arranging meetings.
5. The majority of Muslims will engage in Ramadan prayers (Taraweeh) during the evening so it may be difficult to contact them or expect them to be available in the evenings during this month.
If you have any further questions then please do not hesitate to contact me.
TIP: Start reading books about the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) and try to put these into practice in your daily life.
(Qur'an - Al Asr 103:1-3)
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