Narrated Adi bin Hatim (Radi Allahu anhu):
When I was sitting with Allah's Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam), two persons came to him; one of them complained about his poverty and the other complained about prevalence of robberies. Allah's Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) said, "As regards stealing and robberies, there will shortly come a time when a caravan will go to Makka (from Al-Madinah) without any guard. And regarding poverty, The Hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established till one of you wanders about with his object of charity and will not find anybody to accept it. And (no doubt) each one of you will stand in front of Allah (Jallay Shanahu) and there will be neither a screen nor an interpreter between him and Allah (Jallay Shanahu), and Allah will ask him, 'Did not I give you wealth?' He will reply in affirmative. Allah (Jallay Shanahu) will further ask, 'Didn't I send a Messenger to you?' And again that person will reply in affirmative.
Then he will look at his right and he will see nothing but Hell-Fire, and then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-Fire. So let each of you save himself from Hell-Fire, even by giving half of a date-fruit (in charity). And if you do not find a half date-fruit, then (you can do through saying) a good pleasant word (to your Muslim brother).
Reaping the Benefits of Ramadhan Adapted from a lecture by Ali Al-Timimi
In the month of Ramadaan it is very important that we spent a few moments to understand some of the wisdoms and lessons that we can learn from this month of fasting.
Unfortunately, many Muslims come in to this month and they are as a companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Let it not be that the day that you fast and the day that you break fast be equal." Meaning, one's behaviour, attitude and outlook are the same whether one fasts or not, i.e. fasting has no effect upon that person. This is why we need to reflect on some of these lessons. LESSON 1: Gaining Taqwaa Allah legislated fasting for gaining taqwaa, "O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain taqwaa." (meaning of Soraat ul Baqarah (2):183) Taqwaa in this case means to make a shield between oneself and Allah's anger and Hellfire. So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, 'Has this fasting day made us fear Allah more? Has it resulted that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire or not? LESSON 2: Drawing closer to Allah This is achieved by reciting and reflecting on Al-Qur'aan during night and day, attending the taraaweeh prayers, remembering Allah, sitting in circles of knowledge and, for those who can, making `umrah. Also for those who can, making I`tikaaf (seclusion) in the last ten nights of Ramadaan, so as to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself in a masjid just thinking of Allah, so as to bring oneself closer to Allah (SWT). When one sins, one feels distant from Allah. That is why one might find it heard to read the Qur'aan and come to the masjid. However, the obedient worshipper feels closer to Allah and wants to worship Allah more, because he is not shy from his sins. LESSON 3: Acquiring patience and strong will Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'aan and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So when one fasts, and gives up one's food and drink, and one's marital sexual relations for those hours, one learns restraint and patience. This Ummah needs man and women that are strong willed, who can stand upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver in front of the enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional people, who just raise slogans and shout, but when the time comes to stand upon something firm, they cannot do so, they waver. LESSON 4: Striving for Ihsaan (righteousness and sincerity) and staying away from riyaa' (showing off) Ihsaan means to worship Allah as if one seeks Him, and even though one does not see Him, He sees all. Hasan al-Basree said, "By Allah, in the last twenty years, I have not said a word or taken something with my hand or refrained to take something with my hand or stepped forth or stepped back, except that I have thought before I have done any action, 'Does Allah love this action? Is Allah pleased with this action?' So when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself and also staying away from riyaa' (showing off). That is why Allah said in a hadeeth qudsee, "Fasting is for Me and I reward it." (al-Bukhaaree) Allah singles out fasting from all other types of worship saying, "Fasting is for Me", because no one knows whether you are fasting or not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or giving charity or making tawaaaf, one can be seen by the people, so one might do the action seeking the praise of the people. Sufyaan ath-Thawree used to spend the nights and the days crying and the people used to ask him, "Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah? He said, 'No.' They said, "Is it due to the fear of the Hellfire?" He said, 'No. It is not the fear of Hellfire that makes me cry, what makes me cry is that I have been worshipping Allah all these years and doing scholarly teaching, and I am not certain that my intentions are purely for Allah.'" LESSON 5: Refinement of manners, especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts. The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah (SWT) has no need that he should heave his food and drink." (al-Bukhaaree) What we learn from this, is that we must pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "was sent to perfect good manners." (Maalik) So we must check ourselves, are we following the behaviour of the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)? For example: Do we give salaam to those we don't know and those we do know? Do we follow the manners of Islaam, by telling the truth and only telling the truth? Are we sincere? Are we merciful to the creation? LESSON 6: Recognizing that one can change for the better The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who repent." (Ibn Maajah) Allah provides many opportunities to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become obedient. LESSON 7: Being more charitable Ibn `Abbaas said, "The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadaan when Jibreel used to meet him on every night of Ramadaan till the end of the month…" (al-Bukhaaree) The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting person's reward." (at-Tirmidhee) LESSON 8: Sensing the unity of the Muslims The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "… Those of you who will live after me will see many differences. Then you must cling to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided khaleefahs. Hold fast to it and stick to it." (Aboo Daawood) In this month we sense that there is a possibility for unity, because we all fast together, we break fast together, we all worship Allah together, and we pray Salaatul-`Eid together. Therefore we sense that the unity of Muslims is possible. It is possible for Muslims to be a single body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah and His Messenger. LESSON 9: Learning discipline The Prophet (ma Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) made us adhere to discipline and strictness, strictness that does not lead to fanaticism or going outside the bounds that Allah has laid down. One cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be accepted by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their lives, because they are people of an important message, which they mold their lives around. LESSON 10: Teaching the young to worship Allah It was the practice of the people of Madeenah, that during the fast of `Aashooraa (which is now a recommended fast of one day) to get their children to fast with them. When the children would cry of hunger and thirst, their parents would distract their attention by giving them some sort of toy to play with. The children would break their fast with their parents. (as mentioned in al-Bukhaaree). So the young should be brought to the masjid and they should pray with their parents, so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming worshippers of Allah. If one does not encourage children to fast when they are young, they will find it very difficult to fast for thirty days at the age of puberty. This is why the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Command your children to pray at the age of seven and spank them at the age of ten (if they do not pray." (Haakim) LESSON 11: Caring for one's health Fasting has many medical benefits and it teaches Muslims to take care of their health and too build strong bodies. The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone." (Muslim).
*************************************************** How does the Person who lives outside of his country pay Az-Zakah
Question:
There is a man who lives outside of his country, so how does he pay the Zakah of his wealth? Does he send it to his country,does he pay it in the country where he lives or does he give his family the responsibility of paying it on his behalf?
Answer:
He should look at whatever is the most beneficial for the people who are recipients of Az-Zakah. Is it more beneficial for him to pay it to the people in his country or does he send it to another country where there are poor people? If the two situations are equal, then he gives it in the land that he is in.
Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-`Uthaymeen
Fatawa Islamiyah Darussalam Vol:3 page no.199
There must be intentions in paying Az-Zakah
Question:
Can I give some money in charity to someone who is needy while believing it is from Az-Zakah or not?
Answer:
If you give anything of your wealth and place it in the hand of a poor person while intending that it is from Zakah on your wealth when you give it to him, then that fulfills the obligation of Az-Zakah.
Permanent Committee for Research and Verdicts. - Fatawa Islamiyah Darussalam Vol:3 page no.190
The virtue of the du'aa' of the fasting person
There are ahaadeeth which speak of the virtue of the du'aa' of the fasting person, such as the following:
(i) It was narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler." Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 3/345; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Saheeh 1797.
(ii) It was narrated from Abu Umaamah in a marfoo' report: "Every time the fast is broken Allaah has people whom He ransoms." Narrated by Ahmad, 21698; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1/491.
(iii) It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri in a marfoo' report: "Allaah ransoms people every day and night – i.e., in Ramadaan – and every day and night the Muslim has a prayer that is answered." Narrated by al-Bazzaar; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1/491.
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